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Knock, knock.
“Who could that be at this late hour?” Staci asked herself, looking at her watch. It was just past ten and she was getting ready to go to bed. She went to open the door of her new apartment for her late hour guest.
When she opened the door, Staci was greeted by an odd character. Standing in the open doorway was a girl of about twenty-four with bleach blond pigtails that went down to her waist. Her hair was streaked with maroon. She wore a long-sleeved, black shirt with holes in the sleeves. Printed across the front of the shirt in white letters were the words “Bite me”. She had a black, lacey mini-skirt on top of fishnet stockings. On her feet were black combat boots, and around her neck she wore a leather choker with a blood ruby in the shape of a teardrop. She also wore black lipstick and eyeliner. Staci thought that, all in all, the girl looked like an anime character.
“Um… How may I help you?” Staci asked hesitantly.
The girl frowned. “Staci, I’m hurt. How can you not remember me?”
Staci looked at her in puzzlement. “Have we met?”
The girl stared in shock. “It’s me. Kim. You know, your best friend from eighth grade?”
Staci didn’t know what to say. “Kim? Is it really you?”
The girl rolled her eyes. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”
“Oh my gosh! It really is you! Come in, come in,” Staci said. She stepped out of the way so Kim could enter.
Taking a seat on the couch, Staci gestured for Kim to do the same. “Tell me everything,” she demanded.
“Well, it took me forever to track you down,” Kim said, “I thought I might have to give up searching.”
“I can’t believe it’s really you! You’ve changed so much. When did you… um, change your style?” Staci asked. She really wanted to know everything that had happened with her old friend.
“About five years ago,” Kim said, answering Staci’s question. “I’m a whole different person than the one you remember,” she added with a smirk. There was an odd glint in her eyes, as if she was enjoying some private joke.
“Whoa! Where did you get your contacts?” Staci asked, noticing that Kim’s eyes were red. “They look so real…”
“They are real.”
“Yeah, sure.” Staci drawled.
“I’m serious.” And she was. Kim was so serious that it was almost tangible.
“Fine. I’ll play along. Why are your eyes red?”
“I’m not playing. And if you don’t believe me, then you don’t need to know why my eyes are red.” Kim said, standing up in an angry gesture. She started to move towards the door with the intention of leaving.
Staci sighed. “Kim, don’t do that. Come back.” She got up off the couch and moved to stop Kim. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s just that… Well, it’s so hard to believe that you really have red eyes,” Staci said, standing in front of Kim.
Kim stared hard at her friend, wondering if she could reveal her secret. Finally, she relented. “You’re not going to believe me,” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Why don’t you sit down and tell me first. Then I’ll decide whether or not I believe you.” Staci smiled as she guided Kim back to the couch. Once they had sat down, she urged Kim to tell her what was going on.
“There’s no easy way to explain this, so I’ll just say it.” Kim took a deep breath. “I’m a vampire.” She waited for Staci’s reaction.
A few moments passed before Staci finally comprehended what Kim was saying. She briefly wondered if her friend had gone off the deep end. “Let’s pretend for a moment that I believe you,” Staci began, and Kim glared fiercely at her, “When did this happen? And how?”
After glaring for a few more seconds, Kim finally spoke. “Five years ago, I was dating this guy I met at a LARP meeting. It turns out that he is – was – a vampire. We were on a date when he bit me and,” – here she rolled her eyes - “accidentally turned me into one myself. When I woke up, he was nowhere to be found, the a**. I spent a whole week searching for him, but I’ve never seen him since that night. Once I realized what I had become, I changed my identity. I now go by the name of ‘Dusk’.” She waited while Staci digested this information.
“So… Why’d you come to me?”
“For the first four years of my new life, all I did was travel and drink blood. But then I remembered you. I thought, ‘Staci would never believe this. I should pay her a visit.’ So here I am,” Kim shrugged. “I guess I just thought that being my friend you’d understand.” She paused, then grinned. “You must think I’m a lunatic.”
“You’re right. I do think you’re a lunatic.” Staci said. Then she smiled to take the sting from her words. “Anyway, what’s it like?”
Kim perked up as Staci started showing some interest. Maybe she believed her after all. “It’s like you’re always thirsty. And no matter how much you drink, you can never fully quench you thirst. But it’s also amazing! It’s as if you’re seeing the world for the first time,” she paused, and then smiled. “In high-def. And it’s exhilarating. Words can’t describe it.” Dusk leaned back on the sofa and smiled, flashing her fangs while doing so. “Of course, I could just show you.”
Startled by those last words, Staci moved as far from Kim as the couch would allow. “You wouldn’t really bite me.” She managed a smile, but inside she wasn’t so sure that Kim wouldn’t try to take a bite out of her.
“Oh, come on! It doesn’t hurt…much.” Dusk licked her lips, thinking about the warm blood that flowed in her friend’s veins.
Staci jumped off the couch. “How ‘bout I get us something to eat? What do you like? Pizza? Cake? Pizza and cake?” She struggled to contain the panic in her voice as she made her way to the kitchen, trying to stall until she could call the police.
Dusk smiled in amusement as she watched Staci stumble into the kitchen. She could hear the phone being dialed. Using her vampire speed, she appeared at her friend’s side. It was as if she teleported. She leaned closer to Staci and whispered, “The police will never believe you. But don’t worry, I’ll make it quick.” She could taste the fear coming from the girl’s quivering frame. With a motion too fast for the human eye, she grabbed Staci by the throat and pushed her against the counter, being careful not to hurt her. The cordless phone flew from Staci’s hand and went clattering on the floor.
“Don’t hurt me! Please, Kim, I’m your friend. You can’t do this!” Staci said, frantic.
“Just relax. I’m not going to kill you. At least, not in the sense of dying. Just think of it as a blood donation. Because really, that’s what it is.”
“Please, don’t do this.” Staci said, tears starting to form in her eyes. Seeing that begging wasn’t going to get her anywhere, she finally just screamed, praying that the neighbors would hear.
Dusk frowned. The noise was annoying and it bothered her supersensitive hearing. “Why do you have to make this so hard?” She growled. She put her free hand over Staci’s mouth and jerked her friend’s head to the side before biting the exposed flesh. She felt the warm blood well up from the puncture marks and realized just how hungry she had been.
Staci vainly tried to struggle free, but Kim was too strong. I can’t believe that this is happening. I can’t believe that this is happening to me! I didn’t think I’d die like this! I didn’t…And her thoughts stopped as she became unconscious.
Staci woke up an hour later, dazed and confused. “Why am I on the kitchen floor?” She muttered to herself. “And why do I feel like I have a horrible hangover?” As she started to lift herself off the ground, she felt a pain in her neck. She also noticed several drops of blood on the floor tile. Putting her hand to her neck, Staci felt the two small puncture marks, now clotted over. She gasped as she remembered what had happened. Pushing herself off the floor, she staggered through the arch that led out into the living room.
Kim was sitting on the couch, watching a rerun of Angel. “Good, you’re finally awake. For a moment I was worried that I had taken too much blood,” She said, her eyes never leaving the TV screen.
“You…you bit me!” Staci said, shocked and angry.
“Get over it. Besides, you should be happy. Now you’ll never have to worry about dying.” Kim popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth, and then added, “You know, I really wish that vampires could taste human food. I know I used to enjoy popcorn.” She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout before she added, “Oh well. That’s the price you have to pay for immortality.”
Staci was only half listening, still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Kim had actually bit her. No, she corrected herself, Dusk. Her name is Dusk. Then she shook her head as she realized that she was still angry with Kim – No, Dusk – and she proceeded to let that anger out in the only way she knew how.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Staci yelled. “I thought you were going to kill me! And you know what else? I don’t even want to be a vampire! I don’t want to be immortal, and I don’t want to drink blood all my life! If you can even call it a life. You’re lucky I haven’t –”
She stopped mid-sentence as she noticed that Dusk wasn’t paying any attention to her. Staci was about to start yelling out her frustrations about being ignored when she noticed that Dusk was looking at the clock and muttering, “Three…two…”
“What are you…?” The question died on Staci’s lips right before Dusk hit one. “I need blood,” was all she said.
“Right on schedule!” Dusk said, standing up. She clicked the off button on the TV remote and turned to her friend. “We can go to that cool little night club. Dead on Arrival, it’s called.”
Staci forgot her hunger for a moment in confusion. “Isn’t that the name of a song by Fall Out Boy?”
“Yeah. The club’s named after it.” Dusk grinned as she remembered the club where she had spent most of her nightlife. “So, are you coming, or not?”
“Of course!”
“But you’re not going like that.” Dusk said, pointing to the pajamas that Staci was wearing. It was a two-piece with a white tank top and light blue flannel pants. There were white clouds all over the bottoms, each with a sleeping SpongeBob on them. “I’ve seen some strange outfits in that club, but if you’re coming with me, you have to look presentable. Especially since we’re going to me a good friend of ours afterward.”
Staci briefly wondered why Dusk had referred to this friend as ours, but didn’t dwell on if for too long, as she was terribly thirsty.
“Come on. We have to find something more appropriate for you.” Dusk was saying. “I’ve got some extra clothes that you can wear at my apartment.” She opened the door and waited expectantly.
Staci decided that she didn’t really have a choice in the matter, so she followed Dusk out the door. Dusk proceeded to walk down the hall to the right, stopping every ten minutes to make sure that Staci was still following her. They went down a flight of stairs, turned down another hallway, finally reaching Dusk’s apartment.
“You lived in this building all this time and now you’re coming to see me?” Staci asked, incredulous.
“Actually, I just arrived last night. I had to sleep through the day.” Dusk said as she unlocked the door.
“Wouldn’t it have made more sense to just get a hotel if you weren’t going to stay here for long?”
“Well, yeah.” Dusk pushed the door open.
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I was hungry.” Dusk stepped over the threshold after she said this.
“What do you mean?” Staci said as she followed Dusk into the room. Then she saw a bloody body lying on the floor, too torn and twisted to make out whether it was a man or woman.
Dusk noticed where Staci was looking. “I just thought that it would be easier to kill the owner of the apartment instead of paying rent.”
Staci stared for a few moments before she realized that Dusk was walking into the bedroom. She followed, asking, “If this isn’t your apartment, then how do you have clothes here?”
Dusk was rummaging through a duffel bag. “I brought some with me. I didn’t know how long I’d have to stay here.” She replied. Then she pulled out a purple tank top and threw it behind her, not looking to make sure that Staci had caught it, which she had with her new vampiric reflexes. Dusk held up a pair of slick black leather pants, then promptly threw those at Staci too. “Get changed.” She said, standing up.
Staci looked at the clothes in her arms. She held up the tank top in front of her, observing that it looked incredibly small. “You expect me to wear this?”
Dusk glared.
“Fine, fine. I’ll wear the skimpy thing.” Staci walked off into the adjacent bathroom. She closed the door and started to strip off her pajamas. She noticed several bottles of hair dye sitting on the counter and wondered if they were Dusk’s. She slipped the tank top over her head, with some difficulty, and noticed that she was right about it being skimpy. The cloth stopped above her bellybutton. It was super tight, causing some cleavage to show. As she tugged on the pants, she noticed that they were just as tight as the top, if not tighter. All together, she found herself looking like a hooker.
Dusk was waiting patiently for Staci. It didn’t take long for her friend to come back out. As Staci stepped out of the bathroom, Dusk thrust a pair of black leather boots into her arms. Staci pulled them on, silently thanking God for letting the boots not be so tight.
“We have to do something about your hair.” Dusk said. And before Staci could protest, she was whisked back into the bathroom and became subject to hair dyeing. Within minutes Dusk had transformed Staci’s long brown hair into a black cascade streaked with a deep purple to match her outfit.
Staci looked in the mirror and was speechless. She didn’t recognize the girl in the mirror as Dusk started applying make-up. Dusk didn’t do anything fancy with the make-up, not wanting to take away from Staci’s newfound beauty.
“Okay. All done!”
Staci stood up and surveyed herself in the mirror. “Is it really me?”
Dusk rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s you! Now let’s go. I’ll grab my stuff later.”
Dusk and Staci walked down the sidewalk, looking every bit like club-goers. The streets were oddly deserted as the pair approached a building with a bouncer standing out front.
Dusk stopped before they reached the brick building. “You need a name.”
Staci looked at Dusk, puzzled. “A name? But I already have a name.”
“Yes, but that’s your human name. You need an alias. A vampire name.”
“Oh. Okay. Like what?”
Dusk gazed at her friend in thought. “I know. How ’bout Twilight?”
“Twilight?”
“Yeah. It’s the perfect name to go with Dusk. After all, the two are practically the same thing.”
“Well, I guess it’ll work. But why can’t I be Night?”
“You know that friend that we’re going to meet?”
Staci wondered what that had to do with anything. “Yeah?”
“Well, that’s her name.”
“Oh.”
They walked the rest of the block to the front of the nightclub. Upon approaching, the bouncer stepped in front of the door. “I.D.?”
Dusk crossed her arms and glared at him. “I’m a regular here. You don’t need my I.D.”
“No. But I need hers,” he said, indicating Twilight.
“She’s a vamp too,” Dusk said, “And a newborn at that.”
The bouncer knew what she meant by “newborn”. He was all too familiar with newly made vampires and their appetites. “Have fun,” he said, moving aside so that the two girls could enter.
“Thanks.” Dusk flashed him a smile, showing her gleaming fangs. She started to enter into the club but stopped as she realized that Twilight was just standing there staring at the bouncer’s neck. “Come on, Twilight. You can feed in the club,” she said, jerking her friend through the opening.
Once inside, the loud music overwhelmed the two. The room was dimly lit and was made even more so by the fog machine. In front of them were three steps leading down to the dance floor. There were people and vampires alike dancing. On the far right was a bar where the sober could get wasted and the drunk could get even more drunk. To the left were tables so that the tired could rest and talk with their friends while having something to eat or drink. On a raised platform by the dance floor was a DJ, who was currently playing Stand Up by Stromkern. Not far from the DJ’s place was a flight of stairs that led to the lounge area surrounding the dance floor. A hallway broke off from that area leading to the private rooms where couples looking to enjoy some pleasure could go.
Dusk led Twilight through the crowd of dancing bodies to the bar. The bartender looked up and smiled as he saw Dusk.
“You go off and have some fun,” Dusk told Twilight. “I’m going to hang here. If you need anything, let me know. And no turning anybody.”
Twilight was about to go off into the mass of people when a thought occurred to her. “Won’t I get in trouble if someone sees me feeding?”
“Hell no! These people are used to being fed off of. For some it’s a routine.”
Twilight didn’t wait any longer. She dived into the crowd (metaphorically speaking) and went about searching for someone good to feed off of.
As Twilight disappeared into the mass of bodies, Dusk sat down on one of the bar stools. “Hey, Alex.” She said to the bartender
Alex stopped cleaning the glass he was holding to talk to her. “So, a newborn?” He asked referring to Twilight.
“Yeah. I changed her only a few hours ago.” Dusk replied.
“And she hasn’t murdered anybody yet? She must have good morals.”
Dusk shrugged, looking at her fingernails in boredom.
“So, you finally ready to settle down?” Alex asked as he put away the glass.
“Actually, I’m living with Night.”
“You mean…”
Dusk nodded.
Alex lowered his voice. “You’re actually living with that crazy chick?”
“First of all, she’s not crazy. Second, I’ve know her since second grade.”
“I heard that she’s in the mafia.”
Dusk burst out laughing. When she finally calmed down enough to speak, she said, “It’s true that she owns a motorcycle, but she’s not in the mafia.”
Alex looked at her skeptically. “If you say so.”
Dusk smiled. “Would I lie to you?”
“Yes.”
“But have I ever?”
“Many times.”
“Well, maybe once.”
“You mean that time when you said that I –”
Dusk cut him off. “I thought we agreed to never speak of that again.” She paused as the song Voulez-Vous came on, thinking that it wasn’t very good club music. “And for the record, you did.”
“Did what?” Twilight asked, coming up to them. Dusk noticed that she had some blood still on her lips.
“Nothing.” Both Dusk and Alex said simultaneously.
“Fine. Don’t tell me.” Twilight said stubbornly. “Anyway, someone’s watching us and it’s bothering me.” She added, glancing at a cloaked figure leaning against a wall.
Dusk followed her friend’s gaze. She saw a pair of silver eyes peering out from under the hood of the cloak. Turning around quickly, she said, “Time to leave.”
“What, already?” Alex joked.
“See ya ’round,” Dusk said as she hopped down from the barstool. She hurried through the crowd with Twilight close behind. As they left the club, Dusk began to run. Twilight also broke out into a run to keep up with her friend. It wasn’t long before they reached an abandoned library. There, they stopped. All was dark and quiet, save for one window that light and thumping music were pouring out of. From the outside, the structure was slightly gothic with its stone columns and gargoyles. The doors were large and heavy with brass knockers in the shape of teardrops.
Dusk approached the door and banged the brass knocker. No one answered. Muttering under her breath, Dusk tried again. Still no answer. She walked around the front of the building until she was underneath the lit window. She picked up a small rock that was lying on the ground as if it was put there purposely. She then proceeded to throw said rock at the window. It bounced off with a clunk! and then fell back down to earth.
“Ember! Open the door!” Dusk yelled up to the window.
The music continued its loud thumping and Twilight could make out a few lyrics from Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit.
When there was still no sign of the door opening, Dusk threw the rock again and yelled, “If you don’t open the damn door this instant, I’ll make sure that Night kicks your a**!”
After a few minutes ticked by the door opened. But it wasn’t Ember, as Dusk had been expecting. It was Night.
The girl who opened the door was holding a wrench and had a grease smudge on her left cheek. A metal half-mask hid the right side of her face and crept down the side of her neck to cover her arm as well. She had black eyes to match her long black hair that was held back with a blue bandana. She was wearing jeans and a stained black tank top that showed off her metal-covered arm.
“I assume that everything went well?” The question was aimed at Dusk, but Night was looking at Twilight as she asked it.
“She’s here and fed, isn’t she? No problem at all.” Dusk replied.
“And?”
“It went as well as could be expected. Actually, it went a lot better.”
Night waited for Dusk to elaborate on this.
“She was able to keep control of her hunger and I didn’t even have to talk to her about proper killing techniques.”
“Interesting.”
There was a slight pause as Night waited for Dusk to reveal the information that she was withholding. Seeing that Dusk had no intention of doing so, Night directed her attention to Twilight. “Name.”
Twilight wasn’t sure about her current situation and didn’t feel at ease talking to this vampire who apparently had quite a lot of authority. “Um…”
Night narrowed her eyes and addressed Dusk through gritted teeth: “You didn’t give her a name?”
“I did. It’s just that you’re too intimidating. I told you that you should be a little more welcoming.”
“And I told you that it was a test!” Night snapped. She took a deep breath to calm down. Then she asked again, “What is your name?”
With a reassuring nod from Dusk, Twilight told Night the name that she had been given.
Night showed no sign of emotion one way or the other about Twilight’s name. Then an amused expression lit her face. “You haven’t figured out who I am yet, have you?”
Twilight looked a bit confused and wondered why she should know this vampire. She heard Dusk chuckle as she stood trying to figure out whom this girl was.
“I’m Allyson.” Night said. She laughed at Twilight’s shocked expression.
“Allyson…?” Twilight couldn’t manage to say anything else.
“Come inside. We’ll talk there."
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