Frank, By Malou Geurts

Frank By Malou Geurts Chapters Introduction into vampires 1.01 ........................................................................................................ 2 Club Undead Indeed .......................................................................................................................... 7 Revelations...................................................................................................................................... 11 Conversations and Changes ............................................................................................................. 15 Choices............................................................................................................................................ 19 Confrontation .................................................................................................................................. 22

Frank – By Malou Geurts

Introduction into vampires 1.01 “Frank.” “Yes.” “Frank.” “Anything wrong with that?” he said after I didn’t respond immediately. “It sounds so, mundane…” He let out a chocked snort, “I suppose you are right, with me being a vampire after all.” I studied the expression on his face, like most times it was smirking back at me, mirroring my own expression. Frank wasn’t particularly handsome, but he had the troublemaker aura that seemed to attract girls like bees to honey. He had dark brown hair that fell down to frame his face like he had a personal stylist, which he assured me he didn’t, and bright blue eyes to match. He shifted his lanky body with a sigh, “Maybe I should change it to Louis.” “Maybe you should change it to Edward.” We went through a whole list of vampire names after that. It’s strange how comfortable it was to be sitting there with a vampire, a predator that hunted my kind for sports. Well, at least that was how he explained it. I’d known him for a month now and I hadn’t even noticed until he showed me his fangs twenty minutes ago. Actual, honest to god, retractable fangs, I haven’t figured out how he does that yet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with a reasonable explanation. I’m not really sure believe him though, I mean, vampires are creatures of legend and modern, yet incredibly corny novels. There have always been rumors, go take a look at the internet, it’s filled with vampire wannabes. But Frank, currently Count Chocula, assured me there was such a thing as magic. “So, seriously, you don’t believe me do you?” “Nope.” “Why not?” This time it was my turn to laugh, ready with a whole list of reasons to disprove the existence of vampires, including a few that would make any atheist proud. But when I lowered my head and opened my eyes - my laughter is more like a hysterical giggle - he’d left the couch he’d been lounging on. “What the –“ I blinked, looking around the room, but there was no sign of him. Completely baffled, I actually looked underneath the couch and loveseat, which had absolutely no way of hiding a fully grown 2

Frank – By Malou Geurts man. My next option was behind the large bookcase that seriously cramped my already tiny living room. “Frank! Where the hell did you run off to?” I shouted at the ceiling, just to make sure he hadn’t pulled a Spiderman on my ass. “I’m right here.” He breathed in my ear. It was too late to suppress the scream that tore its way out of my throat. “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me!” I complained while turning around. He wasn’t there. This time I was almost prepared when I felt a hand touch my shoulder and turn me back in the opposite direction. The shock was like an electric current, which was apparently hilarious, and had Frank on the floor laughing his ass off. Still too shaken I couldn’t really appreciate the humor, but that didn’t stop me from bursting out in nervous giggles myself. It took a while for us to calm down and stop sounding like a pair of raving hyenas. I think I actually heard my neighbor thump the wall and yell something very foul. “Crap.”I gasped, being pretty close to hyperventilation at this point. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Crap.” For at least ten minutes that was our conversation, while I turned over the facts in my head. Either my friend was really fast, or he had some kind of invisibility device. Neither sounded very plausible, but I still hadn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for his teeth either. “Are you going to tell me how the hell you managed that?” “No.” “What? Why not.” I sat up outraged that he would share random mythical things with me, but not explain them. This time it only took me half a second to realize I’d been had, again. Frank looked like he was about to explode from holding his breath, launching us into a new round of hysterics. “Okay,” he started, “being a vampire has its perks. This was just one of them.” “You got an honorary invisibility cloak when you became a club member?” Another laugh. “Nah, I just got super fast.” “Awesome.” “Yeah.” “I think my brain died from information overload.” *

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Frank – By Malou Geurts It’s safe to say that night was probably one of my weirdest experiences ever. I’d only known Frank for a short time, but we’d hit it off straight away. His laid back manners made me feel at ease and he had no problem with my chaotic though processes, he told me it was extremely entertaining. So somewhere along the way I had befriended an actual vampire, I just had no idea what he was at the time. Most of the night was spent with me asking a million question, half of which I can’t even remember anymore. I think I might have passed out in the middle somewhere, because next I knew I woke up in my bed. Luckily, he’d been kind enough not to relieve me from my underwear, that would have been awkward. The only other evidence of the previous evening was an open pizza box which still held a partial crust. And of course my neighbor, which looked very cranky when I met him in the hall on my way to my morning classes. By the time I arrived the professor had already started his lecture on weapons Hundred Year’s War, earning me several disapproving glances as I shuffled towards my seat. Lindsay, insane but fun, had been kind enough to save it for me. “Hey girl, what’s up with the late?” she whispered and passed me piece of paper. ‘The lecture is boring, you didn’t miss a thing. He should talk about Joan of Arc, at least would be interesting.’ I smiled when I read it, I never understood why Lindsay had chosen weapons and warfare as one of her subjects. She just wasn’t the type, but when I asked her about it she’d told me it was the easiest way to get the credit she needed. I quickly scribbled an answer, glad we couldn’t speak, because I’m a terrible liar. ‘Overslept, stayed up late watching TV.’ She snorted at that and I yanked the paper back to elaborate. ‘Frank ordered pizza.’ Apparently that was enough to satisfy her curiosity, for a moment at least. ‘You ask him out yet?’ Deciding it was time to pay attention to the lecture I ignored the paper and Lindsay’s expectant expression. It was no secret Lindsay had a crush on Frank, but having a boyfriend she settled on trying to hook me up instead. Sweet girl, not that bright. I’d known Lindsay for years now, you’d expect her to know when I really like someone and when I just like hanging out with someone, but no such luck. While the professor prattled on about warfare in the fourteenth century, I let my thoughts drift towards all things vampire. I wondered if he was around during this time, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t

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Frank – By Malou Geurts asked him how old he was. Seriously, my friend could be a five hundred year old freak, instead of a 24 year old with major hallucinations and super speed. Another note was professionally tucked underneath my left hand. ‘Club Undead, tonight 10pm.’ Club Undead was slang for the local club, called Blue Foundation, which served great drinks, great music and a whole bunch of gothic/emo kids. The irony wasn’t lost on me, it was where I first bumped into Frank, literally. ‘Sure, bring Alex?’ Alex was Lindsay’s aforementioned boyfriend. Cute, blonde, a little short and a killer smile. They were practically joined at the hip, it made me wonder why they hadn’t moved in together yet. ‘Duh. You bringing Frank?’ ‘Not unless I freakishly bump into him in some dark alley.’ ‘You have plans to be in dark alleys?’ I rolled my eyes at Lindsay in response, but she wasn’t looking, she was packing her books into her bag and it took me a moment to realize the lecture had ended. “Want to ditch the next one?” Lindsay suggested. “Shouldn’t, I’m already behind with my reading.” “Well, you could catch up while we ditch.” “Sorry, bad plan, maybe next week.” She stuck out her tongue at me and I grinned back at her. “Oh well, your loss, I’ll see you tonight.” She replied bouncing off before I could spit out an undignified answer. *

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Of course the rest of the day was a total drag, long lectures followed by lots of catching up with my severely neglect study books. It was a relief to dig through my closet and allow my inner girl to fret over what to wear. I settled for my favorite jeans and a cute black top that hugged what little curves I had. “Nice.” I whipped around to face a very smug looking vampire. “Christ! What are you, some kind of stalker now?” His face fell. “Does it bother you?” 5

Frank – By Malou Geurts “Yeah, when you scare the crap out of me it bothers me. You never did this before the big revelation.” “True. I just figured you could handle it.” “Sorry, it’ll just take some getting used to I guess…” The grin was back full force and I realized he’d just led the conversation into me accepting him acting like a freaky stalker. So I smacked him over the head, which of course didn’t work now that he could use his superpowers, he ducked out of the way and into the living room. “Let’s go.” “Where? I’m going to Club Undead, what were you planning?” “Blue Foundation.” “Shame.” I laughed. “I have a date with Lindsay, maybe next time?” Frank just grinned and walked out the door, not even waiting for me to follow. I’m sure he had super hearing or something too because he flipped me off when I stuck out my tongue at his retreating back. “Bring me back a gift!” I shouted at him the closest pair I could find and hopped my way down the stairs in hopes of catching my ride before it left without me.

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Frank – By Malou Geurts

Club Undead Indeed The club actually had a linen waiting in front of it, which didn’t happen very often. Luckily Frank knew the bouncer and we were able to go in straight away, earning us some foul language from the waiting crowd. I immediately spotted Lindsay and Alex, standing at the bar with drinks already in their hands, waving at us like idiots. Did I mention my friends are kind of insane? Of course the first thing that came out of Lindsay’s mouth was a speech about me staying out of dangerous abandoned alleys. Leave it to her to remember completely useless facts and forgetting everything else. It didn’t take long before I dragged the others to the dance floor, ready to spend some excess energy moving to the pulsing beat. Where I started to notice a few things about Frank, his skin seemed different from pretty much everyone else, the harsh colored lights seemed to bounce right off him. Not to mention the fact that he occasionally seemed a little blurry, as if I was looking at him from the corner of my eye. Ignoring the fact that I was doing just that. Strange how these things stood out so easily now, it made me wonder why I hadn’t seen them before. Turns out, Frank wasn’t the only undead in Club Undead. When I took a moment to get us some drinks, I saw a dark haired girl sitting at the bar, if I hadn’t just noticed those minor things about Frank, I never would have guessed there was anything wrong with her. Pale skin almost glared at me as she turned to face me and I quickly ducked my head. I know that my friend is a vampire and all, but I had no idea on the etiquette when meeting a new blood sucking monster. Besides glittering skin hardly qualifies as a demon detector right? So I figured I was just going a little nuts since I found out vampires were real, it’s like when you hear someone is infested with lice, you automatically get the urge to scratch your head. “Hi.” I hadn’t even noticed her slithering up to me, which resulted in me nearly falling off the bar stool I was leaning on. Not feeling like getting too close to this stranger I smiled at her and turned back around to grab the drinks the bartender had left for me. The stranger blocked my way when I tried to return to the safe haven of my friends and I suddenly felt very nervous. I tried telling myself that there was no reason to be, even if she was a vampire, which I still highly doubted, there were plenty of people in the room. I didn’t think she’d attack with such a big public. Boy, was I wrong. She gave me a vicious grin, showing some overly pointy teeth, snapping at me, daring me to make a break for it. Good thing she wasn’t the only vampire I knew, well I thought I knew another, but when I frantically scanned the crowd Frank wasn’t there. The fear hit me like a truck, after everything he 7

Frank – By Malou Geurts told me, I knew how dangerous a vampire could be. Even if I just recounted popular myths, unless she was some sparkly vegetarian this wasn’t looking too good. Not showing the slightest sign of effort she crunched the bones in my upper arm, making me drop the half forgotten drinks I was apparently still holding. At the first sign of my pain her grin turned more vicious, if that was even possible. All it took was a sharp tug and I followed her stumbling to the other side of the room, try as I might I couldn’t get her to release her grip. I looked around frantically, but no one seemed to notice what was going on. The fact that most people were to absorbed in their own ‘misery’ didn’t particularly help. I knew I tended to attract trouble, but never in this magnitude, this was just ridiculous. I was just preparing to scream my lungs out when I was tugged out the emergency exit and a hand wrapped around my throat. “Make a sound and I’ll pop your head off like a bottle cap.” “Bitch!” Okay, so aggravating your attacker might not be the smartest thing to do – especially when said attacker is a vampire – but I just couldn’t help myself. Her reaction was so fast I never even noticed it. Teeth sinking into your neck hurt like hell, nothing like the romanticized thing you read about in books or see in movies. And it’s not a clean puncture wound either. I thought she was going to rip out my throat. If Frank hadn’t been there she probably would have. He came out of nowhere, ripping her off me – tearing my neck even more in the process – and slammed her into a concrete wall. A sickening crunch indicated that something was very wrong with the body now crumpled against an overturned trashcan. I could see her furious face through Frank’s legs as he was crouched over me protectively. I was pretty sure he said something to me, but I couldn’t make out the words, a ringing inside my head blocking out all other sounds. I didn’t see the girl move, but suddenly she was on Frank, snapping her teeth at him, trying to rip the flesh from his bones. Her eyes seemed a pure black in the fluorescent light that hung overhead, making her look even more dangerous – and insane. Hate twisted her features as she sprang back again, making a few more feints trying to get past my protector. “She’s mine!” she hissed. It took me a moment to realize the answering growl came from Frank, it sounded more like a bear than any human I’d ever heard. “Don’t you dare touch her!” “Why, are you keeping a pet?” she snarled back. 8

Frank – By Malou Geurts “What if I am? You’re not going to lay a hand on her.” I think at that point the girl snorted and made a comment about keeping animals, but I must have lost too much blood – or maybe it was the shock – for I remembered nothing after that. *

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Pain was the first thing I realized as my mind drifted towards consciousness, I tried to block it out, but there was no stopping my body from waking up. Awareness hit me like a brick wall, my entire body was sore, especially in the area connected to my head. My eyes felt like it’s been swimming in sand and refused to open, the same thing went for my throat. Great. A faint murmur in the back ground told me I wasn’t alone and when I tried to bring up my hand to rub my eyes I noticed something stuck to my wrist. Cracking my eyes open with a big effort I looked down. There was a freaking needle in my wrist! And it moved around when I tried to move my arm! I could feel the bile working its way up from my stomach and a feeling of lightheaded nausea swept through my body. It wasn’t a good feeling and I was ready to pass out again when Lindsay noticed my semi-conscious state. With her face hovering over mine, saying something I couldn’t quite make out, it took me a moment I wasn’t in my bed, I wasn’t even in my home. Pulling my eyes away from the very white environment and back to Lindsay’s face I realized she was asking me how I was feeling. “Mrwurgle…” A throaty laugh told me Alex was in the room as well, he always seemed to enjoy my sufferings. Flipping him off seemed a good idea, but I didn’t want to wriggle the needle from hell around, so I settled for leaning around his girlfriend to glare at him. I tried again. “Water…” It came out more like a groan still, but I was happy to have my voice back, even if it sounded gritty and somewhat unintelligible. “What’s the magic word?” said Alex. “Hocus Pocus.” I bit back. He laughed in response and went it to the hallway, hopefully to fetch me a drink. Lindsay was still hovering over me like a mother hen. “I’m fine, Linds.” I tried to placate her. 9

Frank – By Malou Geurts “Sure, you were attacked by a crazy woman and nearly bled to death, you’re just dandy!” “Uh, right…” It was only now that I noticed her red eyes, indicating either some major crying or an extreme lack of sleep. “How long was I out?” “For about a day.” “Oh, wow. So does this mean I’m in the hospital?” “Yeah.” She whispered, giving me a quick nod that told me more about how worried she’d been than words could ever say. It also meant that she wasn’t ready to break down crying again, maybe later, but now she was keeping up a brave face for me. “So, where’s Frank, is he OK?” The change of topic seemed to boost Lindsay’s spirits a little and she gave me a small smile. “He’s fine, he couldn’t stay in the hospital though, he told me the blood and the smell make him nauseous.” She grimaced in agreement. “He told me to tell you he’ll come pick you up when you’re ready to get out.” “Oh.” I was a little disappointed my friend didn’t seem to consider my health important enough to hang around a hospital for a while. Logically I realized that it must be a vampire thing or something, he didn’t have any problems defending me from a dangerous attacker, but a little part of me was still hurt. I leaned back into my pillow and waited for Alex to return with my drink, trying not to jostle the needle of doom. “Can you get a nurse to remove this thing from my arm?” Looking down pointedly at my wrist, feeling a new wave of nausea rise. “Sure…” Lindsay must have sensed my mood as she left quickly to find a nurse, giving me an encouraging smile on the way out.

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Frank – By Malou Geurts

Revelations Surprisingly I only spend another day in the hospital before being declared healthy enough to go home. Apparently the tear in my neck hadn’t been as bad as I thought, the doctors seemed to agree, practically applauding my fast recovery. When I came home Frank was waiting for me in the living room, lounging on the couch as if I’d only stepped out for a moment. “Welcome home.” I couldn’t resist the smile creeping up to me, it was good to see my friend again and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him. Strange how attached I had gotten to his presence in the past months. “Hey, it’s good to be out. You know you could have visited in the hospital.” “Yeah. Me and hospitals aren’t great, I figured you’d be out soon enough and I’d just have to make it up to you.” He said and handed me a small package wrapped in blue paper. “Oooh, present!” I clapped my hands together. Inside the paper was a box, which revealed a simple silver necklace with a small clear stone hanging from it. I looked up at Frank, barely remembering to close my mouth. “It’s a bribe, for leaving you at the hospital.” “It’s beautiful…” “As long as you don’t get all emotional on me,” he laughed, “there’s also a pizza on the way.” “You just made my day, I love pizza!” I grinned, “oh, and the necklace is cool too…” “Glad we’re okay.” “Well, you did save my life and all that, I should be getting you presents.” “You can pay for the pizza,” Frank suggested. “Deal.” *

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Most of the night was spent talking about random occurrences, avoiding the subject of the attack. For some reason I didn’t really feel like talking about it, it was too bizarre. At the same time I felt like it was unfinished business, I needed to know what the hell had been going on. The reality of vampires was almost undeniable, the only confirmation I needed was from someone else who’d seen the crazy woman. 11

Frank – By Malou Geurts “Frank…” Though his answer was mostly mumbled my senses were so aware of my environment that I had no trouble distinguishing what he’d said. “That girl the other night… I…” I didn’t know where to start, it was like my brain was so overwhelmed it refused to form proper sentences. Luckily, Frank had no such problems. “She was a vampire.” “Oh… I figured… Why do you think she attacked me?” He paused, like he was reluctant to tell me the truth. Apparently he decided I needed to know, because the next thing he did was launch into a speech that sent my brain scrambling for safety. Of course every word he said stuck to my mind as if I’d heard them every day for a decade. “I haven’t told you how vampires are made, I hadn’t intended to let you know, at least not yet anyway. I didn’t think you were ready, barely believing the reality of our existence.” He paused. “Mortals aren’t allowed to know about vampires.” “Why not?” A wry smile twisted his face. “Have you ever seen an angry mob? People tend to panic, panic spreads and there is an unbelievable amount of damage after they calm down. Which can be decades, by the way.” I snorted at him, which apparently wasn’t appropriate, judging by his frown. “It’s not a laughing matter.” “Sorry, sorry, I just imagined my friends with pitchforks and torches.” I held up my hands in what I hoped was a peaceful gesture. “Anyway, normal people aren’t allowed to know of our existence.” “So, you have like vampire laws and cops and stuff?” No answer. Frank got up off the couch and grabbed the left over pizza, dumping it in the trash in my tiny open kitchen. “What? I wasn’t trying to insult you or anything!” He smiled at me, pretty sure it was genuine I smiled back tentatively. 12

Frank – By Malou Geurts “I know, it’s late you need rest. We’ll continue this conversation at another time.” “Oh, okay.” Truth was, I felt dead on my feet, I just hadn’t realized it before. So we said goodnight and I padded off to bed, almost forgetting to put on my pj’s and brush my teeth. It was only when I was on the edge of sleep that I realized the question I should have asked instead. If humans weren’t allowed to know, how come he told me? *

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The next day I tried calling my vampire friend, but he didn’t answer. I figured he was busy or something so I left him a message saying he should call me back. He didn’t. It took him a week and about a million messages before he turned up on my doorstep in the middle of the night. It was raining and he was dripping in the hallway, looking like a sad puppy. I’d intended to scold him for making me worry about where he’d been. But he looked so pathetic the part of me that reminded me of my mother took over and hugged him instead, a stream of questions already bursting from my lips. “Where were you? What happened? Why didn’t you return my calls?” “Sorry,” he mumbled, “I had to take care of a few things.” Almost dragging him inside I ordered him to take off his coat and shoes grabbing a clean towel on the way. He sat down on the couch gingerly, like he was hurt somewhere. “Are you OK?” “Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” “Sure?” “Pinky swear.” He said solemnly, giving me the urge to grin. “So, what happened?” “Nothing important, maybe I’ll tell you later, we have more important things to talk about.” “To hell with ‘not important,’ you went missing for days!” “Don’t you want to know why I told you the truth about vampires?” The question took me slightly off balance, it had been the one that had been eating at me during the past week – alternating with worry for Frank – making me a distracted mess. The only thing that seemed to have saved me was the fact that I’d been attacked so recently. I was sure my professors 13

Frank – By Malou Geurts would have kicked me out of classes or given me horrid marks under different circumstances. The staff in the History department wasn’t exactly known for its leniency. It took me a moment to get off that tangent and wrap my mind around the current situation. “Why.” I realized it was more of a statement than a question, but just because I would humor him – and satisfy my curiosity in the process – didn’t meant I wasn’t letting his sudden disappearance go. Frank looked almost relieved to be off the hook and a new light was shining in his eyes, ready to spill the beans on what was possibly the most unbelievable secret in the world. I leaned forward balancing on the edge of the loveseat I was sitting on. “You’re genetically compatible.” “Wait, what..?” “You’re genetically compatible.” He parroted. “I heard you the first time. What the hell does that mean?” “Vampires are nearly extinct, the virus can’t be passed on to most other humans, but it can be passed on to you. Which makes you interesting to our population and we’d like to invite you to join our ranks.” “You want me to become a freaking vampire?!”I screeched. I think I may have passed out after that.

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Frank – By Malou Geurts

Conversations and Changes I really had to stop blacking out. “Hey, you alright? I didn’t mean to scare you.” That was Frank, the insane vampire that wanted me to join his ranks. “Screw you.” My head was pounding and the light nearly blinded me when I opened my eyes. It didn’t stop him from laughing in the vicinity of my ears and increasing my discomfort, so I cut him off abruptly. “Shut up, my head hurts.” “Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that, I was a little late catching you. I should have known you weren’t ready yet.” He was kneeling in front of me, while I was sitting on the couch he previously occupied, looking genuinely sorry he’d upset me. “I didn’t mean to scare you, you don’t have to believe me–“ “Yeah right, I can just deny the fact that I was attacked by some random vampire after you clued me in on their existence. Oh, and the fact that I seem to be a genetic freak to boot doesn’t change anything.” He sighed, looking down at his hands. “I know this is hard and I wouldn’t have confronted you with it yet under any other circumstances, at least not yet.” “What makes these circumstances so special?” I asked. “You were bitten.” Involuntary my hand reached for my neck, touching the bandage that protected the stitches keeping my skin together. “Why should that make a difference? I mean, I don’t have rabies do I?!” He smiled. “You don’t have rabies.” “Good,” I paused, fearing the worst, “now spill. Why is it important?” “You’re infected.” The way he said it was like he was talking about the weather, not delivering life-changing news. I was ready to faint all over again, but for some reason my body stayed awake enough to stay upright. “You mean like a virus, or a disease?” 15

Frank – By Malou Geurts “You have to make a choice.” The same monotone, stating facts, very normal facts. “What?” “The infection isn’t permanent, if you do nothing it will clear your system in a few months.” “That’s good right? I can just go back to normal.” I smiled at him, maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad, just carry around a freaky disease for a while and continue my life as normal. He just looked back seriously. “There’s a catch.” Of course. I should have known, nothing is ever that simple. “Your body will build up a resistance to the virus, it makes anti-bodies, so the next time you’re bitten your body is prepared to fight off the infection.” I wanted to give my body an applause, but Frank didn’t seem to be in the mood to party. The realization that he wanted me to become a vampire slapped me on the back of my head. “Isn’t that a good thing? I can just live my life like nothing ever changed.” He didn’t answer me. “You want me to become a vampire like you, don’t you?” I continued. “Why?” “At first, I came to find you to check if you were a genetic match, we’re a dying breed and our leaders are desperate to save what is left of us. So they sent me.” “You’re an undercover vamp?” “Yes, something like that. In case you turned out to be a match, I was to convince you to join our ranks.” “Why? Aren’t you all immortal and stuff? I mean, why would you need more vampires? This way there is more food for everyone right?” “True, but there are currently only about forty vampires in existence. The elders have noticed a drop in procreation possibilities. The human race is becoming more resistant to the virus.” “Oh.” Suddenly forty vampires seemed like a small number, especially since there were about six billion humans who could rise up to wipe them out in no time. “Most newborns don’t survive their first year, especially without guidance their survival rate is less than ten percent. “Wow.”

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Frank – By Malou Geurts “I was supposed to prepare you for the change and convince you if necessary. Now that you’ve been bitten I’m supposed to take you with me to the Elders so that when the change is finished you could be trained.” “Trained for what?” “Living among humans as a vampire, it’s not exactly easy and most newborns don’t have the discipline to keep the mobs from forming.” “Oh.” “They like to keep a tight leash on the new ones, to keep our secret from coming out.” “I see.” At that point I could do little more than agree with his logic, he probably knew best and I had an instinctive sense of trust where he was concerned. That didn’t mean I was ready to become some fantastical creature to save his race, it just made me feel like a broodmare. “You still don’t want to be like me?” “No.” I sighed at his glum expression. “I’m not going to become a vampire to please a bunch of old bats.” *

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I liked my life the way it was, however in the next couple of weeks I stated to notice some chances. For one, the subject of vampires was off the table, any conversation with Frank present was so ‘normal’ it as starting to freak me out. And more importantly, I was starting to eat a lot more meat. Even more disturbing, the freshly cut animals in the butcher’s window suddenly didn’t look so repulsive anymore, I found myself actually salivating once. When I tried to talk to Frank about it he pretty much blew me off, saying that if I didn’t want o change I just needed to resist actual blood. And while eating raw meat might prolong the process of fighting the infection it would go away eventually. That was all the information I was getting out of him, which annoyed me to no end. The longer this was going on, the more questions seemed to pop up. None of which he would answer, he just told me flat out that I didn’t really need to know, it would all soon be over. He was pulling away from me and I didn’t like it. Our easygoing friendship was basically ruined and I started spending more time with Lindsay. The bubbly blonde kept my mind from wandering most times, but even she started to notice the changes. I realized that I would give anything to have my life just return to normal, before I’d been bitten. Which was naïve of course. 17

Frank – By Malou Geurts So I started to analyze my feelings, going to the butcher shop and buying a pound of fleshy fresh meat. Time to put this possible vampirism to the test.

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Frank – By Malou Geurts

Choices “Help me finish the process.” “No.” “Why not?” “What you’re feeling now is part of the infection, a survival mechanism. I don’t want you to regret your decision after.” He looked so serious I just wanted to pat his head and give him a cupcake, telling him everything was going to be alright. “I like the changes, not just because my body is telling me to feel good after raw meat. I’m stronger, faster, I can even think clearer.” “What?” Surprise was evident on his face, making me feel smug. I’d been experimenting for two weeks now, keeping a close watch on any changes that occurred after I’d had a pound of red meat. I turned out to be more ‘human’ when I went vegetarian for a few days, along with making me feel weak and useless. He grabbed my head with both of his hands, peering deep into my eyes. Uttering a single word. “Shit.” I blinked. “What?” “You’ve been facilitating the change.” “So..?” He exploded. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You can’t go back now, at least not without severe repercussions! And this isn’t enough to keep you stable, what will you do when you need more and more? Will the butcher’s meat be enough? Will you start begging him for blood? You do realize they won’t sell it to you! Are you going to let yourself starve, or will you go nuts and attack innocent people when you can no longer control yourself?!” He was panting, pupils dilated, anger evident in his entire body language. It took him a few breaths to control himself, but when he continued his voice was much softer. “You should have told me.” 19

Frank – By Malou Geurts “When?” I asked, “you were not exactly open to any kind of supernatural conversation and I needed to know more about what was happening.” “I.. Yes. You’re right. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I thought I was helping you, you seemed to convinced of your decision.” He let go of my face. “I knew that the virus might change things for you, but if I’d had the choice before I was turned I would have wanted the out as well.” “You would have stayed human?” “Yes. It seems like a dream, immortality, but after a while it feels more like a curse. When you can’t see your friends and family anymore because of the secret, it’s far less exciting.” The high I had been on since finding out I could jump nearly 6 feet in the air, was now officially over. “I never considered leaving my friends behind…” “I don’t think any of us ever did.” “Well there is no turning back now…” “Maybe not, but –“ “No!” I cut him off. “I made my choice, I’m going to go through with this, besides I’m way to curious about what it’s like on the other side.” “Fine, but we’re leaving tomorrow.” “What? Why?” “Once you make the full change you don’t want to be in highly populated areas.” That was the beginning of a heated argument that nearly killed what was left of our friendship. And I don’t know how it happened, but I managed to convince him that until I was an actual danger to the people around me, I would remain where I was. *

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My vampire training started the following day. Frank was convinced that if we could keep me properly fed I would probably be able to curb my instincts, which started to emerge rather rapidly once I started to drink actual blood. I’d thought that an all liquid diets would be bad, but my body adapted almost immediately. Frank had some vampire connections allowing him access to vast stocks of blood, courtesy of vampire inc. He told me that was how many vampires got at least part of their blood, as living blood was more nutritious, but you couldn’t go sucking people dry without attracting any attention. 20

Frank – By Malou Geurts We didn’t get into any more fights, if anything, he seemed pleased I’d taken a liking to the vampire lifestyle. He taught me how to move around during the day with the least amount of damage – vampires are very sensitive to direct sunlight on their skin, but nothing like bursting randomly into flames. And as my strength increased, so did my thirst for the gooey liquid that would have made me vomit in another lifetime. I spent less and less time with my other friends, telling everyone that I needed some time off from school and life to deal with the attack. Lindsay didn’t buy it though. She kept calling me, even popping by between classes to make sure I was alright. I had enjoyed spending time with her before, but now she just started getting on my nerves, her skittish heartbeat made me agitated and thirsty. I didn’t tell Frank, knowing he’s want to take me to his super-secret-hidey-hole on the other side of the world and I just wasn’t ready to deal with other vampires just yet. I still had nightmares about the attack. And although Frank had said he’s taken care of the girl, I expected her to jump me at any moment. I wasn’t wrong.

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Frank – By Malou Geurts

Confrontation Lindsay had been harassing me to go out with her, worrying about my obvious absence in her life. One night she just showed up at my place and practically dragged me out the door. I would have protested, but Frank seemed to think it would be a good exercise to be among people more. I was nearly a full vampire according to his standards and I seemed to be doing extraordinarily well. Or so he told me. She took me to Club Undead, and while I had to smile at the irony, I did not feel like going there. Inside it was hot, crowded and filled with pheromones. Though I had never noticed before, the smells assaulted my heightened senses, making me feel a little dizzy. Red lights flashed across my vision highlighting gyrating bodies moving to the beat of the music. The tension was so thick I could almost touch it, heart beating a frantic beat of lust inviting me to join in the ecstasy. Arousal hit me like an oncoming train, while I stood there frozen to its tracks. A shaking jarred me out of my train of thoughts, Lindsay had gotten us a couple of drinks and wanted me to follow her out to the dance floor. In the middle of that raging bunch of hormones just waiting to be bitten. This was going to be a difficult night. *

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It took only one drink to confirm that I no longer needed a human diet. In fact, the alcohol burned its way to my stomach and was ready to come right back out within moments. I hadn’t been paying attention and Lindsay had managed to give me pure vodka, probably in order to loosen me up. Thing is, though vampires could apparently digest food – without absorbing any of the nutritional value – alcohol was a completely different thing. As I stumbled towards to ladies’ room I vaguely remembered never having seen Frank with a single glass of alcohol. Thanks for the warning buddy. He was probably laughing his ass off right now. Lindsay was close to follow, holding back my hair once I reached the nearest sink. Though I literally only spit out the alcohol I had just ingested a chorus of “ews” surrounded us. Well ladies, that’s what you get for overcrowding the bathroom and not letting anyone ahead in line. Coughing I rinsed my mouth with some water trying to remove the harsh tang created by the vodka, it was no use. “I’m never having alcohol again.” “Are you okay?” 22

Frank – By Malou Geurts “Yeah, much better now.” I smiled encouragingly at a relieved Lindsay in the mirror. All around us were disapproving stares from girls who seriously needed to wash their gothic faces. I could feel the hate rolling off them just as easily as I could see the thick layers of paint on their faces. More than a few of them were definitely underage and I wondered if I should rat them out to the bouncers just for kicks. It probably wouldn’t work, seeing as they had somehow gotten in past them in the first place. “Wanna go home?”Lindsay offered and I nodded gratefully back at her. I didn’t think I could either survive on the dance floor without randomly trying to bite some unsuspecting ball of hormones and I definitely wasn’t in the mood for sticking around in the overcrowded bathroom. We were near the exit when I noticed an inhumanly fast movement in the corner of my eye. Whipping my head around to see if Frank had followed me here, I saw her. She was here, the bitch responsible for my infection and near death experience When she saw me turn she waved at my playfully, which pissing me off even more. All rational thought left my head as I started to follow her, anger burning like a taste in my mouth. Pushing unsuspecting people out of my way I didn’t even hear their indignant cries, intent on my enemy who was slipping out the same door she’d dragged me out of the first time. She was waiting for me there, in the alley, hands resting on her hips and flashing me a cocky grin. Her dark hair – obviously a wig – matched the leather cat suit she was wearing and I couldn’t resist making a comment about stray whores. When her eyes flickered to a spot behind me I realized that Lindsay had followed us. I turned around, trying to tell her to get the hell out, when the female vampire sprang forward. Her hands were outstretched, like claws, as her nails raked across Lindsay’s flawless skin. Blood started pouring out of the welts, making my brain go into overdrive. I realized too late what my body had instinctively decided, Lindsay was prey. The scent was overwhelming and the taste of her blood delicious on my tongue. I let the frenzy take over my mind and my body, drowning it in pleasure. I had never had any blood directly from a human and I was amazed at the feeling it gave me. I never realized I had wrapped myself around her body, effectively restraining her while I lapped at the scratches on her face. Only when the blood became diluted with a salty moisture I realized she was crying, shaking in my grasp. The way I was holding her she would be lucky not to have any broken bones. With a humongous effort I managed to disentangle myself, which I think was only possible because of the insane cackle that invoked an anger that was much stronger than my thirst.

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Frank – By Malou Geurts Before I could fully get a grasp on my mind I was tossed across the alley, right into the ladder of a fire escape. It hurt, but not as much as it would have if I’d been fully human. My sight seemed to have become sharper, which I attributed to the adrenaline now pumping in my veins. The bitch would not get away with hurting me – or my friends I added as an afterthought. I lunged at her, but she was too fast. I kept trying, my anger blinding me from anything I’d learned about combat in the past few weeks, allowing my instincts to drive me. Maybe it was luck, or maybe the bitch messed up but after what seemed like an eternity of cat and mouse I managed to wrap my hand around hers. And I must have taken her by surprise because it was only too easy to jerk her body forward and closing my jaws around the side of her neck. She’s been drinking human blood, I could taste it in hers as my fangs – I wondered when those had popped up, they never had before – pierced her jugular vein. She struggled against me, but it was futile, my strength was still fueled by rage and I wasn’t ready to let her go. Ever. I kept sucking on her neck for ages after she went limp, I must have drained her entire corpse. By the time I let go there was no life left in her black bottomless eyes. Pity was far from what I felt, but I did feel like there should be some elation after all this violence. I just felt drained. A clapping sound came from behind me and I dropped the dead body in disgust. It was Frank, my friend, though he looked more like a stranger to me. “Welcome to the world of monsters. You did very well.” *

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By the time I got back to Lindsay she was barely awake, but the terror on her face spoke in volumes. She would never look at me like a person ever again. So I hid in the shadows while Frank prattled on about me finishing my change now that I had killed violently. Last I heard him e was talking on a sleek black cell phone boasting about his prodigy, taking down the famous Leila. That’s when I left. I didn’t care for whatever reasons this all had happened, if it had been a complete set-up, or that it was just coincidence. I just knew that I seriously messed up, putting my best friend in jeopardy, for someone who had been a stranger not that long before I vowed I would make it up to her, someday. If she ever decided to talk to me again.

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