Time_Phantom

@guardiandevil83: Thank you.

AN/ Made some minor edits before the deadline.

Recovering Vampire

“God.” Aiden Brooks said with his head bowed as he led that evenings meeting to a close with the serenity prayer. “grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…”

His attention was broken for a brief second by the impatient sigh of a young woman across the table. Her face displayed about as much care as a statue. Aiden did not mind. Half of the people who attended the meetings just need his signature on their court papers anyway. Aiden hoped that at least one person left the group changed after hearing stories of struggle, recovery and triumph. Or at least would use a ride sharing app next time they go clubbing.

Aiden continued, “courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

The AA meeting attendees filed out of the restaurant Aiden used with permission from the owner to hold the meetings. One by one the court ordered attendees handed him their documents he signed so they could be on their way. The last one was the young woman.

“You didn’t speak.” She said.

“Sometimes it’s good to listen.” Aiden said as he put a hand on her shoulder and ushered her out of the door. Aiden was close enough to smell the scent of her hair, his hand could feel the warmth coming off her body and as she faced him he noticed how attractive she was.

“I thought everyone was supposed to talk about how, you all used to be fun.” She said with a smile as she reached to Aiden’s hand and grazed it with her finger tips.

Aiden’s chest tightened and he cleared his throat, “I know a thing or two about having a problem.”

The woman smiled and touched reached for Aiden’s hand again, “You feel cold.”

Aiden laughed and began to relax, “I probably need to eat.”

“Same here.” She said. The woman gestured at the sign above them, “This is your place, right?”

Aiden nodded and opened the door to the restaurant, “My neighbors, upstairs.”

They both went inside. His senses felt over loaded and all he could do was focus on the woman. He studied every detail, her clothes, her walk and how she spoke. Her touch felt like fire on his cold skin. She began to talk but, Aiden had already stopped listening. Aiden relaxed and a calmness came over him.

Aiden awoke in his bed, the woman from the meeting was there and he immediately began to panic,” Oh no!”

Aiden rolled her body toward him, he put his hand on her neck and was relieved to feel a strong pulse. Aiden could not recall the rest of the night after he brought the woman back into the restaurant. Aiden could feel himself after so long begin to slip.

“Congrats, you monster.” A voice at the foot of Aiden’s bed mocked.

Aiden looked over and was met with the neutral gaze of a woman in a long black coat and tired eyes. Aiden said, “I’m happy with it, but it was an accident.”

“If you were having urges you should have called.” The woman yawned and directed a glance at the woman in bed with Aiden. “Instead of flirting with a relapse.”

“It’s been ten months.” Aiden said as he got up and sat on the edge of his bed, “The farther I am from the last time the harder it is to control.”

Aiden frowned as he picked his clothes up from off the floor, “I should have been more mindful.”

The woman at the foot of the bed walked around to the side of the bed that Aiden’s partner from last night slept on. She frowned and said, “So you accidently charmed the pants off her?”

“Yes, actually!” Aiden answered.

The woman from the meeting awoke and gasped at the sight of the woman watching her from the side of the bed. She covered herself with blankets and turned to Aiden, “Who is she?”

“Laurin Grey. Aiden’s non-monogamous life partner.” Laurin said with a hand extended to the other woman.

The other woman groaned in disgust, threw a pillow at Aiden and stormed out of the room. Laurin backed away and laughed, “I’d want to get out too. He’s a total energy vampire!”

“Funny.” Aiden said as he got dressed into his clothes from last night that were still on the floor. Laurin was Aiden’s girlfriend and as Laurin said they were non-monogamous. They had to be out of necessity, it allowed a level of closeness that suited her and allowed him a connection to a living person outside of an AA meeting.

Laurin leaned against the wall and asked Aiden in a stern tone, “Are your meetings going to become a hunting ground?”

Aiden looked at Laurin in shock, “Are you serious?”

Laurin glared at him, “I have to ask. This isn’t the first person I’ve found in my bed from your meetings.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Aiden said defensively.

Laurin snorted, “Really?”

Aiden exchanged a knowing look and said, “I didn’t do… that.”

Laurin shrugged and started to walk out, “Can you shower and change? You aren’t sitting next to me in my car with the clothes you wore last night.”

“Where are, we going?” Aiden asked without an immediate response.

Aiden showered and got dressed as asked. Aiden’s problem wasn’t exactly a normal situation. Although Laurin said it to make light of the situation and to embarrass Aiden, she was telling the truth. Aiden was a vampire. Aiden did not have a taste for blood, he drained the life energy from other beings to extend his life. Aiden despised the blood drinking vampire and made sure to keep himself under control. Aiden just wanted to live as normally as he could with his unnatural life.

Laurin was not exactly normal either. Laurin was a spiritual medium that worked for the city’s paranormal police. In this world, there were legends that were true. Fantastic creatures coexisted with humanity for eighty years, following the misreading of the Mayan calendar prophecy. A transformative event occurred. It took decades, but a peace was formed and everyone moved on with the new reality. In a world where fantasy was real.

“So what kind of, vampire is it?” Aiden asked as he rode in the passenger seat with Laurin.

“Um, the regular kind?” Laurin answered.

“It does matter you know!” Aiden said, as he faced his girlfriend.

Aiden continued, “There’s the blood sucking kind that look like super models. The long-toothed shambling corpses—.”

“The kind that suck the joy right out of you!” Laurin laughed and reached over to ruffle Aiden’s hair.

Aiden smiled and playfully shoved her hand away, “Seriously though.”

Laurin yawned and stopped in front of an apartment complex. Laurin answered, “He’s a blood feeding type. Recently turned.”

“So why haven’t you called a coven?” Aiden questioned, a vampire coven was usually called in to deal with their own. Laurin wasn’t following police protocol, it made Aiden uncomfortable, a vampire was loose and the rules used to keep people alive weren’t being followed. Aiden ignored it as best he could and followed her lead.

“This close to, Samhain?” Laurin said in an annoyed tone as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a gun and a prescription.

“How long has it been since you slept?” Aiden questioned as he watched Laurin swallow a pill.

“Nine days.” Laurin answered as she checked the magazine of her gun.

Aiden was consumed with worry. With Laurin being a spiritual medium, she was open to spiritual encounters in her dreams and often forced herself to stay awake with drugs to avoid them. But she still did need to sleep, even if it was infrequent. Now she was about to have an armed meeting with a vampire. Aiden didn’t feel safe with letting her go alone.

Laurin faced him and smiled. She seemed to be able to read his worried face like a book, “I would have rested last night but you had a woman in my bed!”

Laurin holstered her gun and got out of the car and Aiden followed, “The least you can do is help me take in a kid before he turns his neighbors into juice boxes.”

“A Coven busted an illegal feeding operation and reported it in.” Laurin explained as they both entered the building, “Twenty bodies. Probably homeless.”

“Was the vampire there?” Aiden asked as he listened to Laurin explain.

The vampire was a teenage boy who was living on the streets when he was picked up by a vampire gang and was thrown into a pen with other homeless people. They were fed on one by one. A squad of vampire knights from a coven arrived as the boy was being fed upon and they destroyed the gang. When the police had arrived, the boy had turned and was scared. Laurin could feel his emotions and took pity on him.

“Are you crazy!” Aiden whispered harshly.

“He was a kid and the police would have shot him on the spot!” Laurin whispered back. Laurin had housed the vampire in a vacant apartment and not but a few days later had disappearances from the area been reported.

“For good reason!” Aiden said back. He continued angrily as the neared the top floor of the building, “Young vampires aren’t able to control their blood lust. They’re little psychos!”

They both stopped at an apartment and Laurin grabbed her pistol and readied herself at the door. Aiden placed his ear to the door and focused. Like other vampire types his physical abilities were above that of a normal human’s. Aiden listened and heard, what sounded like faint sobbing, loud music and what smelled like blood.

In a rush, Aiden pushed against the door with enough force to send it flying from its hinges. The apartment had no furniture, streaks of crimson stained the walls and in the corner of Aiden’s eye an arm that had appeared to have been chewed on laid on the blood-stained carpet. Aiden shuddered and continued inside.

“Aiden.” Laurin whispered.

Aiden turned around and turned around to meet his girlfriend’s gun in his face. Tears were in her eyes, “Aiden, I’m sorry.”

Aiden frowned and said, “He has you under a charm and you’ve been bringing him fresh bodies?”

Aiden felt a chill come over him. A rough pair of hands grabbed his arms and faster than Aiden could move, he could feel teeth tear and rip into his throat. Aiden’s vision went hazy and he could hear a howl next to him. Aiden lost his balance and crashed to the floor, he landed on his side and watched the vampire walk to Laurin.

“What did you bring me?” The vampire screamed, the undead being slapped Laurin to the floor, her head bounced off the ground and knocked her out.

“That blood!” The vampire wailed as his body thrashed and contorted in ways that would have snapped a human in half, “The blood was wrong!”

The vampire retched and his torso heaved. The vampire spit up into his hands and cried. Blood spewed from the creature’s mouth as he tried to catch it and put it back in his mouth. The vampire wiped the bile on his face and skin and cried. Aiden applied pressure to his wound and could barely contain his own amusement at the young vampire’s ignorance.

“Can’t…” Aiden struggled to speak as the wound on his neck began to heal. “You can’t feed off me.”

Aiden sat up as the vampire began to punch and kick at the walls of the apartment. He moved as if he were on fire. Pale skin colored with blood and stank of death. The monster eyed, Laurin and snatched her up and glared at, Aiden.

“I will eat her.” The vampire said, the monster’s eyes began to glow as Aiden looked right into his eyes. The vampire continued, “You will take her place and bring me more food!”

“No.” Aiden said as he stood up. Aiden’s injuries had healed and he took a confident step forward.

“No?” The vampire cried in confusion.

“I’m a vampire myself and you can’t compel me.” Aiden said as he pointed at Laurin.

“Spirits, in thy presence be a willing vessel,” Aiden prayed with his head bowed, “Speak now.”

The air in the room shifted. There was a still ness that hung in the room as Aiden prayed. The vampire seemed to have sensed a change as well and let go of, Laurin. Her body did not fall, however, it hung in the air and then she awoke. Her eyes glowed white, her hair turned white as well and she began to whisper to herself in tongue that no one could understand.

“She’s a spiritual medium.” Aiden explained as he stepped closer to the vampire. “If she stays asleep she can channel spirits through her body.”

Aiden said as Laurin’s mouth opened wide and balls of light poured out of her mouth like bubbles. Violent death kept spiritual energy on the mortal plain. Aiden did not know how many victims Laurin had delivered in nine days, but knew that some spirits had to still be present and Aiden could use that to beat the vampire.

The vampire tried to flee to the exit but was blocked by a wall of light that scorched his body. The monster screamed and the entire building shook. Aiden rushed to Laurin as the vampire lunged at him and dug its claws into his shoulder. Aiden tried to push him, but couldn’t move the vampire. The vampire flung him into a wall, the force of which smashed the drywall and knocked the air out of Aiden.

Aiden’s body screamed! Sharp pains shot through him and he could feel his ribs shift with each breath. The vampire that had been feeding for over a week was much stronger. Much faster. Aiden had willingly starved himself. The gulf between their abilities was wide. Aiden was so week.

The young vampire continued his assault. A gleeful expression widened on the boy’s face as he shredded Aiden’s back with his claws, it then sent Aiden soaring through the apartment with another kick. With blinding speed, the vampire pinned Aiden to another wall and began stabbing into Aiden’s stomach.

Aiden was lost in a trance and didn’t process the pain he was in. Aiden instead, looked at his partner that was lost in her own mind. The energy coming from Laurin was so beautiful. It was spiritual energy, from the people a mind controlled Laurin brought to the blood sucker and Aiden knew it. The spirits of those who died violent deaths were so strong. It made Aiden hungry.

Like a normal human’s `fight or flight` instinct, Aiden responded to his need for power and his body reacted. The vampire was too strong and he knew what he must do. Aiden, desperate grabbed the vampire’s arm and twisted it and slammed him into a wall. Strength Aiden didn’t know he had returned to him as he leapt over to Laurin.

Aiden’s eyes began to glow as he cradled his girlfriend in his arms. His veins bulged and seemed to crawl under his skin. The energy coming from Laurin was absorbed by Aiden until, her body went limp and the emissions of light ended. Aiden put Laurin down and turned to the vampire.

Aiden’s injuries were healed. His heart beat like a drum, the world seemed to slow around him and adrenaline flooded his body. Aiden’s mind went to somewhere primal, he felt like a passenger in his own body and loved how it felt. Aiden had no idea how many people the vampire had fed on in the week Laurin was under his influence. Aiden could hear them though. They whispered in the back of his mind as their essence turned into new found power.

The vampire lunged at, Aiden again. Aiden was faster. Aiden had caught the vampire by his hands and crushed them. Aiden then, with one step and speed that made him a blur to the young vampire slammed him into the same wall where, Aiden had been assaulted.

Aiden paused. With one hand he had pinned the vampire. Aiden relished the sight of this monster’s struggle. Aiden said, “Young vampire, I’m going to rip the wings off you.”

Aiden allowed a wave of vengeful intent from the spirit energy he absorbed to consume him, like diving into deep water. Aiden slowly separated the vampire’s right arm from his shoulder and shuddered at the sound of tendons and meat being separated. Aiden then went for the vampire’s other arm next. He squeezed it until the bones popped in his hand and its muscle tissues parted. The vampire’s arm went limp as Aiden dropped half of the limb on the ground.

Aiden grasped the vampire’s jaw with his free hand and held its mouth closed. Aiden said, “Stop me.”

Vampire struggled, his screams were muffled by Aiden’s hand as his grip grew tighter. The whispers grew rapturous. The vampire thrashed beneath his grip. Aiden was on a high from the power he had denied himself. Aiden like this, could not find the fault in his consumption and could not fathom coming down from this ecstasy.

Aiden felt the vampire’s teeth break and his jaw pop, Aiden continued, “Stop me from killing you, vampire!”

The vampire’s jaw splintered under Aiden’s grip before he let go. Blood fountained from the vampire’s mouth, its teeth fell and bone was held by hanging flesh. Aiden pressed the vampire harder into the wall, the sun light crept in through cracks that began to form in the wall. Wisps of smoke rose from the monster’s flesh as it had stopped struggling. The vampire was unable to scream, Aiden had collapsed his chest and pressed further into him. Terror filled its undead eyes.

The wall finally gave from the pressure and the sun gleamed upon the vampire and flames consumed him. The whispers from the spirits Aiden had consumed ended and Aiden backed away from the burning corpse at his feet. Aiden knelt at Laurin’s side and cradled her. Her face frowned and she began to awake.

“Did you kill him?” Laurin asked. Laurin embraced Aiden and held him tight against her chest.

“Yes.” Aiden said as he began to sob. For ten months, he had not fed. Like other vampire’s he needed to feed on the life force of other beings. It made him strong. It added to his immortal life span and made him a monster he hated all at the same time.

“I’m so sorry.” Laurin apologized, but more so to the souls she fed to Aiden. They would not see an afterlife, but they would have vengeance and it was the only way she knew would for sure free her from the vampire’s influence.

“I’m selfish, Aiden.” Laurin said as she took a deep breath to stifle a yawn.

Aiden mourned his ten months of progress. He had resisted his urge to feed on life’s energy to extend his own. Echoes of those he devoured haunted his mind, unlike the vampires that consumed blood. Each was a pang of guilt and a reminder of his inhumanity. Aiden had fed many times in the beginning after he was turned eighty years ago, when the world of fantasy became real.

End

@time_phantom: Bumped. I have new chapter of this just sitting in my inbox. Almost done with the story actually.

Voting for Batkevin74.

@batkevin74: She hulk breaking the 4th wall was golden! The fight was great. The Lightening King and Thor have to go at it at least one more time.

Voting for Cbishop. But I gotta say, Frank using an LMD on a bad guy was hilarious.

Sound fun. I've been so lazy.

Ok. I'm in.

@tommythehitman: Dude, I get so excited when I see Iron Age anything. Lately it's just been mine. This was cool.

@batkevin74: thanks man. Carla and Howard are kinda lucky that way.