Hobbs was portly and shorter than most men, wearing a bowler hat and suit. “Anthony, how are you? I dare say, I thought we may have lost you.”

I shut the door behind me and walked over, sitting on the bed across from him. He was the last person I wanted to see.

“I was expecting to hear from my friend how you were faring, but he hasn’t picked up all night and neither did you. Neither of you are the kind of man that would leave me hanging.”

“I would love to talk, Hobbs, but I need sleep.”

“What’s in the trailer, Anthony?”

“It’s not your friend, if that’s what you’re asking,” I responded tersely.

“It wasn’t, but now I’m curious,” Hobbs replied.

“A vampire, if you must know,” I muttered.

“Oh, you don’t mind if I look, then? I have never seen one before. Though one of my ex-wives certainly might be one,” he chuckled

“It’s morning in the middle of town. You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am,” He smiled in his pleasant way.

He was probably verifying I didn’t have his acquaintance in the back. Fair enough. I needed to make it quick, though. I could feel my body starting to shut down, and I would not be able to stay awake for much longer. I opened the hotel door to find the trailer backed up to the door and tarps on either side, preventing any onlooker from seeing inside. Heavens, Hobbs’ men worked fast. I looked back at him. “You own this hotel?”

“By no means. I just have an understanding with the manager. We ‘repair’ a room from time to time.”

“Sure, just like I ‘rehome’ every creature I meet,” I muttered. Hobbs chuckled at me.

I walked over to the trailer and unlocked it, pulling up the rolling door to reveal the vampire. She was huddled in the back corner. The trailer reeked and she looked disheveled. Hobbs looked in behind me, then frowned. “Really, Anthony, I thought you more of a gentleman. Come on. Get her out. Bring her into the hotel.”

I climbed in the trailer, irritated and tired. I pulled her up to her feet and walked her to the room. All the while, Hobbs was looking at me with disdain and disappointment which was funny because he had no doubt kidnapped and killed more people than I ever had. Once in the room with the door shut, Hobbs walked over to the vampire and cut the zip tie with a pair of fingernail clippers that he produced from his pocket before I could stop him. She rubbed her hand where the zip ties had left indentations and chaffed her skin. She looked from him to me, eyes large and terrified.

Hobbs smiled kindly in a way I hadn’t seen before. “That’s better. The restroom is in the back. Go get cleaned up. We will find you a new set of clothes. Take as long as you would like. I have a few words to speak with my young friend here.” She didn’t budge. “My dear girl, you’ll feel much better. Take the chair and prop it under the doorknob if you must. We will not intrude.”

Hesitantly, she walked to the bathroom, grabbing a chair from the desk on her way. Once the water was running, Hobbs turned to me. I was pulling off my boots, having already discarded my bloody leather jacket on the floor. I sat back on the bed; my body was close to losing consciousness.

“I expect more from you, Anthony,” he settled back into his chair across from me, lighting up another cigar, sour faced. “You can’t treat a woman like that.”

I pulled a sock off and looked up at him as he let out a long puff of smoke. “I don’t know what to tell you, Hobbs. She’s a vampire.”

“So? You should treat her well in any case. My good man, can you not see that? Everyone deserves respect.”

As I pulled off my other sock, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. It wouldn’t be long before my body shut down, essentially in a coma. Nothing would wake me for at least six hours. “That’s very profound. I can’t imagine you have ever treated someone poorly,” I muttered.

“I have learned when dealing with people, it is best to respect them the best you can, no matter the outcome.”

“Hm, here I was thinking I was the more caring individual in our relationship,” I muttered.

“What are you going to do with her, Anthony?” He asked curiously.

“I don’t know what I am going to do, Hobbs. She’s dangerous. A vampire’s bite most times will not change you unless it’s a full moon or you have a tendency for it. One that I don’t.” I lifted my shirt revealing multiple nasty bite wounds barely scabbed over. “It would be safest to kill her and lay her to rest in my graveyard. Most people who turn sour after a bite find a way to spread their curse.”

“She did that to you?”

I chuckled letting my shirt back down. “No, that is what I was in the middle of wrapping up when you called me for this job.”

“I was going to say. She is a small woman and hardly seemed capable.”

“What they can do may surprise you. He bit me five times before I managed to put a bullet in his brain.”

“Did that kill him?”

“No, if I’d left him, he would have healed over a year or so. I had to stake down his limbs and add a few things to encourage decay.”

“Very interesting, but let’s get back to business,” he glanced at the bathroom door. “What progress have you made dealing with our original problem, the young lady aside?”

“The monsters are after her, it seems. I don’t know how to kill them, which usually means slugs and buckshot until they stop moving. They seem to be quite intelligent so laying a trap for them is probably my best option.”

He nodded thoughtfully, “Have you heard from my acquaintance by any chance?”

I glanced over at the bathroom. If I didn’t tell him, he may find out from her. Heaven knows I couldn’t get rid of her with Hobbs here. “Yes, we had a misunderstanding, and he did not come out on top.”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Hobbs frowned, displeased. He probably wouldn’t kill me for this, though you never know. “That is not great to hear,” Hobbs responded. “That will make things more difficult. Well, it doesn’t matter. How did you run into the girl?”

“He was keeping her in a shipping crate in the woods. I can’t imagine why,” I climbed back in bed, settling back on a pillow and resting my hand on my 1911 under my shoulder.

“Samuel was never the most pleasant of individuals,” Hobbs droned. An instant later, sleep forcibly overtook me like it always does.

I woke suddenly, no fog or weariness in my head. My body ached a little, and my arm with the bullet hole throbbed. I sat up, stretching my neck from side to side. It cracked and popped. Hobbs was sitting across from the vampire. They were eating Chinese takeout. She was dressed in a pair of my sweatpants and one of my flannels. It was too much fabric for her slim frame. She had the shirt sleeves rolled up. Her black hair was braided, contrasting with her marble white skin. She looked over at me with apprehension. I shook my head realizing I just stared at her for a good five seconds. It irritated me; she was beautiful.

Hobbs looked at me, smiling. “This lo mein is absolutely wonderful. We ordered you a box.” He gestured to a container sitting on the table between him and the vampire. She looked increasingly uncomfortable now that I was awake. Hobbs seemed to notice this too. “Get cleaned up first; you look terrible. Heavens you’ve bled all over the bed.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk, so I walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a change of clothes. As I showered, I could hear snippets of soft laughter from the vampire. No doubt Hobbs was putting on a show; he had a way of opening people up.

The laughter stopped when I stepped out. I walked over, swiftly grabbing the Chinese box off the table and sat back on the bed. It was three in the afternoon, and I had a lot to do. I shoveled a few bites in my mouth. The two sat quietly, letting me eat. About halfway through my box, I finally spoke. “I need a favor from you, Hobbs,” I glanced from him to the girl.

He looked at me quizzically, “go on.”

“They have her scent. If we set her in a sauna of elder smoke, it may cover her scent. I will also need a few vials of her blood beforehand, so if you could dig up a transfusion kit that would help. In the meantime, at night, she will need to be driven around. They are fast, but not nearly as fast as a car.”

Hobbs studied me for a long moment. “I can make those arrangements, but I can’t keep an eye on her for you.”

“Fine, just get the kit and elder branches. We can make a sauna in the trailer.”

“Very well,” Hobbs stood up from his chair and smiled, “How long until you get this wrapped up do you think?”

“A week to a month, perhaps a day. I need to purchase a few things, but I will make it happen.”

“Very good,” he tipped his hat to the vampire, “it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lauren.” He left, leaving an awkward silence. I finished my lo mein and tossed the container in the trash.

“Come on, we need to get you clothes that fit,” I said, grabbing my boots and pulling them on.

She looked at me apprehensively, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll run? Or bite someone?”

I shrugged. “If you run, the creatures will find you, and you will no longer be my problem. The full moon isn’t for two weeks. It’s unlikely that a bite will turn anyone.” I got up and grab my holstered 1911 off the bed frame, strapping it on, then pulled on my leather jacket. I looked at her bare feet and shook my head. I opened a drawer where I keep my gym shoes and socks, and I tossed them to her. “These will work for now.”

She accepted them and put them on though she clearly didn’t want to. I led the way out and was surprised to find the trailer missing from the back of the Jeep. Hobbs must have been more irritated at me than I had thought. For an underground man, who had no qualms about killing the people in the business, he sure had some strange lines drawn.

I drove us down to the local Walmart. I looked over at the vampire. She had spent the entire drive looking out the passenger side window. “You ready?”

“No.”

I shrugged, “They have a dressing room. We have a few hours before we need to hit the road. You’ll be able to find something.”

We walked into the store, and I grabbed a cart. She followed as I walked through the store, filling the cart with more zip ties and Cliff Bars. I turned to her, “you can supplement your diet with a... food?” I sounded like an idiot.

She looked at me, “I can eat whatever you do.”

“Hm, it is my understanding you will still need some form of...” I glanced around at the shoppers walking by, “well, you know.”

She looked at me like I was an idiot, which was a nice improvement to scared and timid. I shouldn’t care how she looks at me.

“Yes, but not as much as you would think. A rare steak will hit the spot if I am in a pinch. I prefer them from a local butcher’s shop.”

After stocking up on food, I took her to the women’s section. I planted myself on a bench and started looking up local butcher shops. She found a set of clothes she liked and set them in the cart. I looked up. “You will need more than that. Get yourself a couple days’ worth. You’re missing shoes.”

“Will I really need more than one set?” She responded bitterly.

I didn’t want to admit it, but my determination to kill her was wavering. She was not acting like any other vampire I had met. Perhaps I could keep her in my cabin; it was a terrible idea for more than one reason. Grace would kill me if she found out I was keeping a vampire, much less a young woman. Oh, and not to mention the vampire would probably kill me. She had managed to show considerable restraint considering the two dead men and my bloody arm, but she wasn’t dumb either. She would wait for an opportune moment and strike, likely killing me in my sleep, especially considering nothing can wake me up due to my condition.

“Yes. We aren’t going to be doing laundry; you will need a change.” When she came back with three more sets, she was still missing shoes. “Shoes?”

“I don’t like wearing them. Didn’t before I was changed and even less now.”

“Get some sandals at least or rip off Converse. Their soles are thin.”

She frowned but didn’t outright reject the idea of getting a pair of Converse. As we checked out, I noticed she didn’t get socks.

After checking out, we swung by the local butcher for a few slabs of steak and some ground beef. I asked if he had any blood for a family blood jelly recipe I wanted to try. He said he could get me a gallon if I stopped by tomorrow morning. We drove back to the hotel, and the vampire went to the bathroom to change.

I was cleaning my 1911 when she came out looking unnervingly beautiful in slim blue jeans and a black tee shirt with my clothes folded in her arms, not exhibiting any signs of how dangerous she really was. It irritated me that I found her attractive. I released the slide out of frustration. It shot forward with a satisfying “shunk.” I absent-mindedly topped off the mag with another round and popped it in the gun. I automatically pulled the slide back again, chambering a round.

She walked over and sat down on the bed across from me, setting the pants and shirt she borrowed down. A knock came from the door. I got up, peeking through the peep hole. A man in overalls was walking way and climbing into a farm truck. He revved the engine and drove off. I popped the door open to find a little box, a guitar case, and three large bundles of elder branches. I pulled the little box and guitar case inside, then loaded the bundles in the back of my Jeep.

I came back in and popped the guitar case open, revealing an AR15. I loaded the mags and put them back in the case. I popped the little box open and found the transfusion kit with five vials. The vampire looked at me apprehensively as I took them out. I walked over to her, the kit in my hand. “I need your blood.” She shifted away from me. “Give me your arm.”

She reluctantly stretched out her arm. It was cold, sucking the heat from my fingers as I tied the rubber band around her arm. Her veins were small, and it didn’t help that her blood was very translucent with a hint of light gray. Having only drawn my own blood, this proved to be difficult. I wiped her arm with an alcohol pad, then tried sliding the needle into her vein. It rolled to the side, and she winced.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

Four tries later, she was fighting back tears, and I was no closer to my goal.

“You’re not going to get it,” she said, teeth clenched.

I sat back in defeat, pulling a gauze pad from the box, and handed it to her. “We’ll just have the vet do it. Come on, we had best get there before dark.”

“I’m not a dog,” she snapped.

“Well, I’m not either, but I need my arm patched, and I clearly am not going to get your vein.”

“You see a vet?”

I shrugged, “He doesn’t mind.”

“You’re a person,” she stated.

“I pay well; he doesn’t ask questions. I see a vet.” I wasn’t quite sure what the look she gave me meant, but she followed me to the car.