2. An Out of Body Experience

I was sure I was dead…except for one thing. I was still aware. Are you supposed to be so aware when you're dead? I wondered to myself. I opened my eyes to see that I seemed to be in a tightly enclosed space. Though I knew perfectly well that it should be pitch-black, I could see perfectly clear. I could see the shiny black gator skinned shoes on my feet, the chocolate brown dress suit and the turquoise shirt I wore underneath. None of this seemed to make sense. In the back of my mind there was a hint of a memory of me not being able to see clearly without my contacts lenses, yet here I was seeing straight through the darkness. I could see perfectly the velvet red that seemed to line the space I was in.

I lifted my head up a little, trying to make sense of my surroundings. As If my newly improved sight wasn't enough, I began to hear voices somewhere from above me. They should have been muffled by the box I was in but I could hear perfectly clear. The voices weren't speaking…they seemed to be crying.

I could hear the faint brushing of tissues being pulled from their boxes and a few comforting words being spoken here and there. It was then that a clear voice rang out from somewhere a –a few feet it seemed—behind my dark box.

"We are here today, not to mourn the passing of a young one, but the celebration of his life…" Instantly I felt like I should know this voice. Clouded memories of it plagued my mind until the answer finally came to me. It was my father. Where my memories fading?

His voice continued with authority but there was a hint of sorrow in it. "Losing my youngest son has been the most agonizing experience…" he trailed on, as I struggled to put two and two together in my mind

And suddenly it dawned on me. The velvet lined box I was laying in…was my coffin. I should have panicked at the thought of being at my own funeral but the panic never came. Instead I just inhaled taking a deep breath trying to sort through this.

That's when I got the first scent. It was powerful and mouth-watering in every way. The scent made me realize just how hungry…or thirsty I was. There was a sudden fire in my throat and I clutched at it in protest. I've never felt such a painful thirst in my life. I gasped trying to recollect myself. As I lay in agony I could hear the heartbeats of about 50 people, blood coursing through their veins.

The sound alone seemed so…enticing.

My throat felt so dry and agonizingly raw. I needed to drink something. I thought of all the ways I could get out. I thought of the hearts beating fresh warm blood through each and every person's veins. I thought of the pain burning down my throat. It was amazing the number of thoughts my mind seemed to be able to process, but there was one reoccurring theme to my thoughts that I couldn't ignore. Blood. It seemed to be more of a necessity than a need. It was an absolutely irresistible desire.

"What have I become?" I choked out.

"So your finally awake..I thought I killed you." A familiar smooth voice chimed out from somewhere next to me

Normally I would have been startled by the sudden surprise of not being alone, but none of my normal reactions seemed to be kicking in. I stayed quiet waiting for the voice to answer.

"You are aware of where you are, correct?" He continued on before I could answer "Than you understand the need to be quiet."

"Riley?" I spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper but I knew he would hear me. "What am I?"

Riley let out a little chuckle before he answered. "You're one of us. You're a Vampire."

The word answered some of my questions like how I was still alive and it certainly explained my newly acquired desire for blood but it brought up a million new questions.

As If he knew I was a about to ask Riley spoke before I could ask any questions. "Listen do you hear that?"

The burning thirst in my throat made it hard to concentrate on anything other than the heartbeats and the blood flowing through the veins so easily in reach above me but I tried to concentrate on listening.

There seemed to be footsteps walking slowly away from the spot where I lay feigning death. I could hear car doors opening and vehicles driving out onto a busy street. There where police sirens sounding so my guess was that my funeral procession was moving elsewhere.

"They're leaving." I said a little louder. I was surprised by the smooth, dark tone that was my voice despite the unbearable thirst.

"You're a natural." There was a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

The pain in my throat became almost too much and I struggled to hold back a scream.

"Can we leave now?" A hint of agony straining my perfect new voice

"Soon. It would be easier to leave when the Sun goes down." Riley said calmly

It was another two agonizing hours before I heard Riley speak again. This time his voice was louder since no one was around to hear our conversation.

"Now we can leave." There was almost a hint of humor in his voice.

"Ummm How do I…get out?" I murmured, now fully aware of my current situation.

"You dig."

I hesitated for a second, than I placed my hand on the underside of the top of my coffin. Expecting resistance I pushed hard with all of my might. A few things happened in that instant. The top of my coffin went flying through the earth above me, and all of the dirt collapsed down on me.

I panicked gasping as I began to be buried under the crumbling earth. With little effort I swiftly sat up, bent my knees and jumped pushing myself through the wall of dirt and high into the night sky. I looked down at the scene below me. The top of the coffin had been flung twenty feet away from its original spot and was snapped in half. There was a hole in the mound of dirt that I had been buried in where I jumped through.

With a quick back flip I landed on my feet, right on top of my own tombstone.

"A little too much muscle champ" I heard Riley snicker

I watched as he emerged easily from the grave that was beside mine.

"You're gonna have to clean that up." He continued jokingly

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up into a smile. Then I felt the sharp searing pain in my throat again. Riley looked at my expression for a second then he smiled a tiny bit.

"You must be very thirsty by now."

I nodded, afraid that If I spoke I would scream.

"Well then, it looks like its time for your first hunt."

The word hunt sent a shiver down my spine and a low snarl issued out from my suddenly bared teeth. That took me by surprise and I looked at Riley a little shocked at my behavior. He just laughed and walked next to the tomb stone I was still standing on.

"Hunting will be first nature to you, after time you will even grow to like it. Hell, you'll probably start to like it tonight."

I simply nodded and waited for him to take the lead. Then with Impossible speed he ran to the entrance of the cemetery, which was 102 yards from where I was standing. I was amazed at how I could simply calculate these things in my head, but I was worried that I would never be able to keep up.

"Its Easy…just run!" Riley reassured me.

I look at my suit. That wasn't going to help matters. I tried to remember if I was a good runner or not, but the fuzzy memories I pulled up involved me gasping for air while running around the track in gym class, and that was without the suit.

I jumped nimbly from the tombstone. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, especially with my newly enhanced coordination. I took a deep breath—though I know I didn't really need it—and I ran. It was absolutely exhilarating. The scenery passed by, but it wasn't blurry like It should be when you move this fast. I could still see every detail of all of my surroundings perfectly clearly. I easily dodged every tombstone and obstacle surrounding me as I ran. All too soon I was standing at Riley's side 2 seconds later.

"Wow." Was the only word I could get out.

"I thought you might enjoy that." Riley said with a grin

"What Now?" I said, remembering my thirst.

"First things first," Riley put a hand on my shoulder as he began to lead me to the side of the road where a red mustang was parked. "I need to explain some things."

We raced back to the city at incredible speeds, but I was positive running was much more exhilarating then driving fast. During the car ride, Riley was explaining how we needed to keep our existence unknown.

"So, It's better to hunt in secret." I concluded as he finished his explanation

"Exactly, In a city like Seattle. Your best bet is usually stragglers who stumble into Alley ways."

I nodded taking in everything I was taught. Finally he parked the car next to a large night club. There was an alley way between the club and the building across from it. I knew this would probably be easy. I watched as most people filed out of the club in groups. The scent alone was sending daggers of pain down my throat. When I thought I wouldn't be able to take it any longer, a lone girl walked into the Alley.

"Go get her." Riley encouraged

I got out of the car and began to walk into the alley when something caught my eye. I was standing near a reflective glass wall from the large building. I realized now that I hadn't been able to see my new appearance. I looked at my reflection inspecting myself. My face was me, yet it was much more attractive than before. My caramel complexion had lightened up a few shades and my jaw line was chiseled almost as if from stone. My hair had been cut and perfectly shaped up for the funeral. It was my eyes that shocked me. I know my eyes seemed dark before but they were pure black now and there were shadows under my eyes as if I hadn't slept. All in all I was satisfied.

After I was finished the inspection, I continued into the Alley. I knew I would be able to find the girl easily her sent was strong. It was like roses and honey, so alluring. I found her about to turn around because she had just hit a dead end.

"Miss? You shouldn't be out here all alone. It's dangerous you know." I knew my voice would be completely alluring to her

She turned around apparently about to tell me off for scaring her, but when she saw my face her mouth gaped open. Then she finally managed to recollect her thoughts.

"I'm…uhhh fine." She said breathlessly

I looked at her, she was wearing a bright yellow dress. It was short and form fitting. She was tan and had silky black shoulder length hair. Her eyes were a vivid green. My assessment was that she was a very pretty human.

"Are you sure? Anything could happen to you out here." I stepped closer to her and sniffed her hair. She froze. Her sent made the pain in my throat so much more intense…but it was hard to resist taking in her scent.

Suddenly she found an opening under my arm and bolted for the other end of the alley. I laughed to myself. "So you're going to make this difficult.''

I leapt about 30 feet onto a fire escape lining the alley way to look for her. I spotted her nearing the opening of the alley. I jumped down and landed at the opening without a sound. She was looking behind her while she was running so she ran right into me. She looked up and opened her mouth to scream but I muffled her scream and pulled her back into the alley before she could. I could smell the blood running through her veins. I assessed a good place to start, then I sunk my teeth into her jugular. It was easy to pierce her skin, like biting into pudding.

Her blood was like nothing I've ever tasted. It was everything I needed and everything I desired at the same time. I felt it sliding smooth and warm down my throat and relieving the pain as it went. After a while the blood stopped coming and her body fell limp to the ground. I lifted her and threw her in a dumpster and set it on fire. I was confused as to why I had to burn her but Riley had told me to do so in his explanation.

As I began to leave the alley I stopped and noticed a change in my reflection. My eyes instead of jet black were now a brilliant crimson red. I smiled menacingly at my blood soaked face and then walked back to the car.

Riley was waiting inside with a smile on his face as well.

"Well that was certainly fun to watch, You're not much of a charmer though. We definitely need to work on your pick up lines" He teased

"It got the job done though" I said and I punched him playfully on the arm

"Ouch!" he winced

"Sorry! Guess I don't know my own strength yet." I said apologetically

"Whatever. Now clean yourself up. We've got a meeting to go to."

And with that we raced off into the night to a mysterious meeting. I really had no idea what to expect next.