Vampires Suck (9)

LAILA

I have a bad feeling about this. Fabian’s a vampire and vampires don’t just go on screaming every time they see a cockroach or something. This has danger written all over it.

But I can’t just sit here. Plus, Will’s already at the door. Brave man.

To my biggest surprise and horror, when we knocked on Fabian’s door, Gabriel was the one to answer it.

EMILY

I was just about to complain about how nosy people usually get killed or kidnapped and then killed in situations like these, when a tall figure appeared at the next-door apartment. A handsome, no, beautiful man was looking down on us.

“You’re an angel.” I found myself saying. I couldn’t have said that out loud. There’s no way my lips where moving to form such idiotic words. A rich laughter followed them.

“I share names with Gabriel, the Angel of Death. And you, my dear?” He brought my hand to his mouth and was about to kiss it when Laila and Will both pulled me away at the same time. Talk about synchronizing.

“Where’s Fabian? I’d like to have a word with him.” Laila’s voice was obviously strained.

“He’s taking a nap.”

“But we heard...” Will started interrupting the blonde man, but then he stopped in mid-sentence. I could see the tension build up in his shoulders. Was I missing something?

“Oh, that was me. I like it rough.” Gabriel flashed a perfect set of incredible white teeth while watching my brother’s shocked face. Laila stifled a laugh. But then she immediately became alert again.

“All right, enough with the jokes, let us in.”

“You”, Gabriel licked his lips as he eyed Laila, “can come, the other two accessories will unfortunately have to leave us.”

I looked at Will, afraid he might pick a fight with this handsome idiot. But he was utterly calm, his face set in a very pleasant smile.

I knew my eyes must have look abnormally big when I turned to meet Laila’s. She seemed to have noticed Will’s lack of response too. It panicked her even more than it did me.

Gabriel took one step closer and whispered one word to me. “Go.”

The next thing I knew, I was running hand in hand with Will.

LAILA

Gabriel moved aside to let me enter, at the same time managing to remain behind me.

“I know what you’re thinking - thank God those two left. Now the mean big vampire won’t have to play with their weak minds anymore.” He recited all this sounding strangely enough like me.

“Those are my friends, they are not your puppets, Gabriel.” Sweet rage, how good it felt to have it replace all the fear. But I knew that nothing I would say could stop him. And that just served to make me angrier.

And then I saw Fabian. All the anger in the world couldn’t have accounted for the angst I was chocking on now. He lay on the floor utterly still, with his face down and bruises all over his body. But these bruises weren’t the normal shade of purple and yellow, they were pitch black, as if holes had been drilled into his skin.

“Why? Why Fabian?” I gasped, fighting back the tears. ”Why do this to him? Just to prove you’re the bad-ass vampire on the block?” I dropped on my feet and gently cradled the unmoving body in my arms.

“But I am the bad-ass vampire, so that’s irrelevant. Now that you know what we are, try to understand this, Laila. If vampires are real, so are other things, more dangerous things.”

I frowned. “What could be more dangerous than you?”

“I’m flattered, I assure you, but it is just so typical of humans to believe only in what you see.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“Perhaps I’ve deviated a bit. Let’s put that discussion on hold for a while. You see, I need Fabian for something. And in order to make him cooperate, given his most stubborn attitude, I must take otherwise unnecessary measures. I’ve watched him from afar for the past few decades and thought hard before I decided there was no one else who could help me.”

“And you couldn’t just have asked him nicely?” My question sounded stupid and infantile even to me.

“I forget how young you are sometimes. But don’t you see? Fabian is a vampire with his morals intact. How many humans can you say that about?”

“So you tried to... corrupt him?”

“At first, yes. That was when I invited him to my parties. For a vampire, he is dreadfully... good.”

“I don’t get it, he said most vampires are even more normal than us.” Gabriel looked at me as if I just couldn’t see the point he was making.

“Normal, yes. But not good, never good. Fabian may seem hostile, but he always helps the innocent. Other vamps, me included, don’t care about the innocent. If we do not contribute to their suffering, we mainly ignore it – and that’s evil too.”

“So you’re saying he’s too God damned noble to agree to your plans?”

“Yes, but then I thought of something else.”

“What?”

“You.” Me? I don’t think I was glad of being one of Gabriel’s thoughts. “I realized this side of him was even more useful to me because of you.”

“Wha-?”

“You are too slow, Laila. You must have realized by now what I was about to do to you at the party. And when I tried, Fabian reacted just as I suspected he would. But still, a little lesson like this wouldn’t do him any harm.”

“Wouldn’t do him any harm? Are you demented? He’s not even moving!”

“We don’t breathe. We’re supposed not to move.”

“You idiot, that’s not what I –“

I stopped talking as I felt the stirring in my arms.

WILL

“Emily, stop! STOP!” Em stopped running and was now panting insanely. She was never the athlete of the family, that was my role.

 “Em, refresh my memory here. We were...”

“With Laila...”

“...and her creepy neighbors.”

“Oh!” Emily was blushing a deep shade of red now.

“That’s right! You were oh-ing over that Gabe guy.” I could kill the prick.

“Gabriel, not Gabe.”

“There was screaming. Who was screaming?” My head started to ache. “And when did we leave?” The pain became as sharp as needles. The memory of a low voice whispering in my mind came back – be a good boy, William.

 FABIAN

You’d think that after being that badly injured, people would treat you with some consideration. Even healing at a rapid rate, she was just too much.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can you sit up?” When I didn’t answered, Laila frowned. “Can you talk?”

I rose up and just then realized she had been holding me. Cradling me, actually. Like I were some fragile thing that might break. Ha.

But I did feel weak. But mostly I felt anger and...

“You’re looking good. Rather lively, really.” Gabriel teased.

“Enough.” I could see how surprised the blonde vampire was by the menace in my voice. “Enough.” I said again.

“Then, by all means, let’s get down to business. I trust you’ve heard enough to...”

“Wait, you were awake?” Laila shouted in my direction, but Gabriel continued as if she had merely whispered a question.

“...understand my reasons. Any last minute details you’re interested in?”

I sat down on the coach and studied the carpet for a while. Such an elaborate design, old and complicated. It reminded me of a particular someone.

“Why can it only be me? Is it just because of my oh-so-noble sense of being?” I added mockingly.

“If I said yes, would you take me for a fool?”

“You are a fool.”

“I need a wonderer of the night I can trust. And you, Fabian, as much as you might dislike it, are very much trust worthy.”

“Wonderer of the night, very poetic.” The still indignant Laila rolled her eyes at us.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for your bickering.” I snapped at her. Unfortunately, my wounds weren’t getting any better, so my sentence was abruptly finished when a gush of air came through my gritted teeth.

“I saw that.”

I ignored that.

“I hate to interrupt your lover’s spat, but frankly I’m bored and when I get bored I get creative.” Gabriel eyed Laila as if she were the main course at dinner, but then he finally settled his eyes on me again. “Come tomorrow at this address and I shall explain it all.” He reached out for the block of notes on my table and wrote something in a hurry. “No more schemes, this I promise you. I’ll be having some other guests, some... associates of mine, one could say.” He was heading for the door, when he took one last look at me and taunted. “I recommend a good feeding before coming.”

A flash of gold and he was gone. I heard Laila whispering under her breath “fast”, but then all I could think about was one word Gabriel had uttered – feeding. 

Vampires Suck (8)

the 20^th of October, 2010

LAILA

I know I should be more concerned about Fabian and Gabriel being both vampires, but it’s like I always knew things like that were possible. I’ve always been fascinated with Horror stories that spoke of the creatures of the night. Mum would always frown when I would ask her to read them to me as a little girl.

So, reviewing the situation. My neighbor is a vampire. Comparing him to Gabriel, he is also a very young one, with no special powers. On the other hand, Gabriel is powerful and bored. That just can’t be a good combination.

My skin was slightly cold. The wind caressed the free strands of my hair as I was looking into the night. It was as peaceful as a graveyard, I thought and chuckled at my own dark humor.

I felt a jolt of fear and I was suddenly aware that Fabian was there. In that building with such antique architecture, with me hanging out the window and him on the balcony, it would have almost been romantic.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something” he said, smiling that devilish smile of his. But I could tell he was serious judging by the way his eyes glowed in the dark.

“Go ahead.”

“Don’t you feel...” and he seemed to be searching for a word, “I mean, when you’re around me, don’t you feel...”

“Pissed? Rejected? Frightened? All the above at once?” He blinked at me in surprise. And then he laughed.

“Okay, so I assume it’s some sort of creepy vampire trick. Explain.” I heard the demand in my own tone and was proud of it. You go, girl.

“It’s not a trick, it’s a natural defense. But what I’m really interested in is how it affects you. Normally, with my vampire shield at its full capacity, people stay the hell out of my way.” Now he was acting frustrated. “But you, you act like it’s not even there.”

“You can stop with the glaring already. It does bother me. But most of the time, it’s just a shadow of an emotion.” I paused for a second to lick my lips. “And if I think about it now, I can’t feel anything.”

“I’ve never met a human being capable of – ... ignoring it.” I couldn’t decide if it was admiration or dread I felt in his voice.

“You’re saying it isn’t possible? At all?” He shook his head lightly. I tried thinking how I felt about the whole thing. So I couldn’t sense the vampire alarm. That seemed irresponsible and could be a threat to my well being, but it didn’t make me any less normal. Or so I thought.

“This shield or whatever, is it permanently active?”

“For some, yes. For instance, I can only tune it down a bit.”

“So you can’t just switch it off?”

“You can switch it off, but the requirements are quite high.” Fabian actually managed to look like a teenager who has having the sex-talk with his parents. I let my face show him that I didn’t know what he was talking about. “You’d have to have blood from a living donor. And I guess Gabriel’s getting plenty of that.”

“Oh. Fresh blood, then.”

“Yeah.”

“This is getting just a little bit awkward...”

We both laughed nervously. As awkward is it might have been, it still felt nice. For the first time since I had been forced to leave home, I felt like I belonged there, sharing Fabian’s secret.

the 21^st of October, 2010

WILL & EMILY

“Do you think this is it, sis?” The voice belonged to a young man named Will. He was neither small nor tall, yet you could tell he didn’t quite blend in with the ordinary crowd. His face was tanned, framed by short chocolate curls. He also had eyes that matched them perfectly. And all those designer clothes still couldn’t cover up a very well worked-out body.

“Could be. But it is just so... not befitting of her.” The small girl sighed. She was all but her brother’s female version – except her hair was long and her constitution was more fragile.

The two of them were in the hallway of a very modest and old apartment building. As impeccably dressed as they were, the door man even asked them if they had the wrong address.

“No, this is it.” Will had answered visibly disappointed.

LAILA

What gives?? It’s only 10 thirty in the morning. Why would anyone want to wake people up at this hour?

I was dragging my feat to answer the door and...

“Oh, my GOD! Em, it’s really you!” A mass of shinny curls got in my face as I hugged the shorter girl. Someone cleared his throat.

“William!” I tried imitating that thing with the check-pinching that aunts always do on television. “My, my, you’ve grown, haven’t you?”

“Cut the crap.” Will laughed and hugged me too.

“I’m... I’m shocked, that’s right. How, I mean, when... Oh, hell. How come you guys are here? I thought you were taking a break and not applying to the world’s greatest universities so you can travel. And where in God’s name did you learn to speak Romanian?”

“Oh, breathe, would ya?” Will guided me into my own living room. “Having money coming out of our asses gets you pretty excellent tutors.”

“And we did it so we could see you. Of course we told our parents it was all for the sake of education – that’s how we got ourselves started on the language anyway.” Emily took my hand in hers and I smiled.

“Yeah, and besides the money, we’re both diabolical masterminds, forgot? Speaking of which, could we please buy you a new place?”

“What?” I snapped at Will. “Uh-huh. You are most definitely not...”

“But Laila, this place looks like a rat could show up any time in the middle of the room.”

“Em, you cannot be serious.” I omitted telling my friends that an actual rat did appear in my bathroom. “Besides, I like this place the way it is. It’s a place of my own and you coming here like this, offering to buy me a new place, is just insulting.”

“Laila, we didn’t mean it that way and you know it.”

“I know, Will. I’m sorry, I just... you guys came all the way here, of all places...”

“Hey, the rich get bored.”

I laughed and then looked at the only two people who cared enough about me to have done what they had done. “Thank you, but you’re crazy, you know that? And stop laughing when I’m crying!” Of course that only made them laugh harder. Rich bastards.

Someone was at the door again. I say someone, though I knew it was Fabian.

“You skipped class again.” He said in that scolding tone of his.

“I overslept. We talked till late last night and I don’t cope that well without a solid eight-hour sleep.”

I heard a whistle from behind me and had to stifle a laugh at Fabian’s expression.

“Emily, Will, this is Fabian - my neighbor. We’re also at the same University. Fabian, these are the Evil Twins, my friends from NY.”

Emily practically jumped of the couch into the hall. “Now I see why you won’t move.” I gave her a nudge in the ribs and she cried out an exaggerated aww.

“This is... fun, but I have to be somewhere.” Sure you have, I thought. Fabian barely glanced at any of us as he closed the door behind him.

“Great manners.” Will smirked.

“Shut up.” I said.

FABIAN

More humans. Ugh.

At least I can spend some quality time with myself at my apartment. No one there. Yes, sir. Quiet as a morgue. Dark and cozy and... not empty?

GABRIEL

Fabian’s expressions are absolutely delicious. Every time he sees me he has this pained one, like someone just hit him in the parts that don’t see the light of day much.

I must admit, though this entire place lacks taste, this couch is very comfortable. Ups, forgot to take my shoes off. Better take them off, this vampire seems ready to spank me for my disobedience.

“Long time no bite, you cute nerd.” Ah, he flinched. So funny.

“How did you get in here?” Seriously, nerds can be stupid too. I raised one eyebrow. “Never mind. What do you want?”

“Must I really be in need for something? Can’t I just visit an old friend?”

“I knew you were ignorant, but a fraud too? Gabriel, you disappoint me.”

“Now that wasn’t nice, was it?”

FABIAN

Gabriel sat up really, really slow. He’s pretending to be harmless again. Those empty eyes fixated on me. So intently staring at me, what the...  

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

No, I can’t...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!

Burning. I can feel my flesh burning.

GABRIEL

Poor little arrogant Fabian. I’m afraid I must have gone a bit too far with the whole eye-pain-inflicting thing.

I can hear voices and footsteps. Dearest Laila, she must be concerned what all the screaming was about. But she’s not alone. Oh, goodie, more toys.

Vampires Suck (7)

LAILA

WHAT.THE.HELL.WAS.THAT.

These were the words that were ringing over and over in my head as Fabian was speeding home. I didn’t even bother to tell him to slow down. I needed the speed, the rush it brought. My breath was coming fast. I gripped my purse until my knuckles turned white. And then I started processing.

Yes, the party had been weird. But what had shocked me was Gabriel himself. You could see it in his eyes – how comfortable he was in that atmosphere, seeming more like a perverted royal pain-in-the-ass than ever. And then that rage, that vicious smile he was addressing me and Fabian, the way he touched me... I swear, I start shivering only when I think of it.

The phrase was never more true to me. And in all this, who had been my knight in shining shoes? The dazzling Fabian. I not only feel he stood by me, but that he also rescued me. I just can’t shake the feeling that there was something completely unrelated to Gabriel’s words that was going to happen. Because in those brief minutes we were all standing in his room I had been terrified. But that couldn’t be right.

I risked a quick glance at Fabian as I was opening my door. There was something in the way he held himself – his posture was different. It was almost a battle stance.

“I’m sorry you had to see that” he said in a husky voice, one I’d never heard before. “If it’s of any help, I had no idea he was like that.” I thought I saw a flash of fear in those misty eyes.

“Well, for once, it’s not your fault things went bad.” Who’s to say I’d lose my sense of humor even when in shock?

The corners of his mouth wavered a bit. For the first time since I moved in, I forgot all about the creepy sensation his presence gave me and saw what I think is the real Fabian. Not the one who always avoids having contact with other people at college, but the one who is deeply ironic and yet at the same time, charming in a dark and mysterious way.

“It’s getting late. You should go inside.”

“Yeah.” I twisted the door knob and went into the apartment, feeling ever so slightly dazed by the fact that only one wall separated us. A paper thin wall, I mused and for a second I froze. He lived there. He had been living there before I came here. He had annoyed me from the very beginning. So, why did it bother me now?

But thoughts of the crazy night at Gabriel’s party wielded back in and I forgot all about that unanswered question. I remembered the two men saying something about people being hypnotized. When nobody had answered me when I’d asked about it, I had thought my imagination was playing tricks on me. But as I was unzipping my leather boots, my mind clear of anything, I realized I hadn’t imagined it. Fabian’s statement was ringing crystal clear in my mind.

the 19^th of October, 2010

FABIAN

I decided to skip class today. It’s not like I haven’t majored in literature six times by now. But the reason I did it for is not this. I needed to think some more.

And in order to think I needed to be away from a certain girl and a certain vampire.

Yesterday, Gabriel acted like his usual pretend-to-be-a-rock-star self. No word about our little altercation. The girls from the party were all normal now and resumed their daily routine of tailing Gabriel everywhere.

Laila on the other hand had mostly avoided him. But she was very careful not to make too much of a show of it. Every time the giggling sounds announced his presence, she would graciously go somewhere else.

As I entered the library, I felt a wave of relief at its sight. It was completely empty expect for the old lady at the counter.

I went way in the back of it and started walking between endless bookshelves.

I suspected what theory Gabriel had tested. He had been fairly obvious about it. He’d wanted to see if I would protect Laila or I’d just surrender her to the sharks. But all that show just for that?

My fingers traced the dusty old books in the Horror section. The dust lifted and I stopped with my hand on a Stephen King novel. I wasn’t actually paying any attention to it. My newest question, that shone in my mind even brighter that the other, was even more surprising than the turn of events at Gabriel’s party. Why hadn’t I left Laila to Gabriel? It’s none of my business what he does to the humans.

I was brought out of my trance when my fingers no longer felt the roughness of the book’s cover.

From the other side of the bookshelf, a pair of green eyes was peering at me. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought they were the knowing eyes of a vampire who’d been walking this earth for centuries.

But instead, they wrinkled at the ends. Laila was smiling.

“Do you always take books other people have already had their hands on?” I asked her quietly.

“Hello to you too. And no, I only want this book.” She waved it in front of me and I caught the title. Salem’s Lot.

“Vampires?” I almost chocked from trying not to laugh. And then she was out of my sight, hiding behind the books. After a half a minute of waiting, she was in front of me with a defiant look on her heart-shaped face.

“For your information, it happens to be a great book.”

“Oh, so you’ve read it already?” I chuckled.

“You... you jerk!” she punched me in arm. The fact that I didn’t seem baffled in the slightest seemed to unnerve her even more.

“I thought you were all about fashion magazines.”

“That doesn’t mean I am as shallow as an empty shell!” She threw the words in my face. “And fashion is a form of art and expression! Not that you’d know anything about it.”

“Hell, no.” I whispered.

“What?”

“I was just saying how lucky you are the librarian is as deaf as a bat. All the unnecessary shouting...” I grinned at her bewildered expression. But the anger faded away and her face was perfectly quiet as she said:

“How did Gabriel hypnotize those girls?”

LAILA

He was staring at me with such intensity I thought he was going to make a hole in my skull. At first, I wanted to laugh at him because I’d finally caught him at a loss for words. But I knew then that I’d asked the right question.

“I don’t know...” Fabian started, but I never let him finish.

“Don’t even think about giving me the whole I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about crap!”

“Laila...”

“Yes?” I said expectantly.

“This is neither the time nor place to talk about this.” His hand seemed to rebel against my demanding tone as well, ruffling his hair over and over.

“I think it’s the perfect time since we bumped into each other like this. And no one can hear us, you said yourself that the old lady can’t hear...”

“But we didn’t bump into each other coincidentally, did we?” He was leaning over me as he whispered the words. “Are you a stalker, Laila?” The irony was back. But I wouldn’t be fooled by this.

“You don’t a have a very good strategy when it comes to dodging questions. It will take more than that to make me change the subject.” I could see how much he hated me for being so stubborn. But he knew something and I was determined to find out what it was. “Tell me.” I leaned closer and he backed away. I wasn’t expecting that.

“I cannot tell you. This is not something of your concern and you’re better off not knowing, trust me.”

“I’ll be de judge of that, Fabian.” I tried to search his face for some reaction, but he had shut all his emotions down. I was left gazing into an expressionless mask. A beautiful carved mask, nevertheless.

“Come on. How bad can it be? It’s not like he’s a supernatural being.” I was babbling while playing with the cover of my book. He wasn’t going to tell me. I was sure of it.

“And what if he was one?”

My head lifted up to his instantly. What had he just said? Had I heard right? But the question was there, floating in the air between us, almost tangible. And then, he suddenly pushed me against the bookshelf. A few books fell and I just couldn’t find my voice.

“I said, what if he was one?” He whispered in my ear. He was so close our bodies were almost touching. I wished I could find a way to shove him away, but my brain only focused on what he said. “What if I were to tell you that I’m one too?”

I felt like a bird trapped in a cage. His hands were on either side of me and his face was all I could see. My heart was pounding like it wanted to burst out of my chest. I knew he was telling me the truth. Not because it was so incredibly plausible, that’s for sure. But I knew because I could feel it deep down at the core of my soul. And that truth brought the dreaded feeling back – the sensation Fabian always caused me. And now that I thought about it, Gabriel did too.

“What are you?” It was barely a whisper, but he heard it.

“Why, your friendly next-door vampire, of course.”

The thudding sound of a book falling could be heard from the Horror section. Stephen King had caught the right monster this time.

FABIAN

To say I’d been stupid to tell Laila the truth was an understatement.

No, she didn’t pass out or start screaming as I expected her to. Her reaction was even worse. She’s interested.

We’re walking down Lipscani Alley which is packed full and she’s beaming at me with an unspoken curiosity. I can sense the fear underneath as well, but for some reason she’s got it under control. Damn it, she’s supposed to be scared of me! I mean, she’s read Salem’s Lot – and the vampire king is quite frightening there.

God, if you’re out there somewhere, and if you receive requests from any vampires at all, please tell me I’m not stuck with this one!

“So you can hypnotize people too?” she asked casually.

“No, only the old ones can.”

“Oh. How old are you?”

A large group was passing us by.

“We can’t talk about this here. Come.”

I noted with a strange sense of uneasiness that she didn’t bother to ask where we were going.

Humans are stupid, so full of trusting instincts.

“Let me see. So none of the classical myths are true?” Laila was pacing in my apartment.

“No.” I had given up trying to convince her it was better for her to just forget or pretend she didn’t know but naturally she didn’t listen. I thought about threatening her with Gabriel erasing her memory, but first of all, I didn’t know if he was capable of doing it and second of all – I wasn’t going to ask him for any favors.

“I can see how sunlight has no effect whatsoever. Oh, but do you ever get a tan?”

“No.” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Would you give it a break already?”

“But how about... what you eat” She met my eyes while saying this and was obviously uncomfortable.

“I told you, none of the vampire stereotypes are true. We drink blood, but don’t go out hunting for victims. The blood bank is much more convenient. It’s like going to a free bar with only four drinks available.” I paused and when I saw she was opening her mouth again I went on, “we are stronger that the average Joe and can sense human feelings, but that’s it. No compelling gaze, no deadly attractiveness and no turning into bats.”

“Are you sure about the last one?”

“What? Turning into bats? Laila, this is stupid – “

“No, the other one. What I mean is that both you and Gabriel are the most attractive guys I’ve ever seen, so that one isn’t really true.” I could feel the blood rising to her face even without looking. “But anyway, I have one more. Do you have fangs?”

“Yes.” I felt relieved that her question wasn’t about whether we were vulnerable to garlic.

“Show me.” That left me blinking for a moment.

“What do you think I am? A vampire at the Zoo?”

“I didn’t say that, I’m just curious.”

“Well, curiosity killed the cat. That’s enough for one day, go to your own apartment.”

Reluctantly, she headed for the door and stopped in front of it.

“I’m no ordinary cat. I just thought you should know that.”