Page 12Musical drive

The man smiled as I stepped towards him as if to kiss him on his cheek before I stepped in. His hand was already moving for my behind to grab and hold it when I stepped into that kiss. And, to my slight annoyance, he managed to do so just before my teeth connected with his skin. He really had been drinking. Before I pierced his skin I could smell the drink on his breath. Maybe it was good that I was the one going to drive after all.

Not that he would be heading home.

I bit him deep, enjoying the flow of blood and finding it surprisingly full of taste. He wasn't really overweight, but I could tell he had been eating very well. The blood was rich and thick and filled me warmly. I was enjoying this a lot more than I thought and even noticed myself riding against him. His hand was still on my ass, but no longer squeezed. I felt sexual and wild, almost wanting to bite him somewhere else. But I felt those feral thoughts rising and falling with the waves of blood.

I took a lot.

I wanted a lot.

When I released him, I had to grab him as he fainted. I gently took the key from his other hand and put him in the passenger seat, making sure he was in his seat-belt properly before I closed the door. I'd kept my bag in my hands all this time and smiled at it, in a knowing way, as I walked around to the other side. The good thing about this was that with the alcohol and the lack of blood daze he was in now, he would probably not remember tonight at all. Though I was sneakily hoping I could hear the excuses he would come up with the following morning when he found out he was not exactly where expected.

I got into the drivers seat.

This really was a nice car. The seat was comfortable and I was surprised to find the dashboard being very elegantly made as well. I wasn't completely surprised to find a navigation system in the car but I only just realized how incredibly helpful that would be. I fastened my seat-belt and took the key, put it in the ignition and started the car.

This would be a very comfortable ride.

I was good enough with technology to easily find out how the navigation system worked. In no time I had the marina in Mareana selected as my destination and head the pleasant, if robotic, female voice direct me out of the parking place. The car was bigger than the small one I'd driven in the night before, but it moved very, very smoothly. The engine noise was very minimal in this car and I spend a moment turning on the radio.

Music...

This was very weird, but I only realized now how little I'd listened to music in my time as a vampire. I loved music, listening to it often when I read or travelled with my parents. And now I had a radio all to myself. The sound system in this car was quite nice as well, fully surrounding me in a gentle volume but still very clear and audible, it was a joy to the ears. It took me a few moments to find the right channel, one with upbeat that would help my journey be all the sweeter.

The city was no problem. There was barely any traffic, to my surprise, and I was smoothly directed by the little woman in the navigator to the highway. From there it was a matter of finding the cruise-control (neatly labeled) and relaxing. The car was very pleasant, it's suspension made the asphalt below me pass by almost completely unnoticed. The man next to me was snoring slightly, in a deep sleep caused by the alcohol and my thirst. I smiled at him.

Nothing happened the whole way, I just kept my attention dutifully at the road and only adjusted the radio station twice. Hours slid by gently and the night ran it's course as I rode mine.

The first thing I noticed about Mareana was that the light was completely different here. Instead of light all around, it was a sliver of light across the landscape with a darkness beyond that. The ocean. There were also a lot less high buildings it seemed though that might just be the distance. As far as I knew there wasn't an industrial district here, but there were plenty of large companies and boatyards. New things to explore.

The second thing I noticed was the color. The buildings had quite a bit of color to them, all kinds of shades in lines over the buildings, but not too much. A vertical blue line here, a red diagonal line there. It was quite unique in a way and was used even in the office buildings. Where some of the windows had a yellowish tint rather than silver and made a beautiful pattern even in the subtle light of the night.

I followed the directions to the marina and parked there as neatly as I could. Once parked, I looked at the man, still deeply asleep, and took his wallet out of his inner pocket. Resisting the temptation of taking it with me completely, I just took the cash and left the credit cards in it untouched. It was a little more than I was expecting, what was the man thinking walking around with near to five hundred floryns in cash?!? Well, I suppose that was the price for mistreating girls. A lesson I doubted he would learn now. I put his wallet back and pocketed the money. I unfastened my seat-belt and got out of the car.

I stood there for a moment, thinking about my next step when a wicked smile arrived on my face and a naughty thought popped up. I looked around, happy to see no one there and walked around the car to open the passenger side. I was a bit of a hassle, but I managed to undo his seat-belt, get him out, walk him around to the drivers seat and put him there. It would seriously screw with his mind if he found himself here in Mareana with himself in the drivers seat. Instead of feeling like a victim taken there, he'd doubt his head and wonder for hours if he took himself there, happy he didn't crash or something. At least it would make him forget me easily. With that, I closed the car, locking the doors and left the key in the ignition. The car had been really nice to me and I waked away with a smile. Of course I wouldn't keep it, that was going too far, but it had definitely been an enjoyable experience. One I would like to repeat some time in the future.

Of course, this was all well and nice, but now I was in a strange city with, admittedly, some cash, but no place to stay and not nice enough clothes to take a room easily anywhere. And it looked like stores here didn't stay open all the night as much as I was used to. So any shopping would have to be done as soon as I got up. There was always the 'sleep underground' option, but the ground here was probably very soggy, meaning I'd be incredibly dirty tomorrow.

I still had two hours to find something and I was confident I'd find something better than a patch of sand to hide in.

Fairly confident at least.

Am I the only one wondering what music Amy listened to?