It was late Monday afternoon when Russell Cross began to move for the first time as a vampire. It took more than five minutes for him to reach full consciousness from his first stirrings. Seconds after his return to self-awareness Russell noticed that he was not alone in his bed. When he looked over, he saw his sister, Paula, lying motionless beside him. Her presence there was both surprising and confusing, but he dismissed the conundrum a second later. His brain was suddenly overwhelmed with a fierce hunger that pushed out all rational thought. When he tried to sit up, he discovered the effort was beyond the limits of his strength. He suddenly realized that he barely had the energy to move, and then he recalled what his sister had done.
Stimulated by the memory of his sister’s attack, Russell rolled out of bed and onto the floor. His physique was now a gaunt version of the body he had the day before. It took him some time to bring himself to a standing position, then he stumbled out of his bedroom. Going from wall-to-wall to avoid falling, Russell made his way into the kitchen sink. He quickly guzzled down several glasses of water, and then went to the refrigerator. After taking a short rest against the door, Russell opened the door and began feeding on leftovers right out of the refrigerator.
Much of what Russell put into his mouth he spat out a second later. He quickly concluded that there was little inside his refrigerator that was a match for his craving and nothing in the quantity he wanted. He craved meat, but all the cooked, seasonal meat he found inside the refrigerator was barely acceptable to his pallet. He was several minutes into scavenging for food when he gave up on the refrigerator and decided to leave the apartment.
Russell made his way back to his bedroom with slightly less effort than it took for him to leave it. After sitting down on the side of the bed, he looked at his sister and noticed that she was lying just as still and motionless as she was before. He decided to examine her more closely and shortly noticed that she did not appear to be breathing. He then tried to awaken her. When shaking her and calling her name did nothing, he felt for at her throat. When he failed to find a pulse, he panicked. He thought that maybe he did something to cause her death. With his head in his hands, he was contemplating what to do when Paula suddenly sat up in bed.
“Oh my God, you’re alive,” Russell exclaimed with a look of astonishment.
“Yes, yes,” Paula confirmed as she hurried out of the bed and around it until she was standing in front of her brother. Without hesitating, Paula stooped down and took Russell’s face into her hands. “How are you?” She asked in a voice full of worry.
“You attacked me,” Russell complained while pushing away from Paula. “You bit me.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” Paula apologized while respecting the distance that Russell put between them. “I did it because I couldn’t leave you behind.”
“What does that mean?” Russell asked with insistence. “You could have killed me.”
“I did. I did kill you,” Paula returned in a somber voice. “You were dead, and then I brought you back to life.”
Russell did not know how to respond to Paula’s declaration. For several seconds, he looked at her as though she were an alien.
“What’s wrong with you?” Russell asked. “Why are you acting this way? Why couldn’t I wake you up a few minutes ago?”
Paula was frightened by his questions. She was not sure that he would believe the truth, but she knew dancing around it was just adding to his confusion.
“I was infected with a—disease—or virus—or something, and it changed me,” Paula confessed mournfully. “And I infected—you.”
“You infected me?” Russell cross-questioned while feeling for the wound in his neck. “You infected me with what?”
“But it’s a good infection,” Paula quickly assured with desperation. “You’re going to live longer—much longer, and you’ll stay young like me. Can’t you see how much younger I’m looking?” She added while touching her face.
Russell did see a decidedly youthful change in his sister’s face, and she had clearly lost some weight. The difference in her figure was not that great from how she looked when he last saw her a week ago. Even at 46 years of age, Paula had an attractive figure. It was the change in Paula’s face that he could not explain to himself. She looked to be in her mid-twenties.
Russell knew his sister well, and he had always trusted her to do well by him. But her assault on him last night caused him to question her intentions. That is why he chose to listen to his sister’s story and explanation. For half an hour, he listened as Paula told him all that had transpired in her life over the past week. She told him that she and he were vampires now and that they were immortal. When Paula ended her story and went silent, Russell believed that they had been infected in some manner, but he was dubious about the vampire claim. It was not wholly because of her story that he was convinced that a change had occurred in him. He could feel a difference that was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
It was only through the process of mentally cataloguing his condition that Russell noticed the changes in his mental and sensory acuteness. Hunger had been the dominant sense he was experiencing until hearing Paula’s narrative, and it was the ache of starvation that was obscuring his ability to recognize the changes. Now that he was convinced that his person had undergone some form of physiological alteration, Russell’s thinking went back to satisfying his body’s most pressing need, food.
“So, you’re saying this change is why I’m so hungry?” Russell mildly challenged.
“Yes,” Paula confirmed with enthusiasm.
“Fine,” Russell conceded without debate. “But I’ve got to get something to eat,” he declared while reaching under the bed for his shoes.
No, Russell,” Paula countered. “Stay here. I know you’re hungry, but you have to stay here.”
“I need to eat something,” Russell disputed with insistence. “I’m starving.”
“You’re not starving,” Paula insisted with a panicked shake of her head. “I’ll get you something to eat, but not now. Okay?”
“Why?” Russell questioned with a stunned expression.
“The sun is still up, and your body doesn’t have the stamina to endure it,” Paula warned with a stark stare. “I’ll get you something to eat when the sun goes down.”
Paula explained that she could go out for a brief period of time, but she felt the exertion in the sunlight was unnecessary when sunset was just three hours away, so Russell grudgingly agreed to wait. When Paula did leave the apartment armed with Russell’s money to purchase meat, the sun was just below the horizon and Russell was in distress with hunger pangs. The faint scent of neighbors had him anxious for blood. This condition only worsened after Paula left the apartment, and it was half an hour after she had left when Donny knocked on his apartment door.
Donny Ellis worked alongside Russell as a medical lab technician for the past seven years. They became close friends soon after their first meeting. Donny’s presence at Russell’s door was motivated by concern for his friend. He made several calls to Russell’s apartment and cellphone over the past ten hours to inquire why he did not come to work. He was outside Russell’s apartment door now to see if he was home and okay, and it took him nearly a minute of knocking to get his answer.
“Man, you look terrible,” Donny exclaimed when Russell opened the door. “What’s wrong?”
Donny was speaking about Russell’s thin and tired appearance. His impression at first sight was that Russell was ill. His medical training supported his suspicion. When he made a move to enter the apartment, Russell quickly pulled the door tight to his side, blocking Donny’s entry.
“I’m okay,” Russell answered while holding the door flush against his side. “I’m just a little under the weather.”
Donny was surprised by Russell’s reluctance to let him inside the apartment. Normally Russell would just open the door and walk away with the expectation that Donny would follow him inside.
“You’re more than under the weather, man,” Donny disputed while examining Russell with a steady gaze. “I think you should go to an emergency room.”
“No, no,” Russell countered while blocking the doorway. “I’ll be okay. I just need to rest.”
“You sure?” Donny questioned with a dubious expression while attempting to look past Russell and into his apartment. “Because it really looks like someone should be looking after you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Russell answered with a shrug and a nod of his head. “Paula is looking after me. So, I’m okay.”
“Paula is here?” Donny questioned with a little surprise. “Well, can I come in?”
Donny’s close association with Russell produced numerous occasions when he and Paula had socialized in the past. He regarded Paula’s company as an entertaining experience, and the idea that she was inside Russell’s apartment made his blocking stance at the door more suspicious.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Russell returned. “This thing might be contagious.”
“That’s all the more reason why you should let me in,” Donny insisted as he pushed by Russell and entered the apartment.
Russell understood Donny’s reasoning for coming inside. His medical training would make a better option than Paula if he were truly ill. His contagious excuse was a reflex thought to justify keeping Donny out. As Donny brushed by him, Russell both regretted and reveled in Donny’s insistence on coming inside. His regret was rooted in his worry that Donny would learn the truth about his condition, and his revelry was rooted in the smell of Donny’s blood that flooded into his olfactory as he passed.
“Paula, where are you?” Donny called as he walked through the apartment looking for her.
Russell shut the door slowly, followed Donny into the living room and waited there for Donny to come out of the kitchen at the other end of a connecting hall.
“Where is she?” Donny asked as he walked back into the living room.
“What?” Russell returned with a dazed look.
Russell’s thinking was on hold while his mind was savoring the scent of Donny’s blood filling the apartment. He barely heard Donny speaking. The salivating going on inside his mouth had his senses overwhelmed with stimuli.
“Paula, where is she?” Donny asked again.
“Oh, she—ah, she went to the store,” Russell fumbled out while staring at Donny with fascination.
Donny was startled by the manner of Russell’s dazed and confused response. He hesitated for a moment to analyze his appearance, and then he started towards him.
“You don’t look well,” Donny announced as he started toward Russell. “Let me check your temperature.”
Donny was an instant away from placing the back of his hand against his friend’s forehead when Russell snatched up his arm and spun him around. There was no thinking behind Russell’s actions. An overwhelming hunger was driving him to feed, and the blood in Donny’s body is what he craved at that moment. The speed of Russell’s assault surprised Donny to the extent that he only became aware that his life was in danger after he felt the bite go into his neck. Because of the angle of the attack, Donny did not see the fangs that suddenly grew into Russell’s mouth, and he did not see the light reflecting off his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Donny screamed as he struggled against Russell’s grip.
Shortly after Donny’s cry, Russell took him down to the floor. His fangs were still dug into Donny’s neck and blood gushed from the wound. Donny struggled feverishly to free himself, but Russell kept him clenched within his arms with an unyielding grip. In little more than a minute, Donny slipped unconscious. Now unfettered by Donny’s effort to free himself, Russell released his hold around his torso and took his head into his hands. For more than a minute, Russell fed on Donny’s blood without a thought of anything else. His attention was so focused on the meal he was consuming that he failed to hear Paula enter the apartment.
“What are you doing?” Paula screamed. “Stop! Stop!” she yelled while dropping her groceries and racing over to Russell.
Paula grabbed Russell by the arm and shoulder and began pulling to separate him from Donny’s neck. Several seconds later, Russell instinctively responded to his sister’s efforts and dropped Donny’s head and shoulders to the floor. Almost immediately after releasing Donny, Russell stood up and growled with satisfaction. The excess energy and the accompanying exhilaration came on in a rush that filled his person with euphoria. A wide smile was on his face as he extended his arms out and rejoiced in the tremendous sensation he was feeling. After several seconds of mindless exaltation, Russell’s wits returned to him, and he became aware that his sister was staring at him with a look of shock.
It took Russell another few seconds to piece together in his mind what he had done. He looked down at Donny and went into a panic. The sight of Donny lying motionless on the floor horrified him. He could not believe what he had done and that he had done it so unwittingly. The loss of his friend suddenly filled him with remorse.
“Is he dead?” Russell whined tearfully.
“No not yet,” Paula returned as she stared down at Donny. “I can still hear his heart beating.”
Russell looked down and listened. After a few seconds, he heard a slow, faint, rhythmic beat reverberating from Donny’s chest. He suddenly realized that Paula was right, and then he looked at his sister with a questioning expression.
“We have to get him to a hospital,” Russell stated for Paula’s approval.
“No,” Paula countered with a shake of her head.
“He’ll die if we don’t,” Russell responded with insistence and shock.
“We can’t give ourselves away,” Paula stridently countered.
Russell paused to consider Paula’s words.
“We can’t just let him die,” Russell dejectedly returned.
Paula gave her brother a mournful look in response to his declaration. She knew that Russell was desperate to save his friend but letting Donny die was exactly what she was thinking. She saw his death as a solution to the problem of the police learning about the attack and possible murder of Donny. Paula’s biggest fear at that moment was that her little brother might be in danger. The solution was obvious to her mind, and they only had to wait for him to die to initiate it, and that wait was not long. Donny’s heart came to a stop in just under a minute.
“We have to turn him,” Paula instructed with urgency.
Paula went down to her knees and took Donny’s head into her hands. Breathing deeply, she induced her fangs to grow.
“What are you doing?” Russell asked.
“I have to turn him, Russell, and I have to do it now,” Paula answered with speed and insistence.
Paula arched Donny’s head back and opened his mouth. She then bit into the fleshy part of her palm and began dripping the blood from the wound into Donny’s mouth. Russell watched with concern and fascination.
“This is what you did to me?” Russell questioned with astonishment.
“Yes,” Paula returned as she continued to drip her blood into Donny’s mouth.
“Is it going to work,” Russell asked with worry.
“I think so,” Paula responded just as she finished feeding her blood to Donny.
Paula laid Donny’s head gently onto the floor and stood. Russell watched and waited for his sister’s next move or words, but Paula ignored him. Instead, she shut her eyes and held them shut over the next several seconds while concentrating on her breathing. Russell could see that Paula was willing herself into a calm and relaxed state, but he did not know. When Paula completed the act of calming herself, she reached into her mouth with her thumb and index finger and began breaking off her fangs.
“They become brittle when you calm down from your… arousal,” Paula answered Russell’s questioning look. “They’ll break off on their own in time.”
Russell reached up and tested his sister’s claim by taking one of his fangs between his fingers. To his surprise, the end of the tooth broke off with ease and without pain. He then quickly broke away the remaining three.
“What are you thinking?” Russell asked in response to Paula’s bewildered expression.
Paula hesitated to answer. Her mind was still in the middle of considering their options and what they should do. She knew that when Donny awakened as a vampire, he would be free to do as he wanted. She trusted Russell to stay discreet, but she had no such assurance that Donny would do the same.
It was Paula’s fear that if Donny exposed what he was to the world, then Russell, herself and all the other vampires would soon be exposed too. She knew that Tony would make that same calculation, and she worried that he would kill Donny, herself and Russell to protect the secret of their existence. Paula greatly feared for her own life, but she feared for her brother’s life even more.
“I need to call someone,” Paula announced as she pulled the slip of paper with Lola’s phone number on it from her jacket pocket.
Paula hesitated to dial the phone number, but she soon concluded that Lola was the person she had to call first. It did not matter to Paula that she had only just met Lola two days earlier. She felt safer in Lola’s company than she did with anyone else associated with Tony. She even had her trepidations about Charlie. His history of obeisance to Tony caused her to wonder what Charlie would do if it ever came down to a choice between protecting her or obeying Tony.
Lola gave Paula a feeling of safety. She did not detect anything hostile about her, and she seemed to possess some rank within Tony’s collection of associates. She noticed that everyone outside of Tony regarded her as a person of authority. She understood that Lola’s rank within the gang was a result of Tony’s devotion to her. It was because of those feelings that Paula hoped that Lola might give her some protection.
“Hi,” Paula meekly greeted.
“Where the hell are you?” Lola responded in a demanding tone.
“I went to see my brother,” Paula mildly explained.
“Your brother?” Lola loudly returned. “And you couldn’t have called? Wait, wait, wait, are you there now?”
“Yes,” Paula replied with a slight nod. “I needed to stay.”
“So, you haven’t been back to Jerry’s?” Lola questioned eagerly.
“No, I haven’t been back yet,” Paula hesitantly responded.
“Good,” Lola quickly acknowledged. “Don’t go there. Stay where you are. Have you spoken with Charlie since you left?” She finished with a quick change of subjects.
“No,” Paula answered with surprise. “He isn’t there with you?”
“No, I think he’s still with Tony,” Lola sharply advised. “And I don’t know where he is either. He should have called me by now.”
Paula was suddenly mystified by the conversation she was having with Lola. Instead of telling her about what had happened to her, Paula found herself in the middle of a conversation that she did not understand. The only takeaway she had so far was that Lola was concerned about something on her end.
“I don’t understand,” Paula politely challenged. “Why don’t you just call him?”
“I have,” Lola roared back at Paula. “He’s not answering his cellphone. I don’t know what the hell is going on right now.”
“Maybe you should call Jerry,” Paula suggested as nicely as she could.
“That’s not possible,” Lola grumbled through the cellphone.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Paula asked with a confused frown.
“I’m not talking about it over the phone,” Lola returned in a disgruntled tone. “Just stay away from Jerry’s and answer your phone when I call later.”
Paula immediately concluded that Lola was not at Jerry’s home either.
“So, you’re not at Jerry’s either?” Paula guessed.
“No, I’m not,” Lola returned with an annoyed grumble. “And neither are those two idiots who were in the house with us.”
“Why?” Paula asked with intrigue. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t talk about that right now,” Lola answered sullenly. “I just need you to stay in touch.”
“Wait, wait,” Paula quickly spoke up before Lola could disconnect the call. “I have a situation.”
“What do you mean, situation?” Lola asked.
Paula paused to reconsider what she was about to say. She was not sure if she wanted to tell Lola about her brother being a vampire. She was concerned that once that was known there was no going back, but she shortly decided that there was no hiding her brother. Paula knew that Charlie would encounter Russell eventually.
“Tony has—two new grandchildren,” Paula delicately confessed.
“You didn’t?” Lola immediately returned with an intonation of shock.
“It’s my brother,” Paula somberly returned. “And someone else,” she meekly ended.
“Oh hell,” Lola exclaimed. “Tony is going to explode.”
“He’s my baby brother,” Paula pleaded into her cellphone. “I couldn’t just leave—what if something happened to him? What if he got hit by a car or shot on the street? He’s my brother,” she lamented with finality.
Lola paused to consider what she should say next. There was a limit to what she was prepared to say over the phone, but she did want to know if the situation was going to cause them any trouble beyond Tony.
“So, is your brother and this other person going to be a problem?” Paula asked after a pause and sigh.
“No—I mean, I don’t think so,” Paula fumbled out. “Not my brother,” she quickly corrected. “But I don’t know about—the other person—maybe, maybe not. He’s still . . . changing,” she haltingly finished.
“Fine, fine,” Lola returned through the cellphone with frustration. “How long?”
“I think another twelve hours—more or less,” Paula replied with a regretful tone.
“Okay. Fine, you stay on top of that, and I’ll call you in a few hours,” Lola testily responded. “And when I call, pick up.”
“Okay,” Paula agreed.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.