Philip: "Look, um… I'm starting to have second thoughts about all this…"
Frank: "Is that so?"
Philip: "Yeah let's just… I'm not going to do this."

I made as if to bolt back to the bar, but Frank was suddenly in front of me, blocking my path. I did my best to remain calm, knowing that blind panic would only lead to certain disaster. I planned on making it out of there not only alive and in one piece, but with my dignity in tact as well.

Frank: "You really don't have to run away. It's not going to hurt a bit- you'll probably even enjoy it."
Philip: "Like hell!"

I did my best to shove him out of the way, fully expecting him to tumble easily to the ground. Instead, it was like hitting a brick wall. Frank didn't even flinch, but began to laugh. That's when I noticed his teeth.

Philip: "Jesus… what are you?"
Frank: "Hungry."

When he dove down and plunged his teeth in my neck, my first impulse was to panic outright. The number of thoughts that managed to flash through my head within a fraction of a second still amazes me some 70 years later. I remember trying to fight back before an idea caught hold in the storm raging in my head. As unbelievable as it seemed, I realized I was quickly becoming dinner for a hungry vampire.

I'd heard the stories told by guys late at night when we'd be huddled around a fire for warmth after working together all day. Some of the older fellows spoke of friends who'd go missing after a tryst with a mysterious stranger at a bar, their bodies found a few days later drained of blood with wounds like those from an animal attack. Most of us would laugh, passing it off as the gibbering of superstitious old men.

As the stars above me began to fade away, I knew what I had to do in order to survive. I summoned the last of my strength and bit back just as hard as I could. The only thing I can clearly remember now is the smell of soap mixing with the scent of blood, and thinking what an odd combination it was. The pain was gone instantly, replaced by a mind numbing euphoria that made me bite even harder.

I remember Frank suddenly leaping back, clutching his neck as I stumbled forward in front of him. I remember the feel of the dirt below me- solid and real -while the stars above grew brighter.

Frank: "You little bastard! You almost killed me!"
Philip: "The… irony…"
Frank: "You're not getting any help from me, you maggot. I should drive a stake through your heart right now, but I think letting you burn up in the rising sun is a better way for you to go."

As Frank made his way back to the parking lot, leaving me in the field to disintegrate with the coming dawn, everything around me went black.