(59) Trevor Wallace – Dhampir

Two days later. Nine hundred miles from home. Hit the Dan Ryan at rush hour. Just my luck. Pull off onto 51^st heading east. My contact lives in an old house. Hyde Park area. Used to be a home for boys he’s told me. Now his place.

Arrive there just as dark’s descending.  

My contact isn’t Dhampir. But a man who knows about and believes in the danger of Vampyres. He doesn’t buy all the crap out there that makes them out to be ‘misunderstood good guys’. He also knows about my kind. Got hold of me through an acquaintance.

I pull up. Park in the drive. Rub my ass as I dismount. Maybe two days on the road wasn’t such a good idea after all. Hear a door open. Look over. My host stands there. Tall. Taller than me I think. White hair. Wire-rimmed glasses. Jeans and a T. He may be older but still in good shape. He comes down the steps.

“Trevor, I presume.” Holding out his hand.

I shake it. “Yeah. In the flesh.” Smile.

“You look beat. Come on inside, I’ve got supper cooking and beer in the fridge.”

Follow him in. Into the kitchen. Institutional looking.

He chuckles. “Never got around to changing things out since these work just fine.” Points to the table. “Have a seat, it’s almost ready.” Gets two beers. Hands me one. “Want to talk now or wait?”

I’m about to say ‘now’. Change my mind. “I think I need to eat and sleep first. Unless there’s something pressing I need to know about.”

“Nothing accelerated, if that’s what you mean, so food it is.”

Sets out bowls. Dishes out a stew. Puts a loaf of bread down. We each cut some slices. Eat. Talk some. Nothing much. Tell him about the ride up. He tells me a bit about the area. We stay off the subject of Vampyres for now.

After supper. We sit on the porch. Beers in hand. He talks about the place. How he worked here before it closed. Bought it.

“Big old house, too big for me, but I hated to think of some corporation coming in and buying the land for an apartment building. So I rattle around it, keep up with what’s going on with our mutual enemies. Let the locals know when a new one appears so they can deal with them. Okay. Sorry, I wasn’t going to broach that subject till morning. You look half dead.”

I chuckle. “I suppose technically I am considering what I am. But yeah, I’m about to fall asleep right here.”

We finish the beers. He takes me inside. Upstairs. Shows me my room. I flop down on the bed. Half asleep before he even closes the door.