Taste of Blood

Warm, metallic-tasting liquid slid down his throat as he dropped the body to the ground. He didn't kill the dark-haired man, but he was close. It had been so long since he had a real drink. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and inspected it. There was a little blood on his hand from his mouth. He brought his hand back to his mouth and licked the blood off of it, savoring the sweet and salty flavor.

~//~

Oliver had been working a pizza delivery day job. It was easy money, but it didn't really make him happy, he also didn't use money much. Why would he? He is a vampire with 100 years of experience. He can convince people of what he needed and wanted. He also didn't know why he was working there. To try to make an honest life for himself, maybe? To fill the emptiness of being alone forever, perhaps? Did he want to work at the Pizza Castle because he missed the old Castle? Maybe, but the Pizza Castle was just a building with “castle” in the name. Whatever the reason, working at the Pizza Castle wasn’t cutting it. Oliver had done so many things, he had been in the first Tour de France, he had been a server to Woodrow Wilson, he had traveled the United States, yet he ended up as a Pizza Castle delivery driver.

“Oliver!” His manager, Rod, yelled, “Stop piddling around and deliver this order!”

Oliver growled, what he really wanted to do was deliver Rod’s head on a silver platter to his table. Just for theatrics, he would never eat someone’s face, only their blood. He would happily drain him, though.

“This really isn't working out for me,” Oliver said as he turned and looked at Rod.

Rod boomed, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“See,” Oliver chuckled, “Right there. That’s what I’m talking about. You are a dick. You don’t respect your workers, and frankly, I’m tired of it. Consider this my less-than-two-week notice.”

“Oliver, Oliver, you know you’re my best delivery driver,” Rod pleaded.

“Absolutely not. We are not doing this. You will not guilt me into staying at this shitty job.” Oliver said while taking off his Pizza Castle button-down. “I’m keeping the hat, and I am taking this,” He throws his shirt at Rod and takes the pizza he was supposed to deliver and a stack of free garlic bread sticks with the purchase of large, one-topping pizza coupons.

“You cannot take that pizza!” Rod yelled as he followed Oliver out the door.

Oliver didn't say anything, he loaded the pizza into his saddle bag, started his emerald green Harley, and flipped off his former boss as he drove away.

A few miles away he pulled into the driveway of a pink trailer house, it wasn’t like he was going to eat the pizza. He grabbed the pizza and walked up to the door. He heard the claws of a dog clicking on a floor, and then a bark. A woman with a messy bun, a few eye bags, a baby on her hip, and a toddler clinging to her leg answered the door as he held up his fist to knock.

“Sorry about your wait, ma’am,” Oliver started as he handed her the pizza, “I quit my job before I delivered this.”

“I didn’t even notice,” She said while offering Oliver the money.

“No, don't even worry about it,” Oliver said, pushing the money back to her. “Like I said, I quit my job, in fact, you’ll probably get a second pizza soon, he thinks I stole it. Oh, and here, have all of these coupons.”

The woman smiled and took the coupons as Oliver bowed his head and went back to his bike. On his ride to his house, he wondered what was next for him. He didn't have anything holding him here. It was a week away from summer break, which was probably a great time for him to quit Pizza Castle. Some 16 year old would be getting their first job as a pizza delivery driver. He was doing someone, somewhere, a favor.

Oliver went home, grabbed what little he could fit into his saddle bags, and drove off. He drove for miles, he saw night turn into morning, and morning turn into night. The sun rises and sets he drove through were breathtaking, if he had breath to be taken away. He thought about where he would go and what he would do. There were so many things in this world, but he felt as if he had lived through them all. Finally, he stopped at a motel, a rather seedy-looking one at that. Not for sleep, but his legs needed to be stretched. He had gone hundreds of miles.

Kicking his kickstand down, he really took in his surroundings. There were no other buildings for fifty miles from the way he came, and it looked as if there wouldn't be anything for fifty more.

“Ugh, who would want to sleep at a motel called Comfort Less?” He asked nobody. He walked up to the counter and there was a man in desperate need of a shower. Comfort Less smelled wet and moldy.

“What’s open?” Oliver asked the man.

“Whatever you want, sweetie,” the man replied with a wink.

Oliver shook his head, “Absolutely not.”

The man grumbled and grabbed a key, “Here. Up the stairs to the left.”

Oliver took the key and nodded at him. As soon as he got out of the man’s sight, he shuddered. He got to his room, turned on the light, and looked around. The bed had a distasteful red comforter on it, not even made. There was not a Bible in any of the drawers, however, there was half a beer in the mini-fridge, a condom on the bathroom floor, and in the bathtub was a washcloth filled with pubes.

Oliver groaned in disgust, “this is the grossest place I have ever been in, and I’ve been alive for one hundred years.” He didn't even want to think about the sheets under the deep red comforter.

There was a knock at the door, at first he thought it was the awful, slightly pornographic show he was watching, but he also heard a shuffling outside of his room. Oliver got up from the dingy chair he was sitting in and answered the door.

“Hello?” Oliver asked and looked around. He didn't see anyone directly outside of his door, but he knew he heard something. His ears hadn’t failed him in the last 100 years.

A girl rounded the corner, wide-eyed and looking around. She stopped a few feet away from the door.

“Can you help me?” She whispered.

“Come on in,” Oliver offered.

The woman ran into his scuzzy room. She looked young, 19 or 20, her big brown eyes were filled with fear. She sat on the bed, which was not a choice Oliver would have chosen, but she smelled like she was terrified. He didn't notice when he opened the door, but there was a bruise on her face, and blood around her nose and mouth.

“What’s going on?” Oliver asked softly.

The girl burst into tears. There weren't many comfort items in this room, but there was a coffee pot and some bags of tea. He sped off to get some water, letting the faucet run a little before he filled up the pot and warmed up the water. While he was making the tea he grabbed a rag and ran it under probably hot water, it was the red handle. It should have been warm. He had seen people make tea for those who were in need of comfort. She was still crying, but when the tea was done, he brought the tea to the girl.

“Here, drink this,” Oliver offered her the tea.

She took the tea and said, “I’m sorry, I just didn't know what to do, you are the only other person on this floor and I thought that my chances with whoever was behind the door would have been better than who I was with.”

“What’s going on?” Oliver asked again, “I got you a warm rag to wipe away the blood.” The blood that he so desperately wanted to lick off her face, even if it was dried.

The woman took the tea and the warm rag. She took a drink of the tea and wiped her face. “The guy I’m here with, he got mad at me. Real mad. I was so scared. I told him no and he started throwing things. Honestly, I don’t even know how I managed to get out of the room.”

“Is there anything I can do to help you?”

The girl laughed a little, “Kill him.”

“Listen, if that’s what you really want, I’ll do it,” Oliver offered.

“Oh, I, uh, wasn’t expecting that. I have told so many people do that, but no one has,”

“I don't know your name or your story, but I can tell you are truly upset and if you want me to kill him, I have no problems doing so. I have nothing to lose and I am hungry.”

“Hungry…?” She trailed off. “It doesn't matter. Do it. I want to know that he is dead.”

“Lead the way.”

The woman led Oliver to her room, she unlocked the door but didn't close it all the way so Oliver could come in at the right time. He heard yelling, things being thrown, and crying. This was his time.

Oliver snuck into the room, the man had his back to the door while the woman was standing on the other side of the bed. Oliver caught her eyes and nodded. He ran behind the man and spun him around.

“What the hell?” the man shouted, “Get the hell out of here!”

Oliver smiled, his fangs showing, and the young woman gasped. She didn't know he was a vampire, she just thought he was a hitman or something. A second after Oliver showed his fangs to this guy, he realized something. This man was Rod. Why wasn’t he running the Pizza Castle?

“Oh, you don't remember me?” Oliver smirked.

“Oliver? What the hell, man?”

“Why are you beating this woman? Why are you here? And why should I let you live?” Oliver asked.

“Uh, well, um…” Rod searched for a feasible answer.

“Time’s up, Rod. Give me an answer.”

“Why shouldn’t I beat this whore?” Rod asked. That wasn’t good enough.

Oliver sunk his teeth into the neck of this abusive man. The blood flooded his mouth, he could taste how hateful he was. He didn’t kill the last man he drank, but this one will be different. Oliver had never killed a man before, he always took just what he needed. Will the blood taste different once life has left them? Oliver was going to drain this man.

The warm, thick liquid trickled out of his mouth, down his chin, and onto the floor. Oliver looked up at the woman, who looked happy that her abuser was dying, but scared because she is watching a vampire suck the blood from someone. Her happy face made this hateful blood taste better. The man finally fell to the floor. Oliver fell with him, as he promised that this man would die. He would make sure he was dead. The blood was still warm, but he could tell there was nothing left in this man.

“I didn't know you were a vampire, thank you,” the girl said, “I won’t tell anyone about your secret.” The woman kissed Oliver on his bloody cheek. “Thank you. My name is Tabbi.”

“Oliver. It was no problem, I was hungry and he was an asshole.” Oliver smiled, his fangs shining.

“Where are you off to next? I assume since you just killed someone for me, your next move is to leave,” Tabbi asked, curiously yet sad. She was alone, she had no family, no friends, and the one person she did know, she just had killed.

“I don't know, what’s next for you?”

“I don't know, I’m not blaming you, but you did just kill the only person I had. Thank you. If you hadn’t killed him, he probably would have killed me.”

“Well, not only was he hurting you, but he was also my boss until a few days ago,” Oliver justified the kill.

“It did seem like you knew one another,” Tabbi said. “Is it fun? Being a vampire, I mean.”

“I get lonely a lot, “ Oliver whispered honestly.

“Me too,” Tabbi whispered back.

“Can I come with you?” Tabbi asked, looking anywhere but at Oliver.

“I don't know where I’m going,” Oliver said, secretly thrilled that she asked.

“I don't care, it’s not like I know where I’m going next either.”

“I keep odd hours,” Oliver chuckled.

“I think I can keep up,” Tabbi smiled.

“We ride whenever you're ready.”

“Let’s go,” Tabbi said, pulling on Oliver’s cold, smooth hand.