Mathew's Monsters

Word count: 1,064

Mathew did not like being dead, while it is true he never enjoyed being alive when he had the chance. He felt being dead was much worse especially since he could not sleep in the coffin Shena had given him night she had transformed him into a vampire. Part of the problem was that Mathew thought of himself as dead rather then undead. His parents were very scientific minded (at least they thought they were), they did not give Mathew any religious upbringing and they taught him that there were only two ways for human beings to look at the world. For Mathew's parents, Mark and Marie Marlow, there was a right way and a wrong way to view human existence and their way was the right way.

The taught Mathew that science was always right, even if experiments and new findings changed the view of the past. They explained to him that this was a part of the evolutionary process and that was the only acceptable way to look at the world. Another thing they taught him, all though Mathew could not remember why this subject came up, that people were either alive or dead without any in between. "It is a simple matter of scientific fact," Mathew remember his father proclaiming, "there is no such creature as the undead."

Another thing Mathew hated was his name, Mathew Marlow, M and M reminded him of a piece of candy. He was allergic to chocolate of any type. When he ate chocolate his tongue swelled, his throat close, and he ended up in the Emergency Room hooked up to oxygen. His classmates in grade school, middle school, and high school thought that was amusing, so they hid small candy covered chocolates in the lunches he brought from home or in the cafeteria food he purchased. Matthew survived, as to whether it made him stronger is not clear, it did make him less trusting and somewhat paranoid.

Mathew lay in his coffin staring at the inside of the cover and listening to his stomach growing. He was hungry, he knew it had to be time to eat sot he tried to open the lid. "Mr. Marlow," said the mechanical voice of the timer which prevented the lid from opening before sunset. "It is two hours before sunset, so please go back to sleep until I wake up up."

"Shut up, you stupid piece of machinery," Mathew growled. "I'm hunger and I want something to eat. I want it now!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Marlow, I cannot open this coffin until one hour after sunset. Now please go back to sleep."

What, Mathew thought as he stared at the roof of his prison. ever attracted me to that monster Shena? Why did I ever let the bitch sink her teeth into me? He sighed, attempted to turn over in the narrow coffin, and then decided that lying on his back was more comfortable then lying on his stomach.

*****

"Mr. Marlow," said the coffin's timer, "time to get up."

"It's dark out," grumbled Mathew and he climbed out of his coffin and went to the window. "Why can't vampires work from sunup to sundown and sleep at night; when normal people sleep?"

"Because, My Dear," said Shena coming into his bedroom without knocking. "We're not normal people." She place a tray holding two wine glasses and a carafe of scarlet liquid on a round table in the center of the room. "Sit down beside me," she poured the liquid into the glasses and then sit down on a couch within arms length of the table. He slumped into the couch and waited for her to hand him a glass.

"Interesting aroma," he sniffed the liquid in the glass before a large gulp. "Yuck!" He swallowed and handed her back the glass. "Shena, why do you always bring me blood?"

"Because, Mathew," she glared at him. "We're Vampires and that's what we drink."

"I prefer coffee!"

Shena shook her heard, Why did I make him a vampire? Then she looked around the room and smiled, I remember now, it was this house his parents left him. Perhaps I should have been satisfied with living in the slums and feeding off winos. She sighed, Well, I suppose it's worth putting up with him for the sake of the house.

"Mathew," she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I have a surprise for you."

"You haven't brought another damn monster into this house? Have you, Shena?"

"Mathew, vampires are undead! We're not monsters and we're not demons. We're..."

"What's the surprise, Shena?"

"Sara," Shena shouted and a brown haired mousy looking young woman came rushing into the room.

"Yes, Miss Shena," she smiled weakly. "What can I do for you and Mr. Marlow?"

"Mathew," Shena smiled revealing her long sharp vampire fangs. "This is Sara and she's here to make your life less miserable."

"What's she supposed to do," he glared at Shena. "Drive a stake through my heart."

"No, Matthew," she frowned. If I thought that would help, I'd do it myself. "Sara will be opening your coffin from now on, so you don't have to put up with that automatic alarm my brother invented."

"Sara," he smiled. "Can you make coffee?"

"Yes, Mr. Marlow, what blood type would you like me to make it with?"

"It doesn't matter, but please don't call me Mr. Marlow."

"Of course, Mr. Mathew," she left the room.

"Are you going hunting with use tonight, Mathew?"

"Only if that dysfunctional monster family of yours isn't hunting with us?"

"Very will, I'll have Sara bring you a bowl of uh... something else with your coffee."

*****

"So, Shena," said Sean, her twin brother. "How long are you going to put up with this loser?"

"Until I can find a lawyer who's willing to work with real bloodsuckers. You'd think with all the lawyers in this town, one of them would be willing to work at night and with a vampire."

"I know a female lawyer who might be willing to work with us," he smiled wickedly. "However, I think I'm going to have to make her a vampire to get her cooperation."

"So what's the problem, Brother of Mine?"

"Her husband. Would you be willing to distract him," he grinned. I wonder if I should tell Shena that Vickie's husband is a vampire hunter.