Heroes Collide

Interview With A Vampire

Amelia drove the jeep down the sandy terrain, avoiding looking in the back where her two friends sat on both sides of the dangerous passenger. Could she even trust her own friends? The blank looks she had seen in her friend's eyes as they cornered her in the thrift store chilled her. And both of them were acting as if it didn't even happen.

Her eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. Jeremy was wedged in between Kolby and Robin. He looked a bit cramped.

She hoped he wasn't claustrophobic or this would be a very short ride for all of them. The young man had an air of nervousness and something else... Amelia couldn't tell what it was though.

"So wait..." Kolby waved his paws. "So you're like some kind of vampiric superhero? Like Blade?"

"Does he look anything like Wesley Snipes?" Robin reached over him and wacks him in the back of the head. "Use your brain."

"Well excuse me! You try and make conversation with a vampire!"

"Oh! Maybe we can try interrogating him! Or maybe give 'im an interview!"

Kolby grinned, "Cool! I call being Christian Slater."

"So then that makes him Brad Pitt, and me?" Robin crossed her arms, not noticing how uncomfortable Jeremy looked beside her.

Kolby put his paw to his chin. "Kirsten Dunst?"

Robin crossed her arms and looked out the window... "I guess it makes sense. But you can't be Christian Slater."

Amelia rolled her eyes and while she was glancing in the mirror her eyes met Jeremy's. His eyes were cold and dark. The other's conversation faded as she just watched him, her eyes flicking to the road every few seconds to make sure she wasn't hitting anything.

The look wasn't hostile... It seemed more sad and remorseful. Like he hated his situation. Amelia could relate.

"... just because I got bitten by the vampire, doesn't mean I can't interview one. Therefore I totally can be Christian Slater."

"Please stop..." The other three directed their attention towards the quiet vampire. "Stop treating me like I m so cool. I turned you both into mindless vampire slaves... You think I like this?"

"I would if I was..." Kolby muttered.

"You are..." Robin whacked him again. "And you're not being helpful."

Amelia watched them in the mirror. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"It's been a long time. Maybe twenty years? I know it's been ever since I was thirteen..."

Kolby gasped and put a paw on Jeremy's face. "Do you moisturize?! You don't look a day over twenty-one."

Jeremy squinted and he gave Kolby a side glance. "Yes... But I also haven't aged since it happened..." He leaned forward. "And as far as that movie? I am Tom Cruise."

Robin shook her head. "No! We've heard stories about you. You're one of the good guys..."

Jeremy clenched his feasts. "I thought if I trained myself I'd stop killing... The bloodlust would just leave..."

Amelia furrowed her eyebrows. She may have been sympathetic toward him, but he was still dangerous. She kept her attention focused on him as she navigated the hills and dunes.

"For a while... It worked. Now I still had to satiate this..." Jeremy looked down at his hands. "H-Hunger. But it was easy... I fought crime and there was always some poor unfortunate lowlife for me to sink my teeth into... As much as I hated it, I needed to regularly... feast."

Kolby pumped his fists. "DUDE! That sounds so cool! Kicking ass, drinking blood, always being super handsome!"

"Are you talking about him or yourself there?" Robin rolled her eyes at him.

Amelia could see Jeremy was uncomfortable and she did feel bad for him. Did Kolby really not understand what had happened to him. He was as good as dead... He was undead. She met Jeremy's eyes again. "How long were you in that chamber for?"

"It was a really long time..." Jeremy looked down at his hands again. "I don't remember..."

He was lying... She knew vampires didn't sleep. Time moved normally for them. "You really don't remember?"

Jeremy looked back up at her. "I remember every minute. It was four years, three hundred forty-seven days, five hours, and twenty-six minutes."

Robin shook her head. "There is no way you know exactly how long you stayed in there for."

Jeremy shrugged and nodded at the bag he had dragged out of the chamber before they had taken him with them. "Well, I wasn't able to reach my bag so I wasn't able to read. In other news, I can count as high as three million before losing my train of thought."

Amelia considered the expanse of time and thought the poor guy might have been a bit hard on himself. She still didn't trust him, but she wasn't an emotionless monster. "Then wouldn't it be right to assume that it isn't your fault that Kolby and Robin were dumb enough to be bitten."

"HEY!"

"Excuse me?!"

The other two looked at Amelia, both rather upset and the name-calling.

Jeremy cracked a small smile, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared. "But I should have been able to control myself..."

"But you hadn't fed in five years. Can you blame yourself?"

"Yes. I can." Jeremy looked over Robin, out the window. "Look, can you drop it please?"

Amelia looked at the boy in the rearview mirror and saw the eyes of someone who was done fighting. He looked ready to let everything go... This made her a lot more uncertain of him. They had a job to protect everyone on the base and all of the vibes she was getting from Jeremy told her they needed to do something about him for his own benefit.