Vampire Manifesto (29 page)

I couldn't take it any longer. My teeth had sharpened. My hands, the tips of my fingers felt like talons ready to dig into their flesh and render their souls inoperable. My eyes snapped opened, I could see the Old Man watching, yet he made no move to intervene, gave no hint of a warning.

"Get out!" I demanded suddenly, speaking the words before I even registered the thought.

"Excuse me?" The Boy was full of intentional bravado. Wolf tickets for the benefit of his lady friend. But I was in no mood for paper tigers.

"Leave this place. NOW!" This time there was more force behind it. Human force, because if I let my Vampiric side take the forefront...they would be dead by now.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are...”

The Woman grabbed his arm. "Johnny, look at her eyes!"

Damn, they must be glowing again. My body is kicking into full Vampire mode and I don't know how to stop it!

"Fuck her and her contacts!" The Boy exclaimed violently.

Poor, poor Johnny Boy. I do not see this ending well for you.

He went to speak again, to jab his finger in my face as he spoke, but it was too late for him now. I grabbed his wrist with my hand, twisting it to the point of breaking, then beyond, the bones in his wrist crumbling like so much paper mâché underneath my fingertips. I gripped his throat with my free hand, hoisting him off his feet.

The Woman began to come to his defense.

"STOP!" I commanded. She froze, graveyard still, eyes glazed over in a haze. "You will leave this place and NEVER return!"

"I will...leave this place...and never return." She repeated in a dull monotone voice.

Johnny began to struggle. I squeezed his wrist even tighter. Something popped and he ceased fidgeting.

"If you EVER see me again, you will turn and run the other way. Do you understand? Because if you don't...you will die."

"Yes. When in your presence, death is eminent."

"That’s a good girl." I threw Johnny to ground, the fear in his eyes speaking trilogies without a single script being read.

"Leave this place." I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. This time there was no hesitation from them, no pause. They scampered towards the doorway into the night beyond. I locked the door behind them. The urge to kill, to feast was so strong within me, so vibrant, that I knew it was almost next to impossible for me to get into another situation like that and the other person remain unscathed.

"I...apologize for my behavior." I proclaimed in all honesty.

"You showed immense restraint, Vampire." The Old Man said, finally breaking his vow a silence.

I just shook my head. “No, no, I lost it. I almost killed that guy.”

“
Almost.”

“
I couldn’t compose myself. I broke that dude’s wrist.”

The Old Man’s harden visage broke down somewhat.

“
Sometimes you just need to check a bitch. Why didn't you kill them?"

I shrugged. "I don't know?"

"Lies..." The Old Man hissed.

"If I killed him, then I would have to kill her. And if I killed them both, there would be a high possibility I would have to kill you as well."

"There was a lot of death implied in that sentence." The Old Man pointed out wryly. "Do you still want to kill me now? Do you want to drink my blood?"

I took another step in his direction. "No." I said finally after giving his question considerable thought. "The answers you may have vetoes the urge of killing you."

The Old Man let out a deep laugh that seemed to just roll off his chest and encompassed everything around him. "Come. Sit with me, Vampire." The Old Man motioned to an empty chair at the table. "There is much for us to discuss."

I took a seat across from him, settling in easy enough.

“
What’s your name Vampire?”

“
Madison Amber Rose, Sir." I was eager to begin our repertoire and open a line of dialogue between us.

“
Such a polite Vampire you are, Madison.”

“
I am a broken mold unto myself.”

“
Indeed you are." He agreed.

“
Who are you?”

"John." He answered. “John Rogers. That is what you may call me.”

I know that name. “I know an author named John Rogers. Younger then you, met him just the other day.” I stated.

“
An author you say? Anything that I might have heard of?”

I thought for just a second. “Mythological Creatures in Urban Society.”

John Rogers smiled. “I wrote that book.” He stated. “A long, long, time ago.”

I simply stared at the Old Man, gazing at his wrinkled little face, reducing him in age in my Vampire mind until he was at the age of the John Rogers I met previously. As outlandish as it seemed, the resemblance was striking.

John is in possession of a Chaos Equation and is not limited by linear progression. He has born witness to the Forgotten Future and is now premeditated paradox. You would do well to heed his words.

“
You don’t know me do you?” I asked.

“
I’m pretty sure I would remember someone like you.” Was his reply.

“
Are you still in possession of the tattoo? The Chaos Equation?”

Now this caught the Old Man by surprise. He held out his hand slowly and there plain as day was the Equation. It was easier to see this time, my Vampire eyes cutting through whatever static interference that had previously befuddled my human vision. He withdrew his hand, interlocking his fingers on his lap.

“
And you’re sure we never met before?” I asked again.

“
It’s clearly obvious that you know me Vampire.” Rogers stated. “And you possess knowledge of the Chaos Equation and its effect.”

“
Yeah I do.” Conversations with John Rogers were never a normal affair.

John leaned forward. “Then there is only one possible explanation.”

“
You don’t know John like I know John. Did you know that the last time I saw him and the last time he saw me was only a couple of weeks apart, yet years past between us. Think about that.”

My life just keeps getting better and better. “Because this version of you is from the future and you can’t remember meeting me because the past is somehow going to be rewritten.”

“
Apparently, Vampire. The Forgotten Future is upon us.”

"How do you know that? How did you know I was a Vampire? I didn't even know that Con…” I paused, not sure how much this version of John knew, nor what side his allegiance fell on. “I didn’t even know my Maker was a Vampire until he told me and even then I didn’t believe him! How could you possibly come to that conclusion, just by looking at me?"

"Because I have eyes girl, that's how!" John laughed. "And I use them."

As overtly fascinated as I was, I was equally confused. "That...that just doesn't make sense."

John Rogers shook his head. "To you maybe. Buts that's all about to change. Already did change. There's a whole Universe outside your front door, Madison. Just there, waiting to be experienced. But most can't, or refuse to acknowledge it. Instead they go through life with blinders on, ignorant to the clandestine events that are unfolding just beneath the veil. Then there are those such as myself, that have caught a glimpse beneath the curtain. Once seen, it can never be unseen. Yet more importantly, once you know what to look for, you'll always find it."

"Yes, that all makes sense in a riddle me this, riddle me that kinda a way, but how did you know I was a Vampire? How would I be able to tell another one from a human if I saw one?"

"It’s different from person to person. For me it's the little things. Morningstar is in the details. The eyes that shimmer yet don't. Subtle body movements, like the way you titled your head when we first met, nobody human would do that, tilt their head in such an angle. It would be painful. But not to you. Plus it's the way you move. Just a touch to graceful. Your face, just a touch to smooth, Hollywood style, just a touch to mesmerizing. But for you, it will be entirely different. Your senses in retrospect are different than mine, far keener, sensitive, more superior. You should be able to just sense their presence, yet it's clear that you don't. I am not Vampire, so I can only guess at your limitations."

John stood up, backing away from the table. "Who did this to you?" He demanded.

Without revealing too much about Connor or the reason we were in California I decided to choose my words carefully. How did I know this elder version of John Rogers wasn’t the one who put the bounty on my head in the first place? “I woke up like this. No explanations. No higher power. Nothing."

"When?"

"Last night."

"A Fledgling?" John seemed astonished. "Left to her own devices? Interesting."

"Do you know of any others like me?" I asked.

"One would say that there are no more Vampires left in the world. That the Vampire species as a whole is extinct." John Rogers explained. "Yet your very existence proves otherwise. You are a Fledgling, a new born. Yet there can be no Fledgling without its Master, for how can a Fledgling be born without? Madison Amber Rose, I haven't seen or spoken to another Vampire in over five hundred years."

Despite my most excellent hearing, I still must have heard incorrectly.

John Rogers simply laughed. "There are worst things in the world then just Vampires, Madison."

I was astonished at his revelation. Five hundred years? And that was just the estimate pertaining to the last time he witnessed someone as myself with his own eyes!

"How is that even possible?" I asked.

"An Immortal that questions the plausibility of long life?" John rolled his eyes. "Next you'll be arguing the implausibility of gasoline as a fuel accelerant! Wake up Vampire! Smell the blood wine!"

"How did you manage to cheat death in this fashion?" I wondered aloud, literally star struck. “Was it all because of the Chaos Equation?”

“
The secrets of the dead don't bode well for the living. I don't fear death.” John stated. “Immortals rarely do."

"Shouldn’t you be frightened of me Old Man? Of what I could do to you?" There wasn't a hint of malice or contempt in my voice. "You know what I am. Clearly you're aware of my capabilities. How do you know I won’t tear your throat out once I've learned whatever it is I came here to learn?"

It was a valid question. This Man, this John Rogers who claimed almost five centuries worth of longevity, yet couldn’t remember when we first met seemed more amused than anything else, as if he was explaining color to small child.

“
You are amazingly self-restrained, Vampire. This night...could have gone down extremely different. You want to know why I trust you? Because you have gone through great extremes to prove that you can be. You could have killed that couple. You should have killed that couple. I wanted you to, the little Muggle pricks that were, yet here we are. Having what could almost pass as a civilized conversation. There are things I could teach you, Vampire. Things that you must know in order to survive the trials that lay before you."

I contemplated his offer. His words seemed sound enough, yet each syllable seemed laced with multiple levels of devilry.

"And in return?" I asked. Nothing in this life came for free, not even love.

"An alliance of sorts." John responded.

"An alliance?" I scoffed. "I am Vampire! What possible need would I have to align myself with the likes of you?"

The Old Man couldn't contain himself. "Hahaha! There it is!" Laughed John.

I was confused. "There what is?"

"The Vampire inside of you. Malcontent. Brooding. Destructive, with a slight hint of douche bag authority. The world is yours. But there will be those that didn't get the memo."

"You said that there are no more Vampires. That they were extinct. What happened to them?"