Succumb

Chapter Six

Kayla

I walk with Liz out to the parking lot. Mason had gone over the plan with us before Vivian had arrived at lunch and nodded at me to let us know she had agreed. We climb into his car that Dad got him for his last birthday. It is hot from being under the sun for most of the day, and the metal seatbelt clip burns a bit when I brush it with my fingers.

Liz and I sit there for a minute, staring out the window at all the students walking to their own cars. I abruptly turn to Liz and ask, "So, what do you want to go do?"

She hesitates, then quietly says, "I need to know about what will happen to me. Now that I'm a..."

"I know." I slouch in the chair and let out a huff. A moment passes while I think. "We can't go back to my place. Let's head to the lake. We can talk there."

"... Alright."

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I park the car in the unpaved parking lot. The uneven ground gives off waves of warmth as I walk around to Liz's side quickly. I open the door for her, and she climbs out with a soft thanks. We walk along the lean path through the woods leading to the lake. There were not any other cars in the lot, and we see no one else on the beach. Still, we head farther down the stretch of brown, silt-like sand so that we won't be disturbed.

There is a group of rocks on the beach, all roughly the same size and all just a little above knee-height. There were probably carried over intentionally by high school kids a few years back to sit on, as they are in a sort of circular pattern.

I claim a rock with another beside me, hoping she would sit there. However, Liz chooses a rock across from me. It is probably the smarter choice, but it still sends a pang to my chest that she won't be right next to me.

A deep breath helps to ready my thoughts. "Okay, Liz, I already told you the bare minimum back at school. I told you we can change our appearance a little. I told you we can tell when someone is turned on. And I told you there are different kinds of vampires. I'll start there.

"There are six distinct vampires: succumbae, fae, daemon, werewolf, werebat, and draugr. We all have different abilities and needs, but all of us drink human blood. It sustains us, and keeps us young. If you don't drink human blood, you'll age at an accelerated rate. As succumbae though, we do not just thrive on human blood, but human desire too. We can sense human emotions, just barely though, and their arousal is especially potent." I pause and try to find a better way to explain it. "It is like, blood is the main entree and desire is the fruit and veggies. And other emotions are smells coming from other places: not as identifiable or filling."

"So I will have to drink human blood?" Liz looks a little pale at the implication.

I lean forward and prop myself up with my forearms on my thighs. "We can drink other vampire blood, technically. It is a substitute and though it isn't as delicious or as beneficial, it will keep you from aging. Most vampires don't bother though, as human blood is abundant. My family keeps it in bags from blood drives and such." She still seems squeemish, so I try to consol her. "You won't have to worry about it for about a week or so. You were just recently Turned, and still have mostly human blood coursing through your veins. We'll get through this one step at a time, Liz."

Liz takes a deep breath to calm herself. "Thanks, Kayla." A thought seems to occur to her and I tilt my head at her curiously. "Is everyone in your family a vampire?"

"Uh." I try to remember. "Not everyone. My mom's side is totally vampire, back to before the common era. My dad was Turned, though I don't remember when... Age of Discovery maybe? Yeah, I am pretty sure in was in the later 1400s."