Jimmy Didn’t Come Home Last Night

A young vampire’s coming-of-age.

When he turned to go, Brenda placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t go.”

Danny looked back at her. What now?

“I’d like you to stay,” she said. “We need to talk.”

They’d been through that before. Danny sighed as he turned back to face her. “About what?”

He thought she’d say, Us, but she surprised him.

“It’s Jimmy.” Our son. Born before their own changes began. “He didn’t come home last night.”

Where had he been, then? Seventeen years old now. The boy knew better. Things had gotten worse for them all. It was no longer safe to go out. Especially after dark.

“Is he home now?”

“No, not yet, anyway. I just called, but he didn’t answer.”

The sun was blazing already this morning.

Danny and Brenda now occupied separate units in the self-storage building. Others like them, including the owner of the closed-down business, lived in their own units. No one there would be outside in the bright sunlight.

Jimmy would be inside somewhere. Here, or somewhere outside this building? Hiding in isolation or feasting, as only a predator could?

Jimmy’s behaviors changed as he neared the time for his transformation. Had that time arrived already?

Danny hoped not. Others like him had gone too far. Town folk had finally realized who was in their midst. What was in their midst.

Brenda was staring at him. “Well? What do we do?”

Danny shrugged his shoulders. “What can we do? Wait for him to come home, I guess.” He looked down the dark hall toward his own unit. He just wanted to go there and lie down. He was okay with his existence now, but he hated that his son would be stuck forever in a similar fate. “Maybe he just stayed with a friend.”

Brenda shook her head. “Like who?”

Both knew Jimmy had no friends. His long isolation might be responsible for the turnings of his behavior to a darker outlook on what he must suffer as changes took hold. The intense hunger he felt inside might have grown out of control.

He shrugged again.

“All we can do is wait.”

#

Jimmy wiped at the blood on his cheek with wet fingers that had squeezed some of the inner body parts of the woman beneath him on the now obscene bed. He stuck his fingers into his mouth and sucked off the abdominal viscera that clung there from her opened belly.

He was no longer a virgin in this new world.

He grinned. He was in control of his life now. No one could tell him what to do. Including his parents.

He would find a shelter of his own, somewhere besides those dreary storage units. He looked around at the bedroom. This small cottage would work, for now at least.

Drowsy from his heavy feeding, Jimmy looked down at what was left of the woman between his knees. He’d gone too far with this one. She’d never return to serve as his companion. He would need to learn self-control.

He awoke, still atop the body. Jimmy yawned, scooted off the bed. He wrapped the corpse in the bed clothing, tied it in a bundle, and carried it to a closet. As he dumped it inside, he smiled to himself.

Wasn’t it wonderful to be so young, with forever in front of you.

#

Danny and Brenda waited that day then two more. Finally they knew Jimmy wasn’t coming back. Not as their son, anyway.

Maybe that was for the best. Danny hoped that Jimmy’s new life wouldn’t bring down the wrath of the town upon them all.

Jimmy’s leaving and the waiting for his return did help Danny and Brenda remember why they had married, in a previous lifetime.

Danny helped her move back home with him.

They were still very much in love.