Immortal Chocolate (a vampire novel)

Part 4

Chapter 2

I never hate myself after I have a meal, it makes me fat. Actually I never gain weight, a plus side to being a dead mythological creature. The only thing about being a vampire is, you stay the same height, weight, and looks after you become one. No perfect beauty and all of that stuff you read in endless romance novels. You stay the same imperfect person you always were, except you do get a few perks—such as, humans thinking you’re the next best thing besides fried chicken. I can’t seem to get people to leave me alone; my stupid voice entices them to come hither so that I may consume them.

Countless men hit on me a day, not because they even think I’m pretty, but because my voice creates that vibe. After my lovely encounter in Sweet Bites, I took off running out the back door, my auburn hair slapping in the wind I was creating. I’m too tall, my face is too narrow, but people think I’m pretty—or at least before I died they used to tell me that. I used to eat tons of stuff and never gain weight, so I always was as thin as a willow branch. My dad used to call me ‘Willow Butt’ all the time, because of that fact. My dad cracked jokes until the day I died.

I remember that day as clear as if it was just the other day. God, it was an awful day. My dad's face tore me up inside like no other. I kept running, my mind churning way too fast as I began to think about it. My mom and dad were both leaning over my bed, crying, I was too sick to try and talk to them, I wanted to smile, I wanted to say I was going to be fine, but they kept crying. I remember my mother telling my dad, “She’s going to a better place now, Sam.”

I don’t think my serious-faced mother would have imagined that I’d turn into this thing. My dad leaned over that day and kissed me, his eyes full of tears, which I had never seen before, and he whispered in my ear. “I’m going to save you, Iva, my Willow Butt.” When he stepped back away from my bed, he was there. Charles Kilson. Everyone in our town was afraid of Charles, they had heard rumors that he was a murderer, a thief, and so many other tales that had left me scared for years.

When he stood there, I felt my heart beginning to give out, the toxin in my blood was screaming, and my eyes rolled back. The next thing I knew, he was biting me. Talk about weird.

I broke out of my memory for a moment, looking through the alleys. I avoided killing people normally, just because it was one of those things I felt was useless. A vampire could feed on several people, dazzle them with their memory loss ability, and carry on with life. The problem was, most vampires are lazy butts. They just feed on one, drain them, because they don’t want to take the time to find several humans and make their brains fuzzy.

I’ve found over the years, that people aren’t worth killing. I’ve been tempted plenty of times, like today, to just wipe them out, but maybe it’s the thought of my happy-go-lucky dad that keeps me sane. I spotted a straggler in the alley and shrugged. In less than ten seconds, I had the man pinned to the wall, fed for five seconds, healed the wound, dazzled him, and sped on. He didn’t even know what hit him. He’d wake up with a light scar, but other than that, he’d be fine tomorrow. His blood had tasted like booze, gross. My head buzzed lightly, the itch satisfied ever so slightly. I found several more people and did the same routine, until my urges were satisfied.

After my meal, I headed back to Sweet Bites, feeling less stressed, and ready to handle the rest of the day. Now I was thinking about Charles again. Off and on over the last eighty years I’d wondered why my dad had done what he’d done. I was thankful I guess, that I wasn’t dead, I mean if I was dead that’d be so boring. I mean dead-dead, not vampire dead. But, Dad knew that guy was a loco, why did he risk it? Had he heard something about how Charles could save people somehow? After I became a blood-sucking leech, I was locked away for years.