The alleyway seemed to close in on the running man as he hurtled between its cramped confines. Fear is all that remained on the man’s face as he fled from something in the darkness. The dirty concrete walls swallowed the footsteps almost as soon as they were made, and piles of refuse and discarded materials obstructed the only path that stood open to the terrified man. The street was less than 15 feet away. He hoped he could make it, that he could get away from the horrible creature that trailed after him with ever increasing speed. He looked back and saw the creature drawing closer, its eyes blazing with fury and hunger, and its gaping maw filled with sharp fangs ready to rend his flesh. Only a few more steps, and freedom would come. If he could get to the street someone would help him, surely. Someone would see the monster and help him find the courage to fight.
The walls around him disappeared and turned into deserted streets. He stopped in the middle of the road and looked around, frantically searching for someone, anyone. There was not a person to be seen in those lonely avenues. The sweating man turned slowly about, dreading what he would see as he looked behind him. Nothing. His eyes widened in surprise as nothing burst from the alley, thirsting for his blood. He peered further into the dark alcove that was the alleyway. He saw nothing but shadows.
The dawn was breaking over the horizon, and he knew morning would bring the peace he needed so badly. His head cocked as he thought he heard a noise. There it was again. He looked around, trying to find the source of the strange sound. Then, as he began to shiver in fear, he looked up, only to see the creature in the air, dropping down on him from the building above. Mercifully, his necked snapped at the moment of impact, or else he might have felt those horrible teeth rip into his flesh and feast upon his blood. A howl shattered the fragile peace of the night as the beast began its grisly feast. Dawn broke slowly over Dallas as many woke from a long night of sweet, mortal dreams, oblivious to the creatures that lived among them.
The next day, the streets were full of people and flashing lights, as a squadron of police cruisers huddled protectively at the mouth of the alley, pushing away pedestrians in a vain attempt to spare them the gory details of the crime at hand. The yellow police tape was strategically positioned to stop the crowds from coming into the perimeter of the scene, even though the tensile strength of the plastic substance was more akin to paper than steel. Jeff Robinson was sitting on the hood of his squad car, watching the crowd undulate like some sort of sea creature against the barrier before them. The sergeant yelled over at him, “Get to work, Robinson! You don’t get paid to sit on your ass all day and watch the world go by!”
“No, that’s your job, you fat bastard.”
“What did you say, punk?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Damn right, you didn’t say anything, you little punk. If you don’t watch your mouth, you’ll find yourself on the business end of my nightstick, and don’t think I won’t do it, either. I swear, if you don’t straighten and fly right, you’ll get a beating so hard you won’t even know your name afterwards.”
The sergeant stood there for a while, looking at him with those beady, bloodshot little eyes, attempting to see if he was going to try anything else with him. Finally, satisfied that Robinson was done, he returned to watching the detective search for clues around the mangled body in the alley. Jeff just wanted to help this city, protect those who needed protection and crucify the bastards that might try to make trouble in his town. But most of the officers on the force, that he’d seen anyways, were too busy taking bribes and beating immigrants to notice much crime going on. Oh sure, they would stop crime and make arrests every once in a while, but that was just to make it look like they were actually doing their jobs. He was quickly getting sick and tired of always being sent on the domestic abuse calls, or to go chase down the odd drunk running around town naked. He wanted some action. But the high-ups downtown had more important things to think about than corrupt city officials; they had to collect their own bribes and make underhanded deals with those higher up on the food chain.
Robinson got in the squad car and drove back to the office. He dropped the squad car off in the garage, but not before grabbing the shotgun from between the seats. He wasn’t coming back to this crap job again. It was about time he did something about the crime in this city, and if he couldn’t do it by the book, then he was going to spit on the book and take down these piece-of-crap criminals himself. He’d seen the Death Wish movies, so he knew how it was done. All he needed now was a plan of attack, a starting point for his noble quest to rid this town of its parasites. He got into his old, beat-up Buick and started her up. For seven hours, he sat in that worn-in seat, looking at the steering wheel, lost in second thoughts and ruminations. Was this the right thing to do? Did he really have what it took to be a vigilante? He was fed up with all the indecision that plagued his life and made a commitment to the city. He was going to hit the underworld of Dallas like a tornado of brass knuckles and bullets. His decision made, he started up the car and drove away, all the while thinking about how his life was going to be better, now that he was going to be doing something good for a change. He didn’t even notice the figure sitting in the back seat.
On the way home, he heard a report of a disturbance on Elm and Wisconsin on the radio. He had to start somewhere, right? A crowd had already amassed in front of the privately owned convenience store on the corner. As he drove up, an elderly man said to him, “You might want to turn around son, there’s some bad happenings over here. Don’t want to get caught in the middle of this.”
“Thanks anyways, old-timer, but I got work to do.”
Jeff stopped the car down the street and made sure his gun was fully loaded before he got out. Just in case, he grabbed the shotgun out of the trunk. Anything could happen, so he just wanted to be sure he was prepared. He approached the scene, making sure his bulletproof vest was adjusted snugly. It was a grisly one, with the bodies of two young men laying outside and a trail of blood leading back into the store. The building across the street was rife with bullet holes and the window of the store was also ruined. Flipping off the safety of his gun, Jeff walked slowly to the partially opened door and quickly looked inside before going back behind the meager cover he had. There was one man behind the counter with a Tech-9 and another man leaned up against a back door with a sawed-off shotgun. Next to the second man there was a wounded old Chinese man, an unfortunate customer, and tied up on the ground was an immensely fat man in a wife-beater, the owner of the establishment. Jeff yelled into the store, “Put your weapons down and you can come out of this alive.” He then waited to hear the clink of falling weapons.
“Who the hell are you?” came the reply from inside.
“I’m someone who you do not want to trifle with, and I’m armed, so if you want to stay alive, you had better drop your weapons, now!”
The criminals looked at each other with fear in their eyes and looked over at the third man hiding behind one of the racks. He motioned for them to put their weapons down, whispering that he would sneak around and shoot the guy when he came inside. The other two nodded their heads and told Jeff they were dropping their weapons. The sound of their guns hitting the ground quickly followed. Jeff slowly walked into the doorway with his gun ready, careful not to rush into the situation. There was a mirror positioned over the counter, and when Jeff looked into it he saw the third gunman sneaking around the racks toward him. Something inside him changed and his soul hardened to what he would have to do to get rid of the scum in this town. He fired two shots into the torsos of each of the unarmed criminals and then spun around, taking cover behind a large Coca Cola display. The third gunman ran down the aisle, heading towards the counter and the guy with the gun. He slid out into the front of the store to find his friends dying on the floor and no one in sight. He looked up into the mirror to see Jeff standing up behind him with his gun pointed at his head. He stopped.
Shakily, he said, “Hey man, don’t kill me. Please? I didn’t want to hurt nobody. I just wanted the cash. It was them that did it. I’m sorry.”
A gunshot rang out. The third man’s head exploded in a shower of brain and bone, covering the counter like a new paint job. Jeff put the gun into his coat pocket and picked up the robbers’ weapons, adding to his arsenal. He picked up his shotgun from the front of the store and walked out of the bloody market, just wanting to get away.
When Jeff got home, there were a lot of messages on his machine, just like he knew there would be. He pressed the play button and sat down in his ratty recliner, waiting for the flood of angry voices to wash over him. “Jeff, this is your father. What the hell do you think you’re doing? First of all, your shift wasn’t over for another 3 hours, and second, you don’t take home police property. That’s called stealing, you deadbeat. Call me back as soon as you get home so I can talk to you about this. Maybe we could work something out with the chief so you don’t lose your job. You really messed up this time, Jeff, and I don’t know if I can fix it like I have in the past. I’m so embarrassed.” Jeff realized how much of an ass his dad was for the first time and decided he wasn’t going to call him back. Most of the messages followed the same theme, be they messages from his mom, or his sergeant, or his girlfriend, or anybody else. Jeff just didn’t care about any of these people anymore. He had more important things to worry about. He took off his shoes and his tie, and heated up a microwave dinner. After he ate the chewy turkey and still-frozen corn, he walked over to the window and looked out over the small part of the city he could see from his window. The other buildings near his were as dirty as they could be without being considered inappropriately disgusting, and the streets weren’t even close to being as clean as the buildings. Jeff’s eyes were open to the horrors of the real world now, and he couldn’t hide anymore.
In the midst of this little internal monologue, a small figure slowly crept up behind him. One of its small hands reached out and touched Jeff’s arm. He started, and turned around quickly to see who had invaded his reverie. He was startled to see a young woman with short black hair and piercing green eyes, wearing a black leather outfit. Jeff started to speak, “What are …” the girl shushed him in mid-sentence.
“Don’t speak… I have been watching you for a while now. And I like what I see.”
When she was done speaking, she put her arms around Jeff’s neck and pulled his mouth within reach of hers, kissing him passionately. Jeff was unable to control himself and lifted her into his arms, kissing her back with every bit as much passion as she showed him. Jeff carried her over to the bed and laid her down, then lowered himself down beside her. She was on him in an instant, kissing his face and neck in a frenzied attack of carnal passion. He welcomed the attention, and let her do what she wanted with his willing body. She pushed him onto his back and straddled him, leaning over him, kissing him. She moved her lips to his neck and kept kissing him. There was no way to be prepared for what happened next. Time stopped for the two writhing lovers as she bit into his neck and began to drink his blood. Liquid fire rushed through his veins and Antarctic ice followed it. No experience could ever compare to the sensation he felt as she slurped the blood from his veins. His gasps and moans were lost on deaf ears as she took the blood from his body and absorbed it into her own. Jeff could feel his own heartbeat slowing down as he died. He thought of the strangeness of the situation and the humor of it all. Just as his eyes were opened to the truth of the world, they were slammed back shut by this beauty on top of him. Icy cold crept into his limbs as his blood stopped flowing and he was looking up at the ceiling… he never changed that bulb in the ceiling fan… not like he was going to get to it now. The girl sat up and wiped her bloodied mouth on her sleeve, looking down at the carcass of this young man. She had known what he was about to do with his life and had decided earlier that night what must be done. She ran a sharp nail along the vein in her forearm and placed the wound above his open mouth. The blood slowly dripped down, going down his throat like dark red molasses. Jeff awoke to pain, not like stubbed toe kind of pain, but like burning hot poker through the eye kind of pain. He tried to fill his lungs with air, but it felt like breathing Jell-O, so he stopped. He waited a little bit for the urge to breath again, but it never came. He looked around the room and noticed things that, according to his brain, were never there before. His gaze eventually came to rest on the one who had started all this, the ecstasy, and the pain, all of it. She was looking down at him with that little smile. Her eyes burned with emerald fire, and her hair was as black as the soul of Satan himself.
Jeff, with suspicion in his eyes, said, “What did you do to me?”
“I killed you.”
Jeff sat there looking stunned for quite some time. “What do you mean? I’m not dead.” Jeff put his hand to his throat to feel his pulse… nothing. He moved his hand down to his wrist to check for his pulse there… nothing. He looked back to her.
“How am I…”
“I changed you. You’re a vampire now. You know what that is don’t you?”
“I can’t be a vampire. Vampires don’t exist.”
“Aw, why would you say something like that? A girl would think she wasn’t wanted around here.”
“Who are you, anyways? I don’t even know you. How did you get into my apartment?”
“I walked in, silly. Now stop asking questions. You’ve got a lot to learn and not that much time to learn it in.”
“What do you mean? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”
“Will you shut up? Just wait here. I’ll be right back.” She left the room, leaving Jeff to sit and wonder at what was going to happen now. A few minutes later she walked back into the room with a stunned kid in tow, and told him to sit down on the bed, a command that he quickly obeyed. His eyes were wide open and glazed over, and he didn’t look at all that aware of what was going on. She said, “Go ahead, baby. Drink up. You’ll need your strength.” Jeff looked horrified. “Just do it, damn it. I brought this kid here for you, and we have to leave soon.” Jeff slid over to the boy and tilted up his chin to look at the throbbing vein in his neck. As he leaned in to bite him, he felt his canines extend and he pierced the teenager’s flesh with their sharp points. The blood flowed into his mouth like a hot flood, cascading down his throat, filling him with indescribable pleasure. The boy gasped as Jeff drank, and soon the blood slowed. “Stop it, Jeff, or you’ll kill him.” Jeff wasn’t stopping. He just kept drinking and drinking. He was ripped away from the source violently, as the woman pulled his head away from the boy’s throat. “When I tell you to stop, you had damn well better stop.” Jeff growled at her, and she slapped him. “Don’t you growl at me. I own you now. I created you, and I could kill you just as easily.” Jeff looked longingly at the boy lying on the bed with a jagged hole in his throat. The woman went over to the boy and licked the wound, closing it. She got up and moved towards the door, “Come on, we’ve got a lot of things to do.” Jeff followed reluctantly; looking around at all that remained of his former life. She looked back at him with a smile on her face, opening the door saying, “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” She waited for him outside, and when he came out she closed the door softly. They walked down the stairs together, appearing to be a young couple out for a late-night walk. She was a pale goddess in a leather jacket, and he was a just another scruffy-looking male. The pair walked down the deserted street, assuring themselves that it was going to be better someday. He didn’t know anything and she thought she knew everything. She put her small hand into his and looked up at him with a smile. He pulled his hand away from her and looked away with a frown. The man watching them from the rooftop said to himself, “They’re an odd pair, but they’ll do.”
