Being a vampire isn't easy

Being a vampire took a lot of getting used to. I had to give my dog
away as his behaviour changed so radically. From being an affectionate
overgrown puppy he became a snarling hostile dog so he went to a good
home.

Sleeping during the day was difficult to start with but I grew
accustomed to rising with the onset of darkness. The summer time was
difficult with its long days and short nights but I realised that I
could easily fly to different parts of the world to find the longer
nights.

My vision is perfect, far, far better than it had ever been and my
hearing is so acute that I could hear rabbits in their warrens and mice
in their nests. But the best thing, the absolute most wonderful thing
is the flying. I love flying. I've been to places I'd only heard of
before. It's worth all the things I've had to give up like the sunlight
and birdsong. To be able to soar into the night sky and see the towns
beneath me or to fly through the moonlit countryside was a pleasure
impossible to convey to anyone who can't experience it.

Nearly as good as the flying; was the bliss of sharing blood. Not
drinking it for food but sharing. Each vampire I've met has allowed me
to share. Sharing meant that we knew everything about one another; in a
far more intimate way than ordinary mortals ever do. I know the secret
places the vampires go so that they are safe. I've learnt that some
cultures will tolerate us more than others. And I know where the
dangers are. And there are dangers for me. People who think that they
are vampire slayers are the easy ones to deal with, it's the ones who
can stir a community with their rhetoric, who lead them with flares
into a sleeping place and then open it up so that the sun will shine
onto the bed. Then we shrivel in sheer agony without being able to
defend ourselves. For this reason we are careful where we feed and
sleep.

Apart from the few people I have made into vampires I have not drunk
much human blood. I fly into the countryside and try to drink from
large mammals. Barnabas, who made me, has stayed with me and we are
lovers. My beautiful vampire lover has shown me the heights of pleasure
without any of the sloughs of despondency. We often fly hand in hand
just for the sheer joy of being together.

The first person I made into a vampire was a young man, I'd told him my
story and he begged me to give him the gift. At first I was reluctant.
I thought that I was too newly made myself to be able to tell him the
pitfalls so I asked Barnabas.
" He will know all that you know. Everything you have shared he will
know. It really is up to him."
" But what if he abuses it? What if he kills people? They will start to
realise that we still exist and life will be more dangerous for
us."
Barnabas could remember the old times when we were persecuted.
" Would you like me to talk to him? You don't have the ability to read
minds do you?"
" No, that's one of your gifts that has escaped me. If I talk to him
would you be nearby, so that you can tell me if he's ok? I don't want
to bring a monster into the world."
"Some people would say that we are all monsters, that we are
unnatural."
" I suppose so."
I met the young man again, this time Barnabas faded into the background
and no mortal could see him.
" Hello John. I see that you haven't changed your mind."
" No, I'll never change my mind. I want to be a vampire."
"Why?"
" I'm a misfit here. I've always thought that there's something missing
in my life. And that I'm different I've always had a yen to find what
was missing."
"And you think that being a vampire will help you? Do realise that it
takes your humanity away from you? That people will fear you? Hold you
in disdain? That they will try to kill you if they find out where you
sleep? And have you thought about where you will sleep? It can't be in
the same house as mortals use. And your need for blood will draw you
towards towns and cities where you'll find what might be regarded as
easy prey. Do you want that? To kill the old, the lame, the mentally
afflicted is that what you really want? Think hard."
"I've thought about it. I've thought of little else since you left me.
I have a place to sleep where I will not be disturbed. And I think that
I can get by without killing anyone."
"What about making new vampires?"
" I'd hope that I'd be discriminating about that."
" Wait here. I must think about it," I said
I went to Barnabas, who said,
" He's very firm in his wishes. I can't read anything really bad in
him. He means what he says."
"I'm scared to do it."
" You'll be fine. I'll be nearby. You remember what I did?"
"Of course. I'll never forget."

I returned to John and took hold of his hand.
"Come with me."
Unresisting he held my hand and I moved closer to him, wrapping my arms
around him I flew to a secluded house that we sometimes used. There was
no risk that we would be interrupted. I let go of him and he stood
looking slightly dazed.
"Wow, that was great. So when do we do it?"
" Go into the bedroom and lie on the bed. I'll be there soon."
I was waiting for Barnabas who arrived just after John had gone into
the bedroom. Barnabas took me in his arms and hugged me.
"You'll be fine," he said and pushed me towards the room.
John was on the bed.
" Do you want me to wash my neck?"
I laughed at the thought of preferring soap to the smell and taste of
blood. But I shook my head and lowered my mouth to his neck. I pierced
his artery and sucked, nearly draining him. I was filled with the
ecstasy of blood again and very nearly didn't finish the task I'd been
asked to do. I could feel his wishes to become one of us it was his
overriding passion. But Barnabas moved me away from John before I could
kill him, and then he placed a few drops of my blood from my wrist into
John's mouth. Again I experienced a deep pleasure as John moved his
mouth to suck more blood, but I had to be aware. I had to be careful
that he didn't drain me. Again Barnabas came to my rescue and lifted me
away from John. This time he flew away with me and left me in one of
our houses.
"But what about John?" I asked.
"I'll go back to him. He's sleeping now. We always sleep afterwards.
And you must rest. I'll bring you something to eat."
Barnabas left me and I slept, not waking until he came back carrying a
lamb.
"Drink, this one won't last the night even if you don't drink."
I drained the lamb and Barnabas took away the limp body. When he
returned I was out of the bed waiting for him.
"How's John?"
"He's out feeding. I warned him to be careful but he's so excited about
his new abilities that I'm not sure if he heard. How are you?"
"I still need to feed but I'm strong enough to go out for it."

We flew to Paris, and Barnabas found an old human for himself while I
went to find a zoo. When we met again he asked me what I'd plans
for.
"Absolutely nothing. I don't have any plans. Why do you?"
"This is Paris, and the night is young. We should go somewhere do
something while we are here."
"Paris, home of the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower, and so many famous
things that I miss."
"We can go to the tower and you will see the paintings, I
promise."

We walked around Paris and found the Eiffel Tower but it was closed.
But we had ways to get around that; we simply flew up until we could
find some stairs then we walked up the tower and admired the view,
which was sensational, even though it was dark. So many of the Parisian
buildings were floodlit that we could still admire them. Then we flew
from the top of the tower to the Louvre and Barnabas opened a door up
on the roof.
"How did you do that?"
"I've been around for a long while so I've taught myself various
skills, lock-picking being one of them. Like you I wanted to see the
famous works of art so I arranged things so that I could."
"But what about alarms?"
"This is a service shaft for the elevators and impossible to use unless
you have a lot of special equipment or unless you can fly."
We flew into the galleries and hovering above the floor we looked at
the paintings. With our enhanced eyesight the low level of light in the
galleries was sufficient for us to appreciate all of the works of art.
But as time relentlessly moved onwards we had to leave.

The next night we were flying over a town near where John had lived as
a mortal and I sensed that he was still there so we flew down towards
him. Barnabas was diverted by the scent of his dinner so I went on
alone. To my horror I found John crouched over a young girl he was even
wearing a cloak, truly an archetypical vampire! Sensing me he covered
the girl with his cloaked arms and snarled, as if he was a wild lion
protecting his kill. I moved closer and could tell that the girl wasn't
dead but before I could do anything John flew at me, nails held like
talons and teeth bared. He pounced on me and tore at my flesh, causing
my recently devoured blood to gush from me flowing into the gutters
like a red river. I tried to fight back but the loss of blood made me
weak. It was only the sudden appearance of Barnabas that saved me. He
held John away from me. Other vampires appeared and closed in around
us. They had been summoned by my loss of blood, we can sense when
another vampire is in trouble. One of them killed the girl quickly and
quietly and then I was gathered up and we all flew to a quieter
place.

John was put on trial by the group, we must never attack another
vampire, and every one of us knows that. If we have a grievance then we
must gather a group together and discuss it; we are civilized. In his
defence John said,
" She made me into a monster, I didn't know how it would be. I didn't
know. I had to prey on young women and girls, they were the only ones I
could catch."
" This isn't true. I told him how it would be."
"No she didn't. She forced me to be a monster and I wanted to kill
her."
His lies shocked me but I knew that the truth would be simple to prove,
as did the other vampires. All they had to do was to taste a drop of
his blood, or mine, and they would know how it had really been. I was
excluded from the blood share as I had already lost so much but one by
one they shared John's blood and he stood there a condemned man. He had
deliberately made young women his victims, it seemed that it gave him
sense of power that sexually excited him. For this alone I would have
destroyed him but he was sentenced to be destroyed because he attacked
me and because he had lied about his conversion. He was pegged out on
the ground, where the rays of the sun would reach him. It was
impossible for him to escape our vengeance; even if he escaped the sun
he would be a hunted vampire until the sentence was carried out.
I was shaken by this and it was years before I made anyone else into a
vampire.