The Guest & The Change - By M. D. Bowden Page 0,4

this was not the response he was expecting from her. He also looked freely intrigued; his eyes boring into hers, as though he was searching her.

Sarah looked down, embarrassed, and slowly chewed her food before returning to the conversation. God, he was intense, he really did take her breath away. But he made her feel funny. She was not entirely sure of him. What was it about him? Something she didn’t trust? Was it merely his unbelievable attractiveness, his secrecy, or his confidence in an unfamiliar household? Hey, maybe he’d been here before.

Sarah drank some more wine. It was a good job she could stay tonight as she was already on her third glass. The food her mom had made was good, and the combination of getting some food inside her - and the confidence the alcohol fuelled, allowed her to ask the next question.

‘Did you move here with anyone?’

He smiled; he must know I find him attractive after asking this question, thought Sarah. He must also know I’m married.

‘No, I moved here alone.’

Sarah felt relieved, but tried not to show it. God, what if her parents saw? Although would they really care anyway? It’s not like they’re so fond of Jo. And they know we’ve had, and still do have, our problems.

***

Jo drove furiously out of town and round the winding back lanes. He reached Quarry Bridge and parked his car. He got out and leant against his bonnet, looking across the Quarry Lake and cliffs in the darkness. It was a vast space and he breathed in the night air, smelling the scent of conifers on the breeze.

It was chilly but now he didn’t feel the cold. And he no longer felt scared. He was peacefully relaxed and at ease with himself. As the bat landed next to him on the bonnet and materialized into a dark haired man, he didn’t even blink.

‘Beautiful evening, is it not?’ the vampire said with a hypnotizing stare.

Jo just nodded. He didn’t even flinch as the vampire leant across and, with one fast movement, snapped Jo’s neck.

***

The vampire wasn’t yet sure what he planned to do with Jo, yet he had decided Jo would be useful to him. It hadn’t been a hard decision turning him into a vampire. He had done it quite a few times over the centuries and realized how useful it could be to have an ally in a new town. - Especially with Daniel being around. He could never tell what Daniel might be planning, so it would be good to have extra muscle around, just in case.

He hadn’t yet decided whether he would let Jo go back to his old life and live with his wife and children. It would be a risk, he may become exposed. He probably wouldn’t be able to control himself. And he wouldn’t always be there to help him.

Maybe he would just keep Jo hidden, teach him to hunt at night. There were plenty of bars in town, dark and dingy, where they’d hardly be noticed leaving with different people each night. Jo would have a ferocious appetite as a newly turned vampire.

In fact the vampire, Sebastian, couldn’t wait to find out what Jo would be like. The transition into a vampire was a funny thing. Sometimes people kept their human personalities and resisted the change in lifestyle. Other times they embraced it, hunted wildly and forgot their human connections. Sometimes they tormented the connections they still remembered from their humanity, they haunted them or killed them.

He wondered how Jo’s family would fair. Hmm, if Jo killed his family it probably would get noticed. Sebastian decided he would keep Jo to himself for now, he would train him and turn him into the sort of vampire he wanted, away from outside influences. Sort of like a pet project. It could be fun to see him struggle and possibly go a little crazy.

Sebastian lifted the now dead Jo off the floor and opened the trunk. He pushed him into the back, where nobody would notice, and slid into the front seat himself. He reversed out of the quarry parking lot and headed further into the woods.

CHAPTER 2

Sarah thought back to two years previously, not long after she’d had Bea. She had felt awful, and not at her most attractive. Looking after Megan and Bea together was hard work and she still hadn’t fully recovered from the birth. She was sore and had a post baby flabby tummy. Her breasts were large and