I knew I was awake but a strange lethargy held me. I slowly took on energy. I was in my coffin and the lid was shut. My attempted suicide had failed! My hunger was with me again but sharper, more insistant. I tried to raise my hands but couldn't. There was the clink of chains. I was chained in my coffin. I tried to think about what I had done, what I had become, but my hunger drove out other thoughts. I squirmed and struggled causing a fair amount ofnoise with my chains.

The lid opened and the light of a lamp shown into the narrow coffin. I blinked at the brightness. John was looking down at me. "Well, now you've done it," he said with a serious look on his face. I said nothing, just thought of my hunger. "The mare is dead. My car broke down last night and I didn't get home until 9 O'Clock this morning. I found you in your coffin covered with blood and the clasp broken. This syringe was stuck in your arm. How do you feel?"

"Hungry. I tried to kill myself. Don't know why it didn't work."

He studied me for a minute. "Oh, it worked all right." He shook his head.

"Dead and doesn't know it!"

"What? What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"You stupid ass! I came home, opened your coffin and found you dead. You know, no breathing, no heart beat, cold, eyes open and staring, even rigor mortis. I had to close your eyes because there was a bunch of flies that insisted on..." "I'm not dead! Look I'm talking, thinking..."

"Thinking of getting loose and feeding! It just doesn't sink in, does it?

You don't like the idea of being a vampire so you try to stop it by killing yourself! Of all the dumb, numbskulled ideas! I might have cured you but I can't cure death!"

"Then I'm..." "Yes! You're dead as a doornail! I'm going to do another 24 hours of tests, then put a stake through your heart and bury you!"

"You wouldn't do that! I mean..."

"What else can I do? Let you loose? You be after the local farmers in no time. It looks like you even sucked the poor mare dry. You've got no control. Look at you! Splattered with mare's blood from head to toe!"

I glared up at him. He obviously didn't know about the girl last night! But how could I get loose?

"So I don't get fed tonight?"

"No. There's no blood and any way I need data on a vampire going hungry. I'll be taking measurements all night. And you're staying in those chains forever so don't get any ideas."

I looked down at my chains. There was a complicated bunch of them which all came together at my waist. There they were all fastened together by using the cuff I had been fastened with last night, as a padlock.

"But I'm going to have to get you out on the bed so I can get at you. I've got a number of interesting experiments planned."

"Experiments?"

"Yes. You can't be killed by ordinary methods since you are all ready dead. I'm going to try a few ways of killing people on you."

"I don't like that idea."

He gave a little laugh. "No, I imagine not."

He struggled to lift my legs out of the coffin and onto the bed. Then he worked the rest of me out of the coffin and onto the bed. He brought over a roll of duck tape and cut off a piece. This he firmly pressed over my mouth sealing it shut.

"No, I'm not doing this to keep you from talking, although that is an added benefit. I'm going to see how you take not being able to breath. I rather suspect you are doing it now more by habit than anything else." He cut off another piece of tape and pressed it over my nose. I struggled a bit but found I could just stop breathing and was no worse for it. I stared at him, not trying to disguise my hatred.

He left the room and shortly returned with a small revolver. I looked at him unbelievingly as he brought it up in front of my face, pointed at my forehead! I never heard the shot but came back to conciousness slowly. My forehead and back of my head hurt. He lifted my head roughly by the hair.

"Amazing! The bullet went all the way through and you're still looking at me! In the morning I'm going to drain out all your blood and remove a number of usually vital organs! This may be a bit painful but it's all for science old chap! Buck up! It'll all be over soon."

John then went back to his room after turning off the lamp. I lay there, unbreathing. I couldn't get my hands up to remove the tape but it didn't seem to matter. I slowly turned on my side and wiggled over toward the window.

John called out. "I don't want to hear too much chain rattling in there. You can't get loose so forget it. I may just come in there and cut your arms and legs off! That'd keep you quiet!"

I heard his chuckle at that witty little joke just as my finger tips touched the bent hairpin that I had left on the windowsill!

The first time I had opened the cuff it took hours. Now I had a general idea how to turn the pin and in what direction. It took me about 5 minutes to open it. I very carefully undid the chains, making as little noise as possible. Then I got out of the bed and went to the door of John's room. It stood open. John was writing in the big notebook where he recorded all his data and observations on vampires. I stood there savoring the moment. Finally my hunger overcame my patience. I could feel my lips raise as my fangs extended.

I stepped swiftly to his side, grasped his head with my left hand bending it back toward me. I grasped his shirt front with my right hand and bent over him.

"NO!" he shrieked. "I still may be able to cure you!"
I chuckled as my fangs slid smoothly into his throat. Warm strength poured into me. His struggles were so easy to control. A feeding vampire is tremendously strong!

I did not just stuff myself. After feeling more or less satisfied I dropped the weakly moving John back on the bed. He lay there staring at me in horror, two trickles of blood running down the front of his throat. I laughed as I picked up his notebook and fanned out the pages just over the top of the lamp on his table. The pages charred, curled and burst into flame.

"NO! For God's sake. Don't! That's all my data on your changes," John gasped weakly from the bed.

"Well, my soon to be a vampire, buddy. Now you won't need it. You can get much more pertinate data from your own changes. The personal touch will really make your research paper more readable! I wish you all the best."

"You're not going to kill me?" "Of course not! I wish you a long and happy vampirehood. Of course, if you were smart, you'd put your pistol to your head right now and blow your brains out but I doubt you will do it. So please eat heartily as I want you to regain your stength. Tomorrow night I may want to come back for a refill. Enjoy yourself, John."

I left the book half open, standing on end with its last few pages smoldering into ash and plunged down the stairs and into the night. I don't know why but I moved to the West. I wasn't driven by hunger so could think clearly. However the strong emotions of horror no longer moved me. I couldn't feel what had driven me to inject myself with air last night. I avoided people and the rare automobile on the road. In the early hours of the morning I felt hunger again but was not inclined to attack a person.

While moving among some farm buildings I discovered a pig sty. The pigs snorted and grunted while moving away from me. I grabbed one and flipped it on its back, squealing and thrashing. I attacked rapidly. Its blood was almost as good as a human's. As I left the building a beam from a flashlight caught me. There was a shout, then the roar of a shotgun. The mass of pellets caught me in the small of the back and hurt like mad. I ran frantically.

The shotgun went off once more but didn't hit me. I hid in some bushes and felt my back. Some of the pellets were already dropping out and the area was seemed to be healing. Nice to be bullet proof. Sort off. I looked around. There was a faint light in the eastern sky. Dawn would be here soon. Where can I spend the day? I could see a road along a hillside on the other side of a little valley. Through a clearing in the fog I saw it went beside a wall with a gate that... The gate to the cemetary where John stuck me in with the Countess!

I ran down the road across to the other hill and in the giant gate. The doors to the masoleum were not hard to open. I stumbled down the stairs and searched wildly amoung the nitches. There were no empty ones; all were full. Well, I'd just have to empty one! I found a small compartment near the front entrance with a collection of old tools. Using a pick and a prybar I worked on the granite slab of a tomb that seemed bigger than the others. The slab soon slid toward me. I pulled it open. From the smell, I knew that the air was bad inside. The dim light of dawn penetrated little here but I could see the dusty form of an impressive casket. I pried it open and, with no ceremony, dumped its contents out in a dusty cloud. The previous occupant's skull glared at me accusingly. I laughed. John had been wrong. There is a market for used coffins!

I pulled the granite slab closed again and felt my way to the coffin. Amid clouds of dust I climbed inside while supporting the lid above me. After getting comfortable I lowered the lid. As I crossed my arms, I smiled to myself. A few days ago I would have been terrified to do this. But now? Now, I was master here! I closed my eyes and became dead. Stone cold dead in my tomb. Such a peaceful thought.

Hunger pangs forced my eyes open. I saw only the blackness of my closed coffin. I opened the lid and climbed out. Pushing the stone slab open I could see that the sun was just setting as there was quite a bit of light still in the masoleum. It came in through iron barred openings high on its walls. I carefully closed my tomb.

Then a thought stuck me. The Countess! I'll bet she'd like to strech her old joints! I went to her alcove and found the block and tackle. After raising her stone slab, I forced open John's padlocks with the prybar. Under the lid the Countess did look much better. Her clothes were pretty beaten up but she looked almost alive. I fumbled around in the back of the alcove until I found the wrench that John had brought here. I unscrewed the Countess' big bolt and sat down on the edge of the tomb to wait. The light pretty well disappeared as night fell.

I heard movement from the coffin. A fumbling and rustling as she found her coffin lid open. She said something. I certainly didn't understand, whatever language of the past she spoke. "Sorry, old girl. We can't communicate. I just thought that you might want a night on the town!" I said cheerfully. She wasn't very grateful as she tried to bite me on the neck, but I held her off easily. I think she finally caught on and stopped her attempted feeding. We moved out of the masoleum and stood together in the drifting mist and the darkness amoung the tombstones. Then I moved toward the gate. Time to find someone to feed on!

We walked through the gate onto the road. To our right a figure moved toward us. It questioned us in Rumanian. I could see it was the blind cementary caretaker. The Countess slowly advanced on him. I smiled and held back. After all, ladies first!

The full moon broke through the fog for a moment showing me the ragged Countess hunched over the old man who was yelling and kicking. Then she raised her face to the moon with a happy gasp, her tongue flicking at her fangs. She saw me; her eyes sparkled and she smiled a blood stained smile

We ran the hills, hand in hand. Then we came across a couple necking in an arbor in front of a group of farm houses. They were murmurring sweet little things to each other and kissing. I could see that the fellow was nibbling on the throat of the pretty girl. She giggled her appreciation. The Countess held my forearm with such a force that her nails broke my skin. I knew what she meant. Blood warmed by such a love! Irresistable! We moved in unison, she for the boy, I for the girl.

I don't think that the girl realized that her lover had been pulled away from her. Not until what were his playful little love bites became a lunge that sank into her jugular! The warmly satisfying flood of blood filled my need. Her pitiful little struggles were as those of a fly caught in one's cupped hand. I raised my head and our eyes met, I the feeder and she the supplier. Both she and I knew that her fate was sealed; once bitten by a vampire she can only end in a grave with a stake through her young heart!

I stood suddenly letting the girl fall to the ground. Dimly I sensed that the Countess was still savaging her victim. A wave of horror swept over me; another beautiful person must die just to feed me for one more night!

I staggered away. I could not vomit; I had lost the ability to do so. Before feeding I thought of nothing but to fill my need. Afterwards what was still human in me came out to torture me.

There was moaning and yelling behind me. I felt the Countess' grip on my arm urging me to faster flight. We tore through the misty night. Finally I stopped our running. We were near the farmhouse where I had fed on pig blood last night. The moon came out again, its beams penetrating the low lying tendriles of fog. Countess Vladina pulled me around until we were facing each other. She was smiling but her face was smeared with blood, black in the moonlight.

She ran her hands down my thighs, her eyes shining with desire. Do vampires have sex? I felt myself responding to her advances, stiffening. It would appear that they do! And why not? Once one is wallowing in the ultimate immorality, what's a little fornication?

I pulled off my blood crusted clothes. What little of her clothes that were left came off in shreds. I pushed her down by an old fence.

As I penetrated her I realized we were in an old pig sty.

Fitting! Both of us moaned and grunted, driven into a sexual frenzy by the lovers' blood we had just lapped up. She gave little shrieks of pleasure as we climaxed. Then we just lay there smiling into each other's face. We couldn't kiss as the excitement had caused both our sets of fangs to involuntarily extend. Maybe life as a vampire wouldn'y be so bad after all! As long as there were people in this area to feed us!

Then something heavy fell over my back. It felt like ropes! I pulled out of the Countess as I tried to climb to my feet. We were covered by a heavy rope net! I tore at it, trying to get free but a group of men with very set expressions were holding it down. I grabbed the net with both hands and tugged. A club came from nowhere and I fell unconscious.

I came to in a lurching farm wagon. The Countess was beside me, tied up in ropes, still unconscious. I could see a wall moving by on one side. It was the wall around the cementery where I spent yesterday! I was tightly tied hand and foot with ropes. The cart stopped in front of the cementery gate. I looked up at two bodies swinging in the cold light of dawn, hanging by their necks from the high arch over the gate.

They turned to and fro in the light breeze. One was the blind caretaker and the other was John. Since it had been only a short while since they had been bitten, neither had had a chance to become vampire. They were undoubtably hanged for their part in causing vampires to be loose, namely the Countess and I!

"You escaped me, John, you bastard!" I yelled.

A number of the local farmers roughly dragged us out of the cart and carried us up the rise to the old masoleum. Inside I could see some women putting the remains that I had dumped out of my coffin of yesterday, back in their rightful place. We were carried over to the Countess' crypt. I could see when they put the still unconscious Countess into her coffin and tied her to the rings. All around the crypt men were preparing and mixing concrete. Others were carrying in large rocks. They were going to fill the crypt with rocks and concrete!

I was then shoved into the other side of the coffin and tied down. No one said anything. It was as though I was just a hated thing to be put out of sight as soon as possible.

A man came up with a heavy crucible, probably full of melted lead. The lid was placed over us and I could smell the odor of the lead being poured along the lid's seam. The only light came from the two holes in the lid.

Suddenly one darkened and I could see the turning threads of the Countess' bolt as it was screwed in. The point arrived at the spot between her two naked breasts. She screamed as blood gushed forth from the opening wound.

Then silence.

I heard the first rocks and cement being poured over the foot of the coffin.

Then the hole over me went dark! I could hear the faint rasp of my bolt being screwed in. I felt the point reach me and with no hesitation enter my chest.

I screamed. There was a heart stopping pain and.... ... .

The End...