Vampire Story -- Free At Last

It’s dark again. I don’t know why I’m surprised. It's winter here in Svalbard, the most northern nation in the world with people regularly inhabiting it. Why am I here? I don’t know. Maybe I like the dark. Maybe I like the people here. More likely, maybe I like the idea of being alone and left alone.

I'm a man haunted by vampires. I mean real vampires…those who live off of the blood of others. I don’t know how I got involved so deeply. Yes…I do. No…I don’t. Maybe I do. I was just a writer who was fascinated with the idea of vampires. I didn’t really believe there was such a thing, well, yes…I did…I think. I don’t even know anymore. In any event, I decided to put some time in trying to track down such creatures.

I hung out in shady clubs with a bunch of crazies dressed in all black and pretending to be vampires. Their only hope was to get bitten someday by a real vampire and have eternal life. Until that time came they would just be content with wild music, alcohol, drugs, and sex. That can be fun for a while, but it does get tiring and wear down the body just a little, eventually.

I was hanging around with them for a while, going light on the drugs and alcohol…not the sex. After several months I noticed this guy looking at me. I remembered seeing him several times in several places just watching me. Was he gay or what? Not that I cared. I wasn’t so it didn’t matter to me. One day I was sitting at a table near the corner just watching the crowd doing what the crowd did. He approached me. He put his hand on the back of the empty chair across from me.

“Is this seat taken?!” he asked, hollering above the loud music. I motioned for him to have a seat. It was so loud I didn’t want to waste my breath shouting. He took a seat.

“These things are fun, but you can’t hear shit in here. It's so loud!” he said. I laughed.

“Just what I was thinking!” I hollered back. He nodded with the side of his head.

“Let’s go somewhere quieter. I have a message for you.”

“For me? From who?”

“Them.”

“Them who?”

“The ones who you're here to meet!” I laughed to myself.

“Really?” I asked. “Let’s go then.” We got up and after some searching found a somewhat quiet corner. He turned to me.

“They want to meet you, now.” He turned and headed to the door. I just stood there. “You coming or what?” I thought about it and then followed him out the back door into the ally where a massive SUV was waiting. I got in. That changed my whole life. I met the vampires. They weren’t what I expected, in fact I liked them very much. From that night I began to write about them. Later, at one of these parties, I ran into a woman named Brenda who seemed as fascinating with them as I. She joined me and we became writing partners. Now Brenda is one of them.

It’s been 15 years since I last saw Brenda. I’m sure she hasn’t changed. Funny thing is that I haven’t changed that much either since my encounter with Hermosa, the head of the Vampire family. She hypnotized me and apparently we had a fling that got her pregnant. I don’t remember much of it. I only remember waking up in my little motel room and not seeing her again.

I got out of there fast leaving behind her and Brenda. Where could I go? Here. Here I am, not regretting any of it. I am living off of my royalties and enjoying life. My past has been left behind. My fascination with vampires has definitely been quenched. I want nothing more to do with them. My slow aging, however, is a bit worrisome. I wonder if they did something to me.

I brought my hand to the side of my neck. I know she didn’t bite me. I wonder what happened. No time for that. Right now I'm sitting in a small hole in the wall cafe drinking coffee and looking out into the dark. It's always dark during the winter. There's about 4 hours of twilight, but that's the lightest it gets this far up north during the winter. In the summer it's light all day and night. I don’t know which I prefer most.

I have a 357 magnum with me. Here it's required, by law, that everyone carry a gun large enough to protect themselves from the wildlife, especially the bears they may encounter, when they go outside the village. At first I was going to get a rifle, but decided to get something easier to carry. Of course, by now, I have made friends with a lot of people. Many just wondered what the hell I was doing here. Yet again, they wonder what the hell they are doing here. They thought I was running away from the law until they got to know me. If only they knew what I was running from. I got close to a guy named Terry.

Terry was on the way. He was always late. Terry was a wild guy who loved hiking and living in the wilderness. He would take tents way out there on the glaciers and stay there 4 or 5 days at a time. Not my cup of tea. It was freezing out there. He's a big guy and the thick coat he wears makes him even look bigger, like a bear or something. He fills a room with his size and personality. I see a giant person lumbering down the street from the window of the cafe and know it has to be him, since it isn’t a bear. He sees me looking out the window, gives me a wave and keeps coming.

A burst of wind comes in as he opens the door, steps in, and slams it as fast as he can. He pulls down his hood and brushes the ice and snow from his dark brown beard as best he can. “Cold as a bitch out there!” he exclaims.

“I can see that,” I say. “How’s it going? How long you in town this time?”

“Forever. It’s cold!” He laughs. “How long are you in town?”

“I live close enough.”

“Yeah, but not quite here, eh? A little cabin near the airport that a bear can break into? You like living dangerously?”

“Believe me. That isn’t my intention. And now they have it fenced off, since that bear killed a couple of people.”

“Just anti-social,” a bar maid says approaching the table. “What can I get you two?” I look at her and wink. “You’d be scared,” she replies. Terry laughs.

“Just two beers,” he says. “And wear that sweater you wore last time I was here.” She flagged him off and headed to pick up the beers.

“I’m gonna get some food too,” I said. “Fish and chips.”

“Sounds good. I might have some too.”

“So tell me what’s new?” I asked.

“Boating. I ‘ve been doing some boating around the Islands here and there. You need to come with me.”

“Really. I don't want to drown out there. Is it safe?”

“I said boating, not drowning. I’m a tough guy, but not tough enough to go drowning for fun. Jesus!”

“I should hope not,” I said half laughingly. “I might go. Sounds exciting.”

***

It was cold on that boat. It was supposed to be small, but it was a good size sail boat with a cabin, of course, where one could get out of the cold and even sleep. It had a little kitchen, bathroom and a few hideaway beds there. One could live in there. I began to wonder if Terry was living in that boat.

He brought a young woman along with us and her niece. She had recently moved onto the island and was working at the small, yet excellent, high school we had on the island. Her name was Carol and her niece, Ivory.

Carol was a tall, black woman with thick curly hair. She must have been about 5 foot 9. She looked wiry and very athletic, even though I couldn’t tell underneath all of the heavy winter clothing. Ivory had light skin. She was also tall…a bit shorter than Carol. She wore a very thick type of winter rain gear. There was something strange and fascinating about her eyes. Her hair was mostly covered, but it was straight. It was very dark…black, yet her eyes were light…almost blue. She seemed to smile a lot and was always looking around and observing things.

Carol was a very likeable woman. She laughed openly and seemed to be excited about all of the new sites around us. She was just a pleasant person to be with. Sometimes she pointed out the different types of snow and ice and knew all kinds of names for them that she had learned living in Alaska. I didn’t have a clue. It just looked like snow and ice to me. All I thought of when I looked at it was cold. Fricken cold.

We went out some distance, and I hoped this thing wouldn’t sink. There was no reason to think that it would, but there was always a chance. We went across the fiord to another smaller uninhabited Island and anchored off the coast. Terry lowered the sails and dropped anchor. He had me bring up a very large iron thing that looked like a grill. We put wood into it and lit a roaring fire right there on deck as everyone sat around to enjoy the heat.

It was dark, of course, so it was all fascinating and beautiful. One thing I loved about Svalbard was the skies. There were thousands of stars puncturing through the darkness because of very little light pollution. You could sit outside looking at the stars until you froze to death, if you were not careful. I rocked back on the boat looking up and noticing how beautiful things were. My mind began to drift back to the past and Brenda, and Portugal and all the parts of the world I had seen. I wondered if I would travel again. I noticed Ivory watching me. She stared for a moment. Carol nudged her and she looked away.

“Seems to be fascinated with you,” Carol said.

“Must be your cologne,” Terry added.

“He’s just interesting,” Ivory said. “He’s not one of us, but… he seems to be…I don’t know what he is.”

I looked at her again. “I don’t believe this Terry. You brought me out here with vampires. Did you know that?”

“I happen to be a vampire myself, Ben.”

“I can’t believe that! So now what? Are you going to kill me out here?”

“Don’t get melodramatic. If I wanted to kill you I could have a long time ago. We’re friends, Dummy. And these are my friends.” I looked at them through narrow lids.

“I guess we won’t be having any food out here then.” Carol arched her brows.

She laughed. “We’re not going to attack you. What’s wrong with you? There are tons of vamps here. And we have food here.” I settled back into my seat. “One reason we brought you out was to introduce you to your daughter. I sat straight up. So did Ivory. Carol turned to her. “Well, you said you wanted to meet your Dad. Here he is.” She sat there in silence just looking at me.

.”I can’t believe this,” I said.

“Believe Ben. Believe,” Terry said.

I looked at her again. She was a good looking woman. Maybe a little like her old, mean mom. But…I couldn’t believe it. She began to smile. “I can finish turning you if you’d like,” she said.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. Carol looked at her. They made eye contact. “Oh,” Ivory said. “Never mind.”

“No. What is she saying, Carol?”

“Nothing that means anything.” She turned her attention to Terry. “So, do we have some food?”

“Always,” he said. “He looked at me with a smile playing across his lips and then began to laugh. “If you could just see your face right now,” he said. “It’s just amazing. And you’re quiet too. I’ve never seen you quiet.”

“My whole world has just been turned upside down. What should I say? I thought I got rid of the vampires and here you are again. I can’t get rid of you.”

“Hay! Is that anyway to talk to a friend?” Terry asked angrily. “I didn’t know you from the man in the moon when we started hanging out. I didn’t know you were some kind of big wheel vamp.” I didn’t respond.

“No apology, eh? I should have expected that.” He genuinely looked angry.

“I’m sorry,” I finally said, “But surely you can see why…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can see why.” He said. “You know all of us weren’t volunteers when it came to becoming vamps. You can be damn sure I wasn’t. Why do you think I live here? That’s why a lot of us live here.”

“And you?” I asked, turning my attention to Carol.

“A new place to visit,” She responded. “And I'm on a mission to bring your daughter to you. She will be staying with you for the next few years.” I tried to read the expression on Ivory's face. It was blank.

“Are you sure? She’s a grown woman. I don’t know anything about vampires.”

“But you do know something about grown women, or you wouldn't have a daughter,” Terry said with a wink. I frowned.

“Our way is that she should learn the ways of her father by living with him after attaining a certain age. She’s two years late.” Ivory frowned.

“I told them I didn’t want to do whatever this nonsense is. I thought it was all over and here I am, kidnapped and brought way up north to live with some strange man.”

“He’s not strange. He’s your father,” Carol said.

“He is strange,” I added. “Look at where he is now. I said I didn’t want anything else to do with your old mean mom and her family and here I am right in the middle of it.”

“Well welcome home, Fucker,” Terry said. It was my turn to be angry. Ivory was just sitting and glaring with her face all scrunched up and I was glaring with my face that looked like I had just bit into a lemon, not knowing who to cut loose on. I guess Ivory and I had both been hoodwinked, so our eyes met and we had a mutual understanding.

Terry stood. “I’m getting the meat. You three can talk amongst yourselves or help.” He headed to the galley. Carol got up to help. Ivory and I sat looking at each other wondering what was supposed to happen next. She got up and began to explore the boat a little. There was nothing else to do, so we just waited for the food, ate, and spent the night out there on that cold boat full of vampires.

***