Life of a Deadman

"I quickly scooped him up and bowled out the back door, laying him down in the cool grass. I could tell he wasn't going to make it. I didn't have any time to spare, so I ran back inside looking for more of my doomed family. I could find nothing but fire, ash and the charred remains of my family. My old uncle was all I had left, and even he was about to leave me.

"That's when I decided what to do. I slashed my wrist open with a piece of glass from the door I broke open, and began pouring the blood all over his face. By the time he started to actively drink I was already too weak to continue; I was practically dry."

A tear began its slow decent, tinged in pink, leaving a shining trail down her cheek. I wanted to wipe it away, but didn't dare move. I wanted to take her hand, but again, I didn't dare move. So I waited.

"I stopped and pulled my wrist away from his face, squeezing down to staunch whatever blood was left. Looking down at my poor, poor uncle, I almost screamed. My blood had done nothing more than to make him painfully aware of what was happening, what had happened to the family and him. I saw him writhing on the grass, covered in blisters where there was skin. Where there wasn't..." Katharine trailed off again, a pregnant pause filling the air between us.

I felt like I should have been doing something, anything, to relieve her of the pain she was so obviously feeling. I was a statue though, transfixed to the seat, listening intently, unmoving.

"Where there wasn't blistered skin, there was just bone, blackened and sticky with burnt blood. He began screaming, no, wailing, so loudly it made me cringe. I couldn't handle it. I was just about to flee, when he abruptly went silent and his hand reached upwards and grabbed my shoulder. I could feel the burning slime on my skin; the stench was sickening.

"All he did was say my name, 'Katharina,' before his arm dropped to the ground and his whole body just seemed to sag. I could practically see the life melt away from him, leaving a charred, bloody shell in front of me.

By this time, Katherine was openly crying, her tears slowly streaming down her face, leaving light pink stains on her ivory skin. This time I did reach up and stroke her cheek, wiping away the tears. I let my hand linger before dropping it onto the table between us. She seemed to collect herself and continued.

"I did the only thing I knew how to do. I ran. I didn't stop for almost two days. By the time I just gave in to my sadness and collapsed, I had no idea where I was. The only thoughts running through my mind were of my family, of my uncle. I tried to save him, but I succeeded only extending his suffering. It was my fault my whole family got murdered, and my uncle knew it! He even said my name before he died. I knew that if he had lived, become like me, he would have hated me forever. But that didn't make it right, I still let him die, let my whole family burn.

"I gave up. I literally had dug myself a shallow grave in my misery and finally threw myself into it. At that exact moment, the moonlit sky darkened and let loose a torrential downpour, washing away any trace of my existence. My shallow grave happened to be in what is now known as the Congaree Swamp, a national park in central South Carolina. It was there I stayed and rot for the next century and a half, until I woke up two years ago."

I felt overwhelmed; somewhat stunned regarding the story I was just told. Katherine conveyed the story with such emotion that it had to be real. But how? And why did she wake up? Why is she here?

"That is almost too much for me to handle right now," I spoke up, "but, I am sorry... I still don't really get what that has to do with me. And how did you wake up? How did you live through that?" I hastily went quiet, as I realized I was assaulting her with another barrage of questions.

She smiled though, in spite of everything. "Aren't you hungry? Lets eat first, then we can talk some more."

I was about to protest, saying that I wasn't really hungry, but the sly, almost excited look on Katherine's face made me think better of it.

"Okay..." I said slowly, "What's for dinner?"

The Kill

Almost as if on queue, our waitress April made her way to the booth in which we sat. She made a disdainful face seeing Katherine's reddened eyes and shot an even more venomous glance in my direction before plastering on an obviously fake and painful smile for our benefit.

"Did you guys change your minds yet? We are going to be closing up soon, so if you want something you might want to order now."

April just smiled. I had a bad feeling about what might come next.

"Actually, yes." Katherine's voice took on a quite, almost seductive tone. I would have done anything, had she asked it of me in that tone. April seemed to feel the same way.

"What can I do for you then?" Our waitress' eyes were heavily lidded, and she seemed genuinely happy to help us. What was going on?

"I'll take an orange juice," I said, trying to keep everything on track, for my sake. Katherine had other ideas.

"April, wouldn't you rather come out with us? It would be really sweet of you to accompany us tonight..." Katherine let her words slide off her tongue, placing full emphasis on the fact that we would like April to come with us.

Our waitress looked confused for a moment, as if unsure what to say, or what exactly was going on. She appeared to have figured it out, though, as she quietly agreed.

"Just let me go clock out and take off this apron..." April whispered. She looked dreamy, like she just woke up from a rather explicit dream.

"What is going on, Katherine?! I really just want orange juice!" My words were hushed, but even I could hear the uneasiness that permeated them. I was almost scared. Were we going to kill her?

"Just relax, Athan. You will like it, I promise." Katherine then slid out from the booth, and taking my hand, guided me to the door and out into the dark cold night.

We were waiting only a minute, but it felt like an eternity. My mind was so jumbled with emotions, I didn't know if I was excited, scared or nervous. I thought I was going to be sick. When I heard the diner's door shut again, I turned to find April standing at the entrance wrapped in a heavy overcoat staring at us. Waiting.

"Hello, April. Why don't you come here and walk with us?" Katherine seemed relaxed, despite the absurdity I felt the situation exuded.

April just blithely walked towards us, her eyes not leaving Katherine. Grabbing a hold of April's hand, Katherine escorted her around to the back of the diner, leaving me to stand there a frozen statue of indecision.

I knew that if I followed, I would be committing myself to the life I had been forced into. I would be taking part in the murder of our poor, although pitiful, waitress. Could I do that? On the other hand, I knew that if I walked away, I would invariably return to mindlessly wandering the city, scavenging for survival.

Remembering the horrible grey void my life had been the past week, I made up my mind.

By the time I reached them, just barely out of sight, hidden in the shadows of the surrounding buildings up against the wall of the diner, Katherine had already removed April's overcoat and was holding her in what seemed like a romantic embrace.

Apparently, Katherine heard my approach because she looked up towards me and smiled. I sighed. There wasn't blood on her face; the dark deed hadn't been performed yet.

"Athan, why don't you come here? She really is quite a nice person, if you let her get to know you." Her words dripped with shameless pleasure.

"April? Why don't you go over and give Athan a hug?"

As if in a trance, April pulled away from Katherine and made her way towards me, slightly unsteady. I could have stopped her, but I didn't. As soon as she was close enough, I felt myself pull her into my embrace.

A strong aroma enveloped all my senses, and looking, I saw two jagged crescents in April's neck. There was no blood though. Apparently, this didn't have to be messy.

My sense of reason was overwhelmed as I pulled her neck to my mouth, breathing in deeply her arousing scent.

And then my world exploded. My eyelids shot open as soon as I felt the first drop trickle down my throat. It was a liquid fire that set my insides aflame! As the flow increased from a dribble to a torrent, I could feel some of the burning fluid escape my lips and drip down my cheek and chin. I didn't care, I was enthralled. I was in love all over again.

But I wasn't in love with the dying woman; I was in love with the blood surging through my being. I could feel the white hot burn all the way to my toes, warming my dead body. I felt alive.

Before I knew it, she went limp. It was over, her body already cooling in my arms. But still I drew from her neck, trying to get every last drop out of her. Finally, I dropped the body, watching the now empty husk crumple in a heap at my feet.

Katherine's soft touch broke my stare burning holes into the misshapen figure collapsed on the cold ground before me.

"How was it? I promised you would like it, didn't I?

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

My body was electric with feeling, my mind haywire with emotions. I could only make one thing out of the whole mess; I had to have more.

I was still in a state of shock when Katherine took me by the hand, leading us back to her apartment. It wasn't until we stepped out of the elevator that I regained some sort of control over my senses. And I liked what I saw.

Katherine was walking ahead of me, going to unlock the door to her apartment at the end of the hallway. Coming up behind her, I could smell the same scent that April exuded, only so much stronger. She was practically calling out to me, asking me to have a taste, and she didn't even know it!

She found out rather quickly though. As soon as the door was opened and we were inside, I lightly touched her shoulder causing her to turn around, at the same time slamming the door behind me.

"Athan? What is it?" She probably would have said more, but I didn't give her the chance to even take her next breath.

My mouth roughly closed over hers as I pulled her to me. She was the one locked in my embrace then, not the other way around. Her earthly scent was almost overpowering, but it only spurred me on. I broke the forceful kiss, tasting some of her blood on my tongue, before burying my face in the crook of her neck.

"Athan! Wha- what are you... doing?" Katherine breathed, barely able to control her own voice. She didn't seem to know what was going on, or what to do about it, so she did nothing to stop it.

And then, I had it again, coursing through my body, except this was different. It was more intense, almost painful, but still so very delicious. I kept at it, until I felt her pull away of her own volition. There was a fire in her eyes that should have scared me. Then I felt it, that glorious pulling sensation as her teeth sank into my own neck.

She figured out what was going on. And I didn't bother stopping her. All I did was lower my mouth to her neck again, tearing at her, drawing out the liquid fire I so craved.

And so it continued, for almost half an hour, the blood trade going back and forth. It was incredibly intense and almost erotic. I dare say I liked it better than sex. By the time we had exhausted each other, Katherine and I had to help one another up from the floor.

It took some time, but my mind slowly cleared up, feeling as if recovering from a short lived fugue. Not a word was said as we unsteadily made our way to her bedroom. The lights were off, and we didn't bother turning them on.

Before I knew it, we were collapsed onto her bed and the dark curtains of deep sleep closed our eyes.

Awakening

When I finally came too, it was early morning and still dark outside; the only light in her room was the soft glow of the rising sun filtering in from between her heavy curtains. As the suppressive sleep cleared from my eyes and head, I noticed that I was again naked and swaddled in the luxurious linens of her enormous bed.

When did that happen? I paid it no further thought, because at that moment it occurred to me that I was all alone in the bed, the feeling only enhanced by the bed's empty expanses.

"Katherine? What's going on?" I called out, my voice reverberating richly off the walls. I didn't think anyone was there, at all. "Where are you?"

So, this is how it ends up again, I thought, alone and clueless. I figured I might as well get dressed and take a look around the place. It took me some time, but I eventually found a large stained-oak wardrobe buried in the back of her even bigger walk-in closet that held what seemed many different styles of men's clothing.

Were those taken from her victims?

After settling on a set of clothing that actually fit and suited my tastes I made my way out from her long closet and into the dark shadows of her room. I turned, glancing movement to my right, and almost jumped when I saw myself, reflected in a long standing mirror tucked away into the corner of the room, right next to the closet entrance.

What really startled me was my skin; I no longer held the bluish pallor of death. Instead, my skin seemed to almost glow, warm with life. Is this what happens when we feed? So that's how she looked so human that night, so beautiful?

I was so intrigued by the discovery that I didn't hear the door of the room open, or hear the soft padding of feet crossing the carpeted floor. I almost swung when I felt a gentle hand touch my arm.

"You're awake, Athan."

"Where did you go? Every time I wake up in your bed, it seems I am naked and alone." A smile began to creep across Katherine's face as I continued. "I hope you don't treat all of your guests the same way. Oh, I borrowed some clothes if you don't mind; I couldn't find mine."

"Well, for one, most of my guests never wake up, and they usually don't even leave in one piece." She paused, giving my new clothes a quick appraisal. "You don't mind wearing somebody else's old clothes, then?

"So, these are from your victims. Why keep them?"

"It is just something I do. Kind of like a prize, except not. I have all the women's clothing in another closet. I guess there really is no reason for it. Maybe I knew you were going to need them someday?"

"Right," I laughed, "Because you knew that things would be like this. Where were you, though?"

I watched as she turned from me and began to take off her long coat, tossing it haphazardly across the back of one of the several chairs in her room.

"I was looking for something," she answered vaguely. That she didn't want me to know what she was looking for was obvious enough from her dismissive reply.

Seating myself on the edge of her bed, I began to think. What all had happened? How was I able to act so normal about everything? My demeanor slowly cooled as the events of the past couple of days finally started to sink in. I was a murderer, an unnatural beast. I just killed a woman, drinking her dry, and then proceeded to continue the bloody game with Katherine. What was she looking for anyway?

Then it hit me; she was probably looking for a place to get rid of the body, considering that we just unceremoniously left April's misshapen form crumpled in the alleyway. And she still never told me what was going on when I first came back to her, although I had a good idea. But why was she so damn bloody?

We still had a lot to talk about.

"Katherine..." I said, my voice much quieter than I intended. "Katherine, I don't think I can do this."

"Athan? Don't start like that." She looked at me, a strange expression playing across her face.

"First, I still don't really know what I am. Second, you still haven't told me what was going on up here before I came up, and why you were so bloody. And finally, I can't just kill people. I am still human you know, just different!" I was speaking in a cool, collected manner, but my voice was still shaking. I felt like I was about to lose it.

Katherine seemed to notice, and before I had time to react, she was next to me holding my head against her chest. She was so hard to predict! One moment, she was cold and methodical, while in the next instant she was a tender, loving woman. I had a feeling I didn't want to see her angry.

"Athan, look, this new life I have forced you into isn't a pretty one. But it's livable; in fact, once you get used to it, you'll find that being like us is not so bad after all. And killing? Well, you wouldn't mind killing a deer for the meat would you? Athan, we are not human. Not by a long shot.

"You are not just plagued with some malady that makes you thirst for and thrive on human blood. You, Athan dear, honestly have been taken over by something else entirely. Human you are not."

Pulling away from her embrace, I sat staring at her, intently and unsuccessfully trying to read her face. "Then what am I? Vampires don't exist. I shouldn't be alive right now, but I feel more alive than ever!"

"I know of somebody who will be able to give you perspective regarding your new life. First however, I am going to have to look for him, if he even still lives. Before that even, you are right, you still have some questions I need to answer for you."

With that, Katharine let go of my hands and folded them smoothly upon her lap. She was waiting for me to start bombarding her with questions again. I had so many thoughts and questions running crazy through my head, but when it came time to put words to them, I could only bring to mind a couple.

"Alright," I began, "what were you doing in your room that caused you to become so bloody that night I found you? I mean, I have an idea, but I know now that it doesn't have to be a messy or violent experience."

"Well, Athan, you are right; it doesn't have to be either messy or violent. Let me put it like this: Some people like soft, loving, and romantic sex. They like to make love. Others, like myself, prefer relations of the more extreme variety."

"So... What you are saying is you choose to let the kill become violent and messy?" The woman was becoming more and more of a mystery to me the more I got to know her, if that was even possible. With incredulity in my voice I let her know exactly that. "You don't make much sense to me, Katherine. Not much at all."

"It's not that I let 'the kill,' as you so aptly put it, become so gruesome," she slowly spoke, "it is just that I like to let my victims think they could get away. A struggle is always more fun."

I could almost see the amusement dancing in her eyes and smile as she watched me nervously flounder for something else to say. What was my next question? I couldn't seem to focus; I kept getting the disturbing thought that Katherine could turn into a ruthless predatorial cat of some sort at any second and eat me.

"Weren't you going to ask me something about how I woke up again, after being buried in a swamp for so long?" Katherine offered, obviously wanting to move along in this conversation.

"Oh, yes. That's right." How did she wake up? "Did you just open your eyes one day and decided that being surrounded by rotten swamp water and mud didn't suit you anymore? What made you rejoin the rest of the world?"

Lying back on the bed she stared at the ceiling for some time before giving me an answer. It occurred to me that she might not have really given much thought to how and why she woke up and climbed out of her self-made grave.

"I really don't know Athan. You see, as the years passed and I remained buried in the swamp, I would see images of the outside world in my head. It was like dreaming for a really long time." Katherine sat up again and looked at me. Throwing caution to the wind, I put my hand on hers, motioning for her to continue.