Bloody Memories

After a long moment, I went back to my book. I couldn't really focus on the words anymore. I'd really done it now, hadn't I?

Before I had irritated him, before he had drunk the blood, he had looked so much older. Weaker. Now, he looked completely different. I could only guess how much stronger he was now, with his restored youth.

I wish I could kick myself. How little time did I have left now that he was well and whole?

I pushed the book away. I had had enough of vampires. I decided to hole myself up in my room until Jake called back about the silver bullets. That way I couldn't dig myself deeper into trouble.

I got up and headed for the stairs quickly. I almost made it.

“You're not going anywhere.” He said behind me. His voice had changed as well, had become smoother. Only by the absence of his slight rasp did I know it had ever been there.

I stopped and turned, reaching behind me for the silver gun tucked in my jeans. If I survived the next few days, I would have to get a holster for it. I was surprised there wasn't one in Great Aunt Katrina's gear. Then again, if she had spent a lot of time around this vampire, she probably hadn't had much use for one.

The vampire was so pleased with himself, he was glowing (in the metaphorical sense, not the literal one). His skin had some color now. He was still pale as death, but if he didn't smile and reveal his fangs, he could pass for human. Even with the weird red-brown eyes.

He had gotten a hold of a pair of scissors while he was in the bathroom. His black hair was short now, and combed neatly. The style was old fashioned, and slightly comical to me. He smiled, and I could see his fangs were white. He had brushed his teeth. I wondered why, if he was just going to get them bloody again.

I knew what was coming next, and tried to think of how I could defend myself. Oh, why hadn't Great Aunt Katrina kept a supply of silver bullets somewhere in the house?

“You must buy me new clothes, right now.” He said cheerfully.

I blinked at him. “Wha?” I was so taken back, I almost fell over. I gathered myself. “What? Now?”

His expression turned aloof. “I'm assuming you have Katrina's money.” He said coolly. “I will not wear these clothes a moment longer. There must be a haberdashery open somewhere.” He indicated his suit, frowning deeply.

I could see his point. The suit was fifty years old, possibly older, and the front of the shirt was badly torn from his own failed attempts at clawing the silver bullet out of his chest. Besides, if he wanted me to leave the house, who was I to complain? “Uh... okay. A haberdashery, I'll pretend I know what that is.” I checked my jeans for my wallet. Great Aunt Katrina's checking card was in there.

“Excellent. We leave at once.” He was so energetic now, so full of life, it was taking me a bit to catch up.

“Wait.” I said. “You're not allowed to leave.” I bit my lip as his expression grew dark. He crossed his arms over his chest. I backpedaled a bit, speaking swiftly. “Mr. Lucien warned you, remember? About Anna-”

“Nora.” He said flatly.

“Nora. He seemed to feel that she was a very real threat to you. If she finds out where you are-”

The vampire waved his hand. “She'll never find me. You're so completely dull, she would never guess that I would associate with you.”

I resisted the urge to slap him, deciding instead to switch tactics. “You're going to run off as soon as that door opens.” I kept my expression severe. I was angry, so it was easy.

“What if I promise I won't?” He offered lightly.

I rolled my eyes. “Give me one reason why should I trust you?” He had given me more than enough reasons not to.

“Because I never lie.” He answered at once. Then his face grew still, calm. He watched me carefully.

“You don't really expect me to believe that, do you?” I asked incredulously.

I was watching his face, so I saw his eyes change color. They became a brighter, deeper red. That really creeped me out and I tried to look away, but found that I couldn't. He took a few steps toward me slowly. I couldn't move either.

When he spoke, his voice was lower. There was a resonance in it that was hypnotic. “Of course you believe me.” He said softly.

I could feel him worming his way into my head again. I fought back, but he was stronger than before. My resistance was immediately squashed.

Oddly enough, I felt him retreat on his own. I still didn't take my eyes away from him. I was confused and suspected a trap.

“Shall we go?” He asked, speaking normally again.

“You're going to escape.” I said firmly.

“I promise to you that I won't. I will return here with you after we purchase clothing for me.”

“You'll kill someone.” I countered.

“You want me to promise that I won't?” He asked. I nodded. “I promise not to kill anyone.”

“Let me get my coat.” I said, resigning myself, and walked to the vestibule. He followed after me silently. “This Nora...” I began as I zipped up my heavy winter coat. “She doesn't like you very much, does she?”

“She hates my guts, actually.” He looked amused.

“I can see why.” I muttered under my breath as I unlocked the door.

********

I watched as she unlocked the door and opened it. Convincing her to let me out had been almost too easy. A little pig's blood, and I could affect her mind in ways she didn't even notice. Katrina would have routed me out immediately. I suppressed a chuckle.

I was going to keep my word, I always did, I couldn't help that. This girl was far too suspicious of me, she would never believe I could be honest if I didn't nudge her subtly in the right directions.

I stepped out of the house, breathing in the cool, night air. The sun had not been down for long, and the nighttime creatures were just coming out. It felt good to be out in the open after spending so much time cramped in that prison.

“There's not much choice in town,” The girl was saying. “but we should be able to find you something...”

“Manhattan is nearby, isn't it?” I asked quickly. It had been a long time and I wanted to see the city again.

She arched a dark brow at me. “The city? No way. Too many people. And, it'll take forever to get there.” I looked around and spotted a garage.

I still had a thin thread of control in her mind. It wasn't much, but I didn't want it to be noticed. I couldn't make her do anything she was dead set against, for instance, but I felt that it was enough to distract her away from any stubborn thoughts. I tugged on the thread gently. “You have a car here, correct?”

She nodded. “Katrina's. But I don't have a license.”

“License?”

She rolled her eyes. That was becoming irritating. “Come on, they had to have had driver's licenses fifty years ago!” She exclaimed.

I shrugged. “Did they? What are they?”

She sighed. “It means I don't know how to drive.”

“Oh, is that all.” I said. “No worries, I do.”

She looked extremely skeptical. “You want me to let you drive? You don't even know what a license is.”

I tugged on the thread again. “I really do know how to drive. Watch, I'll prove it.” I strode over to the garage door and opened it.

The girl was still stubborn though. “I don't think Great Aunt Katrina has used that car in years. I don't even know if it runs.” I walked over to the driver's door of the beat up sedan and tried the handle. It was locked. The girl kept talking. “And besides, the only path out of here is overgrown. I don't think the car will fit.”

“It will be just fine.” I said shortly, hoping to shut her up. It did, but she glared at me. I looked around the garage. I spotted a set of keys hanging on the wall. I snatched them up swiftly and headed back to the car.

I unlocked the door and slid into the driver's seat. The girl was right, this car hadn't been used in a while, but it was clean and there was nothing obviously wrong with it. I scanned the dash, trying to figure out if there was fuel in it. Dashboards had been much simpler before my imprisonment. I found the meter. Half a tank, perfect.

“Come on, let's go.” I called out the door as I slid the key into the ignition. I turned it and the car rumbled to life. Looks like they made them quieter nowadays as well.

The girl hurried over to the passenger side. She opened the door and slipped in quickly as I shut mine. She quickly buckled herself in as well. I looked over at my own seat belt. “What are these for?”

“So you don't kill yourself.” She said shortly. She reached over to the dash, adjusting one of the knobs. She held her hands out in front of a small vent, warming them.

“Interesting.” I said, then ignored it.

“You have to put it on.” She said. “It's the law.”

“There's actually a law in place forcing people to protect themselves?” I asked. She nodded. I shrugged, pulling the belt down over my chest. “I don't want to look out of place.” I murmured.

“Let's get this over with.” The girl said tightly, looking straight ahead out the windshield. Her face was grim, like she was facing a firing squad.

I drove out of the garage and steered towards the path in the trees. It was rather narrow, but we made it through with just a few tree branches brushing against the windows. I turned left at the road.

“You know which way you're going?” She asked, curious.

“Unless they've moved the bridge, yes.”

“Well, they've added a couple, I think.” She replied. “I guess it didn't occur to me you would know where you were.”

“Why shouldn't I know where my own house was?” I asked bitterly.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Your house?” She asked.

“You didn't know that?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “Isn't it Great Aunt Katrina's house?”

I snorted. “Most likely, she claimed it after trapping me. I'll bet Lucien helped her with the paperwork, too. He's always been good at that sort of thing.” My voice rose a little as I let my frustration out. “I didn't even have it for that long. I had bought it, what, ten years before? And she comes along and seals me up in my own house.”

My hands gripped the wheel tightly. The girl didn't say anything and just kept looking straight ahead. “There have been plenty of renovations,” I continued, thinking of the glass roof. “but the original structure is still the same. It's still my house. Now that I think of it, she probably took my money, too.” I would have to speak to Lucien, so see if I could get any of it back. Most likely it was locked up in various banks somewhere. He would know which ones.

Until then, I would extort what I could from the girl. It shouldn't be too difficult, and there wasn't much by way of material possessions I was interested in. Except for clothes.

So many times in my life, I'd been left with literally nothing but the clothes on my back. I had learned that the right clothing could get you into places you might not otherwise be allowed in. Over the centuries I had become particular about what I wore as it was often the only physical representation of my personality I had.

I let the silence drag on. I had spent a long time in that box, I was used to silence. One would think after so long not talking to anyone, I would be grateful of whatever company I could find. That was not the case with this girl, however. Her personality grated against my own in a way that was nearly painful. I enjoyed the silence, it was more preferable than listening to her at any rate.

Thus we managed to get on the bridge, pay the toll and get off on the other side with little to no speaking. Once we were in Manhattan I had her give me directions. She knew the city a lot better than I did.

So much had changed, as I knew it must have. Manhattan was bigger, brighter, and busier than it had ever been before my incapacitation. But, underneath the shiny exterior I could still see the old city. Many of the buildings I recognized, to my pleasant surprise. It had had a wardrobe change over the years, but it was still Manhattan to me.

We found a parking space and left the car. I watched with interest as the girl put money into the machine on the sidewalk and it fed out a ticket which she then put on the dashboard. I made careful note on how the procedure was done. I would learn everything I could so as not to rely on this human.

I definitely didn't want to rely on her any more than was necessary. No matter what Lucien said.

********

In times of stress, one likes to be in familiar places, surrounded by people they know. Even if you don't want to speak to anyone and just brood and wallow in your own problems, most people chose familiar surroundings over someplace foreign.

That was probably why I ended up taking him to the Village.

It was utter insanity, I kept telling myself. Most of my friends either lived or hung out in the area, what would I do if one of them got hurt?

I told myself that maybe I chose this area because he wouldn't stand out so much here, but I didn't believe it.

We spent some time walking around. The vampire had his hands in his pockets, unconcerned about his appearance. I saw that even with his ruined shirt he wasn't getting any odd looks. I relaxed, but only a little.

“Do you want to head into The Gap?” I asked, pointing across the street. It was the first clothing store I spotted. I was thinking only of heading back to Long Island as soon as possible.

He turned and inspected the front of the store. His red-brown eyes looked over the display windows. “No, I think not.” He turned and continued walking.

I followed him closely, walking right beside him. His stride was longer than mine, so I had to move quickly to keep up. I wasn't risking letting him out of my sight, no matter what he had promised.

We passed by a Hot Topic. I stopped, clasping onto the back of his tattered suit jacket. He stopped as well and turned his head back to me, wearing an annoyed look. “Why are you touching me?”

“What about in here?” I asked. “Don't vampires like this kind of stuff?”

He looked over the storefront. There were display posters up, advertising merchandise from the latest vampire movie out in theaters. He looked back at me. “Hell no.” He said, then kept on walking.

I was still holding onto the back of his jacket, so I was half-dragged a few steps before I caught up with him. “Well, what store do you want to go into?” I asked irritably, releasing him.

“Can't we just walk around for a bit?” He asked.

“No.” I retorted. “I don't trust you as far as I could throw you.”

“Look, I'm not going to kill anyone, okay?” He was becoming agitated. “I just want some fresh air after being trapped inside for so long, is that so hard to believe? Vampires don't just constantly think about ripping open one of you meat sacks and feasting on the innards. Well, some of them do, but I can appreciate a nice night out just as much as you can, all right?”

“'Meat sack'?” I asked, arching a brow.

He sighed in exasperation. “All right, fine!” He looked around quickly. “Let's go in there.” He pointed across the street.

I looked across the street. Both of my eyebrows raised now. “The Armani Exchange?”

“What? It looks okay to me.” He said, stepping to the curb.

“It's a bit expensive.” I said worriedly.

“Knowing Lucien, money is the least of our concerns.” The vampire told me. “He's always been good with money. I wouldn't have made it through the crash of '29 without him. He wouldn't have let Katrina squander my fortune.”

“But it's okay if we squander it?” I asked.

“Just come on. Do you want to get this done or not?”

I gave up and followed him. We entered the store and I immediately felt out of place. This place was so high end, I could almost smell money sewn into the clothes. I straightened out my winter coat self-consciously. I had bought it at a Rainbow nearly four years ago.

I looked over at the vampire. He looked entirely at ease, his hands back in his pants pockets, tattered black suit, shredded white shirt, old-fashioned hairstyle and all.

A woman walked up to us immediately, smiling that false smile salespeople use when they want to sell you something. I glanced at her name tag: Meg. She stopped short when she took in the vampire's appearance. Her lips tightened into a disapproving line.

I watched him smile charmingly at the woman. To me, it was the most false smile I had ever seen, but surprisingly I saw Meg's expression change completely. She smiled back shyly. “Sir,” She began hesitantly. “Are you sure this is the right store for you?”

“I can buy clothing here, correct? Men's clothing?” He asked smoothly. The woman nodded quickly. I could see that she was pretty reluctant to throw him out, even if he looked like a hobo fresh from a fistfight. “Well then, you can see I am in dire need of new clothing.” He was using that deceptively reasonable tone of voice of his. I suspected he was using his mind control voodoo on the woman. Mostly because she hadn't freaked when she saw his fangs.

She nodded again. “I can see that, sir, but still-”

He cut her off, coming to a realization. “I think I see the problem here. You look at my disheveled appearance and see nothing but a vagrant.”

The woman actually blushed. I gaped at her. She had to be at least ten years older than me, and here she was, blushing like a thirteen year old. “No, that's not it.” She said quickly.

Of course it was. Now she was just acting idiotic. I sighed and looked over at the door longingly. Perhaps if I knocked over a display mannequin, security would step in and throw us out. That wasn't likely though, the vampire would probably voodoo his way out of that, too.

“You don't need to worry. I do have money.” He reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out Great Aunt Katrina's checking card. “I believe you can access my funds using this?” He showed her the card.

My hand flew to the back pocket of my jeans, which was hidden under my coat. My wallet was still there. I pulled it out and opened it. The checking card was gone. I blinked in disbelief for a few seconds, then turned my attention back to the vampire. I glared at the back of his head while I re-pocketed my wallet.

Not only had he taken the wallet without me noticing, but he'd put it back... When? How?

How had he known to take the card? Maybe I shouldn't have given him the laptop. Who knows what else he'd learned.

“What can I help you with?” Meg asked.

The vampire grinned at her. She didn't even blink at his exposed fangs. Yep, vampire mind voodoo at work. “Oh, I need everything.” He answered.

“Right this way.” She turned and gestured for us to follow her.

I held back and just kept my eye on the vampire, not really getting involved in his picking and choosing among the clothes. Every now and then I glanced at a price label, though I stopped doing that real quick. It was making me light-headed.

While he was in the changing room I stood right outside, listening to make sure he didn't sneak off somehow. Meg gave me a strange look, but I ignored her.

He exited the changing room wearing a dark-blue velvet military style blazer and black pants. Even I had to admit it was a huge difference from his old clothes, which were lying in a pile on the floor. I gathered them up and handed them to Meg, who placed them in a bag.

We paid for the clothes he was wearing and a few more articles he had picked out. Then we headed out. Meg followed us, holding out the bag that contained his old clothes. The vampire shook his head. “I don't want those anymore.”

“What should I do with them?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Burn 'em.” Then he turned and we exited the store.

“Hold onto this.” He said, holding the bag that contained the rest of what he'd bought out to me.

I shook my head. “Carry your own stuff.”

He frowned, but didn't argue. He looked around. “This way.” He said, and we headed down the block.

The next store we stopped in was H&M. Which was a relief to me. I didn't feel so out of place in there and there were no annoying salesgirls falling over us.

After he had chosen a few more things, he turned to me. I was checking my watch, which I kept turned around so the face was on the inside of my wrist. I looked at him, his expression was critical, and disapproving. “What?” I asked defensively.

He didn't answer. Instead he grabbed me by the wrist and practically dragged me over to the ladies' section. “Oh, no.” I said, pulling my arm out of his grasp. He let me go easily, I wouldn't have been able to get my arm back otherwise. “This is your little trip, remember?”

“I'm not trying to be nice.” He said bitterly. “I honestly can't keep walking around with you looking like that.”

I felt my temper flare up. “Tough. I'm not leaving you by yourself while I'm in a changing room.”

“The coat, at least change the coat. It's a puffy, pea-colored atrocity.” He took the faux-fur trimming on my hood between two fingers, his expression one of distaste.

“No.” I bristled. “I like my atrocity, thank you very much.” I wasn't especially fond of the color myself, but the coat was warm, and comfortable, and perfectly worn in.

He turned to the nearest rack and pulled off a dark brown wool jacket. He held it out to me. “Please, just try it on. I'm begging you.” He said in a tone of voice that was more ordering than begging.

Grumbling, I took off my coat and pulled on the brown one. The vampire spotted a passing employee and pushed the coat on him. “Here, burn that.”

With an outraged cry I snatched my coat back, retrieving my MP3 player and a few random pieces of paper from the pockets. The vampire handed my coat back to the employee. “Okay, we're done here.”

Once we were done in the store, we stood outside for a second while I put my MP3 player into my new coat's pocket. I looked over the bits of paper and tossed them in a trash can. “It's still early.” The vampire was saying. “Let's drop the bags off in the car and walk around a bit.”

I frowned at him, but decided to go along. We went back to the car and I got another parking receipt from the machine for the windshield.

I wanted to go home as soon as possible, but I knew by now that I had to bear with the vampire until he got bored, or until the sun rose at the very least. “What do you want to do now?” I asked wearily.

“I want to see more people. It would be dangerous to reveal myself to my own kind, until I have learned more of what has happened to them from Lucien.” He pondered for a moment. “Humans are good enough for now.” He decided. “Do you know a place where I can observe humans? I'm going to need to know a lot more about fitting in before I can venture out on my own.”

“Alt's down that way.” I jerked my thumb behind me. He walked past me, heading for the cafe. My eyes widened and I ran after him. Why had I mentioned Alt? Too many people I knew hung out there. It's like he had pulled an answer right out of me.

I ran in front of him and stopped him, holding my hands up in front of me. “I can't let you go in there. I know people in there.”

“Oh come on!” He said angrily. “You act like I'm going to go on some bloody rampage! Do you see how many humans are out now?” He gestured around him at the crowded street. “Attacking someone in a crowd this size would be suicide, even for me.”

Again I noticed that no one was taking any notice of him. Even in New York City people weren't oblivious enough not to avoid a ranting man in the middle of the sidewalk. I wondered if the vampire could use his mind voodoo on a crowd, like a blanket effect. That was an interesting topic to ponder, but not right now.

I shook my head. “That's not it. I can't go in there with you looking like that.”

His expression turned to one of surprise. He looked down at his blazer. “What's wrong with what I'm wearing?”

“Nothing, it's not that.” I steeled myself, preparing for what I was about to do. “Hold still a second.” was all the warning I gave him before I reached up with both hands and ruffled his hair.

His expression was outraged. I pulled my hands away quickly, hoping to keep them. He didn't retaliate, instead he tried to fix his hair. I held up my hands to stop him, again. “Trust me, it looks much better this way.”

He glowered down at me. “Never touch me again.” He warned in a low voice.

“Agreed.” I said stiffly. I had been tempted to destroy that awful hairstyle since before we left the house. I was proud of myself for holding back as long as I did.

“We can enter the bar now?” He asked tightly.

“It's a cafe, not a bar, and yes.” We continued on down the block and crossed to the next one. I hurried inside, holding the door open behind me.

********

I studied the cafe's interior, carefully committing the layout to memory. The furniture was old and of myriad styles. There were a few dilapidated couches and sofa chairs. The tables were just a few coffee tables and tiny tables that held large lamps. The lighting was dim and the atmosphere was somewhat cozy.

The humans here were of various types. One or two business types staring at their portable phones intently, quite a few more casual types lounging around, most of whom looked stoned, and some types that were heavily made up and wore a lot of black.

Fashion had certainly changed a good bit since the 40's. Then again, I had seen great changes over the centuries, so I wasn't too surprised.

I was surprised by one thing, however. A couple in the corner, a young man and woman. They were dressed in black, bright chains hanging from their pants. The woman wore a velvet choker around her neck, a metal cross dangling from it.

A few from the casual group were talking with them, staring at them raptly. Then the woman smiled and I saw the glint of fangs.

I bent down to the girl. She jumped in fright, which I will admit pleased me. “I didn't know you knew other vampires.” I said softly in her ear. She had mentioned that she knew the people in here.

She looked around quickly. “Who's a vampire?”

I pointed to the couple in the corner. “Those two.”

She looked down my line of sight, then started to laugh. “Those two aren't vampires.” She said, stifling her giggles with her hand. “They're goths.”

“They're vampires.” I said with absolute certainty.

But she stubbornly shook her head. “They just pretend. They wear fake fangs for god's sake. I've seen them take them out.”

I shook my head. I could tell by their presence, or aura, what they were. The fangs were irrelevant. “They probably had their real fangs removed the same way Lucien did.”

She started laughing again. “Then why wear fake ones?”

My eyes widened as I saw the brilliance of it. “So no one believes that they really are vampires.” I quickly amended my statement. “No human. That lot there is so high they probably like being around a 'vampire'.” I waved my hand toward the small group with the vampires. “They get off on it, and I'll bet you anything that they even trade their very own blood for the fantasy.”

Now she was looking at me, her eyes slowly widening as my words sank in. “Holy crap.” She whispered. “That's insane.”

“It's genius, that's what it is. It must have taken decades to perfect that plan.”

She shivered. “What do we do now? Should we leave? Will they recognize you?”

I studied the pair closely. “No, let's go talk to them.” I could sense her body tensing up. I pulled on the thread in her mind gently. “They won't know me, I've never seen them before. Plus, they look very young. They were probably born after my imprisonment.”

But she was shaking her head in quick little jerks. “No.” She whispered, fear creeping into her voice. “This isn't right. Vampires in Alt. People I've seen before.” She turned around and glared at me. “Is this how it's going to be for me?” She kept her voice to a low hiss. “Finding out that you guys are everywhere? Who will be next? One of my friends? Someone I thought I knew? Every since I met you, they're coming out of the woodwork.”

“Don't blame me.” I kept my voice as low as hers. “It's not my fault you were so blind you never noticed before. Humans have always been like that, never noticing how close we really were. They just go about their day, blithely unaware. People went missing all the time, with no explanation, but they still never saw it. Never saw the ones who were devoured, the ones who were turned.”

She was shaking now, and I knew that my control over her had slipped. I had to do my best to repair the situation or I might never gain control of her again. I needed that control, until I had learned as much as I could from her.

“Come on, let's go.” I said quietly.

She stopped shivering. “What? Really?” She asked hopefully.

“Unless you've changed your mind.” She shook her head quickly. I turned towards the door. “Come on. Let's go home.”

It had been a fruitful trip out. I had learned more than I thought I would. I was satisfied in going home. There was always another night to learn more.