All Is Fair Ch. 06

"I don't have one," Helena said.

Helena looked at the floor, before glancing outside. The sun was setting fast.

"How old are you?' the woman asked.

"Eighteen," Helena lied.

"Are you traveling alone?" The woman said.

"Yes," Helena said.

The woman pressed her lips.

"Is there anyone I can call for you?" the woman asked.

"I'm fine," Helena said.

"Maybe you should have a seat," the woman said.

Helena recognized the tone in the woman's voice. She was going to call the police, or maybe social services. Helena needed to get out of here. She looked out the lobby doors and watched as the sun dipped down below the horizon.

"This was a mistake," Helena said.

"Please," the woman said. "Stay here."

Helena pushed away from the counter. She turned to run before smacking into someone.

"Sis," he said. "You're finally here."

Helena looked up to see a boy, not much older than her. He might have been Rebecca's age. He was tall with darker skin and short dark hair. There was no way they could pass as blood relatives.

"This is your sister?" the woman asked.

"Was she trying to get her own room?" He asked. "I

already told her we had to share."

"Is everything alright?" the woman asked.

"I'm going away to college," the boy said. "My little sister is helping me drive across the country to set up my room. My parents are flying in to meet us there. Then taking her home, leaving me the car."

"Oh," the woman said. "She said she was eighteen."

"Well she lied," he said. "She's only sixteen."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I still think I should call someone.

If not the police then maybe your parents?"

Helena watched as the stranger stared right into the woman's eyes.

"This is all a big misunderstanding," he said. "You think this is a hilarious prank by my little sister, but not so funny you have the urge to tell anyone about this or pay us any more attention."

Helena watched as the woman gave a little laugh. The man broke eye contact with her and she went back to her business. Helena didn't understand what was going on. He spun around to face Helena.

"Come on sis," he said.

Helena was so confused. He reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the doors.

"I can't go out there," she said.

"If you don't then I will leave you here," he said. "Where I am certain she will call the police and return you to where you clearly don't want to be."

Over the years Helena had been outside at night several times, but only when someone forced her. She tried her best to remain strong and followed the boy back outside. She kept her eyes glued to the ground as she made it back to her car. She pulled open the door and jumped in the driver's seat. She was surprised when the passenger's side door opened and he sat down.

"I don't have any money," she said.

"I do," he said.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Do you know what you are?" he asked.

Helena looked up at him. His brown eyes looked warm. He was giving her a look she hadn't seen in some time. It was the way Rebecca used to look at her years ago.

"You have every reason to be scared of the night," he said. "But not when you're with me."

"Why?" Helena asked.

"Because I am what you should be scared of," he said. "Now drive."

He reached over and buckled his seatbelt. Helena didn't

know what to do. Her hand was shaking, but with no other options or place to go she turned over the ignition and followed his directions.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~

The sky grew darker and darker. They were out of whatever city Helena had stumbled upon and back in the country. She felt like her heart was going to give out at any second. They hadn't passed any other cars or houses for some time.

"There's a driveway on your right," he said. "Slow down. It sort of sneaks up on you."

Helena wouldn't have noticed it. The headlights of her car only showed cornfields. She did as he instructed and turned. The only words he had spoken were directions. Helena was too scared to talk, but her mind was bursting with questions.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked.

"Don't ask any questions unless you're certain you will like the answer," he said. "That's your first lesson."

"First lesson?" Helena asked.

He let out a sigh.

"No," he said. "I am not going to kill you. In fact the opposite, I want to teach you how to survive."

"Survive what?"

"Survive things like me," he said.

"What are you?"

"What was lesson number one?"

Helena kept her mouth shut. A small house came into view.

"That's our destination," he said. "You can park out front."

This was insane. Helena put the car in park. She waited

for him to get out, but instead he stared at her, waiting for her to make a move. She opened the door and started to run towards the corn. Before she made it two feet his was right in front of her. She smacked into him for the second time that day and fell back into the car.

"Lesson number two," he said. "You can't escape us. Now come inside. We have lots to discuss."

He didn't help her off the ground. Instead he walked straight towards the house. Helena stood back up. She rubbed her tailbone and thought about getting in the car and taking off again, but was certain he was telling the truth. A big part of her wanted to follow him, if anything because she wanted to get out of the darkness.

The house was small. It was one story with a kitchen and

sitting room. She noticed there was no television. He was in the kitchen.

"I don't have any food," he said. "But would you like some water?"

"Please," she said.

Not knowing what else to do she took a seat on the couch.

"I am sure you want to know what is going on," he said.

He came into the small room and handed her the glass. She took a sip, not realizing how thirsty she was.

"Why are you scared of the night?" he asked.

Helena didn't know what was happening, but against her better judgment she had the urge to share.

"My parents," she said. "I was never outside when I was little."

"Is that why you ran away?" He asked.

"No," she said. "They died a long time ago."

He kept a straight face.

"None of that matters to me," he said. "It's a little trying to pretend to care. Smart parents though, did they tell you what you are?"

"I'm just a girl," she said.

"You are far more than that," he said.

"How do you know?"

"Because," he said. "About two thousand years ago I was the same thing."

Helena's eyes went wide. This guy sounded crazy.

"Humans think that they own everything," he said. "That they should only fear each other. But there are far worse things out there. Things like me."

"What are you?" Helena asked.

"I am a vampire," he said.

He said it with such certainty Helena didn't even react.

"What am I?"

"The tastiest dinner there is," he said.

Helena felt her body go numb. None of this made any sense. But she thought about the way the night had gone. The way this young man entranced the hotel worker, the way he moved so fast when she tried to run. She looked up at him.

"Are you going to eat me?"

"No," he said. "In fact nobody is, you're not ripe yet."

"What does that mean?" Helena asked.

"Humans under the age of eighteen are incredibly unappetizing to us," he said. "It's like you blossom over night on that special day. For the most part the older you are the better you taste, to a certain point. I like them in the mid forties."

"But you just said..."

"I can smell it on you already, but only because I was like you once," he said. "A person like you comes around every few hundred years. A delicacy."

"Is that how you found me?" Helena asked.

"No," he said. "I normally meet my blood supplier at the hotel bar."

"Like a donor?" Helena asked.

"No," he said. "Vampires don't like to be noticed .We drink from bags these days. If you bite someone they either die or get turned. There's no in-between like in the movies. Maybe once a year I will take a live victim as a special treat."

Helena shuddered.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Helena asked.

"Because nobody found me and warned me," he said. "But I have two years to prepare you for what is to come. Maybe you can find a way to survive us."

Suddenly Helena's eyes got heavy. It came on quickly, she looked down at the water.

"Sorry to drug you like this," he said. "But I still have to get back to meet my supplier and won't have time to chase you if you run. You should wake up tomorrow at sundown and then we can get started. Sleep tight little human."

He stood up and Helena felt herself collapse on her side

on the couch.

"By the way," he said. "My name is Abe."

There was a blur and Helena thought she felt the breeze of the door open and close. She couldn't focus on any thoughts. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Helena woke up she was on a couch in a strange house. Her body ached from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position.

"Sorry," he said. "I must have overdone it. You should have woken up a few hours ago. But I grabbed some human food for you while I was in town last night. Sandwich?"

Last night came tumbling back into Helena's mind. All of a sudden a plate was in front of her and the strange vampire was seated in the chair next to the couch.

"Eat and then we can get started," he said.

"Started with what?" Helena asked.

"Teaching you how to survive," he said.

Helena looked at the food. Her stomach growled.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't drug you until the sun is about to rise. I need you awake and alert to learn."

"How to defend myself from vampires?" Helena asked.

He let out a loud laugh and threw his head back.

"There is no way to defend yourself," he said. "Remember lesson number two."

He pointed to the computer sitting in the middle of the table. It was a laptop. Helena didn't know much about electronics.

"I am teaching you how to survive," he said. "This little box is the future."

"What do you mean?" Helena asked.

"You're not as sharp as I would have liked," he said. "Once you turn eighteen every vampire in a one hundred mile radius is going to smell you and come for you. You will have to constantly keep moving, stay off the grid, change your identity, steal enough money to survive and go unnoticed. These are the skills I am going to teach you. At least you already have the first one down."

"What's the first one?" Helena asked.

"Never go outside after dark," he said. "If you're inside in a private area they won't be able to get to you. Most humans would find that undesirable, but you're already used to it. Now eat your sandwich and we can get started."

Helena knew she should be scared, but she was hungry and didn't have anywhere else to go. As insane as his statements were they made some sense to her. She always felt there was a reason for her parents' crazy rules. Maybe this was it. She picked up the sandwich and took a bite.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Good work," Abe said.

Helena had created a new identity in under an hour this time. She didn't forget any of the necessary databases either.

"Remember," Abe said.

"These names can only last three months at the most, but move on after a week if possible," Helena said. "Never try to make a permanent one. Lessons forty-two and forty-three."

He tossed her an apple.

"Don't get smart," he said.

Helena sat back from the keyboard.

She looked at the pieces of plastic on the couch. She hoped he wasn't going to make her physically create the IDs and Credit Cards tonight. She had those down pat and didn't want to go through them again.

"Don't forget about eating," he said. "You never seem to care about that."

Helena looked him dead in the eye and took a large bite of her apple. He let out a laugh. Her familiarity with him was a comfort. She didn't think she'd ever bonded this much with Rebecca. Thinking of her name sent a pang.

"Still thinking about your sister?"

"I thought mind reading didn't work on me," Helena said.

"Vampires can't read minds," Abe said. "Just control them. I don't know why you keep looking for her. She's probably dead."

"How can you say that with such a straight face?" Helena asked.

"Because I am a vampire," he said. "Death doesn't matter

to me."

"But mine does?" Helena asked.

She knew she struck a nerve.

"I see myself in you," Abe said. "Just because I don't feel

anymore doesn't mean I don't remember what it was like. My humanity was stolen from me and I don't want that to happen to you."

"What will happen if one of them grabs me?" Helena asked.

"One of us grabs me," Abe said.

Helena rolled her eyes. Another one of Abe's lessons. Never forget what he is. The enemy.

"Answer the question," Helena said. She knew the answer, but liked the reminder.

"They will drain you," Abe said. "Then let you heal, drain you again, let you heal, drain you again, then you'll wake up a vampire. Then they will leave you to fend for yourself."

"Why?" Helena asked.

"Your blood will taste too good to only drain once," Abe said. "They will want as much as they can have. Three bites is what it takes to turn someone so that's all they will have."

"No," Helena said. "Why leave me?"

Over the last year and a half Abe constantly avoided answering this question.

"We're solitary creatures," Abe said. "We don't need the company."

"But you keep me around," Helena said.

"Because you serve a purpose for me," Abe said. "Back to

work."

"We have three months left until I'm eighteen," Helena said. "What will happen then?"

"You have one day to get at least one hundred miles away from here," Abe said. "Stay away from large cities, move around a lot. Hopefully multiple vampires will catch your scent and kill each other fighting over the right to stalk you. Never go outside at night."

"No permanent home because then it would be too easy

to attract them," Helena finished.

"Exactly," Abe said. "Now come on. Let me see how fast you can alter those IDs."

Helena rolled her eyes, but she knew better than to continue the conversation. She picked up the plastic and put it under the small printer and started work on altering the card.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tonight Helena made a completely new identity in thirty minutes, including credit card and ID. Abe leaned back in his chair.

"Are you proud?" she asked.

"I think you have a shot at surviving," he said.

Helena still was unsure what she was surviving. Abe made it a point to keep her in the dark about vampirism, but with one week left until her eighteenth birthday she still had so many questions.

"What's wrong now?" Abe asked.

"I don't understand sometimes," Helena said. "You're

telling me I will spend the rest of my life living in the light, using fake names, with no home. How is that surviving? Maybe I would be better off as a vampire."

A whip of air came and Helena was against the wall. Abe's hand was around her neck, lifting her in the air. She kicked and struggled for breath.

"I could snap your neck this instance and not shed a

single tear," he said. "Is that the sort of existence you want?"

Helena kept kicking, but he was either too fast or too far away for her to make contact. She brought her hands to her neck trying to claw his away. She shook her head no and he let her go. Her body hit the floor with a thud. She started gasping for breath.

"I was taken on my eighteenth birthday," Abe said. "Held for less than a month before I was drained three times and turned into this. Even if I only give you a few extra years they are worth it. Trust me."

He was already sitting on the couch again. Helena pulled

herself up off the floor. She looked at Abe, he was so calm, not caring that he had just threatened her life. They had lived under the same roof for two years, but that didn't matter to him in the slightest. Helena needed to focus on that. She walked back over to the chair.

"You never told me what to do in the event one of you

does get me," Helena said. "How do I kill them?"

"You don't," Abe said. "You have to accept death and try your hardest to find a way to kill yourself before they turn you, or keep them in a public place with lots of humans around. They won't want to risk exposure."

"There has to be a way," Helena said. "Please tell me something. We only have a week left, I'm not going to try to kill you. You can go back to drugging me for the daylight hours if that's a concern."

Abe looked away. Then he leaned forward, pressing his hands to his knees.

"Sunlight," Abe said. "But we're not dead during the day. We will fight you and kill you if you try to take us outside."

"I knew that already," Helena said.

"Decapitation, fire," Abe said.

"Wooden stake through the heart?" Helena asked. "Holy water? Crosses? Silver"

"No, no, and no. Silver is...unpleasant though," Abe said.

"Should I wear silver?" Helena asked.

"Worthless," Abe said. "It doesn't ward us off, or kills us, but it's the only thing that can cut us. A silver knife will take a vampires head clear off, stabbing a vampire might slow them down, but it won't kill them. Even if it's through the heart. If you have a piece of sharp silver focus on decapitation."

Helena couldn't imagine decapitating anyone, even if they were a vampire.

"But honestly, we are so hard to kill that I'm sure there are other ways people haven't discovered. Those are the only three I'm certain of."

"What happens if I'm only bitten once and I survive?" Helena asked.

"That won't happen," Abe said. "You will be a prize possession."

"But what if?" Helena asked.

"It. Won't. Happen."

Helena sighed. That meant Abe probably didn't know. She leaned back on the couch. He stood up and went into one of the bedrooms. He came back out and set a suitcase on the table.

"What is this?" Helena asked.

"A farewell present," Abe said.

She leaned forward and opened the suitcase. There was a few articles of clothing, a brand new laptop, and a small handheld printer. On the bottom was a long silver dagger. Helena decided not to bring that out.

"Thank you," Helena said.

"There's twenty five thousand dollars of cash behind the

zipper," Abe said.

Helena almost spit.

"I wish I could give you more," he said.

Helena stood up and wrapped her arms around the

vampire's neck. Giving him a grateful hug. She knew his

hands were stiff at his side. He didn't like it when she tried to touch him, but she felt him acquiesce and lift his arms around her.

Over the last two years Abe had been a brother and a father to her. He gave Helena's life focus and purpose. She didn't know what she would have done without him. Tears welled in her eyes thinking about leaving him, knowing she would never form a relationship like this again.

"I think you should leave in the morning," Abe said.

Helena dropped her arms. She backed up and looked up at him. His face was unmoved.

"I don't understand," Helena said. "My birthday isn't for another week. Shouldn't we stay together as long as possible?"

"No," Abe said. "Once you turn eighteen I won't be able to help myself. I will drain you again and again until you are like me. Then throw you away."

"But we've spent the last two years together," Helens said. "What if I let you turn me? Then we could keep surviving together. You could help me be a vampire..."

"If you were another vampire I would want nothing to do with you," Abe said. "And you would want nothing to do with me."

"You've told me repeatedly you avoid vampires. You don't know that is true," Helena said. "Maybe it was just your maker who ran out on you. Maybe I could be your daughter. We could.."