Untitled Vampire Story

*I started this a few years ago and put it down after getting this far. I've been thinking of doing some rewrites and continuing the story. Comments would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou.*


* * *

Claire ran around the side of the house and her nostrils were assailed by the stench of rotting plant life. Nearly choking, she covered her nose with her hand and looked around for a place to hide. The moonlight illumined the garden, sadly overgrown after years of neglect. Where the flagstone walkway had cracked seedling trees had rooted themselves amongst a tangle of vines and crabgrass. To her right was a swimming pool, the tiles lying broken and discolored in the stagnant water.

Behind her, Claire heard footsteps and she spun around only to see the darkness looming behind her. Sensing him drawing closer to her, Claire hurried away from the trees and stood in the moonlight beside the pool. She heard heavy breathing and realized it came from her own bursting lungs. More footsteps sounded behind her. As the familiar click of his cane against the flagstone reached her ears, a small whimper escaped her lips.

"Please, oh please, help me." Claire sobbed as the footsteps came even closer. She turned in circles, but her attacker was invisible in her distress. "Stay away from me you monster!" Claire shouted into the darkness and rubbed at her swollen wrists. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Claire's voice caught in throat as she felt his hot breath on her skin. Spinning around she was greeted by silent darkness. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil#34;

"For I am with you." Claire let out a blood-curdling scream as he whispered the final words of the Psalm into her ear. A hand flew out of the night and knocked her onto the ground. "Claire, Claire, Claire," he crooned as he walked out of the darkness towards where she lay on the ground. "I would have given you anything you desired. This could have been our world. It didn't have to be this way."

"I'm sorry," her voice had become a high pitched whine, "Please, let me go."

Claire began to crabwalk across the flagstones as he came closer and closer. In her panic she ignored the pain from the gashes being torn into her palms by the sharp corners of broken rock.

"Claire," he spoke with a mocking tenderness. "You have been a very naughty girl. You deserve to be punished." Claire screamed a last time as the beast flew upon her and his teeth sunk into her neck. As her blood flowed into his veins, the wind carried away the music of her terrified screams

* * *

The phone rang and Nick unwrapped himself from the warm body next to him. Picking up the receiver he groaned, "Hello, what can I do ya for?"

"Schaeffer?" a gravely voice responded, "It's Perkins. We've got another stiff down on Fourth and Windsor. We need you here immediately."

"Fourth and Windsor?" Nick rubbed his eyes trying to clear away the fog of sleep. "Isn't that the old graveyard?"

"You got it, Buddy."

"And the M.O.?"

"Exactly like the other ones." Perkins coughed into the phone. "Two holes in the neck and no visible traces of blood. Still think vampires are a child's fantasy?"

Nick grabbed for his shirt on the floor in front of him. "I'll believe it when I see it, Perkins."

"Schaeffer?"

"Yeah, Perkins."

"Do me a favor. Carter's not answering her phone and her beeper's off. Find her and tell her to get down here ASAP."

"Ten-four." Nick hung up the phone and stood up to pull on his faded blue jeans. Buttoning his fly he called to the lump on the far side of the bed. "Hey, Carter, wake up. There's a stiff on Fourth and Windsor just asking for you to check it out." The lump groaned and pushed at the cotton sheet. Slowly, the lump transformed from a pile of sheets into the attractive woman he'd spent the night with.

"Damn it, Nick. I can't do this anymore. Waking up at two o'clock in the God damn morning, to inspect some God damn corpse, left by some God damn psychopath who doesn't give a damn about who he just killed."

"Coffee's in the kitchen, Carter."

"Thanks." Nick watch appreciatively as she stepped over her clothing and walked, naked, into his kitchen.

* * *

Yellow tape and the flashing lights of the squad cars surrounded the entire Shoreview Cemetery. Several officers loitered outside the entrance, and from the street one could easily see the beams of a dozen flashlights inspecting the grounds. As Nick shut off the engine, a portly officer detached himself from the group and waddled towards him. Perkins was a good cop, but was more at home behind a desk than at the scene of a crime. The latest series of ‘Vampire Killings’ had demanded more from each officer in the department, and the toll it had taken on Perkins was clearly written on his face.

"Schaeffer. Carter." Perkins began as he mopped the sweat from his brow. "At least this family won't have to spend a fortune on embalming this one."

"Real funny, Perkins." Carter said sarcastically. "Let's just see the body and get it over with, okay?"

The trio walked through the arched gateway of the cemetery in single file. As Carter concentrated on not falling on the uneven earth, Perkins breathlessly rambled on about how the body had been found. The cemetery's caretaker had been patrolling the grounds with his dog when the animal went crazy. The dog had broken off its leash and run to the far corner of the property. By the time the old man caught up with his dog, the murderer had fled the scene.

As they reached the northeaster corner, Carter saw the officers who had been stationed to guard the body until she and Nick arrived. At the feet of the officers was the body covered by a pristine white sheet. Carter nodded, disgusted as she saw how the body had been placed with its head resting against the headstone, just as it would be laying in a coffin underground. "Sick bastard," she mumbled quietly.

When they reached the sight, Perkins slapped one of the officers on the back, exchanged a few quiet words and the officers walked several yards away. Carter sighed, knelt down beside the body and lifted the corner of the sheet. Her blood ran cold as she saw the dark curled hair, the familiar face before her, pale and lifeless.

Carter stood and walked to a nearby tomb, leaning against the cold granite to steady herself. She felt Nick come up beside her and whisper in her ear, "What's wrong, Carter?"

"It’s her. Claire."

Nick turned around and walked to the body. Instantly he recognized the face of Carter's East Coast cousin who had moved to town the previous month. "Shit," Nick whispered to himself as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Hey, Perkins, you want to help me here?" Nick spent the next half-hour working beside Perkins to scour the area for clues. Unable to find anything in the dark, they left a chalk line around the body and authorized it to be taken downtown.

Nick walk to the bench where Carter sat. Someone had brought her a cup of coffee from one of the thermoses found in abundance on cases like these. He knelt before her and lifted his hand to lay it against her cheek. Ever so slightly he could see her tense, and instead his hand dropped into his lap and folded into a tight fist. Carter looked worn and broken but even worse, he could tell she was once again hiding behind the brick wall he’d only recently broken through. "How are you holding up?"

Her eyes remained dry, but the tense line of her jaw revealed her struggle to maintain the facade. She sighed, "Damnit. Why her? Why didn’t I see it coming? I …she told me she thought she was being watched. I thought she was just paranoid from being in a new city, but I offered to let her stay in my apartment. Maybe I should have forced her to stay there …It's my fault, Nick."

Nick moved to a sitting position beside her and stared intently at her profile. "Carter, it's not your fault. You did whatever you could have done."

Perkins cleared his throat as he neared the couple. "Carter, they want you at the morgue to make an official I.D. of the body. You think you can handle that?"

Carter wiped at her eyes. "Sure, no problem. Schaeffer and I will follow you in his car."

* * *

"Okay, last name first. First name last."

"Carter, Deborah."

"Name of the deceased. Last name first. First name last."

Carter sighed and rubbed at her temples. "Stutler, Claire."

The clerk scribbled furiously, "Now all I need is a member of the immediate family who needs to be contacted."

Carter handed him a piece of paper with her aunt's name and phone number. Grabbing her cup of coffee she walked across the room. Glancing through the window in the door she watched as the precinct's pathologist examined her cousin's body and explained his findings to Nick as he went along.

She ran her fingers through her hair and brought her hand down to look at her watch. Her hand was shaking badly and she made a fist to steady the movement. "Man," she said to herself, "I've gotta stop drinking this crap." She downed the rest of the coffee in a single gulp.

* * *

Dr. Browning circled the examination table one more time. "Well, Nick, my guess is this one is from the same guy. The same marks are present: two puncture wounds on the neck, slight bruising occurring in the surrounding area, and the body is drained of blood. Oh, hold on one moment." The doctor paused long enough to turn on the tape recorder in his lab coat pocket. He stated the date and case number and turned once more to Nick. "As I was saying, the same evidence appears on this body: the holes on the neck and the absence of blood. This one is a little different though. You can see the abrasions on her face and shoulders. Her hands are scratched up the same way. Also, take a look at the wounds on her neck. See how they're more ragged than the marks we've seen on the other victims. My guess is this girl was a fighter, struggling right up until the moment she lost consciousness. This might interest you as well." The doctor lifted Claire's wrist and displayed it to Nick. "Along with these abrasions she's got matching puncture wounds on both her wrists and her ankles. But these wounds are in various stages of healing. Some may be as much as a week old. If you want my opinion, our perp had her tied up for some time before finishing her off."

Nick sighed and rubbed at his dry eyes. "What kind of tests are you planning to run?"

"Same as on the others. We're going to check for skin under the fingernails and trace substances around the neck wound, do some DNA matching. We're also going to attempt to trace the gravel found in the cuts in her hands, see if we can figure out where this guy is hiding."

"Thanks, Doc. Keep me posted."

"No problem, Nick."

* * *

Carter sat on the deck of Nick's beach home and rubbed cocoa oil into her slender legs. She heard Nick's car as he drove up the driveway. Several moments later his key turned in the lock. "Hey Carter, I'm home. Where are you?" Nick called as he set the groceries on the kitchen counter. He walked to the back door. "There you are. How are you feeling today?"

With a slight shrug Carter replied, "Okay, I guess. I talked to the chief today."

"Oh, what did he say." Nick sat on the edge of the patio chair next to Carter and reached for her hand.

Carter brushed him away, stood and walked to the deck's railing. "He told me to take a couple of weeks off to recover from the shock. I'm supposed to call in when I'm feeling back to normal."

There was an awkward moment of silence as they both retreated into their own thoughts. Nick cleared his throat, "Did you talk with your Aunt Patty?"

"Yeah, I called her about half an hour ago. She was hysterical. Patty blamed me for Claire's murder. She said I was the cop and therefore should've been there to help her baby girl."

"I've told you again and again Carter, it's not your fault."

"I should've known something was wrong when she stopped calling. I thought she was just angry with me, but-"

"You couldn't have know, Carter."

"Yes, I could've known!" Carter pushed away from the railing and walked inside. "Nick, I'm a cop. I'm supposed to be intuitive about these things. I thought I was a good cop, but now I . . . " Carter grabbed her purse and headed for the front door.

Nick lunged for her and grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"

Carter looked around and sighed. "Out. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Just take care of yourself, okay?" Nick let go of her and listened as she started his car and sped out of the driveway.

* * *

The pulsing lights of the dance club hurt his eyes. The pounding bass was pure agony to his overly sensitive ears. Slowly he began to make his way to the back door. 'Gently' he reminded himself, 'remember not to crush their feeble bones.' As he pushed open the doors his lungs filled with clean air and the empty spot where his soul should be filled with a feeling resembling peace. His senses quickly recovered from the shock of the noise and lights inside. With a sigh of resignation, he began walking in the direction of the beach.

He opened his senses to the night around him and marveled at its beauty. Since his transformation he had developed an ability to sense the most imperceptible sounds. He heard the sound of the surf as it crashed against the sand. Below that, he heard the singing of the whales a hundred miles off shore. Below that, he heard the sound of the fish as they swam through the water. Focusing his hearing down, he heard the slow steady drumbeat of a human heart.

He followed the sound as if in a trance. As he neared the source of the sound, his heart began to beat faster in anticipation. Approaching the boardwalk he located the source. A young man was sitting near the water, staring at the rising moon. Stealthily he snuck behind the man and covered his mouth against screams. Clamping his mouth down on the man's neck he was plunged into ecstasy. His sharp teeth penetrated the skin and the blood began to flow into his mouth in a warm, red river. The sweet nectar ran through his veins and his heartbeat became one with his victim's. After a time, the young man stopped struggling and his attacker dropped his body on the white sand.

Kneeling down by the water's edge, the man washed the blood from around his mouth. He stood up and once again began walking along the beach. Hours passed, he knew sunrise was coming. Soon he would have to return home. Then he saw her. She was sitting alone on the beach crying. Her crying reached into his cold heart and pulled him towards her.

* * *

Carter had been sitting on the beach all night thinking of Claire. She knew Nick would want her to come home, but she couldn't face him. He just wasn't willing to understand her guilt. No, she couldn't go back, not yet. Thinking her situation hopeless, she had begun to cry softly. That was when she noticed the man starting at her with hunger in his eyes.