Bite Shift

42

The drive to Tom's house was unbearably long. I wanted to hug my daughters and know they were okay. I wanted the comfort of my own house. Mostly, I wanted to climb into my bed and forget about everything that was going on.

I had stopped at the Walmart between the hospital and our street. New makeup sat in a blue plastic bag on the passenger's side seat. If that store didn't exist, I don't know what I would do. I wondered if Walmart knew how many of their overnight customers were probably vampires. If they did, they'd probably take advantage and make a new line of vampire-friendly products. I could imagine it now:

New at Walmart- SPF 1,000 sun block and certified garlic-free products!! Coming soon- organic blood in virgin and non-virgin flavors!!!

The idea of it made me laugh, into the empty car, until blood tears threatened to squeeze out of my eyes.

I pulled into my driveway and my little house looked so sad. The grey siding didn't look like much in the dark but I loved the color. Grey with black shutters and white windows. It was the first reason I had bought this house. From the driveway, you walked up three steps to the walkway, and walked past the koi pond. That was the second reason I had bought the house. In the summer, we had a waterfall running down into the little pond where bright fish swam happily. Now, in the autumn chill, the fish slept at the bottom and waterfall was off. After passing the pond, it came to the deck stairs. Ten steps led you up to the deck, where the entrance to the house was.

The house was always so full of life. Between the girls and the dog, there was a constant humming energy to our little home. Now, I looked up at the living room window and didn't recognize it. The inside had never seemed so dark and empty. It had been waiting for me and the girls to come home, to fill it with laughter again. I fought the urge to run inside, lock the door and avoid the world. But I had to see Olivia and Ellie. They had waited long enough.

Tom's house was four doors down so I walked. The night air wrapped around me and felt wonderful. I belonged to the night now. I might as well get used to that. I was tempted to have them come out to me so I could use the darkness to hide me. I was so afraid that they would take one look at me and run screaming. The idea was quickly cast aside. Me, standing outside, would really raise some red flags for them. Besides, if they were going to react badly, it was better to get it over with.

The door swung open on the first knock. All four of them were standing in the doorway. Both girls wrapped arms around my waist and I almost cried.

Don't cry! They can't see blood tears. That's the last thing they need.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, and steeled myself. "Hey, girls. I am so happy to see you! Let me look at you." They each let go and stepped back. Even though they were two years apart, they were almost the same height now. It felt like they had grown so much in three days. My love for them was so big that I felt like my chest would burst. It reminded me of why I was doing all of this; why I chose to be a vampire and why I said yes to solving the murders.

I took a step to cross the doorway and hit the door. I was shocked for a second and thought they had shut the door in my face. But it wasn't closed. I knew ran into something but looked around and couldn't figure out what.

"Don't stand on the porch, Kate. Come inside."

I hesitated but tried the step again and walked into the living room. I turned around, looking out into the night, trying to figure out what had stopped me the first time but came up with nothing. My search for answers came to a screeching halt when a growl hit my ears.

I slowly turned and faced a large German Shepard, his head hunched low, with every muscle tensed and ready to strike. His lips arched, exposing his bright white teeth. It was Tom's dog, Tank. The sweet animal, that covered all our faces with kisses, was gone and the K9 officer that worked with Tom on the force, had replaced him. Looking into his eyes, I knew the loveable family dog/police officer had seen me for what I was; a creature that lived in darkness and fed on blood. His instincts had kicked in and he was ready to fight me to the death to protect his family from a dangerous predator.