Far away from Arbor Woods, in the idyllic village of Pine Springs, a different girl met a different boy, and a fairy tale romance ensued. Sort of.
Molly Kwiat had but one vice in her life, and that was caffeine. As far as having vices go, Molly was a pretty tame girl. Each day before work she treated herself to a double mocha latte from the Pine Springs Cafe.
One fine (if by fine, you mean hot and humid) summer day, Molly swung open the cafe door and out into the brilliant sunlight walked Patrick Alpin. Each stopped to gaze at the other. Tall and slender, Patrick looked down at Molly with captivating almond shaped eyes. Their color seemed in constant transition from brown to hazel to blue and back again. She could have remained lost in his eyes all day but there was something different, something a little odd, about this young man. Finally, it dawned on her. Patrick Alpin sparkled. It wasn’t a constant sparkle, as if he were some sort of human disco ball. It was more like any exposed skin was embedded with diamond chips that the sunlight would catch, causing him to sparkle.
The rest of him was intriguing as well to Molly. His hair was dark and wavy, his lips were full and sensuous, probably very kissable, and she was sure he was chiseled from ivory, he was so pale and hard looking. HIs dark t-shirt and jeans accentuated his muscles very nicely. He was, Molly thought, a dreamboat. He had to be a dream. Not only was he a hunk, he sparkled. Normal humans don’t do that. At this moment though, she didn’t really care what was normal. Molly was entranced.
For his part, Partrick thought Molly was pretty, and he liked pretty girls. He decided there and then that he would have her.
Courtship began as soon as introductions were made. A whirlwind romance followed. She was irresistibly drawn to him, a moth to a flame that burned hot as a blacktop road in August. Daddy and Momma were dismayed by the ardor their daughter exhibited for this young man. Frightened of it too. They feared those unguarded moments that can have lingering consequences. Molly was an intelligent girl, practical. She would come to her senses, her parents hoped, and realize that Patrick was nothing more than a passing fancy. There was something off about that boy. While he was polite and good mannered, they simply didn’t trust him.
Molly’s senses were altered though. Completely entranced by Patrick, she felt love and other stirrings like she never had before. He was well read and intelligent, and when he spoke of historical events it was as if he had actually been there. He was caring and funny, and he was surely the most handsome creature to ever set foot in Pine Springs. Most important, to Molly, was that she felt safe with him, even in those times when they parked his little Ford Mustang out in the woods, away from prying eyes. He kissed her like no one had kissed her before, his strong hands caressed places on her body unknown to all the other boys who tried previously but were rejected. She never once thought about brushing his hands away. She loved every moment his body was in contact with hers, and longed for his touch when they were apart.
This was most certainly not the sort of thing Molly’s parents had in mind for her. She was not supposed to be the kind of girl who got all filled up with heat and passion and desire. They had raised Molly to be a virtuous specimen of her gender. Until she found the proper Christian gentleman to share her life with, there was to be no longing or wanting or craving. Her virtue was to be intact on her wedding night. That Molly was a vivacious girl, a petite, blue eyed blonde didn’t make things easy. Many a boy paid ample attention to her. Sometimes she literally had to fight them off with sticks. But Molly was what used to be called “a good girl.” Impure thoughts found no refuge in her heart or mind. Teenage males and their accompanying urges did not find a receptive audience. Their roaming hands were brushed away, their leering faces slapped. Emphasizing the point of his daughter’s chastity, Daddy spent evenings polishing his shotgun on the front porch of the family home. One by one her suitors fell by the wayside. The boys of Pine Springs learned they had to satisfy their lusts elsewhere and Molly’s life became one of quiet complacency.
As a child, Momma taught Molly how to behave like a lady, giving her etiquette lessons, teaching her how to cook and sew. Meanwhile, Daddy created a tomboy of sorts. He taught her to swim, how to catch, clean and grill a fish, and how to hunt. She handled a bow and arrow well but was a natural with a gun in her hands. A perfect markswoman, she captained her high school shooting team.
Molly never had to be taught to work hard as it was something that came naturally to her. From a young age, Molly helped out on Daddy’s hog farm. She always enjoyed taking care of them, feeling a special rapport with them. She slopped them, cleaned their pens, learned to spot the signs of sickness. Molly loved her hogs like other girls loved their dog or cat. Even as an adult, it was still her job to make sure the hogs were fed so Daddy didn’t have to worry about checking on them every day.
Smart as a whip, Molly was a straight-A student from elementary school through her two years at the community college. After that, she lived at home and worked at the town’s only bookstore. Probably some material in those books not suitable for decent folk, her parents thought, but while they mostly sheltered Molly, they also knew it was impossible to keep the outside world entirely at bay. Besides, a little second hand knowledge of man’s darkness would make Molly appreciate the cozy confines of Pine Springs all the more, and keep her near them.
Molly’s parents had made plans, but there’s no planning for someone like Patrick Alpin.
Patrick had quickly become the center of Molly’s life. Captivated by him when they were together, she dreamed of him when they were apart. He had such a strange force about him, Molly thought, but I love it and him. This “strange force” didn’t worry Molly. In his presence, she felt calm. With him in her life, Molly experience an inner peace such as she had never known could exist.
There was no shaking Molly’s faith in Patrick. She was steadfast, even when Patrick slowly began to tell her the truth. He told her tales of people, whole families and clans, who lived hundreds of years, aging slowly while generations of mere mortals passed from this earth. With luck, some could be immortal. She thought the stories were silly at first, as if he were trying to have some fun at her expense. Patrick persisted with his stories though, and his earnestness made an impression on Molly. Still, she was skeptical. What kind of people live nearly forever? It was ludicrous. Molly didn’t want anymore tall tales, she wanted his lips on hers.
One warm, moonlit night, the couple sat on a picnic blanket beneath an old oak tree. They kissed, they cuddled, they spoke of having a life together, of sharing their future.
“You have to believe me,” Patrick said to her, “these stories about people who can have eternal life on earth. They aren’t fiction.”
Molly was growing a little frustrated with all this talk of immortals. “How do people live forever, Patrick? What’s their secret? Wouldn’t they want to write a book or something and make some money? After all, everybody wants to live forever without aging, right? That’s what our modern society is all about.”
“True, but it’s not necessarily all that it’s cracked up to be. The things you have to do to be immortal aren’t for everybody. Not everyone would be up to the task. And not everyone should be immortal.” He looked at Molly and smiled. “Would you want Donald Trump walking the earth forever?”
Molly chuckled. “No, I would not want that. I don’t think anybody would, other than Donald Trump.” Her smile faded. “Seriously though, you’re beginning to worry me with all this crazy talk.”
“Molly, it’s not crazy talk. I love you and if we’re going to be together, you need to know the truth about me.” Patrick looked off into the distance. He wasn’t even sure why he felt the need to be so candid with Molly. He hadn’t been that way with other girls. It was kind of fun to tell her this stuff though, sort of like therapy. Or maybe he just was looking forward to the shock value the truth would have.
“Molly honey, I need to tell you the reality of who, or what, I am.”
She smirked a bit when she heard that. Molly thought she knew him pretty well by now. Looking into his eyes, she said, “Okay, honey, tell me your reality.”
He saw how beautiful her face looked in the soft light of the moon. He felt a slight pang of regret, knowing how things would end. It faded quickly. Finally, he spoke. “I’m a vampire, Molly.”
There was a moment of silence before Molly burst out in laughter. Patrick had expected that. He looked at her without speaking.
“So, Dracula,” she said to him, “tell me about the vampire life. Have you been around for centuries? How do you do it? Stay alive, I mean.” She leaned in close. “Do you suck the blood of young virgins? I might be able to find one for you, if you play your cards right.”
“All right, I wouldn’t believe me either.” He let out a little laugh, then laid on his back, staring up at the sky.
“I’m not that old. I was born in March of 1918. My parents died when I was a baby, during the influenza epidemic. My adoptive parents turned out to be blood sucking monsters. They weren’t very discriminate as to who they transformed. Men, women, children, they didn’t care.” He turned his head to look at Molly, an earnest expression on his face. “But I’m not like that. I’m not like them, Molly. I try to be a respectable member of vampire society.”
She laughed again. “There’s a vampire society? What do you guys do, have dances and bingo nights?”
Patrick smiled. “No. Well, yeah, sometimes we do get together and play bingo, you know, for charity, if there’s one of us who’s down on his luck. But that’s beside the point. It’s an informal society. We try to live by a certain code, we don’t transform anyone without their agreeing to it, and we try not to transform just anybody. Like I said before, there are those who should not be eternal. In fact, we call it the Trump Rule. Of course, not everybody plays by the rules, but that’s true of any society. We are only human. Sort of.”
Molly was skeptical but entertained. Patrick had a quick mind, she gave him that. She decided she wanted to hear more. “How do you stay so youthful? You look pretty good for someone born in 1918.”
“Thanks. It’s the constant infusion of new blood...”
“Whoa, whoa. Hold on now. Are you out there biting girls and not telling me about it. I’d like to know where your fangs have been, buddy.”
“No. I haven’t transformed a human in quite a while. I prefer to feast on animals. Sometimes I go hunting for big game out in the national parks. Bear, deer, that sort of thing. But that’s too much for one person, and I’m not much for traveling in a herd...”
“A group of vampires is called a ‘herd’?”
“No. It’s just an expression.”
Molly was feeling mischievous. “What is a group of vampires called then?”
“A group of vampires is called ‘a group of vampires.’ Can I go on now?” He gave her an overly exasperated look. She smiled and told him to continue.
“Anyway, I feed on small animals for the most part.”
“But I’ve seen you eat food, you know, normal human food.”
“Well, duh, just because I drink blood doesn’t mean I’m going to give up hamburgers and fries.” He sat up now, excited to be expounding on the lives of vampires. “You know, there’s a lot of myths about us. Like the food thing. My people love real food. We just need to drink the blood of living creatures. Think of it as a blood supplement.”
“That’s funny. What else? What about being out in the sun? I’ve seen you in the sun, sweetie, and you didn’t turn to dust.”
“Myth. We can be out in all kinds of weather conditions. I mean, really, why would being a blood drinker prevent you from being out in the sun. Doesn’t make any sense. Personally, I love the sun, and the hot weather. That’s why I moved here to Pine Springs. Oregon was nice, but it was always cloudy and rainy. Very depressing. And that whole turning to dust thing. That’s only in the movies. When we die, and yes, we can die, there’s a body left to be disposed of.”
“So, what do vampires die from?”
“Often we bring it on ourselves. A vampire just gets tired of living the life, stops feeding and then dies. A kind of suicide, if you will. It is very difficult to kill us though. I mean, if we get run over by a truck or something, and squished beyond recognition, then, yeah, our heart will stop beating. But a vampire can take a lot of abuse, get shot, stabbed, that sort of thing, and pretty much go on like nothing ever happened. The constant infusion of fresh blood from another living creature is what keeps us young. It makes us stronger as well, stronger than any human.”
“What about a good old crucifix through the heart?”
“That would do it. It doesn’t have to be a crucifix though. Any object, a bullet, a knife, whatever, as long it goes directly into the heart, that will kill us.”
Molly mulled over that information, trying to think of more questions. “Oooh, oooh, I got one for you.” Molly was having fun playing along, as if all this vampire business were real. “What about flying? Can you fly? Can you turn into a bat and fly around? Because if you could do that, that would be really cool.”
“Uhmm, no. We don’t turn into other animals, not even bats. Nor can we fly. But we are incredibly fast and light on our feet. That’s where the flying myth comes from. We’re so quick, we give the impression of flying. We can also appear places.”
“Appear places? What do you mean?”
“This is a little more difficult to explain. Just as vampires are stronger than mortals physically, we are stronger mentally. Or at least we know how to use our thoughts to do things in ways that mortals don’t.”
“Example please.”
“Well, we can use our minds to open a locked door for example. We concentrate on whatever it is that we want then use our mental willpower to make it happen. Some vampires, the smarter, more advanced of us, with more experience, can even temporarily change atmospheric conditions.”
Molly let out another hearty laugh. “Now that is rich. Oh, sweetie, you’ve gone too far now. Can you make it rain? Can you bring the sun out at night?”
“I can prove it to you. Let me show you.”
“I think you’e going to have to.” Molly put a hand on Patrick’s thigh. “Or we can cut out this vampire nonsense and make out.”
Gently, he swept her hand away. “No. It’s time I showed you.”
Molly looked at him expectantly as Patrick sat motionless with his eyes closed. Within seconds, Molly felt her head grow heavy, and imagined it filled with grey clouds, roiling and tumbling over each other. The woods around them grew silent. Molly tried to blink her eyes but couldn’t. Molly jumped as lightning bolts fired in the distant sky. Looking around her, she found the moon had disappeared, trees were melting, and a silent wind blew hard enough to bend the grass, making it level with the ground. She could feel none of it, all she felt was heat, and it emanated from Patrick.
Frightened, Molly wanted the dream to end, she wanted to run but she couldn’t move. Instead, she was compelled to look at Patrick. Eyes still closed, still motionless, his skin glowed faintly. His body threw off heat and it enveloped Molly, surrounding her like a fiery blanket.
It wasn’t just the trees now, but everything around Molly was melting, until there was nothing but darkness and Patrick and her. The heat was so intense, Molly thought she was burning up from deep inside, so hot that she might spontaneously combust. The world had become incredibly strange, yet she simply stared, mesmerized by Patrick.
He opened his eyes. They blazed, red as the fires of hell, with pinpoint black pupils. His lips parted enough to flash porcelain white fangs. He leaned over, not touching Molly, but breathing her in, devouring her without any contact at all. Molly felt the essence of who she had been drain away. Her mind became a blank canvas, no thought, no emotion, no love or lust, just acquiescence.
“Molly,” Patrick whispered, “eternity. Together.”
Molly found it difficult to breathe.
“We will be one together, my little flower. Forever. Let me have you Molly.”
The only word she could muster was, “Yes.”
Their clothes flew off, landing in small heaps around them. Limbs intertwined, the lovers rolled on the blanket. Hot, passionate kisses and tender caresses were abundant. They explored each other head to toe, they luxuriated in each others bodies.
All good and wonderful things must come to an end. Molly at first refused to release her grip on Patrick but finally relented. The intensity of the heat ebbed, the trees were no longer melted, and the silence of the woods was broken by chirping crickets.Normalcy returned, yet things were different, at least for Molly.
The two laid on their backs holding hands, lost in their own thoughts.
Well, she thought, that was amazing. I’ve actually had sex and it was amazing! At least I think it I was. I have absolutely nothing to compare it with, but I think it was amazing. Maybe we’ll do it again and I’ll know for sure it was amazing.
The things I do to get laid, Patrick thought.
Patrick drifted off for short bouts of sleep, while Molly would occasionally look over at him and smile. After about a half hour, Patrick got up, collected his clothes from their various locations and began to dress. Molly was confused.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she inquired. “The whole eternity together thing? Doesn’t that require biting my neck? Drinking my blood?”
Patrick didn’t reply, so she continued. “I let you do things to me. You promised we would be together forever.”
Without a word, he continued putting his clothes on, looking a little flustered when he couldn’t find his shoes.
Molly began to shout, and for the first time in her life she used rather indelicate language. “You lousy piece of shit. I was willing to become a blood sucking vampire with you and now what? I get nothing!”
He looked at her cooly. “You got to have some fun. That’s something.”
“Fun? Every belief I’ve ever held, every decent value, my religion, my whole life as I knew it, I was willing to give up for you? And you call that ‘fun’?” Infuriated, her body began to tremble slightly from the force of her anger. “I thought you were the love of my life. You deceived me! You played some cheap trick on my mind, some cheap vampire trick, and now...now I’m not a decent woman. Because of some stupid vampire! You’re nothing more than a worthless horndog!”
Patrick found his shoes and slipped his feet into them.
Molly continued to rant. “You promised me eternity together. Don’t promises mean anything to you? Or are vampires just natural liars?”
“I changed my mind, that’s all. It happens.”
She was dumbfounded. Feeling foolish and used, she stared off into the distance. “I can’t believe I fell for you. I should have known you were too good to be true. You think I don’t know how you sparkled in the sun?” She mocked his low, husky voice, “ ‘It’s a vampire thing.’ Yeah, right. Body glitter is not a vampire thing. Did you not think after all that kissing and sweating the glitter wouldn’t rub off? I am so stupid. I knew you lied to me and I still wanted to spend forever with you.”
He looked at her and with a hint of pity in his voice said, “Oh, Molly, you’re just not the eternity type. Now put your clothes on and I’ll take you home.” He turned his back on her and walked to his car. He got in, started the engine, then started to return to Molly, saying, “I’ll help you fold the blanket.”
Preoccupied with getting his shirt to lay unwrinkled over his flat stomach, he didn’t notice Molly had stood up. Finally looking up from his shirt, he stopped in his tracks when he saw her. His eyes twinkled, and his lips formed a slight grin.
Molly was still naked, save for the .22 caliber pistol in her right hand, which was hanging by her side.
“Oh, Molly, you’re being so dramatic,” Patrick said as he chuckled.
“You took something from me.” Molly spoke firmly, but without anger. “You took something that I can never get back. It’s only fair that I take something from you in return.”
“You’re being overly emotional, Molly,” Patrick said calmly. “Think about what you’re doing. Do you know how quickly I could get that cap gun from your hands? I don’t want to hurt you, so put it back wherever it came from. And besides, you’re not the kind of girl who shoots people, are you, Mol...”
The first bullet pierced his heart before he could finish saying her name. He stood, swaying a little in the breeze while a confused look came to his face.
The second bullet lodged next to the first. He still did not fall.
She fired again. Slightly off the mark, she hit the aorta, just above the heart. Patrick fell forward as if pushed by a gust of wind.
Keeping the gun trained on him, Molly walked to where his body lay and nudged him with her foot. No sign of life. Molly noted that he had not bled. Must have been a quart low, she thought. “Asshole,” she said out loud.
Molly knew she couldn’t just leave a dead vampire and his Ford Mustang out here in the woods. It was isolated, but sooner or later someone, a hunter perhaps, would stumble upon the scene and questions would be asked.
Quickly, Molly dressed, then tucked the gun in her purse. Flinging open the car door, she reached in and popped open the trunk. Molly threw the blanket in the trunk, eyeballed it for size, then decided that Patrick would fit in there as well.
Grabbing him under the armpits, she dragged him behind the car. She propped him up against the bumper and attempted to lift him by gripping his wrists and pulling up on his arms. This did not work. He’s dead weight, she thought, then chuckled at her little joke. She laid his body flat on the ground, crouched down like a weightlifter, put one arm under his back, another behind his knees and picked him up as she would a baby. His head banged on the side of the car as she dumped him into the trunk, but he didn’t seem to mind. His feet stuck out, but Molly arranged Patrick so that all of him fit in the trunk’s confines.
Departing the woods, Molly drove the car as serenely as a person going to church. She came home to a house dark but for the porch light. Thankfully, Daddy was not waiting with his shotgun.
She steered the car to the hog feeding area. The hogs stirred from their slumber and began to gather near the fence where Molly stood, stripping the clothes from Patrick while he still lay in the trunk. Molly found it was easier to get a dead body out of a car trunk than in to it. She opened the gate to the pen and dragged her former boyfriend in. The hogs gathered around Patrick as she walked out, closing the gate behind her.
Through the rest of the night, into the early morning, Molly’s beloved hogs feasted on vampire.
After disposing of Patrick, she drove his car to the far reaches of Daddy’s farm, where there was a large, mostly forgotten, pond. There was a gentle decline in the land toward the water. Molly got the car as close as she dared to the water’s edge, put the clutch in neutral, then stepped out. Giving it a little push from behind, the car took its sweet time easing itself into the murky depths. Molly stood and watched until not one bit of it was above water. The concentric circles of ripples the sinking vehicle sent up as it sank faded away to nothing. The early morning air was chilly, but she couldn’t feel it. Finally, Molly turned away and walked home with the sun rising behind her.
Molly Kwiat had but one vice in her life, and that was caffeine. As far as having vices go, Molly was a pretty tame girl. Each day before work she treated herself to a double mocha latte from the Pine Springs Cafe.
One fine (if by fine, you mean hot and humid) summer day, Molly swung open the cafe door and out into the brilliant sunlight walked Patrick Alpin. Each stopped to gaze at the other. Tall and slender, Patrick looked down at Molly with captivating almond shaped eyes. Their color seemed in constant transition from brown to hazel to blue and back again. She could have remained lost in his eyes all day but there was something different, something a little odd, about this young man. Finally, it dawned on her. Patrick Alpin sparkled. It wasn’t a constant sparkle, as if he were some sort of human disco ball. It was more like any exposed skin was embedded with diamond chips that the sunlight would catch, causing him to sparkle.
The rest of him was intriguing as well to Molly. His hair was dark and wavy, his lips were full and sensuous, probably very kissable, and she was sure he was chiseled from ivory, he was so pale and hard looking. HIs dark t-shirt and jeans accentuated his muscles very nicely. He was, Molly thought, a dreamboat. He had to be a dream. Not only was he a hunk, he sparkled. Normal humans don’t do that. At this moment though, she didn’t really care what was normal. Molly was entranced.
For his part, Partrick thought Molly was pretty, and he liked pretty girls. He decided there and then that he would have her.
Courtship began as soon as introductions were made. A whirlwind romance followed. She was irresistibly drawn to him, a moth to a flame that burned hot as a blacktop road in August. Daddy and Momma were dismayed by the ardor their daughter exhibited for this young man. Frightened of it too. They feared those unguarded moments that can have lingering consequences. Molly was an intelligent girl, practical. She would come to her senses, her parents hoped, and realize that Patrick was nothing more than a passing fancy. There was something off about that boy. While he was polite and good mannered, they simply didn’t trust him.
Molly’s senses were altered though. Completely entranced by Patrick, she felt love and other stirrings like she never had before. He was well read and intelligent, and when he spoke of historical events it was as if he had actually been there. He was caring and funny, and he was surely the most handsome creature to ever set foot in Pine Springs. Most important, to Molly, was that she felt safe with him, even in those times when they parked his little Ford Mustang out in the woods, away from prying eyes. He kissed her like no one had kissed her before, his strong hands caressed places on her body unknown to all the other boys who tried previously but were rejected. She never once thought about brushing his hands away. She loved every moment his body was in contact with hers, and longed for his touch when they were apart.
This was most certainly not the sort of thing Molly’s parents had in mind for her. She was not supposed to be the kind of girl who got all filled up with heat and passion and desire. They had raised Molly to be a virtuous specimen of her gender. Until she found the proper Christian gentleman to share her life with, there was to be no longing or wanting or craving. Her virtue was to be intact on her wedding night. That Molly was a vivacious girl, a petite, blue eyed blonde didn’t make things easy. Many a boy paid ample attention to her. Sometimes she literally had to fight them off with sticks. But Molly was what used to be called “a good girl.” Impure thoughts found no refuge in her heart or mind. Teenage males and their accompanying urges did not find a receptive audience. Their roaming hands were brushed away, their leering faces slapped. Emphasizing the point of his daughter’s chastity, Daddy spent evenings polishing his shotgun on the front porch of the family home. One by one her suitors fell by the wayside. The boys of Pine Springs learned they had to satisfy their lusts elsewhere and Molly’s life became one of quiet complacency.
As a child, Momma taught Molly how to behave like a lady, giving her etiquette lessons, teaching her how to cook and sew. Meanwhile, Daddy created a tomboy of sorts. He taught her to swim, how to catch, clean and grill a fish, and how to hunt. She handled a bow and arrow well but was a natural with a gun in her hands. A perfect markswoman, she captained her high school shooting team.
Molly never had to be taught to work hard as it was something that came naturally to her. From a young age, Molly helped out on Daddy’s hog farm. She always enjoyed taking care of them, feeling a special rapport with them. She slopped them, cleaned their pens, learned to spot the signs of sickness. Molly loved her hogs like other girls loved their dog or cat. Even as an adult, it was still her job to make sure the hogs were fed so Daddy didn’t have to worry about checking on them every day.
Smart as a whip, Molly was a straight-A student from elementary school through her two years at the community college. After that, she lived at home and worked at the town’s only bookstore. Probably some material in those books not suitable for decent folk, her parents thought, but while they mostly sheltered Molly, they also knew it was impossible to keep the outside world entirely at bay. Besides, a little second hand knowledge of man’s darkness would make Molly appreciate the cozy confines of Pine Springs all the more, and keep her near them.
Molly’s parents had made plans, but there’s no planning for someone like Patrick Alpin.
Patrick had quickly become the center of Molly’s life. Captivated by him when they were together, she dreamed of him when they were apart. He had such a strange force about him, Molly thought, but I love it and him. This “strange force” didn’t worry Molly. In his presence, she felt calm. With him in her life, Molly experience an inner peace such as she had never known could exist.
There was no shaking Molly’s faith in Patrick. She was steadfast, even when Patrick slowly began to tell her the truth. He told her tales of people, whole families and clans, who lived hundreds of years, aging slowly while generations of mere mortals passed from this earth. With luck, some could be immortal. She thought the stories were silly at first, as if he were trying to have some fun at her expense. Patrick persisted with his stories though, and his earnestness made an impression on Molly. Still, she was skeptical. What kind of people live nearly forever? It was ludicrous. Molly didn’t want anymore tall tales, she wanted his lips on hers.
One warm, moonlit night, the couple sat on a picnic blanket beneath an old oak tree. They kissed, they cuddled, they spoke of having a life together, of sharing their future.
“You have to believe me,” Patrick said to her, “these stories about people who can have eternal life on earth. They aren’t fiction.”
Molly was growing a little frustrated with all this talk of immortals. “How do people live forever, Patrick? What’s their secret? Wouldn’t they want to write a book or something and make some money? After all, everybody wants to live forever without aging, right? That’s what our modern society is all about.”
“True, but it’s not necessarily all that it’s cracked up to be. The things you have to do to be immortal aren’t for everybody. Not everyone would be up to the task. And not everyone should be immortal.” He looked at Molly and smiled. “Would you want Donald Trump walking the earth forever?”
Molly chuckled. “No, I would not want that. I don’t think anybody would, other than Donald Trump.” Her smile faded. “Seriously though, you’re beginning to worry me with all this crazy talk.”
“Molly, it’s not crazy talk. I love you and if we’re going to be together, you need to know the truth about me.” Patrick looked off into the distance. He wasn’t even sure why he felt the need to be so candid with Molly. He hadn’t been that way with other girls. It was kind of fun to tell her this stuff though, sort of like therapy. Or maybe he just was looking forward to the shock value the truth would have.
“Molly honey, I need to tell you the reality of who, or what, I am.”
She smirked a bit when she heard that. Molly thought she knew him pretty well by now. Looking into his eyes, she said, “Okay, honey, tell me your reality.”
He saw how beautiful her face looked in the soft light of the moon. He felt a slight pang of regret, knowing how things would end. It faded quickly. Finally, he spoke. “I’m a vampire, Molly.”
There was a moment of silence before Molly burst out in laughter. Patrick had expected that. He looked at her without speaking.
“So, Dracula,” she said to him, “tell me about the vampire life. Have you been around for centuries? How do you do it? Stay alive, I mean.” She leaned in close. “Do you suck the blood of young virgins? I might be able to find one for you, if you play your cards right.”
“All right, I wouldn’t believe me either.” He let out a little laugh, then laid on his back, staring up at the sky.
“I’m not that old. I was born in March of 1918. My parents died when I was a baby, during the influenza epidemic. My adoptive parents turned out to be blood sucking monsters. They weren’t very discriminate as to who they transformed. Men, women, children, they didn’t care.” He turned his head to look at Molly, an earnest expression on his face. “But I’m not like that. I’m not like them, Molly. I try to be a respectable member of vampire society.”
She laughed again. “There’s a vampire society? What do you guys do, have dances and bingo nights?”
Patrick smiled. “No. Well, yeah, sometimes we do get together and play bingo, you know, for charity, if there’s one of us who’s down on his luck. But that’s beside the point. It’s an informal society. We try to live by a certain code, we don’t transform anyone without their agreeing to it, and we try not to transform just anybody. Like I said before, there are those who should not be eternal. In fact, we call it the Trump Rule. Of course, not everybody plays by the rules, but that’s true of any society. We are only human. Sort of.”
Molly was skeptical but entertained. Patrick had a quick mind, she gave him that. She decided she wanted to hear more. “How do you stay so youthful? You look pretty good for someone born in 1918.”
“Thanks. It’s the constant infusion of new blood...”
“Whoa, whoa. Hold on now. Are you out there biting girls and not telling me about it. I’d like to know where your fangs have been, buddy.”
“No. I haven’t transformed a human in quite a while. I prefer to feast on animals. Sometimes I go hunting for big game out in the national parks. Bear, deer, that sort of thing. But that’s too much for one person, and I’m not much for traveling in a herd...”
“A group of vampires is called a ‘herd’?”
“No. It’s just an expression.”
Molly was feeling mischievous. “What is a group of vampires called then?”
“A group of vampires is called ‘a group of vampires.’ Can I go on now?” He gave her an overly exasperated look. She smiled and told him to continue.
“Anyway, I feed on small animals for the most part.”
“But I’ve seen you eat food, you know, normal human food.”
“Well, duh, just because I drink blood doesn’t mean I’m going to give up hamburgers and fries.” He sat up now, excited to be expounding on the lives of vampires. “You know, there’s a lot of myths about us. Like the food thing. My people love real food. We just need to drink the blood of living creatures. Think of it as a blood supplement.”
“That’s funny. What else? What about being out in the sun? I’ve seen you in the sun, sweetie, and you didn’t turn to dust.”
“Myth. We can be out in all kinds of weather conditions. I mean, really, why would being a blood drinker prevent you from being out in the sun. Doesn’t make any sense. Personally, I love the sun, and the hot weather. That’s why I moved here to Pine Springs. Oregon was nice, but it was always cloudy and rainy. Very depressing. And that whole turning to dust thing. That’s only in the movies. When we die, and yes, we can die, there’s a body left to be disposed of.”
“So, what do vampires die from?”
“Often we bring it on ourselves. A vampire just gets tired of living the life, stops feeding and then dies. A kind of suicide, if you will. It is very difficult to kill us though. I mean, if we get run over by a truck or something, and squished beyond recognition, then, yeah, our heart will stop beating. But a vampire can take a lot of abuse, get shot, stabbed, that sort of thing, and pretty much go on like nothing ever happened. The constant infusion of fresh blood from another living creature is what keeps us young. It makes us stronger as well, stronger than any human.”
“What about a good old crucifix through the heart?”
“That would do it. It doesn’t have to be a crucifix though. Any object, a bullet, a knife, whatever, as long it goes directly into the heart, that will kill us.”
Molly mulled over that information, trying to think of more questions. “Oooh, oooh, I got one for you.” Molly was having fun playing along, as if all this vampire business were real. “What about flying? Can you fly? Can you turn into a bat and fly around? Because if you could do that, that would be really cool.”
“Uhmm, no. We don’t turn into other animals, not even bats. Nor can we fly. But we are incredibly fast and light on our feet. That’s where the flying myth comes from. We’re so quick, we give the impression of flying. We can also appear places.”
“Appear places? What do you mean?”
“This is a little more difficult to explain. Just as vampires are stronger than mortals physically, we are stronger mentally. Or at least we know how to use our thoughts to do things in ways that mortals don’t.”
“Example please.”
“Well, we can use our minds to open a locked door for example. We concentrate on whatever it is that we want then use our mental willpower to make it happen. Some vampires, the smarter, more advanced of us, with more experience, can even temporarily change atmospheric conditions.”
Molly let out another hearty laugh. “Now that is rich. Oh, sweetie, you’ve gone too far now. Can you make it rain? Can you bring the sun out at night?”
“I can prove it to you. Let me show you.”
“I think you’e going to have to.” Molly put a hand on Patrick’s thigh. “Or we can cut out this vampire nonsense and make out.”
Gently, he swept her hand away. “No. It’s time I showed you.”
Molly looked at him expectantly as Patrick sat motionless with his eyes closed. Within seconds, Molly felt her head grow heavy, and imagined it filled with grey clouds, roiling and tumbling over each other. The woods around them grew silent. Molly tried to blink her eyes but couldn’t. Molly jumped as lightning bolts fired in the distant sky. Looking around her, she found the moon had disappeared, trees were melting, and a silent wind blew hard enough to bend the grass, making it level with the ground. She could feel none of it, all she felt was heat, and it emanated from Patrick.
Frightened, Molly wanted the dream to end, she wanted to run but she couldn’t move. Instead, she was compelled to look at Patrick. Eyes still closed, still motionless, his skin glowed faintly. His body threw off heat and it enveloped Molly, surrounding her like a fiery blanket.
It wasn’t just the trees now, but everything around Molly was melting, until there was nothing but darkness and Patrick and her. The heat was so intense, Molly thought she was burning up from deep inside, so hot that she might spontaneously combust. The world had become incredibly strange, yet she simply stared, mesmerized by Patrick.
He opened his eyes. They blazed, red as the fires of hell, with pinpoint black pupils. His lips parted enough to flash porcelain white fangs. He leaned over, not touching Molly, but breathing her in, devouring her without any contact at all. Molly felt the essence of who she had been drain away. Her mind became a blank canvas, no thought, no emotion, no love or lust, just acquiescence.
“Molly,” Patrick whispered, “eternity. Together.”
Molly found it difficult to breathe.
“We will be one together, my little flower. Forever. Let me have you Molly.”
The only word she could muster was, “Yes.”
Their clothes flew off, landing in small heaps around them. Limbs intertwined, the lovers rolled on the blanket. Hot, passionate kisses and tender caresses were abundant. They explored each other head to toe, they luxuriated in each others bodies.
All good and wonderful things must come to an end. Molly at first refused to release her grip on Patrick but finally relented. The intensity of the heat ebbed, the trees were no longer melted, and the silence of the woods was broken by chirping crickets.Normalcy returned, yet things were different, at least for Molly.
The two laid on their backs holding hands, lost in their own thoughts.
Well, she thought, that was amazing. I’ve actually had sex and it was amazing! At least I think it I was. I have absolutely nothing to compare it with, but I think it was amazing. Maybe we’ll do it again and I’ll know for sure it was amazing.
The things I do to get laid, Patrick thought.
Patrick drifted off for short bouts of sleep, while Molly would occasionally look over at him and smile. After about a half hour, Patrick got up, collected his clothes from their various locations and began to dress. Molly was confused.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she inquired. “The whole eternity together thing? Doesn’t that require biting my neck? Drinking my blood?”
Patrick didn’t reply, so she continued. “I let you do things to me. You promised we would be together forever.”
Without a word, he continued putting his clothes on, looking a little flustered when he couldn’t find his shoes.
Molly began to shout, and for the first time in her life she used rather indelicate language. “You lousy piece of shit. I was willing to become a blood sucking vampire with you and now what? I get nothing!”
He looked at her cooly. “You got to have some fun. That’s something.”
“Fun? Every belief I’ve ever held, every decent value, my religion, my whole life as I knew it, I was willing to give up for you? And you call that ‘fun’?” Infuriated, her body began to tremble slightly from the force of her anger. “I thought you were the love of my life. You deceived me! You played some cheap trick on my mind, some cheap vampire trick, and now...now I’m not a decent woman. Because of some stupid vampire! You’re nothing more than a worthless horndog!”
Patrick found his shoes and slipped his feet into them.
Molly continued to rant. “You promised me eternity together. Don’t promises mean anything to you? Or are vampires just natural liars?”
“I changed my mind, that’s all. It happens.”
She was dumbfounded. Feeling foolish and used, she stared off into the distance. “I can’t believe I fell for you. I should have known you were too good to be true. You think I don’t know how you sparkled in the sun?” She mocked his low, husky voice, “ ‘It’s a vampire thing.’ Yeah, right. Body glitter is not a vampire thing. Did you not think after all that kissing and sweating the glitter wouldn’t rub off? I am so stupid. I knew you lied to me and I still wanted to spend forever with you.”
He looked at her and with a hint of pity in his voice said, “Oh, Molly, you’re just not the eternity type. Now put your clothes on and I’ll take you home.” He turned his back on her and walked to his car. He got in, started the engine, then started to return to Molly, saying, “I’ll help you fold the blanket.”
Preoccupied with getting his shirt to lay unwrinkled over his flat stomach, he didn’t notice Molly had stood up. Finally looking up from his shirt, he stopped in his tracks when he saw her. His eyes twinkled, and his lips formed a slight grin.
Molly was still naked, save for the .22 caliber pistol in her right hand, which was hanging by her side.
“Oh, Molly, you’re being so dramatic,” Patrick said as he chuckled.
“You took something from me.” Molly spoke firmly, but without anger. “You took something that I can never get back. It’s only fair that I take something from you in return.”
“You’re being overly emotional, Molly,” Patrick said calmly. “Think about what you’re doing. Do you know how quickly I could get that cap gun from your hands? I don’t want to hurt you, so put it back wherever it came from. And besides, you’re not the kind of girl who shoots people, are you, Mol...”
The first bullet pierced his heart before he could finish saying her name. He stood, swaying a little in the breeze while a confused look came to his face.
The second bullet lodged next to the first. He still did not fall.
She fired again. Slightly off the mark, she hit the aorta, just above the heart. Patrick fell forward as if pushed by a gust of wind.
Keeping the gun trained on him, Molly walked to where his body lay and nudged him with her foot. No sign of life. Molly noted that he had not bled. Must have been a quart low, she thought. “Asshole,” she said out loud.
Molly knew she couldn’t just leave a dead vampire and his Ford Mustang out here in the woods. It was isolated, but sooner or later someone, a hunter perhaps, would stumble upon the scene and questions would be asked.
Quickly, Molly dressed, then tucked the gun in her purse. Flinging open the car door, she reached in and popped open the trunk. Molly threw the blanket in the trunk, eyeballed it for size, then decided that Patrick would fit in there as well.
Grabbing him under the armpits, she dragged him behind the car. She propped him up against the bumper and attempted to lift him by gripping his wrists and pulling up on his arms. This did not work. He’s dead weight, she thought, then chuckled at her little joke. She laid his body flat on the ground, crouched down like a weightlifter, put one arm under his back, another behind his knees and picked him up as she would a baby. His head banged on the side of the car as she dumped him into the trunk, but he didn’t seem to mind. His feet stuck out, but Molly arranged Patrick so that all of him fit in the trunk’s confines.
Departing the woods, Molly drove the car as serenely as a person going to church. She came home to a house dark but for the porch light. Thankfully, Daddy was not waiting with his shotgun.
She steered the car to the hog feeding area. The hogs stirred from their slumber and began to gather near the fence where Molly stood, stripping the clothes from Patrick while he still lay in the trunk. Molly found it was easier to get a dead body out of a car trunk than in to it. She opened the gate to the pen and dragged her former boyfriend in. The hogs gathered around Patrick as she walked out, closing the gate behind her.
Through the rest of the night, into the early morning, Molly’s beloved hogs feasted on vampire.
After disposing of Patrick, she drove his car to the far reaches of Daddy’s farm, where there was a large, mostly forgotten, pond. There was a gentle decline in the land toward the water. Molly got the car as close as she dared to the water’s edge, put the clutch in neutral, then stepped out. Giving it a little push from behind, the car took its sweet time easing itself into the murky depths. Molly stood and watched until not one bit of it was above water. The concentric circles of ripples the sinking vehicle sent up as it sank faded away to nothing. The early morning air was chilly, but she couldn’t feel it. Finally, Molly turned away and walked home with the sun rising behind her.
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