Vampiric Love

As the vampire awoke he saw only blackness, and for a fleeting second he thought he felt the mortal feeling of terror. He rejected the thought as his eyes, hundreds of times more sensitive than human eyes, began to focus on the grains of the pine box. He lay there for a few moments taking in his thoughts, remembering.

After a few moments the vampire gathered up his remaining strength. He knew that after many years of lying horizontal without feeding he would be weak. And as he began to push upward on the lid of the box he realized it that much more. Finally the lid began to creak and splinter. Within a few moments the lid was separating into pieces and the very earth in which he was entombed began to enter the coffin. Clawing and grasping, the vampire climbed to the surface.

It was dark, but the light of the stars gave him ample light to see by. Not much had changed here as he looked around. There were no houses or buildings nearby as when he was buried. It had been the year 1889, the Salem witch trials were occurring every day and hundreds of innocents were being killed for any deed contrary to modern society. There too, were the vampire hunters who hunted down and slaughtered vampires for fear of their existence. That was the very reason Emerson had been buried. But it had been a long time since Emerson had fed and his hunger was enthralling him.

He looked about again to clear his head and remember the layout of the land. After a quick look he headed to the road that had once been there. A few moments through the woods and he should just about be there.

Emerson gasped when he came upon the clearing of the road. It was at least four times larger than it had once been. His first thoughts were to find out what year it was and how long he had been dormant.

He began to walk on this hard surface, although he liked the color, black, it was very hard and uncomfortable on his shoes, which were custom made of leather during a time when things were made by hand and could take days to make. But these shoes had seen better days, for they also had been lying underground, damp, and poignant with the stench of death. They were tattered and torn, barely held onto the vampires' feet.

After an hour of walking he saw a light in the distance. He estimated it was about five miles away by the intensity. I don't remember it being this far. He had to chuckle at himself, whining like that of a first grader. But after a few minutes of a hurried pace he reached the house. It was a front porch light that was on and the house itself was dark. Ahhhh So much the easier to take my prey. Once again Emerson knew he would be weak and must drink from his victim like the bat named after himself, unsuspecting.

He looked around for the easiest entrance into the house, finally deciding on the back door because it didn't have a screen to make noise. Entrance was a bit difficult, for he knew he didn't have the strength to will the door to unlock and was forced to open it manually. With only the slightest of sounds, detectable only to a vampire - possibly a dog if one existed in the house- the door opened.

As Emerson viewed the interior of the house he decided first, that he must know what year it was and surely there must be a calendar somewhere here. Ah yes, a desk, and what year is it my dinner? When Emerson saw that it was July 18th of 1993 he felt better. He had expected to see the year 2100 in bold letters. He chuckled softly. Now to recuperate my strength and powers.

Emerson looked around the house. It was decorated in pastels and oak furniture. It had a soft innocent aura in the air. It had all the appearances of being cozy. He had gone through the kitchen to get to the desk and to the left was the living room with a set of stairs leading upward on the left. As he started for the stairs he heard the dog.

Vampires are afraid of nothing, nor did the dog scare him. But in his weakened condition, a few healthy male humans might be able to destroy him. And dogs were good at waking humans. He held very still, waiting to see the dog. He knew that it was coming down the stairs from the bedroom area. And as the dog made eye contact with Emerson, it froze. With but one small whimper, the large shepherd turned around and headed back up the stairs, tail tucked between it's legs. Emerson reached deep within himself and willed all of the strength he could muster to fly up the stairs after the dog. He loved dogs and didn't want to destroy this beautiful one. After catching it, he wrapped his arm around the neck of the dog and choked it just enough to render it unconscious. That ought to keep him out for a bit. He was tired now, it had taken a toll on him to catch the dog. But as he crept up the stairs he knew that his strength would soon again be upon him.

He made his way into the first open door and saw a bed stacked upon another. There were two children sleeping in this room and he made his way back out. He had never taken a child, and probably never would. With that in mind he went to the other bedroom. The door was closed.

After entrance to this room he found a man and woman fast asleep, curled up in each others' arms. He remembered suddenly how He and Elizabeth had curled together in a coffin they had built together. With the children in mind, Emerson decided not to kill these two, but merely drink a portion of their blood. It would not be enough, but would help out greatly.

He leaned over the bed and found the carotid artery on the man. Bracing himself on the headboard, he leaned over and quickly sank his teeth into the flesh. The man stirred, but did not wake.

Emerson drank about a quart of the life sustaining fluid, then slowly withdrew his teeth lest the man bleed to death from the holes. The man moaned and put his hand to his neck. Then he was again fast asleep.

Making his way to the other side of the bed, he tried to formulate how to attack the young female lying there. She was curled and leaning down, facing the bed. He would have to bite her backwards, most uncomfortably. Her hair was long and covered her neck. If he moved her hair, the man would have it in his face and wake up. If he didn't move her hair, she would wake up later with blood strung throughout it.

That didn't so much bother Emerson, because sooner or later they would both notice the holes in their necks. He blew a soft breath against her neck to part the hair, then again, slowly sank his teeth into the warm flesh, her warm blood like seasoning on his tongue. It flowed readily into his anxious mouth and he savored it before swallowing. He took a little more than a quart from her and but with the knowledge that she would only wake up with a headache from dehydration.

He was feeling better, but not up to par. He needed more blood. That ought to hold me over a bit.

The vampire stood out on the open balcony in the summer wind and felt out across the yard, across the highway, anywhere. He could sense no other human beings within a mile.

The dog had stirred while he was feeding, but as the big shepherd walked into the room Emerson spoke to it telepathically Friend, good boy. The dog went to the side of the bed the man was sleeping on and laid down. Good boy, good boy.

Emerson was walking back out of the bedroom, and saw the mirror. He looked ghastly. Besides being white as a ghost, his clothes were torn, tattered, and soiled with the stench of one hundred year old death, hanging on his medium frame by mere threads. Ah, to find some clothing. He floated silently to the walk in closet and helped himself to a black wool tunic, a pair of Levi's, some colored socks and a pair of black shoes. They appeared to be made out of some kind of leather, but not the traditional kind he knew. They were very soft, and the heels were made out of some flexible material. Interesting.

The name Nike meant nothing to him, but he placed the bottom of the shoe against his own and matched them up closely They would do fine He carried the clothing out of the house, and chose to travel through the woods alongside of the highway for a turn. He found a large downed tree to sit upon while he changed his clothing. The man appeared to be of the same size, so he figured the clothing would fit fine. It was close, although the jeans were a little long on him. He dug a shallow grave for his old clothing and bid them farewell as he buried them forever.

Emerson was back on the highway, walking fast. Vampires walk quickly, and if quick enough, they won't be seen by the human eye. Emerson was traveling in such a style. Before too long he came across a little town. He was astonished by all of he lights. They were like torches, but he could not see the flame. I wonder just how much I have missed. He was astonished by the neon lights, the yellow lights on the long trees in the road, and by the color, he had never seen such a demonstration of color, let alone in a lamp.

One such building lighted up in color, called: THE BLACK NIGHT was off to the left.

Sounds interesting. His hunger was building again, but this time he knew he would be feeding in full force. It would take two people to feed him properly to where he could concentrate on recovering his strength and powers.

Once inside, Emerson looked around. There was a door marked MEN on it so he decided to go in. There was a crowd near the big empty floor, which, he knew must have been a modern day ballroom, but the music, the music was as if it was from hell. The dim purple and yellow atmosphere gave the smoke filled room the aura of a demonic place.

He chuckled, as if someone had told him something funny. A man leaning against a urinal just looked back at him. "Hey buddy, you all right? You look a bit pale. Better lay off them shooters." The man laughed and looked back again, still holding his tool, but suddenly dropped his mouth open. He instinctively knew danger when he saw it, and Emerson was upon him so quick that he didn't even draw a breath to scream.

Emerson tasted the blood instantly and drew it in deep. He could feel the revitalization inside his vampire body. He knew he was recovering, and would soon again be his strong self.

Back on the street, Emerson began looking around. He would need a place to stay when the sun came up and better to be prepared. He went up one street, down another, looking. He would have to travel to Washington territory soon to recover a strong box buried beneath the Columbia River for just such an occasion. He had planned in advance his burial, but knew not when it would happen. The box held gold trinkets and Spanish coins. As antiques they would be worth hundreds of times their weight in gold, but he had to make connections to do business at night. This town didn't give him the feeling of staying. He was most uncomfortable and there was no place he felt that he could trust to be left alone during the day.

Emerson had kept his gold pocket watch that he had been buried with and had reset it at the house by the red lighted clock on the man's bureau. Pulling this out, looking at the stars, and then back at the watch, he knew he had four hours left of night. The sun would come up and he would have to have a safe place to stay.

He came upon a 7-11 convenience store within a few minutes. How funny, a general store that stays open at night. Hmmm...

Inside, Emerson walked up and down each isle, just browsing, for he knew he didn't have any currency to purchase anything. He came across a road map of California.

"Anything I can help you with, sir?" the attendant was asking.

"No, just looking around. You know, where I come from, the general store closed at five sharp. How strange that someone would work during the nighttime." Emerson was eyeing the young blonde boy, sizing him up. Yes, you will do fine. "How much for the map? and do you have an outhouse I can borrow?"

The cashier was looking questionable, fearful. "Look buddy, I don't know what you want, but the police are just around the corner at the coffee house."

Emerson floated quickly to the boy. "I am not here to hurt you" he spoke softly, hypnotizing. "I just want to look around. Go to the back, go now."

The boy was stumbling back, dazed, but he went to the back room where the toilet was as told. Emerson followed and stopped just inside the door.

The boy turned around, dazed. "What the hell happened? Who the hell are you anyway?"

Emerson looked him in the eye, and soon the boy was standing sloppily in a drunken stupor. Ah yes, the powers that be are returning quicker than I expected.

Emerson sank his fangs deep into the boys carotid artery and gulped the precious fluid for a full minute before slowing. He could sense the life of the boy and feel his vampiric power stronger and stronger with each warm swallow.

He fed from the boy, and carried him out back when he was finished. He didn't want to take the time to bury him, but knew that he had to hide him. He wondered how long before someone found him missing. He also didn't understand that in the present time it might be weeks before he was declared missing.

He pulled the lid to the dumpster open and deposited the boy inside. He was gray from loss of blood. His blonde hair especially shone against his glossy skin. Emerson dropped the lid and sat back a moment. He felt strong again. This time when he used his power of searching, he called out: "Elizabeth, my darling, where are you?" No response returned. He tried this several times. Could the hunters have gotten her after all?

Emerson sat and summoned up his memories. He had remembered catching a silver bullet, which contrary to popular belief did nothing permanent to his body. But then the hunters had trapped him in a circle. The bullet had kept him from flying temporarily, and he knew they had found Elizabeth.

Oh, Elizabeth where are you? He shook off the memories and concentrated his search on a quiet place to stay for the day.

As he was telepathically looking throughout the town, he found a quiet cemetery on a hill. There were a lot of trees and moss on a lot of headstones. He returned his mind to his place behind the 7-11. He knew where he would stay, and decided to hunt once more before daylight. He would need to be up to full strength before he began his journey to Washington.

Perusing through a modest part of town, Emerson came upon a beautiful white mansion with tall pillars standing in front of the door. The house was recently repainted but did not hide the fact that it had been built almost a hundred years ago.

"It's beautiful" he whispered softly, stunned by the immensity of the house.

The Vampire walked behind the house and stared at the lock on the door. Within seconds it gently slid clockwise and the door slid gently open six inches.

Entry into the house was easy, and there were no dogs to hear him this time. He glided across the glassy marble floor floating into the formal living room. The room was set up in antiques by modern day standard, but to Emerson it was as if he was transported back in time.

Astonished, he kept moving, finding a winding stairwell leading into the darkness above. His acute Vampire eyes detected faint shafts of light coming form beneath doors.

As the Vampire rose he felt a presence in two rooms and elected for the closest first. Inside the room was a woman of about 50 years wearing a mask over her eyes and plugs in here ears. This was very strange to Emerson, and he considered it ostentatious.

Emerson quickly yanked the woman by her hair and bit deeply into her neck, her body stiffening at first, then subsiding slowing into drifting blackness as her life force was drained from her. He then gently set her head back down on the pillow and walked out into the hallway. The rush from the feeding left him momentarily stunned.

Slowly he moved into the next room, and to his surprise was a beautiful woman in a glowing white gown gently sleeping. Her dreams looked pleasant by the smile on her face and the occasional giggle.

When he walked into the bedroom, as if by some unseen force she sat up. She looked at him and gazed, tilting her head. She had a very omnipotent aura much like that of a goddess. He found himself staring back at her. Finally she spoke.

"Are you here to take me away?" She asked softly.

Emerson found himself staring although he had heard and understood what she said. Her beauty dazzled him.

She appeared to be about twenty years old with long black hair flowing down over her chest, which was bare of the gown. Emerson found himself bewildered by her beauty as well as the strength emanating from her.

"Only if you want me to my dear" was his excited response.

"But I had dreams of you, I know who you are and what you want."

Emerson, bewildered and dazed knew not how she could have known, he would have sensed her presence if she was one of them. "But how did you know? Do you sense all of us?" He asked inquisitively.

"Yes, I sensed you a day ago when you were arisen."

"How? Are there others present that I am unaware of?" He asked in return.

"No, I have not felt this since California" she giggled.

"Then you must help me!" Emerson said.

TO BE CONTINUED...