“Are you a zombie?” Aaron asked from my side. “Because, I mean, you’re obviously not alive.”
He looked at each of us and grinned. It was then I noticed his teeth. “You’re a vampire.”
“Well, aren’t you the clever one, Blake.”
“How do you know my name?”
“You’d be amazed how much you can find out from six feet under.”
“Where’s your gold?” Aaron asked, apparently unable to control himself.
“Is that all you want?” the vampire asked and didn’t hide his fangs from us when he grinned.
“What do you want?” I asked because I knew there was no way he could have stayed buried for so long and not have a demand or two.
“Well, I do need to feed.” He leered at the two of us, and Aaron yelped before taking a step behind me. “But I have a proposition.”
“What do you mean?” I tried to sound brave even though I was anything but.
“Each of you give me a small amount of blood, and I will help you get the gold you’re looking for.” He took a seat on a nearby tombstone and waited for us to reply.
“How much is a small amount?” Aaron asked.
“If I wanted to, I could drain you both in but a few moments. You should be grateful I’m feeling generous tonight.” He grimaced as he checked his nails that were long and as dirty and unkept as the rest of him.
“How much?” I asked.
He gave me an appraising look before he grinned, and I had to force myself not to grin back. What the fuck? “Just a few drops from you both.”
Aaron held his hand out before I could protest, and the vampire pierced his wrist with his teeth. The pleasure he took as he drew blood from my friend made me feel like I was watching something far more intimate. His eyes rolled back, andhe groaned before stopping himself and licking the wound clean. Aaron rubbed his arm before showing me there was no wound.
“See, a small amount.” He held his hand out to me, and I forced myself to extend my arm. Once again, he didn’t hesitate before drinking what he wanted. Things were different this time, though. As soon as the blood hit his mouth, heflung himself backward, away from me. “You are my enemy,” he hissed before turning and running toward town.
I looked down at my wrist, that was stillbleeding and questioned what he meant. “Am I sick or something?” I wondered out loud.
“Wegotta find him. He promised us his gold,” Aaron said before picking up his shovel and running toward the truck.
I stared at my wrist and wondered what the hell had just happened as Aaron yelled for me to hurry the fuck up.
“Fucking vampire,” I grumbled before jogging to the truck.
Two
Blake
We threw the shovels in the back, and I tried not to tear up the lawn too much as I stomped on the gas and the tires spun before getting traction. Chunks of dirt and grass rooster-tailed behind us, and I ignored the shocked look Aaron gave me as I tried to keep the truck straight, while guessing where the vampirehad gone.
“I’d bet he’s headed straight for town. He’ll find lots of blood there,” I said, and once again ignored the gagging sound Aaron made. “Now, do you see why I thought this was a bad idea?”
“What? You’re the one who brought it up to begin with. Just because I was the genius who gave in to you and thought we should give it a try, doesn’t mean all the blame is on me,” he said and tightened his grip on the handle above the window.
“There!” I shouted and turned down the levee road off to the left. I’d barely caught sight of movement before I realized it was the vampire. He was standing at the edge of town when he saw us and took off running again.
“Holy shit, dude, slow down,” Aaron said as he shoved himself back in his seat and gripped the bar above him even tighter.
The vampire turned back to look at us, and I sped up even more. He jumped the canal to the other side but still ran in front of us. “He’s not trying to lose us. He’s playing with us.”
“I don’t care what he’s doing, I just don’t want to die,” Aaron said as he pressed back even more in the seat.
