All you can smell is dirt, twigs, and something sweet. The sweet smell is unidentifiable and unfamiliar. You try to turn your head, but you can't. You can't move at all. It's like you're trapped or something.
Panicking, you wave your arms around, trying to get out of here. It's completely dark, it smells bad, and your throat hurts. Why are you underground?
The last thing you remember is Russell entering the motel room and stabbing you. Did you survive? You feel normal. You don't feel dead or anything. Are you a zombie?
What happened to Eric? You wonder if he's okay. He tried to save you. You remember everything. He wasn't able to get to you in time.
Did Russell kill him too? You're panicking even more, clawing at the dirt surrounding you. You can feel it gathering underneath your nails, it makes you cringe.
The lack of light and the sensation of confinement make you feel trapped. You've never been buried underground before. Is this what it's like to be a zombie?
Somehow, the thought of being a vampire seems impossible. You're not thinking about that. Your brain is muddled and you're too worried about getting to the surface.
As you continue clawing at the dirt above you, you hear voices. You stop digging for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It's Sarah and Bill. How are you able to hear them down here? You must be close to the surface, right?
"Did it work?" What does Sarah mean by that?
And then you hear Pam, "Any minute now," She says.
What does she mean by that? Is she talking about you? Why isn't Eric with them? After a moment of silence, you continue digging. You need a shower, and you have a feeling one shower won't be enough.
It feels like you've been buried here for so long. But eventually, you see light peeking through the dirt. You can't help smiling. Finally, you'll be able to see Eric again. But first, you need some water. Your throat is burning.
Finally, your hand breaches the surface. You can feel the wind against your fingers. It's not cold. It's not even warm. Before you can reflect on this, you hear Sarah gasp. You push with all your strength, clawing your way upwards.
You emerge from the ground, dirt-covered and disoriented. The world looks different now. Your vision is sharper, colors are more vivid. But that's not all. You can smell... everything. The grass around you, the dirt under your fingernails, the dry blood staining your shirt. You can hear the distant rustling of leaves and the faint heartbeat of an animal nearby.
"Where's Eric?" You ask, looking at Pam. Bill and Sarah stand beside her, one looking relieved and one looking surprised. Pam, like you, is covered in dirt. She looks so uncomfortable. That isn't a surprise. She's always perfectly polished and clean.
Before Pam can respond, Sarah lunges at you, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and pulling you close. You freeze, allowing your friend to hug you. You can hear her heartbeat quicken as she tightens her grip on you.
She smells... weird. You wrinkle your nose. It's not a bad smell, just a weird one. Unfamiliar. Slowly, you wrap your arms around her. An uneasy smile works its way onto your face, "What happened?" You ask, looking at Pam and Bill for an explanation.
Sarah pulls away from you, taking a few steps back. The look on Bill's face is unreadable. Pam seems sad, "You died," Sarah answers with a shaky breath, "Pam turned you into a... vampire." She cringes as she says it. You raise your brows in surprise, looking at Pam.
"Wait, what?" You ask incredulously, "Eric didn't do it? Where is he?" You look past Bill, trying to see if Eric's standing behind him. Of course, he's not. You would've seen him by now.
You knew you'd die at some point. You just didn't think you'd become a vampire. You knew it was a possibility, but you didn't think it would happen, and you didn't think Pam would do it.
"After you died, Russell took Eric," Bill says, stepping forward. You're even more confused now. Eric got kidnapped? "By the time we got to Russell's dungeon, Eric was gone. He'd already escaped by then," He explains further. How long were you underground? It must've been a while. And if he escaped, where is he now? And where is Russell?
"So where'd he go?" You question Bill, taking a step toward him. The more you talk, the more your throat burns. And the more your throat burns, the more annoyed you are.
Bill looks at Pam, who looks gloomy. You frown at this exchange. Bill purses his lips and looks at you, "He didn't stay here," Bill says hesitantly, "He left Louisiana."
Why didn't he come back to see you? "How long was I buried for?" You ask. It must've been a long time if Eric was kidnapped and then escaped from his captor.
Pam glances at the watch on her wrist, "Just over... 24 hours," She answers. That's not as long as you expected. It had only been a day, but in that time, your entire life changed. You're a vampire now. Eric is gone. You being a vampire is more important than some guy. You'll worry about Eric and his whereabouts later.
As you stand there, covered in dirt, dry blood, and twigs, you shift uncomfortably. You want to go home. You want to take a shower and sleep in your bed. But you can't sleep in your bed anymore. You have to sleep in a coffin. Or a very dark room. You've slept in a coffin before, but this is different. You're not human anymore.
"So, what now?" You ask, looking to Pam for guidance. You feel this sort of connection with her. There's no way to describe the feeling. You feel her presence and even some of her emotions, "I'm supposed to eat, right?" The burning in your throat has only intensified.
Pam nods, still wearing a somber expression, "Yes, you'll need to feed," She doesn't sound all that excited about this. Maybe she misses Eric. You do too, but that's not what matters right now. Food will always be more important now that you're a bloodsucking demon.
"Let's go to Fangtasia, there are plenty of people there," Sarah suggests. You look at her with raised eyebrows. Why is she acting like everything's normal? I mean, you're thankful for her, but jeez. She's so flippant about the idea of you eating someone.
Pam shrugs. Bill has a grimace on his face, "We have to teach her to control herself first. She can't just walk into a room full of humans," Bill scoffs. Sarah glares at the ex-Confederate. Pam doesn't care about who or when you eat as long as you do.
"She can control herself, have some faith, Bill," Sarah says, still glaring at him. He seems taken aback.
"No vampire can control themselves, not at the beginning," Bill tries to reason with her, "She could kill everyone." He raises his voice a bit, irritating Sarah even more.
Pam yawns loudly, glancing at the watch on her wrist. You stand around awkwardly, "Can we just leave?" You ask, exasperated by Sarah and Bill's bickering, "I need a shower." You complain, trying to rub the dirt off your arms.
You glance at Pam, "How do you do that running thing?" You're the flash now, and it's time to embrace that, "Do I just start running, or...?" You question your maker, ready to start sprinting. You have a feeling Sarah came here with her car. You don't want to sit in her car. Not when you can run faster than the car can drive.
Pam raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow. She seems amused, but you know she's still sad. You can feel it. She misses Eric, "You just run," She says with a nod, "Try it." The older vampire suggests.
Without any further hesitation, you take off running. The trees around you are a blur as you pass them. The wind rustles through your hair, and the ground beneath you seems to disappear. It feels like you're flying or riding a motorcycle or something.
You're not in Shreveport, so it might take a while to get to Fangtasia. You're still in New Orleans. Because you don't want to kill anyone, you avoid loud music and even louder drunk people. If you don't, you'll end up killing someone. You're sure of it.
But you're sure you'll kill someone at some point anyway. It's bound to happen, and it's only a matter of when. You'll try to avoid doing that for as long as you can.
It takes a few hours to get to Shreveport from New Orleans if you're in a car. But because of how fast you are, it only takes 10 minutes. You approach the outskirts of Shreveport, slowing down when you see that familiar sign. Fangastia.
The first thing you notice is the smell. The scent of blood and alcohol wafts through the air. The combination almost makes you dizzy. You approach the bar and stop just in front of the entrance. If you could sweat, you would be now. In the past, you came to Fangtasia as a human. Now, you're a vampire. It feels strange. You take a deep, unnecessary breath. It's not like you need to breathe anymore, but it feels nice.
Steeling yourself, you push the doors open and step inside. The atmosphere is nothing like you remembered, probably because you're a vampire now. You don't feel like prey anymore. You feel like a predator.
The music is loud, it's something by Madonna. But the voices are even louder. You can hear everyone's conversations, especially the humans. They're not as self-aware as the vampires here. They don't seem to know how to keep their voices down. You don't listen for long.
A few heads turn in your direction, mostly human ones. You ignore all of them, but you don't blame them for staring. Pam follows you through the bar, footsteps quiet. She's been following you since you left New Orleans. You didn't notice. You were too busy feeling overwhelmed.
Instead of stopping at the bar where Margot is standing, you head to the basement. You'll talk to her later. You have some questions for her and Henry, "You don't wanna stay up here?" Pam asks, following you down the concrete staircase. The basement door closes behind her. Ever so slightly, you inhale through your nose. Eric's scent is everywhere. Your senses are so much stronger now. You shake your head to clear your thoughts. It's no use focusing on Eric. He decided not to stick around.
You stop in front of the chest freezer. It's at the bottom of the steps, pushed against a far wall. You turn around and look at Pam, "Did you want me to eat our customers?" You ask sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at her.
"They taste better than blood bags," She says, shrugging one of her shoulders. Pam walks past you, grabbing the freezer's lid. She pushes it up and looks down at all the bags, "This'll have to do for now. It's not as good as the real thing, but it should hold you over." She sighs, leaning over to grab one.
As soon as you see the bag, you feel your fangs make their first appearance. Your throat burns even more than before. Gently, you run your tongue across your teeth. It'll take a while to get used to this new feeling. Pam holds her hand out, presenting the bag to you. You don't even hear the freezer's door shut.
Unbeknownst to you, you take a step away from Pam. You need to drink the blood. Every instinct is telling you to rip the bag out of her hands. But there's a part of you that doesn't want this. If you do this, there's no going back. The scent of the blood is intoxicating, but you resist the urge to snatch the bag away from Pam. She watches you closely.
Pam hasn't been through this process before. You're her first child. She doesn't understand what you're feeling. When she turned, she was ready. She didn't experience any emotional turmoil when she woke up. When Eric presented her with a screaming human, she ate without hesitation.
After a moment, you meet Pam's gaze, "Can I shower first?" You ask, rubbing at your arm uncomfortably. She seems impatient, but there's a softness in her eyes. You hope this helps to take her mind off of Eric.
She nods, "You can use Eric's," She looks past you at the hallway leading to his room, "I'll shower too, and I'll leave this here just in case." She says, placing the bag of blood on top of the freezer. You wince at the mention of Eric's name. Maybe soon you'll be used to his absence. The only thing that takes your mind off of it is the idea of drinking blood.
Again, you have to stop yourself from snatching the bag. Before you can do that, you nod at Pam and head down the hall to Eric's room. When you shut the door behind you, you turn around slowly. You've only ever been in here when you were human. It feels weird. The rich scent of Eric lingers in the air, and it only serves to anger you. Maybe showering first wasn't a good idea. But you're already here. You might as well get it over with.
You head into the bathroom, shedding your dirt-stained and blood-soaked clothes. The hot water cascades over your skin, and you can't help but notice how different everything feels. The water feels more soothing than it ever did. After a few minutes, you realize you don't have a change of clothes. That seems so silly in comparison to everything going on.
Pam's words about controlling yourself come to mind. If you want to control yourself, Fangtasia probably isn't the best place to start. There are too many humans here, and they all have a death wish.
After your shower, you step out of the tub and grab a towel. You glance at your bloodstained clothes, lying haphazardly on the floor. You wonder if there's a washing machine down here. Maybe you could wash your clothes. It'll take a lot to get the blood stains out. You might not even be able to do that. It's worth a try, though. You like that outfit.
When you look in the mirror, you hardly recognize your reflection. Your face is different, more refined. As you gaze at yourself, a mixture of awe and unease washes over you. You're not the same person you used to be. You don't know if that's a good thing. You wrap the towel around yourself and step out of the bathroom.
So far, being a vampire has been strange. You couldn't feel the cold air when the wind was blowing earlier. You'll never be cold again. But you'll never be warm, either. You don't miss sunlight now, but you're sure you will in a couple hundred years. If you even live that long.
You walk over to Eric's closet and grab a plain black T-shirt. It ends just above your knees, far too large to fit you. You're glad you don't need to breathe anymore. You don't want to smell Eric if you can help it. There's a pair of basketball shorts in the bottom of a drawer that you slip into as well. You roll them up so they don't fall.
The shorts aren't something you'd usually wear, but they'll do for now. You leave Eric's bedroom and head back to the freezer. The blood bag is still resting on the lid, now warm. With some hesitation, you give in to your new instincts and grab the bag. You bring the bag up to your nose and inhale. The scent is intoxicating. You feel your fangs grow at just the smell. Instead of iron, the blood smells sweet. And you're sure it tastes even better than it smells.
Before your fangs can pierce the bag, the basement door opens. The previously quiet room, so peaceful and soothing, is now filled with loud music. You turn around to see who it is. Margot descends the staircase, tall heels clicking. You feel oddly ashamed of being caught just before eating.
When she first lays her eyes on you, she seems almost taken aback, "So, you're a vampire now," Margot says, studying you intently. Slowly, she approaches you, "How does it feel?" She asks, looking down at the blood bag in your hand. You follow her gaze, feeling almost embarrassed.
"Uh, I don't really know yet," You say with what can only be described as a chuckle, looking up at her, "It hasn't even been a week." You remind the older vampire.
"No, I know. But how's it been so far?" She asks curiously, raising one of her brows. You consider her question, trying to find the right words to use. Being a vampire has been weird so far, maybe even a little overwhelming.
Just as you open your mouth to respond, Pam exits her bedroom. You hear her footsteps grow closer, loud against the concrete floor. When Pam sees Margot, she scowls. The look on her face surprises you. She's never looked at Margot that way before.
"It's been weird," You finally answer Margot, "I don't know how to feel." You say with a shrug. Margot doesn't even glance at Pam, but you know she feels her gaze.
"Don't worry, You'll get used to it. And if you ever need anything, you can talk to me," Margot offers with a smile. She glances at Pam, her boss, finally acknowledging her presence, "Is there something you need, Pam?" She asks condescendingly. Pam's scowl turns into something even nastier. You see her clench her fists at her side. Just what the hell is going on between these two?
"Yeah, there's something I need," Pam answers, taking a step toward Margot, "I need you to get behind the bar and do your fuckin' job." She spits.
Margot is undeterred by Pam's hostile tone, "Of course," She says, her voice dripping with faux sweetness, "Wouldn't want to keep our customers waiting." She says sarcastically, turning around and heading toward the stairs. Pam watches her until she disappears behind the basement door, still glaring.
This interaction confuses you, but you're more focused on the blood bag in your hand. The burning in your throat has only intensified since you woke up. Pam looks at the bag, noticing the way your fingers flex around the thick plastic.
Pam crosses her arms, "You should drink that." She advises, softening her tone.
"I was going to before she walked in." You glance at the basement door, referring to the bartender. You're not irritated by Margot's interruption or anything. She just wanted to check on you. Pam seems to think otherwise, based on her reaction to Margot's presence. You don't know what that was about, but you'll find out later. You haven't seen the two of them interact that way before. It's strange.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," Pam says, still staring at the bag in your hand, "I have to make some calls, anyway. Meet me in the office when you're done." She finally looks up from the bag and at your face. You're glad she's leaving. You wouldn't feel right if you asked her to. But you want privacy.
You don't even move until Pam is gone. You wouldn't feel comfortable eating in front of her. And you don't know why. Hopefully, it'll pass.