Someone dared to hold the red stone in front of her eyes. The silhouette of a woman, strikingly lean and handsome, stood in the red haze. Rose couldn’t make out anything specific about the woman basking in the shade, only that in her hands sat the amber stone. Like a bloody eye, the tiny red mote glared out from the center of the orange stone. It looked right at her, shooting a spear of vibrant hunger through her soul.

She wanted to stare into the sparkling drop of crimson, its stark gleam was truly frightening. The longer she tried to gaze into the tiny mote of crimson, the more she found it impossible to break away. There was a depth to it that burned a deep hunger in her gut. There were things in this world that had defied her imagination, expanding her very concept of reality, especially over the past few years, but gazing into the red stone made every other revelation seem trifle by comparison.

She felt hunger, true hunger, for the very first time in her life. It wasn’t a throb or knot in her stomach, but something cold and desolate expanding throughout her body. Feral was the only word she could dream up to describe the ravenous pit of desolation growling in her shallow form. There was nothing the could sate such a hunger, at least nothing that Rose could think of at that moment.

As she tried to take in a breath of the smoke fueled air, a raw pleasure flooded her senses. Somehow each breathe eased the pang in her stomach. She seemed to exist in an atmosphere of pure, undiluted starvation, eased only by the perfumed intoxicants of the haze encapsulating her.

While each breathe offered the barest reprieve, the red pearl promised an end to that ravishing malnutrition all-together. It seemed to promise a relief to the craving menace once and for all. Until then there was no limit to the vicious appetite, it would eat away at her, slowly driving her insane.

Desperate, Rose’s head throbbed as she tried to reach out for the figure holding the stone. The atmosphere was so thick, it felt like she was gliding her hand through water. A hymn disturbed her dream, sending shockwaves through the red haze. The silhouette in front of her smiled, baring a series of sharp fangs and pearl white teeth, and pulled away from her as the entire atmosphere vanished with a blink.

Rose opened her eyes. At first her vision was blurry, making it hard to see in the night. She must’ve fallen asleep for only a few hours, for it was still dark out, but somehow it felt like she had passed out for much longer.

She looked out the window of the sedan from the passengers seat. A carpet of starlight paved the way above them, and a full moon burned brightly like a second son. The state of Florida sat on a slab of limestone, which meant the landscape was terrible flat in all directions. Thickets of tree’s and swamp lands offered the only distraction as their sedan drove across the endless highway. There was always a salty smell in the air, that or the odor of mushy earth.

On either side of the sedan, a wall of pine trees casted grim shadows against the occasional street lamp. Those pine trees were the only thing to disguise the terrible flatness surrounding them, for there wasn’t a single hill for miles. From this vantage point, it looked like that pine trees were hills themselves, but Rose knew that just beyond the first few layers of trees there were vast pools of swamplands.

Subconsciously, her eyes searched for any alligators that may have strolling near the roadway. This late at night the odds were highly unlikely, but living in Florida her whole life made her suspicious.

She sighed, and as exasperated breathe evacuated her lungs, Rose could taste something spicy lingering on her lips. She felt a fading wash of pleasure evaporate with that sigh, and noticed a thin red glaze escape from the corners of her vision. Rose couldn’t help but feel like she could smell something lingering in the air as well, something separate from the outside. It might have been a phantom scent, but the faint odor of something tangy or flavorful tingled her nostrils.

Her throat was dry. Eager to relieve her thirst, Rose searched for a bottle of water. She sat up in her seat, which was reclined all the way back beforehand. The pillow she used as a cushion had a damp spot from her drool, thankfully it was hard to see in the dark. Rose forgot that her girlfriend had no problem seeing in the dark, and would later tease her for it.

Next to her, Rebecca sat casually in the drivers seat. She had the seat leaned back a little, just the way she liked it, and one hand on the steering wheel. She was humming a tune in the air, most likely to keep herself awake. Rose liked to leave the radio on when she drove long distances, even if there wasn’t anything good to listen too it offered something to distract her. She learned a long time ago to appreciate local radio, it often surprised her.

Rebecca on the other hand, didn’t much appreciate listening to the radio, or even music for that matter. Her focus was somehow razor sharp without it, and if anything, the noise annoyed her when she tried to pay attention. At times like these, Rebecca preferred to entertain herself with her own humming or by using her own imagination. Rose sometimes wondered what went on in her girlfriends head when she was silently pondering by herself, it was a side to her that was truly her own and shut away from even Rose.

As Rose stirred up in her seat, Rebecca noticed she was awake. “Hey darling, glad to see your awake.” The vampire’s wavy blonde hair laid down over her shoulder to cover the logo of her shirt. The neon brand of a metube channel she often watched was proudly emboldened over the mounds of her soft chest. Rose grinned upon noticing her vampire wasn’t wearing a bra.

“What time is it?” Rose asked as she found a half empty bottle of water in the adjacent cup holder. She guzzled it down quickly, relieving her dry throat.

“Hmm,” The vampire took a passing glance at the blue numbers on the car dashboard. Originally they were red, but due to vampires having stark reactions to anything red, Rose had the dash changed shortly after they started dating. She had to do it quickly, the first time they ever shared the car together, Rebecca was frothing at the mouth and nearly tore the seat belt out after seeing the bold red numbers on the dashboard. “Looks like 4am, i guess the time just flew by.”

It was a twelve hour drive from Miami to New Orleans, they had left around nine o’clock that night. That meant they were getting close to the border of Alabama, a couple more hours and they would reach their destination. The convention didn’t start until the following night, so they would have plenty of time to get adjusted and check into the hotel.

Rose felt a little guilty for having Rebecca drive for so long. She adjusted her seat so that it would lean straight again. “Hey Reby, I can take over if you want. You must be getting tired.”

“Nah, I’m good. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to sleep with the radio on, and I know you can’t concentrate without it.” The Vampire rested her cheek in the palm of her hand and returned a smirk.

“I’ll keep the music down Reby, I can’t have you falling asleep before we can enjoy ourselves at the party.” Rose brushed her hair back and shot her girlfriend a cute wink. Her ivory white tank top and black shorts seemed to distract her vampire’s wandering eyes a bit.

Rebecca seemed to ponder her options, she tried to keep her eyes on the road but it was clear she was tempted. It was hard to tell if the vampire was actually tired, Reby was good at hiding her physical exhaustion or betraying her own insecurities. Despite this, Rose could read the subtle hints that her vampire was running low on energy. The way her finger’s tapped against the leather of the steering wheel, and her free hand played with a lock of hair, not to mention the slight quiver at the corner of her lips, were all tell-tale signs that Reby was actually very tired.

Rose adjusted her position in her, and loosened her seatbelt. “Come on, let me take the wheel for a bit. I might even let you have a last minute snack to help you sleep,” Rose teased.

Rebecca’s eyes widened for a moment, and she tensed in her seat for a split second. “That…that would be nice,” She stuttered as she quickly pulled over.