Mermaids and Vampires

39: Surprises

~~~~OLIVIA~~~~

It's morning. I wake up feeling cold and uncomfortable. The ground beneath me is hard. As I lift my head up I scan my surroundings. The forest looks calmer now in the soft light of dawn.  

I see Adam standing with some other vampires not far away. One of them has a limp body draped over his shoulders. It's tail shimmers as the sun's light dances across it through the leaves.

Adam murmurs instructions to the others, then they separate. Two carry the body away while Adam heads towards the remnants of last nights fire.

I get up and go towards him.

But as I approach I'm beginning to wish I hadn't. The ground around the fire pit is coated in a black, tarry substance, recounting the bloodshed. It smells like death.

"Quit making that face." Adam says, "You look disgusted."

"I am." I state quietly.

"You should be used tot his stuff by now."

"It's not the blood that frightens me, it's the way you killed her."

He smiles.

"Wait in the car, I'll be back as soon as I'm done clearing up here."

"What's this?" I ask, touching the cloth that is in his hand.

"Her clothes. Thought you could use another outfit."

I take a breath and step away from the area. I do as he says and go towards the car.

Something about this doesn't sit right with me.

I wait, leaned up against the car for a while before Adam comes back.

"Get in." He says. "We're going to the city to get you food." 

I go around to the passenger's side and open the car door, letting the stench of rotting bodies air out a little before I go in.

"No Charlotte?" I ask, looking across the hood at Adam.

"She doesn't need to come for this."

He gets in the car. So do I, trying my best to ignore the smell and fight the ever-present urge to vomit.

It's different sitting in the front of the car. I'm so used to being forced into the back. The drive is long and incredibly quiet for the first little while and it feels weird to finally be alone with Adam. If I had been in this situation months ago I probably would have been overjoyed just to be in his presence. My eyes would have danced across his body whenever he wasn't looking, taking him in and savoring every detail. But today I have no desire to look at him. I do not feel the reverence I once had for him. I sit stiff, waiting for the long ride to be over.

"I feel like I made a mistake." I finally speak, voicing the thought that's been haunting me for a while.

"What do you mean?"

"Coming out here with you..."

"We didn't have a choice - it's not like you could just go back -"

"No. I mean leaving in the first place. I thought it would be different." There's a pause. "Maybe you should just drop me off in whatever city we end up in and I can try to get a job there, start a new life..."

"Stop talking." He says. "It's just the hunger."

I shake my head. "You treat me differently."

"Hunger and blood loss."

"It seems like all you care about is Charlotte."

He stops the car abruptly scaring the shit out of me.

"Charlotte is noting, okay. It's just strategy." He says harshly.

 The car starts up again slowly.

I wonder, am I supposed to think I'm any different? I've been a part of his strategy since the moment he brought me into his life. I was the bait used for catching humans. It worries me that he hasn't changed me yet. At the same time I'm terrified to say anything. We're alone together in the middle of nowhere. If he wanted to kill me it would be too easy.

I keep quiet for the rest of the drive, silently stewing in my head.

After a while we arrive in a small town in a rural area. There's a gas station where we stop. One employee mans the convenience store. Adam gets out. He doesn't ask me to go with him.

I know we're out of money so I have a hunch about what he's going to do.

But he surprises me. He walks around the store, picking out food, and when he's done he just walks out. No killing. Nothing.

The convenience store operator - a lanky highschooler - seems more confused than angry, and though he chases Adam out of the store, we're already gone by the time he gets to where our car used to be. He is left standing there scratching his head.

Adam has read the situation well. No need for violence when you're dealing with a kid who gets paid whether stuff gets stolen or not. But it's strange. You'd think he'd go for the easy snack. Maybe it's not kindness that has prompted this decision, but fear. Having another town with vampire killings would just add to the problem of hunters. I have a feeling they are more danger than Adam makes them out to be - and he knows it.

I grab a pre-wrapped sandwich and begin to mow down. After days of not eating it tastes incredibly good. After a few bites I grab the soda, washing it all down with a sweet, bubbly thirst-quenching swig.

We're cruising down the road a little faster than we need to be. After all, it's not like the kid is chasing us.

But maybe Adam likes the thrill of it - like we've just pulled off a heist and are now riding away in the getaway car. That's what I was imagining.

"You got a lot of stuff," I say, going through our loot.

"It'll last you a few days." He says.  

 "if I don't eat it all now." I joke.

I continue eating the sandwich and it doesn't take long before it's disappeared, as well as the entire bottle of pop.

When I toss the bottle towards the back of the car Adam begins to slow the car down. Quickly, he pulls off to the side of the road.

I'm confused. We're not back yet. We're still in the country. A corn field stretches out for miles beside our car. I stare out the window.

"Where are we?" I ask as I turn my head to face Adam.

He doesn't speak, but brings his lips up to mine, and, cupping my face, pulls me forward into a succulent kiss. I feel myself draw in a rapid breath, surprised and invigorated, for his touch is so magnetic and his lips persuasive.