Excerpt from the V.A. (The Vampire Anonymous Group For Newbies)06:28 Nov 11 2017
Times Read: 300
Claude,
The smell of the city streets filled with smog was starting to frustrate me. I needed to get away from this stench, but once again, I find I cannot. This is where she was, and in order to visit her in the shadows, I had to put up with her human way of living. I tuned in, and focused on just her from across the street where I had been watching her for the last hour. The smell of her caffe’ macchiato tickled my nostrils and I welcomed it over the others.
She was with a new friend this time, one I did not recognize, and it took a lot of will power to keep from snapping his neck. Then again, why should it bother me? She didn’t even know I existed.
I inhaled deeply, though breathing wasn’t even needed in my case, it calmed me somewhat. She was laughing at something he said, and my jealousy spiked. Her hair bounced as she laughed, and I had the urge to reach out and run my fingers through her silky locks.
I closed my eyes, and imagined her laughing at something I had said, while sharing a cup of that distasteful human fuel together. Sighing, I opened my eyes, to find her gone.
Damn.
I looked around the café but she was wasn’t there. I stopped panicking, and focused on her sent. She smelled of wild lilies, and a splash of lilac. When I finally found her scent, I followed it to a dark alley. There was too much garbage to make out what shape was her but I knew she was here. My dead heart plumaged even farther into the darkness, as I imagined losing her.
I quickly maneuvered through the piles of trash and found her cold, almost lifeless body beneath them. I tried not to react, but I was seeing red as it was. Her heartbeat was so faint, and I knew there wasn’t much time.
I quickly bit my wrist and put it to her mouth, but she wasn’t moving. “Drink cara mia, please drink.”
I moved her so her head laid in my lap, and used my free hand to pry her soft lips apart as quickly, yet gently as I could. For a moment I couldn’t breath as I waited for a sign of any kind that she was going to make it. Then finally her she swallowed and coughed, but I kept my wrist firmly on her mouth until I was satisfied she had gotten enough.
This was going to be one hell of a night. I finally removed my wrist and watched as her eyes fluttered. “Eugene?” She whispered.
I bit down so hard, im surprised I didn’t snap a tooth. To hear another man’s name on her lips as the first word she ever spoke to me was not how I envisioned us meeting.
“No cara mia. Eugene left you.” In the alley for dead, though I couldn’t quite say those words out loud. “Come, let’s get you home.”
“what?” She tried to pull away, but I grabbed her gently, cradling her in my arms as I made my way to her house. She tried to protest was but still too week. I knew what I would have to do by the end of the night, as she had lost way too much blood already.
I would just have to make sure she doesn’t remember this ever happened. I would have to keep an eye on my little bird, and there was only one way to do that.
Chapter 1
Flora
“Uh, shut up,” I mumbled to no one in particular as my alarm sounded throughout the room. When was the last time I ever slept in? I was usually up before my alarm. I filed that question away for later as I pondered what I could possible take to knock out this pounding headache.
I climbed out of my way to warm covers and nearly fell flat on my face. Why the hell was I so weak if I slept past my alarm? What did I drink last night. Come to think of it, I can’t remember last night. I rolled over on my, thankfully clean carpet and stared at the ceiling.
“so…. I got up… must have eaten breakfast.. and now my minds a blank. Add that to talking to myself and I sound like a nut.” I laughed at the silliness and yet seriousness of the situation. Maybe I needed to check in with my doctor.
With my mind finally made up, I managed to get my achy body up off the floor and limped to the bathroom.
An hour later, or at least if sure felt like it, I managed to pull myself out of the shower as the water started to get cool. I dressed quickly, and started raiding the cupboards in search of something to ease my ravenous appetite. Nothing seemed to appeal to me, and I was already late for work, so I decided to go without and get something on the way to the subway.
I snatched my handbag from the walkway, but as soon as I opened the front door, I had to slam it immediately. My eyes were still recovering as if I was seeing stars. You know the kind you get when your blood sugar drops? Since I’ve always been prone to low blood sugar, I figured this must be the reason. Great, where will I find some protein? Protein, I knew from all my online diets I’ve done in the last five years, is the key to maintaining regular blood sugar levels. Of course, that’s minus those sugary treats and coffee I’ve been indulging in that just appeases in the moment but drops your sugar quicker.
Grrr.
What to do?
I glanced at the side table in my apartment hallway, and saw some dark shades sitting there. My best friends glass’s. my best friend who should be here in... oh. now?
Just like that, the doorbell rang. So, question to myself to ponder later: how the hell did I know she was coming if I couldn’t remember yesterday?
Grrr.
I opened the door again after slipping on the shades, but I wasn’t truly prepared for putting up with Emma today. I always called Em, for short.
“Oh my gosh, what the hell happened to you?” She squealed. Yes, I do mean scream rather than squeal, but either way, what did it matter? My eardrums shook all the same.
Why are my ears and eyes so sensitive?
“you look like crap, and..” she bent down to retrieve a card I didn’t notice before. “what’s this?”
I took it from her and read it.
The V.A.
The Vampire Anonymous Group For Newbies
www.vampireanonymous.com
Well, someone was obviously playing a joke here. I pocketed the card, and pushed her out the door. I had every plan to throw the card away later, but first, I needed to get out and get food. Like now!
Especially when thinking of biting my best friend, was out of the question. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did she smell so good all of a sudden and why did I hear all those steady drums calling to me from beneath her skin?
Chapter 2
“so, you gonna tell me why you stood me up for that… what was his... oh yeah, Eugene guy last night, chica?”
We were halfway across the street to the hot spot grocery store, that was about two blocks from my apartment. I didn’t live in the best neighborhood, but was definitely safe and everyone was like family wherever you went.
Em was my best friend, since as long as I could remember. We grew up together in Chicago, and made our way into a nicer city outside the big city. Yet, it was still a city, non-the less.
I looked back at my best friend, and felt a pinch of remorse. Why? Hell, If I could remember. Did I really stood her up, or was this part of her Spanish humor?
“Still waiting on that answer, chica.”
Right...
“Well. I don’t know. I can’t remember,” I mumbled.
She yanked me back, and pulled me around to face her. Oh, come on, woman, seriously? We were so close to the food. Grrr.
“Explain that to me?” She did her best to glare at me but beneath the shades, I could see her sympathy. “Oh hell no. He roofied you, didn’t he? That slime ball, good for nothing, son of a b…”
“Whoa, hey. Let’s not jump to conclusions. Though I must admit, I am feeling one hell of a hangover and I can’t remember past yesterday morning.”
“Mn, Mn, girlfriend. No way you’re going in to work today.” She snapped her fingers in a circle and then held out her hand. “Fork it over. Now.”
Um. What?
“What?’ I managed to mumble, as I started to get very dizzy.
“Ah, hell. Ill string his balls if I ever see that…” I didn’t hear what else she said, as darkness took over, and I welcomed the peace.
“I don’t know how it was physically possible, that she was walking around with so much blood loss, Mrs. Romero, but im very glad you brought her in. All her vitals are stable, and there’s nothing in her system as far as we can see after the test results. She should be fine now, after the transfusion, but I would advise her to take it easy over the next few days. Has she ever had a history of anemia? That’s about all we can find in her lab test.”
What the hell were they talking about? I tried to talk but my tounge felt like sand paper. The voice was so loud but as I blinked into focus, there was no one in my room. No, not my room. It looked like… oh, crap, did Em bring me to a hospital?
Somehow all my moving brought the doctors in and Em came running through the door behind them. After a minute of them pulling and fixing wires, I realized I was feeling back to myself. Actually, I was feeling great.
“What are you doing? You should not be climbing out of bed!” She practically yelled at me.
Um, yeah get in line behind these doctors, lady. They sure were talking gibberish as far as I was concerned but im sure the gist of it was, to get back in bed too. Oh well. Im not here to appease them.
“Ok. Im out of here. Give me your sign out waver to protect your…self. And then im going home,” I smiled cheerfully.
They stared at me baffled, for a minute. Then they all started talking at once. Needless, to say, Em got herself in gear, and we made it out of there in record time.
Three hours later, after convincing Em that I was fine by myself, she finally relented. Now I have the apartment to myself and I was feeling wired. What in the world happened to me? Why did I feel this way? So alive, so amazing energetic? My senses were amazing, not that I really wanted to know what my neighbors two doors down were doing all night. Ugh. What a visual. Thankfully being on the ground floor meant I could probably sneak by them and not have to see them to refresh my memory of their midnight rendezvous.
I was curious as to why I wasn’t hungry, but decided a nice glass of wine would be relaxing. I started to undress, and skimmed across the card Em picked up this morning in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at it again. I wanted to laugh at the name. Vampire Anonymous? Really? Could they be any more anonymous when they drop their cards off under people’s doorways?
Curiosity got the best of me, so I quickly pulled a pair of my comfy pj’s, grabbed the bottle of wine, opener, laptop, and headed to bed. I quickly climbed under the covers, uncorked my bottle, and took a sip. Yep, no glass, but hey, it’s just me right?
I looked at the laptop, and braced myself for what I was about to get myself in. a Satanist club? Some deep black magic cult or who knows what.
I typed in the address and waited for it to load.
Welcome to the V.A.
If you are reading this, you are feeling the
Desire
To taste the blood flowing through their veins
The change
Your physical difference and heightened senses
The shock
Of waking up of waking up in a new light. The realization you are now a... what?
A what? Really? Did it have to end there? So I clicked on the member sign up to learn more, but they referred me to a permission page. I quickly filled in my information, and hit sent.
Oh well, not likely they will reply tonight, and by the time my wine disappears from my system, ill realize what a stupid mistake this was.
I was about to hit X on my browser, when my Gmail indicated I had a new message.
Dear lilredfox23,
We would like to ask you some further questions, but would like to meet in person, to make sure you qualify to join this group. Please join us tomorrow at our weekly meeting, the address provided below. Hope to see you there,
Administration
I was not planning on showing up for any cult meeting, when the next message came in from the website. I clicked on it and got transferred to the website, where it said inbox. Huh, does that mean im in? There was a message waiting for me from claudeof1687.
I hit the open button.
Dear newbie.
Welcome on your journey of being a newly tuned child of darkness. I welcome you on this journey, and am here 24/7 should you ever need me. You have to only whisper my name, and I shall answer. Yours truly,
Claude
What.
The.
Hell?
Seriously? Are these people delusional? I laughed it off and took another chug of wine. Then of course, silly me, curiosity got the best of me and I whispered “Claude.” Of course I burst out in giggles afterward and finally sat up to check my inbox, and sure enough, there was an email.
Dam.
Was he serious? Did that Eugene guy put cameras in my house and set me up?
I clicked on it, fearful of what I would find waiting there.
Claudeof1687: Ah, cara mia. You should know not to test a dark one. I was serious when I said I would answer if you call me. I must decline your call tonight, though, as im afraid, you are not in the right state due to too much wine consumption. I would rather meet you when you are in a reasonable state of mind. Until we meet again,
Yours truly
Claude
Holy Toledo. Did that just happen? There’s no way someone just replied to my whisper with a friggin email! Ok, maybe he did, but still, seriously?
I jumped out of bed and double checked every lock and door in my apartment before tearing apart every nook and cranny looking for that hidden camera.
5 am… many hours later.
Nope. Not a single camera in sight and my apartment is trashed. Yep, I did that too. Can you blame me? I have a friggin stalker after me. I tugged at my hair and paced the living room full of my six hundred and something book collection I tossed on the floor in a hurry to find a camera that didn’t exist. Was I going crazy?
Did that really happen last night or was it the wine talking? After a quick look at my email, I realized there was only one way to find out.
I got to work setting my apartment back to a functionable state. Not exactly cozy and warm, but will do for now.
The address they gave me on the card was only a block and a half from the house so, I jogged to the meeting. Actually, I should confess, I half jogged half walked. Why was I so fatigue and why did nothing in my fridge sound good? I gazed up at the three story antique building. Well, at least the myths about vampires living in castles was fake.
Ha.
Why am I even thinking of these crazy people as vampires? There no such thing.
I climbed the stairs, and entered the lobby, to find an older guy sitting behind a desk.
“May I help you?” His voice was gravely like he spent one too many years smoking.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out the V.A. card.
“Ah, I see. You are our new fledgling. Right this way.” He got up and came around the desk, motioning for me to follow him. I walked beside him as we went through many winding hallways. Jeesh. How will I escape if these crazy people turn on me?
After a very long and silent walk, actually it was more of a crawl. Could this guy go any slower? I wanted to ask him a million questions, but something told me not too. Wasn’t sure why, but I got the impression he wouldn’t answer anyway. Was probably that sour look on his face, but then again, it could be the skunk smell pouring off of him in bucket loads. Ugh, could he get any smellier?
“You are here. Should you need anything, just call for Claude.”
Then he dematerialized right in front of my eyes. I mean, poof, gone. Blinking slowly, I just stared at the spot he had been for a few minutes longer. Maybe I was in shock, because my mind was still trying to wrap itself around the fact that he had vanished into thin air. Was there some sort of trap door?
The door opened behind me, scaring the crap out of me. I turned around to glare at whomever was the cause of my fright but there was no one there. I peered into the room, and saw a circle of chairs and a few people occupying them. Albeit, they were very lovely chairs, like a chair you would see in a castle with deep red fabric. But the circle is what threw me the most.
Sheesh. They weren’t kidding about the anonymous thing. Like some AA meeting or therapy session going on in there.
Nope, this was totally not me. I backed up but was stopped short by something hard and unmovable. Did I dare look back? I could have sworn there was no wall behind me a few seconds before.
“You must be my new child. Welcome, Flora.”
His voice was right next to my ear, and his hands hand ended up on my shoulder, yet I didn’t even notice. It was his voice that sent chills through me, and not in a bad way. A voice like that should be illegal. So smooth and alluring.
I swallowed past the dryness forming in my throat. He chuckled. “Please, after you.”
He removed his hand and I immediately missed it. Shaking off my sudden shyness, I headed inside and stopped in front of the circle of chairs. Mr smooth voice walked around me, and I was taken back.
His black hair was long and wavy, but not in a messy way. His suit was crisp and clean, like he just stepped out of a Bond movie. But it was his eyes that drew me in, like a the pull the moon has on the tides.
I barely managed to swallow past tbe cotton balls in my mouth... this was going to be a long night.
COMMENTS
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Minde
09:57 Nov 11 2017
I love the story.
DarkestTemptation
19:35 Dec 07 2017
I love this story wish there was more to read oh well. Nicely written too bravo!