Desire - 1. Chapter 1

It was a cold evening, around -20 degrees Celsius outside. I stood looking out the large, frost-filled window of the diner. Al's Burger Joint. It was, as the name stated, a burger place. And let's face it, most people like simple. Of all the nights to be working, it had to be Christmas Eve. It's not like I've got anything against working on a holiday or anything; neither did I honestly have any plans nor anyone to go home to, but nonetheless it was one more day of work I could have taken off to catch up on sleep.

I checked the clock for what seemed to be the umpteenth time this hour. 10:47 PM. Barely even fifteen minutes of work left, and it felt like time was halted. I was doomed. Doomed to spend the rest of eternity working inside this tiny, run-down diner for minimum wage. Looking around the diner, I saw there was a surprising number of people tonight. I mean, where else could you possibly want to go on Christmas Eve but a stinky, creaky shack where the coffee wasn't even that great? Sounds like my kind of holiday.

Norma, my boss-lady, who had the appearance of a 100-year old crone on her last legs of life, barked an order through the bright red window of the kitchen.

"Luke! Staring out into the cold won't get these tables cleaned any faster, boy!"

She definitely had lots of vigour left, even at her old age.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm right on it!" I said in my especially enthusiastic, yet heavily sarcastic, "festive" tone. Turning around, I glared at the mass of dirty tables around the room and sighed. Just my luck.

Picking up a handful of dishes, I reached down and collected my tip. If there were any perks at all for this lovely job, it would be the tips. There wasn't really much else that screamed out, 'Pick me! I'm the job you want!" Not here anyways. Unless you actually like to clean up after messy people and wash dishes for 8 hours a day. Then it was your dream job. I placed the dishes in the sink, soaped them up and left them to soak. I looked at the clock again. It was time to leave! About time too. I threw my coat on and waved bye to Norma, leaving out the back door before anyone could stop me.

I stepped out into the cold air, shivering as I pulled my coat tighter. "God damn, it's cold out tonight!" I muttered to myself, walking through the back alley. I peered around, occasionally glancing over my shoulder to make sure nobody was following me. You could never be too careful in this part of town. It's not that it's a bad place, it's just… shady. And not everyone is so honest and caring. Especially not around Christmas. I looked at the walls with graffiti strewn about them and laughed. Of all the places to put graffiti, people chose the one back alley that nobody takes. It was a real shame. Some of the drawings were not half-bad, apart from a few vulgar messages and images, you'd have thought they were taking professional courses to draw like that.

Just then, I heard a crash. I jumped about 15 feet in the air, no joke. I looked around and saw that a cat had knocked over a garbage can. Thankfully, nobody was there to see me act like I'd been shot at or something. Just then I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I took a double take and froze up. At first, I thought it was someone trying to mess with me. I took a closer look, and saw it was just two guys making out behind a club. No big deal. Though, it kind of made me feel lonely, thinking about the last time I ever got some action like that. I shook my head at the stale thought and kept walking. I tried not to stare as I passed them, but I couldn't help it. They were pretty intense into it.

I trudged on through the snow, cursing as it soaked through my shoes. I heard some muffled sounds and again saw two guys necking. Merry freakin' Christmas to you too. I started to pass them, only this time I stopped dead in my tracks. All I could smell was the thick smell of blood. I turned and faced the two guys. The look on the one guys face was a mix between anguish and ecstasy.

"Hey...is everything okay? I could have sworn I just smelled blood."

I kept my distance just in case the guy had a weapon. You never know these days. The tall guy turned around, and the out of the corner of his mouth a thin dribble of blood trickled down. I stood there in sheer terror watching his fangs retract, his hand wiping his mouth, so that only a tiny smear was visible. He took a step towards me, and that's when I lost it.

"Whoa, hey now… hey… I'm not going to tell anyone about this man. I'm worthless. Nobody would even believe me if I did tell! N-not that I intend to or anything but you know what I mean?" I squeaked, hoping to appease him.

His face had no emotion on it; a stonewall expression. He looked toward the guy he had been biting, motioned to the inside of the building, and the guy went without a word. Then he returned to looking at me. I felt his eyes, piercing silver, gazing at me almost as if he was looking through me. I started to back away.

"Not so fast."

Now, I'm by no means a religious person. Sure, I go to church at Christmas or Easter when my grandmother requests that I join her, but that's pretty much it. So it may come as a surprise that just as he took another step I pulled out my rosary. Yup, I had one. Couldn't tell you why I did.

I held it up like a shield in front of me and I squealed, "Stay away from me!"

He took a few steps and stopped. Now, I took a step towards him. I threw the rosary as hard as I could at him. He caught the crucifix in his hand and stared at me.

"You've watched way too many movies, kid."

I watched in horror as he brought it up to his mouth, fangs extended. He bowed his head and said in a low, mocking tone, "Body of Christ…Amen." He brought it to his mouth, played with the head seductively, and then sucked on it teasingly. He clamped his mouth down and pried it clean off before spitting it away.

"Humph. And just when you thought there was nothing that tasted nastier than the bread!" He said as he grinned, a hideous sneer on his face.

By now I was about ready to just book it. I didn't care where I ended up or how I got there, so long as this gorgeous, I mean gruesome, beast didn't catch me first. I found myself, however, inexplicably frozen to the spot. Mostly two-thirds out of fear, one out of pure awe.
He took my wrist, his cold hand like a vice around me. He smiled this devilish smile that made me blush. There is no way in hell that I'm falling for this guy of all people!

Looking into my eyes he said, "Go to sleep."

I stared at him for about five seconds, and then looked around.

"Umm…?"

He looked at me, blinked and said it again a few times, his eyes boring into mine. Finally getting fed up, he let go of me.

"I don't know why I can't command you to do what I wish, but it's starting to piss me off. Either you forget this happened here and now, which isn't happening by the way, or you die."

As he said those last few words, his fangs extended once again. He was taller than me, around 5'10", and his silver eyes were just over my head. I felt so scared, vulnerable, small and for some reason the thought of death was sickeningly welcoming.

"Just kill me. Please. Nobody would miss me anyways. It would be as if I never existed in the first place."

He straightened up, his expression changed slightly, looking puzzled.

"Well…" he started bringing me in closer, "that's the first time I've ever had someone ask to die. It's not pleasant you know. It's not going to be quick and easy."

I nodded, and he drew closer, placing his face near my neck. He stopped dead, or rather un-dead, in his tracks almost as if someone had hit the pause button on a TV remote. Instead of the jarring pain I expected, he turned his head in towards me fangs retracting.
His nose was brushing against my exposed neck, and I let out a soft moan. I swear at that moment I had stopped breathing, and as I did so I turned my head away. He took a step back and started to laugh. It was not a menacing laugh that you'd expect from someone, or something, like him. He looked back at me; my face now flushed red as a beat.

"Really? As if you just did that!?" He chuckled again, and then his face hardened again as he added, "But what perplexes me is why I couldn't kill you. Some kind of instinct kept me from biting you. This hasn't happened before."

The sombre, stone-faced expression had returned to his face. He looked to be deep in thought, weighing the options he had left. He looked up at me and shook his head.

"Whatever. You're one human. I've killed dozens upon dozens of humans, so it's not like it will matter. Just keep this quiet or I will be back and I will kill you. Even if I have to rip you limb from bloody limb.

I nodded and watched as he moved aside. On a good day it takes me about twenty-five minutes to walk home from work. I must have made it in ten. I turned the key and slammed the door to my apartment, throwing every lock, deadbolt and hammer in.

By this point, I had stopped shaking. I threw myself into a hot shower and lay down on my bed afterwards. I couldn't get him out of my head no matter how hard I tried. Moreover, it was his touch that I couldn't get out of my head. His soft nose brushing against my skin. I rolled over, trying to quash my body's natural reaction. I soaked up his image, ingraining it into my memory banks as my eyes started to flutter and I fell into a deep sleep.