World of Monsters

3. Negotiating with a Vampire

     Alyssa thought about what he had said and did her best remember the stories she read all those years ago in the town library. She knew Vampires required something rare to feed their hunger and it wasn't vegetable soup. Alyssa looked back at Gabriel who was standing at the other end of the living room, waiting to see if she could figure it out.

     "You need blood, don't you?" She asked him.

     "I do." Gabriel confirmed. "Preferably human blood."

     "Then why me?" Alyssa then asked.

     "I could have let you die," Gabriel reminded her, "but letting you perish at the hands of all those zombies seemed like such a waste."

     "Is that the only reason?" Alyssa asked, "You dislike for wasting food?"

     "No, it's because you're not infected." Gabriel continued, "We can only drink from humans who haven't been turned. That is not easy to find considering how low your numbers have gotten over the last few decades. You're getting dangerously close to being listed as an endangered species."

     "So why can't you drink the dead?" Alyssa inquired, despite that deep down she already knew the answer herself.

     "We learned the hard way a while back that the blood of the undead isn't good for us." Gabriel answered, "It's also possible for us to be turned."

     "It is?" Alyssa said, shocked by the statement.

     "It's not a pretty site," Gabriel said, recollecting the dark memory. "Just imagine a zombie with the ability to run at fast speeds and have super strength."

     "Damn," Alyssa replied, thinking about it, "a super zombie?"

     "It took over a dozen of us to overpower and kill it." Gabriel said, as he was staring out the window into the darkness. "I was scared that night, I honestly didn't know if I was going to make it."

     "How many infected vampires are there?" she demanded.

     "Right now, zero." Gabriel informed her. "We've taken them all out. Right now we'd rather starve to death than risk another of us turning like that."

     "So how many of them are you?" Alyssa asked.

     "It's hard to say." Gabriel said, "We've had more freedom since the outbreak. More room to expand but we've all been very cautious about it... at least those of us here on this side of the planet. Europe tends to do whatever they want, regardless of risk."

     "So basically you want my blood?" Alyssa asked.

     "I need it," Gabriel corrected her.

     "I can't help wonder," Alyssa confessed, "Is this the only reason you saved me?"

     "Of course not," Gabriel replied, "As I said, it's nice to have company again. You looked like you genuinely needed a helping hand too by the way. While I was hoping you might be willing to make a donation out of gratitude, I will not pressure you to do anything you are not comfortable with. The choice is yours, and yours alone."

     "How much do you need?" Alyssa asked, trying to be as open about it as possible.

     "Not much," Gabriel said as he thought about it. "Just a little bit but nowhere near where it would put your health at risk."

     "How did we get here?" Alyssa inquired, looking out the window again.

     "I can fly," Gabriel replied, "Only naturally bred Vampires can do that. Those who are turned have most of our powers but not the really cool ones."