Prologue: When the light leaves your eyes

New Orleans, 1956

The air was heavy with cigarette smoke, filling the lungs of all the people in the bar. The resident band stopped for a break and a song broke from the jukebox.

.com/watch?v=2OG3uPULQRs

He was sitting in one of the booths at the backside, enjoying the sight of girls wearing petticoats and high pony tails swinging left and right with every step they took. He took a swig of his bourbon and finished his smoke. Not that he could inhale the nicotine. He just liked the action.

"I ain't never seen a Chinese person in this bar." A high pitched voice came from his right. The accent was the rich southern accent he had become well acquainted with in the half year he had spent here.

"Well I'm not Chinese, I'm Korean." Though he knew she wouldn't know the difference anyway. There were still a lot of fucking racists here.

"Oh, but you're English is so good! You've been here for long?"

"I come and go." He said simply, exploring her young face, the blonde hair, blue eyes, the large breasts and her juicy calves. American women had a lot more shape than the Korean girls he was used to. It was a nice change every now and then.

"Ooh, so you're the mysterious kind?" She sat down next to him. "My name's Stacy. I ain't never spoken to an oriental before." He let the offensive term slide.

"Yeah? How do you like it so far?"

"I like it a lot. But what's your name?" She nudged his shoulder. Her perfume was nice, like a bed of fragrant flowers in summertime. He was attracted to scents more than anything. The right smell could send him over the top.

"Yi Jeong." He simply said.

"Oh I won't be able to remember that. It's too hard." A lot of things were probably too hard for this ditz.

Yi Jeong took a deep look into her eyes, giving her the impression she was all he could see this night. Stacy gazed back at him, mesmerized and he moved a little closer to her, bringing his mouth to her ear.

"Want to join me for a walk?" He asked, his voice low and filled with desire. He casually touched her arm as her breathing quickened.

"Ooh you're so cold, but sure!" They got out of the booth and Yi Jeong escorted the girl to the exit. Curious gazes fell upon the odd couple. People around here still weren't that pleased with cultural mixing.

On another night, and with another person, they'd might go after them to make sure no funny business would occur. But there was something about this guy that told them to back off. Besides, Stacy had always been a little tramp anyway.

Yi Jeong and Stacy walked side by side down the dark street. It was getting late and so people were either at home or drinking somewhere. The streets were pretty quiet.

"So, you're Korean? Isn't Korea like..at war?"

"The war ended a few years ago." Yi Jeong said, without sounding too annoyed.

"So did you fight?" She looked at him with her bright blue eyes. It would almost be a shame to see the light leave those eyes after.. but it wasn't time for him to feel pity.

"Not really." Yi Jeong buried his hands in his pockets.

"Why?"

"I have an allergy to the sun."

"Oooh, I ain't never heard of that before. Is it rare?"

"Not as rare as one would think." He stopped in his tracks and scanned the area. Not a soul around. The wind was so warm it felt like there was a warm blanket covering them. He grabbed her by the shoulders and directed her eyes to look at his.

Stacy peered into those dark pools. It felt like they were telling her to dive into them. To explore the universe they seemed to enfold. Her head was filled with his voice and her own thoughts didn't seem to have a place anymore. It was blank.

Lips met, a fight between teeth and tongues. Stacy steadied herself against a tree as he pushed her backwards. He kissed her cheeks, her jawline and moved lower, settling on her soft throat. Stacy let out a small cry of pleasure. She had never felt anything like it. His mouth was cold and it sent shivers through her spine. His tongue flicked the sensitive spots in a way she could never imagine. She closed her eyes in ecstasy, enjoying the sounds of is eager mouth and her skin being punctured by something very sharp.

There was pain, but it was pleasurable. She craved more of it, until she felt herself being drained. Her heart pumping fast, she tried to make out what exactly was happening.

He pushed her harder against the trunk, feeling her resistance grow with the second.

"Uhm." Stacy sounded confused, but he didn't respond and proceeded to drink. Stacy felt herself going dizzy. The pain had disappeared, but so it seemed had the rest of her senses. The outer world was gone.

They both fell to the ground, Yi Jeong didn't pause and pulled her closer to him. He was sure not to miss a drop. When her heart stopped, he moved away, wiping the leftover blood from his mouth.

Her eyes were now staring lifelessly at the dark but starlit sky. Suddenly he felt sorry. Sorry he hadn't spent more time on feeding. If he knew what fast food tasted like, he would've probably thought this were similar. He made a resolution to not be so hasty anymore. He also thought it was time to move on. American girls, he contemplated, don't make for such a good meal anyway.

---

Vampire 101

It's sort of part of the True Blood (HBS show) vampire verse, though I won't write about the original characters , but it goes by those rules:

Vampires have come out of the coffin around 2008: people know they exist.

Vampires are immortal, but they can die by a stake through the heart or sunlight. (So no twilight like vampy prancing around at daytime). They sleep in coffins.

There is such a thing as Tru Blood: fake blood that comes in every blood type. Each vamp has his own blood type preference, or a mix.

Vampires have their own place in society. But most people don't like them. On the other hand there are people who like to have sex with vamps, called fangbangers.

Vampire blood is addictive to humans and is sold on the black market.