I came into this shed to cut grass. The body was already here. I didn’t touch anything. My fingerprints aren’t on that body, my DNA isn’t anywhere beyond the door. No, I touched the body. I turned it over to see if it was real. Does that make me an accessory to murder? Did Kareem murder this person? I’m living with a serial killer. Why is she all pale like that? How long has she been here? Did he tell me to cut the grass so I’d find her body? Where is he right now? I’ve been staring at this body since before the sun went down and I don’t have any answers.

Lord, please help me. Guide me through this. Deliver me from Evil, protect me and bathe me in your righteous light. Protect me from evil Lord, drive those forces that would harm me from this place and give me the strength to move forward.

“You do that killer?”

“What the fuck,” I jump away in a panic but Kareem is gripping my hand so I can’t go far.

“Real jumpy for a killer.”

“I’m not a killer, you did this.”

“Did you see my do it?”

“Who else could have done it,” I can’t pull away from his hand.

“We should go inside and talk.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“If you’re smart, you will.”

“Help,” I scream at the top of my lungs.

Before I can scream again Kareem has contorted our bodies. Now he’s standing behind me with and arm around my throat, and my own arm pinned behind my back. He pushes me through the back door and into the house. His grip is too strong, I’ve been held like this before, but I can’t get any air no matter how hard I fight back. He’s not even breaking a sweat. I slam the back of my head into his face and he just laughs as he tosses me to the ground on in the living room. I try to crawl away but he just steps on my ankle and stares down at me.

“Can you stop running? I’m not going to hurt you,” Kareem is just annoyed with it all.

“There’s a body in the garage.”

“I killed her.”

I try to stand and run; I don’t see him move but he’s in front of me now. I throw a punch at his face and he doesn’t budge, another and nothing. Punch after punch and he’s unfazed. I try to push past him and he only pushes me to the ground. Before I can move his knee is digging into my chest and he’s staring emotionlessly into my eyes. I’m fighting for my life and he’s got the same cold look he’s had ever since I met him. Lord, why did you lead me here?

“I can do whatever I want to you right now. You couldn’t stop me. Stop fighting, and listen, before I change my mind.”

“What do you want?”

“To order pizza and watch Death of a Salesman. Instead, I’m stuck holding you down because you keep trying to run away when I just want to talk.”

“If I talk, will you let me go?”

“Yeah, and then you can run off to the cops or whatever you want.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll let you ask the first question,” he removes his knee from my chest.

Kareem takes a seat on the couch, legs spread and hands on his knees just staring down at me. His lack of facial expression is what bothers me. He’s just staring, not making any motions, if it wasn’t for his subtle breaths, I might think he was a sculpture. The eyes are the window to the soul, and I can never see into his, they’re always empty. He doesn’t have a soul, he’s a monster. That’s how he could kill so easily and act as if this was a normal thing. I do have questions; I know he’ll just lie, but if playing his game keeps me alive, I have to play. Lord, watch over my tongue.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“I mean, are you a serial killer? Why did you kill her?”

“Oh,” Kareem pauses and furls his eyebrows in the first sign of emotion I’ve seen from him. “I guess I am a serial killer. I never thought of it like that, I just thought of it as survival.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he’s just making me more confused.

“Hey, I’m a vampire.”

“What?”

“Vampire. I drink blood.”

“What?”

“I’m a vampire.”

“What”

“If you say what again, I’ll rip your arm off because I know that you know what a vampire is.”

“Wh- How?”

“Dad was a vampire. The same way human babies are born.”

“Vampires aren’t real.”

“You believe in God right? You’re always going on and on.”

“God has nothing to do with this.”

“God has everything to do with this. You can’t believe in vampires because you’ve never seen one before, but you can believe in God? You pray to God three or four times a day. I’ve heard you. But never once, has God answered you. Meanwhile, a whole ass vampire is looking you in the eyes.”

“Stop.”

“What do I need to do to prove it? You want me to bite you? You want to see me drink blood? Is it the violence that excites you? Is that why you didn’t call the police right away?”

“You’re an abomination, an affront to God.”

“You know when you masturbate, I can hear it right? You shouldn’t be watching porn, especially not gay porn. Don’t deny it either, I can smell it too, every time you finish. Heightened senses and all that. I suppose we’re both abominations according to that book of yours.”

“You’re sick.”

“Vampirism is indeed an illness.”

“You’re insane.”

“I wish I was insane, then, this wouldn’t be my life.”

I can’t tell if he’s lying or not. I don’t know if all this is a joke. He’s doing nothing to help remedy the situation. Everything he says can be sarcasm or the truth and he just stares at me. How can he expect me to be calm and rational when there’s a dead body in the shed and he’s sitting there like a sociopath, unmoved by the entire situation. My God would not forsake me, even if I don’t know what to say he’ll guide my words, my actions. This is indeed the Valley of The Shadow of Death, and I am walking through. I know God will protect me, but the fear has overwhelmed me. My spirit is unbreakable, but at the end of the day I am just a man made of flesh and this body can be broken.

“You know what? You should go to the cops. There’s a dead body, right where we left it. There’re bite marks on the thigh that will match my teeth. A murder has been committed, and I left evidence,” Kareem gets off the couch and crouches down so close I can feel his breath as he speaks. “There are people to take care of the body for a small fee and they’ll get it done before the cops arrive. Even if the cops do come, it doesn’t take much for me to pack up and just start a new life somewhere else. I don’t have any friends, or family that will miss me. I can watch movies, wherever I want. But you, a new life won’t be so easy. Not a lot of people are dying to live with a chronic masturbator who reads The Bible out loud and can only pay $100 for rent. You look sticky and broke right now. You should pray about that. But don’t worry, you’ll always have me. I’ll always find you, wherever you go, and I will punish you. The way that book tells you Satan is waiting below to torture you for your sins in death, I’ll be waiting around every corner in life,” Kareem pauses and squeezes my face with a painful grip. “The other option is you can mind your business and go on with your life as if nothing happened. I don’t really care if you leave me alone.”

I just keep sitting on the floor, expecting him to rush back and kill me, but he never comes. The sun has already set when I get off the floor. He doesn’t stop me when I walk out the back door. The body is already gone, and I never heard him leave the house. There must have been some truth to what he was saying. No, this is a lie, this is all nonsense.