THE FIRST FEEDING: By Liza Larregui
Friday, April 9th, 2010Tales of the Reluctant Fangpire—Part 3
My first day of training was awful. The pain in my mouth distracted me from learning how to apply the special cream to my skin. Apparently, years of putting make-up on did nothing to prep me. If even a tiny bit of skin was left untouched, I would start to burn.
“Lee, if you don’t learn to do this, you won’t last a minute. Seriously, pay attention.” Lori said in a very business like approach.
“Lori, my cheeks are swollen. This fang thing hurts. I can’t touch that area. Can we just avoid the sun until the fangs come in at least?” I pleaded.
“Try growing fangs when you’re six months old. My mother said I was unbearably colicky. Good thing she didn’t breast feed, right?” Lori chuckled and poked my side with her finger. Her attempts at jokes were failing miserably on me. “Someone needs a nap.” She snapped, apparently insulted I was not joining her in the fun.
“Is there any way we can avoid my mouth area?”
“No. We need to get you ready to meet the council. Now, if you stop complaining, we can get on with it.”
“Wait, didn’t you say you could heal pain?” There was a glimpse of hope in my eye that she quickly extinguished.
“Yes, for the LIVING. Sorry, honey, just bear with it. I’ll make this as painless as possible.” And she did.
The rest of the day was spent showing me how I was going to sleep. Unlike how the movies and shows depicted, fangpires did not sleep in coffins or under the stairwell. They had beds. Special beds that were designed to keep sunlight out, even during the most beautiful of days. I was still unclear on the mechanics of it, however, as long as I was able to sleep comfortably, I did not care.
On my fifth day of training, I began to acclimate to my new life. Instead of watering down my morning blood, I drank it whole. Instead of forgetting to apply my cream, I did it automatically after I woke up. Lori told me in the beginning that I would feel more alive than I ever had before, and only then, after a few days, was I starting to feeling that way.
As I waited for Lori to get ready on my sixth day of training, I sat in the kitchen and read the paper. I was getting hungrier by the minute and felt my newly grown fangs starting to shift.
Trying to distract myself from hunger, I buried myself into the comics section. Just as I was getting to Dennis the Menace, a noise from the living room alerted me that I was not alone.
“Lori, is that you? Are you ready?” I asked, yelling into the living room. There was no answer yet I still heard someone moaning.
I walked in and lying on my couch was a woman I had never met before. She had long dark brown hair and she was wearing a night gown that was one size too small for her buxom frame.
“Can I help you?” I asked as I approached the couch slowly, still not knowing what was going on.
The couch lady did not respond with words. With each moan, my fangs grew sharper and more firm. I was hungry. I desired this woman’s blood. I needed this woman’s blood.
“Can I have you?” I wasn’t sure I was supposed to ask, but I figured I’d be polite. I was going to drink her either way, but if she were to give me permission, I’d feel less guilty.
Her mouth opened and all that came out were more moans. With one swift move, I was sitting on couch lady, my fangs deep within her neck. She tasted so sweet. If Lori didn’t pull me off, I probably would have drank her entire body.
“Congratulations! You passed! I’m so proud of you, Lee.” Lori had a huge smile on her face as she held couch lady in her arms. “This is Bonnie. She was a test feeder. We are required to throw one in, in the beginning, to see how you do. You went right for her. You are such a good student.”
“Was a test feeder?” I asked, not wanting to know the real answer.
“Oh yeah, she’s dead now. Excellent work, Lee.”
I had killed my first human and it felt good.
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©2010 Liza Larregui
Liza Larregui has been writing since she learned how to type at the age of five. Only recently has she sent in work for publication. She lives in NYC with her husband and her MacBook.
