 | Chapter 38 |
Marisol had indeed been away, as she explained to Danielle.
"We spent a month in Bridgeport, and it was awesome! There was so much going on, all the time, it really is a 24-hour city!. There were just so many bars and clubs, and the most amazing concert venue – all the big name stars do shows there."
"Oh I don't know, sounds kinda hectic; there's plenty going on in Palms for me."
"Well, yeah, but this is a whole different level, the whole place buzzes. Y'know, we were in this smart club one night when, you're not going to believe this ... Lola Belle comes in and she's in the next booth to us!"
"Wow!" "Yeah, yeah, and she was, like, just so normal, and friendly, like a real person, but, y'know, she had this aura, y'know, you could tell she was something special."
"Sounds amazing," Danielle agreed, "but who is this man, who's shown you the high-life?"
"Oh my, oh yeah, doh! Yeah, sorry. Travis, Travis Gould. We met at the Rain Room exhibition at Imagine That! and just got talking. He's so cool, we had so much in common and, well, I'd never met anyone like him. He's incredible. He's been to so many different places, the stories he can tell – the things he has seen."
"Sounds like quite a man, and quite exotic compared to the guys round here ..." Danielle prompted. "Oh yeah, I mean, like y'get all sorts in Lucky Palms and from all over but ..."
"Well, like, you know there are these vampires here?" Marisol continued, "But there all, like 'I wanna get away' or 'I wanna be myself'. Like they're always sorry for something?"
"Umm, I dunno, they keep mostly to themselves I suppose."
"Yeah, yeah, well, not Travis. He was like 'I am vampire and I am proud!' Someone so sure of themselves, so confident, well, he knew how to enjoy life and being vampire made it even better! And, that is so attractive!"
"And that is why ...?"
"Oh yeah, I wanted some of that too! So, when he said I could become vampire too ... I was like 'what are waiting for!'" Marisol laughed, remembering her eagerness that night.
"So, he didn't encourage you, or force you?"
"No! Not at all! Like any man could make me do anything I didn't want to!"
"No, no, I guess not." Danielle laughed in agreement.
"He just said, one evening, that it was possible for humans to become vampire if they wanted to and if they asked then a vampire couldn't refuse them."
"Really? As simple as that?"
"Yeah, really, that simple! That night, he bit me. It was amazing, there was a moment of pain and then I felt this incredible energy flowing through me. I was tingling all over, like my body was being renewed, waking up after a deep sleep. Though I didn't notice any change for a few days but then, suddenly, I knew. Every fibre of my being was raging with a new vitality and that was it. I was vampire too. And it is awesome!"
-- * --
Danielle's head was spinning. After leaving Marisol she was faced with yet more questions about her relationship with Clark.
Was it really as Marisol had said, that she had asked to become vampire, that this Travis hadn't seduced her into it? And Clark, was he born human and became vampire, was he turned, has he turned others? What if he wants her to become vampire?
Without really knowing where she was going Danielle headed to the Touchdown bar. A few drinks and mindless blasting of aliens, it all helped to take her mind off these questions swirling around here head.
But, eventually, even the fastest and sneakiest of alien invaders couldn't hold her attention so she returned to the bar and the ever-attentive barmaid.
"I mean ... what is it with men? Do they all have an agenda? Like, is my Clark one of the good guys or will he want to turn me into something I'm not? And what, what is so special about vampires? Like they can run faster, and live longer but, like, so what?”
Chapter D1: Arrival
