“I should’ve known this was a bad idea…” Rose struggled to hold onto the wheel as she drove down the highway. Her vampire was fast a sleep and drooling, but even asleep Rebecca desperately wanted to cuddle. At first the adorable creature curled up in her passenger seat comfortably, but after an hour on the road Rebecca began trying to lean in closer. 

      Rose felt guilty trying to push her girlfriend away, her palm pressed against Rebecca’s forehead gently as the vampire tried to crawl into the drivers seat. It was getting difficult keeping the wheel straight as Rebecca got closer, she tried to wrap her arms around Rose.

      “Come on Reby, your doing this on purpose!” Rose couldn’t understand how Reby could do this while sleeping, but as she tried to press her away, the vampires eyes were clearly shut tight. A thick swap of drool was leaking from Rebecca’s succulent lips, causing a thick drop to drip down one of her fangs and onto the leather console between the seats. “Ok maybe your not?” Rose corrected herself.

      The sedan swerved in the right lane, its tires ground against the grooves along the edge of the road. The sudden series of bumps was enough to jolt the vampire back to her side of the car, but somehow it hadn’t disturbed her slumber. Instead Rebecca groaned, rolled over onto her side, and spoke in her sleep something about grapefruits.  

      Rose leaned back in her seat, and exhaled a sigh of relief. Although she was curious as to what Reby was dreaming about to make her moan about grapefruits? It was hard to believe she could sleep so soundly, and yet so actively! 

      Rose took a passive glance at her vampire for a split second. Rebecca laid now on her side, with her arms wildly sprawled out. It was almost comical, and Rose would’ve loved to capture a picture of it to tease her later. 

      A thick spittle of drool leaked from Reby’s lips onto the leather of her chair. Her long golden hair flowed over her cheek and down her neck, it flashed in the morning sunlight. The vampire’s succulent olive skin seemed delicate for her agile frame. Her arms and legs were slender, although weeks of strenuous workouts had added a layer of muscle tone. Rose was more focused on her vampires well rounded curves, and beautiful face. 

      The sun was finally rising in the far distance. Rose was glad to be driving away from the sunlight, but the reflection bounced from the rear view mirror into her eyes. On one hand, the light was sharp enough for her to want to reach into the glove compartment for a pair of sunglasses, but on the other, it was still too dark in front of her. It made things difficult, she had to reach up and turn the mirror so that it wouldn’t blind her. 

      This late at night, or rather early in the morning, there were few others on the road. It probably wouldn’t be too much longer before that changed. Another hour went by rather slowly. Rose kept the radio on a low volume as to not wake up her girlfriend. The channel had a local DJ playing a random series of classic rock music, and in between the songs the host discussed morning weather, along with a couple of odd news stories. Whoever the host was, he sounded young and audacious, like someone who truly enjoyed his job. 

      The station fizzled out once she crossed the state line to Alabama. The stations were fewer on this side of the line, but Rose managed to find a station playing country music. When she was younger Rose hated country music, but over the years she had grown a taste for it. Of course it really depended on the singers voice. A strong southern, and masculine, voice was needed to truly appeal to her taste of country music. 

      Crossing the narrow corridor of Alabama that wedged between Florida and Louisiana was a short adventure. Rose was careful to avoid the main Highway that led to Mobile, which normally would’ve added time. With no one on the roads this early, it was easier to go around the small metropolis of Mobile rather than drive through it. By the time Rose was within eyesight of the Louisiana welcome sign, early morning was in full bloom. With it came more cars and heavier traffic. 

      Like providence, the moment she crossed the border to the great state of Louisiana the radio station fizzled out again. The auto scan quickly channelled through the radio waves in search for another active broadcast. The one it found startled her.

      The voice on the other end of the station belonged to a stern and feminine voice. The sound of her tone seemed to shock the air around the speaker, and it made Rose’s skin crawl. It was hostile, and contained a rage that was just barely contained below the surface. It reminded her of a torrential storm on the brink of breaking its wrath. 

      “The time has come for us to stand up against these VAMPIRES!” There was no way for the voice to hold back its animosity once she spoke the word vampire.

      “These monsters have been manipulating us for god knows how long. They’ve been living amongst us in secret, and deceiving us each and every day. They say they are ‘just like us’, or that they ‘simply want to live normal lives’, but how can we believe them?” Rose wanted to change the channel, but something caught her from reaching out and turning the dial. 

      The woman’s voice erupted again, this time loud enough to wake up Rebecca.

      “If they have been living amongst us all this time, why now do we need so many blood centers? Why is it we’re still fighting a pandemic? And why have they not been open about their history? We know almost nothing about them, except that they certainly seem to need a lot of blood.”

      “Are we there yet?” Rebecca’s voice was soft and tired. She was not fully awake, her eyes were still closed as she nuzzled her cheek against the pillow that sank into the headrest. It was apparent that she wanted to go back to sleep.

      Rose turned off the radio, just as the woman’s voice started rambling about purely theoretical statistics on vampire population growth over the past year. There was something so weird about that voice that caused it to linger in her mind. It was so forceful, so contentious yet also…charismatic. Rose found it deeply troubling. 

      “We just made it to Louisiana,” Rose answered, “Just another hour or two before we get to the hotel.”

      Rebecca groaned before she rolled around in the seat. The locks of her hair were at risk of getting stuck in between the head rest. Rose risked calamity by holding onto the steering wheel with one hand, and reaching out with the other to pull her girlfriends hair back. 

      Rebecca seemed to enjoy the attention, even if she was half asleep. “Naughty grapefruit, keep stroking…” Her voice drifted like a light breeze, and was swiftly followed by a light snore. 

      Rose grabbed hold of the steering wheel again, this time she didn’t turn on the radio. It wouldn’t be long before she would make it to New Orleans, and she couldn’t wait until they arrived. 

      Much like her native home state of Florida, Louisiana was filled with swamplands and dense marshes. Except here, their were no pine trees to shelter the view. The surroundings were saturated with a thick muck, and a dense fog seemed to carpet the world. Haunting the thick fog, willow trees branched out to cast eerie silhouettes. Their foliage swayed like ghosts in the wind. 

      An hour later Rose was glad that she took the wheel, for Rebecca would certainly have gotten lost in the streets of New Orleans. It was a maze of cement buildings, cracking streets, and packed boroughs. Willow trees and other foliage stuck out amid the open spaces between buildings, while dense curtains of vines crawled over walls.

      New Orleans was a packed maze lost in time, for it had layers of history within its boundaries. The cultures mixing here were old, creating a sense of ancient foreboding in the very atmosphere. Even after the trauma of recent disasters, the city seemed to cradle the inheritance of its forefathers. It was as if nothing could disquiet the legacy that had build the very bones of this city. New office buildings thrusted towards the skies amid ancient dwellings that had been around since the War of 1812. In fact, Rose couldn’t help but stare in awe at Jackson Square as she drove through the French quarter. 

      The hotel was a fairly large and new construction, its name was displayed on the front as simply, ‘The Silver Grand’. Like many of the newer hotels, it had a post modern design. A giant willow tree sat before the front entrance like a ghastly totem. 

      “Ah Shit,” Rebecca’s cheerful voice suddenly broke the silence. Rose looked over to see her vampire sitting up in her seat with her phone in hand, “I butt dialed Maggie all night. Now my phones almost dead.”

      “Good to see your up,” Rose smiled. The sun seemed to make the vampire’s golden hair sparkle. 

      Rebecca yawned as she stretched her arms toward the roof of the car. Her skin was unbelievably pale despite the past two years living in Miami. Rose was starting to worry Reby might have some kind of skin condition. But it never seemed to bother her, in fact the vampire’s skin didn’t seem to burn in the sun either. 

      “So, are we finally there yet?” Reby’s voice was dry.

      “Pulling up now,” Rose steered the sedan toward the hotels parking lot. The roads were almost too narrow for her comfort.

      “Ah good, I need a shower. I totally reek!” Rebecca proceeded to rub her shoulders.

      The hotel had a raised garage towards the back, and it was already half full. “You smell just fine,” Rose teased.

      Rebecca chuckled with a cute smile, “You realize I mentioned the shower in hopes you would join me?” 

      “Of course you did.” Rose rolled her eyes as she pulled the car into a parking spot.

      “Hurry up! I’m tired of sitting here.” The leather of the passenger seat groaned as Rebecca shifted in her seat. She was already unbuckling herself before Rose had shifted the gear.

      “Sure thing precious,” Rose brushed her hair back and rubbed her eyes before getting out of her seat.