Blood Hunt by Christopher Buecheler

had squandered what might have been her only chance, losing sight of the woman in the crowd. She tried not to dwell too much on this possibility, but her nerves were eating away at her. There were so many questions. Even if she found this vampire again, would the woman talk to her? Would she grant Two’s wishes? Would she simply kill Two and be done with it?
    There was a time when this latter option might not have bothered Two, might even have appealed to her. There had certainly been moments in the past few months where she would have welcomed the chance to escape into oblivion, but she felt alive again for the first time in so long, and with that feeling came the desire to extend that life, to make it last as long as it could. Forever, if possible.
    At seven, Two took a shower. She dressed in a pair of black slacks and a cream-colored blouse, trying to look a little classier in case that would help her cause. She wrapped herself as always in the leather jacket Theroen had given her, made sure she had her keys and cigarettes, and left her apartment as the sun began to slip below the Manhattan skyline. She would walk for a time, as she always did, and when night had fully fallen and the time seemed right, she would make her way to the bar.
     
    * * *
     
    L'Obscurité throbbed like a young heart in the center of Manhattan. Two stood before it, finishing a cigarette and looking up at the neon sign. It was warmer this evening, with no rain, and there were small groups of smokers scattered around the sidewalk in front of the club. Two scanned them for the girl with luminescent eyes, but didn’t see her. This wasn’t particularly surprising; the vampire had probably not even left her home yet.
    The same bartender was working, and he smiled as she moved toward him through the thin, early-evening crowd.
    “I guess we made a new fan. Welcome back. Nice shirt.”
    Two flashed him a grin. “Thanks! You remember me?”
    “I remember everyone. It’s why they pay me the big bucks. I’m Thomas.”
    He reached his hand out over the bar, and Two shook it.
    “Hi, Thomas. I’m Two.”
    “Name like that, now I’ll never forget. You busted up outta here pretty quickly last night. Trying to catch up with someone?”
    Two decided that honesty was the best policy, at least to a degree. “Yes, actually. A girl I saw last night looked familiar, but she left before I could see if we’d met. She was sitting over there, real pale … I think her hair was light brown. Darker than mine, anyway.”
    “Lotta girls come in here every night. You didn’t see her outside?”
    “By the time I got out the front door, she was gone.”
    “Maybe she went out the side exit.”
     “There’s a side exit? Where does it go?”
    Thomas paused, eyebrows raised. “Out the side?”
    Two rolled her eyes, laughing. “Well, yes Thomas, thank you … but wouldn’t I have still seen her on the street?”
    “Maybe not. That alley connects both sides of the block. She could’ve gone the other way.”
    “Oh, shit. OK, if I see her again and can’t get to her in time, I’ll check the alley.”
    “Sounds good. So what’s your poison?”
    “Woodford Reserve, one ice cube, and a glass of water.”
    “Not a fan of the Cup of Blood?”
    “Too much sugar.” Two gave him a dazzling smile. “I’m sweet enough already.”
    Laughing, Thomas went to make her drink. Two surveyed the bar. It was quieter than it had been the night before, and the clientele had thinned considerably; the next day was a work day for most of the world. There was no sign of Jeremy, the boy she had kissed, and Two was glad. He probably would have felt obliged to make awkward conversation, and she wasn’t interested in that tonight.
     Her bourbon arrived, and Two leaned against the bar, tapping her foot to the music and watching the people. Thomas kept himself busy cleaning dishes and organizing the bar, but Two felt him glance at her from time to time, checking the status of her