Chapter One: Hunt
I watched silently from my hiding place in the dark, tight crevice high on the wall of the church. The man below me was entirely unaware of my presence, and I was glad; I did not want him or the killer who was watching him getting suspicious. My palms itched, all my fingers twitching as the shadows lengthened, throwing a sinister glow across the pews. The night was creeping up, and the anticipation was driving me mad.
I tensed as I heard the soft footfalls of the woman approaching the church's northern entrance; she was going to enter beneath my feet. The killer- crouched on the side opposite the man and I, by the southern entrance- could not hear, and so he could not know that he had oriented himself around the wrong doorway. This gave me an advantage, but only so long as the killer did not hear the woman's passage as she made her way to her lover.
The man and the woman met here often to carry out their secret affair- they knew that God, unlike their families, would not judge their love- but it was the first meeting the woman's pursuer had heard of; he did not watch as avidly as I did. Unlike myself, he required sleep, and I took full advantage of this weakness: I listened to the woman's mind, uncovered her meeting times, and busied myself with either spying on her or searching for prey to sustain me. I hunted the woman's stalker out of need, and the killer stalked the woman out of want. I would beat the killer at his own game in order to save an innocent and quench my thirst; my thirst for blood. I was desperately thirsty, for I had to wait on the killer with his schemes and slow mastering of the woman's schedule.
I felt the corners of my mouth twitch up as I pondered the unusually unimaginative mind of the killer.
That man 'as jus' been bloody standin' there! Slow…borin'…come now, I haven't all night…
I had to stifle a laugh. He most certainly did not have all night- not if I could help it. My smile faded as I focused my mind, contemplating my plan of attack. If the killer remained where he was, then I could jump down and between him and his prey; that would probably be best, for the couple would stay out of harm's way. I could move through the southern entrance and away from them, so that way I would not be tempted. Hopefully, I could manage to control myself for that long- I didn't want any witnesses, but I didn't want to save them from one killer and then turn around and pick up where he left off. I shook my head to clear it, trying desperately to rid my mind of the depressing thoughts that lurked in the shadows, ready to spring and attack…to rob me of reason and resolve… I sighed. I hated myself, hated what I was; hated that I had to live in darkness, stalking and preying on the unsuspecting mortals who weakly imitated my sickening behavior. I hated that I, Edward Anthony Masen, was a vampire.
I felt the dry, burning sensation of thirst roar to life in the back of my throat as I thought the word. I closed my eyes and stopped my breathing, focusing only on the movements of the individuals below me. I zeroed in on the killer as he grew aware of the woman's approach, his thoughts growing more excited.
Ah, 'ere she is! Let it be quick now, I've no more time to waste!
The killer seemed blissfully unaware of the fact that he was several yards away from the northern entrance, and that he would have to make his way to them across that distance without being spotted if he wanted his plans to come to anything. He was also unaware of the bloodthirsty vampire perched high above his head, waiting to take his life. I curled up into a crouch, preparing to spring, as I turned my attention to the mind of the woman. She turning the door handle now, after having sped up to reach the door sooner. I clenched my fists, tensed for the moment she opened the door.
The loud creak of the huge, ancient door echoed throughout the church as the woman entered, intermingling with her soft call of, "John?" I leaped, letting the tight coils of my muscles loose. I was on the ground and across the room before John had time to answer, racing toward the killer without a sound. I gripped him around the throat, crushing the bones of his neck before he could think to scream, and got out the door as quickly as I could manage; I did not want the woman, Elizabeth, or John to see me. As soon as I was outside and a safe distance from the church, I drank, desperate to sooth the burning of my thirst. I finished my meal quickly, shoved aside a grille blocking the sewer, and dumped the lifeless body in the opening. As I did, I listened intently to the couple's minds, searching to see if I had been spotted. I breathed a sigh of relief and closed my mind to their thoughts when I discovered they were of only each other. I shoved the grille back into place and turned away.
I walked slowly down the street, watching as the twilight faded and the pitch black night swallowed the light of day.