The darkness surrounded her in a familiar, cold embrace. Consciousness came fleetingly, brief flashes of memory playing out in her mind before sleep overtook her once more. Fighting, war, death...blood. And an explosion, something about an explosion.
She reached out her hand to feel cold stone above, to the side and even underneath her. Entombed. She buried the panic that crept into the back of her mind. Calm, she was too old to let petty fears control her. Steeling herself she place both of her hands against the flat surface and pushed with all her might. The stone moved, but no more than a centimeter. That was concerning, at one point in time she'd been strong enough to tear through steel and now she couldn't even move a rock? Just how long had she been in this tomb?
Another shove made the lid slide further and fresh air poured in around her. One last pushed opened the gap wide enough for her emaciated hand to slip through, which in turn was just enough leverage to force the lid open the rest of the way. Sitting up she saw that she was in a graveyard surrounded by other raised tombs. New Orleans.
"What am I doing here?" She pondered out loud. Her voice was cracked and horse, the voice of an old woman. She ran her withered fingers through her hair, a little shocked to see that it was pure white. "And how long have I been gone." Pain flared through her body, every nerve burning in agony as she doubled over.
Blood, she needed blood.
She stumbled forward, angling herself to the lights she could see in the distance. A city maybe? The New Orleans she remembered could never produce that much light. But she could worry about that later, all she needed to think about was finding food.
A half hour later she staggered onto the edge of a foreign city. The noise alone was enough to overwhelm her sensitive ears. She stumbled through the alley's of the city looking for easy prey. In the end, the prey found her.
"Lookie what we have here gents." A heavy creole voice said from behind her. "Some old lady wanderin on the wrong side of town."
She turned around to see three me standing behind her.
"Oh shit," One of them said while taking a step back. "Dude that is not okay."
She took a step forward, causing the three thugs to take a step back. "You." She lifted a finger towards the leader, her fingernail extending into a claw. "Give me your blood."
Before any of them could blink, the old lady flashed across the space. She grabbed the leader by his hair, twisting his head the side so that she could sink her fangs into his jugular.
Power surged through her, the blood pouring down her throat sending waves of strength into her body. But it wasn't enough. She drained the man of every last drop, licking her lips as she turned her attention to the other two. They were rooted in place, too terrified to run away. Which spelled their doom.
A minute later the mysterious woman stood above three corpses, licking her fingers clean. She stood up straight, feeling her spine pop as her body corrected itself. She could feel her youth returning to her by the second. A mirror would do her no good, but her skin was no longer shriveled and when she pulled her a strand of hair in front of her face she smiled at the familiar red locks. "Ah, to be young again."
"Police! Don't move!"
The woman turned slowly, looking over her shoulder at the policeman behind her. No, that wasn't right, the voice clearly belonged to a woman. "A female police officer? How intriguing."
"I said don't move!" The officer pulled her weapon. " Get down on your knees! Now!"
"No," The vampire disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind the cop. "You will be the one kneeling before me." She grabbed the officer by the throat, twisting the woman around in her grasp.
The badge on the woman's breast read officer Mitchell. The woman herself was quite interesting. There was fear in her eyes but she didn't lower her gaze, matching the vampire's intense stare. "Let...me...go.."
"And why would I do that? You look absolutely delectable." She help officer Mitchell up, angling her throat at just the right angle. She bit in, savoring every last drop. "Divine," The vampire dropped the limp body. "I think I'll leave you alive. Might come back for seconds."
She looked to the sky and jumped, landing on top of the nearest building. The vantage point gave her a good view of the city. It'd grown considerably, but there were still parts that she recognized. "A new world." She smiled to herself. "A new challenge to conquer."