So I'm a Vampire... Now What? - Book 2 (Original Version)

Chapter 1.3: The Other Vampire pt 3

"What the hell are we doing?" I asked Claude as we walked through the crowd, following the other vampire.

This was easier than it sounds since everyone seemed to be deliberately not seeing the dude but of course, wanted to stop us for a lengthy chat about whatever, which we really didn't have time for.

Claude extracted himself from a pair of overly grabby friends of my mom's and shrugged, keeping his eyes on the vampire all the time. Ronnie had stayed back to talk to Isabella and her boyfriend, the two girls giggling together and throwing coy looks at Claude.

"He said to follow him, and we're following him. I didn't exactly see you saying no."

"Well, he was being all mysterious and shit. At least this way it gets us away from the family."

"You do realize that we're the only ones who can see him, right? And here we are following him outside, away from everybody."

"So we're being stupid?"

"Stupid and reckless."

We had cleared the crowd and noticed the vampire waiting at the far end of the garden by the back gate. Claude turned to me and shook his head. None of this was sitting right with him, and he wanted to make sure that I knew how stupid I was being.

"If he wants to take you to see his totally fucked up lair filled with bodies and shit, you're on your own. Just saying is all."

I tried to bluster as much as possible, given the circumstances, "Dude, seriously? You're bringing your own vampire along."

"Yeah... have you met you? You kinda really suck at the vampire thing."

"Yeah," I agreed, "but he doesn't know that."

The "he" in question was waiting patiently at the back gate, watching us over downcast eyes that were supposed to look creepy or some shit. If he'd had a cape, he would have been hiding his face behind it like an extra-cheap Bela Lugosi knockoff. I was kind of getting the feeling that our vampire friend was a bit of a poser and was enjoying himself way too much.

The thing is, he was really creeping me the fuck out to the point that I really wanted to get on the phone and call another vampire who actually knew what they were doing. Claude wasn't kidding when he pointed out that I sucked at being a vampire.

I was what was known as an "Accidental," mainly because most vampires in Toronto go through a very rigorous program that lasts ten years before they are actually turned. It serves to weed out people who are psychologically unfit to the life of a vampire, as well as any psychopaths in the system. It's also something that only the extremely rich can afford.

Needless to say, I'm broke as hell, financially embarrassed, and one missed paycheque away from being homeless. I would have failed most of the vampire tests as well, but here I am because my friend Louise and her doctor buddy got greedy one night and drank too much of my blood. The sad thing is that it wasn't even like they needed it for food or anything. To vampires, blood is a drug, and Louise and her friend had gotten high as hell while I bled out in front of them. And to make up for just about killing me, Lousie had turned me into a vampire.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Louise had at least stuck around to teach me how to become a vampire, but she had broken a significant rule by turning an uninitiated (me) into a vampire. I had never seen her again after that. Harry had said she was dead, and that was that. I had been left on my own to figure shit out, day-by-day and one mistake at a time.

I was not good at figuring things out on my own.

"If there is something on your mind, now would be a great time to mention it," Claude said. He always noticed the smallest changes in my demeanour, but then again, he was the details guy. Noticing details was what kept him safe. Kept him alive.