"To be a Vampire…" A Nick Shadow Short Story

“Shadows: Stories of a Hunter”, Part Four

Just a block north of Main Street, a black and red car sat quietly against the curb. A 1967 Pontiac, it looked slightly out of place in the budding metropolis.
A mysterious figure sat at the wheel, the upper portion of his body hidden by the dark. The dark face was gaunt and pale, the raven-black hair just added to dark appearance.
Nick Shadow appeared to be asleep, but perhaps at a sudden thought, his glowing yellow eyes flickered open and skimmed the intersection and street front ahead.
Nothing.
Nick relaxed a bit, he laid his head back and stared at the ceiling of the car.
His life sucked. Who cares what those loons from “Twilight” thought, being undead and almost immortal was not any fun. Nick was only twenty years old, and already he had seen more pain and suffering because of his “immortality” than most would see in two lifetimes.
Nick’s sharp ears picked up the sound of something hitting the ground softly outside the diver’s-side door. Knowing who it was before turning, Nick rolled down his window and greeted the newcomer.
“Justin, how goes the hunt?”
Justin Wulf, known to most people as the dark and terrifying Wildthing, leaned against the car’s open window. About 6’9”, Wildthing was clothed all in a dark-brown skintight material with black hands, boots, and tiger stripes on the biceps and thighs. His long sand-colored hair fell down his back and into his glowing yellow eyes. You could never see any of Justin’s features, it was as if a dark cloud hung over his face, leaving his eyes uncovered like some kind of black mask.
Justin’s voice was raspy and ominous, and although Nick had heard the same voice shout comments at rampaging vampires and werewolves that would put you on the floor in stitches, it still made him shiver.
“It’s dull. Mara is upgrading the Oracle System, so I don’t have any company. And it seems all the Demons in the city have taken the night off.”
Nick nodded and absently watched the flickering traffic light.
“Yep. Same here. Even Griffang is closed for the night. And Marly is busy with some big party at the Bar ‘n’ Grill, so I guess its just us Demon hunters left.”
Wildthing placed his hands on the car top and leaped, with a grace and power that was surprising for one his size, over the top of the car to land in front of the passenger’s door. He opened the door and, moving the crossbow from the seat, sat down. He set the crossbow so it rested against the dash with the business end pointed towards the carpet.
The two hunters sat a time watching the intersection. Neither spoke, neither really had to. They understood each other’s troubles, the pain they shared. Justin was dead to his family, and all he had left was Mara Jenkins and her little brother Kenny. Justin was stuck in the frightening form he was in now, trapped as a monster with a human heart.
Nick literally was dead to all the world. Bitten by a Vampire a few years back, his family, the police force he worked on, all considered him dead and gone. And his weird eyes and fangs immediately repulsed anyone who came across the reclusive living-dead, so he was effectively a loner by force.
Both the men were alone, both where abandoned by all except God and others of their kind. At least Justin had Mara; and that was more than Nick could say. Nick just had his car, and of course Griffang, his werewolf friend who owned a weapons shop in the bad side of town. Griffang was the closest thing to family Nick had, and Justin was the closest thing to a friend.
Wildthing looked over at Nick, “Hey, whanna go cruise on the highway?”
Nick started the GTO’s engine and pressed the gas down.
“Sure, it’s not like we have anything better to do.”