Once Bitten, No More

Sitting idly in a dark corner of the bar, I sipped my whiskey. My head ached from the inside out, and the overly loud music was perpetuating the dull pain. This was a popular bar, for a variety of reasons. Mostly, the atmosphere, music, undercut priced liquor, and relaxed regulation on standards and dress code. It bought a lot of the 'working class' locals in. For others, it had a more sinister purpose, a hunting ground of sorts.

A beautiful young woman caught my attention as she approached the bar. Like a rose swaying in a field of daffodils. She was tall, thin, had long black silky hair. Rather than individual strands, it looked like one solid piece of wavy black satin, swaying gently behind her as she walked. She leaned on the bar, her perfectly formed legs disappearing just under the high hem line of her bright red, body length skirt.

I studied her from the corner. The way she moved, her body language, her mannerisms. I saw what I was looking for. Glass in hand, I rose from my seat, and made my way through the displaced crowd, towards the bar.

Sitting myself down assertively next to the smartly dressed woman, I set my drink on the bar. Without even looking up, the soft seductive voice said, "Whiskey drinker, my kind of man".

A confident grin escaped my lips, "A girl who has a thing for whiskey drinkers, my kind of woman". Flicking her jet black hair to the side and over her shoulder, the woman turned to look at me. Her eyes were golden, almost glowing. Her skin was so smooth, it was surreal, all be it somewhat pale. She had an unusual scent. I could smell the perfume, but there was another scent, a more natural aroma, quite different to most women.

"I have a friend out the back, he has some .... stuff, much more serious than this piss weak whiskey. What do you say? Feel like taking a walk on the wild side?", I smiled suggestively, staring directly into her golden eyes. She studied me briefly. At first, it felt like a cross examination, then, her expression softened somewhat.

"You should be careful who you invite out the alleys honey, there are some unsafe people in this town", the woman cautioned. Her tone more matter of fact, than that of real concern.

"I'll take my chances. Don't you worry, I will look after you!", I answered, grinning at her, and raising an eyebrow. She turned away from me, placed a $20 note on the bar, then rose from her chair. Looking back at me with a wry smile, she said "Maybe it's not me that needs looking after!".

Swinging her black coat over her shoulder, she proceeded to confidently stride towards the back door of the bar. Though the bar was still crowded, she seemed to slip through the random groups of people with consummate ease, like a dancer performing a well rehearsed routine.

Swigging back the rest of my whiskey, I slipped off the barstool, and began to follow the seductress with the black velvet hair. While unable to negotiate the crowd with the ease she had displayed, mostly due to my consumption of whiskey that night, I still managed to catch up with her.



As the door swung open into the back alley, the cold draught came rushing in. It was a still night. The moon was out, almost full, illuminating even the darkest corners of this small depressing town. A plain white van with dark windows sat idly in the left rear of the alley. To the right, the tall slight woman now leaned up against a damp wall looking at me, smiling. She was fishing around in her purse, pulling out her lipstick. With the expertise of a pro, she applied her lipstick and had it back in her bag, before the door had closed behind me. I glanced again briefly at the idle van to the left, then unbuttoned the top button of my navy blue denim shirt, the cool breeze on the chest was refreshing. With a confident, alcohol influenced swagger, I moved towards the woman.

"So Mr Confident, is this how you always proposition girls, out in the alleyway behind the bar? Don't you know there are dangerous types in this neighbourhood", she commented, almost as a side thought.

"Oh I am all too aware, and don't you worry, I can take care of myself!", I assured her. I knew the dangers she spoke of, that mingled amongst the towns' people, mostly at night. People who would kill without a seconds thought, just to stay alive. This is what I was counting on. After years in this town, I had learnt to spot them easily. This one was just too obvious, and the colour of her eyes gave her needs away, making it just that much easier.

"So, what's your idea of 'a good time' then? Maybe we can squeeze some in before these 'dangerous types' appear", I said, giving her a curious wink, trying to encourage her. With confidence, I moved in closer to her against the wall. I placed my palm on the cold bricks just above her head, looking into her golden eyes. Her perfume was pleasant, but didn't cover the scent, not even close.

Her hand reached up to my cheek, tracing round to the back of my neck. I tried not to flinch from the icy sensation. For a moment a flicker in her eyes caught my attention. Then, with a sudden forced urgency, she pulled my head down to hers, intertwining her soft wet lips with mine, kissing me long and slow. Her lipstick had a faint taste of cherry. I closed my eyes, but only briefly.

Seductively, her lips trailed down to my jaw line, towards my neck. Before I could react, her grip around the back of my neck become vice like, I was unable to move.

"You made this all too easy". That faint flicker re-appeared in her golden eyes as she spoke. "Don't be so sure about who you can trust in this town Mister", I heard her mutter, as small hiss escape her lips. I flinched as I felt the penetration of her two fangs, sink deep into the flesh of my neck. Warm, was the blood now trickling down my neck. I didn't fight, I didn't struggled, I simply closed my eyes and waited. Many thoughts rushed through my head. Was this the last time I would breath air? Was this my last act as a human? Had the last several months of dedication and work, testing and studying, been enough for this to work?

My thoughts were interrupted. I felt her fangs retract from my neck abruptly. Then I heard a gurgling sound, as the black haired vampire stumbled backwards, hitting the wall with a thud. Her eyes, still golden were now wide with disbelief. She continued to stare at me as she slid down the wall slowly, slumping in a heap on the ground. Her body started to convulse violently, every limb shaking uncontrollably, blood coloured froth appearing in the corner of her mouth. The last thing I saw, was her golden eyes turn stone grey, before her body became lifeless, unmoving, rigid.

I reached in my pocket, grabbing for my medical gauze, quickly holding it over my neck. Behind me, I heard the rolling of a van door, I turned to see Jerry rushing towards me, a look of trepidation on his face. To make sure I hadn't just had some hallucination, I looked back to see if the vampire still lay on the cold pavement in the moonlight. Still in disbelief, I took a few steps back.

"Did it work? Are you ok? How much blood have you lost?". Jerry Nicholas was my friend, my partner, my only trusted colleague. His eyes darted between my neck, and the vampire lying in a heap on the ground.

"It has worked Jerry, finally it has worked. I only lost a small amount of blood, so it reacts fast, which was what we had hoped for". I took one last disgusted look at the blood sucking creature, lying crumpled and cold on the ground, then turned, heading towards the white van.

"Are you sure you don't need a transfusion, I have spare blood ready in the back of the van?". I could tell Jerry was worried. But I wasn't. I was far from worried, I was ecstatic. A smile escaped my lips, I couldn't help it, I had worked so long for this. Despite the pain in my neck and the blood still slowly seeping through the gauze, I could only smile.

Jerry broke my train of thought, "So, what now? We need to get out of here for a start, before someone comes out".

Jerry was right. He climbed into the drivers' seat, I pulled myself into the passenger seat, closing my eyes briefly, catching my breath, adrenaline still running through my veins. But that was not all that was running through my veins.

I turned to Jerry, finally realising the magnitude of the event that had just taken place. The implications. Letting out a shriek of delight, I slapped Jerry on the arm with gusto. "We did it! We bloody did it! Finally, an anti serum that works."

As we drove down the freeway, I looked out the window for a long time. Finally breaking the silence, I said quietly, more to myself than anything, "At last, retribution will be mine. Those blood suckers will be sorry they ever messed with my Julie". I knew I couldn't bring her back, but I could take down as many of those vampiric leeches as I could before I died.

The lights of the city started to fade behind us, as we headed to the outskirts of town. My neck throbbed, the bleeding had almost stopped. But my heart, broken and disused for so long, now held somewhere deep down, some semblance of hope. Hope that my Julie's gruesome death was not in vain.

I would endure as many bites as necessary, in order to kill as many of these monsters as possible. That was a small sacrifice to pay, for the loss of the love of my life. One way or another, they would pay a price.