The Cliché of a Thousand Years

“How old are you?” She honestly had no idea what else to say. She was really bad at making small talk. He chuckled.

“You’ve run out of things to say, haven’t you?” She nodded. He thought for a moment. “How about we go for a walk?” He suggested. They left her flat and walked down the pavement.

“Isn’t it dangerous to go out at night?” She questioned. He looked at her.

“More dangerous than letting your guard down while in the presence of a vampire?” He smiled. His fangs glistened in the light of the street lamps.

“I haven’t let my guard down; I’m ready for anything.” She tripped over a small crack in the pavement, but caught herself. They laughed at the coincidental timing.

“You’re definitely different than other humans.” He said, not really meaning to say it. She looked at him with a smile. “How can you smile so easily at a monster like me?” He whispered. Her gaze softened.

“You’re not a monster; misunderstood, yes, but not a monster. Monsters don’t have a conscience; they don’t know anything other than destruction.” She smiled gently at him. He wanted her to smile always.

“When we met, you said that you’ve seen your share of vampires, mind elaborating?” He had wanted to know because usually when a human comes face-to-face with a vampire, they don’t live to tell the tale.

“Oh, well, yeah…” She thought about the words she could say to explain her story better. “When I was ten, I had heard a noise outside my room, so I climbed out my window and went to go see what it was. Not a smart move, I know, but curiosity was one of my weak points back then. Anyway, I ended up staring into the dark, red eyes of a vampire who had been devouring my neighbor. I was frozen to the spot and she was an inch or so away from me and about to attack me, too, but then something hit her from the side out of nowhere and she was gone. I woke up the next morning in my bed without a scratch on me.”

“You didn’t see what it was that hit the vampire?” He sounded surprised that something like that would happen.

“Nope, as soon as it happened I blacked out.” She shrugged. “The same thing happened three other times- walking home from a friend’s house when I was fifteen, walking to my car in the parking lot of a mall, and when I ran away from home when I was seventeen. That last time, though, he managed to bite me before he got hit.” She showed him her right forearm. There were two circular scars on the underside of it, close to her wrist. “That’s when I found out that just being bitten doesn’t turn you.”

“You ran away from home?” He now understood why she wasn’t afraid. She was probably expecting to be saved again just like the other times.

“Yeah, my parents just didn’t seem happy anymore. They were always yelling, so I gathered up my stuff and walked out. I stayed at a friend’s house until I turned eighteen and came here.” She shrugged. She must not think that these stories were a lot to tell, because if she did, she wouldn’t have shared them with him.

He quickly stopped. She stared at him in confusion. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind him.

“What is it?” She whispered. He put a single finger up to his mouth to tell her to stay quiet.

“Run. Hurry. Come with me.” He pulled her back towards the direction of her flat. They ran. He, of course, had to run at a human pace, but they ran nonetheless. He made a sharp turn into an alley and held her close. They watched as a couple of vampires sniffed the air and continued running forward. He sighed in relief.

“What just happened?” She asked, painfully out of breath. He looked at her. He was still holding her against him. He slowly released her.

“A couple of newborn vampires; it’s a good thing they’re still fresh, otherwise they would have smelled us.” Confusion was apparent on her face.

“But I thought that newborn vampires had stronger senses than the other vampires.” Her brow furrowed.

“Common misconception. Newborn vampires are just like newborn children. They can hardly see and they can’t smell to save their lives; they are also uncoordinated and weak. The longer you’ve been a vampire, the stronger.

“How long have you been a vampire?” He should have known that question was coming.

“I’ve been a vampire for ten years.” She knew he was lying.

“Yeah, now tell me how long you’ve really been a vampire.” She folded her arms in mock authority.

“I don’t know, a thousand years sounds a bit cliché, don’t you think?” The corners of her lips twitched upward slightly.

“A thousand years? A thousand years? You’re right, it does sound cliché. You’re lucky I’m eighteen, otherwise you, sir, would be a pedophile, Mr. Breaking-Into-My-House-Every-Night-Since-We-Met.” She joked, smiling. He smiled back. If the guys from his coven could see him, they’d never let him hear the end of it.