~In the Moment~

Woops! Caught!

I clambered around my room, trying to find the things I needed.  I had already located my notebook and a pen, but I had yet to gather a change of clothes, just in case, and a stake.  I could never be sure when I would run into another rogue vampire.  I looked over my wardrobe again.
The clothes that Angelica had picked out for me were different.  I had no idea how I actually looked in them.  To be honest, they were not even comfortable.  The jeans felt rough against my legs, and the shirt felt far too loud for my liking.  The bright purple base and the chaotic design made my eyes hurt.  Angelica had instructed me to leave the top two spots unbuttoned, which frustrated me.  It was like an open invitation for a staking.
My hair had been sleeked back with oil in a way that had actually grown on me in the last few days.  It made me feel like I could pass for a high school student, in spite of my century of experience.  Maybe I could impress Angie.
Panic raced through my body at the way I had thought of Angelica.  Impress her?  I do not need to impress her.  She was a meal ticket, nothing more.  What had happened the day before was a lapse in judgment.  There was no way I was going to ruin this, not for some useless, idiot of a human.  Sure, she had her moments: hitting Mason in the face, putting herself between Eddie and me, inviting me into her house.  The last one was a big mistake, but it was beneficial to me, so I did not object.  She was also cute, maybe even pretty.  I would not say beautiful, but if she were turned, that would be fixed.  I would have to do it, though, because one of the others might have hurt her, and I do not want her to- what am I saying?  She's too dumb to be one of us.  I cannot turn her; she would never make it past the first ten years!
I gathered the rest of my things and threw them in a small backpack.  I stood carefully out of the way and pulled back a curtain in my room.  No light came through, so I glanced outside.  Dusk had begun to purge the world with shadow.  It was my favorite time of day, a time when people were still out and about, but vampires were free to prowl uninhibited.
I snuck down the hall to the front door.  I saw no one as I tip-toed past doors.  Upon reaching the door to the outside world, I let out a small breath in relief.
"What are you doing?"
I jumped into the air, twisting my body unnaturally to see the source of the voice.  In a shadow next to a couch, sitting on the floor, Alucard looked up at me, his eyebrows raised and his mouth in a frown.
"Hey, Al," I stated, "I'm just, you know, going out.  For a walk.  In the dark.  With no one else.  Alone."
"No, I meant, why are you trying to sneak like that?"
Drats, I thought I had made it past him.
"Um, well," I began, "this person who will remain without name invited me in, so I thought I'd take a look and maybe, I don't know, 'hang out'?"
"The girl?"
"Maybe," I admitted.
Alucard hummed, his lips curling up in a smile.
"Dad doesn't like it.  Have fun, kid."
He turned away from me and back to his old book.  I noticed it was Lewis Carroll.  Brilliant, a moral vampire reading a children's story, I thought to myself.  What next?  I shook my head and left the building, certain that Alucard would spread all kinds of nasty rumors about where I was going.  I realized then that returning would be the death of me.  Oh, well, one foot out the door, and the other in my mouth.
I resisted the temptation to eat on my way over for about five or six blocks.  Then I passed that Mexican restaurant I enjoy so much.  The smell of the spices, the sound of beating hearts, the imaginary taste in my mouth: it was too much to handle.  I slunk behind a dumpster and waited for a dish boy to come throw garbage out.  Eventually one did.  He threw the black bag in the metal bin and turned to go back inside when I grabbed him.  I had my hand over his mouth before he could scream.  Plunging my teeth into his neck, I began to suck the life out of him.  He kicked and flung his arms about until the anemia kicked in.  I continued to feed as he wore down.  The taste was somewhat spicy from the foods he had lived on and a bit thick with fat for the same reason.
I dropped him on the ground, very much dead, and broke his neck.  As usual, I buried him in the dumpster, certain that he would never be found.  I was satisfied, but for some reason felt wrong.  I thought a moment.  My victim had been a child, probably sixteen or seventeen.  I had robbed him of that life.  I felt a twinge of regret before I pushed it from my mind, telling myself that it was better to kill him now than let him go on in this world.  I was a hundred plus years old.  I knew the world and all the pain and sorrow it bore.
It was then eight o'clock in the evening.  I paced myself towards Angelica's house again, all the while checking my clothes and lips for any sign of my meal.  Behind me, I heard the rustling of leaves.
I spun around, thinking I was being followed.  A few people strolled obliviously past me on their merry ways.  No one seemed to be watching me.  As for the sound, it could have been a thousand things.  Perhaps a bird had taken off from a branch across the street or a cat had run into the bush a few buildings away.  I shook my head, scoffing at my own egocentric ways and resumed my journey.  It was not long before I arrived at the house that Angelica had directed me to.
It was gargantuan.  I referenced back to images in my head that I had of southern plantations from the 1800s.  The building was just absolutely massive.  Other than the size, though, it was a pretty normal house.  The white paint was crisp and clean.  Light shone through the windows as though a miniature sun had made its home inside.  The lawn was evenly mowed, a mob of flowers were attempting to choke out a small evergreen and failing miserably, and a fountain depicting a turtle balancing on a thin pedestal sprouted out of the middle of a circle of rocks.  All in all, my master could envy this house.  I know that I did.
There was a large black iron gate blocking my path.  While I could have just misted in, I decided to follow common courtesy rules and "buzz the intercom".  If I could figure out how, that was.
"Ah, great," I sighed as I looked for something that would give me a hint.
Behind me, I heard panting.  Now certain that I had been followed, I whipped around, quickly taking a defensive stance.  My trailer yelped at my aggression and begged me not to hurt her.  I knew that voice from the previous day.
"Christy?"
Of course I was right.  The tiny creature forced a smile at me, which was actually kind of creepy.  I sighed at her, knowing that Angelica had put her up to this.
"Is your sister inside?" I asked.
"Oh, she's waiting for you.  I wasn't following you, Dessy, really!  I just got here," the child professed.
"I didn't say you were."
"Why did you jump then?"
"I thought you were someone else."
"Oh," she breathed, "you mean those kids Angie was telling me about that make fun of you?"
"She said what?"
Christy opened her mouth wide, snapped it shut, and pushed some sort of button on the gate.
"Angie, let me in.  Dessy's here," she sang.
There was a loud buzzing noise and the click of a lock.  Christy easily pushed the gate open and began skipping up the path.  I grit my teeth together and followed the blonde to the house.  Angelica had a lot of explaining to do.

Author's Note

Written by co-author