It was slow going at first, but after a while I had quite the stash. I learned pretty quickly that it was best not to stay in one place for very long and would move from one town to another completely at random. I found larger cities to be great for longer stays, a few deaths here and there were hardly even noticed. There was also the added bonus of the money being better.

Decades passed, and still I looked no older than the night I'd been changed. Sex appeal is a powerful tool, and I always made sure I was on top of the latest trends. Male or female, it ultimately didn't matter which one I attracted since they both taste just as sweet. More often than not I'd enjoy the offerings of the flesh before feeding, the waning excitement always seemed to add a bit of a spice to the blood.

Once in a while I'd come across others of my kind, but never made any lasting friendships. It never seemed worth the effort- most of them seemed to be caught up in their own existences, the things they'd been doing for decades. I'd grown accustomed to being on my own and would quickly tire of the endless chatter anyway.

Some 60 years after that fateful night in the bar parking lot, I found myself in the Pacific Northwest. I'd been here once before- a brief stay in Portland back in the 60s. This was my first time to the Seattle area, however, and I was highly amused. Angst seems to hang in the air like a fog in this place, and with the highest suicide rate in the country I was finding it almost too easy to blend in.

Still, everyone needs a break from city life once in a while, and I headed for the town of Deception Pass on the advice of a couple locals. They spoke of it with a sort of reverence, as if the place held some sort of power over them even while they were away.

Philip: "You've got to be kidding me."

I'll admit- I wasn't at all impressed at first; I thought for sure someone was having a good laugh at my expense. The town didn't seem very big, yet I'd been told it was a vampire's paradise, that it was almost the kind of place you could think about settling down in.

Within a few days, I found the place growing on me. There was something about it, something that felt as though it was wrapped around you like a blanket. The locals were friendly, but not overly curious. I quickly discovered that the town had quite a few vampires- considerably more than I was expecting for a town its size. They seemed to run in small groups, generally 3 to 5, with the occasional loner.

It took me a few weeks to work out how the town was able to sustain so many of them without causing undue attention, but even after only being there for such a short amount of time I felt the power the place held over everyone in it. Murders fitting certain profiles were swept under the rug, but more amazingly were the victims' friends and families allowing the investigations to put aside. It was as if the people who lived there were more interested in protecting the town than each other.

Suited me just fine. I ended up settling down in Deception Pass for the next decade, ready to call it my home for at least a decade more. Fate had different plans for me.

My downfall came late one night in the summer of 2005. I'd spent the first part of the night at home working on an old Model T I'd managed to find for sale in the outer suburbs of Seattle. By the time I headed out from home that night, I was more than ready for a good hunt. I don't remember exactly why I decided to go to the Xenon that night- it wasn't one of my usual hunting grounds -but before I was aware of what I was doing, I'd pulled into the parking lot and was heading for the front door.

Philip: "No point in leaving now."

The events of that night are burned into my memory- a searing reminder of how opportunities come for others as well as myself. I remember a local band playing to a small but energetic crowd, I remember making my way to the bar and ordering a drink- the last I'd enjoy.

And I'll never forget seeing her for the first time, how she seemed like the perfect target. If only I'd known she'd thought the very same of me.