Daughter of the Night

I felt really bad about breaking into the hospital, but at the same time there was no other option. I couldn't just walk in with a half-dead boy slung over my shoulders and expect to be treated like any other patient. For one thing, it would look like I was the one who tried to do him in. I was soaked in blood. And I wasn't exactly hiding my appearance; even in New York, black cloaks and vermilion irises weren't exactly subtle.

So I had taken my only other option; drop in, leave the boy where they would all find him, and get out before they could find me. The glass gave way under my foot the way a sheet of ice would crumble under too much weight. Wincing at the noise, I leaped into the hallway outside the ER. From the way this kid had barely stopped bleeding, I could tell he'd be needing the ER.

I had had to stop breathing several blocks back; all of that fresh blood was making my throat itch like fire. Fortunately, my urges beyond that were weak and easily controllable.

Looking down at him dispassionately, I saw a face almost as pale as mine from blood loss. I gave him another half hour before he'd be dead. Someone was going to have to do something soon.

My sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps running in the direction of the shattered glass. I nodded to myself. Gently, I laid the boy against the wall. His head lolled forward as I tossed a dangling arm over his chest. The footsteps were getting nearer; I should leave.

I looked down at his face one last time. It wasn't the first time I had saved someone from a pummeling in a vague back alley, but it was certainly the first time that the person had stayed. Although, I realized grimly, he had seen me fight, and I had basically told him who I was, so the best course of action would be to never let him see me again and hope that he'd pass it off as a dream. A vivid dream.

A nurse came sprinting around the corner, gasping in shock at the scene that met her eyes. By that time, though, I was no longer in it. My black cape was formed into black batlike wings at this point, and I was gliding slowly through the city, using the thermals to maintain my altitude. I had had to lighten my weight somewhat, but this time I still retained a solid form.

As to where I was going, it was the place I always went when I needed to think. I had done a lot of thinking these past years, but I never seemed to tire of it. The more human I acted, the less monstrous I felt on the inside. The dark streets below me slid by at a leisurely pace, yet they all seemed the same in the night. The people, fewer in quantity now but more dangerous, were lingering outside nightclubs and talking on cell phones. I had found that to be an amazing invention, the cell phone. I had fancied myself with one for a few short hours, before I discovered that they exploded in my hand and even then I had no one to call.

No one who cared. If I died, the world would go on as it always had. Not one person would be troubled by my absence. All those people were long dead, and their descendants scarcely remembered them, let alone the relative who had mysteriously vanished, never to come back. I was positive that one had faded from even history's records.

Eventually, I came to the place I longed to be. The skyscraper was of medium height, maybe twenty or thirty stories tall. It wasn't the building that attracted me; on the contrary, it was a rather homely building that had seen its share of hardship. On the roof, though, was a garden. Several small trees sheltered the plants from the gentle June night. The beauty of the garden was subtle, demure. It was plain and had been untended to for a long time; the only reason it still flourished was because of my efforts.

Yet I wasn't there for the smell of crisp, clean earth, rare enough as it was. I narrowed my eyes at the branches. Sure enough, black shapes hung off of them like Christmas tree ornaments. I pursed my lips and gave a shrill whistle.

In seconds, dozens of small black shapes where wheeling around me, their leathery black wings flapping as they whizzed around me. I allowed myself a small smile. It was untrue when I said I was completely alone. I had friends. Even if they were small, impulsive, and ate bugs for food.

Eventually, contented themselves in hanging off strands of my hair and the fabric of my cape. Out of consideration, I held stock still. My eyes traveled over the orange-black horizon, searching as always for things that would never come.

The bats' ultrasonic voices weren't too high for my ears. I had, with time, learned to make out what their squeaks meant. Right now, they were hungry, and cold, and happy their big friend had come. Did I know where any bug meals were?

My mouth fell open slightly as I talked back to them. Yes, I did know where some insects were, no, they weren't far from here, and yes, I would like to direct them to the location. I told them to untangle themselves from my presence so I could take on a form like theirs. They did so excitedly.

The moonless night helped me shrink myself as much as possible, my cape taking on the shape and form of real bat wings. After several seconds, I was a vampire bat. Unfortunately, that was the best I could do given the circumstances. I couldn't take on a form that didn't reflect my savage nature somewhat, although a vampire bat is much more harmless than people believe. Still, though, I overshadowed my cousins, although they by now were used to my fearsome size and didn't bat an eye.

I took off from the rooftops, my fuzzy brown bat wings outstretched. I used my obnoxiously large ears to listen for the buzz of a bee's nest. Hearing none, I turned towards the next best thing; a huge dumpster only a few blocks away.

My small friends followed me as I flew, and it took them only seconds once we had gotten there to begin eating. I took on my normal form again; staying in a different shape over a long period of time was irritating to my skin.

As I watched the bats' darting forms and the crunching sound of exoskeletons caving in, I absently put a hand to the back of my neck, feeling the brand of the cross. It no longer hurt; the pain had faded years ago to leave only the scar, and the shame. It was who I was; I could never forget, as much as i tried.

The image of the boy popped back into my head, unbidden. Lively green eyes, the spiked hair, even the eyebrow ring he had. And the sound of his voice when he told me he couldn't let a girl interfere. A corner of my mouth rose bitterly at that. I had seen my share of sexist behavior back in the 20th century, and I didn't much care for it. Yet, that hadn't really been a sexist male talking, but rather his pride. I could forgive him, I supposed. Not that I'd ever see him again.

I turned back to my bat friends, who by now had cleaned out most of the bugs and were now racing after the fleeing ones. I said goodbye, and that I'd come back soon, and that I'd miss them. I got several responses.

Turning away from the dumpster, I walked towards the street. My senses told me I had a scant twenty minutes to bed down before the first rays of sunlight came from over the horizon. My mind raced with options, but I finally settled upon an abandoned building not far from here. My pace lengthened and my steps quickened until I was gliding through the streets, racing the sun.

The old warehouse came into my sights only minutes before the sun. I threw open the hatch and scrambled down the stairway before shutting the door behind me. I climbed deeper into the darkness, finally running into the locked door. I extended a hand, lightly touching the knob, and I heard a click as it opened. Sliding through the door, I looked around at the basement. Moss and fungus grew on the walls, and the piping above leaked cold water droplets. I scanned the floor until my eyes came upon the spot where the tiles had been removed. The spot they left was big enough for a person to slip into. Fresh earth was exposed underneath, soft and rich.

Long ago, I had labored hard to bring the soil into the hard opening the tiles had hidden. Now I came here regularly, to whittle away the hours of daylight. I climbed into the hole, carefully wrapping my cape around me.

Not a moment too soon, I felt the daylight. It slammed into my senses, disorienting me and making my limbs feel like lead. I could have barely walked, even in the darkness. The sun robbed me of my superhuman strength and senses, scrambling my thoughts and dulling my mind.

The scary thing was, these were just the first rays of light of the daytime. Thankfully, my eyes slid closed. While a vampire couldn't actually sleep, they could slip into a coma-like state somewhere in the gray area between sleep and awareness. That was what I did now.

The last thing I decided, before my thoughts dimmed and the pain of loneliness took over my mind, was that I would see the boy again, if only from afar.