It took me roughly forty minutes to get to Vanderbilt, where I was able to get on the I-75 and start heading southward. I stopped at the Vanderbilt rest area just off the interstate before setting in for a long drive though. It was almost one in the morning by that point and the rest stop was mostly empty except for a few trucks, but I was reasonably certain that their drivers were asleep.

With that in mind, I headed for the ladies’ room and found it empty, much to my relief. Only once I was safely ensconced within did I take off my helmet and began to go through the stuff in my new duffel bag. I tried to leave the clothes in place since my clothes would be fine for now and took out my purse so that I could add all of the makeup in there once I was finished with it.

All that I had in my purse now was cash and the jewelry that I had taken from Grandma’s house, my bank card and anything else with my name on it had been disposed of before I left Petoskey. I did have the vehicle registration and bill of sale for the Ducati, but that was because I didn’t dare leave them behind to give any clues as to what I might be driving. I was also hoping that I might be able to get a fake ID at some point and ‘sell’ the bike to my new self.

Before adding the makeup to the purse though, I started on my disguise. I went a little heavier than I normally would, trying to make myself look a bit older and subtly change my features, and stayed away from my usual Goth/punk look for now. With my look changed enough to fool anyone looking for me, I used some bobby pins to pin up my hair and then secure the blonde wig that I had bought in place.

When I was done, I looked different enough that I thought I could probably get away with facing security cameras if I needed to pay for gas or anything. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best that I could do under the circumstances. So, I quickly used the facilities while I had them available and once I was finished washing my hands afterward, I quickly put my helmet back on, shouldered my bag, and headed back outside to climb back on my bike and continue my trek southward.

On the outskirts of Saginaw, I had to stop to get gas and I was glad that I had prepared my disguise beforehand since I had to go inside and pay cash for it. Using credit cards would only give me away to anyone who might be looking for me, which was why I had left anything like that behind. In addition, going in with my helmet on would have been suspicious, so I was glad for my caution, and my disguise, when I spotted the security camera in the corner behind the counter.

Fortunately, the clerk was half-asleep and half-bored, so he didn’t really pay much attention to me beyond what was required to take my money for the gas and a bottle of chilled water from the cooler and give me my change. I would have gotten a coffee if I could have managed a way to safely carry it on my bike, but that wasn’t going to happen. Besides, what I really needed was rest since I hadn’t gotten any proper sleep the night before and had spent most of the night hiding a body, followed by most of the day cleaning up evidence and getting ready to run.

It was exhausting work that I really recommend others should try to avoid if possible, and now I found myself fighting to stay awake. I had been hoping to get to Detroit before sunrise when I had hit the road, but now I was thinking that I might have to stop somewhere to rest and continue on my way in the morning. I had barely reached the halfway point in my journey when I decided that I wasn’t going to make it to the next rest stop and needed to find a place to crash for a few hours.

I pulled into the far right lane and then turned onto the first access road that I came upon. It looked like a residential road with farms on either side of the road, so I was hoping to find a secluded spot in a barn or a field to sleep in for a while. The first turn-off that I came upon had one of those old-fashioned mailboxes at the end of the drive that proudly displayed the name ‘Bayer’.

I turned off the engine of the Ducati and got off to walk it up the driveway until I found some thick brush that would conceal it fairly well. With the bike hidden carefully away, I quietly crept the rest of the way toward the house where, surprisingly, the lights inside were still on at such a late hour. I could see the outline of a large barn though and headed toward it in hopes that I could find a pile of hay or something to sleep on.

Between my tiredness and the darkness, I tripped over something and ended up bumping into a truck parked in between the house and the barn. Unfortunately, for me, that truck had one of those annoying car alarms, and bumping against it set off a shrill electronic wailing sound even as I looked for whatever had tripped me up. Unthinkingly I snatched up the thing that had tripped me up as the front door of the house flew open and the light from a flashlight scanned the area before falling upon me.

“Bob! That blonde bitch is still out there! Get your gun!” a woman’s voice yelled as the alarm on the truck was deactivated. Wait, what blonde bitch? I just got here.

I didn’t take the time to think about it as I ran for the cover of a large hay bale and dove behind it as a gunshot rang out and a male voice called out, “Get lost afore I fill ya with lead, Bitch! And don’t come back!”

It was only as I sat there cowering in the dark that I noticed I was still holding the large, broken, and splintered piece of wood that I had tripped on. Straining my eyes against the dark, I saw that it was one of those signs that had said ‘Welcome to Our Home’ when it had been whole and unbroken. “Wow, they really don’t like guests here,” I muttered, now completely awake again from the adrenaline.

“Yeah, that might be my fault,” a feminine voice offered from beside me, causing me to have to cover a shriek that had slipped out with my hands. There was a girl around my age right beside me and I hadn’t even noticed her until now because she was so quiet. I couldn’t even hear her breathing. “Sorry,” she quickly apologized.

“Shit! Fuck! I need to get out of here before they call the cops,” I gasped out, my breathing coming in heavy strangled gasps as I started to panic.

“Nah, they won’t do that. They haven’t yet anyway, they’ll just try to shoot us if they see us,” the girl replied far too casually for my liking. “Papa Bayer over there takes his right to bear arms very seriously and it would take too long for the cops to get out here from the closest town. We can probably sneak out of here once they’ve all calmed down a bit and go to sleep.”

I turned to look at the seemingly unflappable girl beside me. She was pretty and around my age with somewhat messy long blonde hair and very pale skin. It was hard to tell while sitting beside her in the dark, but she seemed to have a nice figure, looked to be of average height, and she had this whole Morticia Addams vibe to her that I found kind of hot.

Her clothes could have been partially responsible for that vibe. She wasn’t wearing a jacket and her clothes didn’t really flatter her, but despite the cold evening and her unsuitable clothes, she wasn’t shivering and didn’t even look uncomfortable. The dress, nylons, and shoes that she wore were dark and looked like something that a woman in her forties or fifties would wear to church, not a girl who was my age.

For a few minutes, we both just sat there in silence as I tried to get my labored breathing under control, and we looked one another over. Then the girl gave a wan smile before reluctantly extending her hand, “I’m Goldie Locke. We should probably get comfortable. It’ll likely be a while before they go back to sleep, and we can sneak away.”

I reached out my gloved hand to give hers a brief shake and replied without thinking, “I’m Red. Red Hood.” Thinking about it, it wasn’t like she was going to turn me in to the cops since she seemed to have her own troubles. Something about her sent chills down my spine, but I tried to start a conversation since it seemed that we might be stuck there for a while. “Soooo, what happened to turn them off visitors this much?”

Goldie watched me for a moment with considering look before finally sighing and shaking her head sadly. “You… wouldn’t believe me. Nobody would. I mean, this is some weird shit and sometimes I’m not sure if I believe it, and I’m living it…” she paused before shaking her head despondently once again and adding, “Well, I guess ‘living’ is a bit of a misnomer for me these days.”

Something in the haunted look in her eyes, the doubt that anybody would believe her, made me think that Goldie might be a kindred spirit of sorts, somebody who had seen and done things that had sent her life into chaos, just like me. “Try me,” I finally said grimly, hoping that I was right about her. I tried to keep my voice steady and keep from crying as I whispered, “My grandmother turned into a Werewolf last night and tried to kill me. I think that I can be open-minded.”

Goldie’s eyes widened for a moment before muttering, “Well, that explains the smell.” Still, she seemed reluctant, and it was a moment before she nodded and spoke hesitantly. “I… I think I’m a Vampire. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.” Then she visibly attempted to steel herself before telling me her story.

I grew up in Aurora, Illinois, and all of this started about six months ago after a freak sewing accident. I swear, I’m never getting close to a needle and thread, knitting needles, or a sewing machine again. Anyway, I guess that I must have fainted from the trauma and my girlfriend must have called 911 because I woke up in an ambulance on the way to the hospital with a guy in a paramedic uniform standing over me.

Anyway, Junior woke up while I was enjoying my snack and I’m pretty sure that he’s gay because he started screaming like a banshee and woke up Mama and Papa Bayer. Long story short, they weren’t happy, and Papa Bayer tried to beat me to death with that welcome sign that you tripped over before I managed to run off while he searched for his gun. It’s a good thing that I’m already dead and have Vampire powers.

“So, I’ve been hiding here and waiting for them to go back to sleep so I can get out of here and find a place to sleep for the day out of the sunlight,” Goldie finished with a shrug.

“Freak sewing accident?” I asked the blonde hiding with me in a mix of confusion and astonishment.

“Wait, I just told you that whole story and the only thing you got out of it was that?”

“No? I mean, I followed the whole thing and after being attacked by a Werewolf, Vampires don’t seem like much of a stretch,” I admitted. “I guess I can believe you, but what kind of freak sewing accident sends a person to the hospital? And impaled by a knitting needle?” I was genuinely curious.

The Vampire beside me closed her eyes and visibly shuddered before mumbling, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

I let it go for the moment. After all, we all have things that we would rather not talk about. Instead, I risked a glance toward the farmhouse before turning back to Goldie. “Look, I’m on the run too, and my motorcycle is hidden in some brush further down the driveway. I don’t think that I’m going to be sleeping anytime soon after being shot at, so if you don’t mind riding tandem, we might be able to make it to Detroit before the sun comes up. If we… umm… stick together for a while, are you going to try to feed on me?”

“No!” she hissed, “I mean, not unless you ask me to or allow it. I’ve got control of it now and I only need to feed once a day or so. And, no offense, but your blood smells kind of unappetizing. Maybe it’s a Werewolf thing?”

“I’m not a Werewolf, my grandmother might have turned, but I haven’t and I’m not craving raw meat or howling at the moon or anything,” I insisted defensively.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that, Red. Tonight isn’t a full moon though, and your scent is… different,” she said grimly.

“I… uhh…” I couldn’t speak, the words froze in my throat as I realized that she was right about the moon not being full. My heart hammered in my chest, and I started to shake as visions of turning into something like what Granny had become seemed to push away all other thoughts.

A painfully tight grip on my shoulder jarred me from those thoughts and I saw the blonde looking at me with a concerned and apologetic look on her face. “Sorry, but I figured that it was best if you’re prepared for the worst, even if I’m wrong and you haven’t turned. Anyway, yeah, I can guarantee that I won’t try to suck your blood unless you allow it… or maybe if you find that you’re into that kinda thing,” Goldie said the last bit with a playful wink, and in a much lighter tone than the dire warning from a moment earlier that had had my heart clenching in terror.

Now my heart was doing other things though. How had she just gone from terrifying me that I really might turn into something like my grandmother had, to flirting with me? She was flirting with me, right? More importantly, why did I find myself interested? I mean, I had always been attracted to girls, but a Vampire?

I tried to push such thoughts out of my mind and peeked around the hay bale that was our cover once again. The light on the main floor was out so I was hoping that it would be safe for us to move. “Let’s go. Quick and quiet until we’re on my bike and can hit the road,” I whispered to my new blonde companion.

She nodded, not saying a word as we both carefully got to our feet. With one last quick look around the corner of the hay bale toward the house, I nodded back to let her know that it seemed to be clear. Then we both made for the driveway and rushed toward my bike as fast as we could. Five minutes later, we were on the access road and heading back toward the interstate with Goldie’s arms wrapped firmly around my waist and butterflies fluttering in my stomach.