The Progeny

The Progeny (Part 1 - The Cure) Chapter 1

He laughed, his large, round belly jiggling a little. "Gotta love this job."

"You sure do," smiled Evie.

Whenever a fight did break out, they always wanted Evie to be the one to step in and sort them out because of how mean and intimidating Eric looked. She couldn't blame them really. She always thought that if the tables were turned, she'd want the young, pretty faced redhead to persuade her to leave rather than the six foot three black man built like a truck. But little did they know that Evie could run rings around Eric and shred him to pieces if she wanted to.

They made a good team, Evie and Eric.

"Oh, looks like the night has finally started," Eric inclined his head over to a group of lads heading towards the club.

They both asked for their ID's and all four of them lined up in front of Evie, giving her the eye as she checked out their driving licenses.

"Like what you see?" One of them grinned.

She arched her eyebrow and shoved the ID into his chest. He winced and clutched the card before following his friends inside.

Eric chuckled. "You really do attract them."

She laughed. "The perks of the job, I guess."

The last dregs of drunken misfits started making their way home at around three in the morning and Evie called it a night soon after, watching the sky turn from black to a murky blue. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and tilted her head down from the wind as it whipped her auburn hair across her face. She may not feel the cold but the wind still irritated her.

Even though there were no fights tonight and no blood was spilled, she hadn't eaten anything fresh since two nights ago and she was feeling peckish. She noted that she still had some blood bags left in the fridge and she had Dial-a-bite on speed dial. She could wait. She knew she could wait. But she needed to do something to attract his attention and bring him home. Please come home.

Heading down another dark alleyway, she spotted her victim.

She bent down and tried not to gag at the smell of alcohol and vomit. This is what I have stooped to, she thought. Carefully, pulling back his grimy hair, she opened her mouth and pressed her fangs into his neck. He gurgled and tried to swat her languidly then hiccupped and started to snore again. She was so glad that her bites had a numbing chemical in them because she really didn't fancy having to fight a hobo just to taste thin, less than appetising blood. She withdrew her fangs and stood, wiping the blood that trickled down her chin. Tramps were easy targets. They just stayed slumped on a street corner blissfully unaware of the vampire sucking at their neck. She didn't have to lure them somewhere dark and hidden or bother compelling them to forget her. Not that she could do that now anyway. She hadn't been able to do anything like that for fourteen years.

Evie often felt like she had the red dot of a sniper trained on her forehead wherever she went. It was a feeling everyone had had to get used to. Known vampires were constantly watched by the human authorities and simple interactions between vampires with humans often came with a not-so- concealed stake held in a sweaty grip. Evie was always thankful that she had been able to keep a low profile for so long. Sure, she was watched every now and again. Everyone was to some extent. But it was nothing compared to the scrutiny that outed vampires faced on a nightly basis. It irritated her to a point that she sometimes wanted to scream but then she'd calm herself and submit. This was just how the world worked now.

Evie pricked her finger with her fang and pressed it to the bite marks on the homeless man's neck, soothing them and closing them up with her blood. Guilt and regret ate away at her. She had self-control. There was no need for her to do this. But he wasn't around to stop her. Stop me.