“I already have money. Besides, that’s not what I want.”
He is heartbroken. “No?”
“No. But I’ll help you back to the car and I’ll tell you what I do want.”
He limps weakly as I assist him to his car. He doesn’t protest as I shove him into the passenger side. A part of him still thinks I’m lying, and that in the end I’m going to save him.
I climb in the driver’s side, close the door, and cuff his left wrist to the steering wheel. I do it so fast the deed is done before he realizes it, and his face is suddenly filled with the awe I have been waiting for. Yet his fear is greater.
“You’re not human,” he whispers.
“True. I’m not.”
“Are you an alien?”
I smile. “You know, over the years people have called me all kinds of things, but that’s a first. You should be proud of yourself, Danny Boy.”
He stares down at the knife impaled in his leg. Moving him to the car has caused the blood to flow faster, and his sweats are soaked red. He puts his hand on the hilt of the blade.
“You don’t want to do that,” I say.
“It hurts.”
I stop smiling. “Rape hurts. Did you stop and think of that when you hurt all those women?”
He shakes his head as tears roll over his cheeks. “Please, you’re making a big mistake. You have the wrong guy.”
“Two minutes ago you pointed a gun at me and ordered me to strip. Why would you do that if you weren’t going to rape me?”
He sobs. “All right, I did it, I’m guilty. I’ll tell the police I did it. I swear. Just please take me to the hospital.”
I reach over and stroke his hair. “I’m sorry, you have to stay here with all the women you wanted so badly.”
“No! God, no! I can’t die!”
“Shh. Calm down, you won’t suffer long. And to make sure you don’t, there’s something I’m going to do for you before I say good-bye.”
He gazes at me with sudden hope. “What?”
“Oh, just have a little drink is all.” Before he can react, I reach over and remove the knife and press my mouth to the gushing blood. He must eat a healthy diet—his blood tastes particularly good. Or maybe it’s because I have gone a long time without feasting. Ever since my maker, Yaksha, and my daughter Kalika gave me their powerful blood, I have discovered that I don’t need to feed on humans to survive.
Yet old pleasures die hard. Danny Boy is white as a ghost before I’m through with him, and I can hear how his heart struggles with so little liquid to keep it beating. As an act of kindness, I slip the knife back in his leg and close off the leaking artery.
“There,” I say. “How do you feel now?”
He gasps for breath. “Scared.”
“I bet your girlfriends felt scared too.”
He stares at me. “Please stop.”
“Stop? But we’re just getting to the fun part. It’s going to be like in the movies. I’m going to start the car and steer it toward the pond and jump out before it hits the water. But I’ll close my door if you want so you don’t get wet.” I pause. “Of course, this car isn’t a hundred percent waterproof. I’m afraid the water—and all those nasty creatures I told you about—will eventually get inside. You might be dead by then, you never know. If you’re not, you’ll get to feel what it’s like to drown.”
“No . . . Please.”
“Come on, show some spirit! I bet you drowned plenty of your girls. It’s only right you should experience everything they did.”
He weeps quietly. “I don’t want to die.”
I lean over and kiss his cheek.
I spare him my favorite farewell remark.
But I keep my promise. Starting the car, I accelerate rapidly and turn in the direction of the pond. At the last moment, I leap out my side and slam the door shut. The car has plenty of momentum and belly flops far from the shore, before it slowly begins to sink.
To my surprise, Danny thrashes vigorously inside, even though I have drained him of all but a couple of pints of blood. As I wipe off my hands and listen to the noise he’s making, and to the hissing and bubbles the car gives off as it sinks below the surface, I think of his last words and consider how often I’ve heard them over the years.
Turning, I race toward the main road. It does not matter how fast I run. Behind me, I still hear him screaming.
TWO
A long-distance truck driver gives me a ride back to Truman. He is taking a shortcut through the back country, on the downside of a sixty-hour stretch of road that reaches from LA to Miami. When I climb into his tobacco-rich cabin, he looks plum exhausted but perks up with my vivacious company. He wants to know how a pretty little thing like me got stranded in the middle of nowhere.
“Just ditched a no-good boyfriend,” I say.
The guy slaps his knee. “You don’t sound bitter about it.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s good, real good. Where’d you ditch the bastard?”
I smile. “Where the fishes swim.”
He thinks that’s pretty funny, and we laugh together. I don’t worry he will hear or read about Danny Boy. The man is just passing through and is so tired he hardly knows what state he’s in.
Back at Truman College I have a change of clothes in my car that I keep for such emergencies. My ride didn’t notice, but there’s blood on my shirt and pants, and I know Teri’s much more perceptive than your average truck driver. I’m actually signed up for a few classes and have campus privileges. After a quick shower in the locker room, I slip into fresh black slacks and a white blouse before returning to the stadium.
The track is a beehive of activity, with most of the team present. The coach is smart; he likes to get in the hardest workouts before the heat of the day hits. Teri is running quarter-mile intervals, the coach calling out the time for each lap she completes. Teri would not be able to match Danny Boy’s times, but she is the fastest woman on the team, and once again I’m surprised at the pleasure it gives me to see her doing so well. That Proud Mom feeling, it’s been ages since I experienced it.
I sit in the same place in the stands where I sat when approached by Daniel and wait for Teri to finish her workout. My ears hear everything. The head coach and his two assistants wonder where Daniel is but are not overly concerned. They figure he finished his workout early and is probably at home taking a nap. No one on the field gives me a second look, and that is important. It was always possible someone saw me get into the car with Daniel. But no, he’s gone, gone for good, and his body will never be found.