The Very Last of the Vampires

"Theodore, I fear that this is the end of our kind," Jesula Etienne said, and the six-foot-tall, curvy, statuesque Haitian-Canadian beauty raked her tongue over her lips, revealing pearly white fangs as she flashed me a fatalistic smile. Jesula looked quite fetching in a Black leather jacket over ripped blue jeans and Black cowboy boots, I must say. Too bad I was much too preoccupied with our current predicament to enjoy her sheer sexiness...

The two of us stood atop the Shaw Center in downtown Ottawa, looking at the endless stream of movement on the streets below us. The night was alive, and for once, this was a bad thing. This was my first time coming to this part of town since I got out, and things have definitely changed. The last time I came to the Shaw Center, I drained a drunk workman and stuffed his body in a nearby dumpster before hailing a cab home. Good times. I so wish things hadn't changed so drastically...

"No shit," I replied, and I took a drag of my cigarette, flooding my Undead lungs with smoke. Smoking is a bad habit I picked up as a young man while pickpocketing for a living on the streets of my hometown of Accra, Ghana. After I became a Vampire, I kept the habit for reasons unknown to me. Old habits die hard, I guess. Looking at the streets below, I shook my head in disgust.

The people of Ottawa were out in great numbers tonight. Men and women, Black and white, straight and gay, young and old, everyone was out. I hadn't seen this many people on the street since the events of Canada Day 150, a while ago. I missed that parade, which I participate in every year for the past decade or so, always picking up a cutie or two to seduce and later slaughter. I like crowds, they make me feel invisible. The only problem with this crowd is that they're not the liveliest.

They're actually quite dead, yet they're still moving. No, they're not Vampires, like yours truly. The Vampire state of being is an exalted one. Those things are nothing like us. They're slow, stupid, and obsessed with consuming flesh, rather than drinking blood. You guessed right, they're frigging Zombies, man. Like just about every major city or town on the planet Earth right now, the Canadian Capital is flooded with Zombies. How did that happen? I wish I knew, seriously.

Like a lot of the world's supernatural creatures, I feared only one thing, and that's the Hunters. A band of fanatics who hunt down and kill any non-human intelligent life-forms. Vampires, Werewolves, demons, we all learned to fear the Hunters since time immemorial. They're organized, and they're everywhere, or were. If you have even the tiniest bit of taste for human blood, like I do, they're always trying to kill you. Bunch of fascists, seriously.

A while ago, the Hunters captured me and kept me imprisoned in their high-tech lab/holding area located underneath the Nortel Carling Complex. Right under the new offices of the Department of National Defence, they imprisoned and tortured me, along with a few other denizens of the supernatural community. I was stuck there for months, getting tormented by scientists and wannabe tough-guys who relished the fact that a superhuman like myself was at their mercy.

I endured this bit of Hell for ages, until the day the lab went quiet, and I stopped seeing some of the faces that had become familiar to me. Like Floyd, a burly, red-haired white guy who found some real creative uses for a cattle prod whenever he visited my cell. I hated the bastard with a fiery passion and wanted to bury my fangs into his neck, but never got the chance.

Someone somewhere unleashed a doomsday weapon, a deadly virus which was supposed to wipe out the bulk of the human species. The virus killed a lot of people, but it didn't stop there. It reanimated these people as ravenous killing machines that don't feel pain, don't need to sleep, and will absolutely never stop. For lack of a better term, people have taken to calling those things Zombies. Not sure I agree, but it seems to fit.

Once I broke out of the complex, I relished my newfound freedom...and began looking for victims. The whole time I was on the inside, the guards fed me animal blood, which, while okay to feed on, is definitely lackluster compared to the richness of human blood. Let me put it this way, folks. To a Vampire, animal blood is like bread and water, while human blood is champagne and caviar rolled into one. Which one would you rather have, if you had to choose?

"Not a single human has been seen in days," Jesula lamented, her shrill voice snatching me out of my murky thoughts. I looked at her, and briefly regretted bringing her across. That's what we call it, the act of turning a human being into a Vampire. Jesula was part of the security team at the Nortel Carling Complex, and she was the only one who treated me halfway decently. The other guards would zap me with their tasers just for the hell of it, on account of my not having any human rights. Jesula got me books, and would slip me some wine, along with my daily blood meal. I grew fond of her for those reasons.

When the Zombies finally breached the Nortel Carling Complex's defenses, the guards got slaughtered, and I took advantage of the confusion and mayhem to escape. As the other Vampires, Werewolves and demons who were stuck inside fled, I took Jesula with me and later turned her. I thought the Zombies were just another group of nonhumans that the Hunters discovered, but I was wrong. The Zombie threat wasn't contained in the lab. They came from the outside world, which they'd already began to taint with their poison.

"We've got to get the hell out of this city," I replied, and Jesula nodded, running her hand through her thick Afro. In the beginning, we still managed to find food, though our prey was becoming scarce. We found an entire family of humans hiding on the roof of the Coliseum movie theater, with about a thousand Zombies surrounding the building, besieging them. The humans thought Jesula and I had come to rescue them. They soon found out how wrong they were. Their fear lent their blood that extra kick that made it all the juicer...

"Where are we to go, Theo? Every place seems to be the same, I've been watching CNN and RDI, humanity is losing to the Zombies," Jesula said, shaking her head. I shot Jesula a look, feeling more than a bit annoyed by her defeatist attitude. Throughout my whole existence, I'd never had it easy, and the one thing which kept me going was my indomitable spirit. When I made Jesula into a Vampire, I created an everlasting blood link between us. Too bad she doesn't share my spirit...

"Jesula, if you keep whining about our situation, I'll toss you over the side of the building and watch the Zombies eat you, now shut up and let me think," I replied angrily, and Jesula fell silent. She looked at me, seemingly hurt by my words. I rolled my eyes. Being a Vampire is a unique state of being, but it's also like a lot of other lifestyles. Not everyone is cut out for it. I should have left this whining bitch back at the lab, I thought.

I was still lost in thought when Jesula leapt off the roof, and cleared the gap separating the Shaw Center from the Rideau Shopping Center, alighting on the other roof as surefootedly as a cat. I gasped in surprise, wondering what Jesula could be thinking. She stood there, about a hundred meters from me, and gave me the one-finger salute. What is going on inside that crazy chick's head? I thought, shaking my head.

"Sheesh, Theodore, you don't have to bite my head off," Jesula shouted, and with that, she turned her back on me. I bristled quietly, wondering why I brought her across in the first place. Still, watching her leap like that, I won't try to pretend that I'm not impressed. We Vampires are superhumanly strong and fast, but leaps like that are extreme, even for us. I didn't know that Jesula had such athleticism in her, that's for damn sure.

Okay, folks. So, I'm somewhat surly, and being locked up in a supernatural prison hasn't made become more agreeable. I watched as Jesula ran, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. At this rate, she'd soon reach the University of Ottawa campus, and if she kept going, she'd get to Vanier. I don't know where she's going, and I don't think she does either. Nevertheless, I decided to follow her because, well, what else did I have to do?

It's lonely when you're an Immortal, and in Vampire society, if such a society exists, we don't usually stick together. The reason behind this is simple mathematics. The average Vampire needs to drain one human being completely every seven days in order to function, otherwise he or she will wither and die. That's fifty two dead humans per year, just to feed a single Vampire. For reasons like these, Vampires are territorial. There's only so many humans to go around, and our nutritional needs are extreme...

"Jesula, come back," I hollered, as I took off after her. There was about an hour of darkness left, and I needed to find a safe place to hide for the daytime. It would have to be someplace high, beyond the reach of the Zombies grasping hands. Those things will eat anything that moves, and that unfortunately includes us Vampires. I saw them mow down a poor fanged shmuck at the Nortel Carling Complex, and it wasn't pretty...

With dawn nearing, finding a refuge from the sun became an urgency, and I ended up hiding in the attic of this Asian restaurant located in a mini-market on Montreal Road, at the heart of Vanier. It was far from comfortable, lying on that dusty floor, but it beat the hell out of melting in the sun, let me tell you. I slept, dreaming of better times. I honestly don't see any decent times ahead, not with the Zombies everywhere, diminishing my favorite food source. Oh, well. What's a blood sucker to do?

As soon as night fell, I got up, and began looking for food. I hadn't fed in two days, a span of time bordering on dangerous for my kind. If I don't feed within the next five days, I will soon my mind and enter a feral state. Past that, I reach the point of no return and become a mindless, emaciated automaton ravenous for blood, unthinking and unfeeling. When a Vampire reaches that state, putting him or her down is an act of mercy.

Unable to safely prowl the streets due to the frigging Zombies being everywhere, I had to feed on a couple of squirrels. Not very nutritious, the blood of small animals, but I wasn't choosy. With my hunger sated for the moment, I began looking for Jesula. There's a psychic bond between a Vampire and his or her maker, but it's one which can be blocked if either party wants to steer clear of the other. I sensed Jesula's presence in Vanier, but that's about it.

I looked for the others, my term for other non-human intelligent beings with whom I share this world. If there were any left in the City of Ottawa, I couldn't sense them. I wasn't surprised. Vampires, Werewolves and Earthbound demons, we're the ultimate survivors, and when human civilization falls, as it has numerous times before, we sense it coming and steer clear of it. Some of us relish the chaos, however. I didn't even sense those fanatics of carnage, which worried me. Where is everybody?

With the end of the world upon us, I find myself waxing nostalgic for the good old days, you know? As a Vampire, a creature with the potential to live forever, I always knew I might see the end of the world, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. I don't like this state of the affairs. I miss humanity, those tasty morsels waltzing around, so self-important, and so interesting. I don't like the shambling hordes that I see everywhere. They stink, and oh yeah, they want to eat me!

Several days have passed since Jesula fled from my presence. I don't sense her anymore. I've roamed all over the Vanier area. One night, I stood on the roof of the Blair Shopping Center, and gazed at the landscape. The Scotiabank Movie Theater, the nearby OC Transpo bus station, the Walmart, and the townhouses in the area, all are silent, and packed with the shambling filth.

This is a very sad development, ladies and gentlemen. Truth be told, I am beginning to despair. I haven't seen a single living soul. Humanity seems to have lost the struggle against the Zombies, at least in my part of the world. Hell, even the animals that I feed on are becoming scarce. The shambling hordes don't just feed on people, they are eating the rabbits, the squirrels, the dogs and the cats. Is nothing sacred anymore?

I feel lonely, and that's a sentiment that's plagued me for as long as I can remember. I, Theodore Abrefa, was born in the City of Accra, Ghana, on February 5, 1982. My parents were poor, and after they died, I grew up on the streets. I became a pickpocket, and sometimes, I used that six-foot-one, muscular and wiry, dark-skinned and virile body of mine to entertain both women and men for a few coins. The life of a lout, that's all I knew, until I met Ayat Deressa, a beautiful Vampire hailing from the Ethiopian realm.

"Don't be afraid," Ayat said to me, the night we met. I'd seen the tall, raven-haired and brown-skinned young Ethiopian woman who walked through the streets of Accra like she owned the place. And she was always accompanied by a party of servants. East African merchants often came to Ghana for business, so I assumed that she was the daughter or wife of a powerful merchant. That's why I approached her, begging for coins on a day when I was starving.

"I'm not afraid, madam, just unlucky," I replied, as I gazed at the beautiful Lady who stood before me. I spied Ayat entering an upscale store in the Accra marketplace, and pleaded with her for some coins. I was filthy, and tired, and hungry, yet the Lady looked at me as though I were of the same station as her. Later, I would come to understand why. In a moment of unprecedented generosity, the Lady Ayat ordered her manservant Ali to help me.

"Ali, my dear, do take care of this one until he is presentable, then bring him to me," Ayat said, and Ali, a towering, bearded Ethiopian looked at me sternly, then nodded. I was brought to Lady Ayat's estate, a magnificent riverfront villa in the east end of Accra, and there, I was fed, bathed and attired in finery. And then, as the Lady requested, I was brought before her. I thought Lady Ayat might want my flesh, as did many women and a few men, but I had no idea what I was in for...

"Madam, thank you for everything, now, please, what do you expect of me?" I asked as I stood before Lady Ayat, in the plush living room of her magnificent villa. The Lady smiled and dismissed her servants, then gestured for me to come closer. I hesitated, then did as I was told. I thought Lady Ayat wanted to make the beast with two backs, as they say. I soon found out how wrong I was...

"You are here to sustain me, handsome," Lady Ayat said, and the Lady stood, and I gasped, astonished by her sheer beauty. Like a queen she seemed, this tall and radiant, voluptuous and lovely daughter of East Africa. When the Lady wrapped her arms around me, I did not protest. I smiled, expecting her caresses and her kisses. Lady Ayat pressed her lips against my neck as if to kiss me, then sank her fangs into my neck.

There's something decidedly erotic in the act of feeding, and it's pleasurable, and painful, for both the Vampire and his or her victim. When a Vampire's fangs pierce human flesh, a certain narcotic is injected into the human blood stream, paralyzing the hapless victim, but also flooding his or her mind with pleasurable sensations designed to keep them pacified as they are drained to death.

When Lady Ayat began feeding on me, I was hapless in her arms, but also felt something akin to an orgasm. Not just any orgasm, mind you, but the one I experienced the very first time I lay with a woman, a tall, curvaceous, big-bottomed and dark-skinned, forty-something courtesan by the name of Mona. I still remember how it felt to lay in bed with her, as I experienced the pleasures of the flesh for the first time...

The poisons secreted by Lady Ayat's fangs seeped into my bloodstream, affecting my mind and body. I surrendered to the Vampire's lethal embrace, and in my mind, I embraced Mona once again. The curvy courtesan welcomed me with open arms, and although she would not kiss my lips, she let me kiss and fondle her breasts. Mona stroked my member, and I caressed her thick round buttocks.

"You are so beautiful," I whispered, as I beheld Mona's raw, feminine beauty for the first time. In my time on the streets, as a comely young man, I'd shared the bed of a few men, usually wealthy and older. I did what I had to do to earn a few coins when robbing and pickpocketing didn't pay. The beauty of the female body always drew me, and I yearned to experience it. Mona, a dame whose beautiful buttocks were legendary, was destined to become my first...

"Go for it," Mona said, looking me in the eyes as she straddled me. I caressed her lovely face and pinched her nipples, then thrust into her. Mona rode me hard, and I held onto her wide hips as I thrust into her. We fucked and sucked for a good while, and I cried out as I experienced an orgasm for the first time. It was a beautiful moment, one which was recreated in my mind as Lady Ayat drained me of my blood.

Now, in the movies, Vampires are always turning humans, because for some reason they see them as more than substance. That's not how it works in the real world. The world can only sustain so many Vampires. If a Vampire were running around turning humans left and right, the rest of the Vampire community would stop him or her because they don't want or need such competition. A city the size of New York can only sustain about a couple hundred Vampires. Anything above that number and you'll have a catastrophe on your hands.

"Oh," was all I could say as the Lady Ayat drained me of my blood. I could no more resist her than a sheep could resist a wolf. The Lady's strength surpassed that of any strongman I'd ever heard of. Now, I think Lady Ayat meant to use me as food and do a way with my corpse, but she never got the chance. The Hunters came, storming her villa, a group of men and women armed with guns, swords and crossbows. They subdued or eliminated Lady Ayat's servants, and then surrounded her.

"Leave me be of I'll kill this mortal," Lady Ayat roared, holding me like a rag doll in front of the Hunters. Still wobbly on my feet due to blood loss, I watched as the Hunters, five men and two women, kept their weapons trained on the Vampire. Exasperated, Lady Ayat threw me out the window, and I landed on the Densu River, which supplies the drinking water of the City of Accra. The currents carried me away, and I should have died, either from my injuries or from drowning. Except I didn't...

What became of Lady Ayat, my maker? I'm pretty sure the Hunters killed her, but I survived. I don't think she intended to make me anything more than her next meal. Vampires are really picky about who they choose to bring across. I found myself alone in the world, frozen at the age of twenty three. I had lost my biological parents and the supernatural entity that turned me into a Vampire. It seems that from the get-go, I was doomed to loneliness, and I learned to deal with that.

Lost in thought as I was on the mall rooftop, I almost got too distracted to scan. Scanning is what a Vampire does when he or she is looking for prey. We send out a signal, broadcasting it for hundreds of miles, sometimes thousands, and we listen for...it. The pulse of the world. An energy beacon put out by all living things, flora and fauna. It's what makes our kind such expert predators. As I listened to the pulse of the world, I scanned for lifeforms that I might feed on. Animals, people, anything. I got...nada.

What does despair look like for a creature designed with the potential to live forever? I don't know. All I can do is move forward. I have searched for Jesula, and traced her scent down to a warehouse off of Ogilvie Road. What I found was the scene of a carnage. Like a forensic analyst with fangs, I analyzed the crime scene, and what I discovered did not please me...