Adam's Story

It was day forty-six, and I had not slept in all that time. I spent most nights either reading, staring at the ceiling or at my mother’s picture, or pacing the first floor while everyone else slept. Mr. Sullner had allowed me to go to the living area a few times since I had yet to pose any real danger to the inhabitants of the house.

That night, I was in the midst of War and Peace when I heard raised voices drift to me from the upper rooms. I recognized them as belonging to Mr. Sullner and Catherine, Tom’s unwed sister to whom the house actually belonged.

“He’s not one of your experiments, Robert,” Catherine was saying. “He is still a living, thinking being.”

I stopped reading and listened as they continued to talk about me. I had never really met Catherine. I wondered what cause she had to defend me.

“He’s also very dangerous, Catherine,” Mr. Sullner stated in his reasoning tone. “He must be kept at bay.”

“You mean like a prisoner?” I could hear the indignation in her voice. I was awed to hear someone talk to Mr. Sullner in such an informal and familiar way.

“What would you have me do? Let him roam the streets, killing at will?”

I heard a loud bang as something – a book by the sound of it – was dropped on the table.

“There has to be enough conscience left in Adam to learn control otherwise he would have killed us all a month ago. He doesn’t like this, Robert. And if you bothered to look at him any other way than logically, you would see that. You have never paid any attention to him.”

I was astounded to hear Catherine say that. Not because it wasn’t true, but because it was. I had yearned for Mr. Sullner’s attention since he had brought me to New York. Yet he had always kept me at arm’s length.

Catherine was also right about my dislike of my current circumstances. I was beginning to hate what I had become and wondered if there were any other way to live. I loathed killing. But I had yet to master my control over my hunger. It was difficult to stop. And the few times I had tried, my victims were so horrified I killed them just to get them to stop screaming.

The debate upstairs continued as Mr. Sullner defended his care taking abilities.

“I have given him everything I have to give. I have provided for him amply-”

Catherine cut him off sharply. “Have you ever once considered how Adam thinks of you? He loves you like a father and you have never treated him like a son.” A pause then quietly, “He’s not Nicholas.”

The next words Mr. Sullner spoke were laced with anger. “Do not speak to me of my brother.”

“I will speak of who I choose in my house. Nicholas may not have been the scientist you are, but he was a wonderful friend. You would do well to be more like him.”

The discussion ended, and I heard footsteps retreating to the second floor.

I lay still, thinking of what I had heard. I had never known of Nicholas Sullner before that time. Mr. Sullner had never mentioned any of his family to me. I wondered what all the missing pieces were.

*****

A few days later, Mr. Sullner allowed me to begin taking short walks around the grounds of the small country home. It was a beautiful place to be in the summer. Catherine had large beds in the fenced backyard featuring many types of flowers. There were hollyhocks, begonias, azaleas, marigolds and morning glories. The hypnotic aroma and mesmerizing rainbow of colors tantalized my keen senses.

Underneath, I caught a familiar scent and followed it. I found Catherine knelt in the dirt, turning the soil of a large group of begonias. I had become light-footed which was advantageous for sneaking up on people, but I didn’t consider that when I call out her name.

Catherine jumped and turned with surprising speed for someone her age. She put her hand to her heart and sighed loudly when she saw me. She was a small woman and must have been lovely in her youth. Even with the streaks of gray in her auburn hair and the lines on her face, Catherine Langfield had class.

“Great balls of fire, Adam,” she spat. “You scared ten years out of me. And at my age I don’t have ten years to spare.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” I said, helping her to her feet. The smell of the fresh blood coursing throughout her body caused my mouth to fill with molten copper. I fought to control my desire.

“Drop the formality,” she chided. “Call me Catherine. Are you enjoying your walk?”

I smiled. “Yes. Your garden is beautiful.”

Catherine surveyed the flowers with a trained eye. The warm breeze whipped a lock of hair in her face. She brushed it away with a dirty hand leaving a streak on her face. “Not for long. The days are getting hotter.”

“Catherine, can I ask you something?”

She shrugged. “Shoot.”

I tried to gently coerce her into a conversation that might not be appropriate. “The other night, I heard....”

I stopped as she got a knowing smile on her face. “You heard that, huh?”

I nodded. “I wasn’t trying to.”

Catherine tossed the spade on the ground and wiped her hands on her dress. She put a hand on my shoulder and led me through the yard. I walked while looking at her. She was nothing like Tom. Where Tom was refined and tactful, Catherine was brash and stubborn. It was hard for me to believe they were siblings.

“You want to know about Nicholas?” I nodded. “Nicholas was young and full of life. He cared about everyone. He was never a scholar, no matter how hard Robert tried to make him one. But he loved his brother more than anything. Nicholas sought his approval in everything he did. Robert never gave his approval to much of anybody though.”

Catherine’s face changed with emotions of memories long past. She got a light in her eyes when she spoke of Nicholas and I realized that she had loved him. It made me miss Allison, even though I had barely thought of her in the last two months.

“What happened to him?” I asked softly.

Her eyes grew sad. She looked at me hard. “Nicholas never gave up hope on anybody. He thought he could change the world.”

Catherine became serious. “Adam, you do know that if Lucian believes you are still alive, he will kill you. Don’t you?”

I nodded and so did she.

That was as far as our conversation went. As I reflected on it, I was able to fit the pieces together and come to the conclusion about Nicholas Sullner’s fate. It was clear how Mr. Sullner knew so much and why he was so adamant about my self-control. It really was a small world. I discovered just how small a few weeks later.

*****

I was on the floor in the sitting room with a copy of the Bible, reading. It was Catherine’s idea. She said it was the one book where I could find the answers to all life’s questions. I had laughed, but she said if I looked hard enough, I would find what I was seeking: the ability to stop killing.

So I read. Every day. Then I reread.

Something was helping. I was able to sate my lust before draining my victims and even find ways to help them remain calm in the face of their fears. It was a monumental achievement for me. I had not killed in two weeks and I was growing accustomed to the mild hunger that I was left with from only a pint or two of blood.

Catherine also prayed with me daily. I asked her if it was not a contradiction in terms to be a Christian vampire. She smiled and said everyone has a vice. And God is merciful.

I was reading the book of Matthew for the third time when I heard Mr. Sullner let out a quiet exclamation of surprise. I looked up at him. He was sitting in the chair nearest me reading the paper. He saw me and held it out.

I took the paper and scanned, it wondering what I was looking for. I gasped when I saw it. It was under the Wedding Announcements, fourth from the top. Terrence V. Groves to Allison M. Hollman.

I did the only thing I could think of to do. I laughed.

Catherine, knitting in the corner, and Mr. Sullner stared at me. I could not stop laughing. I found it incredibly funny that the same paper that announced my engagement to Allison six months ago now proclaimed her marriage to my best friend.

Catherine came over and took the paper from me and examined it. “I don’t see what’s so funny, Adam.”

My hysterics lessened. I pointed it out to her and explained the situation. She eyed me carefully.

“They think you are dead, Adam,” Mr. Sullner told me.

I sat back down on the floor and leaned against the wall. I bent one leg and propped my elbow on my knee. I still had a large grin on my face.

“I don’t blame them,” I chortled. “I wish them all the happiness in the world.”

“How very noble of you,” Catherine said. She folded the paper and handed it back to Mr. Sullner, then went back to her knitting.

Mr. Sullner watched me from the corner of his eye. “Nobility can only be taken at face value,” he said coolly. “Why should a man care who a woman chooses if he does not love her?”

I stopped smiling, but found no cause for argument. I did not love Allison, not wholly. I only engaged her because it was what was expected of us.

That night I could not abate my hunger and killed a poor girl named Elena. I relished the feel of power that her life gave me.

Later, Catherine prayed with me for forgiveness.