by Atha, DL
“You should have seen it, Annalice. You probably can not possibly imagine in the great age of technology that you were born into how amazing electricity was the first few times I saw it. It was like seeing the sun again for the first time in thirty years. I was a little afraid that those miniature suns might burn me, but after I realized they were not that strong, I could almost feel hope again. Not hope that I would ever fit into the human world, but it did seem almost possible that I might at least have a daytime.
“And the Ferris wheel. I stood under it looking up at it for at least a solid hour. Each time it turned, I kept expecting a human to fall to their death, but it never happened. Spinning around and around, effortlessly and never tiring. That single machine was more amazing to me than the steam engine had been when I was alive. Everyone there was shocked to see it. It was massive. I finally dragged myself away from it.”
“What happened to your hope?” I asked quietly from my position against the tree. When he didn’t answer me immediately, I tried to be patient hoping he was just coming up with an answer.
The silence lasted for several more minutes before he finally answered. “The Tesla coil demonstration. That was truly terrifying. I could feel the current deep down in my core. It was like my entire being was vibrating with it. Any creature that could build that was dangerous by definition and I was right to fear them.”
He was again silent and I tried my hardest to relax against the cold surface behind me. The trunk of the tree was scratchy and I could feel it even through the coat he had given me. It seemed my nerve endings had doubled in number or their ability to sense. My skin was still burning and overall I just felt unwell. It was like having flu on steroids and my feeling of unwellness had significantly worsened throughout the course of the night.
His voice continued on in the darkness, “I was so scared and angry of what you humans could accomplish. And knowing I would never truly be a part of that world ever again, I left and spent several days in the ground. Did not bother to come out. But when I did finally emerge from the dirt, I was even angrier. I killed many humans for several nights. Mostly men and slowly. I wanted them to suffer. I guess because I was so outraged at the men who had created the machines I had marveled at a few nights before. I had realized the true threat of humans for the first time.”
He went silent then, and resting my head against the tree, I stared at the stars, mesmerized by their beauty despite how bad I felt. Not moving, I just rested, no longer interested in conversation. I had heard enough of death and murder.
My head started to spin and ache and even the far-away stars seemed excruciatingly bright. If I had seen this in one of my patients, I would have bet money they had meningitis. Finding it hard to concentrate, I tried to follow my train of thought. It was logical I would have a form of meningitis. The virus would need to cross the blood-brain barrier, the membrane that separates the blood from the fluids that surround the brain, in order to infect my central nervous system.
Would I survive this? I wasn’t sure. The conversion process itself might kill me long before Asa did. But there was nothing I could do except watch the stars with what was left of my energy. Hoping he didn’t realize or understand what was happening to me, I wished on the brightest star that I could find. I watched that star until its brightness seemed to be tattooed onto my retina permanently and it became a blurry glowing orb. It was the last image I remember seeing.
nine
I awoke with a start, my arms brought up defensively and my hands splayed open to protect my very sensitive eyes from the glaring light pouring through the windows of my bedroom. For what seemed like hours, my eyes adjusted slowly and I could eventually look in the general direction of the sunlight so long as I didn’t look directly at it.
Sitting up slowly in bed, I noticed I was in my robe and the bed was made neatly around me. Not remembering how I came to be back in my own bed, I felt very confused. But the answer was quick to be found in the form of a note on my nightstand.
In an elaborate cursive handwriting, Asa had left me a message. “You were quite ill and fell asleep. Your body felt afire. Eat and drink today for you need the nutrition. I shall as previous return tonight and hope to find you breathing still. Our time together has been too short and I do not like to be cheated out of what is rightfully mine.”
The message was cold. Yet he had carried me home, dressed me in my nightclothes, and put me to bed. Could it be another sign of compassion like his offer of a coat? His actions pointed to yes, but looking at the note again, I couldn’t completely convince myself he had any ability to care left in him.
It didn’t matter, I told myself as I got out of bed. I had survived the night and that was all that mattered. And things were looking up. I was like a new person compared to how I had felt the the night before. Checking my skin, it felt cool to the touch and my headache was gone, along with the nausea.
The worry of what would come next ran across my mind, but I pushed the thoughts away knowing it wouldn’t help to borrow troubles from tomorrow when I had enough of them for today. No, it was more like taking one hour at a time, I realized quickly. Tomorrow was an eternity away.
I was brought out of my reverie by the overpowering sound of the doorbell. What had always been a low-key alarm now sounded like the trumpets on judgment day. My hands came up to cover my ears automatically and stayed there for the entire duration of the bell, which seemed to last forever. Why had I ever picked such a pretentious door alarm?
Terror rippled through me as I realized the implications of someone being here. The vampire would no doubt smell the new scent, putting them and me in danger and jeopardizing my entire plan. But nothing could be done about it now as I couldn’t mask their scent or change the fact they had been here.
I stood stock still, unsure of what to do. Should I answer the door and act like everything was fine or sit quietly on the floor hoping that whoever it was went quickly on their way?
Trying to think logically through the situation, my thoughts were cut short again by the unnaturally loud chiming of the bell. Well, so much for my unwanted guest just going on their merry way.
Insistence was one of their strong qualities, I thought to myself, when the doorbell rang for the third time, accompanied by a sharp rapping on the door and a twisting of the doorknob.
Ignoring them was clearly not an option and I walked towards the entryway. Realizing on the way I still had my hands over my ears, I brought them down, trying my best to relax them against my sides even as I felt the vibrations, yes, felt the vibrations of the doorbell before I heard it again. Reaching for a pair of sunglasses from a nearby shelf, I was happy I had found them before I had to face the sun that would stream in when I opened the door.
Gritting my teeth at the intensity of the alarm, I swung the door open angrily. “What?” I spoke loudly without meaning to, but it didn’t elicit any surprise in the expression of the man I faced. His finger still hovered over the doorbell and it quickly jabbed at it again, bringing on the clamor of the bell again.
I was surprised, not expecting him to ring the door again, and couldn’t stop myself in time to keep from reaching up to cover my ears.
“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to punch it again. You startled me.” My unwanted visitor smiled politely down at me. He was lying. I had seen the quick little sarcastic smile pop onto his face when I covered my ears.
Despite my overly sensitive hearing, I attempted to be as polite as I could. “Can I help you?” I was nearly sick with fear at his being here, but I was curious too. Who was he? A salesman. He was wearing a suit. No, a Jehovah’s Witness, I decided quickly. That made much more sense but all the sadder because invariably they were the nicest people. They were irritating and all, but to be honest, anyone who spends their free time attempting to save your soul can’t be all that bad. And as we always say in medicine, the nicer they are, the quicker they die.
All of that went through my mind while I waited for him to answ
er. My mind was clearer and that had to mean the worst of the viral replication phase was behind me. I felt so much better today and could see the glimmer of hope on the horizon. That glimmer faded out with my visitor’s words.
“Detective Rumsfield, ma’am. I’m here to check on you at the request of the owner of the Oak Grove country store,” the man explained while nonchalantly trying to look past me into my house.
Standing there with one hand on the door, I was stock still, not moving. He was looking at me expectantly and I blurted an answer out before thinking it through clearly.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened.” My inept answer had his full attention now. He had been standing at an angle to me as if he were taking in the scenery of the old country home but now he turned to face me completely.
“So you were in some sort of danger last night?” he questioned now. He must have noticed I was looking at him quite suspiciously because he added, “I’m with the Madison County Police by the way.”
Now I was really scared. I had known that old ladies’ eyes wouldn’t miss a thing, but I hadn’t expected her to call the cops. This was even worse than I had thought. I was so unnerved that I continued to just stand there.
“May I come in? I’d also like to ask you a few questions about your neighbor.” His eyes were on me and I was sure that he, like the store owner, wouldn’t miss anything either. I tried to smooth the worries off my face.
“Um, sure. Sorry. I’m a night owl so I just got up and I’m still a little foggy,” I explained to him, smiling as friendly as I could. But there was no way I could let him into the house. I still hadn’t cleaned up the blood from off the floor where I had tried to get myself drained.
Pulling the door closed behind me, I motioned towards the deck. “If it’s OK with you, I’d prefer to sit on the deck. Helps me to wake up to see the sun.”
Watching his facial expressions closely, I felt like he must have a good poker face. He didn’t bat an eye at my unusual request. And I’m sure he thought it was unusual since it was only the low fifties outside. Honestly, I hadn’t noticed how cool it was until I saw the outdoor thermometer out of the corner of my eye. My tolerance to the frosty air had been growing.
I turned and walked towards the back deck with him following behind. Motioning to one of the Adirondack chairs, I settled into one and waited for him to do the same.
Watching his eyes sweep across the chair and then across the rest of the deck, I nearly laughed out loud as he searched furtively for another place to sit, but could find none. Finally he lowered himself down, really down into the low-set chair and after some fidgeting, he stretched his long legs across the leg rest since there was really nothing else he could do. He looked vaguely uncomfortable and very unprofessional, which made me laugh silently to myself. Even with a death threat over my head, I had perverse sense of humor I guess.
Trying to look normal, I continued to smile at him, but it was difficult with all the squinting I was doing. The sun was burning my eyes even behind the dark tint of my sunglasses to the point I felt like they were desiccating in the brightness.
Barely able to open and close them from the lack of moisture, I could feel my eyelids sticking together each time I blinked, which was often. Vampire-like eyes were really not built for the daylight, I decided as I waited for him to speak.
Wondering to myself how long I could stay out here before my differences became obvious to the detective, I longed for the darkness of the house, where I would be more comfortable and look more normal.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” he asked, his voice shaded with concern. Certain that it was practiced, I still believed his concern was genuine, yet at the same time I knew he was suspicious of me. I mean, who doesn’t let the police in when they ask?
Logically, he had every reason to be wary of me. That had put me right in the center of his radar and I knew it, but what else could I do? If he saw all of that blood, he would race back to town to get a warrant to search my house and then he would die. Asa would kill him quickly and probably in a bad way just to be perverse.
“Ma’am?” His voice was just loud enough to bring me back to our conversation. I looked back at him, still squinting. “Are you OK?” he asked again as he slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.
Who is he going to call? I wondered to myself just for a moment before coming up with an answer. “I’m fine. Stayed out a little too long last night with an old friend. And had a little too much to drink. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Now the sun’s too bright and every sound’s a little too loud.” I laughed a little hoping it would relax him.
“I don’t drink, ma’am,” he answered back, his voice flat and dry and his facial expression just as dull. This wasn’t going well.
“I, uh, I usually don’t either but I had a couple of margaritas too many last night like I said. I guess that’s why the alcohol affected me so much, you know, being such a light drinker and all.” I laughed nervously despite the situation.
The look on his face told me he thought I was a lush. It bothered me a little, which was ridiculous given the fact I was being consumed by a vampire. Time to move on to a new topic, the logical part of my brain told me.
“What did you want to ask me about?” I asked, trying to turn the conversation away from my supposed alcohol use and back to his original reason for coming here.
Just as he was about to flip the cell phone closed and answer my question, it rang. “Excuse me,” he whispered politely to me, putting the phone to his ear.
“Rumsfield,” he answered, struggling somewhat to get up out of the Adirondack chair and walk towards the back of the deck for some privacy. I laughed a little. No one could get out of one of those chairs gracefully.
But my new vampire hearing had its perks and I doubted he would walk far enough away to get any true privacy. Listening intently, I didn’t feel guilty at all. After all, I was trying to save his neck as much as my own.
“Yeah, I’m here now,” he was saying to the person on the other end of the line. “Nervous as a cat. Didn’t want me in the house. We’re on her deck. I can’t force my way in, Bobby. No search warrant. You know that. I’ll come up with something. Ask to use the bathroom or something.”
Rolling my eyes at his duplicity, I knew it would look really bizarre if I didn’t let him in to use the bathroom, but it was imperative I kept him out of the living room. A puddle of blood would be hard to explain. At least now he wouldn’t catch me unawares.
While he was talking, I couldn’t help but take him all in. He was the first human I had truly talked to or interacted with since the vampire had arrived. I have to say he actually looked like a detective while still managing to look like a cowboy, which I didn’t expect from Madison County. They usually just looked like cowboys.
Tall and lean, his sandy blond hair, streaked with brown, was cut short but not buzzed, and he had a pretty good tan on his face even for this time of the year, which made his blue eyes look like the sky. His cowboy boots were clean and his Dockers neatly pressed. He was wearing a higher end dress jacket. Nice looking, I couldn’t help but notice to myself. I even wondered if it was his wife who pressed his pants.
“Sorry about that,” he announced, walking back towards me. I gestured to the Adirondack chair again with a slight smile. He frowned back at me and looking around one last time for another place to sit, he finally lowered himself down for the second time. That was fine with me. The more uncomfortable he was, the sooner he would leave I hoped.
“No problem,” I replied, continuing to try to appear as perky as I could despite my sun-induced hangover.
“So who was he?” he asked, leaning back into the chair and now unfortunately not looking uncomfortable at all.
“Who?” I asked back, playing dumb.
“You know who, ma’am. The man who wrapped his hands around your throat last night in the parking lot of the Oak Grove Country store. I’m sure you didn’t forget him that qui
ckly,” he retorted, sounding exasperated that I would bother to play dumb.
“Just a guy that I met at a bar awhile back. He turned out to be a prick so I cut him loose. I’m sure you’ve heard this story a hundred times, Detective. But it doesn’t matter, he’s gone now.” I lied as good as I knew how.
“Where does he live and what did you say his name was?” he asked, as if I was dumb enough not to realize I hadn’t already told him Asa’s name.
“I didn’t say actually. And as for where he lives, I have no idea. I told him to hit the road and that’s exactly what he did. Probably west if I was guessing. He talked a little about Oklahoma one night.” I waited now to see how pressing he would be.
Trying to decide if I should tell him Asa’s real name, I decided it couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t exactly like he could be traced. “And his name was Asa. I’m sure you’re not going to believe this, but I don’t know his last name.”
“You’re right. I don’t believe that so try again,” he said, leveling his most stern detective expression at me. It was time to play hardball.
“I really don’t know. He was only a good for a few one night stands. Good enough for sex, but not good enough to take home to Momma,” I explained, leveling my best ‘I’m not taking any crap’ look at him.
He raised his eyebrows at me and let silence fill the space between us, but I kept my cool and didn’t try to fill it for him. That was one of the first things doctors are taught when dealing with attorneys. Don’t incriminate yourself. Facing him couldn’t be any worse than a few attorneys I had met. At least he was on the right side.
“Ms. Creed, you may not understand the seriousness of my visit. I’m not here just because your fuck buddy squeezed your neck. There’s not enough time in the day to respond to all of those calls. You should know that we found Ms. McElhaney dead last night. Her great-nephew came to visit when he couldn’t get a hold of her,” he told me, pulling a couple of pictures out of his pocket and leaning forward to shove them into my hands.