Darby walked down the dark city street, her small black purse swinging on its strap and gently hitting her side. After a long day of sleep she was ready for a night out on the town. Most of the girls she knew spent their evenings in bars hanging off of boys and angling for free cocktails but Darby was hoping for a different type of drink. It had been a couple days since she had fed and the hunger was starting to grow.
"Lookin' good tonight, Miss," said a man walking past Darby. He looked her up and down nodding his head in approval of her sheer white blouse and knee length plaid skirt.
"You don't look too bad yourself," Darby thought, running her tongue over her fangs and gazing longingly at the tan skin on his neck. But she knew she could do better. Young blood was what she was after tonight. Usually she could catch a guy on his way in or out of the bar, distract him for a few minutes and get him to follow her into a dark alley. She would never drink her victims dry and she would always make sure to put them somewhere they would be easily found. The biggest trick was disappearing before that happened.
As Darby rounded a corner, she saw a group of people outside one of the bars she frequented. A group of young guys stood in the doorway in tight jeans or slacks that flared out at the bottom and girls surrounded them in small skirts and dresses, their long hair in braids or curls. They laughed and giggled at everything the guys said and found any excuse to touch them or get a little bit closer. Darby rolled her eyes. Even before she had turned she remembered being disgusted and annoyed by the flirty and clingy nature of many of the girls she knew. All they ever wanted to talk about was their latest crush or the cute boy they had seen at the market that day or the dress they were going to wear when they went out on Friday night.
Darby could not have cared less if a boy looked at her or thought she was pretty. She had focused on her studies so she could get good grades and go to college. Now of course things were different but the only thing she considered boys useful for at this point was a good meal.
As she approached the friendly giggling group in front of the bar, she sized up each one of the guys to determine which one could be easily distracted. They all seemed very intent on one of the short skirted flirty girls though and Darby decided she would have to look elsewhere.
"Excuse me," she said, stepping to the side to pass the group. None of them heard her or paid any attention and she had to step onto the street to avoid walking into them. As she got back up on the sidewalk, the guys and girls turned to walk into the bar and Darby muttered a curse at their backs as she passed.
"That's quite an ugly word for such a pretty lady," said a man's voice. Darby looked up and saw a guy leaning against the wall outside the bar. He looked to be about the same age as the ones who had just gone inside but unlike their combed and clean cut hair, his was long and and wavy. He wore the same flared pants with a white button up shirt and a vest. A cigarette rested between his thumb and forefinger and he smiled as he inhaled from it deeply. Darby recognized this kind of cigarette but it was not the same as the ones she used to smoke before she turned. This kind smelled differently and seemed to make people very hungry.
"Shouldn't you be in there flirting like those other girls?" the guy asked.
"Do I look like I want to spend my evening throwing myself at a man?" Darby asked, feeling slightly offended.
The man pushed himself off the wall with his back and took a step toward her.
"Maybe you just haven't found the right man yet," he said, taking another hit from his cigarette.
Darby raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. She was definitely not interested in finding a suitor but if she was he would certainly need to be more well groomed than this man standing in front of her.
"I don't think you're quite my type," she said simply and dismissively. She turned to walk away but felt his hand clench around her wrist.
"Well you haven't really given me a chance, have you? he asked. Darby looked at his face now only inches away from her own.
"You shouldn't judge a man before you get to know him," he hissed. Darby felt his wrist tighten. It seemed he was not afraid to use force to get what he wanted.
"That's fine," Darby thought. "I will let him think he is in control for a bit."
She gave him a helpless wide eyed look and let her wrist go weak in his hand.
"I did not mean to be rude of course," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I simply wanted to continue my walk."
"Well why don't you walk with me over here," the young man suggested, his dark green eyes giving her a firm stare.
"Of course," she said, in a timid voice, following as he pulled her into the dark alley next to the bar. When they were sufficiently covered by the dark shadows, he pushed her against the wall, threw his funny cigarette on the ground and smiled at her.
"I'm glad you didn't follow those idiot guys into the bar. Now you can be all mine," he whispered in her ear, running his hand down her side and stopping on her hip. Darby wanted to vomit but she held it in and pretended to be frightened.
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Whatever I want, honey," the young man told her. "And you better keep quiet. Understand?"
Darby nodded and the young man started to stroke her hair and kiss her cheek. She rolled her eyes. Was this why girls followed boys around like puppy dogs? So they would do this? What a waste of time.
"Do you like that?" the young man asked.
"Oh yes I do," Darby lied in a breathy voice. "Can I ask what your name is?"
"Daniel," the young man said, wrapping his hands around Darby and sliding them down till they rested just above her bottom.
"Well Daniel, I would like to do something for you too. Something I saw on a movie once. Do you mind?"
The man's eyes lit up and he shook his head.
"Not at all."
Darby reached up with her pale white hands and folded Daniel's shirt collar down so his freckled neck was completely exposed.
"I hope you enjoy this," she said with a sweet smile. An instant later her fangs came out and before Daniel could protest she had taken hold of his neck in her strong grip and bit down hard and deep until the blood ran warm into her mouth. She felt Daniel struggle for a moment and then his body began to go limp. She knew he was losing a lot of blood but she could not stop. She continued to gulp down more and more until finally Daniel could not stand and he collapsed on the ground. Darby knelt beside him, his face pale as he panted for breath. Usually she would stop feeding at this point and let her victim heal but she was not sure Daniel deserved such clemency.
"Did you enjoy that?" she asked with an evil smile. Daniel weakly shook his head.
"I am sorry, I guess that was more for my own pleasure. Perhaps I was not as easy a mark as you thought I would be. In your own words, you really shouldn't judge someone before you know them."
Darby rubbed a finger across her fangs and smiled at the dark red stain on her skin.
"Who knows," she said, bringing her face down to meet his neck. "Someday it could cost you your life."
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