1
He was sitting at the chipped Formica counter, twizzling the stool from side to side as he fidgeted. I immediately knew that he was the one I was looking for. Bright clear skin, rosy-cheeked from the chilly wind kissing them, full lower lip and thin upper one, a reasonably straight nose, and sparkling blue eyes, oh my, yes. Pair all of that with the thick, rich mahogany of his hair, and he made the perfect target.
I pulled my cap down lower as I pretended to sip at my coffee the waitress stopped by and frowned, looking at my now cold and still full cup.
“Can I get you anything else?” she asked, frowning. I shook my head, sliding a five across the table to her before darting out of the booth and taking my leave. I didn’t go far, just to the laundromat across the road. It didn’t matter that I haven’t any laundry with me. At this time of night, the all-night laundrette is full of people trying to nap in the seats and on the laundry folder counters. Only two brave souls seem to have any actual washing, and from the car parked out front, this mother and child were living in their car. The kid was sitting on the dirty floor, doing math homework while the mother tried to help him figure out the correct formula to use to solve for x when a train goes fifty-five miles an hour somewhere.
Except for looking up when I first come in, I’m ignored by everyone awake. I sat where I could watch the front door of the diner, waiting for my mark to come out. I wasn’t even there twenty minutes when he did, laughing to his friends as they get into their cars. I stood up as I watched them spill out of the doorway, hands fumbling in my jacket pockets. I pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, stepping outside to get a better look. I fucking hate the stink of the tobacco filled sticks, but they make an excellent cover. I lit one, smiling to myself as my guy waved as his friends drove off, all except one. That one began walking towards the train station, my target going with him.
Oh, this made things so much easier. I hitched up my collar and began to stroll along. It doesn’t take me long to catch up with them. The train station was nearly deserted thanks to it being a Thursday, but there was still a small crowd of tired people waiting on various platforms for the last trains of the night.
“It was great seeing you!” my mark said to his friend, giving him one of those one-armed man hugs.
His friend thumped him on the back. “You, too, man, you, too. I can’t believe we stayed so late. My wife is gonna kill me.” The friend laughed, releasing him as he stepped back. “Okay, I don’t wanna miss my train.” He turned and left, with only another short wave as he reached the stairs to take him to his platform.
My guy sighed as he rubbed his eyes. I stubbed my cigarette out, being mindful to use the ashcan provided at the platform entrance. The platforms themselves were a no-smoking area, so the damned thing no longer served any purpose. I hurried after him as he strode to Platform Three. I knew the moment he registered my presence; it was always the same reaction. They’d be so wrapped up in what they were doing, they’d take no notice of the man in the jacket and flat cap. Only once isolated from the herd would they begin to be vigilant. With vigilance came scrutiny and with scrutiny, I stood out.
Tweed flat cap and matching jacket, collarless white shirt, and parchment-like skin, I didn’t exactly blend in. But this, too, was in my favor. I’d look up as I did now, and smile at them. They would all relax. My mark was no different. I was just another old guy who liked stuffy clothes. I sat down on the opposite end of the bench he sank onto. He turned his attention to the train arrivals board. We had three minutes until the train came.
When it arrived, I followed him on. The four other people waiting at the platform got onto the car before ours. He and I were alone in ours. I sat down, picking up a discarded newspaper and pretended to read. After two more stops, I moved to the car ahead, taking a window seat. Three stops after that, I spotted him disembarking. I hurried off, following him at a discreet distance. I nearly lost him in the station car park after he paused and looked around. I stopped at a black Volvo and pretended to be looking for my keys. Reassured, he carried on walking. I had to wait a few minutes and he became lost to my sight after crossing the car park. I walked to the exit, waiting, knowing he had to come out this way as it was the only marked exit. I was rewarded moments later by a blue Ford Fiesta pulling up. I knocked on the passenger side window. Startled, he turned his head to look at me, rolling down the window a bit.
“Sorry to bother you, but could you call AAA for me?” I asked, doing my damnedest to sound rueful. “My car immobilizer came on.”
He looked into his mirror; no one was coming out behind him. He placed the car in park, then reached for his phone. The idiot didn’t have one of those hands-free things. That actually made things easier for me, though. “Sure, no problem.”
“Thank you. My daughter keeps telling me I need to get one of those Bat phones, guess this just proves her right.” I gave a small chuckle. “Just don’t tell her or she’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
“Do you have their number? If not, don’t worry, I can look it up.”
“Oh, yeah. It’ll be on the card in my wallet.” I reached into my pocket, pulling out a battered wallet. I pulled out a plastic card and he rolled the window down farther so I could reach through to hand it to him. I dropped the card onto the empty seat instead, grabbing his wrist and holding on tight.
“What?” he yelled.
They always acted so surprised. I tightened my grip, two of my fingers over his pulse. It was thrumming from his fear response. I looked him full in the face for the first time. It was then that he saw my eyes weren’t a simple dark brown. They were black as I fed on his lifeforce, the pupils having taken entirely over. My skin plumped and softened, my cheeks pinked, the color returned to my no longer gray hair, and I let his wrist go as the last of his vigor became mine.
“Thanks so much,” I said, watching him slump over. I walked away towards the tracks. I began to follow them back the direction we’d come. I only needed to get somewhere far enough away from here that I could phone a cab without drawing too much notice. A breeze blew, catching an empty plastic shopping bag along the ground. I grabbed it. It was intact and reasonably clean. I shrugged off my jacket, placing it and my cap inside. I ran my hair through my short, reddish-brown hair. Now fed, the whites of my eyes could be seen, making my dark eyes look merely striking rather than something out of a horror movie.
The tracks crossed a road, which I turned down, spying the still lit sign of a local dive promising topless go-go girls. I made for it, knowing it was close enough to closing time that no cabbie would question picking me up. I pulled out my cell phone and called for a ride. Now that I was no longer hungry, it was time to go home to my beloved.
2
“Laurent?” Michael called, hearing the door. I smiled; he sounded much better today. I walked through the old church we called home, climbing the steps to the balcony long ago choirs stood in to sing. Now it held our bed and Michael’s medical equipment.
“You left again,” he said.
I sat down next to him, leaning in to kiss him on the corner of his mouth.
“I couldn’t wait any longer,” I told him.
He picked at the blanket covering him. “I know. I hate that you have to.”
“But I do. You could, too, you know.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to kill someone like that.” He looked away.
I regarded him sadly. Michael’s ills would all go away if he only accepted this gift. He would be fine once he took his first life; I just knew it. He was stronger than he believed himself to be. I didn’t say anything, though. This was an argument we’d had countless times before. He accepted what I was as long as he didn’t have to see it or deal with it in any way. Still, it pained me no end to see him dying before my eyes as he refused to cross the line.
“I’m no vampire,” he said.
