Chapter 3: Low profile

Lynn

That morning looked crisp, the skies were deep blue and the sun was rising, its golden rays spreading warmth to the earth for the ungrateful humans who were still asleep. I was seated at my arctic my legs crossed reading my third book since leaving the club angry the previous night. That was the advantage of never catching sleep. You have a lot of free time.

Books were my little silent friends, I had libraries of them in my basement. The last time I had friends they all turned against me when a bounty was put on my head. Of course, I killed them all and decided, friends were useless. They were just on the list of future enemies waiting for the right opportunity to stab you in the back. Anyway, I carried my books back to the library and arranged them in the order they initially were then took a glass and opened the door to my underground bunker where I kept my blood bags in a freezer. Two glasses later I emerged and changed into my gym clothes. It was time for the morning run.

The moment I opened the door, my nosy neighbour, a prim middle-aged woman with a bunch of curled frizzy brown hair with a nose like that of a clown was standing there with a dish of whatever those were.

"Good morning, I didn't get your name. Am Linda, consider these pancakes a token of appreciation"

Who shows up at another's house at six in the morning with pancakes as a gift? There was something weird about her.

"Thank you, my name is Lynn," I said accepting them.

"You're going for the ran?"

"Yeah"

"Can I tag along? My doctor says I need an lt if exercises and I have no one to motivate me, now that you're here we can form a team"

Saying no to her did not seem like a good idea at that moment. To know what she was up to I had to befriend her and probably compel her.

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Sure"

She was in a grey golf jacket, black trousers, and grey sports shoes with ankle socks. My tights were like a second skin, I had a black stretcher and my hair was tied in a ponytail dangling behind me as I walked. On my feet was a pair of black rubbers and blue ankle socks. We ran towards the park, I had to go easy on her and match her pace. Lucky for her she was carrying a water bottle that she kept sipping from.

"So, how do you see this town and town in general?" She asked.

"It's beautiful and welcoming, the likes of you make visitors like me feel very safe"

"Am glad you feel that way. Apart from the recent hits on the blood banks, everything is okay"

My heart started pounding in my chest and I had that bad feeling that maybe she knew what I was. This resulted in my blood boiling and that hard-to-control urge to kill was trying to take over. It depended on where the conversation was headed because we were also getting further away from the general population, snapping her neck would have taken me a couple of seconds and the last thing she would hear was her scream.

"Any news on who's responsible?" I asked hoping to gain more insight.

"They are yet to find a lead, but experts are saying it's just not a single individual. There are many of them"

Her words corroded my insides like cancer. It was not every day I was afraid of my kind but if there were other vampires in Salem then they were probably after me. And that meant I had done a shady job of keeping a low profile with my random hits on blood banks.

"May God protect us all", I said slowing down to the park.

The run had not helped even one bit. Perhaps after jogging with her back I was going to take a proper one to calm down my fears.

We stretched at the pack for close to ten minutes and jogged back to our houses. Linda promised to help me settle in and show me a good pizza joint. For a woman her age, she still had a lot of fun. I took a cold shower, dressed up ready for the job interview and drank another glass of blood, put on my daylight ring-enchanted with magic to prevent me from going into flames when exposed to the hot sun.

After making numerous applications and carefully thinking through what was the best fit for me and my bloodthirsty nature, I decided to take up a job that involved very few people. Something like seating in a shade the whole day lending boats. And most of the time enjoying the view of the ocean and letting its cold breeze engulf my senses to calm down the hundreds of voices in my head.

****

A loud knock on my door woke me up. I was lying sprawled on the tiny bed, the rays of the sun were penetrating the curtain giving the entire room a golden tinge. The relentless knock was getting on my nerves, I groaned lazily tying a towel around my waist. Loud music was coming from all over. Then I came back to my senses. I was in the hostels. The door clicked open and guess who was standing behind it?

"Hey, neighbour" Lilly said,

"Am offering to give you the grand tour and help you settle in"

"Ooh yeah, I'll also need someone to take me around the administration wing", I said blocking the entrance l, couldn't let her see all the garlic, silver rounds, bullets and knives sprawled on the table and also the conspiracy chat on the wall. It would have blown my cover.

"Am here for you. So" she said gushing over my ripped abdomen, thanks to hours of hitting the gym and careful diet, "how long till you're ready?"

"Twenty minutes tops, I have to take a shower and some cleaning"

"Okay," she said turning around with a smile on her face.

I shut the door and quickly started cleaning up. Ferrying all the knives, bullets and guns to the floor hiding compartment that I had worked on the whole night. I undid the map on the board and kept it under my bed then swept the carpet clean, washed the utensils and went to the shower. Three minutes later I emerged sparkling clean, combed my hair and dressed up in a black T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, white sneakers and a silver chain around my neck just in case I ran into McCain. On my way outside I grabbed my bag pack with all the documents.

"You keep time," Lilly said looking all smiley.

"Timeliness is next to Godliness, being late simply means you don't care"

"A poet too, I like it, she said leading the way.

We walked side by side. A crowd of students walked in and out of the hostel, nicely dressed, all chatty and happy. The campus was a five-minute walk away, standing tall in a sea of emerald green well-manicured lawns, and pathways covered with curbstones.

"It's beautiful, said looking around, "more beautiful than it looks online"

"Wait until you see the games department, speaking of games which one?"

"Take your guess"

"You look like basketball"

"You're right"

Lilly was turning out to be a great company then I earlier thought. Perhaps if I started considering her a friend and not just another annoying person my life was going to be easier. One way or another I needed a guide to blend in and help me keep a low profile and she seemed to like it. She led me to the administration offices where it took close to half an hour to process and I emerged with a student ID and timetable for my classes. She was still waiting at the reception, scrolling on her phone.

"Ooh that was quick," she said leaving the reception trestle seat.

"Now I need to know where the classes are"

"I can show you," She said taking the timetable from my hands, "They are the same as mine anyway am also taking a diploma in ICT"

No wonder we bonded that easily. There was something about her that kept attracting me to her, don't get it wrong. In a friendly way. As long as McCain's torment was still that active in my head there was no chance of love for me. Besides I had a lot of secrets to keep and love secrets and can't live in the same house.

"Great, before that, show me the student mess and let me buy you a cup of tea"

"Are you asking me out you cheeky?" She asked gently pinching my cheeks.

Honestly, It was a new territory for me I wasn't used to that kind of affection from the opposite sex not to mention a stranger I had met a few hours back.

"It's not a date...it is a friendly date, just a token of appreciation I bet on my own I'd still be asking around"

"Okay, although you don't have to do that. Am just helping the same way you'd have if I were in the same position"

"I insist"

"Stubborn too, let's go," she said holding my hand.

It felt good to hold him. The bad part about it was the eyes fixed on us. Lilly was pretty, she was worth staring at the whole day, her hair was copper-brownish, shiny, and long tacked behind her ears and cascading down her shoulders like giant waterfalls. Light skinned you'd think she used milk as lotion, twinkling bean-shaped eyes with a blue iris, dark eyebrows with countable eyelashes, a slanting nose bridge that opened up to two circular nose rings below them her thin feminine lips with lip gloss, and a natural shade of red making them glow and scream "kiss me". Her neck was thin with necklines, shoulders stood up leaving a hollow scapular region. Her breasts were firm and sizable showing cleavage. She was pretty.

And not to blow my own horn here; I wasn't bad either.

The student's mess was well organized with long tables and benches. There was also a section with tables for two. That's where she led us and immediately a waitress joined us.

"And what can I get this lovely couple?" She asked her gaze shifting from me to her.

"We are not a couple," Lilly said.

"I know I am just teasing you, how's Jake? You guys haven't been coming here lately...."

"Just get us some tea please" she brushed it off quickly.

I figured Jake was that landmine conversation, probably her boyfriend, and the couple was famous. That explained the eyes while we walked. There was something she wasn't telling me and it was okay, but hopefully, I wasn't walking into a trap. Tea was served with some well-prepared pancakes that had a mouthwatering aroma.

"Why am I getting this feeling" I started off looking at her, "you're kind of a big deal here, a celebrity"

"Yeah, am well known around. At first, I thought its a good thing but now I've realized it's not as interesting as it was in the beginning"

"And Jake? You seemed so frustrated when the mistress brought him up"

"Let's just say sometimes we regret choosing a path"

She reminded me of my burdening course that If I told her she would have called me insane, hunting vampires. Specifically, the last remaining McCain that took everything from me. But in her case, there was trouble in paradise.

"Let me get this straight, Jake is your boyfriend and you two are fighting. How does that make you famous?"

"You are smart...Jake and I are the reigning Mr. And Mrs. Trinity college"

"Ooh wow, you look like it. You deserve the crown"

"Thank you," she said.

At least she had someone. But if she didn't have it would have made no difference to me. Love was not going to stand in my way. Or maybe it was because she held my hands and looked in the eyes lustfully and leaned in for a quick kiss on my lips. I didn't see that one coming.