Blood Scare - Part I

Featured in the July 1, 2009 Horror/Scary Newsletter Issue #3134

He crept along, careful to hide his face behind the collar of the jacket.  He was an expert in not being seen; watching everyone he passed intently.  He was cautious, had to be, this choice of his was not an easy one.

It had to be perfect and well thought out.  The night was beginning , there was no need to rush.  His hunger was not at its peak.  He had time.

Mathis was following one particular woman this night.  She was slender and pretty but this was not the reason he now stalked her.  The true reason for his interest --- she was clean, her hair, hands, clothes, all  perfectly clean.

This was his single deciding factor when it came to victims: cleanliness.  For most vampires, germs are not a concern.  For Mathis, germs are not just a concern but a fear.  A fear that makes his skin crawl, that chills him to the bone, and sometimes keeps him hungry.

He moved close to her.  She quickened her pace.  In one move, he stepped behind her, grabbed her and placed his hand over her mouth tightly to stifle the scream.  He slid into a dark crevice between two buildings where there were no lights and no one to watch him.  He pressed his hand over her nose and mouth hard enough for her lose consciousness.  When she stopped struggling, he leaned her gently against the wall careful to keep her upright.

The hunger inside him was rising.  He wanted to bite her, to feel his teeth sink into the soft flesh of her neck, the metallic taste of her warm blood to fill his mouth.  Staring greedily at her neck, he could see her pulse beating erratically and felt delirious with excitement.  Leaning down teeth barred, he stopped.  He couldn't do it.

"I can't believe this," he said to himself.  Mathis glanced over his shoulder; he was still very much alone.  Unzipping his coat pocket, he took out a small bottle of antibacterial liquid, squeezed a few drops onto her neck and wiped them away with a tissue.  Quickly inspecting his work and without hesitation, he sunk his teeth into her neck.  Moaning softly, he body became rigid and finally slumped in his arms.  Looking down at her he felt a bit of remorse, "We all have to eat."  He took out another tissue and the antibacterial liquid, wiped his face and hands clean before leaving his victim in a heap in the dark alley.  He watched the sidewalk for a moment before moving back into the street.

The next night Mathis found himself wandering alone in a strip mall.  Takeout pizza places and bargain stores dotted the landscape.  He felt too old for this sort of thing but he had nowhere else to go, a common lament of his.

"So, this is what you do now?  Skulk around like a man looking for a lost dog."

He turned around in a panic, so few people ever spoke to him that he was always alarmed when he was addressed.  If he were still alive, it would have been heart attack inducing.

"Killian?"

"How are you Mathis?  Surprised to see me are you?"  He slapped him on the back.  "Looking for a light snack?  I think I might join you in that endeavor."

"Killian, what are you doing here?  I haven't seen you in well, a century.  The suburbs aren't your sort of place."

Killian smiled, a scary sight to witness.  Mathis learned a long time ago to fear him.  He was brutal, thoughtless, and relished the hunt --- killing was fun for him.  Mathis, while one of the first of Killian's minions, he, unfortunately, was not one of his prized students.  He was a great disappointment to his mentor.

"Walk with me.  We need to have a little talk about your habits.  You see, I've been hearing rumors about this vampire that is well, for lack of a better word, disinfecting his victims."  He adjusted his shirtsleeves as he spoke.  He wore gold cuff links, so highly polished they sparkled even at night.  His shoes clicked as they walked past the storefronts.  "You see, I cannot have this sort of behavior among my people.  It's just ridiculous."

"Ridiculous!  Do you know what kind of germs live on the human skin?  It's unbelievable," said Mathis who began to rub his hands in a washing motion.  "You cannot even begin to imagine the bacteria that thrive..." 

Killian interrupted him, "You're dead.  It doesn't matter."

"But..."

"Mathis, listen to me."  Killian had stopped walking and was staring at him.  "You're a vampire,” he looked him up and down.  “Well, in name anyway.  You've got to play the part my friend.  This whole cleanliness fetish you've got going on stops now."

Mathis stared down at his feet, his sneakers were dirty and scuffed, his jeans worn around the bottom, but he didn't think much of it.  He was never a flamboyant person, after all these years, why change now.  He was meek, quiet, anxious, and happy that way.  Mathis was possibly the only vampire who felt better when worried.

"I'll try harder," said Mathis very softly trying to please his mentor and be left alone was again.

Killian nodded.  "Let me buy you a drink.  Any bars around here?"

"Uh, think so.  I'm not much of a drinker."

"You're kidding me right?  It's one of the easiest ways to pick up victims.  Get them drunk, let them pass out, and then move in for the kill.  What have you been doing all these years my boy?"

"You know, find a dark alley, drag someone in that sort of thing."  Trying to sound casual, he wondered if his voice sounded as though he was trembling; it certainly sounded that way in his head.

"You always make me laugh Mathis.  Follow me, I think it might be time for a refresher course in being a vampire."

After a short walk, and a few horror stories of Killian's recent conquests, they came to a bar Killian declared perfect.  Dark, somber, dirty --- a place Mathis would never enter.  They strode in and sat at the first empty table.

Waiting for a waitress to arrive when Mathis began wiping the wet table with a tissue he produced out of his pocket like a magician.  "What are you doing?" whispered Killian.

"Oh, the water.  Water borne viruses can be deadly.  In the third world..."  He stopped, "I get it.  I know I'm a bit on the strange side."

"Strange side.  You're down right demented, you know that don't you?  You're dead.  Dead!  Germs are not a problem for you.  They, for God's sake stop cleaning!"  Mathis put the wet tissues in his pocket slowly and dropped his hands in his lap.  "Okay, okay, let's talk about this for a minute.  Why are you doing this?  No, wait, don't answer that."  For a dead man, Killian was turning an odd shade of red.  "I feel like a therapist.  Forget it, look, you're a vampire, act like it."

Mathis nodded like a small child who had just been scolded.  For a man of 272 years of age it was a bit demoralizing.  Killian waved at the waitress who ran over smiling as if she had never seen a man so handsome.  "May I help you?" she asked eagerly.

"Scotch, one ice cube and," he looked at Mathis, "just make it two."

They sat in silence.  The waitress returned quickly and carefully place the two drinks on the table smiling very amicably at Killian the whole time.

Killian swirled the scotch in his glass while looking around the bar.  Mathis, with tissue in hand, wiped the rim of his glass before sniffing the drink and setting it back down.

"There, in the corner, do you see her?"  Killian was pointing to the far, dark corner of the bar where a woman in her late fifties sat crying.  "She's perfect." 

He got up and walked over to her and in a few minutes was talking, drawing her in, getting her to trust him just as he had taught Mathis to do all those years ago.  It was not a method Mathis used, too personal for him.  He found it easier not to know his victims.  He wondered how Killian did it.  It was so easy for him that it disgusted Mathis.  He hated what he had to do to survive but he always thought that was what set him apart from the others.  He found it horrifying, sad, and gruesome.  He had to talk himself into it each night, building his confidence to walk the streets canvassing for unwilling victims who would satisfy his hunger.  It was a bad business.  And the germs, there were the germs.  He knew they couldn't hurt him but it was the mere thought of small life forms crawling, oozing over the skin and living in the blood he needed so badly to live.  They invaded his body, swimming in his stomach.  Some days he swore he could hear them squirming about in his body.

Killian was laughing now.  He was moving in, plying her with drinks.  A few minutes later he led her out the door.  Mathis followed at a distance careful not to arouse any suspicions.  Killian was hungry now and didn't notice him anyway.  He followed them into a corner behind a dumpster, the darkness enveloping them as they passed around the side of the building.

Mathis stood for a moment wondering what it would be like to kill him.  Would there be retribution?  Would anyone really care?  He made him what he was but killing him would not change that now, it would only get Killian out of his life.  He taught him how to be a vampire but he hated him and his ways.  Killian relished this life, he enjoyed the killing and the death.  Mathis wanted out since his first night.  Killing him would only rid the world of him and nothing more.

He put his hand in his pocket and felt the cold metal of the knife he always carried.  A small secret of his.  He strode confidently into the darkness.  Killian was leaning over the woman who was quickly draining in color.  He walked up behind him and stabbed him through the back, hitting his heart.  Killian turned, blood dripped from his mouth staining his freshly pressed shirt.  He fell to his knees gasping, an odd sound for a vampire who didn't breathe.  He collapsed to the ground, slowly turning to ash.

Mathis stood for a long time looking at the pile of dust and clothing which had been his mentor.  Relief swept over him.  He pushed the woman up against the wall and rummaged through the pants pockets.  A gold money clip with KIL inscribed on it was what he was looking for.  Mathis slipped it into his pocket took out his bottle of antibacterial liquid and doused his hands with it.  It was time to eat.

Blood Scare - Part II

ID: 1607700   (Rated: 13+) Blood Scare - Part II  Even vampires can have odd habits...and then some. by dc-musing