“You can read my mind….?”

“Yes.” She said.

“You are a vampire….aren’t you?’

“Yes……’

‘Do you want to kill me?”

“No….”

“What’s you’re name?”

“Carmen….”

Somehow we are not on Bourbon St. yet we are. We are out of time. People pass us on the street yet they do not touch us. She kisses me and it feels like every part of me is aching for her touch. Things in me burn and swell like waves of heat. She smiles at me. In my head she tells me that normally she kills mortals like me. I tell her with my soul, not my mind not my voice, I ask her why? No answer instead she moves so fast that I can’t do anything. I feel her mouth on my throat, her tongue feels sharp like a razor. She cuts my throat with her teeth, and I felt this unreal pull of my life right from my neck. I saw all these things in my head. Moments of a life but not my life. I saw the cemetery that all the tourists asked for directions to……I saw her little cult of vampires….then I saw nothing…….

CH 3

When I woke up three days later I was in my room on Decatur St. I was so weak and tired. At the time I didn’t know what day it was. I checked the clock to find I was late for work. I went to the bathroom hoping no one was in there. I was lucky no one was. I put the chair under the door knob, it was the only form of a lock that worked properly. I felt this wave of nausea like a hangover only worse. I checked myself in the mirror and I looked really messed up. Dark circles more pronounced than unusual. My neck hurt. Then it all came back the woman, her dark eyes, she bit me. I threw up. All the books, all the movies, all those sayings in the backroom about death chasing you here in “Nawlins”…..they where all true.

I get dressed and everything in me hurt. Everything. I hear all the sounds of the city and they are louder. I wander to work. Trying to read people’s thoughts. Thinking that she had done the deed and made me like her… one of the undead. I laughed a little. I had to admit this was funny. Funny, hahaha. Funny.

All these have flaws. There is no reason why any of this happened. Except, I wanted this to happen. I wanted to die. Dead. But I was not dead I was something in between. Work I had to get to work.

I get to the Blues Bar. And no one missed me. They all thought I went the way most new comers to this place went….nowhere. They were slightly relieved since they had a hard time finding my replacement. I asked for a drink and it burned really bad on the way down. The whiskey hitting me harder than it would. Big Tony telling me I needed a bandage for the wound on my neck. Tourists where gonna get the wrong idea about me and not come in.

So I went to the break room looking for a bandage. Finding none I headed to the pharmacy a few blocks away. It was not a cool night by any means. But I felt hot like I had a fever. Like I was gonna pass out at any moment.

The lights of the pharmacy hurting my eyes. I find what I was looking for and head to the counter to pay. Life moving slow time dragging on. I was losing it my grip….her voice laughing at me.

“You are so unbelievably delicious. I can’t get the taste of you off my tongue. You know where to find me. Please come find me. We can be together for ever.”

TBC

Featured song: Night Returning By Sister Machine Gun