Chapter One - Kirsty Johnson


"It's good right?" Kirsty Johnson asked, looking at her client in the mirror, her smile widening as he took in his altered appearance and smiled in return.

"Yes it's good!" He said enthusiastically. "It's more than good, it's great!"

She couldn't help but agree. When Ben had first come in to see her, he had been yet another typical Bridgeport man: Scruffy, unkempt and not a slave to fashion. Now, with his beard trimmed back and clothes that actually fit, Kirsty could see the attractive man left underneath. A strange sense of longing stirred within her, and suddenly, she was hit with a desire to break her cardinal rule: never dating a client.

She was unsure how long she was lost in thought exactly, before she became aware that Ben was still speaking beside her. “I think Jess is really going to like this,” he was saying, stroking his trimmed beard lightly. “I’ve been pretty into her for a while now, but it’s hard to get someone you’re into to actually notice you.”

‘Harder than you think,’ Kirsty thought mournfully, as she laid her dreams fully to rest.


And so it seemed to Kirsty, that this was the way her young adult life was going to pass: quietly, and for the most part, uneventfully. Sure, she had her friends, but they all seemed to be pairing off with their boyfriends, and she was beginning to think that she would never find true love herself.

She began to spend more time focused on her work as a stylist, as well as getting her name out among the elite in Bridgeport, in the hopes that she could hike her prices a little bit. She didn’t want to be crammed in a small apartment for her entire life, after all.

“What did you say your name was again?” Kirsty asked her latest client: a tall and well-built brunette man with sharp and distinctive figures.
“Beau,” the man replied, a strange sparkle in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place as they met her own in the full-length mirror. “Beau Merrick.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Beau.” She smiled quickly at him before quickly turning away and focusing herself on her styling supplies.

“It’s been my pleasure,” He said, turning to face her. “I have no mind for this whole style thing myself. Time moves too quickly, and I can’t keep up with any of it.” Kirsty became aware that he was stepping up behind her as he spoke, and felt a sudden self-consciousness at the thought of his approach. “It might be nice to keep you around… You know, to help keep me in check.”

Kirsty turned and looked at him, straight in the eyes. “I’d love to help.” She said, another smiling spreading across her lips.


“Did you have fun?” Beau asked as the doors of the elevator that he and Kirsty had just stepped into slid closed.

Kirsty nodded her response to him. “It was definitely interesting. A jazz club is one of the last places I’d expect to see you out at.” She said matter-of-factly to him, but quickly amended her statement when she noticed a slight wounded look on his face. “Not a bad thing, not a bad thing,” She said, “just interesting.”

“I’ve told you before, I’ve got many layers.” He said. The words, (which she had heard from him almost nightly when they went out,) always seemed heavy when he spoke them, like he had more to expand upon but never did.

“Well,” She said, hooking her little finger around his own, and pulling his hand into her embrace. “I for one am excited to learn more about your layers.” Much later Kirsty would get the chance to see all of Beau’s layers exactly as they were, but she could never know how drastically her own layers would be altered because of them.


The weeks passed quickly, as time often does when one has fun, and Kirsty found herself spending more and more time with Beau, despite his quirks. She had spent so much time with him, that she found herself overlooking all the strangest aspects of his existence: That she hadn’t ever really seen him in full daylight, that she never really saw him eat, and that he at times seemed unnaturally pale. However, for every fault she found, she found another piece that drew her closer to him.

It wasn’t long before their friendship began to progress in inevitable ways, and Kirsty found herself drawn to him in increasingly more romantic ways. “So does this change things between us?” Kirsty asked, sitting in somewhat uncomfortable silence on the silk sheets of her bed.

“No,” Beau said, moving to stand and buttoning his shirt closed. “at least not in a negative way. In fact, I feel closer to you than ever.”

“Then where are you going?” Kirsty asked, hurt spreading across her face and creeping into her voice.

“I have something to show you.” Beau said darkly. “My final layer.”


Kirsty was unsettled. Up until this point, she had felt like she already knew everything there possibly was to know about Beau. To find that suddenly he had something important to tell her, after she’d already done something she could never take back, was beyond alarming for her. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She said quickly, standing to her feet and slipping her dress back on.

“Don’t be this way,” Beau said somberly, turning to face her. “You don’t have to be scared of me.” And as he spoke, Kirsty began to observe minor changes in his appearance. His skin grew brighter, and his eyes seemed to grow red in the dim light of her bedroom. She was sure her heart should have been pounding, but somehow, she wasn’t scared at all.

“I don’t have to be scared of you…” She repeated, as he stepped closer to her.

“I didn’t want to do it this way,” Beau stated, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.
“I love you Kirsty, and I don’t want to live an eternity without you…” He was leaning in now, for what she assumed was a kiss, but his lips were aimed too low. “And I don’t plan to… Don’t worry; you won’t remember this at all.”

The last thing Kirsty felt before she blacked out, was a sharp pain digging into the flesh on her neck.


Kirsty awoke the next day in her own bed, alone, and with no very little memory of what happened the night before. She remembered going out with Beau, and that he came back home with her, and that they took their relationship to the next level. But everything after that point was pure black. The only thing she did know for sure, was that she was alone, and she didn’t feel normal.

The world seemed brighter today: colors were brighter and sounds were louder to her than they normally were. And her reflexes seemed to have improved drastically. Kirsty slipped getting out of the tub that morning, and managed to spin herself around as she fell and caught herself on the edge of the edge of the tub, rather than falling.

The changes were at first, completely welcome. Until the hunger pains set in, that is. She had never felt anything like it before in her life, and no matter what she ate, she would not be satiated.

By the time that the pains were finally growing unbearable, Kirsty forced herself to see Beau. “What have you done to me?” She asked, glaring at him from across his dining room table.

“The thirst has begun,” Beau said, as if that explained everything. “You are a child of the night now Kirsty. One of my kind.” He expanded upon his first statement. “And it’s time to feed.”


Drastic changes had taken control of Kirsty’s life at this point. The Vampire blood was within her now, and Kirsty found herself swallowed by the lifestyle she shared with her lover. She could, and probably should have been angry with Beau for what he had done to her, but Kirsty couldn’t help but be amazed by what she had become. Weeks, months, and soon years passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye, yet Kirsty remained young and beautiful while her lifelong friends grew older and begin to wither.

On some levels, Kirsty had become a bit of a recluse. She had abandoned her friends in favor of spending time with Beau, and his court. But on the other hand, she enjoyed her new scene. An entire world that she hadn’t known existed was suddenly laid out before her. She grew her hair out, and changed her own sense of style about a dozen times over the years that passed, and soon she seemed a new woman entirely.

The changes continued again when one morning, a wave of nausea overcame her. This was different than the thirst that she had felt when she first became Vampire. Yet somehow, she knew. She could feel her body changing and reacting, to the child growing inside of her. Motherhood was one adventure that Kirsty had never truly expected to get a chance to take on, and yet she found herself excited to take on a challenge.


Beau was overjoyed by the news of the baby. In his 200+ years of undead life, he had never had a child before, so this was as new an experience to him as it was to Kirsty. He was eager to help with anything that Kirsty needed over the coming months, and he too began to change. He was kinder now, and more open with her about his feelings. He often expressed worry about the baby, and how it was going to grow up with him as its father.

“It will grow up loved, and cared for,” Kirsty assured him one day, as they stepped out of their home as the sun dipped down below the horizon, casting long shadows across the city. “Just as you have cared for me over these many years.”

“I wish to continue caring for you,” Beau said from behind her. “for the rest of eternity.”
Kirsty turned to look at him, about to admonish him for being so sentimental, when she noticed him knelt before her. Tears of joy and anticipation suddenly sprang to her eyes as she watched Beau reach into his pocket and pull out a small box, which he opened upward to her. “Will you share eternity with me, Kirsty?” He asked her.

“Yes!” She shouted eagerly. “Yes, of course I will!”


Joran Merrick was born shortly after his parents became engaged. Kirsty welcomed her first child with open arms, as this was the start of a new chapter of her life. Her partying lifestyle seemed laid to rest behind her, and now a new and exciting future of motherhood lay open before her. She looked upon her son each day with proud eyes. He was truly beautiful, and she could hardly believe that he was a part of her.

Beau was just as excited to have a child. When he first held Joran in his arms, Kirsty saw a kindness in his eyes that she had only ever seen when he looked at her. He changed too, once the baby was born. He took being a father very seriously, and was ferociously protective of his family. He took necessary steps that a young man had to take when he began a family: his partying life ended, and he took on a steady job, in order to move his wife and child into a new apartment where they could begin a new life together.

“Aren’t you just the cutest baby ever?” Kirsty gushed to Joran as she hoisted him up in the air playfully in front of his crib. “Yes you are!” She smiled at him and cradled him in her arms. A rush of euphoria filled the space where her heart used to beat as she looked down upon her son. She knew without pause that she would love and protect him forever. Under normal circumstances, that was just an expression. But given her situation, she meant it.

TO BE CONTINUED.
COMING UP: CHAPTER TWO -THE HUMAN CHILD-

Good enough but there's scope for a lot more. You're writing is very good but the plot's a bit stereotypical Try and make it more unusual; grab the audience a little more! Still, looking forward to the next update! Keep it going


The Observant Lefty.