blogwithvalor

“Please shut the coffin, Hannah,” Maxine said with her arms crossed over her chest.

Hannah walked around the room ignoring Maxine’s request, huffing and puffing. “Why didn’t you let me take the rest of the sailors in the alley? I’m still hungry. There’s still another hour before sunrise. I am going out.”

In an instant, Maxine was standing at the front door blocking Hannah’s exit. The moonlight shone in from the window, making Maxine’s already white skin glow. She was an old vampire. Almost all of her humanity had left her body decades ago. Her features had grown sharp, her hair had lost all color, and her eyes had taken on a bright purple hue. Her appearance was haunting to everyone, even Hannah.

“You are a young bat. Not yet used to the hunger. It is never truly satiated. There is a reason so few vampires roam the Earth. We may be powerful, but people are finnicky. They are quick to distrust and even quicker to hysterics. In large groups they can take down even the oldest vampires.”

Maxine started circling Hannah. She moved so smoothly that it looked as though she was floating.

“They are our food. We should not fear them. They should be worshipping us.”

Maxine stopped behind Hannah and let out a small chuckle.

“That’s an old story. It has been done before. It never ends well. Eventually, people organize against us.”

“Why don’t we grow our numbers. Take our numbers against theirs.”

“There could never truly be an equal amount of both of us. Even one vampire to ten humans. We would quickly eat ourselves to extinction. We need an ample supply of humans. Enough that they don’t notice when we pick off a straggler in an alley once in a while.”

Hannah clenched her fists. The hunger was eating away at her. Constantly burning in the back of her mind.

“Then let me find another alley. Let me find another straggler no one will notice.”

“Hannah… Hannah…” Maxine walked to the window. The moonlight shone through her stark white hair. The reflection of moonlight on her skin creating a halo of light on the inside wall around the window’s frame. “…these first few weeks of your new life are crucial. You face a hunger you’ve never seen before. It never ends. It will draw you into madness. There is a reason there are so few of us left. We closely monitor every new vampire. We educate them on how to hunt, how to eat, how to sleep, how to stay in the shadows, and ultimately how to live.”

“That’s the problem. I agreed to become a vampire because I wanted to be free. I wanted to strike fear in people. I wanted power. You old vampires have too many rules. You’ve forgotten what it’s like to be human. We should all be free. The night is ours. Nothing should hold us back.”

Maxine let out a deep sigh.

“I’ve nothing left to say. Just this…”

Hannah blinked and suddenly Maxine’s face was right in front of her. Hannah tried to pull back, but Maxine wrapped her arms tightly around her.

“…we old vampires have seen a lot. Our rules are based on experience. If a young bat is unable to control themselves, we must intervene.”

Maxine sunk her teeth deep into Hannah’s neck. Hannah struggled for just a moment, but was in too much shock to do much more than flail.

Maxine pulled away. Hannah’s blood dripped from Maxine’s lips. Hannah fell to the floor as Maxine released her. She could feel the life leaving her body. She stared up at Maxine, wondering how a vampire could feed on its own.

“Oh Hannah, there’s another reason we old vampires watch over you so. When you break our rules, which most of you do. We allow ourselves to feed on you. You’re so young. There’s still so much humanity in your veins. It is quite a delicacy.” Maxine said while licking the last bit of Hannah’s blood from her lips.