“Thank you so much,” I said, after consuming the huge amount of food.
“You’re welcome. I remember when my mom turned me. I kept eating for weeks,” Cathy said.
“So you weren’t born a vampire?” I asked.
“No, I was born human.”
“So did Ruby turn you?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“How old were you?” I asked.
“I was nine years old and dying of cancer,” she said. “Ruby found me, turned me, and raised me as her own.”
“Where did she find you at?” I asked.
“My human mom was broke and homeless. We were living on the street. One night she started coughing and couldn't stop. She went to a clinic and they told her that she had tuberculosis. They took me from her, and I never saw her again,” she said.
“I ran away from the social worker and roamed the streets. Before long, I got sick. I collapsed on the sidewalk. I thought I was going to die, but this woman came and picked me up. She took me into her home. She explained that I had leukemia and that she could cure me. However, I would become a vampire. She gave me the choice, and I decided to become what I am today,” she said.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“I'm one hundred and two,” she said.
“Wow,” I said.
“What do you know about vampires?”
“Only what the queen told me,” I said.
“What did she tell you?” she asked.
“Quite a lot,” I said. “But I still have some questions.”
“Go ahead and ask,” she said.
“First of all, why did you break Sarah and me out of the basement?” I asked.
“I wasn’t going to let the queen kill you, and what she’d done to Sarah was just awful.”
“But you don't even know me,” I said.
“You’re a living being, and it’s wrong to kill,” she said.
“Thank you for saving me too, Cathy,” Sarah said, as she finished eating a plate of food.
“I don't think the queen would have killed you,” Cathy said.
“She may have,” Sarah said. “You don't know my mom like I do.”
The two vampires clearly knew each other. They didn’t seem like close friends, but they had obviously been acquaintances.
“I have a question,” I said.
“Go ahead and ask,” Cathy said.
“Who created the vampires?” I asked.
“Good question,” Cathy said. “We think extraterrestrials did.”
“Aliens?” I said.
“Yes,” Cathy said.
“Are you for real?” This was blowing my mind.
“Yes, our records show that the first vampires were made about three thousand years ago by a visiting species.”
“Why did they make you . . . us?” I asked.
“Well, from what we can tell they were trying to create a superior species to be overlords of the humans,” she said. “But for some unknown reason, they left the planet.”
I was stunned.
“So I'm part extraterrestrial?” I asked.
“Yes, I guess you are,” she said with a laugh.
Sarah had finished eating, and Cathy got us each a glass of milk. I finally felt my hunger had been satisfied.
“Let’s go outside,” said Cathy.
We walked into the modest backyard where there was a neatly cut lawn, some garden furniture and a couple of storage sheds.
“I think we need to test your abilities,” she said. “I want to show you something.
Cathy stood on the grass beside one of the sheds. She crouched down and suddenly launched herself into the air, over the shed and landed on her feet on the other side.
“That’s awesome,” I said.
“No, it’s easy,” she said.
She then jumped over it again, this time even higher.
“Now, you try,” she said.
I went and stood next to the storage building. The shed looked like it was at least eight feet tall. With all my might I jumped and I was astonished to feel myself jumping higher than I would have ever thought possible. I landed on the roof with a bang.
I looked down, and I saw the two vampire women who were looking at me with astonished expressions.
“What's the big deal?” I said.
I jumped down.
“You shouldn’t have been able to do that,” Cathy said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“You were only bitten two days ago,” she said. “You shouldn’t be able to jump like that for at least another week.”
“Well, Sarah bit me three times, four times if you count the first bite. I suppose that could have accelerated the process,” I said.
“It couldn’t have,” Cathy said. “That’s simply impossible.”
“It's a good thing he’s changing so fast,” Sarah said. “It means that we may have a fighting chance when my mother comes after us.”
“Eli, I want you to continue eating,” she said. “The more protein you have the faster the transformation will take place.”
“What should I expect?” I asked. “What’ll it be like?”
“I think it's best if I don't tell you everything,” she said. “It’s not an easy process.”
Cathy's cell phone rang. It was her mother, Ruby. She walked away from Sarah and me and talked quietly for several minutes.
“We’re going to stay here and rest for a while, and then we’re going to join the rest of the family,” she said after hanging up the phone.
I didn’t feel tired, so I simply sat down on the couch.
“Do vampires sleep?” I asked.
“Yes,” Sarah said. “However, our sleep cycles are different. Most of the time we sleep only very lightly, but a couple of times a year we’ll go into a deep sleep that might last for days.”
I leaned back on the sofa and shut my eyes.
“It's time to get up,” I heard a voice say.
It didn’t seem like I’d slept at all. I opened my eyes, and I saw Cathy's face. She was beautiful. Her eyes were brown, her nose was perfect, and her smile was heartwarming. I also noticed her skin was flawless.
“Breakfast’s ready,” she said.
I followed her into the kitchen and saw a huge pile of eggs and bacon. My stomach was growling, so I walked forward, took a plate, and filled it with food. I sat down and started eating.
Sarah poured me a glass of orange juice and I reached for it. As I took hold of it the glass cracked and the juice poured everywhere.
“I'm so sorry,” I said, embarrassed at being so clumsy.
“It's okay, Eli,” Sarah said.
Cathy rushed to clean up the mess.
“It just means you’re getting stronger,” Cathy said.
“Do you think the mystical powers or just the physical powers are kicking in?” I asked.
“Did my mom explain the difference to you?” Sarah asked.
“Well yes, she did,” I said. “But it wasn’t fully clear to me.”
“I’d like to go over the differences with you,” Sarah said. “Go ahead and sit down in the living room.”
I went into the living room and took a seat on the comfortable leather sofa. Sarah stood next to me.
“Vampires have both physical strengths and mystical strengths, or powers. For example . . .”
Sarah walked to the living room wall and put one foot on it. Then, lifting the other foot she became horizontal and started to walk up the wall. When she reached the ceiling she kept walking and was now completely vertical. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.
“This is an example of our mystical power,” she said, upside down. “It comes from the hex or spell written on our genome.”
“You sound so much like your mom,” I said.
She gave me a nasty look.
“Now, Eli, you try.”
“How do I turn on the power?” I asked.
“You don't turn it on,” she said. “You j
ust focus and it happens.”
I stood up, approached the wall, and I tried to focus.
“I'm going to do this,” I said to myself. “I'm going to walk up this wall.”
I put one foot on the wall, and leaning backwards felt a strange sensation of being supported somehow. As I lifted the other foot I was flabbergasted to find that I did not fall on the floor, but was standing horizontally with both feet on the wall. Putting my right foot forward I discovered I could move upwards, and I began to shuffle up the wall hesitantly. I was almost to the ceiling when I somehow lost my attachment and fell to the ground. Interestingly, the fall didn’t hurt, but I felt embarrassed at my failure.
“Don’t worry, Eli – you’re doing great,” said Sarah with an upside-down smile. She must have been able to see my disappointment.
I looked towards the kitchen and saw that Cathy had been watching. She looked very surprised and I saw her get on the phone and walk away.
“I'm going to try again,” I told Sarah who was still hanging from the ceiling.
I stood facing the wall and once again began to walk up. I could feel a sort of force or power flow through me as climbed. This time, I didn’t fall down. I made it to the ceiling, and found that it wasn’t too difficult to go vertical. When I did so, I didn’t get the sensation of blood rushing to my head, as I’d expected. It somehow felt natural. I walked over and stood next to Sarah who was grinning from ear to ear.
“Cathy, get over here!” she shouted. “You have to see this!”
Cathy came rushing into the living room and when she saw us she dropped her phone on the floor.
“Eli! That’s amazing!” she exclaimed. Then she too walked up the wall and joined us on the ceiling.
“Now,” Sarah said. “I want you to try and lift something from this room to your hand.”
“I don't think he can do that yet,” Cathy said.
I wanted to impress Cathy. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. She may technically have been much older than me, but I didn't care.
“Try to lift that pen on the table,” Sarah said.
“How do I do it?” I asked.
“Just try to move it with your mind,” she said. “Do you feel a power flowing through you right now?”
“Yes, I do,” I said.
“Then try to direct the power at the pen,” she said.
I looked at the pen and tried to move it with my mind.
Nothing happened.
I focused again, and the pen started to lift, but before it could reach me I fell to the floor with a crash.
I wasn’t hurt, but I again felt very humiliated.
“I'm going to try that again,” I said, and started again to walk up the wall, but once more I fell before reaching the ceiling.
“This is amazing,” Cathy called out to me.
“No, it was failure,” I said, feeling rather dejected.
“No, Eli, it’s amazing,” she repeated. “There’s no way that you should be able to do these things.”
The power feels great, I just don’t know why I keep falling.”
“It’s still growing within you – don’t get discouraged,” said Cathy. “Now let’s try something else. Let’s go outside.”
She walked down from the ceiling and we went into the back yard.
“I want you to jump to the roof of the house,” she said.
The roof was at least twelve feet from the ground, so I didn't think I could make it jumping straight up. I ran to the other side of the yard, turned around, ran back, and jumped. I flew through the air and landed on the far side of the roof, but wasn’t able to keep my balance. I stumbled and knocked a few shingles loose as I rolled down the roof and onto the ground on the other side of the house.
Sarah and Cathy were right there as I picked myself off the lawn. I stood up and smiled.
“What do you think?” I said.
“That was unreal,” Cathy said. “For starters, you were only bitten two days ago. Secondly, you weren’t even in your transformed state. I don't know what’s happening.”
“How much does being in the transformed state increase your strength?” I asked.
“I’d say it triples it,” she said.
“How much does it increase your access to mystical power?” I asked.
“I’d say it at least doubles it,” she said.
Once again, her phone rang. It was Ruby again. Cathy talked to her mother for a minute and then told us that we had to get ready to go. Her family wanted to meet me.
“How are we supposed to get anywhere?” I asked. “We don't have a car.”
“My car is parked across the street,” she said, pointing to a white Lexus. “Come on, they want to see us as soon as possible.”
“Where are we meeting them?” I asked.
“Have you ever been on a river boat ride?” she asked.
“No.”
“Well, you’re going for one today,” said Cathy.
Chapter 6
As Cathy drove us to River Street, I realized that I needed to go to my apartment. I needed to get some clean clothes and feed my cat – Chester could get feisty if he wasn't fed on time.
“Can we go by my place?” I asked. “I need to get a few things.”
“No,” she said. “My mother’s people will be waiting for you to go there.”
“Do you think they’d hurt my neighbor if I called and asked her to feed my cat?” I asked.
“No, I don't think so,” she said. “Just don't say anything to her about what has happened to you or where we’re going.”
I dialed up my neighbor's number. The phone rang several times, and finally my neighbor – who also happened to be my landlord – picked up.
“Ms. Allen,” I said. “I have a favor to ask you.”
I listened for five minutes as she talked about her health problems and other issues.
“I’m sorry to hear about your troubles, but could you please listen. I have a bit of a problem at the moment, and I can’t get back home right now. I need you to use your key and feed my cat. The food is in a cabinet over my sink,” I said.
Ms. Allen agreed to take care of the cat, and I assured her that I was fine, but that something unexpected had cropped up, and I couldn’t get home for now.
“That’s taken care of,” I told Cathy.
“So you like animals?” Cathy asked.
“I do,” I said. “Especially cats.”
“I have a cat at home,” she said. “I'll introduce you to her sometime.”
“Cool,” I said.
Looking at the businesses we were passing, I realized that I was probably going to lose my job. I decided to go on my cell phone and look up my bank accounts to see just how much money I had remaining. To my horror, I saw that all my accounts had a zero balance and had been closed. I told Cathy and Sarah, and they indicated that the queen has powerful friends in local banks. She probably pulled some strings and had my accounts closed.
“That sorry witch,” I said.
“Now you’re talking,” Sarah said.
“So what’s our plan to survive this situation?” I asked. “Do we just stay on the run or what?”
“My mom’s working on a plan,” Cathy said. “The truth is that almost half of the vampires in this city don't support the queen. If we can organize, we can take her out.”
“That sounds good to me,” I said.
A short time later, we parked at the far end of River Street. As we walked past the restaurants, bars, and dance clubs I realized that my vision was much better than usual. I could read the small print on the menus that were posted outside of the restaurants and looking at the buildings, I could see more detail than I’d ever seen before.
As we walked, I noticed Cathy was keeping a constant lookout. I realized that at any time one of the queen's servants could be watching, or ready to attack. In the distance I saw a riverboat docked.
“Let’s move,” Kathy said. In an instant, she and Sar
ah took off running at high speed and soon were far ahead of me at the boat. I decided to try and use my new power to zip ahead and join them. I looked at Cathy in the distance, and I tried to summon the power I’d felt while standing on the ceiling.
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