Modern Vampyre

By Lauren Hodgson

Prologue

On December 15, 1863 at exactly 10:13 am, a straggler Confederate Vampyre pulled Vanessa Roberts from her swing next to the ice covered pond that sat, unused next to her husband's and her small, warm cottage in Newton, Virginia and sunk his teeth into the pale flesh just above her laced collar. Almost instantly the venom from the vampyre's fangs reacted violently with her red, human blood and she began convulsing violently and coughing up green, red and blue blood and venom on the powdery, white snow. The ice hissed as the colorful mixture sank and melted away the cold surface. Unable to do anything but cough up more and more blood and bile, the man slung her onto his shoulder and ran away from her home towards the dense pine forest adjacent. Vanessa's eyes fluttered open and close as her white blood cells struggled to hold onto her life. Her body collapsed from the effort of fending off the quick-spreading Vampyre disease and she closed her eyes as it eats away at all of her bodily systems and her heart stopped, forever.

That December 22 of 1863, Vanessa Roberts had woken up to find a handsome young man, looking to be near her age of 17, straddled over her and staring down inquisitively. Inhaling quickly, she squinted up from the sun's glare and met his gaze and saw large, beautiful, and unending black eyes, the unknown young man exhaled deeply into her jaw-dropped mouth. His breath mingled with the smell of pine, snow, and an extremely sweet flavor completely new to her. The sweetness singed her core and burned her parched throat like fire and her eyes widened in the mixed pain and pleasure

He slid himself to an uncomfortable crouch to her right; all the pleasantness of his face gone, it contorted into a scowl as muttered, "Oh, so now you wake up," his scowl arched into a suggestive smirk and he said, "I didn't know it just took arousal."

Vanessa gasped in embarrassment, but her cheeks did not fill with the familiar warmth of blood as she blushed and said, "I am not aroused! You just...smell...nice. And...Can I have some water, my throat is killing me."

He laughed, low, throaty, and smiled at himself, like he knew something she didn't, and said, "You need water no more."

Vaguely remembering something, she rubbed her finger around her neck and reached two small holes. Then it all came rushing back and a hot tear slid down her cheek.

"Huh? Wh-What's wrong? I was only joking!" he said silently, but insistently.

She looked away from him and angrily shouted, "Be gone! Whatever horrible creature thou are, take me back to my home!" She could no longer hold back her frustrated tears and they rolled off her cheeks.

With a sigh, the mysterious guy pleaded, "I am a Vampyre, and if you could just calm down you will realize what has happened. Take a big breath of this cold air; it will heal your uncertainty, Vanessa."

"How do you know my name, quit talking to me like that, you...you monster!" she screamed.

He chuckled again and stood up to lean against a tree. Nonchalantly leaning against the trunk, he showed his fangs and licked the inviting, red liquid on them with a quick flick of his tongue. The gesture was imperceptibly fast to a human, but Vanessa saw it and felt an unfamiliar singing in her throat for the second time.

Finally coming to her senses since she had slept for a week, she thought aloud, "So you are a...a Vampyre...and now...so am I!" Remembering her throat, she grasped it with her cold hands and said, "blood...that was blood..." she meekly added looking up at him, "Can I have some, please!"

"Stand up, feel the cold, and tell me how you feel."

Doing exactly as he instructed, she stood up and instantly felt refreshed.

"Come now, follow me" he instructed.

On their way through the forest to find what he liked to call, "the hunting ground," he apologized for turning her into one of the undead and explained the pros and cons.

"First, I would like to introduce myself. I am Charles Smith of Gettysburg, Maryland and I died at the age of 19, in 1823, and have stayed as a Vampyre for 40 years now. I joined the Confederate Vampyre army three years ago, in 1860, and ran away a week ago, to find you when I was completely empty of blood and thus, I risked exposure to humans and the sun to bite you." he said.

"Well, Hello there Charles. I am 17, I never wanted to stay 17 but I died and became a Vampyre anyway! And so close to Christmas, what will Louis think when he sees me, bless his heart." she began to cry again.

"Oh, but, he cannot see you, never. All you are to them is damned and soulless. For anyone who has ever known you, you mysteriously disappeared and never came back. You may have come back to life, but your old life will not continue." he said this all with a hard face, but as she began to cry again, he sighed, "Trust me; It's better this way. Now be quiet and watch as I hunt this deer."

Vanessa Robert's life changed forever that year, as Charles taught her how to hunt for blood, how to resist blood, that sunlight weakened her heightened senses, and everything he knew about Vampyres but mostly that she must forget who she was and now will live forever as the empty shell of that person, constantly seeking a purpose in life. She often complained about missing her old husband, Louis, and liked to watch him through the windows from the cover of the trees, without telling Charles, but deep down, she had been unhappy. Their marriage was arranged by her parents while they left for the north to escape the Civil War's worst. Before, uselessly trapped in that house to bear children and wait for Louis to return bloodied, from battle; she truly had been unhappy, but now! now she could feel freedom, there were rules but she felt powerful for the first time. She was quick, strong, fierce, and had better hunting skills than even Charles. Together, they had traveled through the forests of the south and avoided humans completely; and Vanessa eventually forgot her friends, forgot her husband, forgot her parents, and fell in love with Charles and embraced her completeness with nature. Vanessa's high spirits and love changed Charles, once a morbid Vampyre soldier, into a caring and happy man. They were two lovers, incubus and succubus, Dracula and Susan, or Romeo and Juliet. Vanessa rarely cried now and life was simplistically beautiful, but beauty could not last.

One morning, Vanessa woke up, high in a water oak and looked over to wake up Charles. Surprisingly, he had gotten out of his "bed," but he usually slept later than her. Jumping deftly off the branch, she made all of the calls they had used to find each other while hunting. "That's weird," she thought, "He should be able to hear me...unless." Unless he was in this one cave he had showed her a few months ago where the river rapids sped by and frothed over the large boulders. Skipping from one to the other across the river, she reached the cave and was, again, awestruck by the beauty of the quiet it offered after the loud rush of the river. "Oh no!" she said to herself as she saw why he was nowhere to be found, or rather a hastily written note of explanation.

My dearest Vanessa, The Confederate Vampyre Army finally found me after

the long year I spent learning to appreciate what we are. Before I made you,

I was a sardonic youth lost in the world, not worth even one prey squirrel's life,

but you changed me and I shall love you forever; this is Goodbye.

C. S.