Young Writers Society

Chapter 2

The doorbell rang and Evie sprang up from the sofa, unable to contain her flurry of excitement at the thought of company. She reached the door and opened it with a smile. Michael was stood on the front step in a worn leather biker jacket and scuffed jeans.

“Hi again.” She grinned and stepped aside. He gave her a cordial nod and stepped into the house.

He looked around the hallway as if it were the first time he had entered and said, “Twenty pounds for the wrist, fifty for the neck and a hundred in any other area.”

She laughed lightly and shut the door. “I know. You don’t need to say that every time you come in.”

His dark eyes raked up her. “Yes I do, standard procedure.”

She rolled her eyes and gestured to the living room. “Go right on in. Make yourself comfortable.”

He nodded, his lips forming a thin line and he stalked out of the hallway.

She always chose Michael because he looked the most like Caius, or so they told her at Dial-a-bite when she went to their building and showed them a picture of him last year when he was away on one of his breaks. He has come three times in the week Caius has been missing.

Evie stood in the door-less frame, watching as Michael pulled up the leg of his jeans to check that his cuff was still flashing. It made her frown every time he did that. She thought they had grown a connection over his visits but it was obvious that he only saw her as a client and a potentially deadly client at that, so he had to check his tracker was still working and his team knew exactly where he was and if he was in any danger.

He looked sort of like Caius, she had thought when she was first shown a picture of him from the woman behind the desk, and even more so in person. She had been scared to start using the Dial-a-bite service as she was still trying to fool everyone that she was still human. But all the clients records were kept confidential and she figured, if she used the same person every time, onlookers would just think he was a friend stopping by for a chat.

Michael hadn’t aged as well as Caius, that was what she had spotted first. Of course, with Caius being a vampire, that was bound to happen. But Caius was Turned when he was thirty two and Michael was three years younger yet had pools of wrinkles around his eyes where Caius’ skin was still baby soft. Both Michael and Caius had signature long hair but Michael’s was a shade darker and always pulled back into a ponytail which Evie didn’t like.

She shook her head and returned to Earth. She pulled on a smile and said, “Would you like some tea?” in the most cheeriest voice she could manage.

“No, I’m good,” he replied in his low, gruff voice, avoiding eye contact.

Caius’ voice was soft like silk and had a smooth, disarming charm about it. That was another difference.

She laughed lightly, trying to stay upbeat. “I bought some especially for you.”

“I told you, I’m good.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat, squashing down her hurt from his abruptness and mumbled, “Okay.”

She sat down beside him and tucked up her knees so she was side-on from him. She was still wearing her pyjamas but had thrown on a dressing gown over the top because they were rather revealing. She ran her fingers through his hair to the band holding it in place. He didn’t move as she pulled it out and let his dark hair spill down his back and over his shoulders.

Her fangs popped out and he flinched at the sound. She covered her mouth and leaned back from him. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“You…just look a lot like my Maker with your hair down.”

“I know. You told me,” he said, sounding disinterested.

She popped her fangs back in and squeezed her eyes shut at the burning sensation behind them. “I really miss him.”

“He’s still not back?” he asked but his eyes were on the wooden clock on the mantelpiece.

She shook her head and sniffed as a hot tear ran down her cheek and stained her vision red. He finally turned to look and her and recoiled a little at the sight. She shook her head and wiped her palm over her cheek. “I’m so sorry. Pretty gross, I know.” She looked down at the crimson smeared across her shaking hand.

Michael sighed and dug his hand into his jacket pocket. “Here.” He held out a tissue to her.

She smiled gratefully and wiped her hand and cheeks, instantly turning the white tissue blood red.

They stayed silent for a while, the ticking of the clock the only noise in the room. Michael stayed looking ahead with his hands laced together on his lap. He was still for a moment but then started to tap his foot against the laminate and twiddle his thumbs. Evie watched his body language change curiously then looked into his eyes. The muscles in his cheek rippled when her eyes hit him and he cleared this throat.

“Do you want to feed or not?” he finally asked and his eyes shifted to her.

Her gut twisted. Brown eyes. Caius’ were light blue. Another difference.

She shifted so she was on her knees beside him and nodded, pulling his hair back and exposing his throat.

“Fifty, right?” she asked and popped her fangs out. He flinched again as the oddly metallic click rang down his ear.

He nodded.

She smiled and pressed her lips to his throat, feeling the pulse just under the surface, before pulling them back and sinking her fangs into him. He gasped as his skin tore then groaned and dropped his head back against the sofa, fluttering his eyes closed. The hot, thick liquid poured down her throat and she moaned slightly as it seemed to tingle every cell in her body, making them dance and ignite. She shifted her body so she was straddling his lap and yanked his hair so his head snapped to the side, exposing more or his pale neck to her. She continued to suck more and more of his liquid life, pinning him back against the sofa. She wasn’t even that hungry. She had only called for the company. But he did taste fantastic.

Suddenly, his arm jerked out and he gripped the top of her arm, squeezing it with as much strength as he could muster. Noticing the signal, she drew back with a satisfied growl. Michael panted underneath her, his eyes wide and bleary. She wiped her mouth as the crimson dripped from her chin and studied their current position. She let out an embarrassed laugh and jumped off him to her feet.

“I’ll get your money,” she said, avoiding eye contact as she went to find her purse in the kitchen drawer.

When she returned, Michael was already on his feet, his hair back in a ponytail. She handed him the money and he nodded his thanks before heading to the door.

“Wait!”

He paused in the hallway and turned to her. She smiled and nodded to the two puncture wounds clearly visible on his throat. “Let me heal you.”

His jaw clenched but he nodded stiffly. Her fangs popped out and she pricked her finger with one before pressing it onto the holes in his neck. He went rigid at her touch. The wounds sealed shut and she smiled at her handy work. “There.”

He opened the door but then paused with his back to her. He turned his head a little but didn’t look round as he said, “I hope your Maker is okay.”

She clutched her chest and swallowed a lump in her throat. “Me too.”

He nodded then left and she closed the door after watching disappear down the driveway.

It was almost nine so she went upstairs to get ready for her shift at the club. She stripped out of her pyjamas and replaced them with her boring black jeans, black vest and leather jacket. As she hung up her dressing gown, the bloody tissue slipped out of the pocket and dropped to the ground. She picked it up and threw it in the bin with all the rest. If someone went through her rubbish bins over this last week, it’d look like someone had been mauled to death judging by how many bloody crisped tissues there were.

Her ugly, clunky boots were waiting for her by the door when she jumped down the stairs. She shoved them on, locked up and vampire sprinted her way into the town centre, just around the corner from Sourz. Conscious of her pale skin in the winter’s chill, she slapped her cheeks to bring some colour to them and started down the street, remembering to breathe and create little white puffs of air.

Eric was in the manager’s office when she arrived, having only just arrived himself. They both made their presence known before stepping back outside and waiting for the punters.

“Any news?” asked Evie, hugging herself and bouncing on her heels, mirroring Eric as he danced in the cold.

He shook his head. “Not really. Just can’t wait to get this weekend over so I can get my nights back.”

Evie laughed but dread clutched her stomach at the thought of a week of lonely nights. Maybe she could ask her boss if she could do some overtime. Or maybe Caius would find his way back to her.

The night in the club was easy going until a fight broke out at one in the morning. From the shouting and balling Evie could make out as she pushed passed onlookers to get to the rowdy ground of twenty-somethings, one of the guys was looking at the other ones bird and getting a little too handsy. Evie wasn’t surprised that he had been staring when she saw the state of the guy’s girlfriend with fake tan, white-blonde extensions and a dress so short she found herself staring as well. But for a different reason. Did she own a mirror?

“Right!” barked Eric over the din but with the pounding music and the argument in full swing, he wasn’t heard. Evie started to move back the crowd that had gathered around egging them on, and Eric grabbed the guy that was swinging punches by the scruff of his collar and led him in the direction of the door. The girlfriend chased after them and started hammering her fists on Eric’s broad back, screaming like a banshee as the guy that had apparently been checking her out had moved to the bar and was already ordering another drink.

Eric hadn’t noticed the beating he was getting from behind as he pushed the guy out of the door but Evie wanted to muck in anyway and show her who was boss. She pushed her way through the swaying bodies and grabbed the girl by the arm just before all three of them escaped the club. The girl swung around and tried to swat her in the face but Evie dodged her easily and grabbed a fistful of her hair. Before the girl even managed to scream, she brought their faces closer together and said, “look into my eyes.”

The girl did and she was under her spell in a matter of milliseconds. Her pupils dilated so much there was only a faint line of silver rimming them.

“I want you and your boyfriend out of here, now. The longer you are here, the more scared you will become. You won’t know why you are so anxious to leave but you will understand that it is what you must do. Okay?”

The girls jaw slackened and she nodded dumbly.

Evie smiled. “Okay. Good.” She let go of her hair and slapped her cheek, making the girl blink hard, startled out of the trance.

Terror etched across her face as she searched around the club madly before turning and flying out of the door. Evie laughed to herself and followed leisurely, not wanting to miss the show.

“It was him! He started it! Why are you throwing me out?! Get him out here so I can kick the shit out of him!”

The guy was striding in circles in front of Eric, his face scrunched with rage and his finger waggling at her partner. His muscles were coiled and stiff. Evie could hear his heart thumping in his chest. His girlfriend beside him yanked his arm, tears welling in her eyes.

“Pete, we’ve gotta go,” she stammered.

“Not until I’m finished with him!” he screamed in Eric’s face, his saliva flying everywhere.

“Pete, I’m serious. I want to go home.” She looked warily to the club. “Let’s go. Please. Pete. I really want to get out of here. We need to go.”

“Let go of me!” he snapped, pulling his arm out of her grasp. “Get Robbie out here now!”

Eric sighed, keeping as cool as a cucumber. “Mate, listen to your girlfriend. I think it’s time the both of you call it a night.”

“I am not your mate!” the guy –Pete- shoved his finger in Eric’s face.

Eric watched him with bemused, hooded eyes.

“C’mon, Pete. Please. Let’s just leave it, yeah?” The girl grabbed his arm again, desperately.

“For fuck sake!” Pete spun to her. “What the fuck has gotten into you? Did Robbie do something? I swear I am going to kick that fuckers teeth in!”

Mascara tears were streaming down her cheeks now. “No. No. It’s nothing to do with Robbie…” her voice trailed off as she looked back at the club. “I…don’t think.” Evie bit down on her lip to suppress a grin at the confusion in her eyes. “Pete, I just really want to go home…”

Finally, the boyfriend gave in. He huffed loudly, deflating. “Fine. If it will stop you fucking whining. Come on.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and inclined his head down the street before heading off. She followed doggedly behind.

Evie and Eric both watched as they disappeared in the crowd.

“Remind me never to drink,” sighed Eric.

Evie laughed. Eric had never drank in the time she had known him, and apparently was sober for the two years before that. Something about seeing the state of what alcohol can put people in on a weekly basis made him stay far away from the stuff. Evie didn’t blame him, working as a bouncer, she had also seen some nasty things, and that was coming from a vampire.

It was around four in the morning when Evie made her way home. There were still a few people out and about on the streets and she decided to walk amongst them and feel like a real human as there were still a few hours of night left before she needed to be locked indoors.

When she walked past and an alley, her head cocked at a noise. A muffled hiss of pain. It was quiet but not for her due to her vampire hearing. She squinted into the darkness and caught sight of a figure staggering with its back to her in the grey darkness. She paused at the mouth of the alley. Her eyes brightened as she sniffed the air. Blood. He was bleeding.

Her fangs popped out instinctively and she fell back into the shadows, keeping to the wall as she followed the injured man. When she got closer, she could see that he was clasping his hand and blood was spilling out of an open slash on his palm. He was crying, juddering and sniffing as he continued on his way to the opening at the other end of the alley. His blood smelt so sweet and fresh, nothing like that hobo’s. But that had been a momentary lapse. She got those. It happened from time to time when a blood bag just didn’t seem enough and someone offering their neck to her just seemed pathetic and boring. Her natural instincts to hunt was sometimes hard to ignore. And it was rearing its ugly head again.

Not that feeding off that homeless man was much of a hunt. She knew it was just preying on the weak but that’s what she had been reduced to and she was working on being content with it. Because if she ever did let her natural instincts run completely free, she wouldn’t live long enough to look back and see the carnage. Laws don’t bend for vampires. And of course, Caius definitely wouldn’t approve. He would be furious if he found out about her little sneaky bites here and there. Well, maybe not furious. That wasn’t his style. But he’d be disappointed. And somehow the silent treatment was worse that if he screamed in her face.

So Evie froze and thought about her next move. If she was feeling the swelling urge to attack, chances were that other vampires in the vicinity would feel it to. You can’t go walking around with a cut like that out in the dead of night these days.

Evie made herself known and retracted her fangs. “Excuse me,” she said, her voice echoing in the emptiness.

The man took a sharp intake of breath and spun round, his dark eyes wide and set on her. She nodded down to his cradled hand. “You need to get to a hospital. Like, now.”

The man whimpered and staggered closer. Eve panicked and took a careful step back but the man was still closing the distance between them. He lifted his hand up to her. The bold was thick, running in rivulets across his palm and down his wrist. The hunger stirred deep in her stomach like a beast awakening.

“Does it really look that bad?” he asked, practically waving his wound in her face.

Then Evie felt it. The push against her gums. She tried to overpower the instinct but it was too late. Her fangs sprang free, the click ringing in her ears. The man’s eyebrows rose in shock but he didn’t seem frightened, which surprised her. In fact, it was almost as if he were expecting it.

“Now!”

A blinding light caught Evie off guard and she cowered, shielding her eyes with her hands.

Someone was behind her. But before she could spin around, something was dropped on her head, covering her face like a blanket. No…not a blanket; a net. A net of silver. She screamed as it singed her skin, melting into her cheeks and forehead. Arms wrapped around her stomach. She kicked and screamed but the agony she was experiencing had weakened her and she couldn’t fight back. There was someone in front of her too. She couldn’t see as her face burned, her skin peeling from her like cheese off a pizza.

She wondered if it was the man she was about to bite. She could smell blood. But was it her own blood?

The arms around her stomach were pulling her backwards. Her legs felt like jelly and she collapsed against the body. They dragged her out of the alley, her boots scraping the ground. She whimpered, trying to scream but it felt like her lips had been torn away.

A heavy bang of a van door opening made her flinch, just before the pain took her under and she was out cold.