The Kindness of Strangers

She stuck an idle hand out the window. Pretending it was an airplane, she made it swoop and dive in the wind made by the car's passing. Miles and miles of grassy flatness stretched away on both sides of the narrow two-laned highway, adding to Shelly's boredom.

Beside her, Marcus sighed as he switched CDs in the car's stereo system. He must have hit the shuffle button because Audioslave's "I am the Highway" began to seep from the speakers. Shelly smiled at the appropriateness of the track. Her blonde-haired boyfriend caught her expression from the corner of his eye. He returned her smile with one of his own and his sweet brown eyes twinkled.

"Whatchya thinking about?" she asked. She pulled her hand back inside, rubbing it absently.

"You," he replied. He reached over with a free hand to rub her thigh affectionately. She scooted closer to him to lay her head against his tall frame.

"You think we'll reach Rapid City by dark?" she asked, tracing a lazy finger along the seam of his jeans.

"Yeah, even on this old highway. There ain't much traffic out here and we're makin' good time. Your mom will sure be surprised to see us a day early," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"You think she's got a homecoming party planned? My mom is so big on stuff like that," Shelly remarked. She loved her mother to bits but she could get a little crazy with how she made a big deal out of her daughter's life. Her mom was a very happy, free spirit sort of woman who was always looking for an opportunity to celebrate. It was a great attitude but it sometimes drove Shelly a little insane.

That was one of the reasons she choose to go to college out of state. She had to be independent for once in her life. She wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet. And so far, she'd been pretty good at it.

Though she and Marcus weren't engaged yet, he was the first guy that she'd felt was The One. He was good for her. He lifted her up when she got too wrapped up in herself. They had much in common and he was an all around good guy. All of her friends knew it too and never failed to remind her of that fact. But she already knew that deep down inside. Shelly felt completed somehow by just being with him.

"I wouldn't worry too much about any party your mom's planning. From how we've talked on the phone, I think she's pretty cool. And I also look forward to doin' some sightseein'. I ain't never been to South Dakota before and I hear it's real pretty," he said reassuringly in his southern twang. He was from Missouri and they'd met at the university there. She thought his accent was another adorable thing that she loved about him.

Shelly let out another sigh and gave into a grin. He always knew what to say to make her feel better.

"Hey, I'm getting a little hungry. What say we find a place to grab a late lunch?" she suggested, sitting up.

"Sounds good to me. I could go for a good ole greasy cheeseburger myself," Marcus agreed.

Fifteen minutes down the road had him pulling his Chevy Cavalier into the parking lot of a likely looking diner called Lily's Place. It appeared promising and seemed to have quite a few customers, judging from all the vehicles in the lot.

They got out to head inside when Shelly spotted the sad looking young woman by the row of pay phones. What had drawn her attention was the forlorn way the long dark-haired girl was openly sobbing. Marcus saw her after a moment and whispered to his girlfriend,"Looks like someone's having a bad day."

"Yeah, sure does," Shelly whispered back as they went inside to get a booth.

During their meal of burgers, fries, and sodas, she couldn't stop thinking about that young woman. She was a writer by nature and her creative mind was busy trying to piece together the girl's story. What had led her to such a low point in her life? Shelly thought to herself. She discussed her musings with Marcus and together they tried to guess what was going on. Soon they were munching quietly on the last of their fries, each lost in their own thoughts.

He picked up the tab and they stepped outside the diner to head back to the car. Automatically, Shelly's head turned to see if she was still by the phones.

She was.

Now she was sitting on the concrete sidewalk with her head on her knees. A large blue canvas duffel bag rested beside her. She looked like she had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn.

Shelly's heart twisted at the sight of the young woman. She wasn't surprised to find herself approaching her. Reaching down, she lay a hand on her shoulder and the girl looked up, her wide green eyes awash with tears.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Shelly asked carefully.

"I-I have no ride. My b-boyfriend, he left me here alone this morning," she stammered sadly. She had a foreign accent, like she might have been from eastern Europe.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Where are you headed? Maybe we can give you a lift," Shelly suggested.

The girl's face brightened.

"I would like that very much. I am going west to California. Do you mind if I ride with you?"

"Well, we're only going to Rapid City. That's in South Dakota. You're welcome to come with us that far if you want," Shelly responded. She figured it was better than nothing.

"That would be good. Maybe I can find bus ride the rest of the way in Rapid City," the young woman said hopefully. She stood up and retrieved her bag.

"I'm sure you can. By the way, my name is Shelly. And this big guy is my boyfriend Marcus."

"Nice to meet you, Shelly. I am Tasha. Thank you for helping me."

"No problem. Let's get going."

Shelly sat up front with Marcus. Their new passenger rode in the back seat behind him. They talked for a while, about the weather and other mundane subjects. Before long, the drone of the tires on the pavement began to lull Shelly to sleep. She decided a nap before getting to her mom's place wasn't such a bad idea and she soon drifted off.

She woke later when she realized that the car was no longer moving.

Opening her big blue eyes, she shoved her long curly red hair out of her face. "Where are we? Why did we stop, Marcus?" she asked. Then she discovered she was alone in the vehicle. She sat up with a start.

Her boyfriend and Tasha were nowhere to be seen!

In the distance, the sun was sinking over the low forested hills. She knew they had to be close to South Dakota by now. But where were the others?

Her mind raced as she scrambled out of the car. They were parked along the highway. No other traffic was in sight. She looked around wildly, wondering which direction to go.

"Marcus!" she called. "Tasha!"

No answer. The only sound to greet her were the lone cries of birds and a deafening...silence. Goosebumps sprang up on her bare arms. She hugged them to herself and shuddered.

"What is going on?" she asked out loud.

The wind started to pick up, making the long grass undulate like waves on the ocean. Shelly turned around slowly, trying to decide. She hoped no one was hurt or sick. She was really worried now. "Why didn't they wake me up? Where'd they go?"

Then she saw the abandoned farm house in the field across the road. It seemed the obvious choice and she started over to it. She stumbled a few times over the rocks along the unkempt driveway. The deepening twilight made it difficult to pick her way to the ramshackle structure. She continued calling out their names as she walked, hoping they'd answer her. But only the wind rushed past her ears in reply.

No sooner than she'd stepped onto the rotting wooden porch, when around the corner of the house they came. At first Shelly was relieved to see them. Then she noticed something didn't seem right.

"Hey, you guys! What's going on here? Why did you-" she started to ask. She saw something was wrong when they ignored her and kept walking towards the road.

She ran to catch up to them. Marcus was following Tasha. He held onto her hand like an obedient child and he didn't look right. It was as if his mind were not his own. His gait was a slow sort of shuffle.

However, Tasha's skin seemed to be glowing. She looked...sated, full of power. She gave off the impression that she was beyond human somehow and she walked with a purpose.

Shelly caught up with them and jumped in front of the dark-haired beauty, whose feral eyes narrowed angrily all of the sudden. It frightened Shelly and her heart began to slam in her chest. But her fear of not knowing gave her the courage she needed.

"What the hell is going on?! Who the fuck do you think you are, stealing my boyfriend?!" she spat angrily.

Tasha smiled wickedly and they stopped right beside the highway. A lone trucker sped by just then, the breeze from his rig buffeting them loudly. Marcus still looked dazed, lost in his own little world.

"He is mine now, Shelly Parker. I have fed from him and tasted his sweetness. He is no longer yours," she said with a sneer. Her full lips glistened in the growing darkness. A thin dribble of dark liquid marred the corner of her mouth and her tongue flicked out lazily to lick it away.

"Marcus! Marcus! Talk to me! Tell me what she did to you!" Shelly cried, feeling tears spring up. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly. But he ignored her. His deep brown eyes remained vacant, staring at nothing.

She could see that there were two puncture wounds on his neck. They looked fresh and were still bleeding slightly. Shelly gasped, the realization hitting her at last.

"You're a vampire!" she exclaimed. She took a step back, wanting to run away from this nightmare brought to life. She had no idea how to handle this, wishing to hell she could just will everything back to normal in an instant. She wished they'd never seen Tasha weeping beside the pay phones at that diner. But she knew wishes like that never came true. It was too late to turn back time, the damage had been done already.

Shelly thought of how much she loved Marcus. She remembered all the good times they'd shared, the things she wanted to do with him in their future, the stuff she'd never get to do with him again. It made her heart ache and her soul rage at the injustice of it all. That was when IT happened.

Something in Shelly Parker snapped that night, brought on by the threat of losing the love of her life. The moon had started to ascend the horizon when she felt a sudden change occurring in her body. Her teeth grew longer, her nails lengthened to the size of knife blades, her muscles thickened. She felt herself growing larger, more dangerous. Her clothes made ripping sounds as the seams reached their breaking point. A red hot wave of rage swept through her and she let it consume her senses.

Whatever happened after that moment became a blur in her memory. Years later, she'd still be unable to recall many details from that night. Perhaps that was for the better. There were sounds of screaming, the tearing of flesh, and a thick coppery scent of blood. Whatever she'd become, she had no knowledge of what it was. The best explanation she could decipher was a berserker, like in the days of old when warriors let the battle-rage take control of their senses.

Later, when she came back to her mind, she found that Tasha was gone. Marcus lay on the ground motionless, but not dead. Shelly discovered she was nearly nude with smears of blood on her body. She was sore all over for some reason. There was a nasty taste in her mouth. So bad, in fact, that she bent over to retch violently in the grass. Then when she'd calmed down, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. She saw a smear of what she knew had to be blood. Instinctively, she knew it was not her own. She got up shakily.

"Marcus? Honey, are you all right?" she asked, crouching down beside him.

"Huh? What happened? Where are we?" he asked in confusion. He seemed more like his old self again.

"We stopped for a little while. I was...feeling sick and so were you. I think those burgers weren't cooked right," she lied to him. For some reason, she felt he'd be unable to handle the truth. It was better to pretend they'd never even picked up Tasha.

"Oh. Well, I think I'm ready to go now," he said, getting to his feet. He wobbled some as she helped him back to the car.

"Why don't I drive now? I know it's your Chevy and all but you don't look so good. You need to sleep it off, I think," she suggested. She led him over to the passenger's side and got him inside without too much trouble. He fell asleep almost as soon as she closed the door.

Then she opened the rear passenger door to fetch Tasha's duffel bag. She flung it as hard as she could away from the vehicle. It landed with a pleasing thud in the grass.

She cleaned herself as best as she could and changed her clothes, throwing the remains of her old ones into the ditch. Climbing behind the wheel, she was glad Marcus was too out of it to notice her getting rid of the evidence.

They were back on the road in no time. It was late when she pulled into her mother's driveway. No sooner than she'd turned off the ignition than her mom burst out the front door. So she got out to meet her halfway.

"Shelly Anne Parker! What are you doing here a day early?" Sharon Parker cried happily, grabbing her only offspring into a big hug.

Shelly returned her mom's embrace warmly. It felt reassuring and safe after the ordeal she'd been through that night.

"Thought we'd just surprise you, Mom," she murmured into her mother's ear.

"Well, I'm glad you did, hon. So how was the trip up here? Did you run into any trouble?" she asked in concern.

"No, Mom. Just had a couple of bad cheeseburgers along the way this afternoon. But we'll be fine. I need to wake Marcus up though, he's tired from driving most of the way," she replied.

"You gotta watch out for that kind of stuff, I'm telling you. Go ahead and get him up. I know he's got to be bushed. He can sleep in the guest room tonight. I'll help you unload the car, hon."

Her mother retrieved the two suitcases as Shelly helped Marcus into bed. He still seemed groggy but she knew the worst was over. Whatever she'd done to Tasha, she believed that bitch of a vampire would not be back.

Not as long as Shelly was around!