• Lilith was only a few blocks away from her apartment. She had gotten out of work late and had been unable to find a taxi at 1:30 a.m. so she had to walk home. The night was dark and cold, and the sky was filled with heavy gray clouds and some thunders. As she passed by a Chinese food restaurant that was already closed, the sky started to cry and the thunders got louder; the sky was suddenly illuminated for a few seconds by blue light. Lilith hated rainy nights like this one; it reminded her of what happened to her 13 years ago when she was only 6 years old. The rain got heavier and faster, and she still had a bit more than 4 blocks to go. Dammit, why hadn't she brought an umbrella with her? At least she should have worn a jacket or something that would protect her from the rain. Great, if she continued walking under the cold rain she would get sick. She didn't want to get sick. Getting sick was not an option when she had to support herself, go to school fulltime and work a part time job at nights. When her mother died, her aunt Marla had taken care of her. Only three months ago Lilith had been able to finally get her own place and stopped feeling like a burden for her aunt. Marla was awesome, but Lilith had trouble adapting to a new life because she had still not recover from what had happened a year before her mother decided to take her own life.
    As she crossed the street, she heard two gunshots it must have been just the thunders she thought. But those thunders had really sounded like gunshots, and they had scared her enough to make her speed up and step and something that twisted her ankle and broke her show heel. Great! Just what I needed: a broken heel on a stormy night while I have to walk home! She stopped under the shade of a jewelry store just to try to fix her shoe. I guess I could wait here and hope that this rain stops a little or that a taxi passes by. The whole block seemed to be empty, she couldn't see anyone walking or driving by. "At least I don't think this can get any worse," she sighed to herself. Suddenly, as she waited for the sky to stop crying, she heard a loud noise. Must have been a thunder again she thought, but when she heard the noise again she was finally convinced: gunshots. Lilith was now sure those had been gunshots, and they had been close by. She then heard some footsteps getting closer, it sounded like several people were running. Now what? Those must be gangsters, and gangsters are not friendly with young girls wearing skirts after midnight and walking alone on the streets. I better get out of here. She run around the corner and hid behind a big garbage dumpster, hoping those guys would go away without even noticing her.
    "Where did he go?" a man yelled out.
    "I don’t know, but he can't be far. I'm pretty sure I was able to hit him on the leg." Another man answered.
    "Yes, and I think I got him on his left arm." A third man answered.
    "The two of you are just useless trash! What the h**l do you mean when you say 'I think'? Are you mocking me?! Go look for him and make sure when you find him you kill him!" The first man replied to the two who seemed to work for him.
    "Yes boss" the other two replied in unison. They all ran in different directions, the boss was heading towards the alley where Lilith had been hiding and listening to what was going on.
    Please don't come any closer she prayed as she grabbed a rock to hit the man if he was to find her. She could hear his footsteps; he was getting closer and closer. Out of nowhere, in the background she could hear an annoying high pitch noise also coming closer a siren. One of the other men suddenly came yelling "It is the police boss! We should get outta here."
    The boss turned around cussing "Dammit! So close to finally catching him. I guess I'll have to let him escape this time. Let's go!"
    Lilith was relieved when she heard them running away. Some cats came running out of the back of the building, "that was a close one," she sighed as she saw the cats disappearing around the same corner where the man had been standing. When she was about to get up she heard footsteps coming from behind. She carefully turned around preparing her arm to throw the rock she had been holding. She turned her head and saw a young man holding his left arm, he was barely able to walk and his breathing was loud and fast. She stared at him for a while, and when she saw his arm was covered in blood, she dropped the rock and hurried up to help him. She was only fast enough to catch him right before he collapsed. "Are you ok? Hey, wake up! Don't pass out right here." The rain seemed to be stopping, but still he was all soaked up, and so was she. She managed to pull him to the spot where she had been hiding; it was the safest and closest place she could take him to. He seemed to have lost a lot of blood. Surely this was the guy the men with guns were looking for. There was a bullet wound on his arm and one on his leg, though the one on the leg seemed like just a scratch but the wound on his arm was deep. "What should I do? How can I help you?" she asked desperately, looking for something in her purse that might be of help. She saw him opening his eyes, and his breathing seemed to be getting steady. "Thank goodness you are still alive! Do you think you'll be alright by yourself while I go look for phone to call an ambulance?" she asked and waited for an answer.
    The guy just kept staring at her without answering. "Hey, can you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying?" She looked at him and waited for an answer again.
    "Yes, I can hear you" he managed to get the words out of his mouth.
    "So, will you be alright..." he interrupted her and said "Don't get an ambulance. I don't need one."
    "Don't be silly. Don't try to play brave with me. You need medical assistance and I'm going to..."
    "All I need is to feed myself" he said interrupting Lilith.
    "Feed? You mean you want food? You are almost dying and all you want is something to eat? Are you really that hungry?" she asked amused while noticing with the few light available his dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. He was so pale, maybe he had lost more blood that what she had thought. Yet, he was handsome.
    "Yes, I'm hungry...or rather I'm thirsty..."
    "Well, it is 2:00 a.m. no place is open at this time. I can't get any food for you right now. And if you are thirsty you can try the rain water, or you could let me call an ambulance and eat and drink all you want in the hospital."
    "I don't want an ambulance" he replied. He seemed very calm for a guy who had been just shot and lost so much blood.
    "Then, where do you want me to feed you from?" she asked him while staring at his gorgeous dark eyes.
    "From here" he said with a smile as he reached his hand for Lilith and pulled her bare neck to his mouth. He pressed his lips against her soft skin and slowly opened his mouth to pierce her with his fangs. He drank from her.