From: ssalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (-=[SLS]=-)
Subject: Bite! - 05
Organization: OFSA
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 14:10:08 GMT


	After leaving the airport I drove south on highway 1 for
about half an hour until I saw her. I had decided to put off my kill for this 
evening since I was in a hurry to get to my seaside residence and breathe the
sea air again. It had been years since I had been in this area and I
truly loved the secluded complex that I called home when in this
section of the country. The headlights illumined the figure of a
hitchhiker holding out a slim arm as I approached. I hit the brakes
and slowed to a stop right beside her. I flipped open the door and
asked if she wanted a ride and with a quick affirmative she slipped
into the seat next to me, depositing her backpack on the floorboards
between her legs.          

	Her hair was long and blonde, but tangled. Her face was heart
shaped with hard lines around the eyes and her full lipped mouth. Her
eyes were a warm brown color but something other than gratitude
glinted deep within them. She seemed a very attractive young woman with a 
slim yet well rounded body. 
	
	"Rather late for a young lady like you to be out, isn't it?" I
asked her as I accelerated back to cruising speed. 

	"I am old enough to take care of myself, thank you", she
replied with a bit of asperity in her voice. "I need to get to LA as
soon as I can and this is the only way I can think of to do it."  

	"No offense, it is just dangerous for people to wander about
this day and age with all the crazies around", I replied. "LA is a
long way from here also."  

	She stared at me for a moment and I caught the distinct odor
of marijuana and tobacco radiating from her clothing and hair.   

	"I like that, you didn''t say "women" or "girls", you said
"people"." she said with a smile. 

	"It is dangerous for anyone and I have known women that could
take out just about any man", I answered with a grin. "Young women
often are likely targets though".  

	She nodded and her eyes slid over me and then to the road
ahead. We traveled a couple miles in silence before she asked me how
far I was going.  

	"I'll be turning off here in about an hour or so. If I
remember correctly there is an interchange nearby with an interstate
and you can restaurants and motels. You shouldn't have any problem
catching another ride there if that is what you want." I said.   

	"I don't have any other choice really" she said tonelessly.
She bent over and rummaged in her pack and came up with a pack of
cigarettes. "Mind if I smoke?"  

	I told her to go ahead as long as she opened the side window
and she lit up. We talked and I found out her name was Mary and she
had been living with her boyfriend in San Francisco until they had
broken up. She was heading back to her mother's home in LA and didn't
want to wait around  SF any longer. She asked a few questions about me
and learned that I owned a oceanside home and had just flown in from
the midwest to spend a few days here. I took a deep breath and offered
to give her money for plane fare if she wanted and she was silent. I
mentioned that there were no strings attached whatsoever and it was a
gift from one stranger to another. I even offered to drive her back to
the SF airport.             

	Why was I doing all this for this girl that meant absolutely
nothing to me? I don't know, I have always had a thing for the
underdog, the downtrodden and the waif. It may seem silly, but in the
times of the Crusades I had been a knight and had held true to the
idealized knightly virtues. Most knights in that time had not and I
had prided myself in being superior than them. Not too difficult for a
supernatural being who had no  lust for gold or flesh, outside of a
little blood now and then. I had befriended humans countless times and
had never regretted it even if things didn't turn out the way I
expected afterwards. I felt a twinge inside that told me that unless
something changed very quickly I would be doing something I didn't
really want to do. There was something about her, about the way she
looked at me...about the way she felt to my other senses.             

She suddenly grabbed her stomach and groaned. I sighed and then asked
her what was wrong. I knew now...I felt cold inside. She had such a
potential for future and it might end right now.   

	"P..Please, please pull over for a moment..I think..I think I
am going to be sick", she gasped as she dug into her backpack and
pulled out a large bandanna.  

	I steered the car to the side of the road and she staightened
up and pointed the stubby barrelled pistol at my head and directed me
to pull the car down behind some brush at the side of the road. When
we were hidden from sight from the road she told me to stop. I put on
the parking break and turned off the engine.    

	"If you can just afford to throw away the cost of a plane
ticket to LA from here you can afford to give me all your money and
this car for sparing your life" she snarled. Her eyes reflected fear and 
excitement as she pointed the gun at my head and her hands shook.  

	"You don't want to do this, Mary, if that is your name. I will
be happy to give you money but I need the car right now." I said
softly. "You are too young to die".   

	"You are the one who is going to die if you don't get the fuck
out of this car right now" she stated unequivocally. "Get out now". 

	I shrugged and lifted my hands helplessly. The die was cast. I
only gave people so many chances and besides, I hadn't eaten much
tonight. Opening the door I stepped out and following her instructions
I walked around to her side of the car. She stood there with a vicious
smile on her face.     

	"Just because I am a female doesn't mean I am helpless. You
stupid, weak men think you can beat us and hurt us and control us but
not ME!" she spat. "I have put up with men all my life who thought they
were better and could do what they wished with me. Not any more, I 
learned better"

	"Mary, I don't want to hurt you, only help. Just take the money I 
am offering you and leave. You don't want to do this", I urged her, hoping 
for a last minute change of heart.

	"Oh I will take more than that" she sneered, pulling the
trigger. 

	The slug of the .38 slammed into my abdomen pushing me back a
step. I bent over slightly and then straightened again. She fired
again and again, the slugs hitting me in the chest. I felt bones
splintering as the slugs plowed through me and then I moved with blurred 
speed! Before she could react the gun was in my hand and then it sailed high 
into the air and splashed into the ocean far out. Her eyes bulged in
astonishment as she stared at me standing there. A small amount of
blood oozed out of the holes in my body and she began to shake.

	"What...what are you? I..I..how can", she stammered in shock. 

	"Mary, I am sorry for this. I truly wanted to help you. I
suppose I could let you go now but that wouldn't be the wisest thing
for me to do." I said gently.  

	She began to back away and I surged forwards and pulled her to
me. I seized her long hair in one hand and bent her head backwards,
exposing the smooth, slim throat to the moonlight. With a lunge I
buried my fangs in her and sucked hard! She jerked convulsively and
struggled for approximately two seconds before she went limp in my
arms. I drained her with superhuman speed and as she died I felt the
thrumming of her spirit deep within me. Ecstasy filled my being as I
absorbed her life energy and then part of her was gone and all I held
in my arms was a limp mass of flesh and bone.          

	Her hot blood filled me and her life energy thrilled my senses
making me feel drunk with life and power! I bounded to the side of the
ocean and stared at the dark rolling waves. After a few minutes they
came...the ever hungry mindless feeders that roamed unceasingly
beneath the surface of the sea. I hurled her body to them as their
fins cut the ebony surface and they removed all traces of her
existence.      

	Walking back up the slope I felt a small pang of regret rush
through me only to be dissapated within the surge of vibrant life that
her death had given me.  She was just one of the myriad children of the 
earth who had been savaged in their minds or bodies and were now gleeful
killers who respected only power greater than theirs. It was only her bad
luck that she had crossed one of the ultimate killers.

<Steven>
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