Vampire

Chapter 5

They took a taxi to the zoo the next day and were there the second it opened. They walked in and looked around. "Where to first?" Rick asked.

"Map, we need a map," Alexis said. She was able to find one and opened it. "This way." This had been her idea, so Alexis was in charge.

~oo0oo~

They were on their way out, and Kate felt terrible about what happened. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how, but most of those animals knew I was a vampire."

"Nonsense. You're exaggerating, Kate. There's no way they knew you were a vampire," Rick insisted.

Kate contradicted him. "I'm pretty sure they did, Rick."

"I'm with Dad," Alexis said. "They couldn't possibly know you were a vampire. You were too far away from some of them. It's just your imagination."

"My imagination tells me they knew I was a vampire," Kate said stubbornly.

They took a taxi back to the marina. Once there, they all went upstairs to the Fly Deck to ask Sara what else they could do in Barcelona.

"Ooo, here's one, 'Gran Gala Flamenco.' The most famous flamenco show in Barcelona." Rick looked up to see if either of them were interested.

Alexis was very interested. "Sounds like fun. Where is it, and how do we get tickets?"

"We need to wait until Wednesday evening. There's only one show, which is at 8 o'clock. Oh, and it's only $42 each," Rick told her. "We can order tickets from here."

"Book it, please," Alexis said.

It didn't take Rick long to take care of it. "Booked. Now, we need to find something else in the meantime."

Kate spotted something that looked like fun. "How about a hot air balloon ride?"

"YES!" Rick was all in. "I can book us a ride from here." He checked to see how much it would cost for the three of them. "It's €510. Not that I know how much that is in US dollars. I booked it, so we now have reservations for Tuesday."

"Good, because you need to write." Alexis listened to her dad moan. He didn't want to write. "We need the money, Dad. And since you're the only one making any, you've got to write."

Rick gave in. "Fine."

"Thank you. Now would be a good time for you to do so," Alexis told him. "GO!" She watched him leave to write something. At least, she hoped he would, and she sighed. "If we left it to him, he would never write."

Kate felt a little guilty. "That may be partly my fault. Too much sex."

Alexis put her hands over her ears. "I didn't hear that. I'm not listening. La, la, la." That got Kate to laugh, and Alexis smiled.

~oo0oo~

Kate followed Rick into his bedroom, turned around, and he began to kiss her. She loved his kisses. But Kate broke away from him. "Did you write?"

Rick groaned. "Not you, too."

Kate still had her arms around his neck. "No sex unless you wrote something, and I mean it."

"That's not fair," Rick complained, but Kate stood firm. "Yes, I wrote."

"How much did you write?"

"Two chapters."

"Only two?" Kate didn't think that was nearly enough.

"Actually, it was just one. I wrote two, but didn't like it. So I deleted an entire chapter."

"One chapter." Kate narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "That's not very much."

Rick decided to try something. "Maybe having sex will inspire me to write more."

"Really, having sex will inspire you to write? …Then, what are you waiting for? Take off those clothes." Kate stepped back as she took off her clothes, got into bed, and opened herself to him. "Lick me down there. I love it when you do that." Kate watched as he kissed his way up one leg, followed by the other. "Stop teasing me and put that tongue to use." She ran her hand through his hair and grasped a handful the closer to a climax she got.

~oo0oo~

After Kate got dressed in the morning, she went up to the Fly Deck and saw Alexis sitting there. "Whatcha doing?" Kate asked.

"Just monitoring. Sara would alert me if needed." Alexis abruptly changed the subject. "Did you two have sex last night?"

That really surprised Kate. "I thought you didn't want to hear about that?" She watched as Alexis eyed her. "Yes, we did. Rick wrote one whole chapter, which I didn't think was enough, but I couldn't help myself. I love having sex with him."

"Did you practice safe sex?"

Before Kate answered her, this went through her mind: Where does she get off asking me about what Rick and I did?" But she went ahead and told her. "Yes, Alexis, we used a condom."

"Good, because I'm not ready to have a brother or sister just yet."

"Me neither. Though, I have no idea whether a human can get me pregnant. Not that I've even met another vampire, let alone had sex with him. But I'm not ready to find out if Rick can get me pregnant." Kate ran a hand over her face. "And here I am, talking sex with his daughter." She just shook her head. "Is that weird?"

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Not for this family."

"I'm not marrying Rick."

"Not yet." Alexis smiled sweetly at her, and Kate glared at the teen.

"You're sure you're only sixteen?" Kate asked her because Alexis didn't act like a sixteen-year-old. She didn't certainly talk like that when she was her age.

~oo0oo~

Kate was standing in the kitchen sipping her cup of blood, and Rick walked in. He headed right to her and kissed her. "Mmm, yummy." Kate just smiled and continued to sip her blood. Then Rick took the cup out of her hands. He sat it on the counter, then kissed her. He kept kissing her, so Kate slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

"I think I'm beginning to acquire a taste for blood," Rick said, and he kissed her. Naturally, she kissed him back.

"No, really, I think I'm turning into a vampire, Kate."

She huffed an irritated breath. "You're not turning into a vampire. I can't convert you. Even if I wanted to, I don't know how. Besides, l like you just the way you are."

"You love me?"

"No, I said I like you." Then Kate found herself getting kissed again.

Rick eventually broke from the kiss. "You love me."

"Like, Rick, LIKE!" And she got kissed yet again.

Rick sighed and stepped back after kissing her. "Love."

Kate repeated that she liked him and ended up getting kissed another time. Then they heard someone clear their throat. Kate looked past Rick and saw Alexis standing there.

"I came to ask about dinner, but I think I need to eat out."

Kate escaped from Rick's arms and retrieved her cup of blood. Kate narrowed her eyes. "Like." She took her cup of blood and stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Rick standing there, looking at Alexis. Alexis looked at him like she was expecting an answer.

"We were just kissing."

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Right, just kissing." Like she believed that.

"What would you like for dinner?"

"I don't know, surprise me." Alexis left him in the kitchen, not sure she would get to eat anything at all. She caught up to Kate on the Main Deck as she stood there looking out. Alexis came up beside her. "Sorry if I interrupted something."

Kate sighed. "You didn't interrupt anything. Rick was just being weird." Alexis stood there expecting an explanation. "He kissed me," Kate continued, "then said he thought he was turning into a vampire. I told him I wouldn't convert him even if I knew how, which, by the way, I don't. And he kept kissing me, trying to get me to tell him I loved him."

"Do you? Love him, I mean."

"I don't know. I like Rick, yes. But love him? I'm not so sure."

"You don't sound very convincing."

Kate drank a little of her blood. "I like him. I do." Kate looked at her. "Really."

"Right." Alexis wasn't sure she believed her, and she walked away.

Kate stood there drinking her blood and wondered if she loved Rick. "No, I like him." She tried to convince herself that it was the truth.

~oo0oo~

They arrived on time for their balloon ride. It was just them and the pilot, and they loved it. It felt like flying without wings. They drifted at the whim of the wind.

"That was cool!" Rick raved as they waited for their taxi to pick them up.

"Yes, it was," Alexis agreed. "I can't wait for the Flamenco!"

Kate nodded. "Now that should be fun."

~oo0oo~

The Flamenco dance was beautiful to watch. "I love her dress," Alexis said with a sigh. Kate hummed her agreement.

They walked the Gothic area, which was full of incredible architecture.

They took a bike tour full of stops to see the sights two days later; it was the Barcelona City Bike Tour: Highlights and Hidden Gems. It lasted three hours. Being a vampire, Kate had no trouble keeping up. Nor did Alexis. Rick, however, struggled a little and caught his wind at the stops.

Two days later, they took an all-day trip, The Port Aventura and Ferrari Land: Full-Day Trip from Barcelona. It was an adventure park filled with roller coasters and a trip to Ferrari Land, full of Ferraris. It lasted eight hours, and they all had a blast.

Two more days passed, and they took another all-day tour – the Montserrat Tour with Lunch and Gourmet Wine Tasting. The lunch was great, even if Kate didn't eat it. The wine was delicious, though Kate didn't drink any. Still, she enjoyed it.

They took yet another trip two days later: Barcelona's Coastline Helicopter Flight. The flight didn't last all that long, but they enjoyed it all the same.

~oo0oo~

They went back to Luna Supermarket and shopped for some groceries. This time, Kate went since they could use the extra hands even if she didn't know what to buy. They bought it in her stead.

Kate followed Rick into his bedroom but didn't take her clothes off this time. Instead, she cupped his face and kissed him. Then, she let go and stepped back. "You need to write, Rick."

"Not you, too," he groaned. Alexis was already on his case to write.

"We've spent money, lots of it. But there's no money coming in. Just how much do you have in the bank?"

"About a million dollars."

"How much money do you have, Rick?" She wanted a number.

"Roughly 600,000, maybe a little less."

"So, you have about 500,000. What happens when something breaks down on the boat? Something eventually will, and you know it. It could cost thousands.

"I'll make a deal with you. You write a lot, and I mean a lot, and I'll have sex with you all day."

Rick blinked and tried to confirm what she'd offered. "All day?"

"Yes, all day. If you think you can keep up with me."

"I'll have you begging for more, woman."

"We'll see...man. Until then, no sex." Kate gave him a quick kiss. "Love you." She escaped his arms and left his bedroom. Once outside, she realized what she said. "I just told Rick I love him. What have I done? Do I love him?" Kate needed to think, so she headed for the Fly Deck.

Rick meanwhile caught on to what she just told him. "She loves me. SHE LOVES ME!" Knowing that she did, he could write a lot.

At the same time, Kate barely recognized that Alexis was up there. She was still focused on what she had told him.

"You look like a person with a problem." When she didn't answer, Alexis was sure something had happened. "Kate? Earth to Kate."

"What?" Kate looked around and finally saw Alexis sitting there. "I told Rick I loved him."

"Did you, really?"

Kate raked her fingers through her hair in frustration. "I didn't mean to. It just seemed to leak out."

"Whatever. You better figure it out before you see Dad again."

"I, um, told him I wouldn't have sex with him again until he wrote something."

"Well, if that doesn't get him to write, I don't know what will." Alexis touched her arm. "You'll figure it out." She got up and left her then.

Kate wasn't so sure. But at least she had time.

~oo0oo~

Alexis had to make her own lunch the next day and even make her own dinner. It was only her since Kate didn't eat.

She came across Kate later in the day after eating dinner. "He's still at it?"

Kate nodded. "I want to believe that means something and that he's not just sitting there looking at the screen."

"Let's hope so." Alexis yawned. "I'm going to go to bed. Don't stay up too late." She gave her hand a gentle squeeze and left her.

"Yeah, let's hope." Kate still needed to work out if she loved him or if she just said it.

~oo0oo~

The following morning, Alexis expected to make her own breakfast but found her father in the kitchen. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello." Rick sounded and looked tired.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm hungry, and I'm beat. I stayed up all night writing."

"Wow! But that sounds good. Did you keep any of the chapters?"

"All of them. I finished, actually."

"Really? As in finished-finished?"

"Yeah, finished-finished. I need to reread it to make sure, but I finished." Just then, Rick made a mess while trying to make pancakes.

"You better let me do that before you start a fire." Alexis moved in and took over. Rick let her and just stood there. He was exhausted.

"Do you like what you wrote?"

"I don't know, Alexis, I don't know. I'm so out of it, I can't even think straight."

Alexis quickly finished his pancakes, watched him eat them, and then she escorted him to bed. She even removed his clothes, leaving him in his boxers. Then, she pulled the covers up and tucked him in. "Sleep well, Dad." Alexis kissed his forehead before leaving his bedroom and returned to the kitchen to work on her breakfast.

She caught up to Kate on the Fly Deck. "Dad says he finished writing. Finished-finished."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"I don't know if he's going to like what he wrote or not. I guess we'll see. He's ready to drop, so I put him to bed."

"Should I go check on him?"

"No. The moment Dad's head hit the pillow, he was asleep. Just let him rest. He'll be okay," Alexis assured her. "He's done something like this before."

"If you're sure." Kate would let him rest for now. She would check on him later.

~oo0oo~

"Later" turned out to be six hours later. Kate knocked on his bedroom door, opened it, and went in. She found a dead-to-the-world Rick. She looked him over, just to be sure he was all right. She kissed him, and he stirred a little but didn't wake up. She left him and went upstairs to the Fly Deck, where she encountered Alexis.

"He's still sleeping."

"He's done something similar this before, Kate. I remember this one time when I found him walking around in a daze. It was almost like he was sleepwalking. Dad wasn't, but it sure felt like it. I think I was just thirteen. I worried about him, but he went to bed and didn't wake up for hours.

"I ordered a pizza that night and stole money from his wallet to pay for it. I never did tell him, so don't rat me out."

Kate smiled at her. "Don't worry, he won't hear it from me."

"I felt guilty for days. Later, I sneaked some of my allowance into that wallet to make up for what I had taken."

"You're a wonderful daughter, Alexis. I'm not sure I would have done the same. I never did steal from my parents, though. I didn't need to.

"I don't have much of my own money. I've lived always on the brink of total collapse since my parents died."

"It's a good thing then that you ran into us." Alexis was curious and decided to ask Kate something. "What made you join us?"

"You gave me the best way out of Key West. You had a boat, something I didn't have. I'd been on the run from Hunters for weeks, months, really."

"Outside of hearing about them from you, I've never heard of these Hunters. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe you when you tell me they exist. It's just that I didn't know they even existed."

"Oh, they exist all right. I don't know much about them. I don't know how they hunt my kind or what they do to them when they catch them. My imagination is enough for me."

"They're going to have a hard time catching us, Kate. We're on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I think that would slow them down."

"Let's hope so. I don't want you or Rick to get hurt on my account."

"Sara will protect us. She's not just an AI, you know. She has access to some special defenses. She'll stop them if they ever board this boat."

"Oh? That's the first I've heard of it. What is it?"

"Sara has access to these needle shooters. The needles themselves are coated with a poison. It won't kill anyone, but it will put them to sleep. These needle shooters are spread out all over the boat. Combined with the cameras, she can stop them in their tracks."

"Interesting." Kate looked around and didn't see any of these shooters.

"You won't find them. They're well hidden. Much like the cameras."

"How many needles do these needle shooters hold?" Because if it was just one, what if Sara missed?

"Hundreds. After all, they're needles. They don't take up much space."

Kate thought about it and looked again, but still, she didn't see any needle shooters.