Rick paced back and forth downstairs. He couldn’t hear anything from the apartment above – everyone was asleep, and Vince wasn’t home. He was still reeling from being made into a vampire, and still a little upset with Nick, even though he hadn’t really meant for the events that happened to have happened at all. He felt energetic, but cooped up, like an animal in a cage. Feeling hungry and wanting to get out, he pulled up the Uber app on his phone and put in for a ride, though waited outside so he could at least have the fresh, cool desert night air.
When the driver arrived, Rick had a map pulled up, and indicated where he wanted to go, promising a good rating and tip if he didn’t ask questions, and just stayed quiet. Partway through the ride, he rolled the window down partway in order to feel the breeze on his face. He found himself taking a deep, now unnecessary breath, catching the scents of various restaurants as they passed.
As promised, when the driver got him to his location, Rick tipped well, and gave him a good rating. Ahead of him lay a bit of wooded area, and he headed that way, disappearing into the trees, whereupon he relaxed a little upon entering. He enjoyed being outdoors; always had, and tonight was no exception. While he was more used to desert scrub than wooded areas, he’d gone camping with his family in wooded areas before, and hadn’t forgotten lessons that had been taught to him.
He leaned against a tree, eyes closed, just taking in the things the woods had to offer. The smell of the trees and undergrowth; the sound of nocturnal animals beginning to stir, while others settled to rest. After a moment, he opened his eyes, and let them adjust to the dark. Surprisingly, it took almost no time at all, though there was a startling clarity to everything. After a moment, he heard the crack of a branch, and turned to face the direction that sound came from. In the distance, he saw a deer. A handsome, six-point buck, leaning down to munch on some grass.
Something whispered in the back of his mind. Something…primal; hungry. It frightened him a little, but he listened, and found himself licking his lips a bit. Slowly, he began making his way toward the buck, being as careful as he could so as not to startle it. There was once or twice when the buck lifted it’s head to look around, but it went back to grazing readily enough. He crept up more, and when he felt he was close enough, he ran forward, managing to pound eon the creature before it had a chance to run.
The deer bucked underneath him, trying to get away, but Rick had managed to get a good hold of the antlers, and turned the head to the side so he could get an angle, all while avoiding the back legs as much as possible. Listening to that voice in the back of his mind, he bit the deer’s throat, and drank deep, draining it before pulling away. When finished, he dropped the deer and stood from where he’d been crouching while feeding.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, surprised to find less blood than he’d expected. Now finished, he headed back out of the woods to the spot where he’d been dropped off, to try and get a ride back, contemplating what he had just experienced. It had been a rush, and seemed to somewhat sate the voice in the back of his mind. Was it like this every time? He pondered this on the ride back, only half paying attention to the conversation the driver was attempting to make with him.
At some point, he mused, he would need to talk to Vince about that little voice; about feeding in general. Was it supposed to feel like that? He didn’t know. All he knew was that it had felt damned good.