Mermaids and Vampires

50: War Paint

~~~~OLIVIA~~~~

The army advances. Lead by Adam, the fleet of cars rolls forward along the road. An army of flush-faced, full-veined soldiers with fangs for weapons cascades towards the sea. In a car towards the back, I sit squished against the window with three other souls in a seat that's meant for two.

I don't know if I'm happy about this. I can say for certain I'm not opposed to it. Considering we're moving forward as opposed to sitting stagnant in that vampire city, I would imagine I should be happy. I'm not locked up in Cedrick's back room anymore. But I do feel rather forgotten. Among all the excitement Adam hasn't said a word to me - hasn't even bothered to glance at me. I can only hope our secret bond remains in tact. I hope he remembers.

I remember.

I remember everything about our moment. The way it felt, the smell of the soda pop spilling out onto the back seat as we moved together, oblivious to the rest of the world, his sense of indifference for once seemingly gone, his eyes no longer hollow but filled with a flitting passion.

It had been perfect.

I stare out the window as the train of cars rounds a bend, pulling into view Adam's chariot. His face is too far away to see, but knowing that he's in there, leading us ahead, makes me smile. And yearn.

I tell myself we'll embrace again. soon. It's only a long car ride away. And I can handle it.

My face pressed against the car window, I fall asleep. When I wake up it's dark out and the car is still moving. I lift my head and look around the inside of the cabin at my still-alert co-passengers. Their faces are stone.

Vampires are an odd breed. Maybe after living double, triple, quadruple a normal human life, you run out of things to say. Maybe the pain of constant thirst wears on you. Maybe the pain of having lost your loved ones more than a lifetime ago wears on you too. Maybe the world loses it's magic. Maybe you learn everything there is to learn - about life - and realize it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Or maybe they're just ticked off because they have to share a cabin with a human and it's a very long drive. I would imagine the smell would be tempting. Adam used to tell me he wasn't tempted by my presence because human blood didn't compare to a mermaids. But sometimes when he was very low on blood, I'd catch him looking at me with hungry eyes. It was a little unnerving.

I felt safe today though. They were all full. Some of them hadn't even bothered to wipe the blood stains from around their mouths. Maybe it was war paint. We were, after all, going into battle.