A Taste of Darkness

I stood on the covered train bridge overlooking the dry lake and thought about all that had transpired nearly ten years ago. Erin and ten of my friends had died there and since then, I had not returned. The memory of that night had been squashed and fought with every bit of strength I had so I could merely survive my new existence without her. All those years later; it would be the first time I would allow myself to go back and recall the events that had changed my destiny forever.

It was a hot August night and like so many nights before that, we had walked the train tracks to the bridge, burdened with heavy knapsacks filled with snacks and beer. Erin had invited Josh for the first time and I was nervous. Josh and I had met a few months before when I had gone to Boston to visit a college I was thinking about attending in the fall. We were in the same tour group and we instantly felt an attraction that neither of us could deny. If Josh had his way that night, I would have given him my all, but at the tender age of seventeen, I was not yet ready for such a commitment. We had kept in touch though and over the summer, the feelings grew and like my memory of that August night, I pushed those feelings deep down into my subconscious. When Erin broke down and invited him to meet all of my friends, I knew it would be the end of life as I knew it, but I had no idea the changes that would occur.

The party began like any other. A dozen or so of our school friends were there and we were celebrating the end of an era. In a few days we would all go our separate ways to attend college and we were all excited yet sad at the same time.

My sister, Erica had wanted to come with us but she did not travel in the same social circles. Being the younger sibling, which I teased her about in our youth, Erica was bound to overcome her shyness and inferiority complex before heading off to Yale. Feeling sorry for her, I allowed her to tag along.

We built a bonfire on the lake shore and drank beer all night as we remembered the years gone by. It was your typical teenage party, until Josh decided that he wanted to climb up to the top of the bridge. When he had winked at me, then jumped to his feet and ran for the base of the bridge, I had a feeling that what was about to happen could only spell trouble for myself, for Erin, and for everyone.

I ran after Josh and made it to the base just as he reached the top of the steep incline that led up to the bridge. I began climbing and nearly fell a few times. The incline was rocky and the dry summer had made the earth surrounding the rocks dusty and brittle. Every time I got a foothold on a rock, it gave way from the ground and I was left clinging to the earth above me. Just as I was sure that I would fall to my death, I heard Josh yell out.

I scrambled to the top of the incline with renewed strength and all the while I was sure that I would get to the top, only to look down and find Josh’s lifeless body floating on the gentle water of the river below. I was wrong.

With both feet firmly on the wood planks of the bridge, I peered into the darkness beyond and waited for my eyes to adjust to the light. Suddenly, a few feet into the confines of the bridge, I heard Josh say my name. I heard him telling me to go back. I didn’t listen. The sound of his voice worried me but I was too scared to go back or go further. I stood perfectly still and waited for another sound.

Josh said my name again and I stepped forward into the darkness. A sound to my left startled me and I moved to the right where my shoulder came into contact with something solid but not quite hard. I felt soft breathing on my neck and scrambled forward away from the hidden threat.

I said Josh’s name and he told me once again to leave. I wanted to run but I was afraid of what was behind me. With my arms held out straight ahead, I slowly made my way through the darkness toward Josh. Suddenly, something grabbed me and I was lifted up into the air. I had the sensation that I was being pulled to the right, then a sharp pain in my neck made me cry out and I was thrown from the bridge into the lake.

It was weeks before I was conscious enough to comprehend what had happened. By that time, I had left my hometown and concentrated on carving out a new life for myself. It was difficult and for the first time in my life, I felt detached from everyone I met. I had never had trouble making friends but this was different. What happened had changed me in more ways than I ever thought possible. But even in that grief-stricken period of loss, I found a way to carry on.

Ten years passed by in a heartbeat and I made the decision to come back home. I didn’t know what I would find when I returned but I knew what I wouldn’t find. My old friends that I had betrayed by continuing to exist in a world where they lay cold and decaying in the ground. It wasn’t my fault. I knew that. But I longed to be with them and with Erin who had died, and with her, any trace of good that was left in me. She had been my true self and I had failed her by giving in to the new breath of life that was forced into my body when I was spared their fate. Not only did I betray Erin, but Erica as well. I left her alone in a town full of people that she hated. I was sure she would never forgive me but how could I stay?

After ten years I found myself standing on that same bridge, looking down into the dry lake bed below. I wondered when it had rained last.

I had been standing there for a long while when I heard footsteps coming toward me. I wasn’t prepared to see anyone. I turned, prepared to flee but I had already been seen. I covered my face with my hand and tried to make out the face of the stranger.

“It can’t be,” she said. “It can’t be.”

“Who are you?” I thought I recognized the voice but agreed with myself that the night sounds were playing tricks on me.

“I knew you’d come back.” Suddenly she was rushing toward me and I saw her face just before she threw her arms around me and held me tight.

“Erica,” I said.

“I knew you’d come back. I knew I’d see you tonight.”

“How could you have known?” I tore her arms away from me and pushed her away.

“You’ve stayed away all this time. But I knew you wouldn’t miss this anniversary.”

“I don’t know why I came back,” I said.

“The same reason I did,” she said.

“Have you been away as well?”

“Well I wasn’t about to hang around this place,” she said, looking over the edge of the bridge.

“So what was your reason for returning?” I asked.

“Closure,” she said, “And to say goodbye to our friends. And to Erin. I miss her so much.”

“Of course you miss her. She was your sister.”

“How can you refer to her as though she wasn’t a big part of your life?” She backed away from me and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

“She was once. But everything changed.”

“Don’t be stupid. Nothing should have changed and if it did, it was your fault.”

“So you blame me too?”

“Blame you for what?”

“For leaving.”

“No, I don’t blame you for leaving. But you could have at least stuck around long enough to let me know where you were going.”

“I was confused and angry and hurt.”

“You were hurt? Erin may have died that night, but I didn’t. You still had a sister.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. I tried to reach out to her but she backed away farther still until she was nearly outside of the confines of the bridge.

“Josh missed you too,” she said.

“I’ll bet.”

“He never left town.”

“He didn’t go back to Boston?”

“No. He was sure you’d come back. He waited so long. He’ll be so pleased to find out you’ve returned.”

“You can’t tell him. Please Erica.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve given up on the past and I don’t want to re-open old wounds. He wanted Erin, not me.”

“No matter what you think, he wants you.”

“He couldn’t.”

“Why do you think he did what he did? He saved your life. Erin, please listen to me.”

“Don’t call me that!” I hissed.

“I’m sorry. I still see so much of you in her.”

“It’s time for me to go,” I said. I began to walk away from her.

“Please don’t go yet. I haven’t seen you in ten years. I want to know what you’ve been doing.”

“You know what I’ve been doing!”

“No I don’t. But I’d like to know.”

“What are you saying?”

“I think you know.”

“You don’t know what you are saying.”

“I know that I’ve spent the last ten years of my life hoping you’d return. We used to be best friends, despite our differences. Give me something we can share again.”

“No, I won’t!”

“Please Erin.”

“I told you not to call me by her name.”

“It’s your name. I don’t know what else to call you.”

“Erin is dead.”

“I know that, but when I see her standing right in front of me, how can I not see the old you. The real you. And like always. I want to be just like you.”

“Please Erica. Don’t ask me to do this. Once you’ve had a taste of darkness, you can’t go back.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

Suddenly something brushed by me on the right and knocked Erica to the ground. I lunged forward and grabbed the intruder. I ripped them away from Erica but it was too late. I stood looking down at the jagged holes in her throat and an intense anger filled me.

“How could you? How could you make her one of us?” I turned toward Josh who was still on the ground where he had landed when I tore him away from Erica’s throat.

“I promised her I would if you refused.”

“When are you going to stop throwing people from bridges Josh?”

Josh laughed out loud. “You always did make me laugh.”

“Why didn’t you turn her before?” I asked.

“Because I wanted to see what you would look like as you aged. Since you were not here, your twin took your place in my heart.”

“So you decided to ruin her life as you’ve ruined mine?”

“You knew what I was when we met.”

“Yes, and I should have run away screaming.”

“Being a vampire isn’t so bad, Erin. Once you embrace it, you will see the light.”

“Hypothetically speaking of course,” I couldn’t help but laugh. Josh had always managed to find humor in every situation.

“Why did you come back?” Josh said. He stood and walked over to me.

“I needed to ask you a question.”

“Just one?”

“Yes.”

“Ask away.”

“Did you invite them? Did you give them permission to tear my friends to shreds?”

“Of course not!”

“How can I believe a word you say?”

“They have seen justice. You can ask Erica.”

At that point I heard Erica stir. She moaned loudly and attempted to stand. I held my hand out to her and she took it. Once she was steady on her feet she looked from me to Josh and back to me again.

“You couldn’t do it, could you?”

“No, I couldn’t turn my twin sister into a vampire. Sue me.”

“So what now?” Erica asked, touching one of her new fangs with the tip of her tongue.

“Anyone hungry?” Josh asked.

“I’m starving!” Erica said.

“Are we OK?” Josh asked.

“I think we will be,” I said.

Josh walked over to me and hugged me tight. Then Erica did the same.

“I always fantasized about being with twins,” Josh said.

“In your dreams,” Erica and I said in unison.

We all laughed before walking hand in hand, us three, out of the confines of the bridge into the warm August night. I had gained my closure and everything was right with the world. And I was hungry. I felt like Chinese...