Chapter 2 - Chance in the Night


"Hey. We're friends."

I listened to the pouring rain on the paved stones. What a beautiful, restful sound. Through the rain I saw the pale light of the streetlights. I tightened the hold of the red umbrella.

A couple days after meeting this kind man, Louis Audsley, in the café could call him a friend. Disturbing thing about him was it that he didn't know that I was a vampire; he called me usually in the daytime, when he didn't study. One weekend he even tried to visit my apartment - I don't know how did he find out where I lived - because I hadn't answered his calls. He was worried about me. That day I noticed how lonely Louis was - I wouldn't be surprised if I was his only friend. And in that day I started to think could I be a good mentor and how it would feel to have the responsibility of someone else. I had decided, that I'd tell the truth about myself to my friend - to Louis.

I saw the open gates of a big building in front of me. Something like college that building was. Louis was studying there. I glanced at my pocket watch.
It's almost eleven. His lesson is ending. I thought to myself when I put the watch back into my coat pocket. After a moment I saw some people coming out of the building. I searched the man, who could be Louis, but I didn't find anyone. I just noticed how many people were dark haired.
For a moment, I just waited for my friend, but then I started to get worried when most of the people had gone. I walked through the gates and stopped still in front of the two doors, which lead into the building. I felt a bit doubtful, when I opened the door and entered to the college building. But then, in a moment, the doubtful feeling was gone, when I heard someone screaming.

"What are you guys doing here?" I heard someone - maybe some of the teachers - yell from further away. Then I ran to the door of the boys bathroom - where I had heard the screaming coming from - and opened it.
First I saw a bald-headed man's back and then someone behind him. A younger man's back was against the wall.

"What the - Your friend, huh?" The older man said. He was dressed in a black jacket.

"Uch." When I had heard the other man's voice, I knew who it was.

"Louis! What is he doing?" I shouted. And what an idiot I was.

I got silent when I saw the man in a jacket holding a knife in his hand. He pressed the knife against Louis' throat.

"I - I'd need some help", Louis whispered with fear, "P - Please, Kurda."

"Umh", I mumbled.

Am I supposed to do something brave and daring now? I asked myself - but then I got an idea.
Suddenly the knife was in my hand. The bald man made a confused sound when he turned around to see me. Thank to the vampire gods, those who have blessed us with a skill called flitting...

"How dare you play tricks on me." He growled angrily, "Give my knife back, bastard!"

"You think I'm going to do that?" I asked and made a sweet smile, when I rolled the knife in my hand.

"Well, well... I think this young man is going to prison", a deep voice frightened me and I looked over my shoulder.
A police. I felt shiver on my upper body. The polices didn't scare me anyhow, but that roundish guy creeped me out!

"Thank you for helping us to catch this young criminal, Mister Smahlt." I really would liked to know how he knew my name.

"Eh. my pleasure", I smiled a sheepish smile, when I watched two police officers take the man in the jacket out of the bathroom. With the fat police officer was slender man wearing glasses. What a pair.
On the outside the spectacled man asked Louis' phone number for the later questioning. When the police officers had bundled off, Louis turned to me.

"Thanks, Kurda." His voice sounded to be relieved.

"You're welcome, mate", I answered smiling. But Louis didn't smile.

Suddenly he watched me, a serious expression on his face and mentioned then:

"You know, I've been worried about you. It seems you're not living in the daytime at all!"

"Oh yes? I should be worried about you." I muttered to his words,

"Do you know why that man tried to cut you?"

"Umm..."

"Is someone teasing you, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe, but it doesn't matter, anymore", Louis said quietly to me while I watched him.

"What do you mean, Louis?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter..." He repeated in a whisper.
While I was opening the red umbrella I heard Louis taking a shaking breath.

"So what are you trying to say?" I asked, but then I pulled up shortly when I saw my friend bursting into silent tears.

"Louis?"
No answer.

"Hey, Lou. I think you need just some rest", I said, carefully. Louis wiped his eyes when I continued softly:

"Everything will be fine. Maybe you just suffer from the stress or… something."

"'I just suffer from the stress?'" He asked to me with the weak voice - but I heard a smile on it - when I walked along the rainy road with him.

"You're funny." No, I was a bit puzzled just then.

"Huh?" Louis laughed to my reaction.

"You really are."

"Well. I didn't know that." I pointed out smiling a bit - without knowing
what he meant - but in any case I was happy, that I could make him smile.

"Kurda?" I heard Louis asking in a little while.

"Yeah?"

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" After his question I
remembered why I had wanted to meet him, and nodded.

"Yes, there was. Could we go to your home? I don't really like to get wet in
the rain."

"You're right. I could make some coffee there."
His coffee was the best that I had ever tasted, by the way.

It didn't take a long time to walk to his house. It was a gentle little house in outskirts of the city. I hadn't seen it before. The house had a smoke pipe and a little garden in the yard. A wooden fence surrounde the house. All in all, the place looked a bit poor. But it was cozy. Well, I didn't mention anything about the poverty to Louis, I just said that I liked the place. I don't know if he believed me, although I spoke true.

Modesty was one of Louis's good sides. I learned more from him than he learned from me, I think. Loyalty, solidarity, bravery - he had all the characteristics that a vampire could have - and he wasn't even a vampire yet!

Inside the house Louis started to make a pot of coffee for us. I just sat down on the sofa and took a little pillow in my arms. I listened the sound of falling rain in the silence. At the same time I heard sound of a coffee pot from the kitchen. In a little while Louis came to living room and put two cups down to a sidetable.

"Here you go", he said. Then, he gave me a look and sat down.

"Why the thoughtful expression?" Louis asked me. I could feel my head hanging down. When I tried to think how to tell it to my friend - I felt a lack of words. I couldn't just say that: 'I'm a vampire - that's what I wanted to tell'. He wouldn't believe me. Suddenly I didn't think that telling the truth would be very good idea at all anymore.

Then I woke from my thoughts, when Louis gave the coffee cup to me and watched me a little smile on his lips. The smile told me that he knew. He knew, that something was wrong with me. Well, wrong isn't the right word, but...

"You said you wanted to talk about something", he said.

"I did", I agreed mumbling.

"So what was it?"

"Umh..."

"Kurda!" Louis laughed. "Don't make me guess."

That's the whole problem, I thought to myself, you couldn't have any
possibility to guess right.

"Hey. We're friends. You can tell anything to me, Kurda."

"You think so?" I asked quietly and Louis nodded, a childish smile on his face - like a boy, who wanted to open his big Christmas present.

"Well", I started and closed my eyes,

"Do you believe in creatures that live at night?"

Louis stared me opened his mouth a little before he answered:

"Owls lives at night..." I laughed.

"No. I don't mean animals."

"Aliens?" He asked.

"No."

"What, then?"

"I mean vampires." A long pause - that was out looked - then Louis said quietly:

"Vampires... So, you want to drink my blood, don't you?" He was smarter than I thought. Though I didn't want to feed from him.

"Not yours. You're my friend, remember?" Louis nodded to my words and watched me closely. Then, a warm smile appeared to his face.

"That explains why you sleep at day!" He said smiling gladly.

"I knew there was something different about you!"

"Yeah", I smiled a bit. Different was the right word. You can't imagine, how relieved I was about his reaction. Then I continued:

"Well, yesterday I thought about your words - "

"Yes, I remember", Louis muttered. He had said that he couldn't stand the normal life anymore, and soon, he'd jump off a bridge. He wasn't joking.

"So I thought that you need another chance", I said. Louis looked me a moment, with his autumn colored eyes, and asked then quietly, the tone of hope in his voice:

"And you think you could give it?"

"Yes. I do."