The Vampiric Housewife Read Free

“See you tonight.”
         She smiled at him. Her fake smiles were better than his.
         After he left, she stood there for a moment, a white dish towel with its red stains in her hand, staring off into space, a blank expression on her face. She wondered if she loved Charlie. She knew she loved him. He had taken care of her when her parents died. He had married her, provided for her, given her the children. But had she ever been in love with him? That passion just then, that need , that want . . . his was real, hers wasn’t. She had just given into his so she could feel again. Really feel something.
         But there was no time to think about that. Dishes had to be done, then house cleaning, some ironing and grocery shopping for the party.  

 
    Chapter Two
     
    The Laboratory
     
         Charlie worked at the St. Vladimir Hospital. It was a fifteen story building that sat on the edge of town atop a hill, the front was a sheet of windows that looked down and across the neighborhoods of the valley. In fact one had to pass the imposing, towering building to come in or out of Sangre Valley. Palm lined Redemption Road was the only road in or out of town. Every single day for the last ten years, Charlie fantasized about flooring the gas pedal of the green Ford Fairlane, speeding past the hospital, leaving the town in his rearview mirror, and never looking back. About a mile outside of town stood a guard station. They wouldn’t be able to stop him. They wouldn’t even try. But they would know that he left without permission, and he would never be allowed to come back. He’d never see his family again. He might even be hunted down and disposed of, his fate forever a mystery to his family. That was why Charlie dutifully pulled into the hospital and drove around back to the employee entrance like he did every Monday thru Friday. There, too, stood a guard station. Barbwire encircled the perimeter. Every time he flashed his work badge to enter, he felt as if he might never come out again.
         Inside the sterile lobby the receptionist greeted him cheerfully. “Goodnight Mr. Murray,” she smiled. She was a human, middle aged and unattractive, no longer afraid of working with a different species, one that could easily separate her head from the rest of her body and enjoy the fountain of blood. He could hear her heart beating—steady, slow, calm. The scent of her sweet blood called to him. It was he who was frightened of her, this plump, elderly woman. He never knew fear of humans until he met Dr. Venjamin.
         Charlie nodded at her and rushed into the elevator. He held a special, privileged position at the hospital which meant he worked directly with the revered Dr. Tobar Venjamin in the underground offices. Thankfully he rode the elevator down alone. As he descended into a whole new realm of Hell, he felt the weight of the dirt on top of him and anxiety filled him. By the time the doors opened, he thought he would have a full blown panic attack. He didn’t know how much longer he could do this.
         “Hey Charlie,” Rhett Miller called out from his office as Charlie walked by. He was pale beneath his dark skin, his nose broad and his lips thick. He was an undeniably handsome man. He was like Charlie—a man with a family. He had only one child though, a son around Harry’s age. He and his family were special too. It was for that reason that he had been promoted to Dr. Venjamin’s secret, underground research. Only men with families worked closely with the doctor. “I was thinking about a hunting trip next weekend. Dr. Venjamin’s already okayed it. Are you okay, man? You look like you need this trip. A good, fresh kill, that’s what you need.”
         Charlie cleared his throat. “Sounds good.” A hunting trip. Get of Sangre Valley, away from the house and the hospital. Taste freedom again. After every trip, it became harder and harder to come back home, to give up the freedom. At one