Live Life Like A Vampire

Sarah quickly got to work preparing herself for her new lifestyle. She painted the small basement windows black. Taking extra precautions, she draped thick red and black velvet curtains over them, not only to stop any stray light, but for decoration as well. She frequented all night stores to buy as many candles as she could and placed them all around her new living space. It was dark without natural light, and the basement, though they had been redoing it, hadn't had many lights installed. There were only the few original bulbs hanging in the corners and center of the main room, and one in the room they'd made for relaxing in with the couch. She'd need more than that.

She spent a few nights wrestling her mattress and all that went with it down two flights of stairs. Another night went to bringing her clothes down to the main room, now her living room. The table her television once occupied was now transformed into a vanity, the drawers that used to hold old games and movies were stuffed with shirts, socks and the like. The tabletop was covered with numerous jewelry boxes with makeup items scattered across it. It wasn't permanent, but the room would do.

Sarah finished leaving a message for her employer. It was a convincing tale of a new job offer out of town which was the opportunity of a lifetime, and consequently resulted in Sarah having to announce her two weeks notice. What the job was, well, she hadn't thought of one yet. She kept that little detail to herself. She apologized for the short notice, and with another assurance that her experience there was great, she hung up.

"That's that," she sighed, falling deep into her armchair. She quit one job, now she needed to find another. She imagined herself in several career positions, each one stretching her imagination further than its predecessor.

Then, suddenly, an idea struck her. It was perfect, genius, and, she smirked, a little ironic. She wondered if she would have the stomach to act on it…but decided that it was the only way she could hold a decent job without much human interaction. Until she found her new home and career, she had more than enough money from insurance and savings to live off fast food. Yet again the irony made her smile involuntarily. She thought of the humans she hungered for, but carefully stayed away from. Fast food indeed.

Sarah stepped over to her computer. She had decided the day before that she should move from her home town. Friends and neighbors might begin to wonder why she refused to leave her house anymore. Even after the accident, they would agree that she should have finished grieving her lost family enough to face the world eventually. She would move to where no one knew her, and if was going to leave, she might as well move to a location fit for her future career, and near a suitable college.

After a few hours, she had found the perfect school. Wayne State University School of Mortuary Science, Detroit, Michigan.

It was two weeks after Toby had died. Sarah was getting desperate. From the moment she would wake up to the second she was creeping back down the stairs, she would eat anything in sight to try to dim the hunger. It had been little at first, and without much thought she could push it to the back of her mind. Now it was a piercing pain throughout her whole body. For nights on end she'd concentrate on controlling herself, giving her little time to search for houses.

She rolled over on the couch with a wince. She couldn't wait any longer. She swallowed hard, agonizing over what had to be done. She knew the guilt she always felt when she hurt someone, but she couldn't imagine how she would be feeling this morning crawling back to bed.

She stood, treaded lightly up the stairs, and went out the front door. She looked up and down her street to see only a few people still outside. She guessed it was a little past ten, and she felt irrationally furious seeing them out, lounging happily on their porch swings. They were unknowingly taunting her as she used what little strength she still had to keep herself under control. She closed her eyes, trying to keep the urge to kill at bay. Sarah sighed sadly. She couldn't take one of them. They were almost her own age, and she knew personally it was no age to stop living.

She turned from their direction and began to walk down the sidewalk. She hadn't been out of the house in two weeks, and already everything seemed new to her. Colors were brighter, sounds were more distinct, but strangely, though she saw the wind blow, she felt nothing on her pale skin. So Michael had been right when he said he never felt a thing.

Michael. He had rarely left her mind the past two weeks. She hated him for what he'd done, but she desperately needed guidance. She didn't know the first thing about being a vampire. She tried to remember what he had said on the hospital wall, but she had been in such a hurry she hardly paid attention.

She'd walked miles, and every time she passed someone she couldn't bring herself to bite them. She nearly keeled over with desire, running into alleys to stop herself from going to them. She knew she had to do it eventually, and she had decided this evening it would be tonight, but it was easier said than done.

Sitting on the garbage can in her latest alley Sarah looked at the brick wall uncertainly. It wasn't much different than the hospitals, she thought. Maybe practicing climbing would take her mind off of breakfast. Her skin crawled, realizing she just referred to a human being as a meal.

She jumped up and walked to the wall. Her brow furrowed as she wondered how to start. She curled her left fingers around a brick just above eye level, and stood on a box with her left foot. She grabbed a brick with her right hand and kicked a little with her other foot until she knocked enough mortar to fit it comfortably. Great, now what?

Sarah held on tightly with her right hand as she pulled herself up a little higher, grabbing hold of a higher brick with her left hand. The next time her right hand missed and she fell to the ground. She winced as she got to her feet, and looked to the wall with a determined stare. She took the same starting position, and copied her previous movements, going a little slower. She got two paces higher before falling once again.

She laid on the cement where she had landed, looking up to the roof of the building. She was going to get there, she thought. If it took all night, she'd get there.

Sarah brushed herself off as she stood. She searched her pockets for a hair tie, but found none. Instead she tightly twisted her long hair and stuck it into the back of her shirt. Now she could see what she was doing without her hair flowing in front of her face. She began up the wall set on making it completely up this time. As she found a rhythm to her movements, she felt confident enough to pick up her pace. She had almost reached the top-

"Look up there!" Shouted a young man to his friend standing below her. Startled, she lost her grip and fell back. She closed her eyes and expected to feel the pavement, but after a moment she opened them to find herself hovering over the two men's heads.

"She's a witch!" One shouted. Sarah mentally drooped. A witch? Oh boy…she sighed.

For ones who called attention to themselves, they sure took off fast. They ran out of the alley and into the one across the street. Sarah, unsure what to do, flew after.

What a time to realize I can fly, she thought sarcastically. Afraid of the rumors that might be spread about her if they'd seen her face, she desperately followed them through the maze of alleyways. But airborne wasn't for her, and soon she landed and sped after them on foot. In no time at all she caught up and passed them as a blur. She stopped, shaking her head dizzily, unused to the speed. The men skidded to a halt and started to turn the other way. She lunged out, knocking the closest manto her to the ground while grabbing the second. Instinctively she sunk her teeth into his neck, biting hard.Her eyes rolled as a wave of pleasurewashed over herwhile sheswallowed. Shelost her old judgement of good and evil, her new nature had complete control. The young man on the ground attempted to crawl away, but Sarah dropped the lifeless body in her arms to pounce quickly on him as well. Her starved body silenced every weakthought in her mind except that it needed nutrition in any way it could. Wrestling him to the ground, she bit him without thinking.

After a minute Sarah's mind focused. She jumped up from the bodies, spitting out bloodin disbelief. She clenched her fists tightly. Had she really been able to do that?

Sarah stood still, gazing absently at the dead men. She felt…wonderful. Her body anyway. Her mind was screaming over what she'd done, but her body felt refreshed and full of life. She didn't want the feeling to leave her, to go back to the unbearable pain, yet she wasn't sure she could do this again. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, smearing blood across her face and wrist. Automatically she licked it like a little girl licks at a paper cut, but she quickly put her hand down.

She stepped over to a clear puddle. A little red stream was just starting to mix with it, leaving a trail as it drained from the wound in her victims throat. Before the blood had much chance to taint it, she washed off her hands. She paused and stared into the water, eyes staying on the blood dripping down her cheek. She felt ashamed and slapped the image, causing the water to ripple and deform her reflection beyond recognition. She splashed water onto her face, watching it drip off a faint pink color. She stood and left the alley, heading home. She started slowly, but soon she was running as fast as she could like she could leave what she'd done far behind her. Her first night out and she'd killed twice.

Sarah sat on her front porch silently. She still had an hour before she really needed to be inside, although it was far past her usual retreat. She sat on an old chair trying desperately to forget about this night. The early morning joggers ran past her without a glance. She enjoyed being invisible to the world. True, if anyone took the time, they'd see a pale young woman sitting silently on her porch, watching the rest of the world age, fade, and crumble away as she stayed beautiful. But no one cared to notice.

Sarah's ears perked up. Had she heard right? She stood up slowly, scanning the sky. There it was again. An owl hooted loudly as it flew over her home. Her features darkened. Her mind whirled to one thought. Jareth.

She tensed instantly, but soon it flew away, and she relaxed and went inside to sleep.

Unfortunately, her mind wasn't ready to retire just yet. Jareth's memory had caught her attention. She rolled over with a sigh.

"I'm never going to get to sleep, am I?"

I can see it now, a lot of you may not have liked this chapter. But hey, your love has been mentioned! He won't physicaly be here for a bit longer, but I wanted to get you thinking. However will he be drawn into this mess? And no, we haven't seen the last of Michael. I'm sure you assumed that yourselves, though. :)

:Next Episode: Her new life in Detroit has started. Her strange request to have most of her furniture moved into the large basement was surprising, but went fairly unnoticed. The only question the movers had was 'Where will she sleep? She didn't bring a bed.'