Vampires' Buffet

John stood at the podium watching their guests mill about the room.  He counted heads and checked his watch.  It was time, but he would give them a few more minutes for the stragglers to arrive.
Julie was hovering around the buffet when she saw John at the podium.  She glided across the room so she could stand at his side when he brought the meeting to order.  
She smiled warmly for the crowd, with her bright red lips and dark mascara in stark contrast to her pale white skin.  She tilted her head towards him and spoke without moving her jaw, "Is there a problem?"
He checked his watch again and said, "No, no problem.  I just thought Candice was going to be here."
"She is, she's right over..."  Julie couldn't find her in the crowd.  "She was right over there, with Margaret, maybe she just went to the girl's room."
Julie didn't wait for John to respond.  She zipped across the room and asked Margaret, "Did Candice leave?"
"No, she took that new guy to show him around."
Julie asked in a chilly voice, "What new guy?"
"I don't know him.  He said he knew you.  He was tall, good looking.  He had some strange letters tattooed on his wrist."
"Oh god, no.  You know we don't let new vamps alone with our human guests until they've been properly indoctrinated."
"God, Julie, you think I'm stupid?  He wasn't one of you, this guy had a gorgeous tan."
Julie gave John a look, and he was at her side in a flash.  "What's wrong?"
"Candice disappeared with Dante."
"Alone?"  His face darkened as he was about to snap at Margaret.
"Relax, it's not her fault.  She thought his tan was real."
John signalled for help from their friends Thomas and Frederica.  They were going to have to find Dante and Candice, and they would have to make it fast.
from Ivory

"So what does your tattoo symbolize?" Candice said coyly.

"I made a promise to a friend that I would never forget him. He left us a few years back." Dante caressed his wrist. 

"I'm sorry. You must have been really close." Candice looked off into the sky. 

"Yes. Blood brothers." 

Candice got a chill and jerked. 

"You okay?" Dante chuckled. "Didn't mean to spook you." 

"No it's just the night air. You wanna take a walk? There's a park nearby and we can sit and talk some more." 

"I'd like that. You're not like other girls around here. You're very trusting considering all the whispering about those three missing people." 

"Well, they may have just left town, for all we know. You look harmless enough." Candice nudged Dante in the side as they started down the sidewalk.  

As they walked and approached a bench in the park, Candice looked up again. A full moon was beginning to come into full view. She turned away and seemed very uncomfortable. 

"Hey, why so edgy all of a sudden?" Dante reached out to stroke her back.  

Candice raised a hand and still with her back to Dante, said in a hoarse voice, "I have to go. I forgot to do something." 

"Do what? I'll go with you." 

"No. It's too personal. I'll call you." Candice hurried off.  

"Wait." Dante ran after Candice, his thirst driving him faster. He quickly caught up.  

Her shirt temporarily blinded him as it was torn from her body and became air born. By the time he freed himself, she was gone. His fangs locked into place. “How could she elude ME?” 

Candice hid in the shadows as her body began to transform and hair covered her entirely. When she caught her breath and her transformation compete, a 6'9" beast growled, "Not tonight, my love. You'll learn of my secret in due time."

from KatSmith

            Dante stood just outside the circle of light from the lamp post. He pulled his fangs back in. "Oh no, this will not do." His head snaps to the left as a faint sound catches his attention. He closes his eyes. "Breathe, come on now, and let that heartbeat float to me..."
            Julie walked through the crowded room, smiling and greeting as warmly yet quickly as possible so as not to arouse interest.  John strode straight through to the night canceling out Julie’s efforts.
            John called out as he saw Dante casually walking back to the shelter.  He grabs Dante’s shoulders ”What have you done? Where is she? Where is Candice?”
            Dante pushed John back. “Do not mistake my humble facade for weakness. She is well.  I can control myself.” He walks around John.
            “Dante, she is not a meal or a toy.” John growls.
            “John! Dante!” Julie vise-grips Dante’s arm.
            “I would not worry so much over that one. She’s….special. Apparently.” Dante plucked Julie’s hand off his arm as two sets of heated eyes tried to bore holes in his skull.
            A few blocks away, the stillness was broken by a coat of fur running in silence.

from Lizizme

“Forget your insane idea that Hemoholics Anonymous can change you. I’m thirsty, and I’m done with you.” Dante’s fangs appeared. He turned to survey the “smorgasbord” milling about him.

“No.” John pulled Dante back outside the door. “Not here. If you choose to go out on your own, I can’t stop you. But stay away from Sundown Supper & Sleep. We’re building a new life, ur lifestyle, here.” He shoved Dante further away from the building and turned toward the door.

Dante disappeared, but kept a close watch on the Sundown center. As more humans arrived for their supper and sleep, Dante plotted his. Homeless people. Who would miss one or two? When a young woman arrived who didn’t look too strung out on drugs, Dante pounced. He whisked her away from the entrance silently, smothered her scream, and bit deep into her neck. The sensual warmth of her blood filled him. He became invigorated as she died. 

from Wordlinger

   There's nothing like a fresh kill to bring a vampire back in touch with his true nature.  Dante looked up at the stars, his chin still smeared with blood, and savored the taste that still lingered in his mouth.  You might think drunks and addicts would be food for only the desperate vampire, and thinking so may prove your humanity, but the truth is, their diet is low in iron which makes their blood a delicacy among connoisseurs.  The drugs which taint their blood just adds a lottery feeling to the hunt, and this time, Dante was very lucky.

   He swooned in the glow of the kill and the richness of the blood.  It didn't just feed him, it enhanced him.  His senses were alive, even if he wasn't.  The breeze was frosty against his skin, though it wasn't cold.  His vision was sharp.  He looked at his hands and could see into the flesh.  He saw the bones as he flexed his hand this way and that.  Most of all, his hearing was phenomenal.  He could hear his friends plotting against him.  They were inside their stupid club, while he was in the park across the street, and he could hear every treacherous word.  They were no match for him.  Even as he thought the words, he could feel his muscles transform.  The world was slowing down around him and he knew, without even testing it, that he was faster.  He could take them, and he would.

   The blood coursed through his body, filling him with awesome and terrifying powers and an unyielding courage to display them.

   He pushed the body aside and started for the club.  The world was not ready for his power, and the ground beneath him rebounded from his every step.  The rubbery earth made walking and balance difficult, but that did not deter him.  He crossed the great trampoline that the world had become, one step at a time.  The lights in the street expanded into twinkling light shows.  His powers were growing, he would not need the lights.  He could see through the building.  He didn't need light at all.  He was all powerful, as they will soon learn.  

   He reached out to push the door open.  His hands glowed.  His whole body glowed.  There has never been a vampire like him before.  He was turning into a god.  He would lead these people and they would have no choice but to follow.  He pushed the door and stepped inside, prepared to be their master, but, they all glowed just like him.

   John glowed the brightest and the most beautiful of all.  Dante was overcome with emotions and fell to his knees.  He looked up at John, pleading for understanding, but John's glow turned red and angry.  Dante's eyes rolled back in his head and  fell to the floor in a fetal position.  His body trembled as his mind slipped from a drug induced euphoria to subconsciousness. from Ivory

Dante awoke to see John towering and glowering above him, even as Julie joined him.  Julie's glow was so hot it was taking on a faint blue hue around the edges.

"He's coming around now,"  John said through gritted teeth.  "I think I'll wait until he's fully conscious to knock him into the next netherworld.  I am truly pissed off."

"I'm right there with you, baby," Julie said in a low voice, "but remember, we're trying to be part of the solution here, not the problem."

John's shoulders slumped, and his fiery glow began to fade until it was a dull yellow aura.  He knew Julie spoke the truth, but he also knew that Dante had no business hanging around using people instead of being serious about his program.

"Dante, I feel your pain, man, but you're outa here until you get serious about what it is you really are, and what kind of vampire you want to be.  Dust off your britches, "John continued as he hoisted the trembling Dante to his feet," and don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out."

With that, John duck-walked Dante to the door Julie held open, smiling all the while, and dropped his sorry self on the sidewalk outside. 

from TexasWordsmith