I manage to fly to the edge of the town and land gently on a flat roof. I tread softly and fold my wings back before hiding them carefully with my jacket. No place for flying in a town, even if I wanted to it is too loud, I had to gently glide the final distance to hide myself. I gently get to the edge of the roof and using my claws climb down slowly. I smell them, some foul, some I am indifferent to and some incredibly sweet smelling. I swallow before my mouth starts to overflow. I am worse than I thought, I don’t recall the last time I was this hungry. It is never good to be driven this far but so many events happened recently I just didn’t have time.

I touch down on the ground, my boots gripping nicely before stepping away. I already know I look a mess. Never a good way to look, if I want to blend in I need to look average but my hair is a mess, my skin is pale and even my clothes look filthy and wet, at least after I put my jacket on I will just look like I was caught in the rain that stopped earlier. I keep to the shadows as much as possible as I work my way deeper into town, not many people around tonight. Good thing it is summer and the daylight last so long that when it is dark most people are starting to sleep. I worm my way deeper into the maze knowing that the best place to look are beyond the outskirts and into the living heart of the city. I am not overly fast but I manage a brisk walk and within an hour I finally am to one of my favourite hunting grounds, a dark alley, it is long enough and with a few bends to be generally unused at night but every so often someone will wander in or with a bit of coaxing enter.

I climb the wall slightly in one of the corners and leave the rest to my nose. The first wanderer who passes by smells foul, not someone I can drink from, the second also is the same and I think it might be time to coax someone into the alley when a third starts passing by, they smell so sweet, perfect. In a swift action I drop onto them knocking them out and hide in the darkness where no lights shine. I bite their neck, my fangs piecing and drawing blood then I bite again so my mouth covers the first mark left by my fangs and drinks deeply. The sweetness flowing down my throat and warming my stomach before it starts spreading through me. I needed this so much and savour it all. I almost get engrossed but I make sure to trust my nose for any smells approaching.

Suddenly bitterness hits me. Hell no, why tonight of all times. I spit out the last blood drawn and snap the man’s neck. I press down hard on the wound with one hand and pull off my jackets exposing my wings and wrapping my jacket around my arm. There is no helping it. I gently fly while lifting the man trying to make as little sound as possible and try not to let the blood keep flowing from the bites. After I reach the roof I put all the force I can to jump from it and flap to gain height. I need to escape. I need to get out of the city. This is so rare to happen why did it have to happen tonight …

I go as high as I dare to try to escape all the buildings and fly as fast as I can to leave the city, I pick the direction opposite to where I came from and soon enough I clear the edge and keep going till I am a few miles out. I use the man’s top to bind the wound a little before digging a hole with my hands, it doesn’t have to be too deep but he needs to disappear and fast. When I am finally satisfied with the depth I throw him down it, I am angry and the thud is louder than I normally would allow. I let his blood flow finally, starting to redden the hole in the moonlight and put the top back on him matching the blooded side with where I bit. It doesn’t matter too much but if this body is discovered too soon then I need to at least make it look like the wound and blood on his top matches. I sweep my claws ripping through the flesh to make he wound look fatal, hiding the evidence of the bites and covering him up. Of all the times my bite had to infect someone and start turning them, why did it have to be tonight. Each bite has a pathetically tiny chance to turn someone into a vampire so every feed has two chances turn someone, it has only happened to me a few times in hundreds of years. It happens rapidly but the bitterness of the blood is the first sign. Vampires can’t feed on each other.

When the evidence is hidden I look around my wings are exposed, my hands are filthy with earth and blood but at least my clothes are free from blood. I look for any water and finally find a pothole filled with water and deep enough to wash my hands, getting the areas under my nails, my claws clean, it is problematic but the moon light allows me to see clearly and I finally manage to get rid of enough till I am satisfied. I still need to feed but I have bought enough time. I put my jacket on covering my wings and walk back towards the cemetery. This time I will be warm, this time I will be able to sleep and worry about my situation after I wake up. Even with such a world at least the time to discover a missing person can take awhile. I have at least a few days before the chaos of this night comes up…