Okay, then.
I woke up in a hospital morgue, a vampire with no memories, I destroy a fridge full of blood like a girl’s rampant ice cream binge after a bad breakup, and then a weird dog shows up, threatens me, then disappears.
Sure.
Something bubbled up inside of me. It pushed its way up past my throat until it spilled out of my mouth.
I laughed.
At first it started out as a giggle, then turned into a full-out howl of laughter and soon I had tears streaming down my face.
The second thing I learned about myself, after realizing I was a vampire, was I had a dark, jacked-up sense of humor.
That or I was crazy as a loon.
* * *
“Pl—please,”he stuttered. “Mercy.”
“Mercy?” I stood, towering over the shaking man who pleaded on his knees. My words came out crisp and concise. “Do you really think you can ask death itself for mercy and expect to get it?”
Clenching his hands together in prayer, he shook his head. Our voices echoed in the shadowy, stone antechamber. The orange firelight from the torches flickered over his face and mostly bald pate.
“You wish me to think you humble, good, and special.” My shoulders tensed and flexed under my suit. “You believe death itself should spare you becauseIcare.” I nearly spat the last words. Then grabbing the man by the lapels, I lifted him up onto his feet and leaned in, practically nose-to-nose with him.
“You are not special. No one is spared. Everyone must meet their end as such, and you’ve already placed your bets. Now it’s time for you to cash out.”
Then I showed him the true face of death.
His piercing scream reverberated all around me as his pure terror permeated the air.
After I finished with him, I straightened my jacket and returned up the few stairs to the lone, red velvet chair in the room. Picking up the demitasse of espresso, I sipped the dark, bitter elixir. It had been a long day. The exhaustion I felt had nothing to do with a lack of rest. It was the same thing day after day, and while I valued my duty, the work was punishing, never-ending, and it was my burden alone. There was no use thinking of how things could be different, nothing would ever change.
The rhythmic and efficient click of expensive polished shoes alerted me to the presence of my aide. When I turned to Timothy, his normally carefully tousled hair seemed in more of a disarray and worry pinched his eyes.
“Sire, we have a problem.”
Setting the cup down with a clink, I gave him my full attention. “What is it?”
It wasn’t like Timothy to hesitate. One of his best qualities was being forthcoming with news, no matter good or bad.
“There has been a sighting of a…”
“Spit it out, man.”
“A vampire, sire.”
“You must have made a mistake,” I said, slowly.
Shaking his head, his lips pursed with displeasure.
I was wrong, something had changed. And not for the better.
2
My life had sucked the last two weeks. Living in the sewers, feeding off rats, I tried to piece my former life together. I only scored one lead to my past.
And wouldn’t you know, the potential keeper to my life’s secrets just had to be named Chad.
