'New Experiences'

by

Kit Tunstall

"Y

ou don't look like the kind of guy who hangs out in a place like this."

Eddie turned around to see who'd spoken to him. She was about his height--five-nine--with thick black hair, streaked with red and gold, bright green eyes, almost feline in appearance, and full lips outlined in black lipstick. She wore white pancake makeup on her face, and had drawn symbols and pictures on her cheeks with some kind of black makeup, probably eyeliner. Thick mascara coated her eyelashes, and bright purple shadow was smeared across the lids. It was difficult to tell through all the camouflage, but she appeared to be quite lovely. 

"Er, no, not really."

"I could tell from the sports coat and khakis." She winked at him. "And the nicely groomed blond hair and lack of makeup. You stick out like a sore thumb."

Eddie ran a hand through his thick hair, then grinned at her. 

"My friends dragged me here. They didn't bother to tell me that it was an...alternative kind of place."

"What brings you here?"

Lifting his beer, Eddie raised it in a salute. "Nursing a broken heart."

She nodded. "Ah, so you got dumped and figured you would feel better by getting shitfaced?"

"You're very blunt."

She shrugged. "It is a habit."

For the first time, he realized there was a trace of an accent in her voice. "Where are you from?"

"L.A."

"I mean originally."

She hesitated before finally saying, "Romania, once upon a time, but that was lifetimes ago."

Eddie eyed her curiously, admiring her flawless figure in the flowing black dress, paired with black jackboots. "Lifetimes ago?"

"More time has passed than I care to contemplate."

"Why did you come to L.A.?"

"Food was growing scarce in my world. I needed new opportunities, and I hungered for new experiences."
Eddie lifted his beer as she picked up her glass of deep red wine. He clinked his mug against her glass. "To new experiences."

She hesitated. "And fresh meat." Her tone was flirtatious, but her strange feline eyes were predatory.

Ignoring his twinge of unease, Eddie leaned closer to her. 

"Do you have a name?"

"Stragartha."

He blinked. "What?"

"Straw-gar-ta."

"That's an interesting name."

Stragartha laughed. "Unusual, no? Would you like to dance?"

Although he was not the kind to give in to impulse, Eddie found himself dancing with her a few seconds later. There was a heavy, pounding beat to the slow music, and she was grinding her body against him. As Eddie looked into her eyes, he found the memory of Nina's betrayal slowly fading from his mind. The pain of her walking out faded away, until all he could think about was Stragartha. 

He picked up a strand of her hair and found himself thinking of taking her to bed. He'd never had a one-night stand in his life, but it seemed like just the cure for his ailing heart. 

"Want to get out of here?" The words seemed to come from a distance, as if someone else was speaking through him. Eddie blinked as he asked the question.

She smiled, flashing perfect white teeth. Was it just his imagination, or were two of her teeth growing longer? "My place is near here." Stragartha took his hand and led him through the club. Eddie saw his friends in the corner and waved to them sluggishly, but ignored them as they waved him over.

She led him through the parking lot of the bar, not letting him stop at his Accord. "We will walk." Eddie wanted to protest, but as the words came to his lips, they refused to leave his mouth. It seemed easier to give in to her, and he allowed her to lead him.

They walked two blocks down a dark alley and Eddie expected violence at any moment. To his surprise, they made it to her door with no problem. She had a side entrance, and she unlocked the serious-looking deadbolt on the door. "My apartment is above the deli."

"'Kay." Eddie followed her through the door and into a dimly lit stairwell. She started climbing, and his feet followed her, even though he was beginning to have second thoughts. He didn't even have a condom with him. He was not the kind to indulge in casual sex, and he'd never had unprotected sex. 

"Stragartha, I don't think..."

She whirled around quickly, two steps from the second floor, and placed a finger against his lips. "Shh. Do not think, just feel."

His mind felt cloudy, but Eddie knew he wanted to leave. 

"I'd better go..." To his surprise, she ignored him and grasped his hand, pulling him up the stairs with her. He stumbled near the top, but she steadied him. Eddie tried to tug his hand away, but her grip was incredibly strong. "Let go."

"It will be fun if you let it," was her only response. She maintained her hold on him as she unlocked a door with a crack at the base, and peeling paint. 

Judging from the rest of the building, Eddie had expected a hovel, but the interior was very different. Thick carpets and hardwood lined the floors, and expensive cloth wallpaper decorated the walls. Creamy white leather furniture adorned the living room, and he saw a glass-topped table as she pulled him past the kitchen, down the hallway, and into her bedroom.

The carpet in her bedroom was matte ebony, and the walls were painted black. A huge bed, atop a platform, dominated the center of the bedroom, and it was covered by black satin sheets. There were no mirrors in the bedroom, and only one other piece of furniture--an alter with a statue of the Virgin Mother, and several lit candles. Upon seeing the familiar symbol of his childhood faith, Eddie started to relax. There was no question Stragartha was strange, but she couldn't be that bad if she was a devout Catholic. "Nice room."

"Thank you. I spent years decorating this place."

"How long have you lived here?"

"One hundred and ten years," she said flippantly, and winked at him again. 

Eddie's eyes fell on the bed, and his body swelled in response to his mental image of her lying naked upon it. 

"Nice bed."

"Um." She stepped closer to him and started kissing him. Open mouthed, with her tongue sweeping inside his mouth. She wrapped her arms around him, and Eddie buried his hands in her hair as she guided him to the bed. He felt the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed, and then felt himself falling as she gave a gentle push.

Instead of a soft bed, he landed in a heap of earth. Black soil flew up in obscure clouds around him. "What the hell?" His hand was buried in the soil where the sheet had slipped loose. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." She crawled on top of him and looked deep into his eyes. "Ignore it."

Eddie's eyes widened at her demanding tone, and he was about to protest when he felt strangely lethargic. "Yes." As her head descended to kiss him, Eddie felt himself floating. To his surprise, she didn't touch his lips. Instead, she nuzzled her mouth against his neck. That was a particularly ticklish spot, and he giggled. "Not there."

She ignored him, continuing to lick his neck. Deciding she was too strange for him, Eddie tried to push her away. "I think we should stop." He pushed against her shoulders, but he couldn't budge her. "Get off me." He winced at the semi-hysterical note in his voice.

Suddenly she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Eddie screamed when he saw the transformation she'd undergone. Her face was now twisted into a snarl, and her teeth had definitely grown. Her green eyes burned an intense red, and she licked her lips. "You wanted a new experience, boy."

Eddie screamed again as her head descended. He flinched when he felt her fangs penetrate his throat. The pain was intense, but soon he felt himself floating. He knew she was killing him, but he couldn't summon the strength to push her away. When she finally lifted her head, he could barely keep his eyes open. 

"Delicious." She licked the excess blood off her mouth with evident relish. 

"Vampire..." he managed to croak, disbelieving it as he said it. There were no such things. Were there? 

"Very astute." She rolled off him and stood up. He watched her approach the alter and kneel before it. She crossed herself and began to pray, "Thank you, Lord, for your bounty..." 

He frowned. Vampires were supposed to be afraid of religious symbols. His head felt fuzzy, and he couldn't think clearly. When she stood up and returned to him, his eyes filled with tears. "Please don't kill me."

She shook her head. "I am not going to kill you, boy."

"Are you going to change me?"

Stragartha shuddered. "I could not consign you to my existence. Living outside of humanity, with this constant hunger. Not even able to set foot in a church for fear that the priests will know what I am. You would hate this life. Close your eyes," she crooned.

Eddie felt compelled to obey her, and his eyes dropped. He knew he was going to die, despite her words. His heart cried out for all he would miss, but his thoughts were interrupted by a whirling fog that filled his head. He passed out.

The ringing of the phone woke him. "Hello?"

"Eddie, where have you been? You haven't answered your phone for over a day."

Groaning, Eddie sat up and immediately noticed the ache in his head. "Ugh, I think I got stinking drunk last night."

"The night before," Ken corrected. "You disappeared. What happened?"

Strange, disjointed images popped into Eddie's mind. Frightening visions of a woman who drank his blood. "I must have just passed out. I had some fucked up dreams."

"So you're okay?"

"I'll be fine," Eddie assured him. "Thanks for checking on me, man."

"No problem. You coming over tonight for the football game?"

"Sure, give me a little while." After hanging up, Eddie rolled out of bed and swayed dizzily. He felt like shit, but Ken had rented the game from PPV and Eddie had $20 riding on the outcome. No way was he missing that. 

He made his way into the bathroom and stepped into a steaming hot shower. When he emerged a few minutes later, he felt almost human again. Eddie wrapped a towel around his waist, then used another towel to wipe the condensation off the mirror. He was in the process of lathering his face with shaving cream when he found the wounds on his neck. Two perfect puncture wounds that indicated he had not been dreaming. For a long time, Eddie stared at the marks, trying to find a logical explanation. 

None was forthcoming. For some reason, he found himself saying aloud, "You wanted a new experience."

*******

(c) Kit Tunstall, All Rights Reserved

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