Rayne plopped down in the passenger seat of Camden's Challenger and turned to face him as he took his place on the driver side. She waited expectantly for him to tell her just exactly what was going on and frowned when he started the car without a word.
He pulled out of the parking lot and cut a sideways glance at her. He could only imagine what was going through her head. In less than a week, she'd found out so many truths about herself and the world.
"So?" she asked.
He smiled. "Rather impatient, aren't we?" he asked playfully.
Rayne narrowed her eyes. "Don't give me that! I just almost got eaten by a zombie! I think I deserve a little explanation!"
This time, it was him who narrowed his eyes. "Well, if you'd listened and done as I told you, it wouldn't have happened now, would it?"
She gave him an incredulous look. "I thought someone needed help! What was I supposed to do? Just walk away and let them die?" she nearly yelled.
He took his eyes away from the road to give her a stern look. "No, you should have come and gotten me."
She opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut again. "When I heard someone needing help, I wasn't thinking about that."
His eyes were on the road again. "That's just it: You weren't thinking."
She turned to stare out the window. "Don't think I didn't notice you changed the subject on me. I'm still waiting on an explanation for what the hell that was," she said without looking at him.
He couldn't help but chuckle. She was feisty when she wanted to be. He sighed. "Do you remember what I told you about vampire blood?" he asked.
Rayne turned to look at him and adjusted her position so as not to crane her neck. "Yeah. Euphoric state, makes you heal faster, stronger, and extremely addictive."
He nodded. "That's what that was."
Her eyebrows creased in question, and she shook her head. "I'm not following you."
Camden turned down the wooded driveway that led to the gate outside of his house. "What you saw was a vampire blood addict."
She rolled her eyes. "You're going to have to clarify that one some more," she said. "Because what I saw in there, and what almost attacked me, mind you, was one hundred percent, without a doubt, a zombie."
He stopped the car outside the gate and rolled down the window to punch in the security code. The iron gates swung open, and he pulled inside. "Vampire blood is so addictive, that the normal human body will begin to show symptoms of withdrawal before the current 'high' wears off," he said, using his fingers in air quotes. "Meaning, you can still feel the effects of the blood in your system, but your brain goes into panic mode looking for more."
Rayne nodded and unbuckled her seat belt as he stopped the car in front of the massive house. She climbed out and waited for him to join her.
"Ok. I understand so far," she said and followed him up the front steps.
"Once the brain stays in survival mode for a while, it takes it up to the next level." He opened the door, ushered her in, and locked it behind her. "It now only cares about vampire blood. Nothing else matters. Self-preservation, fear, free will, none of it even exists to this brain anymore."
She nodded. It was making sense so far, as much as it could, anyway. He'd said before how addictive it was, but she never dreamed she'd see it in action.
"After a while, it doesn't recognize the difference between regular humans and vampires. It only sees blood. Doesn't matter what kind of blood, just as long as it is."
Now it's making a little more sense. That was why the thing came after her. It just wanted blood, and she was the only thing moving.
"The lack of proper nutrients to the body causes it to decay, usually very quickly. But the effects of the vampire blood last a while, so even though the body is decaying, it is still moving, breathing, and eating because of its healing effects."
"That actually makes sense," she said, looking at the ground in deep thought. "I mean, as much as vampires and zombies could, I guess."
He laughed.
Rayne's eyebrows furrowed in question. "So, what happens after the vampire blood has completely worn off?"
He held up a hand and tilted it from side to side as he winced. "Death, but that's where it gets a little more complicated."
"Aha! One of the 'complicated' things you talked about the other night."
Camden nodded. They both stood at the foot of the stairs in the foyer of the house, talking. Neither of them seemed keen on leaving the conversation just yet. "It would be easier to understand if you knew how vampires worked."
She stared at him intently. She hadn't noticed until that moment that she wasn't feeling quite as nervous around him anymore. She was able to be in his presence and hold a full conversation with him without swooning or drooling. Maybe kissing him has gotten it out of my system.
She didn't dwell on the thought. She was far more interested in learning more. She moved to the stairs and motioned for him to follow. "Keep going, I'm listening," she said, as she led him up to the second floor, down the hall, and into her room.
Rayne moved to the dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top, what she normally slept in. After watching him take a seat on the edge of her bed, she entered the bathroom and left the door open just a crack so she still could hear him.
"First, a person cannot become a vampire just by being bitten. There is a little science to it."
"Uh huh," she said from the bathroom.
"It sort of has to do with genetics."
Rayne emerged from the bathroom now wearing her pajamas and with her toothbrush still in hand. Her long auburn hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head, and she pointed the slender stick at him. "You mean like only certain people can become vampires?"
He shook his head and couldn't help but notice the way the tight clothing clung to her slender body. "No. I mean in the way that a species of animal can only reproduce with another of its own species. No cross-breeding." He stumbled over some of the words and had to force himself to look away from her.
"I'm lost. You have to have sex in order to become a vampire?" She began brushing her teeth.
He laughed and shook his head, frustrated at not explaining it correctly.
"No," he sighed and clasped his hands together in thought. "I mean cells of one species can only bond with another of the same species. A vampire biting you will not turn you, because although we come from the same place, our cells are much more advanced than yours, and the venom we secrete can't bond with your cells."
"Venom?" she asked. "You actually have venom?" she asked around her toothbrush, white foam at the corners of her mouth as she disappeared back into the bathroom.
Camden nodded. "That's why all the old myths tell it as just being bitten turns you. It was originally thought by the few humans that knew the truth, that the venom did it."
He could hear the sink running and off again before she emerged and sat on the bed across from him. Again, he had to keep his mind focused on the conversation at hand and not her beauty.
Rayne watched him expectantly. She couldn't explain it. She was no longer that bubbly, bumbling, klutz around him. Of course, she was still all too aware of his presence and how gorgeous he was, but it was as if her body had gotten used to his effects on her.
"In order for the transformation to happen, a few things have to happen. First, a vampire has to drink a fair amount of your blood. Then, after he drinks your blood, you have to turn around and drink his."
"How do you even know all of this?" she asked, interrupting him.
Camden laughed. "Well, I'm a vampire, and it's in a book of our history."
She raised her eyebrows. "You have your own history book?" she asked, her hands folded neatly in her lap as she leaned against the pillows.
"There's only a few left in the world, but I have one, yes. I'll let you read it sometime. It's actually pretty interesting."
She gestured for him to continue on. "Why does it have to be done that specific way?"
"Like I said, our bodies and cells are much more advanced, so once we ingest human blood, it becomes a part of us. Our advanced cells can actually mutate the blood cells to closely match our own without completely destroying the human genome in them. When the human drinks the blood of the vampire afterwards, they are ingesting cells that carry a mixture of their own DNA and the vampire's DNA. The human body recognizes its own genes and reabsorbs it into the body. The vampire portion of these new cells then can replicate themselves into other cells, and after a period of a few days, they have multiplied inside the new host to the point that it eventually eradicates the human portion, and the host becomes a vampire."
Rayne blew out a huff of air. "Geez. I feel like I just went through biology class all over again."
He laughed again. "I told you it was complicated."
She agreed, but the way he explained it, it was fairly easy to understand. Even to someone like her whose only science background consisted of her high school classes. "Ok. I think I understand what you are saying... What does all of that have to do with the face-eating zombie?"
He turned toward her. "You asked what happens when the vampire blood wears off. Well, the person dies," he said matter-of-factly. "But because even though the effects may have diminished enough that the body could not continue living, there still are remnants of the cells lingering. Once the person dies, the human DNA in the blood is still present, but no longer active. The heart is not pumping and circulating, so the cells begin to die off." He used his hands to aid in his explanation. "Now the vampire blood lingering in the system has free reign over the host, without having to fight off an immune system and active DNA. So again, after a day or two, the cells will replicate enough that they will actually reanimate the body."
Rayne laughed. "Believe it or not, I actually get it."
She was proud of herself. She'd only learned of their existence a few days ago, but she was already understanding how their bodies worked. She thought for a moment. "So does that mean that zombies are pretty much dead vampires?"
"No. Once the body dies and begins to further decay, the brain is damaged. Even our blood can't repair that. The body only has limited functions, minimum motor skills, and the last thing it remembers: the desperate need for blood."
This was getting more and more complicated. She hoped she was keeping up as well as she thought she was. "So you can't turn into a zombie by getting bitten by one of those, either?"
Camden laughed. "No. But you'll probably die anyway."
Her eyes widened. "Why?"
He shrugged. "Even if the thing doesn't rip you to pieces and only manages a single bite, you're still getting bitten by rancid, rotting flesh. The infections and diseases you would get from it, even the strongest antibiotics wouldn't help."
Well, duh. Rayne mentally slapped herself and tried to fight a yawn but failed miserably.
Camden could tell that she needed rest. There would be plenty of time to talk later. They'd just done a little investigating into their only lead, and it hadn't turned up much of anything. Until they could get a little more information on this Christophe character, they were sitting ducks.
He stood. "Get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."
She nodded and watched him leave the room. It was so odd. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was different. Maybe she had become numb to his charm, or maybe she wasn't nervous around him any longer because she knew that he wasn't completely repulsed by her.
Whatever the reason, she liked being able to be near and have a conversation with him without getting all giddy and girly. She was most definitely still attracted to him, that much she knew. She flipped off the light and snuggled under the covers. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but her mind was too overloaded with all the new stuff she'd learned. Who would have thought, that of all things, vampires and zombies would be real?
What's next? Ghosts? Leprechauns? Werewolves? The Boogie Man?
It seemed as though it took forever, but she eventually drifted off.