Buffy

I still love Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. I loved watching the shows and I still do. Steopa refuses to watch the shows with me. He watched one and when he saw Buffy stake a vampire, he scoffed. "If they think that small stake will kill a vampire they are mistaken."

Why do I still like the show? Spike. I liked him before I became a vampire. I like him even more now. Actually, I like all the vampires. You know how most shows and movies use cookie cutter vampires. Buffy was one of the first I enjoyed that didn't. Some were bad, some were good, all of them could kill. None of them were copies of Dracula, or Louis, or Lestat. Except that one episode with Dracula.

What does Steopa think of it?

I can't watch the shows anymore, if he knows I am. It's not that he asks me to stop watching. But I can't watch a show with him scoffing, yelling at the screen, and all that. Because he has faced real vampire hunters. Although he is impressed with her fighting style. He can't see her being the only one fighting the vampires. I have argued that she is not alone, but he refuses to watch.

Is there anything about Buffy that is real? The hunters I met, were very religious too. Buffy wasn't. I mean that The ones we have run into, will attack with prayers. They wear crucifixes, and other religious icons. They also don't use little stakes. They use ones that could be pikes.

How can I get him to enjoy it as fiction?

Spring Heel Jack?

That shadow amoeba is back.

This time it looks more like a human, but it with wings.

Steopa and I were down near Jacob's Landing. Not many people out, thunderstorms were rolling though. We had to dodge hail at one point. Vampires can dry off very quickly, if they get wet. But hail still hurts. And I don't want to find out what being hit by lightening will do to me. So we took shelter under an awing in a strip mall.

The hail sounded like popcorn being popped as it hit the awning. Then I saw this man running with his coat over his head. He had a lunch pail in the other hand. He stopped at the covered bus stop that sat at the entrance of the parking lot. His shroud was a dark blue. Not black enough to make him a potential prey for us.

Steopa growled. I had to turn my head to see what had set him off. Shadows seem to gather in the middle of the parking lot. Then a human shaped shadow stood. I didn't see any eyes, but I could tell it was watching the man in the bus stop. The man in the bus stop, turned and looked behind him. He left the bus stop, leaving his coat and lunch pail behind. He walked to the shadow.

Before we could move, the shadow extended long wings and wrapped them around the man. Then it jumped. The leap went almost straight up.

Steopa and I followed. But by the time we reached the top of the building. The thing was gone.

It reminded me of the stories of Spring Heeled Jack.

What do you think it was?

Perun

Do you know what a leshy is?

I didn't.

A leshy is a forest being. A human like creature with amazing powers. A greenman is close to the description of a leshy. Mainy male, I understand. They are great friends.

How do I know?

Because Perun is one.

If you are familiar with Deerbow City, you know of the large expanse of woods on the outskirts of the Eastern part of the city, called Greenwoods. You know the place with the "lost village". Perun lives there.

A leshy looks like an average looking man, with wild hair and a beard. He has moss and small plants growing in his hair and beard. His feet, oh god, his feet. They are human, but elongated like a dog. He walks on his toes. He can leap and bounce in the woods like a mad man.

Perun is another friend of Steopa's. He had lived in Poland for many years. But something happened in WWII and he ended up here. He is a wildman. I mean really a WILD MAN.

He loves vodka more than Steopa does. He will drink any liquor, but his favorite is vodka, or a sipping whiskey. If you want to make him really happy. Leave him a few pounds of meat. And you should once in awhile. He will leave you alone then. He likes to play tricks and games with people. and if you have paid him off, he will let you be.

He farts, he belches, he makes rude comments, he tells stories, he is always looking for a woman to take back to his house for some fun, and he protects those woods fanatically. A good example happened a few nights ago.

Down near Jacob's Landing, on the southern end of Greenwoods, there is a new development going up. Technically, it is out of his range. But he goes down to the edge of it and sees what they are doing. The night we went with him. One of the contractors had decided to dump scrap wood on the edge of Greenwoods. Legally, nothing wrong. But what pissed Perun off, was that they had destroyed a fox den, when they brought the wood over with the front end loader.

We go down to the site with him. There are a couple of people there. One is this woman, she is just as pissed about the fox den as Perun is. Perun chuckles. "Nice to see human's caring."

Her boss, I can only assume it's her boss, tells her off and tells her to forget about it. Perun starts to sing. His singing, to me, sounds like chanting. I can never make out the words. But then I hear rustling in the woods and smell foxes.

Steopa and I turn around. There are dozens of foxes coming out of the woods. Perun must have called the entire population of Greenwoods. The foxes wait. Then Perun whistles and points to the man. They attack! They are biting, and yipping. Dozens of red foxes descend on that man. The woman runs and hides in her car. Perun is laughing.

He calls the foxes off after a minute. The guy is laying on the ground, bleeding and looking embarrassed. Perun walks up to the car. He smiles at the woman. I swear he did not say a thing. But she walked off with him. And a few moments later, we can hear them in the woods. Steopa shook his head. I couldn't help myself. I had to giggle.

As much as he embarrasses me, I like being around him. He is a bit like Vincent, if he likes you, you will have a good time. But he is a fierce friend too. Steopa and him are not supposed to get along, but they went through something together, and they watch out for each other.

So if you are in Greenwoods, leave a bit of food and drink for him. And if you are a woman, he might show you a real good time.

Would you want to meet a leshy?

How Does it Feel to Become a Vampire?

Andi asked me this one night. I didn't know how to answer her at the time. But now I have thought about it. There are two stages in becoming a vampire. One is the bite and the other is the change your body goes though.

The bite. If you think that it is as nice as getting kissed on the neck. You are wrong. It hurts. It hurts if the bite gets interrupted. If it doesn't then there is a pain killer that is released in the bite that numbs you. I think some people like it. John says its like getting Novocaine.

When Steopa bit me, it was one of the most painful things that ever happened to me. If you have been bitten by a dog, or maybe another person, then you know how it feels. The pressure of the bite, the puncture of the fangs. You can feel the mouth and the tongue sucking the blood. Not romantic at all. You know that your blood is draining from you. Your body reacts. I pissed my pants.

If the bite is unfinished. In other words if the painkiller is not released, you may become a vampire. Some people change in a few hours, others take days.

What does it feel like?

It feels like your entire body is rewiring itself. You teeth change. You lose your molars and gain the fangs. Your heart stops. You don't have to breathe. But when your lungs stop working, you don't panic. So it is not like being underwater and not being able to get to the surface. Everything below the waist, except for your legs, stops working.

Most vampires don't remember the change, most were buried or laying in the morgue when it happens. I remember. I was conscious. I had found Steopa. Vincent thought if Steopa bit me again, the change would stop. It didn't. When it happened, after the first moments of panic, it was actually interesting. Weird, I know. But have you ever had small surgery done, like getting stitches? And they only numb that part of your body. You can watch them sew your skin up. It was like that. You know the things are happening, but you are not really experiencing them.

When all that rearranging, and rebuilding ends. It's like someone takes a mesh mask off your face. You can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel more. There are things you can now experience that your human mind would not have been able to process. And everything is geared for the hunt. Steopa says it's like we changed from a herd animal to a predator. I agree.

Why do you think some people take days and other hours to change?

Steopa's Great Grandfather's Diary

Ogden invited us to his house last night. He took us to his library.

You have to see this library. Two stories of books. He has three of those ladder that run on wheels around the room. He has one large desk and an even larger table. The books look old and they feel old. Have you ever been into a room full of old books. There is a smell that comes off them. This room reeks of that.

"I was in Russia last week," he said. He put a small, but thick book on the table. "I bought this off my regular dealer. You might find it interesting."

He gave it to Steopa.

Steopa opened to the front plate. I have been learning Russian, but I could only make out a few words. Steopa closed the book. I could tell he was surprised and a little upset, even though the expression on his face did not change.

"How much have you read?" Steopa asked.

"The entire thing. Is that a relative?" Ogden asked.

Steopa did not say anything.

"It could be fiction," Ogden said.

"Can I have it?" Steopa asked.

Ogden agreed.

After we left and returned home, Steopa showed me the book. "This might be about my great grandfather."

I was surprised, he never talked about him before. "Are you sure?"

Steopa shook his head. "No. I only heard stories from people outside of my family, my father did not say much. But the name of the writer is Matvey. That was my grandfather's name. He told me once that he had written down the last months of his father's life. This could be that document."

"Why didn't you tell Ogden this might be from your ancestor?"

"Because he read it. He already knows the truth."

Steopa wouldn't tell me any more. He locked the book in the safe he uses for the few valuables he has. He won't talk about it. I can tell he wants to, but he won't.

Should I pry?

You see why Steopa is sweet.

Steopa and I had a fight last night. This is what he gave me:

Dearest Rebecka,

There are times I forget that you have not been a vampire as long as I have. That is good. I feel as if we have known each other longer than the few short years we have.

When we argued last night, I let my stubbornness block me from hearing your side. You were right. When you left our place, something was missing. We have been apart before, but last night, it felt as if we had been separated. There was a hollowness in me, something I have never felt before. When I felt that void, I knew that amends had to be made.

One thing that has not changed, in all the centuries I have been on this world, is that some people cannot say they are sorry. I am not one of them.

Rebecka, I am sorry.

Eternal Love

Steopa

You can see why I love him.

Twilight

I have to get this post over with, because too many people have been bothering me about it.

I've read Twilight. And you are going to expect me to hate it right away because I am a vampires. Yes, and no.

If I would have read it when I was still human, I would have loved it. I would have fallen for Edward. Why not? He was watching over Bela all the time. He wanted her. I would have loved someone like that, when I was alive.

But I was messed up then, I wanted people to take care of me. And if some guy, a good looking guy, came around and told me that they wanted to do that. I would have welcomed them with open arms. Even if they were as controlling as Edward is.

But I read it after I changed.

Steopa never would have sneaked into my room and watch me sleep. He is a gentlemen. Edward is a control freak. Borderline abusive. When I wanted to see my brother after I changed. Steopa told me his fears, but HE LET ME GO! He let me talk to my brother. He let me decide if I wanted to come back. I doubt Edward would have done that. He would have let her go, then hung out outside like a stalker.

The interpretation of vampires is not as horrible as most people say. They don't like the sparkling vampire. I did laugh. I read that part to Steopa and he shrugged.

"But he sparkled in the sun," I said.

"There have been vampires that could survive the sun, perhaps that is how they did," he said.

I still don't know if he was pulling my leg or not.

Drinking animal blood? That is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin. We have to drink human blood. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Otherwise we become a ghoul. Which is something I don't want to talk about now.

My biggest issue. Why high school? Are the Cullen's punishing their "children"? I know a couple of vampires that can pass as teenagers and high school would be the last place they would go. I sure the hell wouldn't.

I understand why people are obsessed with the book. I could have been one of them. There is a plus side to the new fascination with vampires. Especially ones that are nice and go to high school. Because Steopa and I can be out in the open and the ones looking for nice, young vampires, don't know they are in danger until it is too late.

Did my reaction surprise you?

Odd Person Again

I saw him again. That strange man, whose watch set my fangs off.

We had gone down to the square. The Irish festival had been going on all day and we went to find some unfortunate drunkard. The beer had not been flowing long enough, so the drunks were hard to find.

I saw him standing next to the east stage. He wore the same outfit he had at the club. Which with all the green, looked out of place. Steopa and I had been standing next to one of the speakers. I was watching a tall man, who was bouncing back and forth between two groups.

When I saw the odd person, he looked in my direction. We stared at each other for a moment. Then he walked right toward us. I tapped Steopa on his arm. The man made it up to us before we had a chance to leave.

"Excuse me," he said. "Are you Steopa and Rebecka?"

Okay, that was weird.

"Who are you?" Steopa asked.

"You can call me Traveler." He bowed.

He really bowed. Steopa has done it to me, but it is still strange to see.

"How do you know us?" Steopa asked.

"I have been looking for you."

"Why?" I asked.

He pulled out his pocket watch. "I am sorry, I will have to talk to you later, about this."

He hurried away. We followed him. But by the time we had turned the corner, he was gone. Steopa jumped to the roofs to look for him, but Traveler was gone.

Should this bother me?

More Strange Sounds

There was nothing else to do a few nights ago. So we went back to our place. Steopa was practicing his fencing. I was at the computer talking to Baldman. A normal night. Then I heard another strange noise.

This one sounded like a high pitch whir. Steopa stopped his fencing. We looked at each other. The whir lasted for a long time. Steopa hung up his sword. He walked into our bedroom. I had to shut my chat off with Baldman. The whirring continued for a long time. I heard Steopa hit the wall in our bedroom. It stopped.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"It sounded like a dentist drill."

Steopa picked up his rapier and started to practice again. I went into our bedroom. I could see where Steopa had hit the wall, the steel had buckled. I went back out to the other room. Steopa kept practicing.

If these sounds came from above, I would not be so unnerved.

What the hell is going on?

Jeremiah

If you think all the vampires are slim, beautiful beings, you are wrong. We look like everyone else. How else do you think some of us get so close?

One of Steopa's friends is another heavy vampire, Jeremiah. Steopa won't say much about where they met. But Jeremiah doesn't seem like a vampire.

He's heavy like me. He has a buzz cut. Not your typical vampire, right. If you meet him on the street, you would probably not pay any attention to him. And thats how he gets you.

Steopa and I went with him one night. He goes to this truck stop most of the time. And like Steopa, he can eat some food. So we are at the table, Jeremiah is eating pancakes with no syrup. Steopa and I only have water. But the waitress doesn't seemed to curious about it.

About an hour later we are walking through the parking area with all the large semis. This big guy comes out of his rig, he's got a prostitute with him. And he isn't being nice. I wanted to go in and take the guy out myself, but Jeremiah shakes his head.

"My place, my job," he said.

Jeremiah motions us to stay where we are. He walks up to the big trucker. "Dude, what the hell are you doing?" he asked.

Of course that big guy assumes that Jeremiah is a fat weakling. He knocks the woman to the ground and turns on Jeremiah.

"Stay out of it!" he yelled.

Jeremiah shakes his head. "I won't."

I will not tell you what he did to the guy, but I know they had to use a hose to get some of him out of the truck grill.

Do you think it is only human fantasy that makes them want to believe all vampires are super-models?

A Strange Event

Last week, that guy with the pocket watch, freaked me out. This week, something else happened.

I have to back up a bit and explain. When we don't want to be seen, we can shield ourselves from you. It looks like shadows come and cover us. If we are standing in a shadow, you won't see us at all.

Thats what we were doing. I had my prey in sight. This skinny pan handler that was always hanging around a bookstore downtown. This night, she was getting pushy. She would block people from leaving the store. The store personnel would come and chase her away. She would come back. Her shroud was so dark, that it was like she was in the shadows as well.

What's a shroud? Have you ever seen the photos taken of people's auras? That is what it looks like. Everyone has one. They can vary in color from bright pink to dark black. The darker, the better. A person with a black shroud wants to die. They might not be suicidal. There is a difference between suicidal and wanting to die.

A person that wants to die, invites death into their life. They might be living a lifestyle that will kill them. They might do things that are dangerous, so they take the risk of dying. Of course, some suicidal persons, really want to die.

So I am watching this pan handler. She is in a black shroud. I am in my shadow. I am waiting for the right time to strike. And then it happened.

This thing came out of the alley. It rushed by me. If felt the wind as it went past. It stood next to the pan handler. I would have not seen it, except my fangs grew. She walked away from the door. That shadow thing followed her.

I was curious. There goes my meal! I followed.

Have you ever seen animations on how some micro organisms eat their food. They surround the prey and absorb it. That is what this thing did. The black fog swirled around her. Then it dissipated like the wind blew it away. She was gone.

HER WHOLE BODY WAS GONE!

I am not kidding. Only her clothes remained. I didn't even smell blood. I had to get out of there. I was freaked out, not since I walked in on Vincent, have I been so freaked out.

Steopa found me. I told him what happened. He put his arm around me, and we hurried out of there.

Watch yourselves out there.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?

What an Odd Person

This was really strange. Now mind you, since I was bitten. I have seen some really weird shit, but this one takes the cake.

There is this 6th or maybe 7th sense that vampires have. We can tell if another vampire is near by. We can tell if someone is not human. When ever I look at Swen I get a head ache. So when this guy walked into the Rathskeller last night. Something was up.

First, Swen stopped him. I couldn't see why. He wasn't threatening in any way. I really don't remember what he looked like, except he was dressed like Peter Cushing in a Hammer film, not out of place for the club.

Then he comes inside. He sits down at the far table, so his back is against the corner. It's at this point Steopa starts to watch him. I know something is weird, but I can't place it. I asked Steopa. "What is it?"

Steopa shrugged.

The guy sits there for a while, then Andi comes over and takes his order. She walks by us and gives me this strange look. I force myself not to watch that guy. He wasn't doing anything. So why did it bother me?

Andi gives the guy his drink. He sips it. Then I see it. His pocket watch. When I look at Swen its like I can't focus. This pocket watch makes my fangs grow. He doesn't do anything all evening, but drink his drink. Tips Andi and leaves. But that damn watch bugged me.

Why would the watch do that?

Strange Sounds

Something woke me up.

Yes, we can wake up during the day. It not a sleep like you are used to. It's more like your body shuts down, but you are still aware of things around you. So if someone was to get into our lair, we would be on the attack before they had a chance to harm us. Those scenes in the movies where the vampire sleep and they can stake them, don't happen. Steopa assured me the ones he saw, the hunters needed a team to hold the vampire down.

Anyway. I was in my stupor. Steopa beside me. I heard this noise. Like clanging. At first I thought it was someone working in the maintenance room above us. Then I realize the sound is not coming from the parking garage, but behind the wall. I fully wake up. I moved Steopa's hand off my chest and sat up.

It happened again. The sound was muffled. And it wasn't really clanging. More like something being hammered with a mallet. Steopa woke up.

"What is it," he asked.

"Don't you hear that?"

There were no sounds for a long time. He shook his head. I laid down after a while. The stupor would come. It had sounded like the noise had come from below us.

What is the strangest noise you have heard in the night?

Sir Ogden Phelps

A private vampire that I met soon after changing is Ogden. He is a strange character, even for us.

He has a lot of money. He lives in the old rich part of the town. His mansion is the real deal, not those Mcmansions. Every time I go there, I feel like I am in England. He doesn't talk much. When he does, he sounds like a school teacher.

This is what I know. I know he had been in India. He has some antiques in his house that would make the guys from Antique Roadshow have heart attacks. Most of them were from when he served in the army as a doctor. He married a Hindu woman. I have seen the photo from their wedding. They looked happy.

I don't know how he ended up in Deerbow City. I have figured out that he had a home and lands in England, but why he left there and came here? I don't know. Steopa says he was one of the first vampires he met when he took over his territory. But Odgen left Steopa alone. They didn't cross paths again until I turned, and then Ogden has been in our lives since then.

He knows magic. I am not talking about "watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat" type. I mean real magic. The kind that you can only achieve in movies with special effects.

He has a bird too.

I think he could be really dangerous. I am glad he likes Steopa and me.

Should we be cautious around him?

How We Hunt

If you think we pick our prey out at random, you are wrong. Some humans think that vampires pick only criminals to feed off of, some think only certain types of women or men. That is all rubbish.

Steopa says were are predators. And like predators, we weed out the sick and weak. But we don't have to chase anyone across the veld to figure out who would be a good meal for the night.

The main thing to keep in mind is that we Do Not Need to Kill. We need a little blood. If we are in a situation were we will need a lot of blood, then we might kill. It's not a necessary step for feeding. But mistakes can be made. So when we hunt we look for the shroud.

The shroud is an aura that covers all humans. When a vampire looks at you, they see this slight color that surrounds your body. We look for the dark colors. If the shroud is black, that person wants to die. A person with a dark shroud is less likely to fight back and less likely to talk about their experience.

Some shrouds are pretty. Young children can be surrounded in rainbows. The saddest thing to see is a child with a black shroud. Steopa and me don't touch children. We both agree that there is no need to attack a child.

So if we find someone with the right color shroud. We will follow them until they are alone. Then feed off them quickly. The entire feeding takes a couple of minutes. When we are done, the person is usually in shock. Steopa and me take their money. When the shock wears off they convince themselves that they were mugged.

It actually as routine as eating. We don't think about it too much.

Do you think you would ever be chosen to for a meal?

Mundane Parts of a Vampire Life

There are times when a vampire's life is boring.

Don't believe me? We don't have to feed every night. We don't always fight. There are long stretches of nothing. So what do we do. Same thing you do.

There is housework. I can hear you laughing. But there is. Dust is horrible. Especially where Steopa and I live. Once a week we are dusting and scraping the wax off the tables. Although less wax now that I have run the electric to our place. And we can use a vacuum. Now you can laugh. Watching Steopa vacuum is worth a giggle.

We have to go to the laundry mats. Clothes get dirty. The movies and some of the books make it seem like we only wear one outfit, but that's not true. Steopa has two wardrobes full of clothes. I am getting a collection too. In fact I care more about how I look now, than when I was alive.

How do we pay for the laundry? We take the cash off our victims. I know that sounds horrible. But the main reason is, to make it look like a mugging. We don't have to kill. We can. But most of the time, we drink, knock the person out, and take their money. I sometimes take jewelry. Steopa thinks it's a stupid idea. But there are pawn shops that never ask where you get anything.

As you can see, I am on the computer. So that is something else I have to pay for. Thank goodness for prepaid credit cards and cell phones.

One thing I had to get use to was what happens when we sleep. Which is another reason we have to use the laundry mats. We don't go to the bathroom. And some of us (Steopa) like to drink and eat some human foods. We still have to get rid of the waste. It comes off in a powder that covers the skin. When we wake up, the dust gets all over the bedding. It's not really gross. But, once a week, we have to wash our bedding.

I have also learned to mend my clothes. Bullets hurt and they leave nasty holes in shirts.

So if there is no housework, or we aren't hunting. What do we do? Visit Teodor, go to late shows at theaters, hang out at the Rathskeller. But in the late night, early morning. There is nothing to do. That is when we go home. And currently, Steopa is teaching me Russian, which is an up hill battle.

What other mundane things do you think we have to do?

Introduction

I can't believe that people want to have me post things on line. So here I am.

My name is Rebecka Saberhagen. Some might know my handle SaberDragon. I can't say much more. That sounds so bad. But I don't know how to describe what is goes on in my life.

I live with my... How do I explain Steopa? Boyfriend? No. Lover? Impossible. Friend? Yes, but deeper than that. He calls it linked. I think that is the best way to say it. We are linked. Which means we are always in each other thoughts. Not like we are always thinking of each other. I mean we can always sense where the other is.

Steopa is wonderful and I know people look at us odd. I don't blame them. I'm cubby. Not short, but anyone standing next to Steopa will look short. He is 7 feet tall. So if you see a really big guy walking with a chubby, curly haired girl, you might have seen us. I know we are an odd couple, but I don't care.

I have a brother. He owns a tattoo shop and some of the time, he DJ's at a club called Burgunday Rathskeller. That club down at the old warehouse district. His girlfriend, Lorelei, bartends there. I used to work there too, but after meeting Steopa. I don't need to.

And I am a vampire.

Do you think you will come back and read more?