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Chapter 9: All the lonely people

“Look at all the lonely people,” Jake Mackenzie mused as the beat of the music pounded in time with my heart. Not that he could tell you who was playing. Some young rock group, pouring their hearts into music that no one was really paying much attention to.

The tune seemed somewhat familiar to him, but the group at best needed more rehearsal time, more likely a different career. The smoke from cigarettes, legal and not so legal filled his nostrils and clouded his vision. It was your typical crowded bar scene. Loud and annoying, the perfect place for Jake to be, he thought with a smile.

Jake leaned up against the bar and watched as the bartender cheated the drunk or high customers. A very aggressive young entrepreneur, he mused with a silent chuckle. He should go far, assuming that he didn’t cheat the wrong individual.

Listening in on snippets of conversations, Jake heard young couples flirting, business deals from the hit of some amazing strain of weed or pills, all the way up to the promise of ‘very’ enjoyable companionship.

“This was Satan’s place,” he thought, “and I blended in perfectly.”

Without turning around, he knew she had arrived. He could smell the musky, yet alluring fragrance of her perfume. Her stilettos clicked seductively with each footfall as she approached the bar.

Jake knew much about her; her favorite drink, what she smoked, even what she liked for breakfast. He felt that he had known her for years, but had never before met her.

Jake did not stalk this young woman. He did, but not for the reasons you may think. Not lust for the curves of her body, sumptuous as they may be. The delicate, tanned skin soft to the touch, held no allure to him. This young creature was desirable to look at, and many a man would gladly go home with this young blonde.

Scantily dressed in her tight outfit designed to attract men and to tease them with views of her flesh, her goal was to entice and frustrate. Yes, any man would replace her a tasty morsel.

Well, so did Jake, however, not for the same reasons.

She was his prey. Tonight this young woman would be Jake’s to dine on.

She thought that tonight, she was the beast, the hunter. Little did she know she was the hunted.

A month ago, Jake had feasted on her friend. It was a joke of a hunt, to be honest, Jake had expected more of a fight from the bodybuilder, the self-styled, ‘macho’ man.

Laughingly, he was by far one of the easiest. Jake’s heart was set on a sort of a match; the victim’s supposed martial arts prowess against Jake’s supernatural ones. It never even got that far. One flash of Jake’s fangs and he was begging for mercy.

He even offered to help Jake get his friends in exchange for his life. The man had seen too many vampire flicks, Jake needed no Renfield. Even had Jake a need for one he scoffed, it would not be him. Through his blood, Jake knew everything he did.

Feeling her presence as she neared allowed Jake to track her movements. Stopping for small talk with friends, he could hear what she talked about and listened in as she flirted with one guy or another.

As she made her way closer to the bar, his hunger grew. Soon Jake knew he would be satisfied with his cravings and could go back to being his normal for a while longer. Until the cravings returned and forced him to hunt again.

Once again, Jake cursed the one that made him that way. The memories of that night still made him angry. Working later than Jake expected, he exited into the torch lit night.

Not minding the mile walk, Jake exited into the night. The temperature alone should have driven him back inside, it was a quarter to three in the morning and easily over eighty degrees, a humid eighty at that.

With youth comes a sense of invincibility, and in my twenty-seven years of life experience up to that point, had told him he was young, fit, and in no danger. The years since, have taught him differently.

Too late.

Then a shape emerged from the shadows.

Before Jake could react, the shape grabbed him and twirled him around. Jake felt paralyzed in fear, or was it the hypnotic unearthly glow of his silver-blue eyes?

Panicking when Jake saw him hiss, it was not from the action, but from the fangs that he now displayed.

“This is not happening to me!” , Jake’s mind screamed in stark terror and disbelief.

Before he could even begin to mount a struggle, he pulled close and the beast lowered its head to his neck. Its fangs sank into Jake’s skin and his blood seemed to burn as it quickly oozed out and was sucked up by the creature’s eager tongue.

The tongue reminding Jake of a cat’s, the sandpapery feel as it greedily stole his life. Jake tried to struggle but found it hard to move his body.

To this day Jake could still feel the sensations of his life slowly draining away. He remembered preparing myself to meet God, reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

Strangely appropriate, Jake thought and began laughing softly to himself.

“After all,” he thought, ” I am in the shadow of death. I do fear evil; it was standing right there taking my life.”

Suddenly the creature stopped and looked around startled. Confused and weak, Jake was slowly able to hear the sounds of something or someone approaching. Hurriedly, the creature dropped Jake’s nearly lifeless body to the ground and disappeared into the shadows just as quickly as it came.

That had been his saving grace and punishment to purgatory all in one. The creature did not have the time to finish the job, and so Jake was in this bar, quenching his immortal thirst.

Jake Mackenzie shook those thoughts and memories from his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.

She had finally made her way to the bar, smiling wickedly as she leaned forward enough to give the bartender a good look down her dress. There was a bit of space between her and Jake Mackenzie, she made a quick glance at him and looked him over and gave an inviting smile before turning back to the bartender.

The bartender, apparently in a rage of hormones, did not even bother to disguise lustful gazes while he readied to take her order. Jake felt it was the time to begin to setting his trap, speaking before she could.

“Vodka, barkeep. For the lady,” Mackenzie said, she looked momentarily amused and surprised. He held a finger up as he continued, “And add just a bit of apple juice for taste.”

She went from amused to surprised, “I’m impressed.”

Mackenzie held up hi drink, the same drink. “Just recognize someone with selective taste.”

Jake could tell that he had her attention, at least for the moment. In less than a minute the bartender had delivered her drink, refilled the peanuts, and wiped down the area in front of her. Lust can be a powerful motivator Jake mused.

He motioned to the glass.

“So Kristie, enjoy your drink.”

Jake watched as her amusement quickly become fear. Her body language became one of a trapped animal. Jake could actually see that her heart was beating faster, making the blood he craved move faster.

He fought the urge to lick my lips.

“Do I know you?” she asked with more than a hint of fear and concern in her voice. She seemed to be mentally trying to place me.

“No.”

Her eyes narrowed, “Then how do you...?” she stammered. Jake saw the fear grow in her eyes, the subtle little things; the quickening of her breath, the way she gripped her drink tighter. The fight or flight in our hormones, just adding spice to her blood.

Then trying to regain her composure, she said with a nervous laugh, “Mind reader?”

“Only on weekends, birthday parties and such.” Jake commented with a smirk, “I am a friend of Morris.”

Visibly relaxing, she held out her hand, “And you are?”

Jake took it and pressed his lips to it. Never once losing eye contact, “They call me Mackenzie. Friends call me Mac.”

Kristie reached into her purse and pulled out a cigarette, holding it between her lips as she dug for a lighter. The bartender nearly flew down the length of the bar with a lighter. Giving him a dismissing smile she turned away from him. Crestfallen, he went back to his other customers.

Taking a long appraising look at Mackenzie, she took a long drag of her cigarette. Playfully adding, “And what do I call you?”

“Anything you wish.”

She gave a soft laugh, “So tell me, mind reader, what am I thinking?”

Smiling Mackenzie motioned to the dance floor.

She took a long puff on her cigarette and snuffed it out in an ash tray on the bar. The bartender gave me a stare of both awe and jealousy as we walked off.

The music had a definite techno sound to it now. Finally, Mackenzie recognized the tune and wondered if John Lennon or Paul McCartney had meant their music to be butchered in such ways.

The floor was crowded. Mackenzie fought to control himself near all those warm bodies, with that delicious blood, pumping wildly just under the skin.

All he had to do is reach out...

Jake snapped himself back to attention as they started to dance, or at least, what Jake surmised was passing as dancing in this club in this day and age. No more was it softly swaying to the music, it was now what could be best called upright sex.

Their bodies moved against each other in time to the music. As she turned her back to him he drew her near and his hands slowly made their way to her hips. She pushed her body against his, grinding into him.

His lips were softly nibbling on her ear, then slowly down her neck to the spot where the neck meets the shoulder. Despite the noise of the club and her dancing, Jake could hear a soft moan escape her lips.

After a few minutes of that, she turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her young body against Mackenzie’s and kissed him hard and passionately. Mackenzie returned the kiss, their tongues dueling. Kristie smiled seductively and took him by the hand and led him off the dance floor.

Every few feet she pulled him close and kissed him, their hands groping at each other’s bodies. Thinking that they would be leaving now, Mackenzie was surprised when she led him to a door far to the back of the club.

They went down a dark passage way that had several openings where he could see smaller private rooms, catching the odd glimpse here or there and the people in those dimly lit rooms. What they were doing should remain in the realms of the observer’s perverse imagination.

Finally, they reached an empty room and turning she put her arms around him. Once more, they shared a passionate kiss as she ran her hands over Jake’s body.

His hands moved to grab her backside and pull her even closer. He kissed his way to her ear gently biting the lobe and softly trailed a line of kisses down her neck as her head went back, eyes closing in ecstasy. Her lips quivered in lust and she trembled in anticipation.

She looked at him and with a seductive smile whispered into his ear, “I need you.” She grabbed him by the hand and tugged me playfully inside the room.

“Close,” he thought, “so close.”

Once inside, Jake took a quick survey of the room. The room, bathed in a dim blue light, was sparsely furnished. A large couch with an easy chair took up one side. The center had a sort of coffee table.

They made our way to the couch, kissing and caressing each other. She then sat in his lap, her back to him, allowing his hands to cup her breasts through her dress. She moaned as she ground herself into him.

Jake was being driven mad with my needs. he could feel her pulse just below her skin. Could feel the warmth of her body and taste her skin. His hands were all over her body, touching, molding themselves to her. he could easily feel her growing arousal.

He slowly pushed the zipper of her dress down. Then his hands and lips quickly moved to caress and kiss the newly exposed skin. She started rocking, her hands holding the back of my head trying desperately to pull his head closer. She moaned in pleasure, but that quickly became a moan of pain as his teeth sunk into her skin began to drink.

Mackenzie felt her squirm in the agony and ecstasy of the moment, trying desperately to escape; attempts that were getting weaker and weaker as her life force slowly drained away, then finally ceased.

Holding her close as she went limp in his arms, Mackenzie sobbed quietly in both satisfaction and despair. Looking up, he saw their reflections in the mirror; her lifeless body and his brownish green eyes glowing brightly in the nearly dark room.

In a quick grab of her neck and head, he quickly twisted until hearing the snap of certain death and saving her from the life he felt doomed to.

Jake then mouthed a silent prayer for her and made the sign of a cross before he then exited the room and melted into the crowd.

Quickly he made his way to the exit and rushed home.

Jake laid there in bed drenched with sweat as he replayed the night’s events in his mind. Every smell and sound down to the last detail.

It was then that it hit him in a terribly painful and swift blow; her memories. A curse he carried, as well as a blessing. The memories of his victims were always swept up in the blood.

Within in a few maddening minutes, her life was replayed in his mind. The anguish, the love, and the lows as well as highs; all now were his now as well. The pain caused him to grip the bed sheets and thrash about the bed. Jake fell off the bed and hit the cold hardwood floor.

As the pain went slowly from his body, he pulled himself slowly back onto the bed. Laying down and looking up at the ceiling, tears of anguish and pain fell from his eyes.

Staring at the ceiling in anger, he cursed an invisible god that did not answer him. For the millionth time, he vowed vengeance on the creature that had made me what he was.

“You okay in there”

“I’m okay Mrs. Rigby, just a nightmare.”

“Oh, well I’ll be downstairs.”

Jake looked over at the clock and noticed it was a little before six AM. He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled to the shower. Maybe a good, hot shower would help, he thought.

Soon the stress melted away under the steam and heat of the water.

Minutes later, he bumped into the kindly old matron, in the kitchen. He grabbed an apple from the table and made his way to the door.

“No breakfast, this mornin’?” she asked in a motherly voice. Stopping he gave the old woman a peck on the cheek.

“Not hungry. I had something earlier” and then added, “I’ll be working late tonight.”

Mrs. Rigby shot him a disapproving look, “Glory be, you’ll work yourself into the grave if you keep these hours!”

If only, he thought, if only.

She shrugged in a disapproving stare, “Your friend Nick Stewart called. Said call him back.”

Mackenzie cocked his head in surprise, making a mental note to call him as soon as he arrived at his office.

“Have a good day, Mrs. Rigby,” as he reached for the door knob.

“You too Father Mackenzie.”