Fade to Black (pt.3)

After a 20 minute ride downtown, we arrive at the club "Lillie’s". Such a pretty flower, must be insulted by having this rat-hole named after it. We park a couple of blocks away, in a secluded parking deck. I get out of the car, and quickly move to the other side to open the door for my love. She graciously accepts my hand, and we walk nearer to the club together, wrapped in a blanket of love and hunger. 1

We stand about a block away from the club for the next 2 hours. "This, Mandy," I quietly explain, "is what I call 'prowling'. It is used to make sure an area is safe for us to hunt, allows us to find quick exits in the event of an emergency, and allows us to pick potential targets as they enter. One should always do this for at least an hour or two before entering an establishment with the intent of feeding. It is still early yet, but soon there will be a large line outside, we must go in now." Quickly crossing the street we make our way into the darkened club. The doorman doesn't even bother to check our IDs, which is a very lucky choice for him. 2

We make our way down the near pitch black corridor, and emerge into a huge room, complete with laser light of all colors, strobes, and black lights. The room was easily capable of accommodating four hundred people comfortably, and there was already about 100 people there. We take a seat at the bar, and order red wine. I take a small vial from my coat and add a bit of blood to each of our drinks. Type O, the perfect blend for a special occasion such as this. As we sit, sipping our drinks and getting into the hard, fast-paced techno that was blaring from all directions, more and more people begin to file through the doorway, in a steady stream. 3

I begin to explain to my love how to pick her meals. "First thing, love, is to always know your strength, yours may have been augmented by your new condition, but we still have limits that are breakable by certain humans, especially if you choose a male. You may not care whether or not they are attractive, in fact the less attractive they are, the easier they fall. After a while you will learn the methods of breaking another's will to do anything but serve, but at the moment, you will have to rely on you feminine guile and your impeccable looks. Another element has been added to this mix as well, love, we may feel jealousy towards the ones we pick for meals, but as long as they remain meals, we both shall know who lives and who dies that night." "I understand, my darling." 4

"Good, we begin!" 5

We remain together at the bar, scanning the crowd. I see that she has found one, and a good choice, he has healthy blood and is in perfect shape to be broken. I myself have found 4 or 5 potential meals, of which I will indulge one and share with Mandy. The flow from the door slows down, and my Love and I depart from each other with a quick kiss and a few directions: "Love, when you have your mate, bring him to me. Stand directly in front of me, but about 20 to 30 feet away... I will send you instructions from there." "Understood, darling." 6

I work my way to my choice, a petite female with long brown hair, and fairly attractive. An easy mark, too easy, but I did not want to expend my energies on this one meal. I make eye contact with her, and she slowly works her way over to me. Immediately, I grab hold of her will, and peer into her very soul, her thought and feelings. A strong feeling of confusion is there, as normal with these simple mortals, and no feelings out of the ordinary. "Perfect." I think to myself. I begin talking to her, working my magic just for the sake of doing so, making her completely subservient to me. 7

I see my love over the top of the girl's head, talking to her mark. I send to her telepathically, "All right love, here is the tricky part, ask if he would mind going someplace more... secluded, but let him know that your ‘roommate’ will be there with his girl." She immediately begins to work on him, and sends back "He's all mine." I was slightly surprised by her speed of learning to send messages mentally, but I was also proud of her. I simply motion for my mark to follow, and she does, as if connected by an invisible leash. Mandy sees this, and lets her mouth drop for a slight instant. I smile at her, and I exit the club. Mandy exits moments later, her mark following her by her side. We walk as a group to the jeep, and we make the drive home. 8

It is still early yet, midnight. During the ride home, I send Mandy directions of proper eating techniques: "Do not leave a drop of life in them. If you do, I will be forced to kill them in the morning, for I will not be responsible for a mindless slave, which is all that you can create at this point. If you have your fill before you are done, let me know and I will finish him off. The simplest method is to play as if drunk and kiss their neck once, kiss them once, then rest your head as if embracing. Then sink your teeth in and make sure they do not, can not, push you off or move very much. The first bite is always the toughest, because your humanity still clings to you and your morals are still there. Suppress them as quickly as possible, as once you have bitten, you may not let go until you are full. Otherwise your meal you live through this, escape, and then we have some real troubles.” “Sounds deliciously wonderful.” I grin at her choice of words, and pull silently into our driveway.9

We all make our way inside, and into the living room. All the candles are freshly lit, as they always are after we return from the hunt, and we start the game anew. She begins immediately on her mark, wasting no time. I marvel at her abilities, especially for one so young. I work slower, for most females are less attuned to speedy “romance.” As I am kissing the young lady’s neck a final time, I hear her gasp in fear. “Shit,” I think, “this girl has seen Mandy’s work.” I immediately sink my teeth into the poor girls neck, and she soon stops making any noise at all. 10

I finish my meal, and lick the final drop of sweet nectar from my lips. I turn around to see my love weeping next to her dead companion. I rise slowly and move to sit beside her, “Did you finish, love?” “No, I couldn’t.” “Are you full?” “Yes.” I move to her other side, and finish him off. “Don’t cry my dear, you have a new life now, you are a completely new being. You have great potential in you. Do not waste your tears on humans. You will want them for later.” “I can’t help it... he... he... is dead!” “Yes love, but so are the plants and animals he has eaten. It is a natural order of things. If you wish to not harm any humans, you may go find some cows or any other farm animal, but their blood will never completely satisfy. We are the top of the food chain, baby, and you will soon learn to accept death as a part of life.”11

I reach my hand out, and begin to run her hair through my fingers. “Come my dear, I have one more... thing... to show you before we rest.” I grab both of the lifeless bodies, and sling them over my shoulders. I make my way to a back room of the house, and enter the password to open the door. “Now my dear, you will learn who it is that keeps the house up... these are the ones I could not slay completely, for whatever reason. They sleep all day until an appointed time, and then they awake, clean, cook, whatever needs done. They are ghouls, and they might be disturbing at first glance, but they are the reason I tell you to finish every meal. Otherwise they will become... these pitiful creatures.” She nods slowly, and I open the door and switch on the dark light, which lights all of the torches down the spiral staircase, and all of the torches in the room below. 12

We silently make our way down the stairs, and her breathing grows more heavy, more nervous. “Don’t worry love, they will not harm us.” Again, only a nod, and I continue down the last few steps to the room. I immediately drop the corpses in front of me, and call for the ghoul leader. “Alaundo! Come retrieve your dinner!”13