To The Grave (Part 6 of the Afterlife Chronicles) “Life was pretty much normal. Esme went to school, I worked night shifts to support us, then we decided to drop into a quickie mart to pick up some dinner and there you were...  Sorry I was so long winded…  My story turned out to be longer than I’d expected.” I watched as Lucinda finished her story, her storm gray eyes gradually refocusing on the present and lowering to look at me before shifting to look at her daughter Esmerelda. It struck me then, after listening to her eventful life. It was strangely normal, despite the fact that she’d died and was now a blood sucker, oh and had a kid. All she was doing was living each day and raising her daughter in days of peace. It hurt to know that I had destroyed that peace with the selfish want to know more about them and this life after death. “We really don’t have anything to cook for a meal but if you’d want we could go-” she started but I just shook my head as I stood. I settled my blue-gray eyes upon them and gave a small, weak smile. I was the destroyer, an upsetting monster that pushed its way through the world, dragging down everyone around me. I had to kill to survive, they did not. I didn’t fit here, I knew it then. Somehow I knew, if I stayed any longer, I’d end up killing them too. “I’m sorry…” I whispered softly, “I really messed up your quiet life by intruding.” That beautiful vampire mother just gave me a sad smile. She didn’t say it but I knew she agreed. I turned to leave, only to have the unexpected happen. Little Esme grabbed my shirt and looked up at me with her granite color eyes all sad. It was like staring at a small kitten that just knew you were going to abandon it but wished with all its little heart that you’d stay. “It’s better if I leave,” I told her. “Can’t you stay, Mr. Derek?” she asked in that sweet voice of hers. I just shook my head and gave her a soft smile and a pat on the head. Lucinda stood and went over, picking up her daughter and holding her as they watched me don my coat. The zipper was so loud in the quiet apartment. I left after that, taking my little plastic bag of twizzlers and energy drinks. Outside the cold blasted me, but I wasted no time, I left the apartment complex and went left when I reached the road. It had been like this for three weeks, choosing a road and just following it to the next town. I couldn’t have known someone had witnessed the whole event, from the quickie mart to the apartment complex. Tall and gangly, that person stood in the center of the dark lot and stared up at the floor where the vampires’ apartment was. He huffed then smiled, revealing teeth too sharp for his mouth… After a few hours, I stopped and sat at the curb of the road, eating and drinking, trying to take my thoughts off the beautiful Lucinda and her darling daughter Esme. I knew I’d never meet a pair like that again, no matter how far I walked or how many cities I visited. I didn’t deserve to. I was the destroyer. I couldn’t survive off substitutes like they could. I could ease the hunger for a while with twizzlers of all things, but it never went away. I’d tried eating meat other than human flesh, only to find myself vomiting it back up the second it hit my tongue. Life just wasn’t fair. Every life I took to survive was another life full of memories reduced to ash. So many friends and families… So many loved ones… Left wondering what happened to their best friend, their child, their son or daughter, their husband or wife. It just wasn’t right… but I couldn’t give up my selfish need to keep on living, no matter what the cost. With a sigh, I stood and my stomach growled angrily, telling me to get what it really wanted. I only shook my head and kept walking. There wasn’t a soul for miles, there was no way I was going to be able to feed here. Another few hours passed and the cars passing me became more frequent, the lights of their tails blending with the street lamps up ahead. I was near a small town. Great. As I started to slow down, I noticed a quickie mart and I laughed to myself despite the fact that the headaches were back and stronger than ever. “Ah hell, let’s see if there’s any twizzlers,” I muttered to myself and patted my pocket, making sure I had some cash. I’d had to resort to stealing what money I could from the ones I ate, before they turned to ash. Seemed whatever was on their person turned to dust along with them, save for money and some metals like silver and gold. I always ignored the metals, they were always jewelry that someone would recognize if I tried to pawn it for cash, so I just took the money. Satisfied, I walked into the mart and started browsing the shelves. Most people looked at me like I was a dirty, filthy hobo, which was true because I looked the part, but the cashier paid me no mind. Must be a lot of homeless people in this town… I wouldn’t doubt it, with the recession going on. I sighed as I picked up a bag of the little disgusting red ropes, only to pause at the sound of the door chiming. Why I paused is something I’ll never know, but it saved me from being seen as two men in ski masks ran into the shop. I ducked down and hid as I watched them order the cashier to give them all the money. The cashier locked eyes with me, terror in his gaze, in that silent instant it was like he was begging me to help him… and why shouldn’t I? I was immortal, nothing could kill me, not even bullets to the head. The world slowed down, adrenaline kicked in, and I shot out from my hiding spot. The first robber didn’t even know what happened as I shoved my hand through his back and out his chest, an explosion of blood and bone splattering across the counter. I tossed him aside, ignoring the sting as my right arm ripped off at the elbow. My blood stained the floor a red darker than the man’s blood. The other robber turned gun first and shot at me, nailing me in the throat but I didn’t even slow down, grabbing his head and tugging him over, sinking my teeth into his throat and tearing it out. Blood gurgled out as he fell to the floor and thrashed, still very much alive but choking on his own blood. Chew… chew… swallow… Instantly the throbbing in my head eased up, but it wasn’t enough. I was hurt so bad, I became what I didn’t want to be. A monster. Leaping over the counter, I had at the cashier as well… Three hours passed and police had surrounded the quickie mart, examining the scene. The bodies of the cashier and the second robber had turned to dust, but the first’s body remained, as had the arm impaled through his back. It was the first time a victim of my attacks hadn’t been reduced to dust. I, of course, was long gone. And only heard about this later. Much, much later. But that’s off topic. Officer Goerff stood back, talking to one of the forensics team, listening to them explain how the dust was almost like cornstarch. The gruff police officer took in every detail of the scene as he listened, a deep frown upon his old face. He’d been a police officer for over twenty years, but had never seen anything like it. Who would use their own arm to kill someone then burn two others to ash? No… Couldn’t be burned. There was no smell of smoke or burned flesh. None of it made any sense. Another of the team came out of the mart’s office and called for Goerff, who followed the woman back into the cramped room. There was a small tv and on it was a black and white of the mart’s interior. Security video. Surprise filled the old man, making him realize just how old he was getting. He ordered the woman to play back the video from when the attack occurred, only to find static. There was sound, but just static otherwise. Confused, they both listened. The door chime, scuffling, muffled voices ordering all the money, whimpering, scuffles… then the sound similar to an apple being crunched cept louder and wetter, gunfire and screams, gurgling and thrashing… silence. He’d just been about to tell her to replay it when a voice sounded, clear as day and the static eased, “God I hate guns.” There I stood on the video, facing the camera, wiping my mouth with my bare right arm. It had grown back after I’d fed. I had turned and stared at the body on the floor, only to hear sirens and ran from the mart. Goerff stiffened then barked orders. They knew my face, and would find me.