The Prophecy

Here I was, running yet again. I just killed the man that slaughtered my father and had a hand in killing most of my family. Anybody else would think it was only a dream, but I had the blood on my hands to prove it was real. I wasn’t going to wake up to find myself in a cold sweat. Not this time. Anyone not designed to be what I am designed to be would run scared I was proud of what I did and happy that I killed the man that tormented my family for centuries. I wished Alex were here though. He would smile at me and tell me how great I was doing

The list of the vampires that I swore I would kill was getting shorter and shorter with every step I took, and that felt satisfying – an emotional sensation. The feeling of gratification that washed through my body the minute I saw the life drain from that killer’s eyes as he was dying his last death was unimaginable. If I died tonight I would know that I did everything I said I would do and took out everybody I could in the time that I had.

I ran, jumping over walls, racing through backyards, only stopping when I thought I was far enough away from my house. I didn’t want to hear the police cars and I didn’t want to answer questions. I didn’t want to be seen, not yet. I still had one more mission to conquer. I was tired of running away from things though; I was tired of being scared. I was alone now; there was nobody around me to push me to my limit or to give me words of inspiration. I now had something to run to and that helped me in my quest. I had more than just a goal to motivate me and I now knew how I could get there. I let out a silent laugh. I just needed a quiet place to relax.

I remembered an old dairy farm that had gone out of business a few years ago. When Michael and I first moved out here we went for a drive and got lost. We came upon the dairy farm and a nice old man that ran the place helped us get back home. It was only a few months later that we found out that he had died. I hoped the farm was still there. It wouldn’t be far from where I was. It would give me the peace and the shelter I needed to find out where Daniel’s hiding place was located.

By nighttime, I came upon a town with busy streets.There were too many people out driving and looking for something to do on a Friday night. They were listening to their loud radios, gazing out the windows of their cars, looking for people they knew or for new people to meet. I remembered being that way: single and young. My friends and I would do something similar, hoping to find the love of our lives. But we would usually only find a one-night stand. And in the morning, we’d find ourselves left alone in bed with only empty beer bottles to remind us that we got too drunk to even remember the night before.

There were numerous markets open and waiting for passers-by to stop in for a few things they forgot to get for their parties. It was too busy for me to keep my whereabouts a secret. I would have to take the alleyways and back roads to reach my destination. In my mortal life, I would have never acted so carelessly: walking in dark places where there was nobody around for miles to hear my screams for help if I needed it. But now those roads gave me peace and serenity.

In the blackness and quiet there was no place for anyone to hide from me. I would be able to hear footsteps creeping up on me and I was faster and stronger than any ten human men. Around me, there were just wide-open fields of nothingness. The darkness had its beauty too. This was a place that I could get lost in. The night we first drove this area, I told Michael that I would make it a goal to remember these back roads so I would be prepared in case something happened like that again. I remember him laughing at me.

The farmers had just plowed their fields leaving only dirt behind. You could still smell the scent of diesel fuel in the air. The livestock were tucked away in their cages for the night but you could still smell the manure. I came to a fork in the road. It must have been new because I didn’t remember it the last time I came out this far. There were no signs indicating which road led where so I would just have to guess and hope it was right.

All the roads looked the same, leading nowhere, but I chose the road that went left. It seemed smart enough. I slowed to a walk and a little ways before me, I saw a big, brown rusted dumpster. I’ve never been one for dumpster diving but I was hungry and my veins were throbbing. I should have drunk Gerviase’s blood – it would have kept me going – but I didn’t want his blood pulsing through my veins. I was just hoping something in the form of an animal was hidden inside the trash, and mine for the taking.

I thought it was strange for the dumpster to be in a remote place like this. It looked completely out of its element. The farmers had bags on their plow equipment to collect the debris so they didn’t need a dumpster like this. But I walked over to the big rusted box just the same and looked around. It didn’t seem like anybody was hiding. I couldn’t smell fresh or dead blood. I hoped this wasn’t a trap. I grabbed the side of the garbage can and threw myself over the top. I landed feet first on top of dirt. I started tossing things around. If this was a trap, I didn’t have a lot of time.

My hunger was increasing and I was getting weak. I couldn’t let myself slow down, not yet. There wasn’t anything in there but dead produce: not a dead animal, not even a bird that flew in by mistake and couldn’t get out. Finally I had reached the bottom and I suddenly felt something that hadn’t grown from the earth. It felt like a pair of jeans or something made from clothing. I reached further down and firmly grabbed it, pulling it through all the dirt. It was a large black duffle bag with no other markings on it, not even the name of the manufacturer. It was something that somebody thought was no good, or had no use for. But their loss was my gain. I could get good use out of it.

I put the strap around my shoulder and jumped out. I would have to find my food some other way. I knew it would be hard considering how extremely hungry I was. Fighting Gerviase took a lot of my strength and it was nighttime; I needed to sleep.

I continued forward until I saw the familiar rows of empty stalls in the distance where the farm would shelter its cows. They hadn’t torn it down yet. I walked cautiously towards the abandoned farm stopping for only a moment to take a deep breath. I couldn’t sense anything or anybody. It was quiet other than the sounds I made as my feet sloshed through the wet mud. Which reminded me: I had to learn to walk more quietly. How could I surprise anybody having such a heavy foot?

There had to have been over 100 rusted stalls all lined up in rows of ten. The main building that had once stored dairy products was a few yards away. It was a two-story building. All of its windows were broken and all the white paint was chipping away. The sign was just a big piece of wood with only the letters E and Y painted green, hanging on a building that was falling apart.

There must have been a slaughterhouse next to all the empty stalls because from where I was standing I could see all the knives still hanging from the ceiling. There were old rusty knives, saws that were missing blades and cleavers, blood covering the entire blades. But what really was obvious was the smell of the dried blood. I could smell it before I even reached the property. Usually dried blood smelled revolting to me, but I was so hungry, I would take anything. There had to be something around that would satisfy my thirst but so far I couldn’t sense anything.

The building was wide and was also falling apart with all but one window broken. I couldn’t imagine why people would do all this damage to the nice farmer who helped me that night long ago. Maybe it was just because the buildings were sitting out here for so long, abandoned? The ground was still covered with hay and mud from the rain that came only a few days before. All the equipment for milking the cows was gone.

The rain hadn’t made its way under the awning that covered the stalls so at least I wouldn’t get muddy. I walked over to one of the middle stalls and climbed over the metal railing. I kicked around some leftover hay, making a soft seat to rest on. I sat down and pulled my newfound duffle bag over my shoulder. I unzipped the top zipper and place my book inside; I didn’t want anything happening to this book. It was my responsibility now. Then I zipped it closed and placed it next to me.

I felt exhausted and hungry. I hadn’t slept in a couple of days nor had I eaten, and my veins were feeling the pain. My mouth was dry and my lips were cracked. This is how it feels to slowly wither away, I thought. Jessup was wrong: there’s one more way to kill a vampire – starvation – and I was feeling it. But I was also somewhat happy to feel this way. It was killing Gerviase that put me here and I would take that over being tired and hungry from running away from him any day.

I hoped the police would find Gerviase’s body and report his murder to the media so Daniel would see it and know it was me. I hoped he would get angry or maybe even scared that I was getting closer to finding him. I hoped that just maybe he would feel even one ounce of how I felt at the beginning of all this mess. Everyone that he had sent after me had wound up getting killed either by my hands or by somebody else’s: somebody that once fought for him, somebody that he once trusted. One at a time, he was losing all his followers, people who once believed in him. How would he recruit more soldiers? By now the word had spread that it was me, Trinity, who has been taking the lives of these people. A girl that Daniel had said was a scared and helpless newbie was now destroying all that he had created. When he set out on his mission to conquer this world, he had envisioned himself on a throne looking out over his worshipers, and me lying dead at his feet. But every step I took and every ally he had that I killed pushed his dream a little further away.

A smile spread across my face. I was living up to the prophecy and soon I would find him and face him. He would be able to see that his threats of death had no bearing on my feelings or my daily functions and all he had done in these past few months was piss me off. And that thought made me extremely ecstatic.

I leaned my head against the railing. My eyelids were getting heavy and I knew my body needed to sleep. I slouched over and closed my eyes but I didn’t want to completely fall asleep. I needed to envision Daniel and where he was, just as he does with me. I needed to embrace my world and my powers so I could be taken in by his. He needed to unknowingly show me the way and I needed to fight my way through his thoughts to be led there.

I let my subconscious mind rule over my consciousnessI tilted my head from side to side, cracking my neck and loosening my body. It felt like a different dream world yet full of reality. I had to think of Daniel and picture myself as him; my eyes needed to be his eyes. I needed to watch my surroundings, embrace everything and actually feel all the colors around me. Within the blackness of my mind, an image started drifting toward me, slowly at first, gaining speed, getting bigger and clearer. I started to breathe more slowly and deeply.

I was in a large building, the lights were dim but a strobe light was flashing on and off, giving me glimpses of people dancing everywhere. The room was crowded. I heard a beat but the music was muffled. I blinked my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. It was black and hanging from it were beautiful, cascading diamond chandeliers, the wax from their candles dripping down. There were burgundy and black satin sheets that hung down stretching to the floor and women were twisting their bodies around in them.

I was sitting down in a chair, but I felt like I was on a pedestal. The ground where I stood was higher than the ground people were dancing on. People seemed to look up to me. I could feel them desiring me. The men wanted to be me and the women wanted to be with me. They cherished me and loved me even though they didn’t know me. They would give anything for me just to look at them and smile, even if it was just once. How could I feel their emotions or their needs?

Two very large men were sitting on either side of me. They looked chalky white and wore plain black clothes. They were in their own world, deep in thought, studying the ground around them. I could feel their energy as well. They too wanted to be me, but they would die to protect me. Where was I? Who was I?

A woman wearing nothing more than a gold bikini walked up to me carrying a wine glass that was made of thick silver and encircled with different colored jewels. It was filled with blood; I could smell its sweetness. I lifted my hand to wave her off and I stopped to look at my hand. I saw that it was a man’s hand. I wore a strange silver ring on my middle finger. How could I have a man’s hand? I pulled my hand closer to my face to examine it and saw the familiar crown and snakes that was made up of Daniel’s Crest… I was in Daniel’s mind… I was Daniel… I was able to see the things he saw. This was working!

But where was I? What was this place? I looked all around me, trying to see something familiar, something I recognized or remembered. To my left was a bar that stretched across the whole wall and behind it was a wall of mirrors. The man behind the bar was young but mortal; I could feel his heart beat. And when a girl looked at him, it would beat faster. But truly his heart beat for the waitress. Daniel bit her twenty years ago when he first came to Arizona. He wanted a female companion to help him study his new home. She looked like she was in her twenties with blonde hair and a beautiful figure but just as pale as any other vampire. How did I know all of this?

I looked beyond the bar. Black metal cages were spread throughout the building. They were slightly raised off the ground but no higher than my seated position. Locked in each cage was a person. I studied the cage closest to me. A weak and frail-looking young man was sitting down, hunched over. He wore nothing more than a pair of black jeans. He looked up at me very slowly; his eyes were glowing a light shade of blue. I started to breath heavily. Those eyes could only have meant one thing… He was a vampire. These people were Daniel’s prisoners. They were locked in cages to starve to death. These poor souls had to watch while humans danced all around them, close enough to touch but too far away to taste. This is what Gerviase had done to my father. What terrible thing had they done that they had to be punished like this? They were Daniel’s freak show. He wanted to show them that he was the ruler: that, whatever they did, he would never let them forget. All the mortals in this building thought it was just a show. They danced and hung off the cages never knowing that their actions were torturing the prisoners.

I had to turn away. I couldn’t stand watching such cruelty. I realized what they were in there for: betrayal. They must not have wanted to be his slave any longer, so they ran, but only got far enough to get caught. I looked down at my feet and I noticed that the tile beneath me was made of transparent glass. Below it was a chamber of some sort. The walls of the chamber were made of brick and stone and for a floor it had nothing but dirt. Something – no, somebody – was sitting in the corner. The image was a little foggy so I had to squint to see the figure.

He was sitting on the ground with his knees up to his chest. It looked like he was in worse shape than the men in the cages. Long black hair covered his face. I moved my foot to get a better view, and as I did, he looked up. It was Alex. I gasped. Gerviase had been right: Daniel had Alex where he could always see him, where Alex couldn’t plot against him and where Daniel could show Alex just how much power he had.

Suddenly a bright light appeared from the other side of the building. I tried to shield my eyes and look past the intense rays that were blinding me. Somebody opened the doors to the entrance but I couldn’t see anybody walking through. I heard laughter around me. What was happening? It echoed within my head, hurting my temples and piercing my eyes. My awareness drifted upwards, away from Daniel’s body. I felt like I was floating above everybody in the room but I couldn’t control where I was going. I went straight towards the door.

When I reached the exit, the door was open but the light was like a wall and too thick to go through. I held out my arms to shield my face. The strength of Daniel’s mind was attempting to pull me back, but an unknown force prevailed and pulled me through the thick light. I made it through unharmed.

I was outside now and somehow it was night. Where had the bright light come from? A crescent moon was high in the sky. The air was neither hot nor muggy but people were sweating as they got in and out of their cars. The sweat on their skin glistened. The breeze was still and the trees were motionless.

To my left there was a parking lot full of cars. There were people there, dressed up to go clubbing, standing around laughing and talking. To my right I saw a long building, and in front of me was a freeway. I turned around slowly and finally saw some words to help me figure out where I was. It was a sign, hung over a doorway. The sign was dark black with red neon lettering and read:

Diavolo Della Notte

I knew this place! Daniel was in Phoenix.

Suddenly my vision was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps and the scent of fresh beating blood coming from behind me. I jumped back into my own reality. I closed my eyes and took a silent deep breath to get a better sense of who was there. They were human. Two men, maybe in their late twenties. They were almost right behind me. I was weak from my vision but the smell of beating hearts helped bring my thoughts back to what I needed most at that moment: blood.

“Well look what we have here, John. A young calf has lost her way.” The voice was deep.

I waited to speak and to see what they would do next. Maybe they thought they were cute. I really don’t know. But their words had no meaning to me. All I could hear was beat – beat – beat – beat – the rhythm of their hearts. Did they really think they could scare someone like me?

“I see that, Kevin. Maybe we should rope her, tie her down, and drag her where she needs to go.” This voice wasn’t as deep but squeaky. They both laughed.

I realized what they wanted from me. I almost wanted to laugh at the idea that these two men thought they could overpower me. That they thought they could do the sick and perverted things that were in their minds. Should I play along or should I just take them both out now?

“I’m sorry. Am I supposed to be afraid?” I wasn’t intimidated. Not by two clueless mortals looking for a good time. “I mean, are you supposed to scare me?” I kept my head facing forward.

“You shouldn’t be so quick to speak until you know what you’re up against, little girl,” the deep voice said. I think he was trying to taunt me. But really… not doing a good job.

“You’re right.” I slammed my hands down on both my knees and stood up slowly and turned around. If they wanted me to look at them and size them up, I could do that. I could make them think that they were scary and maybe even had a chance.

Both men were the same height, maybe five eleven. One of them had blonde hair tucked under a cream-colored cowboy hat, a muscular body, and was wearing a white T-shirt tucked into a pair of wrangler jeans and black cowboy boots. He had a scruffy face with blue eyes and a quarter size amount of chew tucked in his mouth. I always thought that chew was so appalling. Michael wanted to start chewing at one time but I rid him of that craving real quick. There was nothing special about this guy. He was the one that spoke first. He obviously had tried to get a girl at the bar all night long and every one of them had turned him down with either a slap in the face or a drink in his face. He was mad and his ego needed to be checked.

The other man had black spiky hair with deep purple tips, dark brown eyes and no facial hair. He wore a black shirt tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of black riding boots. Both of his arms where covered with tattoos. Now that was one thing I got into. Tattoos, I mean. I used to love looking at the many different designs that people came up with and the eccentric places that they would put them. He was the ladies man of the two of them. He would get the girls and bring them to his friend. He even had a chance with one, up until her friend slapped his buddy. She aimed for his face but got his throat and left a scratch on his neck. But there was nothing special about this man either.

“Okay. I looked.” I crossed my arms. “And still… Not impressed.” I crinkled my nose.

They stood together, arms at their side. Maybe they thought I was a runaway, or someone else just as fragile. Maybe they thought I was lost, that I had taken a wrong turn and broke down and sought shelter at the farm, thinking I would be safe. Maybe they thought I wouldn’t tell all the things they hoped to do to me to the police and they would get away with it? They were bigger than I was and there were two of them. But if they only knew who I really was or how much stronger I could be, they would have walked away.

“Well, John.” The blonde named Kevin looked over at John. “She’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” He had a smirk on his much needed to be shaved face.

“Yeah, well. It makes it that much more exciting, Kev,” John laughed.

I could imagine what thoughts they had in store for me. They were sexual predators and they knew what they wanted. From the looks of them this was the only way they could get any attention from a female.

Kevin walked around to the edge of the railing and jumped onto one of its bars and the entire stall shook. John stayed where he was, his feet solid on the ground. He might have even been attractive if it wasn’t for the thoughts he was having and the company he was in. He didn’t look like he would be a friend of a drunken cowboy. He looked like he belonged in a biker gang.

Almost everything inside of me wanted to tell them to run. I wanted to say that this fight was a losing battle. Or I could grab my bag and run myself. But the weak and hungry part of me, along with the veins that throbbed in my body, told me this was my chance to feed. I could taste the blood that pulsed in their vicious hearts, beating faster every time they spoke. I couldn’t smell any fear, or the alcohol cologne that they wore, just the fresh meat that stood before me. Saliva filled my mouth; I had to keep my lips closed to prevent it from spilling out. I remembered Gerviase when he looked at me that first night, and how he drooled for my blood. Now I understood why. The taste of something so pure and warm was a feast that could never be understood by any mortal. I wanted them in a way that only a wild animal could know.

I took a few steps back and opened the metal railing door behind me as they walked closer to me. I needed more space for what I was about to do to them. But I didn’t want to alert them that I was up to something. I wanted them to think that they still had power over me. I wanted them to think that they could get what they wanted from me.

“Oh, come on now. We’re not going to hurt you,” the dark haired man said.

“No, we just want to play.” Kevin jumped off the railing and landed on his feet right in front of me.

It was time for me to bring my vision to reality and quench my thirst. “Oh, you want to play? Why didn’t you just say so?” I smiled at him.

I walked up to the cowboy and removed his hat, throwing it in the hay in front of me. He grinned, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth filled with tobacco. His hair was greasy and slicked back. I grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his lips up to mine. I hesitated; my stomach turned as I smelled his breath. I kissed him slowly and gently, keeping my eyes closed as tightly as I could. I didn’t want to kiss such a creature – my lips were only meant for Alex -– but this man’s blood was mine for the taking, and if it meant doing this then I needed to finish this. I felt the shock in his lips from my willingness.

I pulled away and looked at the other man: John. “Why don’t you come over here… Johnny, is it?” I needed them both at my side for my plan to work.

He stumbled out the words. “Ye..Yeah.” He jumped onto the railing but his boot missed one of the poles and he slipped. I held in my laughter.

“You don’t mind me calling you Johnny, do you?” I tried to sound sexy.

“N..no Ma’am.”

“There’s no need for the Ma’am talk, is there?” I whispered.

I bent my neck and started tracing my tongue across Kevin’s jaw line. He put his hand around my back and pulled me closer. I felt nothing for this man that I was kissing; I would never feel the same after kissing Alex. Kevin’s kiss was sloppy and wet and Alex was strong and powerful. There was no comparison.

Finally, Johnny made it over to us. He started undoing his belt as fast as he could, but I stopped him before he could finish. I placed my hand on his. I didn’t think I would need to take it that far and I didn’t want to see anything that wasn’t necessary.

“Stop. That’s my job,” I whispered.

I leaned over to him and ran my tongue around his lips and kissed him. I somehow could already taste his blood; it was imbedded in his pores. It was difficult restraining myself. He didn’t taste like alcohol as Kevin did. He tasted like sweetened honey. I was going to save him for last.

I needed this so badly, I could feel my body twitch with excitement. I brought my hand over to his neck and sensually grabbed a hold. I looked at Kevin who was still smiling. I could feel his hands on my back caressing me; I felt sick. I twisted my fingers in his greasy hair.

“Is this what you want, baby?” I whispered.

“Oh yeah,” he muttered. I could feel his breath on my cheek. He was excited.

I started to kiss his neck. “I bet you’re wondering how you got to be so lucky on a night were you had none.”

“How did you…?” He tried to get the words out. But my mouth was distracting him and all he could think about was the way I moved my tongue.

“How did I know?” I asked his question for him.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

“I’m a new breed of woman.” I laughed for only a second. I could not prolong this any longer. I needed this blood; I needed it more than the desert needed the rain. “Well, I’m sorry to break this to you, but your luck has just run out.” I opened my mouth and bit into his skin. He attempted to scream as he tried to pull away but I gripped him tighter and pulled him closer. My strength was too much for him.

Johnny tried to break loose but I squeezed tighter, piercing his neck with my nails. Blood trickled down my hand. I let go of Kevin, letting his lifeless body drop to the ground. My thirst was quenched but now I wanted dessert. I turned and looked at John, blood dripping down from the sides of my mouth. His eyes were closed with fear.

“It’s just too bad you won’t learn anything from this. And you were kinda cute, too,” I snarled at him. I actually did feel bad. Not so much for Kevin, though. John had a different aroma than his friend. He was good but just hung around the wrong people. But I couldn’t let him get away. I pulled him to my open mouth and started to drink. I was right: he was sweeter then I could have ever imagined. My veins were pulsing so fast I could hardly stay steady on my feet.

As soon as I finished, I dropped him to the ground next to his friend. But before I could savor the feeling, I smelled the decaying scent of blood. But it wasn’t from my two victims. This smell was too old to be from my fresh kill. It had to be another vampire. Somebody had found me. The vampire world knew who I was and knew my scent. Hundreds if not thousands were after me and here I was vulnerable and alone. I didn’t have time to come up with a plan. I couldn’t run or hide this time. I’d have to wait and see who was after me.

I closed my eyes and took a breath in. There were three of them. They were walking toward me slowly, too slow to try and surprise me. They were walking together. Why weren’t they trying to ambush me? So here I was – again. The whole vampire world knew who, and probably, where I was. Why didn’t these vampires want to take me in to Daniel? Their intentions seemed pure from what I could smell.

I wanted to stay where I was until they got closer to me. Maybe I could surprise them instead of them surprising me. They were three feet behind me. I jumped up and turned my body to face them. But I was the one to be surprised. It was Marcus, Jessup, and Cyrus.

“Well, did you leave anything for us?” Marcus said teasingly.

“Now, why would I do something like that?” I said harshly.

“You have to admire the power a pretty woman has over a man.” Cyrus joked.

I backed away slowly, step by step. I didn’t know who I could trust anymore. Why were they here? How did they find me? Were they here to kill me? Pure intentions or not, they left me at the monastery.

“Take it easy, Trinity.” Marcus put his hands in the air. “We’re not here to hurt you. I know it’s going to be hard to believe us but we’re not here to kill you.”

“Yeah, that’s what Jimmie said right before I killed him.” I wiped the sides of my mouth.

“I can’t make any excuses. You were deceived as much as we were. But think about this...” Marcus started walking closer to me with is hand held up. “Why would I want to train you or teach you all about Daniel if I just wanted to kill you?”

I took a deep breath in. He did have a point. Why would he want to tell me everything about Daniel, his strengths and weaknesses, his past and my future? He had many opportunities to kill me and he never took any of them.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I said firmly.

“Please, Trinity. We just want to help. We want this to end.” Jessup walked behind Marcus.

“How did you find me?” I questioned.

“Just as Gerviase did, which, let me just say was an awesome kill on your part. The way you kicked him and then stabbed him! Didn’t think you’d have it in you!”

“Yeah, well he had it coming,” I said.

“Well, anyway, we had a feeling you would go to your old house, especially after you saw the newspaper. And when we found him dead we just followed your scent.”

“My scent? Really?” I said sarcastically.

He let out a sigh. “You hadn’t eaten or slept so you were weak. Vampires are easiest to track that way.” Marcus finally put his hands down. “Then we saw you with the two humans and you know Cyrus wanted to jump in and help…”

“I did not!” Cyrus yelled, maybe embarrassed. I tried not to smile.

“But from the looks of things, you did just fine using your womanly charms. I guess I forgot to teach you that when I took you under my wing,” Jessup winked.

I wanted to trust them; after all, they were all I had. I wanted to believe that they were here to help me, but I couldn’t put all my faith in their words. I just had to be more on guard from now on. I wouldn’t be able to turn my back and think they would watch it. But I had to admit, I was lonely and it would be nice to finally have some company…