This is a story about vampires.
Oh, I know what you're thinking. Another Twilight fan.
No, actually, I've tried to make this story as original as possible. It shouldn't be similar to the series at all. Anyway, please do not be put off from reading/reviewing my story just because it is a vampire story.
I have not had enough time to edit this story, so please point out mistakes for me. I hope you enjoy the story!
Blue Flames and Bloodshot Eyes
Chapter 2
It was getting uncomfortable for Zachary the Vampire to sit in the car for so long. He had trusted the humans to stop soon, but he had no idea where they were headed. Though he had intended to ask, but he was feeling particularly indecisive that day.
“So tell us about yourself,” Shirley asked him as they passed a brightly colored structure. “Hey, Brett, can we get some McDonald’s for lunch?”
“Later.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Zachary answered Shirley’s question.
“Oh come on. I’m pretty sure there’s gotta be something interesting about you, being a vampire and all. So spill the beans – where are you from?”
Zachary folded his arms and closed his bloodshot eyes, leaning back into the seat. “I don’t know the answer to that question myself. I don’t remember my parents.”
“That sucks,” Shirley said sympathetically.
“You look odd,” Zachary burst out, unable to help asking. “It's your hair. It's a different color."
Shirley played with her dyed, bright red hair, curling her fingers into the threads. “It’s called hair dye, Zach. I might try a dark, black-brown like yours.”
Zachary opened his eyes and watched the countryside flicker passed them in a blur. “You humans have strange habits. So, what were you doing on your grandmother’s farm?”
“She passed away last month,” Shirley replied. “We inherited her farm and our mom told us that we should visit the place sometime. Actually, she told us to look for a key in her will that we just received last week."
“Shirley, don’t tell him that," Brett said. It was obvious, from his hunched demeanor and his reluctance to talk, that he still didn't trust the Vampire.
“What is this key for?” Zachary asked, intrigued.
Shirley shifted in her seat and retrieved something from the compartment in front of her. She unfolded the piece of paper and handed it over to the Vampire. Zachary scanned the odd looking key for a moment before handing it back.
“I’ve not seen a key that looks like this.”
“We don’t know what it’s for,” Shirley explained. “But Brett thinks it could be for opening a treasure chest or something.”
Brett gave her a slightly annoyed look. “Hey, you were the one who wanted to look for it in the first place,” he said.
“We went back to her farm to find it, but I don’t think we can go back there now,” Shirley said, referring to the threat of the Incubi.
“I’m sorry if I ... created an obstacle in your quest,” Zachary apologized solemnly. “I suppose it is more reason for me to leave.”
“No way, you’re our guest!” Shirley objected. “You don’t really want to go back there alone, do you? At least let us help you in your quest.”
Zachary balked firmly. “No, no. I don't. I’ve avoided the Incubi for three years, not to mention a few werewolves and witches. I think I can manage.”
The Vampire shrunk in his seat as another, larger vehicle overtook them. He feared that the large monster would simply open up its mouth and devour them hole. The window beside him had been opened slightly and the choking fumes almost made Zachary vomit. Almost. More reason to leave, he thought to himself. They were almost in the city now, judging by the tall buildings rising up on either side of them. They were heading too far into the city for the Vampire's comfort.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to our house, right Brett?” Shirley said. “We should get a bite to eat. Our mom probably just left for work or something, so there’s no one home right now.”
They entered an area with slightly smaller buildings this time. The Vampire watched in curiosity at the similar architectural designs. He wondered why humans paid so much attention to the external appearance of their homes.
Brett slowed the car and eventually stopped in front of one of the houses. It was similarly built to the houses adjacent to it, but the front “yard” had been decorated with a variety of trees. The engines stopped and the car returned to its inanimate state.
“Before we go in, I want to ask you a question,” Brett said, turning around to face Zachary.
“What is it?”
“Are you really – are you really on the good side?”
Shirley pouted at her older brother. “Oh, come on, Brett.”
“I, uh ... I don’t understand the relevance of your question,” Zachary replied. “Just to let you know, I am powerless right now. Do I have to go outside? I am afraid of being seen.”
After a lengthy lecture by Shirley that it no one would pay attention to him during the short walk to their front door, Zachary was finally persuaded. He walked slowly behind the two humans, casting his eyes downward, his head facing the ground. He was well aware that his bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Brett opened the door and they entered the cool space. The humans’ house was fairly large and the Vampire understood that they must have been quite wealthy to afford such a place.
“As soon as you are done interrogating me, let me leave,” Zachary announced.
Shirley closed the door behind her while Brett tossed the keys onto a table. They turned to face their unusual guest.
“We’re not going to interrogate you,” Shirley said bluntly.
“Okay, that's fine then," Zachary said. "But I really need to leave. Being in such, uh, a large human settlement is unhealthy for me."
In several quick motions, Shirley had pushed the unwilling Vampire into the living room and sat him down onto the couch. Before Zachary could speak, the girl put up her hand, silencing him.
“No, you are staying right here, vampire!” Shirley said, mock-scolding Zachary. She continued in a dramatic sing-song voice, “Now, let us be merry and have some sandwiches, shall we?”
“Sand witches? You keep sand witches here?”
Shirley rolled her eyes at him. “That joke is so old,” she said. “I’ll go get us something to eat.”
Shirley exited the room, leaving the Vampire and Brett alone in an awkward silence. Zachary allowed himself to relax and examined the humans’ house. He had never been inside one of their dwellings before – he had only seen them from the outside and even then, he had observed them from a distance. Shirley’s and Brett’s house was spacious, painted a clean white with high ceilings.
“So, uh …” Brett began, in an apparent attempt to break the silence.
“You're afraid of who I am, right?” Zachary asked suddenly. “I’ve observed you humans for some time now. I’ve seen those gargantuan posters you put up. You portray vampires as alien beings.”
Brett shrugged. “I suppose so – but it’s all just fictional. It’s for entertainment.”
“You don’t believe in the supernatural?”
Brett’s expression screwed up in thought. “Uh, I don’t know … I can’t answer that question.”
“How do you know that my intentions are less than altruistic?”
“Well, if you wanted to kill me or something, you’d have done so, right?” Brett said with a small laugh.
Zachary found the human’s assumption strange. “But that’s only because I don’t have my powers.”
“Right, here we go again," Brett said, sitting down on the chair opposite of the Vampire. "Powers this, Incubi that. What's up with all this, huh?"
Zachary scratched the side of his head in confusion. "I'm ... it's hard to explain."
"Is it?" Brett said, his tone almost sarcastic. "Maybe it's hard to explain because it's not real, yeah?"
"I don't understand you!" Zachary said in frustration. "You saw the Incubi. You saw what they can do. How can you not believe them?"
Shirley came back, promptly interrupting their conversation. She settled a large tray of food on the coffee table.
“I don’t know what you vamps eat, but you’ll never know until you try.”
Zachary eyed the sandwich in front of him with great suspicion. “What is this?”
“A sandwich,” Shirley replied matter-of-factly.
“Sand witches,” Zachary mumbled, sniffing at the sandwich with almost child-like curiosity. “You’ve put garlic in this sand witch.”
“Damn, how’d you know?”
The Vampire looked at the sandwich, suddenly feeling very hungry. He put a hand tentatively on his stomach and felt a tiny rumble. He had not eaten anything for at least three days. “I … I’ve eaten. I’ve eaten garlic before,” he said, his hunger slightly impairing his speech. “You’ve put fresh lettuce in the sand witch. I-I haven’t eaten fresh lettuce for a while.”
“Dude, you’re practically salivating,” Shirley commented. “Go ahead, stuff yourself.”
Zachary reached for the sandwich, his long fingers wrapping around the food carefully. Just as he opened his mouth, he turned back towards Shirley and said, “Oh, may I?”
“I said you could,” Shirley said, rolling her eyes. The Vampire took note that she used the expression quite often.
“It tastes good,” Zachary said after swallowing the first bite, his eyes closed in bliss.
Brett raised his eyebrows as the sandwich disappeared in a few more swift bites. “Vampires can eat garlic?”
“Yes, we can,” Zachary said, unable to help looking at the other, untouched sandwiches in front of him. “Why do you ask?”
“Nothing,” Brett said quickly.
Shirley noticed the Vampire’s obvious hunger. “Go help yourself, Zach.”
Zachary nodded his gratitude towards her and set off to wolf down the other sandwiches.
***
Restless, unable to stay still, the Vampire paced around the humans' living room. The human girl had foolishly suggested him to stay at their house for the night (the older one was slightly reluctant), but the Vampire knew that he couldn’t possibly comply. He had a plan though.
He had told them that he would indeed stay at their house and had volunteered to sleep on their couch. Brett and Shirley had agreed completely as long he woke up early before their mother came back from her graveyard shift.
Once he was sure that they were asleep, Zachary got up from the couch and inspected the front door. It was locked, as expected. He wondered over towards the window beside the door, pushing away the curtains so he could see the night sky.
The humans had mentioned to him about human-made device that told the time, but he was accustomed to judging the time of the day from the positions of celestial objects. It would be approximately an hour to midnight by now.
The Vampire remembered the keys that Brett had tossed away onto the table. He turned around and, using his innate night-vision, spotted the bright, metallic sheen of the keys. Before he could reach out to retrieve it, he was startled by the sudden appearance of Shirley in front of him.
“Hi Zach,” she said cheerfully. “Where are you going?”
“Oh, I was just,” Zachary said quickly, looking for an excuse. “I was just looking for the bathroom.”
Shirley nodded and pointed behind her. “Just go through the kitchen into the corridor, it’s the first door on the left.”
Zachary kicked himself inwardly. His plan had gone awry far too early. “Actually, I wanted to take a night stroll. It’s … it’s something we Vampires do.”
“Oh, alright,” Shirley said, looking slightly confused. “Well, I was just about to go out to have a midnight stroll as well. You can come with me!”
“Ah,” Zachary said, unable to argue. Things weren’t going well already.
After locking the door behind her, Shirley beckoned for the Vampire to follow her. Zachary sighed, having no choice but to follow the human girl.
The night was as cool as the night before, but the air was different here. Zachary noted that it smelled different. It felt different, as if the air had been polluted by something unsanitary. It was one of the things that he knew differentiated his environment and the human’s. He was used to living away from large human settlements.
“You humans pollute the air,” Zachary stated bluntly.
“We’re working on that, you know,” Shirley replied, pulling her jacket around her more tightly.
“Why do your vehicles, um, expel such horrid fumes?” Zachary asked. He recounted the poisonous black clouds erupting from behind the particularly large human vehicle he had seen earlier.
“It’s mostly a scientific process,” Shirley said. “But some people are working on it, to make it better you know.”
“Wouldn’t it better if you didn’t use them at all?”
Shirley laughed lightly, an expression that the Vampire found odd in the context. “We need them to get to other places quickly. It’s been proven useful, right?”
Zachary remembered how they had used the humans’ car to flee from the Incubi. “I suppose it has,” he admitted. “You lead very different lifestyles from us Vampires and the Incubi alike.”
“Talking about lifestyles, tell me about yours.”
“You humans don't really easily believe in the supernatural,” Zachary countered. “What good will it do to tell you about me?”
Shirley shrugged airily and Zachary felt annoyed that she wasn’t taking it seriously. “There’s no harm in telling me, really. Besides, you don’t really know what will happen if humans knew that vampires really do exist.”
The Vampire kept silent, so Shirley continued, “Come on. Everything begins with trust, right?”
“I’ve done a lot of things that you would consider horrible.”
“Like what? Try me.”
“I’ve kidnapped humans before. From other, smaller towns.”
Shirley frowned. “Why?”
“I needed their blood. I had to find a way to replenish my powers so that I could fight off the Incubi,” Zachary explained, silently surprised that he was telling a human this much.
“What did you to them afterwards?” Shirley’s voice had shrunk into a frightened whisper.
“I let them go. A few drops of blood can last me about a day or two, I suppose.”
Shirley’s entire body visibly relaxed. “Oh, good. I thought you ate them or something.”
Zachary grimaced in disgust. “I prefer fresh vegetables over human flesh, thank you very much.”
“Right,” Shirley said, her voice sarcastic. “So human blood doesn’t count, does it?”
“I know that you humans are cruel beings,” Zachary accused. “I’ve seen you kill each other at times. I’ve heard stories of how hundreds of innocent humans were killed over territorial disputes decades ago.”
“Hey, that’s all in the past, right?” Shirley said. “And what’s important is that we don’t kill each other now. Just like you – you don’t have to kidnap anymore humans.”
“But then how will I replenish my powers?”
“You won’t need to!” Shirley said, flailing her arms around her dramatically. “You can live with us. You won’t need your vampire powers if you live with us.”
Zachary shook his head, incredulous. “Stop suggesting such nonsensical things.”
Shirley fell silent and their conversation came to an abrupt halt. The Vampire was still upset over the foiling of his plans to escape. Maybe stealing from the Incubi had been a bad idea all along.
“You’ve never been around humans before?”
“Yes, I have,” Zachary said, sighing. “But I’ve always made myself unseen.”
Shirley laughed. “So, where’d you get your clothes from? What about food?”
“I … I procured them,” Zachary said.
“You mean you stole them.”
“You don’t have to put it that way,” Zachary said, a little sheepishly.
"Hey, you just told me you knew about our – humans' wars," Shirley said. "Where'd you hear that from?"
"I ... also procured some texts from your libraries. They were about to be thrown away, but I took them whenever I could."
Shirley gave him an appraising look. "Hmm. So that's why you use weird words. Should've known, yes."
“You ask me many questions – let me ask you one. I know that you have a mother and you have mentioned her. What about your father?”
Shirley cast her gaze downwards toward her feet. “Well, about that … see, I don’t have a father,” she said quietly.
“You don’t have a father?” Zachary repeated. “I thought humans required a male and a female to successfully copulate and procreate. Even Incubi and Succubi reproduce that way –”
“Copulate?” Shirley said, breaking into laughter. “Procreate? Who uses those words anymore?”
"You have different words for the words copulate and procreate?"
“Never mind,” Shirley replied quickly. "Those words are considered kind of taboo."
As they passed by the next block, Shirley brought up the subject of the stolen rod. “Hey, can I see that thing you stole from them?”
Zachary padded his jacket where the thin rod had been concealed. Realizing that he hadn’t had time to inspect the object thoroughly, he retrieved it from its hidden pocket. Even in the dim beacons of the streetlights, the gold metal shone lustrously in the dark, as if it was powered by some hidden, inner source of energy.
Shirley watched the object in the Vampire’s hands with great curiosity – he was taller than she was, so she had to tip-toe.
“Is there some writing on it?” she asked, trying to inspect the rod more closely.
“I hadn’t noticed that before,” the Vampire said, turning the rod over and over again. “I’ve never seen characters like these before.”
“Well, I can’t read it either,” Shirley said, tapping her chin thoughtfully with a finger. “Hey – I know a friend who knows just about every language in the world. It’s only about eleven and it’s a Saturday night, so she’d still probably be up.”
Zachary frowned at her. “This rod is of no interest to me,” he said. “Why should we have this code deciphered?”
It was a lie, of course. Ever since the Incubi had tracked him down, specifically for the rod, a little part of his curiosity kept gnawing at him. Maybe if he knew what the rod meant to the Incubi, he could use it against them to keep them away.
“Allison lives pretty close by – follow me!” Shirley said, walking ahead of the Vampire. Turning around, she called back, “Come on, there’s no harm in it. It’ll be fun – whaddya say?”
Feigning reluctance, Zachary followed Shirley down the dark streets of the human settlement.
To be continued ...
Author's Note
If you see something that's out of place, or awkward spelling or punctuation, do point it out as well, thank you!
Changelog
1. Edited the Author's Notes.
2. Edited certain bits of the dialogue and switched speaking roles for Brett and Shirley.
) are used to, but does it suit Zachary's narrative voice? I mean, he has no context for any of this. He's barely interacted with humans, never has been inside a human city. Would he know to call those square patches of grass in front of houses "yards," or would he just view them as they appear to him--square patches of grass?
I think I forgot to edit that part, so I will do so soon.