Sophie Morgan (Book 1): Relative Strangers (A Modern Vampire Story) (20 page)

"Oh Fu...," I sighed. Realisation dawned. Then all hell broke loose.

I quickly ducked to avoid the vampire's reach, but lost my balance and ended up in a heap on the cold, wet concrete. I scuttled backwards to create some distance between us, using my hands and feet for propulsion, shredding both palms in the process. Backed against the wooden fence, I kicked my feet wildly as she pounced forward, teeth bared and fingers spread like claws.

"Get off me, get off me you bitch" I yelled.
Why isn’t anyone coming to help me?
I looked up to see only a handful of lights on. Most people had their curtains closed, but it probably made no difference anyway. I’d have been practically invisible behind the high, dark walls and felt roof. My only hope was that a passer-by would hear me.

A lucky moment came on my part when I managed to plant my right foot into her stomach. I kicked her backwards. She staggered for a second but quickly regained her composure. In the darkness, I could swear that I saw her smile. She moved forward again, but my assault had at least bought me a second or two. I used the opportunity to push myself up off the concrete. I tried to look fierce, but I suspected that my appearance portrayed something more akin to fear.

As for her, I was familiar with that look, I had seen it before. It was the look that told me she was going to enjoy killing me. I straightened my back and pulled back my shoulders, attempting to make myself look as big and as threatening as humanly possible. I lifted both fists in front of me. The woman was probably not much bigger than me, but she was fast and she was strong. Worse than that, she seemed crazy with determination. I knew my chances were slim, but if I could just stay alive for a bit longer, maybe someone would come to my aid.

I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to defend myself.
Black bags, no. Cardboard box, no.
I grabbed the handles of the nearest refuse bin and made an attempt at pushing it into her, but it was no use. It didn't budge. Even with the wheels it was too heavy. The woman watched me; I was just some massive fucking joke to her.

Then I saw it – a long, thin metal rod, about four feet long, abandoned and propped up in the corner. It could have been a tent pole or a bit of a washing line, I wasn’t sure which, but it would have to do. I grabbed it with both hands and held it in front of me like a bayonet. Then I charged.

"Wait," a voice in the darkness commanded. It wasn’t her voice; it was a man’s, someone out in the shadows.

My makeshift spear stopped a fraction of an inch in front of her right eyeball. She looked at me straight in the eye, teeth curled back into a slow maniacal grin. Now I could get a better look at her I could see that she would have been truly stunning if she hadn’t been trying to kill me.

Taking her opportunity, she grabbed the pole with both hands and wrenched it from my grip. She threw it to one side like an unwanted toy, her eyes never leaving mine for as much as second.

"That's enough". The male voice louder this time, sterner.

The words didn't come from her mouth and for a moment I wasn't sure if I'd actually heard them, or if they were only in my head. I wasn't even certain if they were directed at her or me. I thought I detected a flash of confusion across the vampire's face before she inched the smallest step in my direction. Her foot hadn't even touched the ground before the voice spoke again.

"I said stop".

I couldn't see who the disembodied voice belonged to, and I didn’t know exactly what the man wanted, but his intervention was fine with me. Anything to stop her from lurching at me and ripping my head off felt like a good idea. Then the gate opened a little. The man didn’t enter, but I could see his outline through the opening. He stood back at a distance, smothered in the shadows, but I was just able to make out his tall, slim shape.

"Come here, there’s a good girl", he asked. His voice was warm, calm, and articulate.

The wild thing in front of me looked over her shoulder at him, turned and left the enclosure. I had no idea what had happened. The gate shut behind her and I was left alone. I waited for a moment, opened it and stepped outside. In the distance, I saw two dark-clothed figures running away. Their steps were so light it was if they were running on air. One of them looked like a girl.

I collapsed against the fence and breathed in and out deeply until the sound crossing my lips seemed normal again. My heart was still pounding in my chest and I could feel the veins pulsating in my neck. I rubbed my face with both hands to wipe away the beads of cold sweat. My cheeks were burning hot. The cold November air caught in my throat and it burned.
When is all this going to stop?

"Are you okay?" A voice that I thought familiar this time.

"Who's there?"
Do I even want to know?

Richard stepped out from behind the far corner of the shed.
Well, you could have bloody come along sooner.
He was wearing the same running gear he’d had on that cold morning, less than a week ago, the morning we were all watching the macabre scene in the car park. He stepped into the light.

"Err, yes, I’m fine, I guess," I muttered." How long have you been here?" If he'd seen what had unfolded, I decided that it would be acceptable to tell him about vampires. Our car park was apparently becoming a hotspot of vampire activity and besides, a confidant would be good - even someone who didn't seem to like me very much.

"You should go in,” he muttered.

"Yes, I should. So should you, it’s not safe out here on your own," I told him. "Because of the murder and everything," I added awkwardly.

"It's fine, but you should really go in now. You shouldn’t be out here either." His tone was peculiar; agitated but cold. “I’d like it if you went in now."

This was a very odd line of conversation and I wondered if he had seen me being attacked and was in shock. I recalled the first time I’d seen a vampire and I’d been pretty shaken up. Mickey had been even worse. I squinted to get a closer look at him. He looked pale, gaunt even. He’d definitely had better days. He stumbled towards me and into the small pool of light provided by the nearby street lamp.

"Please, you have to go in now," he pleaded.

It was then that everything fell into place. As I took a step towards him, it was obvious. Although his clothing was dark, I could see that he was covered in blood, patches of his top and leggings were darker than others. They looked sticky. He had dried blood on his fingernails and around his mouth. It didn't look like blood - it looked like leftovers
. You have got to me freaking kidding me
.

"I said
go!
" Richard spat the words out through gritted teeth. Frustration and disdain were wrapped up in his instruction. He dropped to the floor, clutching his stomach. Richard was in pain, but I couldn't see any visible wounds and I wasn't sure that I even cared.
Is my neighbour a vampire? How the hell has this happened?

The fact that he was ushering me to find safety told me that he might not be a vampire, or maybe he was one of those good ones that you sometimes get on the TV and in movies. I don’t know what was happening to him or what he had done, but he was in pain. Everything in my conscience told me that I had to help him. Plus, leaving him there might bring the other vamps back, or put some other poor bastard at risk.

I crouched down and extended a hand to help him up. "Get up Richard, I don't know what you are and right now, I'm not sure I care, but you get up now," I commanded. He rolled on the ground on his back, his face contorted with pain and his forehead covered in sweat. He didn't look much like a vampire to me.

I made another attempt to pull Richard back into reality by shouting his name. He sharply flipped his head, parted his lips and bit me. His baby fangs hit their mark, latching onto my hand and piercing the skin. They weren't as well developed as the other vampires I'd met. It was like being bitten by a kitten - shallow but painful.

I yelped and attempted to pull my hand free, but failed. It was no use; his tiny teeth and strong jaw were latched on. I tried twisting my arm away, but I couldn’t. Flailing from side to side, I lifted up my leg and kicked him - delivering a rather shoddy roundhouse to the back of his neck. It had been a good idea to take the Boxercise classes at the gym after all. Richard released me. Thankfully, he hadn't drawn much blood. It hurt though; he'd pierced tissue but missed bone. I should have taken the opportunity to make a dash for it, but there was still a part of me which wanted to help my neighbour. I wanted to believe this couldn’t actually be happening.
How could he be a vampire? How could he have turned into this? He seemed perfectly normal before. I can't let this thing, this virus, whatever it is, take him, can I? Should I kill him? He's a real person for fuck’s sake, a neighbour, not just some random thing, I know him. He's not one of them, not like those vampires, or is he? Oh fuck, he's bitten me. What do I do? Perhaps I can save him; maybe it's not too late.
The angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other were having quite a lively debate.

"Richard, you stop this. Stop now." I sounded ridiculous, like I was scolding a naughty puppy. "What the hell have you done? How have you turned into this?"

His pale face became calm and he resembled his old self. Perhaps the combination of sharp words and a swift kick to the back of the head had knocked him into his senses. His big eyes looked up at me and their ferocity subsided. He seemed to settle and sat on the tarmac a little deflated. If I'm honest, he looked pathetic. There was little of him which resembled the modern, well-groomed bachelor who lived in the flat above me. Admittedly, the tight Lycra and running shoes didn’t help.

"It’s been coming for a while," he replied without any feeling but physical pain. It was as if he wasn't really present. "This was the night... ouch... the night that I become one of them. Everything changes now. I just didn’t expect this... aaah... this pain. I didn’t expect to feel so
– hungry
."

"Why, Richard?" I was aghast. "Why would you want to become... this? Why do this to yourself? Look at you, you've got a beautiful home, great car, you're obviously not short of a bob or two. What are you
thinking
? Why?"

"To be better, of course." He looked at me incredulously. "You’ve seen them; they’re fast, lean, and confident. I could live forever, exceed in everything. Now I’m one of them, I'll discover new gifts; abilities that I would never know as an ordinary person. I get to live a whole new life, see an entirely new world. That has to be better than
this
."

"But you’ll kill people Rich. You’ll ruin lives," I pleaded." You’ll be a monster. "A lump formed in my throat - sadness tinged with anger.

"Most of the time I won’t kill. I know that I'll change and I might lose some of my humanity, but honestly - I think I can live without it. All that love, hope, anxiety - it's lost on me. Besides, have you seen
her
? She's fantastic, exciting, who wouldn't want to be with her? Who wouldn't wish to be like her? I've never met anyone who has made me feel like that." He looked at me and sneered," But what you would know,
look at you
."

I looked down at my tracksuit bottoms and fluffy slippers and briefly, and only silently to myself, agreed that he had a point. Still, I'd take being me over being a killer.

Richard was a selfish shitbag that Richard of a human being. Even so, perhaps there was a way to reverse the process and keep him human, albeit an obnoxious one.

"Rich, I really think I need you to get up now and you need to get the hell out of here. You need to do the right thing, throw yourself into the canal or under a bridge or something, I don’t know. I don't know how this works, but maybe you can reverse this somehow. I’m not sure if I really care about you right now, but you will end up hurting someone. Hell, you’re already covered in blood. Who was it, another salesman that we’ll find in the car park in the morning?"

"That wasn’t me. That was her. I've been consuming animals, but I'm meant to feed later. Now they’ve just left me here and it's your entire fault. If I don’t feed off someone in the next day, then I’ll become ill, I could die."

"Don’t look at me for a donation," I snapped as he eyed up the blood on my hands. I hoped that my few drops weren't enough to complete his conversion. I didn't want to be responsible. "Right Rich, this is what you’re going to do. You’re going to go to your flat and you’re going to stay there tonight and not leave. You're not going to talk to those monsters again. When they come back for you, you’ll be gone, do you hear me? You're going to pack up and go first thing tomorrow, as soon as it gets light. I'm sure you'll be fine, it's not like you're a proper vampire yet. You’ll go somewhere far away where you can’t hurt people, or you'll get over this and be normal, or you’ll throw yourself under a bus. If I see you again, I’m going to tell - I’m going to go to the police."

"They won’t do anything," he muttered sheepishly.

"Then I will." I wasn’t sure what it would be, but I assumed it would have to be lethal. I didn't know if I could do it on my own, kill a vampire, let alone kill a neighbour.
The other vampires would know, they know where I lived this time, they'll know it was me. They'll kill me. Maybe they'll turn me too. Please Rich just fuck off and not be a vampire anymore. Go into hiding, vampire rehab, whatever, just leave and take all this shit with you.