“Would you like to explain to me about how you seem to know so much about me?” There was a hint of anger in my tone. It probably wasn’t wise to provoke a stranger like this but what else did I have to lose? At this point I couldn’t control the tone of my voice anymore than I could control the weather.

He turned his head towards me and met my glare with a look that sent chills of excitement down my spine, for a moment I forgot the events that had led up to this point, all that mattered was his gorgeous eyes entrancing me.

He sighed and turned his eyes away from me. “I have a feeling they might be waiting inside your apartment for you.”

I frowned at his words. “Who? Why would anyone bother to break into my apartment? I don’t have anything of value.” I crossed my arms against my chest in a childish portrayal of anger.

He reached for the door handle and turned back to me. “Stay here, you’ll be safe. The smell of all this carbon monoxide will be too toxic for them to breath. Don’t say a word. I’ll be right back.” He opened and shut the door in a second so fast I didn’t even smell the gas from outside the car.

Why on earth was I following the orders of this guy? For some reason I did find a little comfort in knowing someone was willing to help me, but the image of Alexander laying on the floor, his skin charcoal black and burnt kept seeping through the cracks in reality.

The car door opened and closed again. He slinked into the passenger seat as if he had never left.

“They’re not there; I couldn’t smell them from outside the door. You must’ve confused them when you headed to the club right after leaving Alexander’s house,” he spoke so quickly the words just barely made sense to me, or perhaps that was just because I didn’t understand who ‘they’ were.

“I don’t understand! What in hell is going on?” I threw my hands up in exasperation.

He smirked at me, the only expression he’d had tonight that wasn’t serious. “Don’t pretend you didn’t murder a noble like Alexander just for fun. It was revenge. I should have never told you about the accident; I should have finished the night as I had intended to,” he trailed off.

“Even if you had raped me or whatever you had in mind it wouldn’t have affected my decision. I would’ve tracked him down regardless of whether you told me minutes after the accident or I had to find out myself.” I glared at him.

His smirk grew wider, almost a smile. The white of his teeth gleamed, even in the darkness. “Well, now that you’ve relieved me of my involvement perhaps I should continue from last night…”

My hand was inside my purse before he even finished the sentence. I pointed the gun up at him pressing the cold, black metal against his temple.

He laughed and leaned his head firmly against the barrel of the gun. “Does that make you feel in control?”

I gulped and wished my hand would stop shaking like it was.

“Would pulling the trigger make you feel better? I’ll let you.” He closed his eyes, a smile on his face. I pressed my finger lightly against the trigger and his eyes shot open. “But I must confess, I might not be as pleasant as I am now once you shoot me.” The smile was wiped from his face. I moved the gun from his head and held it close to my lap, but still pointed in his direction.

“Who are these people you’re talking about?” I asked calmly, the shaking in my hands had subsided for the moment.

“The rest of the coven, or haven’t you met them?” He raised an eyebrow at my blank expression.

At the word ‘coven’ I furrowed my eyebrows. I had watched too many horror movies as a child to not immediately think of vampires when I heard the word. If this was some strange cult who thought they were vampires I was in over my head. This was all too silly to comprehend at the moment, and the chuckle rose from my stomach and evolved into a full body laugh. “You mean to tell me you’re a member of some geeky cult that worships Satan and drinks each other’s blood?”

His expression was blank again, but I didn’t regret what I had said. Not that I was in the position to straighten out some weirdo, but at least if he was going to try and kill me I would have the last laugh, literally.

“It’s not a joke, but far be it for me to make you believe. Since you had no prior knowledge I’ll leave you for the coven to deal with.” His arm reached the door handle of the car. He exited in one swift movement; the car hardly rose when his weight was removed from the seat.

At least if I let him go I could call the cops before he kicked the door in. He knew which apartment was mine, how, I wasn’t sure, but I would have a few minutes at the most. I turned the car off and turned to see if he was gone yet.

He knocked on the glass of my window with such force the sudden tapping startled a scream out of me. I locked the doors. He looked down for a moment, licked his bottom lip and pursed them tightly.

“My name is Aiden. If you need me…my number is on your answering machine.” He turned on his heel and vanished into the blackness outside my garage.

I sat there for what seemed like thirty minutes clutching my keys and a gun before I figured it was safe to leave and get into my apartment. I cursed myself for leaving my cell phone on the counter earlier; it would’ve been safer to not have to leave my car at all. I stepped out of the car, carefully setting one foot on the concrete and looking frantically from left to right before darting for the door to the hallway. My purse bounced against my side as I sprinted for the door to my apartment and then fumbled with my keys once reaching it.

“Come on, come on…” I dropped my keys with a loud clank to the ground. I quickly scooped them up and shoved the silver key into the lock.

Once inside I flicked on the kitchen lights and leaned against the dead-bolted door trying to slow my heartbeat with little success. Across the room I saw a red light blinking from my telephone. He had left me a message. I didn’t even try to understand how he had gotten my telephone number. Clearly I had met up with some crazed stalker who was a member of some vampire cult that needed serious medical help, unless of course he killed me first. At that thought I raced for the phone and dialed 911, but quickly hung up before it rang.

What would I say when they got here? I suppose I could leave out the part where I went over to Alexander’s house and just claim that the night started at the club parking lot. It seemed like a plausible story to me. I redialed the number and waited for the operator to pick up. I found it ironic that even when you called 911 you had a waiting time depending on how busy they were.

I explained in a calmer voice that I had a strange man abduct me from the club and follow me home, gave her all the details about how he knew my apartment number and telephone number. The woman on the other end seemed to enjoy asking whether I could’ve given him my number earlier but was just too drunk to remember. Eventually, after what seemed like much too long, she informed me two officers were on their way and asked me to stay on the line. I hung up refusing to waste any more time on the phone with someone who obviously didn’t believe there was an emergency. When she didn’t call back I wondered if there were even police coming, but I knew better. I vaguely recalled a time I had dialed 911 as a child just playing around and of course the cops showed up later.

I made my way carefully around any corners in my house to flick on every light switch and lamp employing an outlet in the apartment. By the time I was finished my apartment was like the beach at noon, and my eyes squinted at the brightness. I felt a bit safer knowing if anyone were to enter my apartment they would be completely visible or they’d have to kill the lights, either way I’d know they were there before they had time to reach me. I sat myself on the kitchen counter by the sink facing out towards the living room windows. The telephone I clutched in my hand still blinked with an awaiting message.

Now the questions started to pile up in my mind. With the cops on their way I was slowly kicking out of survival mode and switching to panic mode. How did this guy I had met once know my address and phone number? Alright so the possibility was that he followed me home after the night of April’s accident, but I distinctly remembered seeing him drive off after I left my car. It was possible he had only pulled off down the road and waited until I continued home, I was a bit focused on getting home rather than my surroundings that night. But even then, how did he know my phone number? I had never given him my cell phone number, let alone my home. It was clear he was a serious stalker, and perhaps I should have been more concerned with my own safety than avenging April.

My leg began to shake against the cabinet door, rattling softly. A car door outside slammed shut; my heart jumped to my throat. The footsteps continued down the hallway past my door and made their way up the stairs to the second floor. My heart descended back to my chest.

Before I could give it anymore thought I listened to the message on my phone, perhaps it would answer some of my questions, or at least give me more information to tell the police.

“You have two new messages,” the mechanical voice spoke pausing at odd moments in the sentence. “First new message sent today at twelve thirty-seven P.M.” There was a long pause as the phone hissed out the recorded message.

“Cali, you’re in more danger than you can comprehend. I know you don’t trust me, and I wouldn’t expect someone like you to but, you’ve got to believe me when I say you need to get out of town.” He paused. “I realize I’m asking a lot of you, and honestly I don’t know why I feel the need to help you…there’s just something about your-” he cut himself short of whatever he was going to say. “The police will not help you. I’m sure you’ve heard stories of corrupt cops before who will help out the drugs smugglers and pimps as long as they get a share. Well, imagine that, except… where the criminals have wormed their way into the system and get away with nearly whatever they desire. If they arrive there they are sure to finish what Alexander was planning tonight, and I think you know just as well as I do that he was intending on killing you.” He exhaled slowly, probably to let his words sink in before continuing. “I won’t be far from you; it will take me a few minutes to be at your door if you wish me to be there,” and then there was silence.

“To delete this message-” I hit the save button. “Next message sent today at twelve forty P.M.”

“On your kitchen table I have set a folder. Take a minute to look at it and then call me back if you wish. My number is on the back inside cover.” The phone slipped from my fingers before I could save the message and landed on the tile floor, the battery went flying across the room.

Sure enough on my kitchen table there was a blank manila folder waiting for me. I hesitated before opening the front cover. If he was still in my house I had enough time to reach the gun in pocket that was sagging my pants. There were several eight by ten photographs paper clipped together. I slipped the paperclip off the first set of photographs hardly feeling the smooth glossy finish of the photo beneath my finger. The gruesome scene pictured could be anything but fake, and if it weren’t for the familiar jade necklace hanging from the body’s neck I might’ve been able to convince myself it wasn’t April. These were clearly the photos taken last night. There were numbered index cards set next to objects in the picture, but all I could focus on was the unnatural position her neck hung in. Her forehead was touching her chest almost completely turned around and there was a large open gash where the skin seemed to have been ripped away. There was a purple discoloration around the edges similar to a hickey. I covered my mouth as I felt the bile in my stomach want to escape through my throat. The three other photos that had been paper-clipped together were different angles of the same area of her body. Below the photos were several pages which I guessed was the coroner’s report at the time of death. I scanned the page quickly, but realized there was a note of every injury except the neck wound. My hands began to shake again.

I set the photos on the table face down. I couldn’t look at them. A yellow post-it note was stuck to the back and in perfect handwriting it read

These photos were not included in the final report. Any mention of the neck wound or the absence of over ninety percent of her blood was not included.

My heart pounded beneath my shirt as I tore through the other unnecessary evidence in the folder. I found his number written on the back page of the folder in the same careful handwriting. I was punching the digits into my telephone before I exhaled another breath.

He picked up on the first ring. “I’m on my way. With any luck I’ll beat the police there.” I heard the engine roar in the background. The line went dead. I guess that was a relief, I wasn’t sure what I would say if he had asked me to speak or if I could even form any words to speak at all. I peeked out my blinds and saw flashing red and blue at the end of the road.

I ran to my room and grabbed a jacket out of my closet and threw on a pair of sneakers. I tucked my cell phone and the manila folder beneath my arm as I ran out the door. Not so distantly I heard the sirens of the two patrol cars entering my complex.

I was suddenly tugged in the direction of the garage. My head spun around to catch a glimpse of Aiden’s leather jacket pulling me away.

“Don’t ask any questions yet, just follow me, and stop shuffling your feet,” he hissed at me. He practically threw me into the car and my feet were barely inside when the tires squealed around the other side of the parking lot. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the blurred lights of the cops pulling up to the corridor that led to my apartment.

“Hunch down in the seat, make yourself invisible.” I did as he said and laid my seat back and scooted below the window against the leather interior. The car was traveling at what seemed like a normal speed to detract from the attention the shrieking tires had probably caused. He stared ahead and I saw the blue lights reflected on his white skin. A chill of fear rippled down my skin.

“I can feel you shaking through the car. You’re safe with me, I promise you.” His eyes didn’t shift from the road.

I breathed deeply. “What assurance do I have that you’re not going to kill me?” My voice quivered a bit.

He cocked his head towards me so that his dark eyes could meet mine. A smile crept across his pearly white face. “If I were going to kill you I would have never let you leave me the first night we met.”

“And why did you let me leave?” I sat up feeling a surge of confidence. I had shifted from panic mode back to my usual head-strong self.

His hand shot at my shoulder and shoved me into the leather seat with such force I was sure my arm had broken when it smashed against the arm rest. I winced in pain but silenced the whimper that usually followed before it could escape my throat.

He took more than a quick glance at me while I cradled my arm against my chest. His lips formed a smirk and then parted again. “Humans differ greatly from us.” He spoke nonchalantly. “While your kind shies away from pain, my kind revels in it. It’s more than just the masochistic act of causing a human pain; that is an interest some humans share with us. It’s the emotional response, the way your hearts begin to pound so loudly it fills our ears. From here I can feel the cold sweat coating your palms.” He reached a hand out to trace his finger tips along my palm. He smirked again as he confirmed his words.

“It’s impossible for a human to imagine that the most powerful emotion, more than ecstasy, more than anger, more than anything, is fear. It’s the equation of excitement plus the complete lack of control. That is what makes fear the most powerful emotion. That is why we are the way we are. Drinking blood-”

“Stop! Just stop it already.” I threw my hands up, but not far enough to be visible through the window. “I don’t believe this crap, the only thing I believe is that April’s death was no accident and you’re willing to help me.”

He pursed his lips. “I can hardly help you if you don’t believe what I’m saying is true.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, my world consists of social vampires who suck the life out of each other for status gain. That’s the only kind of vampire I know.” My head smacked into the door as we rounded a tight turn.

“You can sit up now; we’re far enough that they shouldn’t be able to find us.” His hands tightened their grip on the steering wheel. “Although, I’m going to have to drive much faster now.”

As soon as I sat up my body was plastered against the leather with the force of acceleration. “I’m not one to get worried when speeding but I am curious as to why we have to speed now?” I turned my head towards the speedometer. The needle was pointing at eighty-three and climbing.

“Well, if you must ask,” he shot another one of his smirks in my direction, “It’s hard to impress you with a car alone, you need to be a fast driver as well.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “I’m not in the mood to be impressed. Where’s a safe place we can talk?”

“At the moment we’re going on a long drive, so in the car is the safest and only place we can talk for the time being, unless, you’d rather wait?”

“Well then…” I settled into a comfortable position, still holding my arm, trying to convince myself it wasn’t broken, only fractured. “First of all, where are you taking me?”

“My home.” When he realized that answer didn’t satisfy me he clarified, “It’s more like a cottage. It lies on a vineyard.”

I nodded. “Secondly,” I started. Now was the time for the hard questions. I braced myself mentally for the answers. “Who was that Alexander guy?”

“Alexander wasn’t just a guy, let me make that very clear. He was a noble. He may not have been the smartest, personally I think he got too accustomed to the easy prey at night clubs that he forgot how to really hunt, but he was one of the oldest in this area making him a kingpin of sorts.” His explanation seemed to fit to some degree. Alexander did seem like the cocky type who always got his way whether it was with women or life in general. He hadn’t seemed like anything special but even I noticed how the other women were envious of April that night.

“He was born in the 1800’s.”

I rolled my eyes again.

He didn’t miss it. “Would you like me to continue? Or perhaps we’ll sit in silence for the rest of the ride?” He didn’t speak angrily; he was just calm and nonchalant.

“No continue. I’m sorry.” I motioned my hand for him to return to his story.

“He was twenty-four when he was made; young but not too young by my standards. But he had been raised in a wealthy family where he never wanted for a thing. He had been married to a woman at age nineteen and quickly divorced her at age twenty for another woman. That patterned continued for a few years until one night he met a woman by the name of –”

“Elvira?” I butted in with a short laugh.

He was quiet, a blank stare on his face.

“I’m sorry, really. I’d love to hear the rest but it’s just you tell it with such a straight face, with all these details and it’s like you actually believe this crap!”

He didn’t move an inch, nor say a word.

“Look if you’ll just drop me off at the seven-eleven here I can call a cab.” I pointed out the window towards the gas station and watched as we zoomed by.

“I can’t just leave you off wherever you want now. Maybe you should think your moves through before you act upon them, but what’s done is done. You killed Alexander in the only way possible. You burned him to death, and by doing that you set into motion a whole chain-reaction.” His chest was still; he wasn’t breathing. He slammed his foot on the break and we screeched to a stop at a red light. I repelled against the seat belt and bounced against the seat. “This isn’t just about you anymore!” His eyes flashed cinnamon red and his gritted teeth gleamed.

I bit my bottom lip to keep from saying anything else to anger him. The hairs on my arms prickled. The light turned green.

He sighed. “I can smell your fear again, and I don’t like it. I’ve grown so fond of other emotions I’m practically gagging on your radiating fear.”

I would’ve made some snide remark about how I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible so I would assuredly stop being afraid, but I bit my tongue. “Sorry.”

“Alexander met Eloise and she was the one to change him. It’s not as common for women to change men, but it does happen. Some how he gained an unhealthy liking for the night life and all the easy women it attracted, and that’s when he got sloppy. I’m sorry to say that your friend was just another one of his over-the-top stunts. He gets a kick out of playing with human tragedies. It’s disgusting.” He shook his head. “It’s one thing to have this burden of feeding on a being you once were, but it’s another thing to have surpassed that evil and toy around with them as if they were only put on the earth for your pleasure.”

I parted my lips to speak. It was like he heard me inhale the breath just before I spoke and was anticipating another sarcastic remark. “You’re saying you’re not like him, then?” I think he was surprised by the sincerity with which I spoke.

“I prefer to seduce my prey, and only on rare occasions do they actually become my victim.” He gritted his teeth as if even the rarity that he fed on a human was disapproving. “You will probably want to take a nap before we arrive. It’s rather boring sitting around my house while someone sleeps.”

“You have insomnia?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed lightly. “Yes, you could say that.”

I didn’t exactly feel like sleeping but somewhere between simply shutting my eyes and listening closely to the rhythm the highway created with the tires I found myself falling asleep.