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Reflections Under a Crimson Moon

~New Moon view~

The sun has only just begun its journey across the sky when I wake up.  I feel a bit groggy, and it takes me a few seconds to find the lamp on my nightstand with my hand.  Feeling a chain, I give it a little tug, and the room is flooded with light.  I shield my eyes; I’m told I never have been very good around light.  With my condition, my body is constantly in pain, and my eyes are very sensitive to bright things.  Fumbling around a bit, I clumsily put my clothes on and stumble my way into the bathroom to take care of my teeth.  Maybe my hair, too, if I feel like it.

I go through the motions mechanically, not even bothering to look at myself in the mirror – I know what I’d see.  Brush, spit, repeat, rinse, gargle.  Yawn.  Like any other day, I grab my things and head off for school.

My name is Ken, and it might be selfish and naïve to say so, but life is boring.  Always more of the same, always routine.  Of course, I suppose I can’t complain, at least I don’t have any major problems in life, compared to some people.  I do well in my classes, I have a few friends.  My apartment is actually pretty nice, for a Junior in High School.  Well, I come from a wealthy family, and my inheritance helped me considerably with the latter, but I suppose that only adds to my good fortune.

Perhaps that is the problem in itself, I think to myself as I mindlessly walk down the same sidewalk of the same road, heading for the same school.  My life’s been made uninteresting by how easy it’s come to me.  Without a sense of adversity, the feeling of being alive begins to fade after a while.

I arrive at the front gate of the school.  It’s about twenty minutes before classes begin, but there are already a large number of students bustling about, doing their own things, attending to their own lives.  I sigh, moving wordlessly through the crowd.

“Yo, Kenny!”

Before I manage to get to the front door, a familiar voice calls my name.  I don’t have time to turn around before I feel a hand slap heartily against my shoulder.  I turn around to face my longtime friend, Edward.  He’s grinning like a big idiot, as usual.

“Hey, Edward.  Haven’t I asked you not to call me that?” I reply simply.  I’m not a big fan of nicknames and whatnot, and ‘Kenny’ sounds especially juvenile to me.  That goofy grin just gets wider.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.  But it’s just so much fun hearing you whine about it all the time!” he laughs, giving my shoulder another hearty slap.  I wish he’d stop doing that.

Edward has been my friend since our early childhood.  We’ve practically grown up together, even though there were always strict rules about the sort of people we associated ourselves with at my parents’ house.  He’s a pretty smart guy, and I suppose a girl could think he might be sort of attractive, but he’s always been a laid-back goofball.  He acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

He’s also very honest.  That’s a useful attribute to know that your friends have.

“So anyways, I’ve been wondering lately…” he begins, getting down to the point, “…have you started looking for a girl yet?” suddenly, he’s looking at me very seriously, all trace of humor gone from his voice.  It’s so startling it’s almost scary, and I take a step back.  Among other things, subtlety isn’t exactly one of his strong suits.

“W-wha…?” I manage to blather incohesively.  “Uh, I-I…ermmm…”

“C’mon, dude, simple question,” Edward presses on, knocking on my forehead as if nothing’s inside it, “Girl.  Dating.  Going out.  Gettin’ some.  Life, you know?  Any of this ringin’ a bell?”  …Apparently he feels he needs to spell it out for me.  Either that or he’s making fun of me.

“Edward, you know I don’t have time for that kind of thing right now,” is my simple reply.  It’s true; even though I’m technically so wealthy I really don’t have to do anything for the rest of my life, I still want to make my way through my life on my own.  I don’t want to have to rely on my old man’s fortune to make a living.  Even if it’s unnecessary, I want to do the whole school, job, career thing.  I need to prove to myself that I’m not just living in my old man’s shadow.

Edward doesn’t care, or indeed even know, about any of this.  His attitude does another total backflip (he’s pretty well-known for having a ‘fluid’ personality), that carefree grin reappears on his face, and he lets out a major whoop, slapping me on the shoulder again.  “Man, I swear, you’re so clean-cut, you’d think you came straight out of a convent or something.”  He moves in and with an exaggerated motion ‘whispers’ in my ear.  “I bet you’re even straight-laced enough to not even want to get up on that fine piece over there-” he points as he speaks.  Rolling my eyes, I follow his finger.  That ‘fine piece over there’ is sempai Mina, my senior.  She’s really popular with the guys because of her hard-to-get attitude and good looks, but…

“You use some strange words, Edward,” I finally manage to say, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, well, I’ve had worse insults thrown my way,” Edward smiles back, suppressing a snicker.  “Well anyways, class is about to begin, so I’ll see ya around, okay?” Edward waves as he heads toward the door.  I nod, heading off to my first class as well.

“Yo, Ken.”

I turn around.  Edward is glancing back at me from over his shoulder.  His eyes are serious, and he’s frowning.  He even called me by my proper name.  “…Yeah?”

“Don’t be such a stranger.  It couldn’t hurt to maybe pick up the phone once in a while.  Get out a bit, live a little, okay?”  Without waiting for an answer, he turns back and heads off into the building.

I sigh hopelessly, resuming my own walk.  I know what he’s saying; he’s just worried about me.  Like I said, I have a few friends, and they all worry about ‘how quiet I am’, or ‘how much pain I look like I’m in’, or something like that.  Edward is the only one that knows about my condition though.  It took a lot of arguing to get him to agree to keep quiet about it, but he’s still always watching my back, still looking out for me.  It’s nice to have a friend that cares so much, but I don’t want other people to have to worry on my account.  I can do just fine on my own.

I appreciate his concern, but I guess I don’t really show it that much.  Sometimes I feel bad about that.

Class goes by pretty slowly, but I still don’t really catch most of it.  I’m pretty smart, and paying attention in class isn’t something I have to concern myself too much about.  Edward isn’t in my class, and he goes out on the town during lunch, so I don’t really see him except before school.  After school he waits for me sometimes, but he usually has ‘work to take care of’.  Of course, he doesn’t have a job, and I’m not really certain what he’s actually up to, but he gets along well enough, so I don’t worry too much about it.

The bell chimes its everyday tune, and everyone begins filing out of the classrooms, into the front lot below.  I watch from my desk, gazing absentmindedly through the window, out at the sky painted a deep vibrant orange as the sun descends.  I suppose I should get home, too.  I put away my school things and head out.

The streets are unusually crowded this afternoon, and it takes me a while to even get to the downtown area.  There, the hustle and bustle of city life is only more densely packed.  Almost not even like a lot of people, but closer to one big mob of human flesh, moving out of necessity as a whole as much as a mass of individuals.  I don’t recognize anybody in the sea of people.  I don’t really see how I could; it’s hard enough to make out one face with that many being seen at once, let alone take the time to recognize one.

I simply move along with the crowd, trying my best not to run into anybody in the commotion.  Somebody passes closely by me, making her way through the crowd just a little faster-

That girl.  The impulse hits me like a shockwave, so hard that it takes a few seconds for my mind to make sense of what it just thought.  That girl.  Even in the half-a-moment glimpse that I catch of her, I know I have never seen her before.  She stands out too much to be familiar.  My reaction to her is more an impulse of desire, and surprise at that desire, than anything else.

In that fraction of a second that she is in my line of sight, this is what my eyes tell my brain that they are seeing.  White-blonde hair, pale skin, perfect complexion.  A thick, long-sleeved shirt that had obviously been chosen to draw attention away from her body, but utterly fails to do so.  The soft, gentle swell of her chest under the fabric.  A knee-length skirt, perfectly sculpted legs underneath.  The soft sway of her hips as she walks, that carefree, happy, peaceful expression that she wears on her face.

All of that, my eyes comprehend of her during the first moment.  What draws my focus in the next moment steals away all of those thoughts, as she quickly glances over her shoulder to apologize for bumping into me by accident, her features suddenly struck with concern.  I don’t even hear what she has to say.  What I am lost in is her eyes.

Firstly, they’re impossibly bright.  One of my friends has a cat, and I am unnervingly reminded of this as this woman looks at me.  That’s outstanding enough, but even more strange, they’re red.  No, not ‘oh-dear, I-thought-they-were-red-in-the-light-but-they’re-actually-brown’ red, and not the red that you see when you look at something that should be green and means you’re about to pay your optician a lot of money, but real, deep, honest-to-goodness red.  Red like an apple.  Red like rich wine.  Red like blood.

She blinks once, and the spell is broken.  “Umm, hello-o-o…?” she repeats.  Somehow, my mind is able to tell that she’s been saying this for about twenty seconds now.  “Can you hear me?”

“Hmmm?  O-oh, yes, ah…I’m s-sorry I bumped into you like that…” I mumble, still in a daze.  Wait a minute, wasn’t that supposed to be the other way around?

“Are you making fun of me?” the girl laughs suddenly, the expression on her face changing back to that cheerful smile.  “You’re a funny fellow, aren’t you?” she giggles, before turning back around, and disappearing back into the crowd ahead of me.  The word ‘wait’ forms in my mind, but I can’t quite get my mouth to cooperate.  And just like that, she’s gone.

Damn, I’m stupid.  I don’t stop thinking about it all the way home.  That smile, that body, those eyes.  Her gaze was almost frightening, almost seductive, and quite possibly mildly hypnotic.  She was the vision of perfection, and I had made a complete fool of myself in front of her, mumbling incoherently like an idiot.  I’ve always known my speaking skills tend to…falter somewhat when under pressure, but this is the first time that I’m actually regretting it.

After a while, I come to my senses as I’m lying in my bed.  She was just some random girl that happened to bump into me.  I’m a guy, so it’s only natural to have that kind of reaction to that beautiful of a woman.  And what makes me think she’d take any interest in a guy like me?  I’m a good student, I’m pretty intelligent.  I guess I look alright – nothing to write home about, but not terrible, at any rate.  But still, odds are, I’ll never see her again.  Something about that makes me feel both relieved and let down at the same time.  I decide I’ll just forget about her.

This I utterly, abjectly fail to do.

“Something must be wrong with me,” I mutter to myself, shaking my head hopelessly as I reach for the phone.  I dial Edward’s number; he has more experience with this sort of thing than me.

“Hello?” his voice is unmistakable on the other end of the line.

“Edward.”

“Kenny!” his voice explodes with delight, and I can hear an awful lot of laughter.  “Man, I guess you can take even my advice once in a while.”

“Yeah,” I hesitate.  Is this a mistake?  Edward has seen tons of girls, and he’s really popular with them for some reason, but still…what the hell, I’ll just say it.  “Listen, I got something a bit weird I need to ask you about.”

“No, I’m not seeing any guys right now,” Edward replies, suppressing a giggle.  I roll my eyes.  “Just messin’, man,” he adds quickly.  He clears his throat and his voice becomes serious.  “So what can I do for you?”

“Well, I saw this girl today, and-” I get no further because Edward is bursting into a fresh bout of hysteria on the other end.

“Well damn, we are on a roll today, aren’t we?!” he laughs.  “So, who is she?”

“That’s the thing, Edward, I don’t know.  I just caught a glimpse of her in a crowd, and…I swear I felt like my heart had stopped.”

“Sounds like a crush,” he observes.  Well, I could’ve figured that one out.  Even though I don’t really like the term.

“So, what should I do?” I ask.  I know I’m running into a dead-end here, but I ask anyways.

“Well, I dunno what you’re looking for, man.  No name, no address, and you saw this chick in the middle of downtown.  That isn’t a great setup for working out who she is, y’know.”  Yeah, I kinda figured that would be his response.  “Sorry, man.”

“No, it’s okay,” I sigh.  “Thanks for listening.”

“Any time, man.  Just call me up.”

I hang up the phone.  For a while, I just lie there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.  Before I know it, the sun’s going down.  It’s getting late.  I suppose I’ll just put it out of my head for now, forget about this dream-girl, and go to sleep.  With that in mind, I go through my nightly routine.  Quick ramen dinner, tidy up the kitchen.  Get undressed, hop in the shower for an hour or so.  Brush teeth, fall over into bed.  Yawn.

But for some reason, sleep doesn’t come to me.  That’s odd; I never have any trouble passing out, especially when the night is so quiet outside.  It’s that woman.  I can’t stop thinking about her.  And the more I think about her, the less able I am to close my eyes; the less able I am to fall asleep.  I shake my head with an ironic smile.  Maybe there really is something wrong with me.

In the end, I decide to take a stroll through town, get some fresh air.  Maybe that’ll help clear out my head.  I throw some night-time clothes on and head out the door.

The night air is crisp and fresh.  It’s not chilly, and it has an indescribably pleasant smell.  The breeze is warm and gentle; the last vestiges of summer blowing through the streets.  I walk along the sidewalk, taking in the scenery as I walk.  Normally I would pay more attention to the sky, but it’s cloudy tonight, and most of the stars aren’t visible.

As I make my way into the downtown, I keep near the lamplights that periodically illuminate the sidewalk.  I’m not worried about getting jumped or anything weird like that, I just prefer to be able to see where I’m going.  A couple lights flicker, but that’s normal, and I don’t pay much attention.

It’s getting late; I can tell because the city nightlife is beginning to get started.  I’m not in the downtown area yet, but the after-hours businesses are beginning to light up, and I can see the neon glow even from a mile or so away.  I decide to head that way.  A few couples are beginning to walk the streets as well – from kids a little younger than me to middle-aged lovers out for a stroll.  It almost feels strange to me, as I walk alone, to see how many people have already found their partner.  Is it really getting to be about time that I start to look for a girl?  Maybe that’s why my body reacted so strongly earlier today.

The downtown area is fairly busy, the glow of the neon signs all around lighting the entire street.  I walk through the town, stopping briefly in a few stores to check them out.  The theatre is, as usual, the main center of night life, as the entire front area doubles as a hub for people to gather and mingle.  There’s a lot of talk about these weird murders that have been taking place overnight.  I don’t pay much attention, but I pick up a lot of talk about the occult, stuff like vampires and blood.  I don’t like that kind of stuff, and I don’t linger long enough to pick up on how those two subjects are related.

One of the movies that are playing in the theatre is a horror picture about vampires.  Maybe that’s what they’re talking about.  For my part, I decide to head back home.  Even just this short walk is enough to tire me out.

After wandering through the incandescent center of downtown, the walk back home seems somehow darker.  My eyes are probably adjusted to the bright lights.  In comparison, the streetlights that line the sidewalk seem dimmer, and more of them seem to be flickering than usual.  Somebody should really have that looked at; this is a pretty safe town, but it’s not like anybody enjoys walking around in the dark, unable to see where they’re going.

As I pass by the gateway to the park, I think I hear something…high-pitched, cut-off.  Like a stifled scream.  I clearly feel myself shrug and think to myself, it’s not any of my business, but for some reason I’m drawn to that sound.  Call it curiosity, maybe.  I don’t know.  For whatever reason, I turn to face the park gates.  To my surprise, I find that the gate hasn’t been locked, like whoever’s in charge of locking it after ten forgot to do it.  I hesitate; I know ‘too many coincidences’ when I see it, and I can feel, in the back of my head, just the tiniest pang of apprehension.  I take a moment to catch my breath, and push open the gate.  It creaks open noisily, with the sound of rusty iron grating against itself in protest.

There are very few lamps in the park, and the light that they each give off is even weaker, compared to the lights out by the street.  I walk down the walkway, trees to my left and right.  Eventually, I come to a bench under a lamp.  I decide to take a rest; my body is complaining about how much strain I’m putting on it tonight.  While I sit and catch my breath, I look up at the sky.  The clouds have thinned out a bit by now, but the moon is still concealed.  Even so, just gazing at the stars…it’s beautiful.

There’s a noise nearby.  Like a shifting of fabric, or maybe wind against the leaves of a bush. I get up to investigate.  The sound comes from a small clearing behind a tall hedge, to my right.  Slowly, silently, I bring myself up to the bush, carefully parting the leaves so as not to make much noise.  What I see surprises me, though I suppose it shouldn’t.

There’s a girl and a boy in mid-embrace in the middle of the clearing.  They seem to be making out.  Their eyes are closed, and my presence goes unnoticed.  I wonder to myself if they realize that they could get in a lot of trouble for being here after-hours.  I can’t help but be a little intrigued; I don’t see this kind of thing happen much, if at all.  The young woman is kissing the man’s neck gently, the nape exposed.  It suddenly occurs to me, in this darkness, that the man’s silhouette suggests that he his significantly older than the girl – perhaps in his mid-thirties.

The moon comes out from behind its cloud.  For the first time, I notice the slender trickle coming up from under the woman’s mouth on the man’s neck – the trickle of something red.

I can’t help but gasp, before I catch myself.  What is this…?  What are these two doing?  What is this carnal…-

She opens her eyes slowly, as if lost in the sweet bliss of what she’s doing.  Those twin mirrors of her eyes glint violent red in the moonlight, and I know right away that it’s her.  The first feeling that enters my mind as I recognize her is completely other than the one that I expect: I feel horrified.  Inexplicable, stark terror grips my spine, and my body goes rigid.  I don’t understand, as I stand petrified in fright.

…And then – I do.  And at that moment, her eyes open wide, and her gaze snaps straight over to where I’m hiding.

I’ve been discovered.

~Full Moon view~

I’ve been discovered.

My other senses tell me this even before I see the boy.  It takes me a moment to recognize him as the one that I bumped into earlier today while I was out staking out tonight’s meal.  It occurs to me that he has been watching me for some time, and that the light of the moon just now has at last given him a better grasp on what he is witnessing.  I can feel the fear welling up in him, the precursor to the pump of adrenaline into the bloodstream.

I can hear the quickening pulse of his heartbeat.  I can hear it, and it makes me mad to have him.  I’ve just finished my first meal, but listening to the steady rhythm of his heart slowly picking up pace teases at my senses.  The tide of bloodlust rises up into my throat again.  I lick my lips in anticipation.  I release my hold on the shell of the man I just finished, withdrawing my fangs from his neck.  His body falls limply to the ground with an unceremonious thud.

I hear him gulp, can practically feel his breath on the air.  “Y…Y-you’re…!” he manages to stammer out.

I take a step forward, holding back the pressure of the lust and the craving and the need, oh, god, the need to take him.  The vampire’s instinct is a powerful one, and it cannot be resisted.  Even so, to hold it back as long as possible, to feel that uncontrollable rush of hormones as you gaze into the terrified eyes of your prey, and hold yourself there, on the verge of delirium – ah, sweet ecstasy, euphoria!  It prompts a warmth in my lower belly.  If you’re a vampire, you know what I’m talking about.

The boy takes a step back, so I walk steadily towards him.  As I draw nearer, my eyes start to activate.  I can see everything.  Even from a good ten feet away, I can clearly see every minute detail of his body.  I can pick out individual fibers on his clothes.  Every freckle, any single eyelash, it doesn’t matter, all I have to do is focus my eyes.  In my eyesight, his body gives off a faint red-hued glow.  Finally, I’m at my peak, I can’t hold myself back anymore. As I draw within five feet – so close the thrumming of his frantically racing heart is washing over my body in waves – I smile widely, revealing the fangs that are about to end his life.

A smile that says if you don’t turn around and run right now, you are going to die.

The boy screams, a sound of primal fear that only fuels my hunger as I drink it in, and turns to flee.  I know I shouldn’t, and some part of me almost doesn’t want to, but it’s too late for him now; he’s seen me mid-embrace, and now he must be silenced.  I allow sentient reasoning to give way to bestial instinct, and take up the chase.

He’s fast – surprisingly so for a human – but I can hear his breath growing ragged as he dashes through the streets.  “Ahhh!” he screams as he goes.  “Somebody help me!” fool of a boy, wasting his breath while he’s running like that; there’s nobody nearby to save him, all he’s doing is tiring himself out faster.

He’s a fast runner, but he grows tired more quickly than the average human.  I’m having less trouble following him as he weaves through the streets and alleys.  No human, no matter how strong or athletic, can hope to outrun a vampire, of course, but I’ve just drained an entire meal, so my movements are a little sluggish.  Still, as he tires and grows slower, my body rejuvenates and my movements become quicker.  In only a matter of a few more second, I’ll be on hi-

At the last second, he darts into a dark side alley.  This agile move catches me off-guard, and my momentum and still-sluggish reaction carries me sidelong into the building as I turn to follow.  Without pausing, I ignore the blow of my head against the cement, and spring after him.

Near blind in the dark, in contrast to my superior eyesight, the boy realizes his mistake, running into the wall at the end of the narrow corridor-like passage – a dead end.  He turns to face me just as I pounce.

“A-ah…!-” he manages a startled half-cry, the blue of his eyes jumping out as a vibrant streak as I throw the weight of my body against him, running him into the floor.  Regaining my senses now that I’ve caught my prey, I look down at him hungrily, pinning his arms down.

At this distance, my eyes adjust themselves, and with my new focus, I can dimly see through the flesh, like his skin is only a translucent membrane.  I can feel his panic in the waves of heat his body gives off, my own skin tingling with agonized anticipation.  I gaze down at his throat, beneath the translucent skin of his neck where the sweet red is so barely bound.  My consciousness fading in and out, I open my mouth and begin to descend, aching for the release that I seek to rush into me.

Wait, stop, the voice of my mind commands, halting me.  The strain against those primal instincts of lust and hunger pulsates tortuously through my twitching body.  My ears are picking up footsteps.  There is another human approaching…maybe two…no, no definitely only one.  But still, I can’t be seen like this, and I might be able to pull off two, but there’s no way I could drain three in one sitting.  I almost make a move to get up and walk away, but the person has already stepped around the corner, and is heading this way…

~New Moon view~

Somehow, a part of my mind is still sane enough, as I slam into that wall, to be able to calmly think that this is just my luck, to run into a dead-end at a time like this.

I am scared.  I am beyond scared.  I’m stark terrified.  And, as I turn to face my assailant, a terrific force plows straight into me, and follows me as I scream and crash violently to the ground, slamming the back of my head against the ground.  The impact to my head actually does knock me out, but the subsequent pain wakes me right up again.

“Ngh…” I bite down on my lip, and push myself up, only to feel the vampire’s hands clamp down around my wrists and force my hands to the ground.  I struggle, but her grip is unbreakable, like an iron vice.  I slowly look up at her, my vision clearing from that last blow to the head.  She has me pinned down good, but she has a pained look on her face; almost like she’s halfway between ecstasy and torture.  Her eyes are wide, pupils dilated to catlike slits.  With that glare, it looks like she’s staring straight through me.

She’s…she’s panting.  Like she’s out of breath, or…or trying to control herself or something.  Slowly, as I squirm under her body, she lowers herself, her lips parting slightly to reveal gleaming twin fangs.  A tiny pink tongue darts out and licks her lips as she comes down on my neck.  But, at the last second, just as I feel those two fangs which are going to spell out my doom press up against my jugular vein, I hear a footstep, and a confused “Oh…?”

The woman’s body goes rigid, like that confused inflection turned her to stone.  I don’t understand, but perhaps the presence of another person here is a threat to her.  It gives me an idea.

Her eyes dart from mine to over her shoulder quickly, back and forth.  She makes her move, drawing her fangs away from my throat.  She turns to face the new voice, and in that moment, I feel the force of her weight coming off my wrist.  With what strength I have left, I reach up and grab her head.  I pull her down to me and press my lips against hers.

Softer than I expected.

Her startled expression almost matches my own as I realize how stupid the thing that I’m doing is.  The suddenly familiar voice of the intruder chuckles.  “Well gee, Kenny, ya coulda told me you found her.”

Oh my god.  Of all the people in the world that could’ve caught me in this kind of situation…

I glance over the vampire woman’s shoulder to see none other than my best friend, Edward, looking down at me with arched eyebrows.  “U-uh…h-hello, Edward,” I manage to say.  With the woman on top of me, holding me down like this, this must look like a strange scene to walk in on, especially since it’s me, and Edward knows that I’m not the type for this kind of thing.  Despite that, I work my way up to the most barefaced lie I have ever thought of.  “…This is my girlfriend.”  I nod up to the girl in question, whose eyes do an interesting double-take between my eyes and my mouth, as though she may just as easily be offended, or relieved, or just purely confused by the sheer absurdity of what I’ve just said.

“Well, seems like there is hope for you, after all!” Edward laughs after a moment.  As I thought, he’s thinking something weird.  He shrugs, a look of mock irritation on his face.  “I guess I did all that worrying about you for nothing,” he sighs.  Considering the very imminent danger I am at this moment in, this must be another example of Edward’s almost poetically ironic bad choice of words.

“U-uh, Edward, I can explain this-I-”

“Forget about it, man, I totally get what’s going on.”  A genuine grin crosses Edward’s face as he turns around.  “Seeing’s how you two seem to be…occupied…I think I’ll just be on my way,” he adds, waving a hand over his shoulder.  And then he’s gone.

~Full Moon view~

My body’s completely locked up from the moment his lips touch mine.  It’s such an unexpected move that I’m having a lot of trouble processing it in my mind.  Why did he do that?!  And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the new human seems to be an acquaintance of my prey.  I’m done.  I’ll be exposed as a vampire for sure, and it might be impossible for me to get out of this country alive now.  They will come and find me, and I’ll be put to death.

“…This is my girlfriend.”

I can’t help it; my mouth hangs slightly open as I take in what the boy under me has just said.  Is…is he covering for me?!  How absurd!  The notion that my prey, whom I was a mere fraction of a moment from killing, is now talking my way out of this.  Does he know of my situation?  No, no, he must’ve simply made a lucky guess, and for some reason decided to take up my side.  This is too much.  I need some time to calm down and collect my thoughts.

The obnoxious boy leaves, grinning madly.  I stay on top of my prey for a few moments, and my senses start to sort themselves out.  The person under me is breathing harshly, his body still racing with adrenaline and hot, fresh blood.  I take a moment to bask in that warmth, radiating up out of his body.  Even a vampire can take a moment to bask in the innocent pleasure of warmth, right?  And, that kiss earlier…his lips were so warm…

Wait, what am I thinking?!

“Why?” the tone of my voice demands an answer.  “Why did you do that?!”

He trembles, looking up at me, as though still unsure about whether or not he’s in any immediate danger.  “Y-you seemed troubled when my friend showed up.  Well, at any rate, it s-stopped you from biting me, so concealing something like that must be important to you.”  His nervousness is understandable, but I’ve calmed down a bit, and I’m not entirely sure that I want to kill him, even though I’m going to have to.

“…your point being?” the moment I say those words and see the twitch in his eye, I regret not keeping my mouth shut.  I just confirmed his theory for him.  He’s smart, for a human.  He sees the worry in my mind written all over my face, and pushes me off of him, now that I’m not holding him down anymore.  Then he backs away from me, trying to edge his way out of the corner.  His eyes dart from me to the end of the alley, out to the road.  Before he can make a move, I grab his neck and slam him against the corner.

“Not so fast,” I growl, trying my best to ignore the throbbing of the vein under the soft, tender flesh of his neck.  “You…” I need to choose my next words carefully, lest I say something stupid again.  “You know…what I am, right?”  I loosen my grip on his neck so that he can respond.

“V…v-vampire…?” the word slips out of his mouth.  The panicking expression on his face tells me he’s praying that he’s wrong.  It infuriates me, but if he’s figured it out, there’s no point in denying it.  I’m done.

I toss him to the ground, towards the street, with a sigh.  “Go,” I say simply, defeated.  He looks up at me, startled.

“Y-you’re not going to-”

“There’s no point in killing you now,” I snap back at him.  “Now that I’ve been discovered, I have to get out of here before you tell anyone about me, and if I drain you now, your friend will probably link your death with me.”  I glare at him.  “Once word gets out about me, the Church will have this entire country locked down by the next day.  I’m done here.”

“Church?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” I bark at him, causing him to back away a step.  “Vampires have been persecuted by humans throughout history.  Don’t act so surprised.”  Without another word, I storm past him and head out towards the street.  Is that a tear running down my face…?  Stupid.  Stupid, stupid, stupid…-!

“Wait.”

I don’t know why I stop.  There’s no reason for me to stay here any longer.  But there’s something in his voice that makes me want to listen.  I can’t turn around, let him see the tears in my eyes, but I stop.  “What is it?”

“I won’t say anything.”

~New Moon view~

My mind’s made up as I say those words.  For her to be hunted down like that, like some wild animal, it isn’t fair.  Even if she’s a monster.  Even if she’s a murderer, possibly many times over.  It’s just…too sad.

“W…what did you say…?”  She has her back to me, but I can hear her sniffle.  She’s crying.  She wouldn’t admit it, I suppose, but even a monster has to have feelings.  I can only imagine what kind of lifestyle that must be like.

“I said I won’t say anything.  Your secret’s safe with me, okay?”  There’s impatience in my voice.  I’m using a sharper tone than I want to be.  I shouldn’t try to push my luck any further.  Slowly, so as not to startle her with any sudden moves, I make my way back up the alley, towards the street.

“What are you talking about?!  I could’ve killed you!” she growls back, as I pass her by.  I stop for a moment, and look into her eyes, throwing all of my confidence into a calm glare.
“…but you didn’t.”

I shrug, and continue down the path, leaving her behind.  “…so I have no reason to try to get you killed,” I mutter under my breath.  I can tell she hears what I am saying, because she makes the tiniest little sound, like a startled gasp.  I’m back to the opening, when I feel a hand on my shoulder.  I turn around, furious at this woman’s persistence, but my anger falters at the look on her face.  She’s…smiling.

“…Thank you,” she says simply.  And, with tears in her eyes, she leans forward and returns my kiss.  And with that, she turns around, and is lost to the darkness all around.

For a while I just stand there, too stunned to move.  My kiss was just for cover, but…for all this to happen to me tonight…how did it end like that?  A vampire’s kiss.  If none of this had just happened to me, I would probably laugh, and say it sounds like a boring romantic novel.

I look up to the sky, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m looking up at something truly beautiful.  With all of the clouds gone, the midnight sky takes on a new life, full of thousands of tiny points of light.  In the middle of this beautiful diamond vision rests the moon, lilting slowly through the sky, illuminating the world below.

I’d never noticed it before, but…

It really is

Beautiful.

I almost lost my life to a fairytale creature tonight.  I danced in a midnight stage of death, and a beautiful vampire girl was my partner.  But after all that happened, the thing that I remember most as I gaze up at the night sky is that kiss, so full of life for someone who can never live.  As I start to head back home, I stop for a brief moment and look back.

She may have been a monster, and she may have tried to kill me, but…

I can’t explain it, but I really wish she hadn’t left.

Description
Reflections Under a Crimson Moon

~New Moon view~

The sun has only just begun its journey across the sky when I wake up.  I feel a bit groggy, and it takes me a few seconds to find the lamp on my nightstand with my hand.  Feeling a chain, I give it a little tug, and the room is flooded with light.  I shield my eyes; I’m told I never have been very good around light.  With my condition, my body is constantly in pain, and my eyes are very sensitive to bright things.  Fumbling around a bit, I clumsily put my clothes on and stumble my way into the bathroom to take care of my teeth.  Maybe my hair, too, if I feel like it.

I go through the motions mechanically, not even bothering to look at myself in the mirror – I know what I’d see.  Brush, spit, repeat, rinse, gargle.  Yawn.  Like any other day, I grab my things and head off for school.

My name is Ken, and it might be selfish and naïve to say so, but life is boring.  Always more of the same, always routine.  Of course, I suppose I can’t complain, at least I don’t have any major problems in life, compared to some people.  I do well in my classes, I have a few friends.  My apartment is actually pretty nice, for a Junior in High School.  Well, I come from a wealthy family, and my inheritance helped me considerably with the latter, but I suppose that only adds to my good fortune.

Perhaps that is the problem in itself, I think to myself as I mindlessly walk down the same sidewalk of the same road, heading for the same school.  My life’s been made uninteresting by how easy it’s come to me.  Without a sense of adversity, the feeling of being alive begins to fade after a while.

I arrive at the front gate of the school.  It’s about twenty minutes before classes begin, but there are already a large number of students bustling about, doing their own things, attending to their own lives.  I sigh, moving wordlessly through the crowd.

“Yo, Kenny!”

Before I manage to get to the front door, a familiar voice calls my name.  I don’t have time to turn around before I feel a hand slap heartily against my shoulder.  I turn around to face my longtime friend, Edward.  He’s grinning like a big idiot, as usual.

“Hey, Edward.  Haven’t I asked you not to call me that?” I reply simply.  I’m not a big fan of nicknames and whatnot, and ‘Kenny’ sounds especially juvenile to me.  That goofy grin just gets wider.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.  But it’s just so much fun hearing you whine about it all the time!” he laughs, giving my shoulder another hearty slap.  I wish he’d stop doing that.

Edward has been my friend since our early childhood.  We’ve practically grown up together, even though there were always strict rules about the sort of people we associated ourselves with at my parents’ house.  He’s a pretty smart guy, and I suppose a girl could think he might be sort of attractive, but he’s always been a laid-back goofball.  He acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

He’s also very honest.  That’s a useful attribute to know that your friends have.

“So anyways, I’ve been wondering lately…” he begins, getting down to the point, “…have you started looking for a girl yet?” suddenly, he’s looking at me very seriously, all trace of humor gone from his voice.  It’s so startling it’s almost scary, and I take a step back.  Among other things, subtlety isn’t exactly one of his strong suits.

“W-wha…?” I manage to blather incohesively.  “Uh, I-I…ermmm…”

“C’mon, dude, simple question,” Edward presses on, knocking on my forehead as if nothing’s inside it, “Girl.  Dating.  Going out.  Gettin’ some.  Life, you know?  Any of this ringin’ a bell?”  …Apparently he feels he needs to spell it out for me.  Either that or he’s making fun of me.

“Edward, you know I don’t have time for that kind of thing right now,” is my simple reply.  It’s true; even though I’m technically so wealthy I really don’t have to do anything for the rest of my life, I still want to make my way through my life on my own.  I don’t want to have to rely on my old man’s fortune to make a living.  Even if it’s unnecessary, I want to do the whole school, job, career thing.  I need to prove to myself that I’m not just living in my old man’s shadow.

Edward doesn’t care, or indeed even know, about any of this.  His attitude does another total backflip (he’s pretty well-known for having a ‘fluid’ personality), that carefree grin reappears on his face, and he lets out a major whoop, slapping me on the shoulder again.  “Man, I swear, you’re so clean-cut, you’d think you came straight out of a convent or something.”  He moves in and with an exaggerated motion ‘whispers’ in my ear.  “I bet you’re even straight-laced enough to not even want to get up on that fine piece over there-” he points as he speaks.  Rolling my eyes, I follow his finger.  That ‘fine piece over there’ is sempai Mina, my senior.  She’s really popular with the guys because of her hard-to-get attitude and good looks, but…

“You use some strange words, Edward,” I finally manage to say, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, well, I’ve had worse insults thrown my way,” Edward smiles back, suppressing a snicker.  “Well anyways, class is about to begin, so I’ll see ya around, okay?” Edward waves as he heads toward the door.  I nod, heading off to my first class as well.

“Yo, Ken.”

I turn around.  Edward is glancing back at me from over his shoulder.  His eyes are serious, and he’s frowning.  He even called me by my proper name.  “…Yeah?”

“Don’t be such a stranger.  It couldn’t hurt to maybe pick up the phone once in a while.  Get out a bit, live a little, okay?”  Without waiting for an answer, he turns back and heads off into the building.

I sigh hopelessly, resuming my own walk.  I know what he’s saying; he’s just worried about me.  Like I said, I have a few friends, and they all worry about ‘how quiet I am’, or ‘how much pain I look like I’m in’, or something like that.  Edward is the only one that knows about my condition though.  It took a lot of arguing to get him to agree to keep quiet about it, but he’s still always watching my back, still looking out for me.  It’s nice to have a friend that cares so much, but I don’t want other people to have to worry on my account.  I can do just fine on my own.

I appreciate his concern, but I guess I don’t really show it that much.  Sometimes I feel bad about that.

Class goes by pretty slowly, but I still don’t really catch most of it.  I’m pretty smart, and paying attention in class isn’t something I have to concern myself too much about.  Edward isn’t in my class, and he goes out on the town during lunch, so I don’t really see him except before school.  After school he waits for me sometimes, but he usually has ‘work to take care of’.  Of course, he doesn’t have a job, and I’m not really certain what he’s actually up to, but he gets along well enough, so I don’t worry too much about it.

The bell chimes its everyday tune, and everyone begins filing out of the classrooms, into the front lot below.  I watch from my desk, gazing absentmindedly through the window, out at the sky painted a deep vibrant orange as the sun descends.  I suppose I should get home, too.  I put away my school things and head out.

The streets are unusually crowded this afternoon, and it takes me a while to even get to the downtown area.  There, the hustle and bustle of city life is only more densely packed.  Almost not even like a lot of people, but closer to one big mob of human flesh, moving out of necessity as a whole as much as a mass of individuals.  I don’t recognize anybody in the sea of people.  I don’t really see how I could; it’s hard enough to make out one face with that many being seen at once, let alone take the time to recognize one.

I simply move along with the crowd, trying my best not to run into anybody in the commotion.  Somebody passes closely by me, making her way through the crowd just a little faster-

That girl.  The impulse hits me like a shockwave, so hard that it takes a few seconds for my mind to make sense of what it just thought.  That girl.  Even in the half-a-moment glimpse that I catch of her, I know I have never seen her before.  She stands out too much to be familiar.  My reaction to her is more an impulse of desire, and surprise at that desire, than anything else.

In that fraction of a second that she is in my line of sight, this is what my eyes tell my brain that they are seeing.  White-blonde hair, pale skin, perfect complexion.  A thick, long-sleeved shirt that had obviously been chosen to draw attention away from her body, but utterly fails to do so.  The soft, gentle swell of her chest under the fabric.  A knee-length skirt, perfectly sculpted legs underneath.  The soft sway of her hips as she walks, that carefree, happy, peaceful expression that she wears on her face.

All of that, my eyes comprehend of her during the first moment.  What draws my focus in the next moment steals away all of those thoughts, as she quickly glances over her shoulder to apologize for bumping into me by accident, her features suddenly struck with concern.  I don’t even hear what she has to say.  What I am lost in is her eyes.

Firstly, they’re impossibly bright.  One of my friends has a cat, and I am unnervingly reminded of this as this woman looks at me.  That’s outstanding enough, but even more strange, they’re red.  No, not ‘oh-dear, I-thought-they-were-red-in-the-light-but-they’re-actually-brown’ red, and not the red that you see when you look at something that should be green and means you’re about to pay your optician a lot of money, but real, deep, honest-to-goodness red.  Red like an apple.  Red like rich wine.  Red like blood.

She blinks once, and the spell is broken.  “Umm, hello-o-o…?” she repeats.  Somehow, my mind is able to tell that she’s been saying this for about twenty seconds now.  “Can you hear me?”

“Hmmm?  O-oh, yes, ah…I’m s-sorry I bumped into you like that…” I mumble, still in a daze.  Wait a minute, wasn’t that supposed to be the other way around?

“Are you making fun of me?” the girl laughs suddenly, the expression on her face changing back to that cheerful smile.  “You’re a funny fellow, aren’t you?” she giggles, before turning back around, and disappearing back into the crowd ahead of me.  The word ‘wait’ forms in my mind, but I can’t quite get my mouth to cooperate.  And just like that, she’s gone.

Damn, I’m stupid.  I don’t stop thinking about it all the way home.  That smile, that body, those eyes.  Her gaze was almost frightening, almost seductive, and quite possibly mildly hypnotic.  She was the vision of perfection, and I had made a complete fool of myself in front of her, mumbling incoherently like an idiot.  I’ve always known my speaking skills tend to…falter somewhat when under pressure, but this is the first time that I’m actually regretting it.

After a while, I come to my senses as I’m lying in my bed.  She was just some random girl that happened to bump into me.  I’m a guy, so it’s only natural to have that kind of reaction to that beautiful of a woman.  And what makes me think she’d take any interest in a guy like me?  I’m a good student, I’m pretty intelligent.  I guess I look alright – nothing to write home about, but not terrible, at any rate.  But still, odds are, I’ll never see her again.  Something about that makes me feel both relieved and let down at the same time.  I decide I’ll just forget about her.

This I utterly, abjectly fail to do.

“Something must be wrong with me,” I mutter to myself, shaking my head hopelessly as I reach for the phone.  I dial Edward’s number; he has more experience with this sort of thing than me.

“Hello?” his voice is unmistakable on the other end of the line.

“Edward.”

“Kenny!” his voice explodes with delight, and I can hear an awful lot of laughter.  “Man, I guess you can take even my advice once in a while.”

“Yeah,” I hesitate.  Is this a mistake?  Edward has seen tons of girls, and he’s really popular with them for some reason, but still…what the hell, I’ll just say it.  “Listen, I got something a bit weird I need to ask you about.”

“No, I’m not seeing any guys right now,” Edward replies, suppressing a giggle.  I roll my eyes.  “Just messin’, man,” he adds quickly.  He clears his throat and his voice becomes serious.  “So what can I do for you?”

“Well, I saw this girl today, and-” I get no further because Edward is bursting into a fresh bout of hysteria on the other end.

“Well damn, we are on a roll today, aren’t we?!” he laughs.  “So, who is she?”

“That’s the thing, Edward, I don’t know.  I just caught a glimpse of her in a crowd, and…I swear I felt like my heart had stopped.”

“Sounds like a crush,” he observes.  Well, I could’ve figured that one out.  Even though I don’t really like the term.

“So, what should I do?” I ask.  I know I’m running into a dead-end here, but I ask anyways.

“Well, I dunno what you’re looking for, man.  No name, no address, and you saw this chick in the middle of downtown.  That isn’t a great setup for working out who she is, y’know.”  Yeah, I kinda figured that would be his response.  “Sorry, man.”

“No, it’s okay,” I sigh.  “Thanks for listening.”

“Any time, man.  Just call me up.”

I hang up the phone.  For a while, I just lie there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.  Before I know it, the sun’s going down.  It’s getting late.  I suppose I’ll just put it out of my head for now, forget about this dream-girl, and go to sleep.  With that in mind, I go through my nightly routine.  Quick ramen dinner, tidy up the kitchen.  Get undressed, hop in the shower for an hour or so.  Brush teeth, fall over into bed.  Yawn.

But for some reason, sleep doesn’t come to me.  That’s odd; I never have any trouble passing out, especially when the night is so quiet outside.  It’s that woman.  I can’t stop thinking about her.  And the more I think about her, the less able I am to close my eyes; the less able I am to fall asleep.  I shake my head with an ironic smile.  Maybe there really is something wrong with me.

In the end, I decide to take a stroll through town, get some fresh air.  Maybe that’ll help clear out my head.  I throw some night-time clothes on and head out the door.

The night air is crisp and fresh.  It’s not chilly, and it has an indescribably pleasant smell.  The breeze is warm and gentle; the last vestiges of summer blowing through the streets.  I walk along the sidewalk, taking in the scenery as I walk.  Normally I would pay more attention to the sky, but it’s cloudy tonight, and most of the stars aren’t visible.

As I make my way into the downtown, I keep near the lamplights that periodically illuminate the sidewalk.  I’m not worried about getting jumped or anything weird like that, I just prefer to be able to see where I’m going.  A couple lights flicker, but that’s normal, and I don’t pay much attention.

It’s getting late; I can tell because the city nightlife is beginning to get started.  I’m not in the downtown area yet, but the after-hours businesses are beginning to light up, and I can see the neon glow even from a mile or so away.  I decide to head that way.  A few couples are beginning to walk the streets as well – from kids a little younger than me to middle-aged lovers out for a stroll.  It almost feels strange to me, as I walk alone, to see how many people have already found their partner.  Is it really getting to be about time that I start to look for a girl?  Maybe that’s why my body reacted so strongly earlier today.

The downtown area is fairly busy, the glow of the neon signs all around lighting the entire street.  I walk through the town, stopping briefly in a few stores to check them out.  The theatre is, as usual, the main center of night life, as the entire front area doubles as a hub for people to gather and mingle.  There’s a lot of talk about these weird murders that have been taking place overnight.  I don’t pay much attention, but I pick up a lot of talk about the occult, stuff like vampires and blood.  I don’t like that kind of stuff, and I don’t linger long enough to pick up on how those two subjects are related.

One of the movies that are playing in the theatre is a horror picture about vampires.  Maybe that’s what they’re talking about.  For my part, I decide to head back home.  Even just this short walk is enough to tire me out.

After wandering through the incandescent center of downtown, the walk back home seems somehow darker.  My eyes are probably adjusted to the bright lights.  In comparison, the streetlights that line the sidewalk seem dimmer, and more of them seem to be flickering than usual.  Somebody should really have that looked at; this is a pretty safe town, but it’s not like anybody enjoys walking around in the dark, unable to see where they’re going.

As I pass by the gateway to the park, I think I hear something…high-pitched, cut-off.  Like a stifled scream.  I clearly feel myself shrug and think to myself, it’s not any of my business, but for some reason I’m drawn to that sound.  Call it curiosity, maybe.  I don’t know.  For whatever reason, I turn to face the park gates.  To my surprise, I find that the gate hasn’t been locked, like whoever’s in charge of locking it after ten forgot to do it.  I hesitate; I know ‘too many coincidences’ when I see it, and I can feel, in the back of my head, just the tiniest pang of apprehension.  I take a moment to catch my breath, and push open the gate.  It creaks open noisily, with the sound of rusty iron grating against itself in protest.

There are very few lamps in the park, and the light that they each give off is even weaker, compared to the lights out by the street.  I walk down the walkway, trees to my left and right.  Eventually, I come to a bench under a lamp.  I decide to take a rest; my body is complaining about how much strain I’m putting on it tonight.  While I sit and catch my breath, I look up at the sky.  The clouds have thinned out a bit by now, but the moon is still concealed.  Even so, just gazing at the stars…it’s beautiful.

There’s a noise nearby.  Like a shifting of fabric, or maybe wind against the leaves of a bush. I get up to investigate.  The sound comes from a small clearing behind a tall hedge, to my right.  Slowly, silently, I bring myself up to the bush, carefully parting the leaves so as not to make much noise.  What I see surprises me, though I suppose it shouldn’t.

There’s a girl and a boy in mid-embrace in the middle of the clearing.  They seem to be making out.  Their eyes are closed, and my presence goes unnoticed.  I wonder to myself if they realize that they could get in a lot of trouble for being here after-hours.  I can’t help but be a little intrigued; I don’t see this kind of thing happen much, if at all.  The young woman is kissing the man’s neck gently, the nape exposed.  It suddenly occurs to me, in this darkness, that the man’s silhouette suggests that he his significantly older than the girl – perhaps in his mid-thirties.

The moon comes out from behind its cloud.  For the first time, I notice the slender trickle coming up from under the woman’s mouth on the man’s neck – the trickle of something red.

I can’t help but gasp, before I catch myself.  What is this…?  What are these two doing?  What is this carnal…-

She opens her eyes slowly, as if lost in the sweet bliss of what she’s doing.  Those twin mirrors of her eyes glint violent red in the moonlight, and I know right away that it’s her.  The first feeling that enters my mind as I recognize her is completely other than the one that I expect: I feel horrified.  Inexplicable, stark terror grips my spine, and my body goes rigid.  I don’t understand, as I stand petrified in fright.

…And then – I do.  And at that moment, her eyes open wide, and her gaze snaps straight over to where I’m hiding.

I’ve been discovered.

~Full Moon view~

I’ve been discovered.

My other senses tell me this even before I see the boy.  It takes me a moment to recognize him as the one that I bumped into earlier today while I was out staking out tonight’s meal.  It occurs to me that he has been watching me for some time, and that the light of the moon just now has at last given him a better grasp on what he is witnessing.  I can feel the fear welling up in him, the precursor to the pump of adrenaline into the bloodstream.

I can hear the quickening pulse of his heartbeat.  I can hear it, and it makes me mad to have him.  I’ve just finished my first meal, but listening to the steady rhythm of his heart slowly picking up pace teases at my senses.  The tide of bloodlust rises up into my throat again.  I lick my lips in anticipation.  I release my hold on the shell of the man I just finished, withdrawing my fangs from his neck.  His body falls limply to the ground with an unceremonious thud.

I hear him gulp, can practically feel his breath on the air.  “Y…Y-you’re…!” he manages to stammer out.

I take a step forward, holding back the pressure of the lust and the craving and the need, oh, god, the need to take him.  The vampire’s instinct is a powerful one, and it cannot be resisted.  Even so, to hold it back as long as possible, to feel that uncontrollable rush of hormones as you gaze into the terrified eyes of your prey, and hold yourself there, on the verge of delirium – ah, sweet ecstasy, euphoria!  It prompts a warmth in my lower belly.  If you’re a vampire, you know what I’m talking about.

The boy takes a step back, so I walk steadily towards him.  As I draw nearer, my eyes start to activate.  I can see everything.  Even from a good ten feet away, I can clearly see every minute detail of his body.  I can pick out individual fibers on his clothes.  Every freckle, any single eyelash, it doesn’t matter, all I have to do is focus my eyes.  In my eyesight, his body gives off a faint red-hued glow.  Finally, I’m at my peak, I can’t hold myself back anymore. As I draw within five feet – so close the thrumming of his frantically racing heart is washing over my body in waves – I smile widely, revealing the fangs that are about to end his life.

A smile that says if you don’t turn around and run right now, you are going to die.

The boy screams, a sound of primal fear that only fuels my hunger as I drink it in, and turns to flee.  I know I shouldn’t, and some part of me almost doesn’t want to, but it’s too late for him now; he’s seen me mid-embrace, and now he must be silenced.  I allow sentient reasoning to give way to bestial instinct, and take up the chase.

He’s fast – surprisingly so for a human – but I can hear his breath growing ragged as he dashes through the streets.  “Ahhh!” he screams as he goes.  “Somebody help me!” fool of a boy, wasting his breath while he’s running like that; there’s nobody nearby to save him, all he’s doing is tiring himself out faster.

He’s a fast runner, but he grows tired more quickly than the average human.  I’m having less trouble following him as he weaves through the streets and alleys.  No human, no matter how strong or athletic, can hope to outrun a vampire, of course, but I’ve just drained an entire meal, so my movements are a little sluggish.  Still, as he tires and grows slower, my body rejuvenates and my movements become quicker.  In only a matter of a few more second, I’ll be on hi-

At the last second, he darts into a dark side alley.  This agile move catches me off-guard, and my momentum and still-sluggish reaction carries me sidelong into the building as I turn to follow.  Without pausing, I ignore the blow of my head against the cement, and spring after him.

Near blind in the dark, in contrast to my superior eyesight, the boy realizes his mistake, running into the wall at the end of the narrow corridor-like passage – a dead end.  He turns to face me just as I pounce.

“A-ah…!-” he manages a startled half-cry, the blue of his eyes jumping out as a vibrant streak as I throw the weight of my body against him, running him into the floor.  Regaining my senses now that I’ve caught my prey, I look down at him hungrily, pinning his arms down.

At this distance, my eyes adjust themselves, and with my new focus, I can dimly see through the flesh, like his skin is only a translucent membrane.  I can feel his panic in the waves of heat his body gives off, my own skin tingling with agonized anticipation.  I gaze down at his throat, beneath the translucent skin of his neck where the sweet red is so barely bound.  My consciousness fading in and out, I open my mouth and begin to descend, aching for the release that I seek to rush into me.

Wait, stop, the voice of my mind commands, halting me.  The strain against those primal instincts of lust and hunger pulsates tortuously through my twitching body.  My ears are picking up footsteps.  There is another human approaching…maybe two…no, no definitely only one.  But still, I can’t be seen like this, and I might be able to pull off two, but there’s no way I could drain three in one sitting.  I almost make a move to get up and walk away, but the person has already stepped around the corner, and is heading this way…

~New Moon view~

Somehow, a part of my mind is still sane enough, as I slam into that wall, to be able to calmly think that this is just my luck, to run into a dead-end at a time like this.

I am scared.  I am beyond scared.  I’m stark terrified.  And, as I turn to face my assailant, a terrific force plows straight into me, and follows me as I scream and crash violently to the ground, slamming the back of my head against the ground.  The impact to my head actually does knock me out, but the subsequent pain wakes me right up again.

“Ngh…” I bite down on my lip, and push myself up, only to feel the vampire’s hands clamp down around my wrists and force my hands to the ground.  I struggle, but her grip is unbreakable, like an iron vice.  I slowly look up at her, my vision clearing from that last blow to the head.  She has me pinned down good, but she has a pained look on her face; almost like she’s halfway between ecstasy and torture.  Her eyes are wide, pupils dilated to catlike slits.  With that glare, it looks like she’s staring straight through me.

She’s…she’s panting.  Like she’s out of breath, or…or trying to control herself or something.  Slowly, as I squirm under her body, she lowers herself, her lips parting slightly to reveal gleaming twin fangs.  A tiny pink tongue darts out and licks her lips as she comes down on my neck.  But, at the last second, just as I feel those two fangs which are going to spell out my doom press up against my jugular vein, I hear a footstep, and a confused “Oh…?”

The woman’s body goes rigid, like that confused inflection turned her to stone.  I don’t understand, but perhaps the presence of another person here is a threat to her.  It gives me an idea.

Her eyes dart from mine to over her shoulder quickly, back and forth.  She makes her move, drawing her fangs away from my throat.  She turns to face the new voice, and in that moment, I feel the force of her weight coming off my wrist.  With what strength I have left, I reach up and grab her head.  I pull her down to me and press my lips against hers.

Softer than I expected.

Her startled expression almost matches my own as I realize how stupid the thing that I’m doing is.  The suddenly familiar voice of the intruder chuckles.  “Well gee, Kenny, ya coulda told me you found her.”

Oh my god.  Of all the people in the world that could’ve caught me in this kind of situation…

I glance over the vampire woman’s shoulder to see none other than my best friend, Edward, looking down at me with arched eyebrows.  “U-uh…h-hello, Edward,” I manage to say.  With the woman on top of me, holding me down like this, this must look like a strange scene to walk in on, especially since it’s me, and Edward knows that I’m not the type for this kind of thing.  Despite that, I work my way up to the most barefaced lie I have ever thought of.  “…This is my girlfriend.”  I nod up to the girl in question, whose eyes do an interesting double-take between my eyes and my mouth, as though she may just as easily be offended, or relieved, or just purely confused by the sheer absurdity of what I’ve just said.

“Well, seems like there is hope for you, after all!” Edward laughs after a moment.  As I thought, he’s thinking something weird.  He shrugs, a look of mock irritation on his face.  “I guess I did all that worrying about you for nothing,” he sighs.  Considering the very imminent danger I am at this moment in, this must be another example of Edward’s almost poetically ironic bad choice of words.

“U-uh, Edward, I can explain this-I-”

“Forget about it, man, I totally get what’s going on.”  A genuine grin crosses Edward’s face as he turns around.  “Seeing’s how you two seem to be…occupied…I think I’ll just be on my way,” he adds, waving a hand over his shoulder.  And then he’s gone.

~Full Moon view~

My body’s completely locked up from the moment his lips touch mine.  It’s such an unexpected move that I’m having a lot of trouble processing it in my mind.  Why did he do that?!  And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the new human seems to be an acquaintance of my prey.  I’m done.  I’ll be exposed as a vampire for sure, and it might be impossible for me to get out of this country alive now.  They will come and find me, and I’ll be put to death.

“…This is my girlfriend.”

I can’t help it; my mouth hangs slightly open as I take in what the boy under me has just said.  Is…is he covering for me?!  How absurd!  The notion that my prey, whom I was a mere fraction of a moment from killing, is now talking my way out of this.  Does he know of my situation?  No, no, he must’ve simply made a lucky guess, and for some reason decided to take up my side.  This is too much.  I need some time to calm down and collect my thoughts.

The obnoxious boy leaves, grinning madly.  I stay on top of my prey for a few moments, and my senses start to sort themselves out.  The person under me is breathing harshly, his body still racing with adrenaline and hot, fresh blood.  I take a moment to bask in that warmth, radiating up out of his body.  Even a vampire can take a moment to bask in the innocent pleasure of warmth, right?  And, that kiss earlier…his lips were so warm…

Wait, what am I thinking?!

“Why?” the tone of my voice demands an answer.  “Why did you do that?!”

He trembles, looking up at me, as though still unsure about whether or not he’s in any immediate danger.  “Y-you seemed troubled when my friend showed up.  Well, at any rate, it s-stopped you from biting me, so concealing something like that must be important to you.”  His nervousness is understandable, but I’ve calmed down a bit, and I’m not entirely sure that I want to kill him, even though I’m going to have to.

“…your point being?” the moment I say those words and see the twitch in his eye, I regret not keeping my mouth shut.  I just confirmed his theory for him.  He’s smart, for a human.  He sees the worry in my mind written all over my face, and pushes me off of him, now that I’m not holding him down anymore.  Then he backs away from me, trying to edge his way out of the corner.  His eyes dart from me to the end of the alley, out to the road.  Before he can make a move, I grab his neck and slam him against the corner.

“Not so fast,” I growl, trying my best to ignore the throbbing of the vein under the soft, tender flesh of his neck.  “You…” I need to choose my next words carefully, lest I say something stupid again.  “You know…what I am, right?”  I loosen my grip on his neck so that he can respond.

“V…v-vampire…?” the word slips out of his mouth.  The panicking expression on his face tells me he’s praying that he’s wrong.  It infuriates me, but if he’s figured it out, there’s no point in denying it.  I’m done.

I toss him to the ground, towards the street, with a sigh.  “Go,” I say simply, defeated.  He looks up at me, startled.

“Y-you’re not going to-”

“There’s no point in killing you now,” I snap back at him.  “Now that I’ve been discovered, I have to get out of here before you tell anyone about me, and if I drain you now, your friend will probably link your death with me.”  I glare at him.  “Once word gets out about me, the Church will have this entire country locked down by the next day.  I’m done here.”

“Church?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” I bark at him, causing him to back away a step.  “Vampires have been persecuted by humans throughout history.  Don’t act so surprised.”  Without another word, I storm past him and head out towards the street.  Is that a tear running down my face…?  Stupid.  Stupid, stupid, stupid…-!

“Wait.”

I don’t know why I stop.  There’s no reason for me to stay here any longer.  But there’s something in his voice that makes me want to listen.  I can’t turn around, let him see the tears in my eyes, but I stop.  “What is it?”

“I won’t say anything.”

~New Moon view~

My mind’s made up as I say those words.  For her to be hunted down like that, like some wild animal, it isn’t fair.  Even if she’s a monster.  Even if she’s a murderer, possibly many times over.  It’s just…too sad.

“W…what did you say…?”  She has her back to me, but I can hear her sniffle.  She’s crying.  She wouldn’t admit it, I suppose, but even a monster has to have feelings.  I can only imagine what kind of lifestyle that must be like.

“I said I won’t say anything.  Your secret’s safe with me, okay?”  There’s impatience in my voice.  I’m using a sharper tone than I want to be.  I shouldn’t try to push my luck any further.  Slowly, so as not to startle her with any sudden moves, I make my way back up the alley, towards the street.

“What are you talking about?!  I could’ve killed you!” she growls back, as I pass her by.  I stop for a moment, and look into her eyes, throwing all of my confidence into a calm glare.
“…but you didn’t.”

I shrug, and continue down the path, leaving her behind.  “…so I have no reason to try to get you killed,” I mutter under my breath.  I can tell she hears what I am saying, because she makes the tiniest little sound, like a startled gasp.  I’m back to the opening, when I feel a hand on my shoulder.  I turn around, furious at this woman’s persistence, but my anger falters at the look on her face.  She’s…smiling.

“…Thank you,” she says simply.  And, with tears in her eyes, she leans forward and returns my kiss.  And with that, she turns around, and is lost to the darkness all around.

For a while I just stand there, too stunned to move.  My kiss was just for cover, but…for all this to happen to me tonight…how did it end like that?  A vampire’s kiss.  If none of this had just happened to me, I would probably laugh, and say it sounds like a boring romantic novel.

I look up to the sky, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m looking up at something truly beautiful.  With all of the clouds gone, the midnight sky takes on a new life, full of thousands of tiny points of light.  In the middle of this beautiful diamond vision rests the moon, lilting slowly through the sky, illuminating the world below.

I’d never noticed it before, but…

It really is

Beautiful.

I almost lost my life to a fairytale creature tonight.  I danced in a midnight stage of death, and a beautiful vampire girl was my partner.  But after all that happened, the thing that I remember most as I gaze up at the night sky is that kiss, so full of life for someone who can never live.  As I start to head back home, I stop for a brief moment and look back.

She may have been a monster, and she may have tried to kill me, but…

I can’t explain it, but I really wish she hadn’t left.