Reborn by Blood Read online

  “Ray, what the hell... watch out.” She yelled behind me as I collided with the teenage boy standing in the doorway.

  He had dark hair that was cut short, a round face and he was wearing the uniform of the Chinese restaurant that my flat was above. I recognised him from the shop, he was the son of my landlord.

  His scent was unmistakable even beneath the body wash and cologne that he was wearing. I grabbed his collar and pulled him forwards. He stumbled and yelped as my head lunged forward and my new fangs sank deep into his neck to strike the vein.

  The scent of copper filled the air as I instinctively drew his life blood through my fangs. He struggled in my grasp as the pain registered but to no avail as I held him close with a strength I had not known I had.

  A thousand, thousand lights exploded in my mind as the dark, thick blood filled my mouth. It was warm and revolting and the most incredible taste and sensation I had ever experienced. I drank deeply, more and more of his blood leaving his veins as I attempted to prolong the ecstasy as long as possible.

  With a sense of loss I released his bloodless body and let it fall to the floor. I ran my tongue around my lips in search of more of his blood, more of his taste, more of his life. I wanted to scream with pleasure, shout out my joy for the world.

  “What the fuck...” said a voice behind me.

  I turned to see Beth with a strange look on her face as she stared at first me and then the corpse that lay on my floor.

  As I followed her gaze I realised just what had happened. Despite all of my determination not to become a Vampire and my refusal to take a life, I had been unable to resist the urge within and the result of that lay at my feet slowly cooling.

  “Damn.” I said.

  Chapter 2

  “What the hell did you just do?” Beth asked in shock.

  “I couldn’t help it” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think I’m a Vampire.” I said sheepishly as I tried to avoid her gaze. It felt ludicrous even saying the words.

  “A Vampire” flat and cold tone, disbelieving. “You just killed a guy and you are trying to tell me you’re a fucking fantasy creature.“

  “No wait...” I began and then ducked as the mug she had thrown smashed against the wall beside me. “Wait!”

  “Get out of the way Ray” she yelled as she raised another cup menacingly.

  “Please, Beth you have to believe me. I didn’t mean to do this.” I said with a gesture at the corpse beside me. “I tried to tell you not to come in here, I couldn’t control myself.”

  “You’re serious?” Beth said thoughtfully as she hefted the mug in her hand. She looked as though she were considering throwing it.

  “Yes I am. Please, I need your help” I pleaded.

  “Well I suppose you’d better tell me what happened and as much as I love you mate, if you are lying I will be calling the police.” Beth threatened.

  “I woke up this morning with some guy in the room” I began.

  “The guy you left with last night? Tall guy in a suit?”

  “Yeah... you saw me leave with him?” I asked and she nodded, “Didn’t you think that was a little strange? Why didn’t you stop me?”

  “I just thought you were hooking up with him.” She said.

  “Why would I be hooking up with him? I’m not gay.” I sputtered a little, “You know I’m not gay.”

  “Hey, I just figured you were trying something new.” She said as she chewed thoughtfully on her lip, a habit of hers that was quite endearing. “So that guy was a Vampire?”

  “So it would seem. He told me that he made me come back here” I stressed the word ‘made’ “Then he told me that he had killed me and had to make me a Vampire to bring me back to life.”

  “Why would he bother?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why would he bother bringing you back to life, why not just kill you?” She asked.

  “He didn’t say.”

  “You didn’t think to ask him?”

  “I didn’t believe him” I said, “He had just told me that he had killed me and made me into a Vampire. I thought he was a nut job and just wanted him out of my flat.”

  “Ok, so what else did he say?”

  “He said that if I didn’t feed on someone within twenty four hours I would be dead for good.” I looked at the dead teenager, “I didn’t intend to do that.”

  “So you have to kill people and drink their blood?” she asked as she continued to chew on her lip.

  “No, I only had to kill the first person. Apparently now I can just drink little bits and be ok.”

  “You aren’t going to drink my blood are you?” she asked with a glance at the dead teen’s remains.

  “I don’t plan to. I mean, when you came in I was pretty far gone. I was dying... now I feel quite good. Great in fact.”

  “Well that’s something I suppose.” She said, “So you’re a Vampire huh?”

  “I guess I am, yeah.”

  “What does that mean exactly?” she looked at the corpse, “Aside from the obvious.”

  “I’m not sure. I tried to go out earlier and the sunlight nearly blinded me and when I put my hand in the sun it burnt a little bit.”

  “Like fire?”

  “No, more like sunburn.”

  “Can I see your fangs?” She asked.

  “I don’t exactly know how to get them out.” I said a little uncomfortably. “Are you going to call the police?”

  “Probably not.” She said as she returned to chewing her lip.

  “What about...” I waved at the dead teen.

  “Yeah we probably need to move him” she said with a sigh.

  “Does it bother you?” I asked, “I just killed someone.”

  “Not really, as long as you aren’t going to kill me we should be fine.” She paused and looked me in the eye, “You’re not going to get all weepy and guilty about it are you?”

  “I don’t think so.” I said with more than a little confusion.

  In truth I wasn’t bothered by the death of the teenager. A boy I had met several times and even spoken to on occasion. A part of me knew that I should be bothered by it, but when I tried to pin that thought down it vanished.

  As far as I could tell, I was much the same as I had been a day ago in all other respects. It was just that while a day ago, the thought of a dead body being in my room would have freaked me out more than a little, now I couldn’t find it within myself to care overly much.

  I could feel no guilt over my actions and even though intellectually I knew that should bother me, it really didn’t.

  “We should move him out of the doorway at least” Beth said.

  “Yeah good point. No one knows he came up here did they?” I asked as I grabbed the boy’s arms and dragged him into the room. I had to squint against the sunlight that was still streaming through the door.

  “His car’s downstairs and he was unloading some stuff for the shop when I arrived. I’m pretty sure he was alone.”

  “Right, so we need to get rid of his body and any sign that he came up here.” I said.

  “Yeah, maybe shift his car too.” Beth added as she leant back against the worktop and watched me, still a little wary.

  “Well I can’t go out till it gets dark. I can barely see out there.” I pointed out.

  “I’m not shifting his body for you while you sit around here. We’ll have to wait until later.”

  “Should we... you know, wrap him up in something?” I asked.

  “I suppose we could put him in a couple of bin liners and tape them together. You got any?”

  “No.”

  “What about a blanket or even a towel?” Beth asked as she looked around the room.

  “The only sheets I have are the ones on my bed” I pointed out.

  “That’s nasty. You need to get more sheets mate.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get right on that as soon as I can.” I said, “Straight after I dump
the body of the teen I just murdered and as soon as the shops open at night.”

  “No need to get upset, it was just a suggestion” she said with a low laugh. “So what can Vampires do then?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well in the films, Vampires are immortal and can’t go in churches and stuff.”

  “Yeah, I have no idea.”

  “You have no idea?” Beth repeated as she looked at me with her head tilted to the side and a slight smile on her face.

  “How the hell would I know?” I asked plaintively, “I know he was stronger than I expected and moved damn fast.”

  “That’s a start at least. We can find out if you’re immortal later.” Beth said with a wide smile that worried me as I considered just how she planned to find that out.

  I paced anxiously around the room as I waited for the time to slowly pass. I tried to avoid looking at the dead body on my floor. I had no desire to go to prison for murder and someone would miss him.

  “Have you tried dark glasses?” Beth asked.

  “What for?”

  “Well you said the sun was blinding, so maybe it won’t be if you are wearing shades.”

  “I don’t have any shades.” I said and resumed my pacing.

  “If I remember right, I have some in the car.” Beth said as she strode to the door, “I’ll check.”

  “No wait...” I began before breaking off with a curse as she opened the door and the sunlight flooded the room. “Yeah thanks for that.” I muttered as she closed the door behind her.

  She returned five minutes later with a pair of glasses and a wide grin.

  “You can’t expect me to wear them. I’ll look a right prat.” I said.

  “You’ll be fine.” She said as she handed them over. “Try them on and I’ll open the door.”

  I glanced down at the glasses as I turned them over in my hands. They had a lightweight metal frame with rounded lenses that were tinted defiantly pink. The only word that came to mind as I looked at them was ‘delicate’ and they were very definitely feminine.

  “Oh come on. No one will see you; we hardly want to be noticed.” Beth said.

  “Fine” I grunted as I put the glasses on and settled them in place. They were almost painfully tight which I counted as a bonus as it meant the lenses were closer to my eyes and would hopefully stop more light.

  “Here goes” Beth said as she pulled the door open wide.

  I squinted behind the lenses as the sunlight hit. It was certainly unpleasant and everything seemed overly bright but I could see.

  “Seems ok.” I said, “Let’s get him moved. Where’s your car?”

  “I parked at the bottom of the stairs. I’ll nip down and open the boot; you bring him down and throw him in.” She said.

  “Wait a minute” I called as she turned to leave, “Why do I have to carry him.”

  “You’re a Vampire aren’t you? Doesn’t that mean you have, like, super strength and stuff?” she said.

  “In films sure... in real life, I have no idea.”

  “Well now is as good a time as any to find out.” She said before disappearing out of the door.

  I scratched absently at the back of my head as I glanced back and forth between the bed and the corpse. Finally I decided to keep my blankets on the bed and just risk the short journey down the stairs to the car.

  A quick look outside to make sure the coast was clear. My door opened onto a set of metal stairs that led down to the alleyway behind the Chinese takeaway. It was one of the reasons that it was so cheap.

  The buildings that formed the walls of the alley had few windows in view and those that were there were covered in filth or by blinds. No one had any real desire to look out of their window at a rubbish filled strip of mud. A fact that I found I was immensely grateful for.

  I picked up the dead body and tried to gauge how heavy it felt. Did it feel lighter than it should? I couldn’t say as I had never tried to pick up another person. A small trail of blood led from the wound I had made in his neck and had pooled on the floor.

  With a fair bit of grunting I was able to sling the body over my shoulder in a rough fireman’s carry and made my way down the stairs. The hairs on the back of my neck were sticking up and I had the incredibly paranoid feeling that I was being watched.

  The teen landed in the boot with a thud and I slammed the door closed before speaking to Beth.

  “Wait in the car for me, I need to go and clean up.”

  “You’ve never been bothered about cleaning your place.” She said.

  “Yeah, well I’ve never had a pool of blood from a dead body on my floor” I said quietly, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Without waiting for an answer I dashed back up the stairs and into the flat. I opened the cupboard beneath the sink and pulled out a bottle of bleach and a couple of dishcloths. The bottle was unopened and had been there since I first moved in. I had never seemed to get around to using it.

  I walked across to the blood and became aware that I could smell it. The odour was stronger than I expected and the thought occurred that perhaps it was stronger to me due to the changes that had taken place.

  With the first dishcloth I mopped up the still tacky blood and then poured the bleach over the rest. Several minutes of scrubbing later and I felt that I had managed to clean it all up. I put the bleach away and threw the dishcloths into the washing machine.

  My shirt went with it and I switched the machine on as I collected a new t-shirt from the bedroom and pulled it on before I went into the bathroom and washed my face and cleaned my teeth.

  Finally satisfied that I had removed any trace of the murder I grabbed my jacket from the hook beside the door and pulled it on before putting on a baseball cap and the yellow rubber gloves that I used for doing the washing up. I looked ridiculous but I would at least be protected from the sun I thought as I descended to Beth’s Ford Ka.

  Her car was green and lacking in any straight edges and with only three doors. The whole car seemed to be one large curve and it was her pride and joy.

  She was already sitting in the driver’s seat with the engine running and her music playing. One of those bands that she loved and I hated. I decided not to argue about it since she was driving me to dispose of a body. I climbed in beside her.

  “You all set?” she asked and I nodded. “Cool, so where to?”

  “I think we need to leave the city” I said after a moment’s thought. “Perhaps up to the moors?”

  “How far do you want to go?” Beth asked. “I mean, I could do with some petrol money if we are going far.”

  “Seriously? I have no money” I said.

  “Did you check his wallet?”

  “I didn’t actually think about doing that.”

  “Well go and do it then. If he has any cash we can split it, after paying for petrol.” Beth said.

  A quick check to make sure no one was watching and I opened the rear door of the little car. The body was lying in an awkward position so I had to reach my hand right under him to get to his back pocket. It was less disturbing than I had expected it to be.

  My reward was a slim brown wallet. I opened it and found a twenty pound note and a debit card, along with his student ID for the local college. I pocketed the note and left the rest in the wallet before stuffing it back into one of his pockets.

  “So what did you get?” Beth asked as I climbed back into the passenger seat.

  “Twenty quid.” I said as I passed the note across to her.

  “Cool, petrol and a couple of beers later then.” She said with a wide smile. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 3

  The trees stretched tall above me as they reached their branches towards the sky. Green leaves surrounded us, interspersed with the blue and yellow of flowers in bloom. Insects buzzed around as they went about their business.

  “This seems like a good place” Beth commented as she got out of her car.

  I grunted noncommittally as I
looked around. We were on a thin stretch of road that wound its way through a stretch of woods that bordered the moors. The road itself had barely enough room for one car and Beth had pulled her little Ford as far onto the side as she could without actually parking between the trees.

  “So go and grab him and we can find somewhere nice and quiet.” She said.

  “Why do I need to carry him again?”

  “You have the Vampire super strength” she said.

  “The only thing I have is an inability to see and an aversion to sunlight” I said as I adjusted the baseball cap to offer as much shade as possible. Even with the cap the skin of my face was tingling from the sun.

  “Well you are a man, so you get to do the heavy lifting while I do the thinking” she said with a grin.

  I rolled my eyes dramatically which was pointless since she couldn’t see them behind the shades, so I gave up and went to open the rear door.

  The corpse was much as I remembered, pale and lifeless and quite heavy. I bent down and pulled him over my shoulder in a fireman’s lift.

  “Which way do you want to go?” I asked Beth.

  “That way” She said as she pointed roughly west. “Seems a bit denser that way, so less people.”

  “Lead on.” I said and followed as she set off through the trees.

  We walked for twenty minutes through the undergrowth, branches snapping beneath our feet and every fly in the woods seemingly determined to buzz around me and my burden.

  The one benefit seemed to be that the shade provided by the trees meant that I could see a great deal better than I had out in the sunshine. As Beth stumbled occasionally over an unseen branch or root, I navigated past with ease.

  “Here looks good.” Beth said finally as we reached a sheltered area surrounded by trees that were pressed thickly together and a natural barrier of brambles with half inch thorns.

  “Ok seems fine to me. One question.”

  “What?”

  “Do you have a shovel?” I asked.

  “Dammit!” she said loudly.

  “I’ll take that as a no.”