Harry squatted naked in the farmyard next to the well of the farmhouse he'd first passed when leaving the graveyard. He drew buckets of water up by hand, the winch was too noisy, and scrubbed at his clothes. He'd already poured a few buckets over his head to rinse off the blood and muck.
It was about two hours till dawn, but thanks to his vampire hearing he could tell movement had started in the house. He would have to hurry.
Farmers. Ridiculous career choice. Up before dawn, work yourself to the bone all day.
In his previous life he’d worked with plenty of farmers. There was always some kind of animal emergency on the farms and dairies. It was one of the things he missed after retiring and moving to Florida with Martha.
Thinking of Martha, he looked down at his body again. He was fit and strong. He looked like an Olympic athlete. A swimmer. Or a wrestler. And they had been generous with the proportions. All of them. Martha would tease him if she were here. If he could find her.
I hope I find her.
He finished cleaning and wringing out his clothes. As well as he could, anyway, and started to dress. Cold. And clammy. He considered just scooping them up and carrying them back to the crypt but there was a chance he’d run into someone on the road and they would almost certainly remember a naked man.
System would probably tell me to eat them so they couldn’t tell anyone.
He waited, but System didn’t rise to the bait.
Dressed and ready, he set off on the road and headed home, dripping water every step of the way. He hadn’t gone a hundred yards before passing a cow standing near its fence. Watching him. Judging him.
Cows… the first two he’d used sip on had gone well enough.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
It turned out biting through cowhide, even raw and on the hoof, was much more difficult than biting a person. Not to mention the fact that a cow’s neck was massive. It was like trying to bite into a flat wall of leather. After some experimentation and advice from System he’d found the best spot was the inside of the thigh.
There was access to a nice vein and he could be fairly comfortable. Sipping was easy and it gave good vitae, twenty-five each, and it didn’t take long. The sensation of doing a sip was similar to a drain but muted. The first rush was intense, the taste of the blood, the connection to the beating heart. But it was over before the pleasure could really build. It was lucky, or good planning according to System, that when he decided to use a sip it would stop automatically.
Usually.
On the third cow he’d failed his willpower check and switched over to start draining the poor animal. He’d used mesmerize before he started. He had enough experience with cows to know better than to just walk up and bite one. The walking up part was easy enough. They didn’t react to his presence at all. Still no reason to take that kind of chance.
So when he mesmerized it and started the sip, everything was fine. A beautiful fall evening under the stars, drinking blood from a bored cow. When he’d gone into a near frenzy and switched over to draining for all he was worth, the cow had been perfectly content to stand there and let him. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you were the cow, something about it had spooked the neighboring cows and they had panicked and started to run. The cow he was feeding on had run with them. Probably out of instinct. He’d never sensed any kind of fear from it.
“System, can you see?”
:: System: Not through eyes, as you understand them. But I do process visual data.
“So you saw me getting dragged through a cow pasture, under a cow, by my teeth?”
:: System: Affirmative
“What’s with the ‘affirmative’ again?"
:: System: Sometimes, affirmative is the best answer.
“Alright, I’ll give you that. System, I’m ordering you to erase that memory from your memory.”
:: System: Duly noted.
“Did you erase it?”
:: System: Negative.
“What good is having my own personal user interface, if it won’t do what I tell it?”
:: System: I do not possess the ability to erase core memory.
“Oh shoot, a core memory? Like that kid’s movie? Is me getting dragged by a cow going to be a part of your personality now?”
:: System: Define movie.
“Nevermind.”
Harry checked his meters.
V: 92 | TM: 8%
Not perfect, but good enough.
The rest of the walk to the graveyard was quick and uneventful, if not very comfortable.
I hope vampires aren’t prone to chafing.
Back at the crypt, he studied the door. Heavy, iron-bound wood with iron strap hinges. Both were rusted but still holding. One, though, had worked loose. The nails pinning it to the stone had pulled halfway out, and the holes around them were worn wide, as if someone had tried to break in once and given up. Which was odd since the door had no lock at all.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Maybe they just wanted the door?
The door was in good shape. Judging by the dates on the gravestones it must have been hanging for over two hundred years.
Harry, do not think about this body lying dead in here for two centuries. Just don't.
The door was bleached to a gray-silver, the surface was splintered and soft and it was a bit warped, with small gaps at the top between a few of the planks. Overall, a very well made door which Harry was happy to have between him and the coming sun.
He walked inside the crypt. The problem was the lid to his sarcophagus. It was a massive stone slab which he didn’t think he could replace even if he used frenzy for the extra strength. Never mind that if he did use frenzy he’d probably run back out in the fields looking for more cows.
Or the farmers…
Which meant he would be laying exposed in an open stone box all day. If Pink Sally told the authorities about him, which his gut told him she wouldn’t, or someone noticed the cows and came hunting, he could be in trouble.
“System, during the day, am I completely unconscious? Like in a coma, or dead?”
:: System: Negative. You remain fully mobile. Provided you avoid direct sunlight, all skills and abilities remain fully active.
“Do I need sleep?”
:: System: Sleep is not required, though eight hours of complete inactivity will restore one vitae.
“So if some farmers show up with pitchforks I could defend myself?”
:: System: Affirmative.
“Ah hell... I wouldn’t do it though. How could I attack some farmers coming to track down a vampire? If I wasn’t the vampire I’d join them.
:: Scanning…
:: System: Flight is always an option.
“Flight? Like turn into a bat?”
:: System: Run. Flee. Leave the area.
“Oh… yeah. If the sun just blocks my abilities, I’d be like a normal person right?”
:: System: Affirmative.
“You keep doing the ‘affirmative’ and ‘negative’ thing again.
:: System: Habit.
“It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it."
Harry looked down at the clothes he was wearing. They had started out clean and elegant. Lace cuffs, embroidered waistcoat. The night had not been kind to them and the quick wash and being worn wet did not help much. The important thing though was the ankle length cloak. It had felt a bit silly at first but he liked it. It felt even more silly to admit, but it made him feel a bit like a hero. Or a swashbuckler in an old movie. He worked at the clasp to take it off. A mirror would have helped.
“System, can I see myself in mirrors.”
:: System: The majority of mirrors employ a silver backing, which prevents visibility.
“Just me or my clothes too?”
:: System: Your entire image is blocked.
“How does that make any sense? My clothes are just normal clothes.”
:: System: Magic.
“That’s a pretty handy excuse to explain away a lot of nonsense.”
He finally got the clasp undone, it was a brass hook hidden beneath his collar. He tried to remove the cloak with a flourish but it was still damp and weighed down. He was glad no one had seen.
Well, except you. Peeping Tom not letting a guy get any privacy.
He laid the cloak over top of the sarcophagus and nodded. It would work, only leaving his feet and lower legs exposed.
“System, can you let me know if someone is coming?”
:: System: Negative. I can only relay information your own senses are capable of perceiving.
“Well that’s alright. If I hear or see something and don’t really notice it, you can say something right?”
:: System: Affirmative.
“Alright. Please do that then.”
With that he climbed into the sarcophagus, pulled the cloak over himself and got comfortable.
And laid there.
His meters changed.
V: 91 | TM: 9%
Slowly it got lighter around his feet. Not too much, just what filtered through the gaps in the door.
“System?”
:: System: Yes, Harry?
“Can vampires sleep?”
:: Scanning…
:: System: Affirmative. At higher levels sleep will increase the speed of vitae recovery.
Harry shifted, trying to get more comfortable. Although honestly, it was surprisingly comfortable already.
“Do I need to sleep on my home soil or whatever that one is?”
:: System: Affirmative. However, for all practical purposes, any location on Lumos qualifies.
“So no space travel. There goes all my plans for next week.”
:: System: I would also recommend against interplanar travel, dimensional gateways, astral projection, translocation to other realms or divine summoning.
“Oh… those are all real possibilities?”
:: System: Affirmative.
“Divine summoning is a thing?”
:: System: Affirmative.
“So there are gods?”
:: System: Affirmative.
“Real gods? Like casting brimstone and lightning, sunder mountains, clash of the titans?”
:: System: Not precisely. The gods do not act directly, only taking action through their clerics and worshipers.
“Will any of them be sending out holy crusades to get me?”
:: System: Your nature is anathema to the ethos of several deities. However, as a level zero vampire, you are beneath notice.
“Well that’s a relief. By when might I pop up on their radar?”
:: System: Define radar.
“By when will they notice me?”
:: Scanning…
:: System: Data and history suggest they will remain unconcerned by your existence for approximately ten levels. Circumstances of course, may alter that estimate.
“How long will that take?”
:: System: Data is inconclusive. Optimistic projections suggest as little as one year.
“And the not so optimistic projections?”
:: System: If level advancement is not actively pursued, anywhere from a year to never.
“Fine. That makes sense.”
He lay again for awhile, alternating between closing his eyes and staring up at the cloak above his head.
“System, I’m bored.”
:: System: You have a number of unread messages awaiting review. Shall I display them?
“Oh yeah! That’s a great idea.”
:: System: Do you prefer first in, first out, or most recent first?
“Let’s start at the beginning.”
***
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