Epilogue – Visqueen

Captain Impala wrapped up his boat, antique car and snowmobile in visqueen as he would be leaving for a while. This time it would be many decades before he could come back. It was foolish of him to seduce Sabra Pakak and bring her across. His kind survived to this day by hiding among the humans and blending in. All that talk about not tolerating sunlight, avoiding religious symbols and not having a reflection was silly. The only difference between vampires and humans is their food source, their powers—and their longevity.

In modern day, feeding on humans wasn't as viable. Even though it wasn't necessary to kill them just to get some nourishment, it was too great of a risk in the video age. Even the instant healing their saliva provided, didn't eliminate their risk of exposure. That was too bad because human blood was the most delicious. Cole realized, just like he did, that animals will do. It's like going to a restaurant and ordering Don Perrion vs. the House brand. Either bottle will get you just as drunk.

He didn't regret killing Sabra. Justice had to be done—after all, he was a lawman. She thought being a vampire meant being unaccountable and invincible, but his kind had to live by society's laws or they would become obvious and that wouldn't do. Sadly, Sabra didn't realize that only the most ancient vampires were hard to kill. Being brought across only a year ago, she was just as weak as any human.

Impala agreed with the others. It was time to move on. Now, he will pick a new profession (and name) to hide his connection to this place, but in the end, he will always return. One main reason for leaving is that Dr. Benjamin Harrington probably suspects what he is. The man is smart. If Sabra turned Cole into a vampire, then who turned her? Impala also knew that Harrington suspected him before Cynthia Drewer turned up dead. Colsyn Bane actually deflected Harrington's attention. To be completely safe, Impala should kill the doctor, but he had lost his taste for killing long ago—it was probably about the 18th century or so.

He was satisfied that the FBI agents would move on. That Mulder wasn't a fool either. He knew when to cut his losses and he had a lot to lose. Even if the agent suspected him, which was likely, Mulder understood there was little he could do about it and after all, the killer was punished. His lovely partner was a shame. Like Colsyn Bane, he wouldn't have minded sharing her bed, but that wasn't in the cards this time around.

As he packed, the ancient vampire wondered where the term visqueen came from considering that it was more than a tarp and less than shrink wrap. It might be an old Romanian phrase probably passed down from his people on that side of the world. The old style was once made from walrus, whale and seal skin. Nowadays, it's all plastic. The intangible curse of progress.

Impala loved the United States and intended to stay here for as long as he could. One day he would return to his home, here in Alaska, as maybe Vladimir Impala the 9th. Whatever. Colsyn and company were off wreaking havoc and he needed to go mind them. If Sabra wasn't a vindictive bitch and Cole hadn't felt sorry for those girls, none of this would have happened and he could have stayed longer. Oh well, what's done is done.

He walked out of his house in Tok and saw the Appenglow setting the mountains on fire. What a fitting salute as he rose into the air and faded from sight.

THE END

Final Notes: There are some plot gaps, but I hope you can forgive those. If you want an airtight story, buy my books. Anyhoo, my research into vampires was fascinating and surprising. Vampires don't sparkle, aren't afraid of sunlight or need to be staked to die. In fact, the Common Era vampires were supposed to be corpses that were red and bloated in appearance due to drinking the blood. Some even has them as shapeless blobs. Later incarnations have them able to produce children that were natural vampire hunters. Bram Stoker changed it all. So, in closing—vampires are whatever you want them to be.

Hope you enjoyed. – mommieburger

Last Note: Part of the delay for this story is that I first wrote another 'Green-Eyed Monster' story that is considerably darker than this one and struggled with its completion. It has strong themes and subjects that is not suited for everyone and could be considered extremely offensive to some. I will post this story later and you will seem similarities between the two stories because they are two sides of the same coin. I felt compelled to write the dark tale first and couldn't abandon it. It won't be part of the color series and it's called 'The Louisiana Purchase'. If you dare, check it out, but understand that you have been warned. It's not for snowflakes, only honey badgers. If you have a list of words or ideas that people can and cannot express in a free society—don't bother reading it.

* Blanket Toss is an Eskimo game that involves a circle of people holding the edges of a walrus hide that is used to toss one person into the air, kind of like a reverse trampoline. The origination of this game is hazy but one common belief is that whale and other game over the horizon could be spotted using this method. (I doubted Mulder and Scully used this definition in the story… ;-) )