Axel Adele Blue

Axel, Adele, Blue

We walked down the street, passing closed shops and alleys. It was around 11:00 pm, so most of the places were closed or about to, except for the open 24/7 stores. There weren’t any cars on the street, just a few in the parking lots behind the open stores. We lived in the middle of nowhere; Adele and I. The only sounds I could hear were the clicks of our boots against the road and the flickering light bulb in the street light we just passed. Suddenly, I heard fast breathing behind us, so I stop. Adele continues on a few steps and turns around. Her eyes went wide when someone jumped over me. I caught his right ankle with a fast motion of my arm and hung the teenager in midair. “Ow! Fuck you! Let me go!” he screamed, surprised at my fast-reaction. ”It’s impolite to swear, sir” I said calmly then dropped him on the road in front of me. He grunted at the impact. “Jeez! Who the hell are you?!” he screamed. I just stared down, at the boy as he helped himself to his feet. He narrowed his eyes at me and turned to face Adele. She was pissed off. “Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?” Adele asked the boy, stomping toward him. Adele’s eyebrow raised and she stopped. “Seth? I-is that you?” “Of course it’s me, bitch!” Seth yelled. “Adele. Clarify the situation, please,” I told her. “Sure. We use to be in high school together and…we got in a fight,” Adele explained. “I’m guessing it got too far?” I assumed. “Yeah. Um…I shot him,” she continued. “Got that right! Now I’m going to kill you!” Seth screamed at her. He pulled his fist back and punched Adele in her nose. “Fuck!” Adele screamed, snapping her head back, at the blow. I took a few steps toward Seth, but stopped when Adele held a hand up to stop me. She cracked her neck and said to me, “I’ll take care of him, Axe.” I nodded at her took a few steps back, again. Adele clenched her teeth and rolled her hands into fists, then held them up, to block her face. The two stared at each other waiting for whoever would make the first movewhich was Seth. He attempted to punch Adele in her face again, but she dodged his attack and punched him in his jaw. Seth stumbled back then leaped at Adele, knocking her on her back. Seth knelt on her stomach and threw several punches before Adele caught his wrist, flipping him over her head. He ran about halfway down an alley with Adele following, and then he stopped. When Adele got close enough, he back-flipped over and then behind her, kicking the back of Adele’s knees. She, forcefully, knelt down as Seth held either side of her head. Before he could snap her neck, I darted toward Seth and pulled his hair back, then punched him in the face. He gave an ear-piercing scream and I let go of his hair, dropping him on his back. I helped Adele to her feet and she nodded, in thanks. As soon as she got close enough to Seth, he kicked her chest and threw her on her back. Seth crawled toward Adele the clawed at her face, lining it with blood. I grabbed the collar of Seth’s shirt and threw him away from Adele, as he growled at me. I kept

careful watch on him then switched my gaze to Adele, who rolled to her knees and supported herself with her left palm. “Come on, Adele, that should be the least of your worries” Seth taunted, as Adele touched her cheek with the tips of her free hand, hissing at the pain. Blood smeared on her fingers and she, shakily, stood then curled her hands into fists again. “Alright…want to watch me kill your girl, here?” Seth asked, glancing at me. I just switched my gaze to Adele, who lunged at him and punched him in the face. He gasped, at the pain and unexpectancy of her attack, and staggered backward. He growled and knelt down, pulling out, what looked like, a knife from his boot. Seth darted toward Adele, thrusting the knife at her. She dodged it, just barely, and he swung the weapon toward her right side. She circled around him, catching his left arm, and then twisted him backwards into the alley wall. When he fell forward on his stomach, the wall cracked and chips of brick crumbled down. Adele kicked the bleeding Seth on his back and snatched the knife from him. Adele knelt down, holding Seth in place with her knee on his chest and ran the knife, threateningly, across his throat, making sure not to cut him. She pinned him down by his neck with her hand and looked at me. “Very good, my dear, but be sure to keep an eye on your opponent,” I warned, looking at Seth, who was struggling to get away from Adele. She returned her gaze to him and hit him on the head with the handle of the knife, knocking him out. Adele was smiling while she stood to face me. I gave her an annoyed expression when she asked, “What?” I sigh, and then ask, “Was it necessary to knock the boy out?” Adele nodded. I walk out of the alley then leaned against a wall, to wait for her. She walked toward me with Seth’s wallet opened and counting the money that was inside. “You just had to take his wallet,” I commented. “Yup. And his knife.” Adele said proudly, twirling the knife and sliding it neatly in her boot. I stared at her and asked, “Are you alright?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She said, absentmindedly. Adele glanced down the street and saw a night club. “Can I? Can I? Can I?” She pleaded in a whining tone. I sighed and she jumped up, smiling, then lead me over to where a tuxedo-suited guard stood. The club boomed techno music so loud inside, that it was heard from outside. Neon lights spelled out the words VIBE overhead, in bright red and blue luminescent colors. When we got close, I greeted him, “Evening, sir,” I said politely. He raised an eyebrow, “what do we have here?” he asked, looking at us with a weird expression on his face. I swiped the wallet, lazily, from Adele’s hand and counted out enough money to get us both into the club. I took Adele’s hand and lead her around the guard, slapping the money into his hand, then walked into a field of conversation and music. I saw Adele smile and jog over to the dance floor. I walked over to a bar and watched her dance for a few minutes until a man in a sloppy prom-date-gone-wrong outfit and a lady with a red cocktail dress walked up to me. “Hey! We were sitting there!” the man yelled, over the music. I looked to my left to see three empty chairs and a couple at the other end of the bar. I looked back at the man and said calmly, “There are other empty seats, sir.” “Come on, Marvin. Lets go.” The woman insisted. “Clarice. Shut up” he

replied bluntly. “It’s rude to treat a lady like that” I informed him. Marvin stared at me with a smirk on his face, “You better move, you bastard!” “I wasn’t informed that these seats were reserved…” I told him, noticing Adele stomping over with a mad expression. “Hey! What the hell are you doing?” Adele asked Marvin. Clarice turned to Adele and said in a drunk, lazy voice, “Go away, bitch…” Adele rolled her eyes and warned, “How about I kick your ass if you and your dad, here, don’t get away from my friend.” Marvin’s eyes went wide as he turned to face Adele. “You threatening her, bitch?” he asked, cracking his knuckles. I stood up and grabbed his shoulder and twisted him around to face me, “Are you threatening the lady?” Marvin clenched his teeth and punched me in my nose. I wrapped my arm around his neck, since I was shorter than him by a few inches, I knew he’d bend over a little. I inflicted several upward punches to his face then let him drop to the floor. The punches were too quick for a human’s reaction to keep track of, and a couple seconds later, he let out an ear-piercing cry in agony. Clarice screamed and went to pick him up and lead him away from us. I sat back down after they were out of sight and sat my elbow on the table, looking to my right, at the shocked couple on the end of the bar. Once they saw me look at them, they turned away and I cradled my head on my palm, staring at the rings of past drinks left behind on the table. Adele took a seat next to me, mouth gaping wide with a slight smile. I turn to look at her, “What?” “Oh my god, Axel! That was fucking awesome!” she blurted out. I shook my head and stared at the table again. “I don’t like to hurt people, Adele,” I told her. Adele pursed her lips then said, “You don’t need to look after me. Besides…you were great. You took care if it in no time. And you see me hurt people all the time and you don’t have much of a problem with that” “But it’s not me hurting them. It’s far easier for me to put someone in a hospital…maybe worse, than you can, Adele. The only reason why I punched him like that, was because he was threatening you…” I told her, looking away. The couple of minutes of silence was broken, when the bartender came over, “Do you need anything?” he asked us. “No, thank you,” I told him. Even though I’m a vampire, I still have the responsibility to take care of Adele and make sure I’m actually awake for it. Plus, it would be a waste of money since my diet consists only of blood, now. Since I had the wallet, I looked to Adele, who shook her head, no. “No, we’re fine, thank you” I confirmed to the bartender. He nodded and walked off. A minute or two passed when Adele asked,”Axel?” “Yes?” “Why do you look after me like this?” I looked away and traced aimless designs with my index finger on the table. “Well...” I started, “because you were there for me when um…I got bit.” I felt uncomfortable answering. “Why do you ask?” I asked her, curious. “Just wondering…” she trailed off. I looked at her, “So. Tell me.” Adele looked at me. “Explain Seth. What was the fight about?” Adele looked nervous. “We were juniors in high school and pretty good friends. But I um…had other friends at the time who were…well they sold drugs.” Adele avoided eye-contact at this point, staring at the wine selection on the racks before us and tried to stop her hands from fidgeting. I wasn’t happy about it, but I let her continue. “Anyways…I

made the mistake, of actually telling him and he was mad. He didn’t talk to me very much after that, so we lost contact for a few weeks…I continued to help my friends sell the drugs and then, we got caught. My friends were arrested, but I got awaybarely. I couldn’t go home because my parents would just lock me out of my house, so I began to think about how the police might have caught us. I remembered Seth, so I called him, yelling at him for reporting us to the police, before I had proof of him doing so. We spent wasted time, cussing each other out, till it ended up with me, a gun, and Seth in its path. I must have been so plastered the day before, because I never would have gone that far with the situation…I’m sorry, Axel…” I took a moment to absorb the information. I can’t believe she would even get involved with people who sold drugs. It wasn’t like Adele. “Adele. Promise me you’ll never do that again” I said, finally. She nodded, and then confirmed, “I promise...” I could tell she was still a little nervous, but I didn’t want to bring it up again. “You don’t want to be here, do you?” Adele asked after the Dj put on another song. “Why do you say that?” I asked. She shrugged, “You just look like you don’t want to be here, is all.” I waited a few seconds, then asked her, “Do you want to be here?” Adele shook her head slightly, “Not so much, anymore.” She stood up, and led me toward a back door, assuming I wouldn’t want to deal with the guard againand I didn’t. I caught her reflection in the window on the door. She looked cold and hungry. Her short blond hair was messy and a little dusty, from the sand, always blowing around. She had the ends of her hair dyed brown, which was breaking out with split-ends. Her pinkish face showed how tired she was, as well. She thrusted the door open and we were outside again, in an alley, which separated the club from the shop next door. She leaned against the wall opposite of the club’s back door, bending her left leg against the wall. She crossed her arms, showing off the sleeve-tattoo on her right arm. Her gray tank top was worn and fading, along with her ripped jean pants and black boots. She was staring at the wire-fence at the end of the alley, away from its entrance. She looked at me until I realized that I was staring at her. “Oh, sorry…I was just-” I cut myself short, when I heard low weeping sounds from the entrance of the alley. I kept staring, trying to make out whether the crying was from a male of female. “What is it?” Adele asked. I held up a hand to stop her. I listened and confirmed to myself that it was female. Seconds later, a woman stumbled in front of the alley and slumped to her knees, then fell forward on the palms of her hands. She looked hurt, so I walked toward her, cautious. She looked up, hearing us coming, with a frightened expression on her face. “Please! Don’t come any closer!” she screamed, sitting up against the wall, shielding her face with her arms. I kept walking and stopped next to her. She fell to the side, on her palms and scooted away from me. “It’s alright. We won’t hurt you.” I said, trying to soothe her. I knelt down next to the woman and Adele stood across from me. The woman looked from me, to Adele. She had a long black torn dress under a thicker grey dress. The grey one was torn at both sleeves and the bottom was ripped away from about the knees. She also wore a lighter grey long-sleeved shirt under the dresses and gloves.

The woman had long silvery hair that was matted and tangled, along with her bangs, which grew out so that it revealed very little of her facial features. Her hair parted enough for me to see that her white eyes contained no pupils. “Those rips in your gown look like they’ve been made by an animal. Were you attacked?” The woman didn’t look away from Adele, but answered my question, “Yes…” “Are you alright?” I asked. This time, she didn’t answer my question, so I didn’t want to pry. “Never mind, but you look hurt. May we help you?” She slowly turned her gaze back to me and said, “Yes.” I wasn’t sure if she meant that she was hurt or that Adele and I could help her, but I crouched in front of her and picked her up carefully. She was heavy, only because of how much clothing she wore, but I could tell that she was skin and bone. A breeze wrapped her loose clothing around me and she put her arm around my neck, but her hand was so…cold! My eyes went wide. ‘How is that possible? She can’t be this cold with all her clothing and hair… she’s not human’ I thought. I carried her out of the alley anyways and asked, “Miss?” “Yes?” “Are you hungry?” “Yes” she said in a low voice. Adele took the hint and lead us to a pizza shop a couple stores down. I stood outside of the shop, waiting to be invited. Since the vampire’s curse won’t let vampires enter any buildings, old or new, on their own, I have to be invited in. However, if I’d been invited into a building once, I was welcome to enter as many times as I pleased. “Come in, Axel,” she said and found a booth next to a window and sat down. I carefully sat the woman on the opposite bench, in the booth and grabbed Adele’s arm, leading her outside again. “Whet the hell is wrong with you?” Adele yelled at me, tugging her arm from my grip and crossing her arms in front of her. I explained my observation toward the woman then waited for Adele to reply after I finished. Her eyebrow was raised and she glances at the woman through the window. She was in the same place, sitting motionless. Adele looked at me again, “We have to talk to it, then.” I turned my head slightly, noting that she referred to the woman as “it”, not “her”. “She doesn’t need to be treated like some alien, Adele…it’s windy outside, maybe that made her cold” I told her, knowing that isn’t the reason why she’d be so cold. Adele went back in the store without acknowledging what I’d just said. Adele sat across from the woman and I joined Adele’s side of the booth, since the woman was sitting on the edge of the bench. “Excuse me, miss?” I said to her. She looked at me, but said nothing. “Do you have a name?” I asked. She answered, in a quiet voice, “Not that I know of.” I frowned, “I’m sorry to hear that. Well um… I’m Axel and this is Adele,” I introduced us and the woman nodded. After a moment of awkward silence, Adele said, “Hm…we should give you a name.” I sighed and said to her, “She’s not a dog, Adele. Plus, it’s up to her if she wants to be named or not.” We both looked at the woman and she nodded. “Hm…lets see…” Adele thought aloud and examining the woman. In the light hanging above the table, she seemed to have a light blue, almost a graying white, skin tone. Adele noticed as well, so she said, “Lets call you Blue!” I shot Adele a mean look. “What? I think it’s a very mysterious name.” I didn’t buy her excuse, so I rolled my eyes and said, “It’s

up to her.” The woman looked at Adele and nodded, in agreement. She seemed a little offended, but I wouldn’t want to continue this conversation. “Great! So I’m going to order the pizza. What do you two want?” Adele announced. “I’ll have anything with a lot of meat on it,” I said, smiling and flashing my fangs at her, playfully. Adele chuckled and asked, “Blue?” She tipped her head slightly to the side, confused, so Adele simply said, “We’ll all just share one pizza, then.” I handed her a 20 dollar bill and stood from the seat to let her out. She winded around chairs and tables to get to the counter and I sat down again. I looked at the woman, trying to figure out if she really had a name or not, even if she didn’t say she did. I followed her gaze to look at Adele. Adele was facing us, but staring at the lady with a mean expression on her face. Adele always hated new people, but not this much. The teenager behind her said something and she turned to grab the pizza, taking it to our table. I remained seated and looked at her. “Napkins? Plates?” “Oh, right.” She said, returning to the counter. He handed her the napkins and said something, looking at the woman. Adele looked back at her, then to the teenager and said something, taking the plates from him and walking back to the booth. I stood up, to let Adele in, and took the plates, passing them out. I sat down again as Adele took a slice of greasy pizza and taking a bite and letting out an exaggerated, “Mmm…” then smiled. I rolled my eyes and took a slice for myself. After I finished a couple bites, I looked at the woman and asked, “Miss? Are you hungry?” She didn’t look at us, but shook her head, no. “Are you sure?” I asked to make sure. “Axel, Blue will eat if she’s hungry. And her name is Blue, now,” Adele said, taking another slice of pizza. I still didn’t want to call the woman, Blue. We managed to save a piece for the woman if she wanted it and Adele asked, “So where are we all going to sleep, Axel?” I shrugged. “I don’t know a place for all of us.” Adele motioned toward the woman and asked, “Hey, Blue. Do you know a place where we could all crash for the night?” She looked at us and said, “Yes.” Adele and I followed her down several streets, then finally, an alley. The woman opened a creaky wooden door that lead to a room with old furniture and tons of antiques on shelves and flooding the floor. Adele cleared off a couch and lay down, covering her eyes with an arm, forgetting to invite me in. She must have fallen asleep almost instantly. I waited outside of the room and watched the woman. She realized that I couldn’t come in, and said, “Please, come in.” I nodded at her and stepped inside, looking around. “You have an amazing home, miss.” I said politely. She didn’t reply. “You don’t talk very much, do you?” I assumed. She walked between an aisle only of old dolls, brushing them lightly as she passed by and I followed. She stopped, about the middle of the aisle, so I did as well. She turned to face me and said, unsure, “Axel is your name?” “Yes” I confirmed. She smiled at me. It made me smile as well because I hadn’t seen her smile before. And she looked pretty when she did. “You may call me Blue if you like” she said, knowing I’d been avoiding the name. “Thank you, do you live here all alone, Blue?” I asked. She nodded then said, “Yes.” I frowned, “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you alright with

Adele and I, being here?” “Yes,” she said quietly. She turned around and continued on, down the aisle. “Are you sure it’s alright if we called you Blue?” She stopped walking and turned around. “It’s fine” I couldn’t help, but ask, “Are you comfortable around me?” Blue turned her head slightly and asked, “Are you comfortable around me?” The question caught me off-guard. I was being cautious around her, asking her these questions only to know her better. We just met, so it would be natural to feel a little cautious but I’m not sure if I should be this cautious. She turned around again and stalked down the aisle, then turned to a corner to the right. I felt bad and thought maybe I hurt her feelings more if I’d just stood there trying to think of something to say to her. I quickly caught up to Blue, in a blink of an eye and she gasped, not expecting me to be right in front of her. Her eyes went wide as she backed away from me, catching the edge of a rug and fell back, surprised. Blue curled up against a bookshelf and looked away from me. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, kneeling down next to her. She crawled away a few inches then I asked, “Do I scare you?” “No,” she said staying away a few feet, now. “Do I scare you?” she asked me. I smiled and said, “Of course not.” “Why?” Blue asked, looking at me with a worried expression. The smile faded from my face. I heard Adele get up from the couch and walk over to us, sleepily. “What the hell did you do, Axel?” she asked me, watching Blue crawl away a little further and stand up, shakily. I stood as well and said to Adele, “Nothing.” “Right.” Adele said, accusingly then punched me playfully on the shoulder. “Alright, well I think we should find a hotel or something,” Adele said, yawning. “A hotel?” Blue asked, unsure. “Yeah, it’s safe,” Adele assured her. I thought for a moment then asked Blue, “Do you want to bring any of your antiques?” She looked around then said, “I have no reason why I should.” “Okay…all we need is a mode of transportation and we’re good to go” Adele said. We walked out of the antique-infested home and out of the alley. “Axel. Check if there’s a car shop or something,” Adele told me. I rolled my eyes, “Only for you, Princess,” I said, sarcastically. I ran to the end of the street and looked right, then left. I saw a couple dirt bikes outside a shop, so I ran back to where Adele and Blue were and told them about it. “But they might not be able to get through the sand very well,” I added. “I guess we’ll have to give it a try, then,” Adele said, walking toward the shop with Blue and I following. When we arrived at the shop, Adele set off to buy the bikes as I explained how to ride one, to Blue. She was a quick learner and I knew she could handle it. After Adele told us that the bikes were paid for, she asked the owner of the shop, for a map for the next town, which he didn’t have. “I can show you where the next town is. I’ve been to most of them already” Blue explained. “Oh, ok, cool” Adele said. Adele and I usually traveled quicker because I always had to carry her through the desert. She was only human, so I always had to improvise ways to get around. I walked over to where the bikes were, outside the shop. There were only two, so I ask, “Where’s the third?” Adele and Blue joined my side and Adele said, “Um…he

said the rest were reserved.” I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose with my index and thumb fingers. “Fine. I guess someone’s going to have to ride alone-“ “Blue rides alone” Adele interrupted me. I looked from her, to Blue. Adele has never acted like that before. Is she jealous? I knew Adele well enough to know that she’s be the one wanting to ride alone, but if she did this time, either I would have to ride with Blue or she would. “Alright, I guess it’s settled, then.” I told Blue that she would have to lead us to the next town. “Where would we want to go, in the town?” she asked. “To a hotel or somewhere where we can rest, without being outside. Axel is a vamp-“ “Okay, we better get going, then,” I interrupted Adele, covering her mouth with the palm of my hand and leading her toward one of the bikes. I helped Blue on the other bike so that her dress and hair wouldn’t get caught in the wheels, and then started the bike for her. After I sat down and started our bike, Adele sat behind me. I looked at Blue for the okay, to drive when she was ready. When she looked at me, Adele ran her hands across my bare chest, showing off in front of Blue. Blue showed no sign of jealousy, but he smiled at us. Adele put her chin on my shoulder and held onto me. This was going to be a long ride to the town. Blue took off down the road and I followed. Both bikes had full tanks of gasoline so we’d be able to make a trip to the town and back, in the morning, if we needed to. I followed Blue through the town and into the desert, avoiding sand dunes and scraps of old car parts and anonymous chunks of metal left behind by travelers. We didn’t run into very much trouble, though. When we arrived at the town around 5:00 am, the sun was glinting off the sand, so Blue quickly found a hotel in time, before the sun could catch us. We both parked our bikes and headed indoors, walking past some earlymorning guests who stared at us funny. We probably looked terrible because of all the dust and sand we’d gone through. I bought a room and we all headed toward the elevators to the fifth floor and down the hall to our room. “Alright, who’s in the shower first?” I asked the two. “I am,” Adele announced, heading for the bathroom. I cursed to myself, looking at the two beds. “What’s wrong?” Blue asked. “I don’t know how the sleeping arrangement is going to be.” I heard the water turn on, in the shower. “I don’t really need to sleep in a bed…” I looked at her, “Are you sure?” Blue smiled then said, “Well aren’t you and your girlfriend going to sleep together?” My eyes went wide, “W-what? I have no girlfriend.” Blue looked confused, “No? Isn’t Adele your-“ “No! No, no, no. We aren’t dating,” I told her. Blue looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “No need. It’s just a misunderstanding. No harm in that,” I told her. “So…you didn’t eat recently, that I know of. Would you like me to get you something?” I asked Blue, trying to change the subject. She shook her head, no. Soon enough, the water turned off and Adele walked out of the bathroom, still dressed in the same clothes she wore earlier, and drying her hair with a towel.

“Alright, Blue. Take a shower.” I told her. When I got out of the shower, after Blue had gone before me, I dried my hair and stepped out of the bathroom. “Well I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep.” I told them, walking toward a bed, then thought twice. I hadn’t drunk any blood today, so if I went to sleep without any, then I might go on a blood-feast in the middle of my sleep. “Um…I have to do something really quick…” I said, walking back, to the bathroom. I locked the door and raised my arm to my lips. I felt my fangs slide forward and before I could bite, someone knocked at the door. “Yes?” I said. “Are you alright?” it was Blue. I lowered my arm from my mouth and unlocked the door, opening it a crack. “Yes I am, do you need anything?” Blue just stared at me. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Um…nothing, why?” I lied. She didn’t buy it, “Axel. Tell me, please.” “Don’t worry, Blue, I just have to-“ I cut myself off, remembering that my fangs were still visible to her and hunger crawled through my stomach. If I didn’t drink blood anytime soon, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from feeding off Blue or Adele. “I have to go, sorry,” I told her, shutting the door in her face. I locked the door and pierced my arm sharply. I flinched at the bite, but began to drink the blood that was flooding out of my arm. I probably punctured a vein. That wasn’t good, but I still needed to drink. After a few minutes of drinking, Blue pounded at the door, yelling at me to open the door. I lifted my head from my arm, but the blood kept pouring out. I held my arm over the sink, to avoid staining the rug, which was already spotted with a few puddles of blood. “Axel! Open the door now!” I grabbed a hand towel and pressed it over the wound. “I can’t, Blue,” I told her. “I’ll give you to the count of ten,” she warned. “One,” she started. Panic ran through my thoughts as I tried to wrap the towel in place, but it wasn’t going to stay. “Two.” I twisted it enough so that it could be hidden from under my trench coat sleeve. “Ten.” The door crashed over me, hiding me beneath the wood. I groaned at the unexpectancy of the door crashing in. “Blue! What the hell was that for?” I yelled, pushing the door away from me. Blue stood just behind the door way and I saw Adele standing behind her with a shocked expression on her face. Blue was staring at me, and then looked at my arm. “You shouldn’t have done that, Axel. Your arm is going to keep bleeding now,” she told me what I already knew. I looked at the sink, which held a pool of blood almost to the rim. I wished I could see my face in the mirror. How much I would be scaring them right now. I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my coat and saw thick red blood smearing the fabric with a glint from the light in the bathroom. I noticed Blue staring at the sink more than necessary. “I’ll be fine, Blue…I just need to clean up here-“I started to say when Blue cut me off sharply, “No! I mean, um…I’ll clean up for you. You need to get your arm healed.” I stared at her. She knew I was a vampire anyways, so she must also know that my arm was probably healed completely by now. “Um, Blue? My arm is healed,” I told her, showing her my bloody arm. Blue took a step toward me, taking my arm and wiping some of the blood off, to see that it was healed. “Well, I’ll still be glad to clean up here if you can call the hotel staff and tell them that we need a new door. I nodded and walked around Blue and to the phone that was sitting on a nightstand that was

between either bed. I picked up the receiver and before I could dial the number for maintenance, I thought, ‘Why did Blue want to clean the bathroom? It’s disgusting in there, so…why would any lady want to clean up blood?’ I felt bad, so I put the receiver down. Adele was sitting on the other bed looking at her nails, lazily, so I told her, “Adele, why don’t you go downstairs and look in the gift shop or something.” I gave her a 20 dollar bill and watched her smile and walk quickly to the door. After it shut, I continued to the bathroom and stopped at its doorway, eyes widened and my stomach crawling again. “Blue?” Blue looked at me quickly. She was sitting on the tub’s edge with blood smeared on her face and blood filling her cupped hands. My jaw dropped in horror. “What are you doing?!” is she a vampire, too? What’s happening? The blood drizzled out from between her fingers as she stammered, “Um…it’s nothing, Axel, I-“ “Blue! What the hell are you?” Her bottom lip trembled and she cradled her face in her arms, sobbing. I sighed and picked the door up from the floor and setting it against the wall opposite the bathroom and stumbling toward her, avoiding shards of wood sticking up. I eventually got to Blue and stared down at her. I looked at the sink and it was about half empty now. “You know, by cleaning up in here, I didn’t mean you had to drink my blood, my dear,” I said, trying to lighten up the subject. It wasn’t working because she sobbed more, now. I sat next to her on the tub and put my arm around her for comfort. “Blue. Please tell me. What happened here?” I waited for a couple minutes, only to be responded with crying and sniffling. I had all the time in the world, to find out what sort of creature she was. After a few more minutes, she raised her head to look at me. I stared into those white, endless eyes, almost losing myself. I looked away suddenly and shut my eyes for a second, trying to remember what was happening. When I looked forward, I saw Blue. My arm was now falling as if she’d just moved then. My eyes went wide. How is she that fast? By the time I reacted to her, moving away from my arm being around her, she was already at the bathroom’s doorway. I’m not sure even I could move that fast. She’s either a very old vampire or…she’s a different creature. I stood up and walked toward her, remembering to watch the wood slivers. Blue backed away from me as I neared her and I stopped at the doorway. Blue walked away, toward the room’s door as Adele walked in, “Woah! Blue, you’re going to give me a heart attack one day,” Adele continued, walking toward the bathroom, “I need to try on the clothes I got at the store.” I walked toward her and prevented her from seeing the bathroom and asked, “You found good clothes at a hotel gift shop? That doesn’t sound likely.” Adele chuckled, “No, silly, I went to the mall.” I rolled my eyes, “And how in the world did you find the mall, shop, and come back in what? Ten minutes?” Adele looked at me funny, “Um…Axel? I was gone for a good hour and a half.” ‘What? An hour and a half? I couldn’t have talked, or attempted to, with Blue for an hour and a half. It’s impossible,’ I thought. I was so confused. “Anyways, I’m just going to try this on,” Adele said, squeezing by me. I remembered what happened to the bathroom, and before I could tell Adele not to go in, I heard a sharp scream of terror roll through the hotel room. When I turned

around, Adele was pushing past me to get as far away from the bathroom as possible. She stopped when she looked at Blue. Adele let out another scream, backing away from Blue. I took Adele’s arm and lead her out of the room and into the hallway. Kicking and screaming, I eventually got Adele to calm down. I sat us against a wall and tried to comfort her, “Adele. It’s alright…nothing happened, I got thirsty and it got out of hand,” I lied. I didn’t want to tell her that Blue did all that, but she’d find out later, after I calmed her down a bit more. “Axel, that scared the hell out of me. Don’t let it happen again,” she pleaded. “It won’t happen,” I told her. “Wait here. I’ll try to clean up a little more,” I said standing up and walking back in the room. “Blue?” I called for her. I went to the bathroom and saw her sitting on the tub, cradling her head in her hands. She looked at me and waited for me to reply. The shards of wood were cleaned up and the sink was spotless. I walked toward her and stopped to hold my hand out, to help her up. She took my hand and stood up, avoiding my gaze.