Teeth_ Vampire Tales - Ellen Datlow [11]
I bent over, sobbed into my hands.
21. You cry blood.
When I had cried myself out, I licked my hands clean and then drank what was left of the blood in the fridge. Now that I knew it was hers, it tasted strange, but it was a gift of love, and I would need strength for what I planned to do.
The glass bottle and stopper went into my backpack, along with necessities and cash from my dad’s desk drawer.
I put on a yellow shirt, left a note for my parents, and hit the road.
22. You can carry a person’s soul in an object of great meaning to them. No matter how far away they died, you can bring them home again, so they aren’t angry or lonely; so they can sleep quietly in the ground.
I shake all the way down the highway, my hands trembling on the wheel, but I don’t turn around. I owe my grandmother a favor. I know how she missed home.
Jake appears just as I’m walking into the airport.
You gonna do that to me, too?
He’s solid now; if people weren’t walking right through him, I’d think he was real.
His eyes are green.
I tilt my head. “You want me to?”
He shrugs. I’d go back if you sent me, but I thought maybe you want a friend.
“I can do it alone,” I say. It’s important, now, to be able to be lonely and still survive.
He slides his hand through mine.
I know, he says. But I’m with you, if you want.
I wait him out for three seconds before I smile.
23. It’s just as weird as being alive. You figure it out as you go.
All Smiles
by Steve Berman
Drowning felt like a real possibility. The cold rain came down hard, soaking Saul through each layer of clothing: the faded peacoat he’d stolen from Cotre Ranch, the Red Caps T-shirt he’d bought at their Philly concert, the waffle-weave long sleeve, and the boxers and jeans he’d been wearing for too many days and nights. His socks and sneakers were saturated sponges; every step down the shoulder of the highway made him shiver.
Every time Saul heard a car approach, he would turn back into the force of the wind, letting the rain sting his face. He would squint and, if he didn’t recognize the car from the ranch, he’d raise an arm, thumb out for a ride. And the cars swooshed past, and he’d walk on.
By nightfall, the air might freeze him. But he’d been on so many forced marches the last few weeks, he imagined his corpse would keep walking.
A car stopped yards ahead of him. The passenger door opened wide. Saul blinked away the water running into his eyes. A dark sedan, sleek, with tinted windows. A New York State license plate. How he missed the East Coast! The Statue of Liberty beckoned, reminding him of that speech of hers, welcoming the poor and downtrodden.
He ran up to the car. Warm air seeped from the interior. From behind the steering wheel, a dark-haired girl in her early twenties leaned over and patted the passenger seat, now speckled with rainwater. “Need an ark, Noah?”
A giggle came from the backseat as Saul climbed inside. The vent near his face gushed hot air, a forgotten piece of summer trapped within the car. Saul slammed shut the door just as the girl stepped hard on the gas pedal.
He noticed the glove compartment hung open and stuffed with maps, folded wrong so they accordioned, and papers.
“Introductions,” she said. Saul noticed she had the most dazzling smile he’d ever seen. Perfect, expressive, expensive. He caught himself staring at her smile a bit too long, which only made her grin wider.
Saul brushed back the wet hair along his head and offered his name.
“I’m Dutch, and back there,” she said, stabbing behind her shoulder, “is Marley.”
Marley leaned forward and offered Saul a smile that matched Dutch’s in brilliance and intensity. He also had dark hair, though his was just shy of stubble compared to her longer tresses. Both wore matching white button-down shirts and black slacks. Both had the topmost buttons undone to reveal plenty of smooth skin.
Siblings, Saul was sure. Both good-looking and with the confidence that meant