The Experiment
Part 4: The Proposal
“I hope you aren’t thinking of doing anything silly,” Gregory continued as Trevor fumbled with his duffel bag. “After all, not only are you perfectly safe with me, but it usually isn’t a good idea to distract the driver of a car that is moving at high speeds down a wet road.”
Trevor froze, his hand finding the knife again but suddenly unsure of what to do next. “Uh, no… I don’t… I mean… what did you mean by that? Looking for someone like me?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a story, and it involves a business proposal as well. How would you like to make some quick money?”
The knife slowly pulled free of the bag but not its leather sheath, so Trevor tried hide it behind his leg while he unsnapped and unsheathed the blade one-handed while keeping his attention on the driver. “Look, this is all getting kinda creepy, and I don’t think I’m going to be interested in whatever you’re about to offer, so maybe you should just go ahead and let me off here. Now. Please.”
Gregory nodded and looked thoughtful. “I thought you might say that. Well… no. Sorry. Not done with you yet.”
Trevor’s mouth went dry and he almost fumbled and dropped the knife as his biological fight-or-flight response began to seriously kick in. Swallowing, he brought the shiny silver blade up and pointed it in the general direction of the psycho behind the wheel. He almost managed to stop his voice and hands from shaking. “Umm… I think I really gotta insist. Lemme out. Now.”
Gregory sped up slightly instead, looked over at Trevor, grinned like a cheerful lunatic, and said simply “No.” Then turned back to the road.
An icy shiver started dancing the Macarena up and down Trevor’s spine. His mouth worked, but it took three tries before anything came out. “No? What do you mean, no? You can’t… Let me the fuck out!”
Gregory glanced back at Trevor, and there was something about the eerie calmness of his eyes, something lurking beneath the cheerful demeanor, that made Trevor’s mouth snap shut.
“I want you to listen to me very carefully, Trevor, so we can move past this to where we both want to be. I’m going to keep this as simple as possible for you. I’m not scared of that knife at all. I’m not going to hurt you, but you can’t make me do anything I don’t want to either. Now, either stab me and get it over with or put that thing away so we can talk.”
Scared and confused and totally outside the boundaries of previous experience, Trevor froze with indecision. It was bad enough when he thought he had wandered into a teen slasher flick, his fused brain gibbered to itself, but now it was heading into some strange new realm that was even weirder than that! Fuck, this is probably what he got for wondering how things could possibly get any worse…
Gregory continued to quietly drive, nodding to the music that continued to play. Slowly Trevor pushed down the waves of panic and came to the only obvious conclusion. Unclenching reluctant muscles, he slowly put the knife back in its sheath and stuffed it inside his jacket.
“Much better.” Said Gregory. “And now, if you’re ready to listen, I’ll make the proposal. Ready? Well, probably not, but here goes anyway. I’m a vampire. A real needs-blood-to-survive vampire. I’d like to drink a small amount of your blood, for which I will not only drive you wherever you need to go, but pay you two hundred dollars. Deal?”
Trevor’s jaw hit the floor and rolled around by his shoes. There was silence from the occupants of the car for awhile. The sounds of the storm outside mixed with weather effects from the stereo system as the next song began to thump to life.
There’s a crack in the mirror and a bloodstain on the bed…
There’s a crack in the mirror and a bloodstain on the bed…
“I hope you aren’t thinking of doing anything silly,” Gregory continued as Trevor fumbled with his duffel bag. “After all, not only are you perfectly safe with me, but it usually isn’t a good idea to distract the driver of a car that is moving at high speeds down a wet road.”
Trevor froze, his hand finding the knife again but suddenly unsure of what to do next. “Uh, no… I don’t… I mean… what did you mean by that? Looking for someone like me?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a story, and it involves a business proposal as well. How would you like to make some quick money?”
The knife slowly pulled free of the bag but not its leather sheath, so Trevor tried hide it behind his leg while he unsnapped and unsheathed the blade one-handed while keeping his attention on the driver. “Look, this is all getting kinda creepy, and I don’t think I’m going to be interested in whatever you’re about to offer, so maybe you should just go ahead and let me off here. Now. Please.”
Gregory nodded and looked thoughtful. “I thought you might say that. Well… no. Sorry. Not done with you yet.”
Trevor’s mouth went dry and he almost fumbled and dropped the knife as his biological fight-or-flight response began to seriously kick in. Swallowing, he brought the shiny silver blade up and pointed it in the general direction of the psycho behind the wheel. He almost managed to stop his voice and hands from shaking. “Umm… I think I really gotta insist. Lemme out. Now.”
Gregory sped up slightly instead, looked over at Trevor, grinned like a cheerful lunatic, and said simply “No.” Then turned back to the road.
An icy shiver started dancing the Macarena up and down Trevor’s spine. His mouth worked, but it took three tries before anything came out. “No? What do you mean, no? You can’t… Let me the fuck out!”
Gregory glanced back at Trevor, and there was something about the eerie calmness of his eyes, something lurking beneath the cheerful demeanor, that made Trevor’s mouth snap shut.
“I want you to listen to me very carefully, Trevor, so we can move past this to where we both want to be. I’m going to keep this as simple as possible for you. I’m not scared of that knife at all. I’m not going to hurt you, but you can’t make me do anything I don’t want to either. Now, either stab me and get it over with or put that thing away so we can talk.”
Scared and confused and totally outside the boundaries of previous experience, Trevor froze with indecision. It was bad enough when he thought he had wandered into a teen slasher flick, his fused brain gibbered to itself, but now it was heading into some strange new realm that was even weirder than that! Fuck, this is probably what he got for wondering how things could possibly get any worse…
Gregory continued to quietly drive, nodding to the music that continued to play. Slowly Trevor pushed down the waves of panic and came to the only obvious conclusion. Unclenching reluctant muscles, he slowly put the knife back in its sheath and stuffed it inside his jacket.
“Much better.” Said Gregory. “And now, if you’re ready to listen, I’ll make the proposal. Ready? Well, probably not, but here goes anyway. I’m a vampire. A real needs-blood-to-survive vampire. I’d like to drink a small amount of your blood, for which I will not only drive you wherever you need to go, but pay you two hundred dollars. Deal?”
Trevor’s jaw hit the floor and rolled around by his shoes. There was silence from the occupants of the car for awhile. The sounds of the storm outside mixed with weather effects from the stereo system as the next song began to thump to life.
There’s a crack in the mirror and a bloodstain on the bed…
There’s a crack in the mirror and a bloodstain on the bed…