As Larissa walked through the streets of Downtown, window shopping with her Frappuccino in hand, she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that someone was following her. As she walked on and on, the feeling became stronger, and she looked behind her more and more often, becoming paranoid with each step. She finally whipped around in the middle of a crowded area, and started frantically searching through the crowd for this unknown stalker. Scanning the crowd, she finally relaxed as she noticed that no one in particular seemed interested in her.
She sighed as she turned around, and her heart jumped straight into her throat when she saw what was in front of her, sitting in the shade of the small café. It was Randall, or rather, the man in her dreams, whom she had odd encounters with. He seemed not to notice as she gazed at him, smiling. Before she could change her own mind, she started walking up to him.
She came up to his table, taking in everything about him, from the way that he sat to the way that he stirred his full drink. She noticed his attire, that he was wearing a crisp burgundy shirt that completely accentuated his skin tone, and extremely dark gray slacks. She realized that he always looked so handsome and put-together, in every encounter that she had with him, dream or not. He looked up slowly, noticing her surveying him, and gazed at her with an inquisitive look.
“Hi… remember me?” He nodded slightly, looking up through his shades. “Well… I just saw you, and I was thinking, well… I never really, you know… and then you just left, so…” She was obviously at a loss for words. “Yeah, so…”
“Come out with me tomorrow.” He said suddenly, interrupting her stuttering. “I’m sure that we could…” He paused , “get to know each other better.”
She could not help a small smile make its way onto her face. “I’d love too.” He produced a card from his breast pocket on his shirt, and handed it too her, letting his fingers graze the top of her hand as he pulled away.
“Meet me here, at 9:00 tomorrow night… just go in and I’ll find you.” She nodded, then looked at the card. It was the business card for an upscale club named Dalton, where only the elite and the beautiful got in. She silently wondered how she was going to get in as she looked at the card, but she didn’t want to say anything for fear of looking idiotic.
“Well, ok. I’m sure that we’ll…” She looked up and paused, mid-sentence. He was gone, full drink left on the table. She looked to the right, and to the left, and then sighed as she did not notice him. “I still don’t even know his name…” she looked down at her hand, which was still cold from his touch.
After her encounter with him, Larissa decided not to stay downtown anymore. She didn’t really have any money left anyway. She walked home quickly, excited yet scared about her soon-to-be meeting with “Randall.” She busted into her apartment, and threw everything on the kitchen table as she walked to her room. Atella’s room was still shut, and it was awfully quiet, so she decided to take a quick look to make sure that she was ok, considering her mannerisms that morning.
She crept the door open a little, noticing that Atella lay still on the covers, her robe mussed a little. As she walked further into the room, she noticed that Atella wasn’t moving at all, and that there were a couple of sores above her collarbone. Larissa silently wondered what the hell was going on as she lifted her robe even more, noticing the other sores on her breast. After doing so, she closed Atella’s robe, she being asleep the whole time.
Larissa did not know what to think as she bent over Atella and shook her shoulders gently, wanting to know what happened. Atella stirred slightly, then woke up with a start, batting her hands at Larissa’s arms. She finally realized that her own roommate did not pose any threat to her, and sighed, her chest heaving up and down. Larissa just looked on, with a confused look.
“What happened to you?” Larissa gestured at the marks that peeked out of Atella’s robe. Atella looked for a moment and then tugged at the side of her robe, pulling it over her wound.
“Nothing…” She got up from the bed and walked to the window, shutting it. “Spider bite… I don’t know.”
Larissa accepted the answer and proceeded to talk to Atella’s unwavering frame. “Well, anyway… I have a date for tomorrow! I’m pretty excited, he’s really attractive…” Larissa trailed off, cocking her head to the side at Atella. “But he invited me to this really nice club, and I don’t know how I’m going to get in. And…” She began to get embarrassed. “I’ve been having dreams about him… I don’t know where they’re coming from!” She felt instantly better about telling her friend what was happening.
“Oh.” Atella replied, bereft of any emotion. She turned around, and it seemed to Larissa that Atella looked a little paler, and her eyes gleamed a little unnaturally.
“Well… sorry to disturb you anyway…” Larissa backed out of the room. Atella said nothing as her roommate disappeared around the corner to the living room.
~That Night~
Larissa tossed and turned in her sleep, sweat building on her forehead. She had fallen asleep quickly this night, only expecting another night of dreamless sleep. She was entirely wrong…
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“Randall… what are you doing?” Larissa said as Randall just hugged her close, never wanting to let her go. Larissa sighed and let her love grasp her in his arms tightly, rocking them slowly back and forth. She did not notice his tears trickling down his face, each colored by the slightest of red tints.
“Larissa, I never want to let you go… but I eventually have to.” He breathed into her shoulder. Suddenly he pulled her away, looking into her face which was full of confusion and sadness. All Larissa could do was let her own tears start to flow, not knowing how to respond to such a statement. “I can’t let you become entangled in my web of danger, Larissa. I need to know that my love is safe, sound, living a completely normal life… I can’t let you suffer as I have suffered, and wept the many internal cries that I have wept. You may never understand… but this is true.”
Larissa was shocked by this. “Randall… what do you mean?” She stopped crying and looked up at him, her big dark eyes glazed over with a mess of confusion. He just slowly turned away from her, ceasing to sob.
“I am not like you… not like everyone you know. I am a different being, a different entity, higher up on the food chain, as you might say.”
“Tell me more.” Larissa became curious, the sadness floating away. She was entirely intrigued by what he had to say.
"I am the undead… the walker of the night, Larissa. I cannot thrive without drawing the blood out of humans. I take their life to maintain my own, and I am entirely ageless, youth has bestowed its dark gift on me ever since I was embraced by another of my kind. I cannot live a normal life..” She just gazed up at him, completely enthralled, almost as if she were listening to a folktale. “The very core of the being which I am, is completely evil. Larissa…” He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep within her eyes. “You do not know how hard I have fought to keep my heart from being consumed by this evil. It taunts me everyday, presses at my very being within. It is an ongoing internal battle which I must be plagued with for eternity…” A single tear made its way down his cheek, “ and I cannot live with myself the times that I do give in to it.” He was being torn up inside, the knots of despair tugging hungrily at his stomach. “I can’t let you become involved with me… for I might take advantage of you at the wrong moment.”
“Randall…” She reached up to wipe away the tear that rested on his cheek. He captured her hand with his own, and continued to stroke his own cold face with it, closing his eyes, and grimacing with sadness. Larissa looked up at his pain-stricken face, and made a decision that was completely blinded by love.
“I will do anything to be with you Randall… my love for you surpasses each realm of good or evil, it surpasses all that which consumes you. I want to be there with you, to experience all that you do…” She now placed both hands on either side of his face, and forced him to look straight at her. “Join our souls, make the bond between us forever.” She had just shattered every word that previously came out of his mouth.
Randall just sighed, as he let the greediness overcome him. He wanted so desperately to do this, so much that he was almost in physical pain. Larissa turned away from him, afraid that he might refuse, but he grabbed her shoulders and spun her back to face him quickly. He covered her mouth in loving, passionate kisses, and lifted her up off the ground, drifting quickly to the large satin covered bed. Larissa was lost in her desire, for Randall had never kissed her like this. She felt the love in his kisses before, but it seemed as if he could not get enough of her, that he was almost… hungry… for her.
With every breath she took from his mouth she felt more and more woozy, the knot of passion building in her stomach. They were now lying on the plush bed, Randall on top of Larissa, bathing her in kisses. He slowly pulled himself away from her embrace, and looked at her with watery eyes. No words were exchanged, but there was a mutual feeling exchanged by the two, as he continued to probe her soul. Both knew what was going to happen.
Larissa pushed him off gently, and sat up on the bed, untying the laces to her binding dress, all the while keeping her eyes locked with his. She slipped it off her shoulders, and looked pleadingly, hoping that he would accept this precious gift she was offering him. Randall gazed at her figure, the love building inside of him. He reached out to caress the skin of her neck, moving farther down to her chest, grazing his hands delicately against her breasts. Larissa did not know what to do, for no man had touched her in this way before. She just let him continue with skilled fingers, feeling pleasuring feelings like no other.
Randall edged away from her in the bed, and Larissa noticed that his eyes were glowing a luminous icy blue. He almost looked radiant, as if his whole body was glowing, the colors of him shining against the drab walls. Looking at him made the most colorful scene seem dull. He took off all of his garments, one by one, and watched as Larissa gasped when he revealed his private area, shadowed by the rest of his powerful physique.
“Do it…” She almost commanded, still breath taken by his body. He once again climbed gently on top of her, and started to caress her sides. She threw her head against the pillow, lost in his touch. He continued to move lower, pressing into the skin of her hips. She inched them apart, and he lowered his head into her awaiting thigh, ready to prepare her for the event to come. He gave one last look at her face until he stroked the inside of her thigh with his now present fangs, and hearing her moan, he slowly sank them in, and licked at the blood moving toward the surface of her skin.
Larissa could not describe this feeling, but she knew that she was giving a part of herself to the man that she loved, and it made her feel somewhat complete. He glided up the length of her body, and looking into her eyes, he silently asked permission of her. She nodded, awaiting his touch again. He reached down and entered her gently, kissing the side of her neck as he felt her body tense with pain. He stayed still, waiting for her to relax. She didn’t, yet urged him further, pressing her small hands into his back. He complied, and soon they were moving at a frantic pace, Larissa’s moans sounding like sweet music to his ears. While they were joined he denied her air, continuously covering her mouth with his own.
They continued to move, Larissa unaware of Randall looking deeply at her face. He felt her reach the height of her passion, and in a split second sank his teeth into her neck, her cries of release mingling with the flow of her blood. He too felt his own release, yet continued to drain her, feeling her sweet blood fill him, and feeling her heart slow down greatly. She soon went limp underneath him, and he took that as a cue to stop. Her breathing was shallow, and her face was pale. He went to her side, and bit into his own wrist, pressing it quickly to her lips. Soon they would be one, they would be together forever, but he could not shake off the feeling that he was doing something fatally wrong.
“What have I done?” He murmured to himself as he looked at her body, death overtaking it, beginning the transformation into a new life.
