Vamp In The Hood

Vinny had decided it was time for a change. He had lived in the heart of New York City for many years, and he just couldn’t take it anymore. There was too much crime, too much drug use, too many drunks, too much homelessness. People were dirty and disgusting and unfriendly. He had had enough.

         Vinny set out to find a nice, quiet suburban neighborhood to settle down in. He wanted a simple life. He wanted to be able to make some friends and have them over for dinner. He wanted to be able to sleep with his door unlocked and his windows open. 

         As Vinny packed up his belongings, he began to get hungry. It was getting late, after all. Vinny headed out into the city to find some dinner. When he returned from his meal, his energy restored, he packed some more. He was sort of excited. He had found a nice little place in a nice neighborhood. The area wasn’t so small that everyone knew everyone, but small enough to have a very low crime rate. As the sun came up, Vinny decided to get some rest. 

         Finally, the day came that Vinny was ready to move. He had arranged to have movers come and pick up his things and bring them to his new house. He would head out later that night.

         After a nice dinner, Vinny headed out to his new place in his new neighborhood. He arrived late into the night. He was careful to be quiet and not disturb his neighbors. He entered his house, and checked each room to make sure that things were set up the way he had requested. He then went online on his phone and gave the movers a rating and a tip. He wasn’t tired, so he began unpacking. The first thing that he unpacked were his thick, insulated drapes. They were a deep, velvety purple and hung heavy over the windows. He put away his books and records, then set up his old timey turn table. The turn table could play records, cassettes, cd’s, and even eight track tapes. He had customized it himself. He had an electronics degree, among many others.

         As the daylight dawned, Vinny got tired and went to bed. He woke up after dark, and got up. The first thing he realized was that he was famished. He went to the fridge and took out a bag of blood. He heated it in the microwave, poured it into a wine glass, and once again began unpacking. This was not an ideal meal – fresh was better – but he needed to get used to his surroundings before he could begin hunting.

         The next evening was a Friday, and the subdivision was having a block party. This was the perfect setting for Vinny to learn about his neighbors and surroundings. He prepared a covered dish (which to him smelled horrible, but he knew people would like), drank another wine glass of blood, and headed out. 

         Everyone in his neighborhood seemed extremely friendly. He met the Glasses’, the Turners’ and the Smiths’. That was just while putting his covered dish down. Each couple wanted to introduce him to other couples. Vinny thought this was working out very well. It was hard for him to control his hunger, with all of these people around, but he had had lots of practice and kept himself under control. 

         After a bit, he noticed that there was one house on the block that still had lights on.  He asked Mrs. Marilyn Morris about it. She explained that Ms. Hanratty lived there. She said it as though it was something that left a bad taste in her mouth. 

         “Is she here?”, Vinny asked. “I would love to meet her.”

         “Oh, no, hon. She doesn’t come to these sorts of things. And she doesn’t accept visitors. No one has even ever been inside of her house.”

         Vinny found this intriguing. That was a person he definitely wanted to learn more about. As he wandered around the block party, meeting more and more neighbors, he began sizing them up by listening in on various conversations. As he was invited into various conversations, he was also able to determine some things about his new neighbors. 

         For instance, most of the wives stayed home during the day. Not many of them had children. Most of the husbands worked late, leaving lonely wives having dinner alone. This fact was quite interesting to Vinny. 

         When asked, he explained that he was a writer and worked from home. He told them that he was somewhat of a night owl, and slept most of the day. Some of the wives groaned at this, as Vinny was very handsome, new in town, and intriguing. He set their minds at ease by telling them that he was a confirmed bachelor, however, and would be happy for company in the evenings. This made the husbands happy, as their wives wouldn’t be complaining so much about them being late.

         Vinny went home, and while sipping another glass of warmed blood, he jotted down all of the information he had learned that evening. He was determined to meet Ms. Hanratty as soon as possible.

         A few days later, Vinny had his chance. He saw Ms. Hanratty check her mail and go inside. The thing was that Vinny had snuck over and snagged a piece of her mail. Now he headed over, wearing long sleeves, long pants and a hat with a large sun brim. He knocked on her door and waited. He was already aware that he would probably need a little more than just charm this time.

         Ms. Hanratty answered the door angrily. She hated when people came to her door. Throwing it open, she was prepared to bite the head off of whoever was out there. However, when she opened the door and saw Vinny, she was suddenly overcome with the feeling that she wanted to have company, after all. 

         “Hello, madame. I don’t believe we have had the opportunity to meet, yet. My name is Vinny Monroe. I just moved in right over there. I received a piece of your mail by mistake, and I wanted to bring it right to you.”

         With that said, he held out the piece of mail. 

         “Well, sir. Vinny, was it? My name is Mabel Hanratty. Would you like to come in for tea?”

         A grin spread across Vinny’s face. 

         “I would love to.” He said.

         He glanced around and noticed no one watching. He followed Mabel Hanratty into her home with a hungry look on his face.