The Vampire's Family

   At dusk we wake. We rise from our slumber, smoothing out the velvet fabric that lines the wooden frames of our coffins. We gather by the fireplace, telling each other our dreams. Sometimes we decide to turn one of those dreams into something real - if they are good enough.

     Tonight I can make my dream reality.

     My maker is the first to leap out the window, and me and my siblings follow. The night is cold, but we like it that way. Distant city lights flicker from afar as we fly high, obscuring ourselves in the clouds.

     We disperse, each of us pursuing our own path for the night.

     I spot what I'm looking for and dive down, gracefully landing on the ground and shaking off my flying form. Lace and velvet drape over my body, accentuating all the right places. I flip my long hair over my shoulder and glide over to the theatre.

     A girl with purple spikes in her hair guards the ticket stand. Her hand supports the weight of her head and her empty eyes look out into the street. Dark makeup matches the colour of them, almost obscuring the bags under her eyes from sleepless nights.

     I feel her emotions. Bored of life is what they all come down to. I grin.

     She looks up, necklaces clinking in the movement as I approach. I see her pulse quickening. She smiles.

     "A bloody Mary, please." I say.

     Confusion dances in her dark eyes. "I'm sorry, this is a theatre. We don't sell alcoholic beverages here." Her voice sounds robotic, rehearsed.

     I point to her name badge, "your name is Mary, isn't it?"

     "Oh. Yes, I am." She looks down, as if she forgot the metal badge pinned on her shirt.

     "Good," I say and I smile at her, flashing my fangs. Her eyes grow wide as recognition strikes her face. She doesn't move when I advance.

•

     I stand in the family bathroom, looking down at the crimson bath and my mouth waters. This is a waste, I know that deep down. But I've always wanted to know what it feels like. It's not like we'll run out of people soon anyways.

     I sink down into the blood and feel my skin tingle and my muscles relaxing. It has turned cold on the way here, perhaps I should have kept Mary alive until the very last moment.

     "Better luck next time." I say to her corpse, which lies slumped over the corner of the bath, her head immersed in her own blood.

     I dip down deeper into the bath, only keeping my face from the nose up above the surface. I blow a few lazy bubbles before I take a couple drinks. My hand reaches over Mary's back and I caress her leather top.

     Something in me stirs and I think.

     My room is big enough for another coffin.

     I flip her over and bite into my own flesh, letting the stream of blood seep into her mouth and along her cheeks, mingling with hers in the bath. Some of it sinks down onto my legs, where it feels cold - colder than Mary's blood.

     Mary gasps, jerking upwards, sending blood splatter to paint the wall. She looks at me. Her dark eyes are gone and replaced by bright red with a golden rim, just like mine.