I’m sure I was blushing profusely by now from the embarrassment. And why was I talking to her like she was my boss or something? I didn’t even know her.

“Why don’t I walk him back there instead. I’d like to ah…” She paused and looked me over once more. “Talk, with him in a more quiet setting. Would you like that, dear heart?”

“Yes, please.” I don’t know why I said that. I guess it just felt right at the time. I grabbed my guitar and followed her around the bar towards a door, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she walked. I’ve never felt more like a puppy on a leash, to be honest, but she seemed so pleased with it that it was just too hard for me to be angry about it.

May 3rd 1996: 7:30 AM …

“What say we take five for now, guys?” I suggested. I had been practicing with Frankie, the band’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, “Quick Hands” Vick was going to be playing the lead guitar roll, “Cornbread” played the bass, and they had this dude named John on the drums. I was going to be singing and playing as a second rhythm guitar. These guys were seriously good and I’ve seen Vick play so fast, I thought his finger tips were going to start bleeding and peel right off his hand.

“Sure thing, buddy.” John called out from behind his drum set. Which, by the way, was absolutely huge. With him at the center, he had drums going from the seven o’ clock position all the way around to the five o’ clock position. Then, he had cymbals covering almost as much ground with two bass drums. I have no doubt that I couldn’t play it well at all, but he could and did with near perfection.

The strange thing about John, though, was that the kid was almost always as stoned as, well, a stone. I found it kind of sad as he was only eighteen and that made him the baby of the group, but what he did was his choice. He was an adult in the eyes of the law now.

“I’m gonna step out and burn one, I’ll be back in a few.” I called out to them as I headed around to the side of the garage we were using as a practice studio. They had some good material they were using for a demo tape. About half of it was cover material, but that’s how it goes when you’re trying to get started in the music industry.

As I stood by the side of the garage I thought about the things that brought me to Ravencrest and the things that have happened to me since I got here. I finished the cigarette and headed back in to find Frankie writing in what he referred to his Book of Rhymes.

“Whaddya working this time, Frankie? Anything new?” I asked him. We had been working all through the night, stopping every now and then while I ran out to get frozen pizzas.

“Actually, yeah I am. I don’t have a name for the song yet, but it’s what we were working on before Suzanne called us in for ya.”

“Mind if I take a look?” I asked. He handed me the book with a grunt in the affirmative. After reading what he had, I could only think of ‘tragic’ as being appropriate to describe it. Maybe it was just where my mind was, but it spoke to me on a deep level, actually pulled at my emotions.

“Good shit, dude. Let me know when you guys are done with it, I’d love to have a listen.” I told him as I handed it back. He never failed to surprise me. He was almost always drunk, but he had this weird ability to phrase things in a way I thought was really profound. “Actually, why don’t we work on that one. I think we should play some of this at the show. That stuff is seriously good, guys.”

“Thanks, man. We used to have two more members, but they split and went to parts unknown. Haven’t heard a thing about them in about three years now. You may have to rewrite some of the vocals to fit your range. Think you’re up to it?” Vick asked me.

“Sure, I think I can do that.” I replied. “Just so long as one of these days I get to learn just what your mother named you at birth.” I replied pointing at Cornbread.

“Stick around long enough and you might just do that, dude. But good luck with it. Even his mom calls him ‘Cornbread’. That where we got it from.” John drawled out. Being slightly burnt out like he was, he tended to talk kind of slowly.

“That’s what she said.” I said as I turned back to Frankie. “In the mean time, what was that other song on the page about?”

“Here, read it yourself. It’s a bit easier that way.” He said with a look that said I was close to hitting a nerve. I took the book back and had a look at it. “We have the music set for the lyrics, but I can’t seem to get the wording the way I want.”

“I could give it a shot, if y’all want.” I offered after having a closer look at the lyrics so I could get the feel for it, but I would have to hear them play the instrumentals for the song to get a better feel for how and what to sing about. I followed Frankie’s gaze over to Vick, John and Cornbread.

“Here’s the rhythm guitar section to play along, that way you can get the music down right. Let us know when you think you have a good feel for the song and we’ll let you have at the lyrics for a bit.” He said handing me a few loose sheets of paper with the parts in question.

We played the song for at least two hours before I consistently got it right. The part I was playing wasn’t very difficult, but you need to play better than just “good” when you are going to be singing and playing an instrument at the same time. Frankie called a break after the third hour.

“I think you got it now, Mikey. You got any ideas on vocals?.” He asked.

“I’ve got a few. Lets start with the intro and work our way forward from there. Sound good?”

“Alright. Two… Three… Four…” John called out. And I sang the lyrics from the book, adjusting the wording as needed.

They actually stopped shortly after starting the first chorus and just gave me a slack jawed stare.

“That’s what’s up.” Cornbread eventually said. This surprised me, as I hadn’t heard a peep out of him prior to now. “That’s exactly what it needed. Whaddya think guys, should we do it for the show?” He said this last to the other three band members.

“I’d be protesting with a picket sign if we didn’t.” Frankie replied nodding his head somberly. I was just happy that I didn’t end up making an ass of myself after what I had said earlier. “Alright guys, lets call it a wrap for now and get ourselves cleaned up. John, no offence, but I can smell the B.O. coming off you from way over here buddy.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, not only because of the indignant face that John made at him for it, but also because it was true.

10:30 AM…

“Thanks for following me out here Cornbread.” I said. I had bought a little Honda Super Cub to get around town so I could garage the Quattro. The Cub only cost me about five hundred and I had gotten it from a phone in auction company that dealt with estate sales and repo auctions. I didn’t want to risk the Quattro getting damaged by careless jerks stumbling around drunk from the most recent frat party. That aside, it was starting to get a little warmer. Not much, mind you, but enough for me.

“No problemo, my man. But I don’t know, the way you described that little scoot-about made it sound like the thing hasn’t run in twenty years or more. Ain’t good for an engine to sit that long and not get turned over every now and again.” He said. He had followed me to the other side of town to this small self-storage facility. I had decided to bring my Audi here while I was going to be living in this town. I had my father’s toolboxes already sitting in the unit from when I moved up here and the unit had plenty of room for the car. “You gonna have time to get it running before the show?”

“Dude, is it even possible to kill a Honda? IF, I repeat, IF I need to, I’ll just order the parts and get the same day shipping option. It should still early enough in the day to do that.”

“Yup, that would be one way to do it.” He said with a yawn. “Well, if you’re done here, lets get going. I need to get some sleep.”

“Let me lock up and we can take off.” I called out to him as he started walking back to his SUV.

“Sure thing, I’ll bring the Blazer around for ya, buddy.” He called back.

“Thanks.”

“Yup.”

2:30 PM…

Turns out that I need’nt have worried about whether or not the scooter was going to run or not as the motor ran like a top. The turn signals were busted out on it, and it needed new tires, but that was it, and those were easily fixed. I had to call the Honda dealership in the next town, but they said they would have them shipped to me by the end of the day.

After that, I hopped on the scooter and took it to the local tire place to take care of that problem. Three hours after dropping the Quattro off at the storage unit, my wallet was three hundred dollars lighter and the little thing was finally ready to go.

After leaving the tire shop, I went to the gas station and filled it up, then decided to take it for a spin on some of the roads outside of town. All told, I lucked out with it. It was a reliable little scooter, and it got much better gas mileage that my car did. Considering how little I drove anymore, it just made sense.

After having my fun, I rode back into town and back to my little apartment to get everything ready to go for later than night. At least, I had thought I would be ready.

The Guardian, 7:20 PM...

When I got to The Guardian, Suzanne was waiting for me just outside the front door. She was simply stunning. She had a way of dressing that enticed your fantasies, but still maintained a sense of class and respectability at the same time. When she saw me park the scooter, she walked up and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

“Not that I’m complaining in the least, but what did I do to earn that?” I asked her.

“Why do you want to know?” She asked me as she ran her hand through my hair.

“Just so that I know what to keep doing.”

“You showed up when you said you would, silly. Call it a good luck kiss.” She replied, then ambushed me with what had to be the most sensuous kiss of my life.

“And before you ask, you can call that further incentive to do well. If you do really well, there might just be more where that came from, big boy.” She said with a wink and a smirk before she turned and sashayed back into the bar.

I’ll be the first to admit, she had me completely bewildered by this point. But, I wasn’t about to start complaining though. As far as I was concerned, only an idiot would have. Taking a moment to shake out the cob webs, I picked up my guitar case and made my own way inside. I found Frankie and the others after a minute or two of making my way through the crowd.

“Hey there guys. I’m gonna guess this place doesn’t do things like this very often, do they?”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of them doing it.

It was actually pretty neat how they had the place set up. Normally, there would be chairs and tables in the middle of the floor, but for tonight they had been moved to a storage room in the back to make room for the stages. They had set up two stages, one on each side of the back wall in the corners. While one band was starting their set, the band on the other stage would get their gear packed up and the next band would get theirs ready to go.

As we were getting our own gear set up, I looked around to find Suzanne. I found her, but it was the woman she was talking to that held my attention. Hell, that woman almost made me forget where I was and what I was supposed to be doing. I’m sure I made an ass of my self just gawking at the red head she was sitting with.

They looked deep in conversation and that is probably what saved me some face. I got the distinct impression that I was supposed to impress her for some reason. She was stunningly beautiful, but then again, that was more appropriate for someone like Suzanne. The woman that Suzanne was speaking to went far beyond just being beautiful.

While I still fail to find the right words to describe her, I shall try to convey a description as best as I can. To start with, she had long red hair that was done up in a loose bun. Though, to say it was “just” red is like saying Elvis was “just” a musician. It looked like living fire laced with strands of gold flowing down from her head in a molten cascade and her face was even more delicately featured than Suzanne’s.

A small and softly shaped chin, cheeks that were both high and looked to be full of life, and a small nose that would not have looked right on anyone else all came together to present a face that I could easily see men getting into drag-out, throw-down bar fights over.

But it was the depth of her eyes that entranced me. They were a hue of green that I had never seen on anyone before, and they were stunningly beautiful. It may have been my mind looking for a reason to weasel out of performing, but I swear I could almost feel myself getting lost in, more like pulled into, those pale green orbs. Luckily for me, Frankie broke me of my revere.

“Hey man, we’re gonna be starting any moment. You ok?”

“Yeah. I’m good. Just spaced for a sec.” I told him. Which was true. All of that only took but two or three seconds at the most. “How much time do we have?”

“The tech just told me we have thirty seconds or so before our act starts. You figure out what we’re starting with?”

“Yeah, lets do that one we worked on first, then do the one that Suzanne wanted us to sing. Sound good?”

“Works for me, buddy. Lets do this.” He replied as he went over to the other guys to tell them the song order.

Frankie caught my eye and gave me a look that asked if he and Vick were good to start the song. I gave him a nod in the affirmative and they started playing the spidery sounding riff that Vick had come up with for the intro.. Shortly after, the rest of the band jumped in, then I stepped up to the mic. I had decided I was going to do only the vocals on this one. The song just didn’t need a third guitar, as it would have been too cluttered.

Once again, I had no idea by just how much my fate rode on making this a good performance. But it was probably best that way. Very few are able to do their best under that kind of pressure, and I wasn’t one of them. Not when I was as messed up in the head as I was at this time. Being oblivious to all of this, however, I only took a deep breath to get myself hyper-focused on the task at hand. Once I had done that, I took one last breath and sang:

After the applause died down a bit, Frankie stepped up to his mic.

“Thank you everybody.” He told them.

“We’ve got time for another song. Our good friend Mikey here is going to perform a song that brought even ME to tears. Ladies and Gentlemen, lets hear it for him.” He finished, waving the crowd to even more applause.

I leaned into my mic and thanked him and the audience.

“This song is called ‘Bother’. Hope you guys like it.” I told them before taking a breath and singing my last song for the night. I didn’t have even a clue how the crowd was going to react to the song. I took a breath and started the intro. As I did, I thought back to that night that Suzanne had apparently heard me perform it on the roof of my apartment. She had told me she wanted me to play it like that again, so I let my mind wander back to that afternoon my parents had died, and the morning I got that letter that Jimmy had been killed thousands of miles from his home and loved ones. After playing through the intro, I started to sing.

It turned out that I never needed to worry how the crowd was going to take the song. There were some dry eyes in the crowd, but not very many. As we took our bows, I looked over to the pair of goddesses I had noticed earlier. They were still there, but at some point third ‘goddess among us’ had joined them, this one a few shades of blond darker than Suzanne. If you’re wanting a description, don’t hold your breath for it. I ran out of adjectives when I described Red.

I saw Suzanne nod in my direction while saying something to the two of them and Red turned and gave me a once over. I’ve never felt more like I was just a slab of meat on a plate being inspected prior to a meal. The oddest thing about it wasn’t that I couldn’t even bring myself to care about that, though. For some reason, I found myself worrying about if I was going to measure up for the fire haired goddess or not. Not that I was bad looking, mind you. I know I’ve not given a description of myself yet. It’s because I’ve never placed much stock in appearances.

As such, I usually look a little ragged. My brown hair usually looks like I didn’t bother doing anything with it after rolling out of bed, which I rarely do, and I usually wore my clothes until they literally fell to pieces in the wash. I stood about six feet tall and weighed in at around one hundred eighty pounds. While I didn’t have much muscle mass, I was very well toned.

But due to the clothes I wore, the casual observer usually couldn’t notice it and just assumed that I was the tall and skinny, almost lanky type of guy. All of this is done intentionally. I don’t normally chase after women and I don’t like them chasing after me. It had never ended well in the past, so I just decided to quit playing that game and focus on other things, like school and work.

The muscle I had wasn’t from hitting a gym, either. All of it came from working on things with my father. From cars to the plumbing to chopping up firewood as the older trees fell over in the storms we got in that area during the spring and the fall. My old man was a true D-I-Y’er and I picked up a lot of those skills before he and mom passed away.

I have a somewhat squared off jaw line, and I do try to emphasize that with my beard. I usually keep it trimmed very close to the face and only let it grow from the sideburns, down along the jaw line, and shaving it so that it stops at my chin. When Suzanne had met me earlier in the week, I hadn’t shaved in about ten days, so it was really scruffy and grungy looking. My teeth had an ever so slight yellow tinge to them from my smoking habit, but I did keep them brushed at least three times a day to compensate for that.

I’ve been told that the best part of my looks is my eyes. They are kind of unique in that I had blue and green eyes, and not the whole one blue, one green deal. The outer part of the iris is a grayish blue, and the inner part is a shade of green somewhere between an emerald and a piece of jade and in the middle there was a natural, if jagged, ring of yellow where the blue faded out completely and exposed the yellow under the inner portion of the iris.

Frankie, once again, brought me back to reality by patting me on the shoulder.

“I feel bad for whoever has to follow us after that performance, man. You have got to teach me how to stir a crowd like that some time.” He said. “Unfortunately, they’re wanting an encore. Got any ideas on what we could play?”

“No encore, man. There’s no time for it. We’ve gotta get cleared off the stage for the nest act. You know the rules.” I replied. I just didn’t have it in me to do any more songs that night. Both of the ones we had just performed reopened the wounds caused by the deaths of my parents and Jimmy. I just couldn’t take any more of it that night. “But I do what to know this, who’s that with Suzanne over there?”

“Some of the girls from Delta Beta Zeta. Apparently Suzanne used to be one of them, but had a falling out with one of the house mothers.” He told me as he look to where I had nodded my head. “I don’t know the details, but apparently they’re all a bunch of hotties. I’ve only ever seen Suzanne and these two, so I can’t say anything about the rest of them.”

In spite the sadness I was feeling, I couldn’t shake the gut feeling that something was off. I pushed it out of my mind and helped the guys clear the gear off the stage so that the next group in line could set up. After this, I packed away my guitar and brought it with me as I walked up to the bar.

“Hey, good job up there, kiddo. I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many sad looking people in my bar as I do now.” The bar keep said as I took a seat in one of the stools.

“Thanks. Ya know, it never ceases to amaze me just how much doing something like that takes out of you.” I replied. And it was the truth. Just ask any professional musician, they’ll tell you almost the same thing.

“That it does, kid, that it does. So, what can I get for ya? First one’s on the house for the performance.”

“Actually, a glass of water would do me just fine, I’m not really into alcohol, but thanks anyways. What I’m really looking for is a safe place to stash this.” I said as I nodded to my guitar. “Think you could let me stash it behind the bar until it’s time to leave?”

“I think you can do the poor boy one better, Donnie boy.” I turned and imagine my surprise when I saw that it was Red that was speaking to the Bar keep. “Why not keep it in one of the back storage rooms? It’ll stay safely locked up back there and it’ll keep the clutter down behind the bar.”

“That’s actually what I was going to suggest, Sweet Cheeks.” Donnie told her with a wink. She gave him a look and a smirk in response.

“I’ll tell you what, kiddo, I’ll go ahead and take it back for you.” He offered. “I’ve got to restock on a few things anyway. I’ll be right back if either one of you needs anything.”

All I could do was give him a nod because I couldn’t take my eyes off of Red, embarrassing as it was.

“Do you see anything you like, honey?” She asked me.

“Yes ma’am.” I said. I’m sure I was blushing profusely by now from the embarrassment. And why was I talking to her like she was my boss or something? I didn’t even know her.

“Why don’t I walk him back there instead. I’d like to ah…” She paused and looked me over once more. “Talk, with him in a more quiet setting. Would you like that, dear heart?”

“Yes, please.” I don’t know why I said that. I guess it just felt right at the time. I grabbed my guitar and followed her around the bar towards a door, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she walked. I’ve never felt more like a puppy on a leash, to be honest, but she seemed so pleased with it that it was just too hard for me to be mad about it.

As I entered, I took in the surroundings. Amongst the supplies, there was a small couch, more like a love seat, and a low table off to one side and to the other, a small cot was neatly made up with two pillows resting at it’s head. As I turned back to… my Mistress? Where did that come from?

“I want to give you a gift, lover boy. Would you like to know what it is?” She asked me as she let her hair fall about her back and shoulders. I don’t think I could have run at this point even if I wanted to.

“Yes, I would like to know what it is, but first I would like to know what you have done to me.” I found myself blurting out. All she gave me, however, was an arched eyebrow and an amused look. What I didn’t understand was how she had done something, anything, to me at all. I had nothing to drink, or to eat, the entire time I was in the bar. Unless Suzanne had something on her lip gloss when she kissed me outside, she never would have had a chance to.

“If you accept my gift, lover, you will understand what I have done well enough on your own. As for what my gift is, it is simply life. I want to give you life forever. To welcome you into my family. I feel a void in your soul from the loss of your family. I know your pain on a personal level, Michael. So I will not say that I can replace them, or bring them back. There is nothing and no one that can. What I can do, however, is welcome you into a new one. Would you like this?”

“That all depends. What would I have to do?” I asked her. Family has always been very important to me. They serve to keep your thoughts and actions grounded and act as support in times of need. It was something that I was dearly missing since the death of my closest friend, not to mention my mother and father.

She gave me a smile in return and it took all of my will power to not ravish her right where she stood. She then turned and walked over to the table and returned with a chalice of some sort of steaming liquid. It didn’t look very appealing or palatable, but still smelled somewhat nice.

“Drink this, to start with, then let me do the rest. If you do, you will wake up a, ah… brand new you.” She told me as she ran a finger nail up my neck and along my chin as she handed me the brew. I accepted the chalice and took a whiff before doing anything else. While it didn’t necessarily smell great, or even good, it wasn’t bad either.

I raised it to my lips, but hesitated. I still didn’t know what the catch of all this was. Would it be worth it? More importantly, would I be able to live with myself? I was having a hard enough time with that one as it was already. I knew I hid it well, but too many were the nights that I found myself thinking about how easy it would be to just end it.

“What will this do to me?” I asked, suddenly feeling rather nervous about it.

“It will grant you new life, beyond what you might think is possible. Drink it all, and that life will be yours.” She said as she looked straight into my eyes.

Nodding and mumbling in the affirmative, I did. God forgive me, I drank all of it, just like she told me to. I didn’t even notice that she was saying something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like Latin. I didn’t have the presence of mind to note that it was some kind of wine that I was drinking, mixed with cinnamon, raw sugar, and other things I would not have been able to make out. I didn’t even feel the strange, slight tickle in the back of my mind.

I stood there looking around and half expecting to find out I was on Candid Camera or something. I didn’t feel anything going on inside of me, so I was beginning to think this was all some kind of hoax. Until she started speaking again.

“My name is Carmilla Du Lac and now, dear Michael Fitzpatrick.” She said as she walked me over to the cot, spun me around so that I was facing away from it, and pushed me belly up onto it. “You will go places that you would have never imagined in you wildest dreams. Allow me to give you your first taste of these places.”

After getting over my surprise fall onto the cot, I looked up and I swear if my jaw wasn’t attached to my face, it would have fallen off right then and there. She had somehow gotten her blouse off and was in the process of shrugging off her bra. She stopped when she saw me just staring at her with what I am sure was a truly bewildered look on my face.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to join me?” She asked with an innocence that in no way fit with what she was doing.

“I see at least one part of you that wants to.” She said with a suggestive smile as she took notice of the tent in my pants. I didn’t even bother trying to hide it as I shucked my shirt and started tugging on my belt, trying to catch up.

“I knew you had something going on under there, love. You need to not hide such a delicious looking gift from the world.” She said with a small hum of approval. I’m guessing she liked what she was seeing of me as much as I like what I was seeing of her. Although I didn’t see why she would. Like I said, I never really thought of myself as being anything special.

After finally getting my pants off, I looked back up, feeling positive by now that this was all one big hoax and someone was going to jump out of one of the supply boxes and scream, ‘Surprise!’ But as much as I would have expected that, what I saw actually did surprise me. It also terrified me to the core.

I was starting to see why Red had been looking at me like I was a slab of meat. She licked her lips and I finally saw her fully smile, revealing her teeth to me for the first time. Her canines seemed to be much too sharp and pointy. Sadly, all I could think of to say was something from a fairy tale scene.

“My, what, uh… Pointy, teeth you have…” I said with a nervous laugh that quickly died on my lips. I was still staring in disbelief and not quite able to finish that sentence for fear that she would take offence and think I was claiming she looked old when I found out that she had a truly wicked sense of humor.

“Well, aren’t you the quick witted one tonight?” She said, giggling slightly as she stepped out of her pants. “Now, how did that one go?”

She stood there, wearing only her panties, tapping her bottom lip and looking off as if lost deeply in thought.

“Ah! I remember now.” She suddenly exclaimed, then turned back towards me slowly with a predatory smile on her face. The kind of smile that revealed all four of her fangs, for that is, in truth, what they actually were. She gave a totally fake evil laugh before finishing. “All the better to eat you with, my dear.”

I could only lay there and watch, dumbfounded as she crawled up and straddled me before leaning down and alternate between trying to suck my tongue right out of my mouth and dueling mine with hers. Somehow, during all of that foreplay and tomfoolery, both she and I had ditched our last remaining articles of clothing and we got busy doing what people sometimes do.

This was when the absurdity of the situation sunk in. I was about to get busy with a creature I had thought only existed in myth and legends. A freaking vampire had the hots for me and now stood before me almost completely naked and was about to drain me dry, in more than one way apparently.

What? You want details? Seriously? Do you really think I’m stupid enough to do something like that with a VAMPIRE and tell ANYONE about it afterwards? I’ll have you know my Mama didn’t raise herself no damn fool. You can take that thought and file it away as a Very Bad Idea, right in between Tempting Fate and Playing in Traffic.

All you need to know about what happened after that was this Draculina took me to a land called Bliss and beyond. The down side of it all, was that after receiving the best sex of my life, I died. Okay, fine. She showed me positions that I didn’t even think could be done and blew my mind. Are you happy now?

We were basking in the afterglow, me laying on my back and her snuggled up to my side with one of her legs draped over me, nibbling on my ear and drawing random patterns on my chest with a finger tip. I’ll admit, it felt better than I had expected it to. But I wasn’t expecting what came next. Never even saw it coming. She nibbled her way down my ear and began nibbling on my neck. I thought she was going to just leave a hickie or something, but no. She bit me. And even though I had just came mere moments before, I was hard once more the instant her fangs pierced the flesh of my neck and she began to feed on my blood. I wish I knew what happened after that, but all I can remember is closing my eyes, then nothingness claiming me.

An unknown amount of time later…

I hear. I hear something… Voices? I cant tell who they belong to. All I see is blackness. They have nice voices, whoever they are. My head is swimming as I return to the land of the living and I start to notice that something’s not right. I’m feeling a weight on my chest that doesn’t feel right and I can no longer feel the Draculina laying next to me.

Great. Just my luck. I think to myself through the mental haze. An effin’ vampire decides she’s going to bone me and doesn’t even drain me of blood. Did I just taste that bad or what?

As I slowly manage to open my eyes, I realize that the voices are calling out to someone. They are telling someone named Danielle to wake up, that it is time for her to feed. I feel someone gently nudge me and I feel the weight on my chest continue to wobble for a bit after the rest of me has settled back down. My eyes slowly flutter open and I start to take in my surroundings. The first thing I notice is Red, no, her name is Carmilla, standing over me. She is smiling down at me and moving her mouth. I realize that she is talking to me.

“Danielle, how long do you intend to lay there? You need to wake up and feed.” I hear her say to Danielle. I have no idea who this Danielle chick is, but she seems to be kind of lazy, needing to be told that many times to get up.

Who is Danielle? I idly wonder as I try to take stock of my self. I feel my toes and fingers and I can wiggle them, that means I’m not paralyzed. I decide is a good thing. When I notice that I can’t move my hands or feet, I try to take a look at them. While I can see my hands just fine, I can’t help but notice that I can’t see my feet because my boobs are in the way. Carmilla and the blond one seemingly glide over to my sides and release the restraints on my arms which allows me to sit up and come more fully awake.

This is when I prick my tongue on something sharp in my mouth. I run it along the offending thing and realize that it’s my canines that I hurt myself on. As I’m doing this, some taste builds up in my mouth and it causes a strong urge to bite someone and… drain them? The desire causes my canines to grow even as I’m running my tongue along their length. The moment I realize what is happening I draw a deep breath and I scream.

At least, I try to. But just I take a breath to do so, something covers my mouth and I bite down out of reflex. I taste something pouring out into my mouth. It tastes sweet and somewhat rich. I have to cross my eyes to look at it and when I do, I realize that it’s blood that I’m drinking. I’m drinking from the side of a medical pouch of blood like it’s some kind of morbid juice box.

And that’s what sets it off. I loose myself in a frenzied urge to keep feeding on it. So I did. I went through two of them before I was able to think in a straight line again. I was trying to be cautious about being in the presence of one individual that I knew was a vampire and a second that I was assuming was a vampire as well, but all of that went straight out of the window along with almost all of my higher thought processes. Making this insane hunger go away was the only thing that mattered.

“Very good, Danielle. It seems that you are taking to being a vampire better than some have.” I heard Blondie tell that Danielle lady that I've yet to see. This makes no sense to me as I seem to be the only other person in the room.

“Who’s this Danielle chick you keep talking to?” I ask in a voice that I’ve yet to realize isn’t the one I was born with.

“Why, you are, of course. Who else would we be talking to, love?” Carmilla answers. I stop sucking on the third pouch of blood about half way through it and can only stare wide eyed at the two of them while holding the pouch in my hands like a precious toy that’s been broken. I look back down to my chest again, and sure enough, I wasn’t hallucinating a moment ago. I do indeed have boobs hanging from my chest. I reach up and grab one, causing me to blink a few times and twitch involuntarily.

This time, when I tried, I actually did manage to scream. And both Carmilla and Josephine swear up and down that they saw the blood in my pouch curdle a little bit when I did. Like I’ve said before, I’m not exactly very quick on the up take when I’m first waking up.

Stay tuned, folks, this story ain’t over yet…

**Author's note**

**Major thanks also go to EoF and the rest of the gang for creating this playground in the first place. Thanks to EoF, Maggie Finson, Donjo, D.A.W. and Wren Erendae Phoenix for their help with Beta Reading and Editing. Two more thank yous go to Avrent and Mr. StarkManly as well for helping me edit and for beta reading this story off line.

If you enjoyed this story, or if you have suggestions for how I could do better in the future, please let me know either through a comment or through a PM. I am always looking to become a better writer, so any critiques, so long as they are constructive, are more than welcome. ^_^**