“Are you okay?”
I peered into the darkness, half afraid yet excited at the same time. I’d yearned for something like this for so long and now that it was happening, I almost couldn’t believe it.
“Hello?” I called again. “Are you alright in there?”
“Go away.” The voice was a soft, agonized whisper.
I knew that I should be afraid, knew that I should run far away or at least call for help but the Good Samaritan in me wouldn’t let me leave, even knowing what he was. Gathering my strength, I moved closer.
He was curled into himself on his right side, facing away from me. He was pressed into the wall, clutching his stomach, soft groans emitting from his throat.
“Tell me what I can do to help,” I offered.
“Go away,” he growled.
“I just…”
He spun around so quickly that I didn’t see him move. His eyes shone silver in the moonlight, teeth bared, fangs long, pointy and glinting like daggers of death.
“I said fuck off!”
I stood frozen, awestruck by what I’d just seen. Only when I came out of my daze did I realize that he had turned away again. His body was shivering violently and I could actually hear his teeth chattering.
“You need blood.” I heard the surprised realization in my own voice as I came to what I was sure was the right conclusion.
“Please,” he whispered breathlessly. “For your own safety, just go.”
“I can help you,” I blurted.
He ignored me, holding himself tighter.
“I can. I can help you. You need blood and I…” I gulped. “I have blood. I can give you some, or you can take some rather.” I cursed myself for sounding so stupid.
Again, he moved in the blink of an eye. One minute I was standing where I had been, the next I was pinned to the wall, his hand wrapped tightly around my throat, sharp nails digging into my neck.
“Is this some kind of sick joke to you? Huh? Let’s see how much we can tempt the vampire before he snaps and gets himself killed for forcefully feeding on a human?” His eyes shone icily as they glared into mine.
“I wasn’t…” I choked. “I wasn’t thinking anything like that. I like vampires. I only wanted to h…help.”
“If you really want to help, you should…”
He broke off, a soft keening pouring out of him as he doubled over, clutching his stomach.
I didn’t know much about vampires but I was informed enough to assess that if he didn’t get blood soon, I would have a verydead vampire on my hands.
“Please,” I beseeched. “Let me help you. Let me…”
Where the idea came from, I honestly didn’t know, but before I could change my mind, I rolled up the sleeve of my shirt and jacket, picked up a rusty piece of iron from the ground and raked it across my forearm. I told myself that I didn’t feel the pain.
I knew the moment he smelled the blood. His head snapped up, silence falling upon us.
“What are you doing?” he growled.
“Drink.”
“Are you crazy?!”
“Drink,” I insisted, holding my arm out to him.
