Sylvie

Following the distinct scent of human blood ahead of her, Sylvie let her senses guide her through the winding trail about a half mile long towards an apartment complex she knew well.  Coming to a stop on a tall orange clay hill that overlooked the apartments, Sylvie held up her hand. “This is the place.”  Built in the sixties and seventies, the layout wasn’t anything special and the seven buildings were shoved in the space without regard to the land surrounding it.  Along the right side of the lot, two structures were constructed so that they almost formed a makeshift wall.   A third and fourth were built parallel to the main road, complete with a concrete entryway now covered in grime and ivy that held the name ‘Branders Bridge Apartments’ etched into the stone almost like an epitaph.  Finally, along the left side of the property the last three structures had been constructed almost like a small set of bleachers that jutted out from the woods without any forethought of real design.

“This place used to be a decent area to live in.”  Sylvie turned and faced her progeny, her eyes appearing like full blood-moons. “Ever since the crack epidemic from the eighties, this place has become the one spot in Colonial Heights that is as foul as that water in the pool over there.”  She pointed to a couple of guys leaning against vandalized brick walls, “I am sure you know lookouts when you see them.”  

Casey winked, “I do.”  She smiled, “Sylvie, why are you taking the time to explain yourself?”  Casey noticed the run-down kid’s park that had been stripped of all good metal and the only thing left was a rusted merry-go-round. “I have no moral quandary with who we feed from, or even possibly kill.”  Extending her claws Casey rubbed Sylvie’s shoulders slowly.

“What are you do..”  Sylvie started to ask as Casey started to bop her head and begin dancing while circling her.  “..Oh, here we go.”  Sylvie snickered.

Without caring how the pop beat started in her head, Casey giggled and let a few lines of the song Thriller by Michael Jackson escape her lips as she imitated the pop legends dance moves.

“..It's close to midnight,
And something evil's lurking in the dark,
Under the moonlight,

Feeling herself get pushed forward, Sylvie couldn’t help but laugh even in the throes of her blood haze. “What the heck did I do to you?”  Lightly crouching so that she could leap from the clay hill and onto the closest set of apartments, Sylvie added, “The only vampire I know that is about to turn a blood bath into a concert.”  Giving Casey a quick kiss on her cheek, Sylvie took a couple of steps and launched herself into the air.  Gliding through the air effortlessly, Sylvie had her claws extended by the time she’d reached the tall brick building.  Scaling the wall, Sylvie made her way to the rooftop and took a second to see Casey make a final dancing spin then dash off using the shadows for cover.  Content that her progeny would be able to take care of herself, Sylvie crawled to the edge of the shingled roof and peered down to see three guys playing dice for money. “Quandary?”  Sylvie barely whispered to Casey. “How very academic of you to say.”  She laughed, “Why that word?”

After tying up her copper-red hair, Casey leapt onto one of the brick walls and carefully crawled across until she was hovering over the lookout like a black widow ready to pounce on its food. “That’s what you are concerned about?  I am about to drop on this dude like a hammer without any remorse and you are thinking about the word quandary.”  Excitement rushed through Casey’s body and heated her blood with the anticipation of her hunt.  Wanting to try more than just a simple puncture and kill, Casey stretched herself from the wall, using her feet to hold her nearly horizontal as she clamped her hand around the tall man’s mouth and dragged him kicking.  Blowing a soft breath of hot air across the man’s face, Casey whispered, “There we go, no fear right?  I’m your friend, remember?”  When the guard stopped struggling and shook his head, Casey pulled him tightly into her body and crawled to the roof. “A friend that requires a little sacrifice from you.”  Almost as though the tough guy was asleep, he laid limply against Casey and nodded at every suggestion she gave.  Locking her fangs into place, Casey took a deep breath and relished the scent of the man’s blood just below the surface of his skin.  Swiftly tearing through the thin membrane, Casey hit the jugular vein as though it was born to her.

Sylvie had been ready to jump into the pack of three when she heard Casey feeding. “Casey, keep the count in your head if you don’t want to kill him.  I know it will be tough since you are only a few hours old.”  Convinced that her progeny heard the simple command, Sylvie waited for the small pack of three guys to once more pick up their dice before silently dropping in the middle of the group.  A few curses of surprise came from the men as they stumbled back a few steps.  Taking advantage of their hesitation, Sylvie grabbed one guy by his neck, then blew her iron-heavy breath across the noses of the other two, sending them into a drunken stupor. “You aren’t worried about the money on the ground. You both know it will be there later, right?”  Sylvie calmly stated as the two enthralled men shook their heads. “Good.  Let’s go around the corner and you protect me while your friend and I have a small discussion.”  Dragging the one guy by the throat, Sylvie darted out of the light and into the shadows.  Ordering the others to stand guard and not watch, the elder vampire swiftly brought her kicking captive’s neck to her mouth and began feeding.  Raging through the four holes like a river, blood poured into Sylvie’s mouth and down her parched throat.  Unlike normal, the precious fluid didn’t immediately offer relief and instead was absorbed into her very being much like water seeping into sand.  Familiar with the way her frenzy worked, Sylvie kept pulling blood from the first man until his body turned to dust and floated away in the light breeze. “Casey…”  Sylvie stopped and licked her lips, “...I don’t know what your blood frenzy will be like, but be aware that if you are in one..”  Sylvie pulled the second man to her lips, “..You will not feel sedated after your first.” 

Watching as her lookout turned to dust in the wind, Casey half snickered. “Sylvie, the counting didn’t work either.  Then again, I wasn’t sure I wanted the dude to survive.”  Casey heard Sylvie gulping as though she’d not fed in a few days. “I..I’m fine.  Do you need me there?  Maybe my blood will help?”

Reducing the second gambler to dust, Sylvie licked her fingers and grabbed the final guy. “No, that’s alright Casey.”  Sylvie stopped feeding to explain herself further, “I am sure your blood would be more than nourishing for me, so that isn’t the issue.”

“I liked being fed from, if you recall.”  Casey lightly giggled as she recalled the feeling. “If my blood is stronger, why not?”