Life of a Deadman

"Alright, so you tell me what happened then, enlighten me." I was beginning to doubt myself.

"After I bit you, I drank, bringing you to the brink of life and death. But I stopped. I happened to open my eyes and look at you, and I couldn't do it. I was different all of a sudden, less impersonal. I felt horrible, guilty."

Here she took a breath, obviously reliving the moment in her head; Katherine's eyes were focused, and her lips were tight and thin, pursed shut. Glancing at me, brushing the hair away from her face, she took another breath.

"I didn't know what to do; I couldn't kill you, but I knew that you would never be able to recover. If I were to have left you, then you really would be dead now. For good. So I gave you my blood. We kissed after I bit into my tongue and lips, letting my mouth fill with it, with my blood.

"You took to me like an animal, biting and sucking at my tongue and lips as if your body knew its existence really did depend on it. Finally you collapsed." She smiled at me, laughing a bit – "I can't lie, it was one of the better experiences of my life."

I couldn't help it, I smiled back at her. I was supposed to be angry though, right?

"So let me guess, from there you snuck me out of the party and brought me here to this place? Wherever 'here' is." I was staring again, this time looking to see if there was any truth registering on her face. I did not like what I saw; it did not mean anything good for me.

"Not at first, I brought you to an old warehouse not so far from the ballroom we met at. The exchange weakened me too, and so I couldn't bring you anywhere specific. I just took you to the nearest place we could both find shelter. That's when your body gave in to my blood and died..." Katherine let the sentence trail off, watching me.

My reaction was delayed, but at her mention of that moment, my mind flashed with memories and visages of pain, sweat and of a horrible stench. That really was –

"My death? That's really what that was? I was rolling around on the dirty floor of some warehouse? Dying?" I began to feel sick, a knot tightening in my chest, its heavy weight dropping into my stomach. My mind was reeling, and I knew I needed air.

I had to get out of there!

A worried looking Katherine started to say something, but before I had the chance to hear it I was gone. I didn't realize how incredibly easy it was for me to run to the balcony window, jump off and land running for miles until later.

Katharina Aislinn Foley

It was a full week before I found myself wandering back to her, to Katherine. By that point, I had come to realize that I was truly and surely dead, though not in the normal sense of the term. There wasn't anything that really made me believe it; I just sort of felt it, deep down inside me. Because, when you get right down to it, the only clues that gave my physical state away was my constantly cold skin, along with its blue ivory pallor.

The night I ran from her I headed straight for my meager apartment, a stand-alone one bedroom exactly like the others on my block. Everything in it seemed so much more squalid and ran-down than before. Looking down at myself, I realized I was still naked. Making my way to my closet, I found some shabby clothes and got quickly dressed. From there I spent two days picking through my things, personal artifacts that had no value to me anymore. For some reason, I felt like nothing there mattered.

So I set fire to my apartment and everything in it, save for a small bag and a change of clothes. As I stood across the street, listening to the sirens floating through the air, I watched my old life burn away. It was all gone, and she took it from me.

I began wandering the city, breaking into the local grocery stores and cafes, trying to satiate a growing hunger rising up from within me. For those first horrible days, my mind was vacant and gray, zombie-like. I had fallen into an even greater state of apathy than when I was still alive, still human. But then again, who wouldn't?

Finally, by my fifth day roaming Chicago, I began to wake up. It was as if my mind suddenly turned over and began to work again. I had questions, and a lot of them.

Where would I go? What would I do? How does a, for lack of a better word, vampire survive? And the obvious, why was I always so hungry? I had a million thoughts and feelings slowly tumbling around my mind, but the strongest was the need for companionship; I had never felt so lonely.

I needed knowledge and I no longer wanted to be alone. I had to go back to Katherine. It took me a day to make my way back to her place; I didn't even know what the outside of her house looked like. All I had was a general direction and the memories of what her bedroom looked like, which was extremely rich and extravagant.

In the end, I felt I was near her more than actually knowing where she was. I followed my vague feelings and fleeting sense of direction until I came upon an up-scale apartment building at least 40 stories tall. When I turned the corner and came upon it, I knew I was that I was at the right place.

"She must live on the top floor," I said to myself, remembering the luxurious style her bedroom was furnished. Rooms like that aren't usually ground level affairs.

*******************

By the time the elevator doors opened to a short hallway ending in a single door, I knew this was it. There was no doubt in my mind.

I stepped out of the elevator and into the dimly lit, hallway. Looking around, I noticed there were multiple paintings hung upon the wall. Combined with the low light atmosphere, I felt as if I stepped into a small museum.

Arriving at the doorway, I stopped. I realized I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Would I even be welcome? For minutes I stood there with my hand grasping the doorknob, wondering if I should just turn around and give up, when the heavy looking wooden door opened.

Looking up, my gaze was met with a shorter woman clothed in something resembling the remnants of a dress, barely covering her full figure. And she was covered in blood.

It was Katherine.

"I didn't... Should I have knocked? I didn't know you were busy. I'll go." Before I even finished the sentence I was already retreating down the hallway and into the elevator. What was I thinking? And more importantly, what the hell was she doing?

Still somewhat in a state of mild shock, I exited the elevator at the ground floor and drifted into the lobby. My mind was a whirl as I was still trying to sort out what I saw and figure out what to do next when I bumped into and toppled over some poor woman.

"Shit, I am so sorry, I wasn't paying any atten-" I was mumbling an apology when the woman stood up smoothly and took my hand.

"Come with me Athan, we need to talk." It was her, again.

How did she get down here so fast? I spent only a minute or two waiting in the elevator as it made its decent, and yet she still beat me down here. On top of that, she cleaned up a lot and managed to throw on a long wool pea coat. What the hell?

My confusion must have been strong enough for her to sense because she abruptly stopped and whirled around, still holding onto my hand with a grip that threatened to break a finger or two.

"Look, you surprised me," She began with a rush, "I was... busy and didn't know you were coming until you were right outside my doorway. My mind was on other things. How about we go to the little diner down the block so we can talk?"

"Wait, how the hell did you get down here so fast? That doesn't make any sense! I rode in the elevator for crying out loud, but here you are waiting for me at the bottom. And what were you really doing? You were covered in blood!" I needed to relax; I was beginning to make a scene.

"Shh! I'll explain somewhere else, not here!" She was speaking in hushed, urgent tones, so I listened.

I could see the worry in her eyes as well as the pleading expression covering her face. When she turned around again, I let her lead me out of the lobby and out into the cool night air.

In the short walk down the street to the diner, I took the time to look her over again. She held herself in a regal manner, proud, but obviously not wanting to attract attention. She did anyway, from the multiple men passing us on the sidewalk. I can't lie; I was practically burning holes into her body with my stare.

*******************

Taking the seat across from me in the booth farthest from the doorway of the diner, I instantly began to speak, grilling her for answers.

"Alright. What the fuck is going on? I just spent the last week mindlessly wandering the city streets with no purpose or idea what I was anymore. I burnt my entire apartment down, and I don't even know why? What the fuck did you do to me? And another thing, why were you covered in blood... and why am I always so damn hungry?"

I was going to keep going, but I was too flustered to even say another word. I just waited for her to say something, anything, in response.

The moment Katherine's lips began to part and form a word, we were interrupted. Rather rudely, I thought.

"Good evening!" Came a sickly sweet voice from above us, "What can I get you two tonight? Anything to drink? How about our house coffee? It's just the thing for a cool night like this."

I looked up and found the voice came from a lithe blonde woman, with dim brown eyes. Her nametag said she was "April." April seemed to be slightly older and the expression that played out across her lined face showed she was rather annoyed we came in. She was a good actress though.

"No thanks," floated Katherine's steady voice from over the table. "We won't be here long; we just need to talk for a bit."

That didn't seem to please our waitress April much at all. Though she did put on another grossly exaggerated smile for our benefit and stalked off, leaving Katherine and me to speak in peace.

"Okay, before we even start, let me tell you I am really sorry for what has happened to you. I wish there was something else I could have done, but I could not have let you die like that."

"I am beginning to think it would have been a better idea to just let me bleed to death," I dryly retorted. "But really, what happened up in your room? What had you so busy and covered in blood?"

I felt slightly more at ease than I did earlier, partly from the tension released when our waitress interrupted us.

Katherine took a short breath, and sighing, began to speak.

"First? My full name is Katharina Aislinn Foley. But I go by Katherine. And I am a vampire approximately two hundred years old, not counting my human life."

A Brief History

Considering Katharina, or Katherine, looked to be only in her mid twenties that would make her almost 230 years old! There is no way, I thought, no way at all. I must have an expressive face, because she continued her story before I had a chance to voice my doubts.

"I was born in the United States before they were even really united." Katherine, or Katharina, breathed these words carefully, as if having difficulties recalling all the details. Was she really that old? She looked stunning, though...

"My father was one of the first Irish immigrants arriving in Philadelphia around 1760. The moment he stepped off the ship, he fell in love at first sight with a petite English woman, very clearly from wealthy descent.

"At least that's the story I was told."

She paused, a look of intense sorrow quickly flooding her face. Just as suddenly, the strong show of emotion disappeared. What did that mean?

"Well, to get right down to it, my mother and father eloped. I was born a short time later in what would come to be known as the state of South Carolina. My life was good. Because of my mother's wealthy lineage and my grandmother's kind heart, I grew up comfortably. Eventually my mother's parents past away and she received a large portion of the inheritance, elevating my quality of living quite a bit.

"It was around this time that my father's family came down to live with us. We had the room and money, while they didn't. My uncle and his two sons became my best friends, always willing to go explore the backwoods with me. Eventually we had to start going to school. My mother put it off for two years after my cousins began going to the town's public schoolhouse. I guess she was worried about me; she never was of very strong character.

"I was sent to several private institutions and began living a sheltered life; due in part to my family's new found social status. By my late teens, I had begun to rebel, sneaking out at night, frequenting various saloons and the occasional brothel.

"After several weeks of my late night adventures, I had found a saloon known's as Rosemary's, which ran a high-class brothel on the sly."

Hearing this, I perked up, obviously more than a little curious where this was heading. She took notice, as I caught a quick and impish smile on her face. A brothel, huh? So she was once a woman of the night, Interesting.

"Yes, you are right, if what I can see on your face is an accurate show of your thoughts; I became a part-time, high-dollar whore, a rather popular one at that." She said this with a blush, either due to embarrassment on her behalf or fond memories from her long gone past.

"However, it went sour very quickly. A strange man began making nightly visits, requesting me every time. His... needs became progressively aggressive, until I finally had enough and fled from him one night when he asked to cut me while I, eh, while I serviced him. I ran scared out to the back balcony and down the stairs, still half dressed. Can you guess who I ran into at the bottom of those steps, Athan?"

It took me a moment to figure out she was talking to me; I had been so engrossed in the story at that point, visualizing everything Katherine said, that I didn't even know what she had asked of me.

"What was that? I am sorry... I missed that last part."

"Can you guess who I ran into at the bottom of those steps, Athan, when I was running away?"

I still had to think, but then it dawned on me why she would ask such a pointed and specific question; she had done the same thing to me. The man she was running from was a vampire.

"Him..." I whispered, the full force of what that meant clear in my voice. "You ran into him, just like I did to you. He was a vampire, wasn't he?"

"Yes, Athan, a vampire." Her face suddenly took on a pained expression. Was that regret I saw? "He bit me that night. I tried fighting, but it was futile. He easily over powered me, and almost killed me. In fact, he was going to leave me for dead, but it was my beauty that saved me. 'Such a pity for something so pretty to die,' he whispered in my ear. 'A beauty like you should live forever.'"

At that moment, she grabbed my hand, suddenly warm. I could feel the emotion practically coursing its way through her. If she felt so strongly about this, why was she telling me? Then again, why had she done anything she did?

"I'll remember those words for the rest of my existence, however much longer that is. Anyway, I went through the same things you did; I wandered around the state aimlessly for almost a month before my killer found me. He took me in and showed me how to hunt. I began to love it, love the thrill of the kill, the blood lust.

"Looking back, I guess my anger over what he did to me spilled out into my new life. I was a goddess of death in my own right. I would seduce men and women alike, bringing them to bed with me, bringing them to their final place of rest."

I was enraptured with her story, her voice having that same hold upon me, but I still didn't get it. Why was she telling me? What did that have to do with me?

"So... Wait," I began, "what does your story have to do with me? I mean, I get that you know what I went through, but what does that actually have to do with me? And you still have told me about earlier, with all the blood."

I looked at her, watching the expressions on her face change, finally settling on one of slight impatience. With a tight smile, she continued her story, as if I hadn't said a thing at all.

"This new life of mine continued on in such a manner for just over twenty years; I was living from victim to victim. I had no other purpose. That all changed very quickly in one night. By then, I had left my killer and mentor to travel on my own. I never held any fond feelings for him, just the knowledge that he was helping me. I made my way back to my old home, where I grew up.

"I got to Charleston on a Sunday, and found it disturbingly quiet. Even the church was closed up. I spent the whole day wandering around town, glimpsing here and there a figure behind a quickly drawn window curtain.

"That night I was going to head over to my old house, to check on my family. I thought it a good idea to hunt first. I was in luck, because at that very instant, I heard a little girl's laughter ring out through the humid summer's evening air. Then I saw her; a little blonde girl was playing right outside the back door of a tidy dwelling.

"I spent no time in whisking her up and rushing her to the tree line, where I left her body. I could hear her poor mother crying out for help only moments later. Due to the ensuing uproar, I thought it would be wise for me to hide out for the night. I would check on my family the next day.

"And so I took to the loft of a nearby barn, and slept very comfortably at that."

Again she paused; I could see her sift through the memories, her expressive face betraying the pain she felt.

"I woke up late the next morning. As soon as the darkness cleared from my mind, I began hearing incensed shouts and cries of outrage. Then the stench hit me; something was burning! Feeling a knot in my stomach grow and tighten, I raced to my house a short distance away, but still isolated from the main city. By the time I got there, the screams and burning odor was almost too much to bear.

"What I saw was horrible. The whole place was consumed by an inferno! A mob was amassed in the front lawn, upon a knoll. I ran towards them, the shock still making my mind do back-flips. Maybe it was the wrong house, I thought. What I gleaned from the crowd told me otherwise.

"Apparently, rumors had been traveling up and down the coast concerning my actions over the years. A sort of infamy overtook my family name. I hadn't been careful. Someone had seen me and recognized my face, covered in blood. I didn't always take them, my victims, to bed. Sometimes I killed them where they stood. I had been discovered."

With a shudder, Katherine's eyes squeezed shut. When she opened her eyes again, she looked tired; the normally brilliant color drained somewhat.

"The town had been collectively harassing my family over the years, to the point where my family members couldn't even leave the front door or stand by an open window without getting a rock thrown at them. My last victim had been a little girl, only thirteen, whom I killed quickly upon entering town the day prior. How was I supposed to know she was the sheriff's only daughter? What was she doing out so late anyway?

"Well, the townspeople put two and two together and assumed I had come back to town to be with my family. That night they decided to take care of it once and for all. As soon as I garnered all I could by flitting around the edges of the crowd, keeping my face hidden..."

Katherine paused, taking a breath. While she was talking, her grip had been slowly increasing until I could feel my knuckles crack and pop. She seemed to notice and quickly pulled her hand away, balling it into the other in her lap.

"Well, as soon as I heard everything I needed to hear I turned and ran into the hell fire surrounding my house. The heat was so intense; I could feel my hair singing and my skin blistering. I didn't care; it was my fault my whole family was being persecuted, murdered! I had to do something! I came upon what was left of the kitchen and found my uncle, passed out on the floor, covered in burns.