[open] dying from thirst

[kmbartels]

Efren knew exactly why he had come to this place. His breath was heavy from the strenuous walk up the hill and the multitude of steps required to get to the upper level of the cemetery. The bottoms of his jeans were covered in mud and his boots were caked in it as well. The head stones loomed around him as he meandered through them reading them quickly to find the right one.

"Raje, Renfroe, Ruthbert, Rafi..." his voice trailed off as he silently listed the last names of countless people that he didn't have the time to honor.

Then he saw it. In the distance a headstone loomed that caught his attention. It was large and square and covered in moss. But clearly it had been inscribed in hieroglyphics. Running he desperately tried not to stumble over the graves of other loved ones. When he reached the headstone he collapsed to his knees in the soggy grass around it. Some one was taking care of the grave site, that much was obvious. There was a vase with flowers that couldn't have been more than a few hours old and the grass had been trimmed from the edges.

Efren lifted a hand to the grave and peeled away the moss that had grown between a few of the glyphs. A tear wound its way down his face as he read the name written there.

"Cena Tajh" he whispered "wife, mother, daughter."

He had missed it all. Everything. From age 5 until 95 he had missed everything. Anger welled up inside him as he kneeled there, his pants soaked through the knees and the rain beginning to come down in droves.

Suddenly he heard something. A voice a little too loud for a cemetery. Angry that his visitation was being cut short he pressed his fingers to his lips and then to the name written on the stone. Pulling a single white rose from the inside of his jacket he placed it beneath the stone and stood.

Whirling around he sought out whomever it was that was disturbing this peaceful place.

[kmbartels]

He could see some one stumbling through the headstones blinded by the rain. His frustration came in torrents more powerful than the driving rain that beat across his back.

He heard the crash of glass on stone and his anger flared even hotter. Stalking through the headstones he came across a drunken man clothed in a black suit mumbling something in coherently. He was laying in front of a gravestone that had bits of a broken bottle all over it and his hand was bleeding profusely. The smell of the human's blood wafted towards him through the rain and Efren's eyes rolled back in ecstasy. The man clutched his bleeding hand to his chest and looked around frantically when he heard Efren's low pitched growl.

"Who's there" the drunkard said his voice cracking.

"Does it really matter." Efren spoke so low that the man could only fumble to hear it.

"Step forward! Show yourself. I have a weapon." The man raised his other bottle of vodka above his head and waved it.

"Fool. Put that away." Efren stepped out from behind the emaculate grave he'd been standing behind.

He took several steps towards the man who visibly relaxed when he saw that Efren (who hadn't fed in days) looked pale and sickly.

"Sir, could you please be kind and let me to my mourning." Said Efren getting even closer to the man. He was little more than two feet away now.

"Well, excuse me but the here is a public cemetry and I'll do as I please." he said the bottle tipping into his mouth.

"Wrong answer." Efren closed the gap between them and pulled the man's head back digging his two perfect teeth deep into his aorta. The alcohol soaked blood flooded and he nearly choked as it burnt it's way down his throat. It didn't take long before the drunken human was completely drained and Efren's blood lust was satisfied. He removed himself from the man's neck and let him drop to the wet ground with a dull thud.

Wiping his mouth of the blood he could see that it was no longer raining. The clouds still clung with ferocity to the sky but it no longer wept with him. He scowled, this day was the worst he could have possibly imagined. Paris once held such beauty for him, the buildings and people had once touched him in such away that only Egypt could ever boast. But now it was tainted.

He turned back towards his daughter's gravesite and once again kneeled before it.

"I'm so sorry my love that I have failed you so many times." He felt sick for being so rash and taking another life. He had given into his darker side again and in turn defiled this sacred ground. The rose was now splashed with mud by the torrential rain and had turned a dead brown color. He picked it up and wiped off as much as he could and placed it again on the stone.

He had never before felt so alone in all his life.

[test]

Niara was feeling so stuffed up in her hotel room she was itching to get out. Her stay in Paris had gone on a little longer then she could stand yet she enjoyed the atmosphere at night. She missed her home though, Egypt seemed so far away and she longed for the warm sands to run through. Her mind was racing and she needed to clear it, clear away thoughts of the past. The only way she knew how to do that was to run.

She slipped on a pair of nylon capris that she had bought recently to add an extra layer of warmth, then she layered two loose skirts, a white skirt on top of a black. They were thin cotton, usually only one was perfect for her Egyptian home but here she needed a little more to protection. They almost dragged on the ground and the loose bottoms waved around her legs elegantly. She put on a simple tight, black, long sleeve shirt and then a gold chain around her hips. On the chain hung small bells that rang softly as she moved, they matched her favorite anklet that she usually wore while she ran. She left the rest of herself without jewelry which was unusual for her, but then again she was just going for a run.

Stretching her dark and graceful limbs she set her emerald eyes ahead and then took off, but even on such a cloudy night the streets were relatively crowded, so Niara set her path through the graveyard. The slight quiet that was gained from the empty yard was interrupted by the rhythmic sound of her small and relatively quiet bells. She didn’t mind the rain as it poured through her, soaking her long wet hair, making it curly for once. She let the rain continue to soak her clothes as she rain feeling rejuvenated.

That was when the wave of blood drifted on the wind and caught Niara’s attention. She could smell the stench way before she could see it, but slowing down it didn’t take her long to find the body, and then sense the vampire nearby. She looked the man over, saddened that she could do nothing for him. The blood bothered her senses and for a moment she wondered if there was anything left for her.

She shook her head in resistance, she hadn’t had humans in a few months now, why end it now for an already spoiled snack? Closing her eyes she inhaled deeply, and then rose to her feet. She was trying to find the vampire nearby. She guessed he was male and he probably wouldn’t be hard to find, since the yard was fairly empty. Moss and dirt, followed by the heavy stench of rain and mud, yet his sent was still there.

She followed it to where he knelt, he seemed sad, and she could almost smell the grief on the wind. She didn’t say a word, since she knew he probably would have heard the bells that we on her long before she found him. But her emerald eyes watched him carefully, unsure of how he would react to the presence of another nearby. She was willing to leave him be, yet a small part of her wanted to scorn him for eating a human who was obviously not in his right mind. Her temper flared slightly but she kept it in check for the moment, cautiously watching.