Chapter 2
Roxanne felt a cough building in her chest. She rummaged through her glove compartment until she found her white handkerchief and pressed it to her mouth right before she broke into a fit of heavy coughs that violently shook her shoulders from the force. They came out gross and wet into the clothe in her hand. After a long moment of coughing and hacking, Roxanne removed the handkerchief from her mouth. When she did, the white fabric was stained with blood. Sighing deeply, she folded it so that the stain was hidden on the inside and placed it in her lap. If she were human, she would have been alarmed. Instead, she stared at it with vague curiosity. You would think vampires didn't get sick. Well, seventy years ago, it was true. At least in America. In 1939, the year Roxanne was born, World War II was declared. While Germany and The USA were battling over World Power, London was facing a whole new problem. A deadly epidemic had blasted through the vampire community. It wasn't until further studies that discovered that humans may contract this disease without any harmful affects. But if it were passed on to the vampire, it would cause deteriorating affects on the feeder's body. That was how Roxanne had received it. When she was eighteen, an unknown man in an alley turned her while she visited Westminster with her family for vacation. She went to feed one night on a drunken woman that was stumbling out of the bar. Seeing her as an easy meal, Roxanne fed, not knowing the woman had developed the disease, later named Manes Syndrome after a scientist that discovered the condition, its symptoms and the treatment. The symptoms include vertigo, headaches, unexplained bleeding, extreme hunger, temporary blurred vision, weakness and occasional eye pigmentation changes. Thanks to the medication, the condition could be maintained and controlled. But it doesn't cure all the side affects. Roxanne still had the bleeding, occasional weakness, blindness and color changes of the eyes. She also had to feed regularly to replace the blood she lost.
There was no telling how long she drove, but once she reached Elizabeth City, it was noon. Roxanne pulled into the parking lot of a shabby motel and shuffled through her duffle bag for some clothes to wear. She decided on her favorite gray t-shirt with her hometown and flag branded on the front, a pair of dark denim, low rise jeans and high heel, black stiletto boots. After gathering her bags she made her way across the lot and pushed through the motel entrance. A bell chimed over the threshold at her arrival and almost immediately, a beautiful raven haired woman came rushing out of a back room behind the check out counter. "Hi, how may I help you?" She asked, smiling brightly. Roxanne returned her grin warmly. "Hi, I'd like to check in please?" "Alright, that's fifty dollars a night, how long would you be staying?" Roxanne bit her lip, thinking. How long would she be staying? It all depended on how long it took her to solve what ever was going on here. "Um...twelve days." She said after a moment. It usually didn't take her any longer than a week to wrap up a case, but it would definitely nice to have a few personal days to herself. The woman typed on the computer for a second before speaking again. "That'll be six hundred dollars. How will you be paying?" Roxanne withdrew six hundred dollar bills and handed them off to the woman in exchange for a swipe card. "Room one-fifteen. Second floor." "Thank you very much." Roxanne gathered her bags and was ready to walk away before stopping. "Can I have one of those newspapers?" She asked, pointing to a stack of papers behind the desk. The girl turned to look at them. "Those are actually from last week. The new ones will be in tomorrow morning." "I'd still like one of those please." She insisted, not unkindly. With a smile, the woman handed her a newspaper and Roxanne headed to her room. She was three doors away when a door flung open to her left. Without even pausing to think, her hand dove into her bag and drew a short dagger before throwing it through the door...