History Repeats Itself

Chapter 8 – ‘Who was the first one?’

She watched him walk out the door. She wasn’t sure how he was getting back to the club, but she couldn’t think of that now. Jade had overheard the first part of that call, and like her, he was being told about another death by ice. That made two, which wasn’t good. One was odd, two became questionable.

She reached for her jacket, flung it on, and then grabbed her car keys, heading out. The location for this scene was about forty minutes away from her. She figured she would beat Xander there, especially if he still had to go pick up his car. She did have every intention of taking him back, but after all of that, the thought of being in such a tight space with him wasn’t good.

Although, at the moment, she was alone with her thoughts, which wasn’t good either. She so badly wanted to push Xander and make him happy with the thought of being a bite slave, but he wouldn’t go for it. And if she was honest with herself, she wouldn’t either. She hadn’t done one in over fifty years; she wasn’t going to pick the habit back up now. Even though his blood was some of the best she ever had. And what she felt through his pants only made her want him more.

With a shake of her head, she cleared her mind. She refused to go down that rabbit hole. It was dangerous and she couldn’t afford that. Danger, like that, could easily lead to a vampire’s demise, and though she didn’t relish being a vampire all the time, she wasn’t set on ending her life if she could avoid it. Her eyes glanced over at the GPS, seeing the time to her destination.

She picked up a cigarette and lit it. Sure, the tobacco wasn’t something she needed, it didn’t help, nor hurt her, but it tasted good. Jade could still picture the tobacco plantations she would oversee at times. s*****y wasn’t something she liked, so she avoided the owners who didn’t pay for their help. But, then again, it wasn’t like she could do a lot of that, there wasn’t much call for a nighttime manager, so she would travel onward. But she always loved the smell and soon, the taste. Since that time, it was a habit she hadn’t kicked.

She blew out the smoke as her car cruised down the street, nearing the destination. As she did, she glanced around, noticing the quality of the buildings. This, unlike the first one, was the slums of the area. Why would a vampire be killed out here? Even better, how the hell did you get ice out here? Jade checked the directions, making sure she was in the right area, but it was. She saw the flashing lights and pulled off to the side of the road, not seeing Xander’s car.

Stepping out of her vehicle, she put the smoke out and slowly walked to the scene, picking up on the chatter the crew was saying. Seemed like a few of the workers there had the heebie geebies about what could be out here. They weren’t wrong. She had overheard the talk at the last scene, questioning the fang bit. Jade had no doubt she’d hear it too. Leaning against the wall, Jade kept the people in her eyesight, only moving her eyes away when Xander finally pulled up in his car. She checked the time, surprised to see how fast he got there.

Only when he had talked to the last of the people and they had left, leaving him alone, did she walk over. He glanced up but she could see there was no shock in his eyes. Not like the first time anyway.

“Another vampire,” was all he said, as if she would be called out to see something that wasn’t vampire-related. “There’s nothing out here.”

“I thought about that on the way in. This is the slums, why kill someone out here?” Xander tilted his head as he looked over the scene before him. There was a spike of ice straight through this man’s chest. Again, he was impaled on it, not just staked with it.

“Dumb sentiment, but doesn’t this remind you of someone?” Jade lifted a brow at that. Who the hell would she know that did this? “Vlad,” he told her.

“The Impaler? As in like 1300’s, Vlad?” she asked, her voice high in shock.

“Yeah. The story goes he was the first vampire, right?” Jade rolled her eyes at that before shaking her head.

“Story, Xander, story. There is no truth behind that.” Xander stood and faced her.

“How were vampires created? Who was the first one? Who realized they couldn’t live in the sunlight and needed blood?” Jade opened her mouth to answer but couldn’t. The truth was no one knew any of that. The council held the secret of the birth of vampires and kept it under lock and key. “Can’t say?”

“Don’t know,” she retorted. Xander blinked, obviously shocked.

“Don’t know what? How you came to be?” Jade shook her head at that question. “You don’t know the first vampire?”

“No one does, not any of us.” Xander nodded, glancing back at the body.

“The council does, and they don’t share information. Why not tell you guys where you came from? What’s the big deal?”

“I don’t know.” For the first time ever in her long life of being a vampire, Jade did question why the council kept that bit of knowledge hidden. This was their history, the story of how they came to be, why not share it? “You don’t think Vlad is still around?”

“No,” Xander said. “I do find it odd it’s an impaling though. I get it, you said vampires are fast, strong, so staking them isn’t easy.” Jade wanted to comment with something, anything, but she couldn’t. He was right, they were fast. So, catching one to impale them wasn’t easy by any means. It sure as hell wasn’t a human doing the killing. No, it was another vampire. Which meant that went against their laws.

“The council has to know who would do this,” she said. Xander slipped on a pair of gloves to lift the lip of the victim and Jade walked over. “A human doesn’t have the power to kill a vampire unless the vampire wishes it. This is another vampire doing the work. But it’s wrong, it’s forbidden. So, the council would have to know so that the culprit could be taken care of and killed themselves.”

“And yet, here is another dead vampire. I’m starting to question the expertise there, of your council.” Jade narrowed her eyes at Xander, but she couldn’t deny it because honestly, she was too. How could they not know about this? Was this why she was sent? She wasn’t the police, she didn’t arrest or guard, she just recorded. Xander walked around the body and then stopped. “You wanted to be turned?” The question was out of left field given what they were seeing right now.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I’m assuming anyone these days is asked?” Jade crossed her arms but nodded.

“There’s not a law that says we can’t force others to turn, but we don’t do it. A vampire that’s just turned is dangerous. They are just like babies, they have to be nursed, guided, maintained, and taken care of. Most vampires don’t even turn others because it takes a long time of to take care of them. Sometimes a few years of being with a newly turned creature. You can’t just leave a newbie vampire, they go feral, they destroy, they feed to the point of killing because they don’t know any better.”

“Huh,” was all Xander said, causing Jade to narrow her eyes. Something was working in his mind, but he wasn’t sharing.

“What gives, Xander?” Xander walked over to the edge of the road where blackness crept in, his eyes searching for something. But she could tell well enough and there wasn’t anything or anybody but the two of them. “What are you thinking?”

“The first victim, they were reported as a runaway at the age of seventeen. Usually, cops don’t follow leads at that age because they’re so close to becoming an adult, it's just a waste of time and resources, sadly.” She walked over to him, resting her hand on his arm.

“It is. We usually don’t turn vampires that young though. Even eighteen is debatable.”

“And yet, according to the birthdate listed, he was just shy of turning eighteen. And very far away from his family. He seemed to be alone.” Jade shook her head, trying to put the words together he was saying to make sense. He wasn’t telling her anything though, at least nothing solid, so she was forced to read between the lines. She was a recorder, not a detective.

“What are you getting at?”

“That first vampire was alone, no one around to guide him. This vampire,” he said, pointing to the man still on the stake, “is alone. And again, this man, he just turned eighteen. Where are the ones who turned them? Where are the ones to guide them?” Jade once more opened her mouth but no words came out. Where indeed? There was no rule to state you had to remain, it was just an unspoken understanding. It was also to be believed, but never pushed, that there was a death penalty for those who turned vampires but didn’t teach them.

Vampires could go berserk without the proper care, without the proper knowledge. Did someone turn them and not stay? Jade turned back to look at the body, to look at the clothes the man had on. They were rugged, torn in spots, and dirty. Xander was right, he was alone, but he was young.

“It’s not a crime, exactly.”

“Are you sure about that? Has it ever been recorded or mentioned to you?” Xander asked, whispering in her ear. “Or is the council covering something up?”