It is the void inside him and the gnawing hunger which wake him up. Stirring on his bed, which is no longer drenched in sweat but as cold and dry as a slab of marble in an Egyptian mausoleum, Stefan opens his eyes and glances around the murky room. Wafts of mist from the street outside are almost creeping in through the window which has been left open. His fever and headache are gone, and he can effortlessly get out of bed and get to his feet. The city is as quiet as an ancient shipwreck floating aimlessly around a placid ocean, and yet the distant squeals of rats running through the gutters in the street below his room are as high-pitched as if the critters were circling his very feet. His senses appear heightened, and the stench of death and decay emanating from exterior of the apartment and from the living room below him is overpowering. He does not need to look outside his window to understand that the city is littered with putrid corpses, and that it has been largely abandoned. Lübeck has literally become a large-scale morgue, a shadow of its former self, and he remembers his father’s dying words about this being the end. Yet, he is still alive, and apart from feeling ravenous, he has never felt better or stronger in his life. An unnatural and seemingly inexhaustible source of power is coursing through his veins, making him want to jump from his window and sprint through the deserted streets of the city. Ah, the thirst! His lips are parched, and his stomach is a black hole eating him up from inside and demanding to be fed. What did that strange man in the cape tell him? Oh, yes, he is supposed to meet him by the city gates.

Stefan walks to the window, and an irresistible urge makes him climb onto the sill, readying himself for a leap of faith. Judging by the position of the Moon on the clear night sky, it is not yet midnight. Bracing himself for the impact, he raises his eyebrows in mid-air as it dawns on him that he can control his fall and levitate, landing softly on the cobblestones down below. What has he done to me? While trying to fathom the scope of his new powers, Stefan sprints, or rather flies down the street towards the Heiligen-Geist Hospital where he decides to levitate high up in the air, leaving the corpse-ridden streets and all the misery behind him. From his current altitude, Lübeck looks peaceful, albeit less illuminated than usual, and it is hard to believe that it has been struck by a calamity of such a colossal magnitude as is the case. Argh, the hole in his stomach is growing by the second now, and his entire body is craving for sustenance. Anything will do, really. His supernatural senses have detected a few rats eating a corpse on the street near the city gates, and he swoops down on them in the blink of an eye. The rats are too busy gorging themselves on the bloated body to realize that a predator has set his eyes on their throbbing veins, and Stefan is unable to suppress his instinctual craving for blood any longer. What are you doing, Stefan?! Nooo! This is disgusting! With part of his brain begging him to stop, he deftly wrings the necks of the two rats and drains them completely for blood. The liquid fills part of the void inside him, but the act is so sickening that he drops to his knees, vomiting on the damp cobblestones next to the unfortunate, half-eaten citizen.

“Ha! Have you forgotten your table manners, Stefan? Tsk tsk.”

Stefan spins around and is confronted by the familiar pale face of the mysterious aristocrat who came to his deathbed. The man in the regal cape bares his sharp, white teeth and snickers at him.

“What.. What have you done to me?!”

“Only what you asked me to do. I ended your pain.”

“But I am still in pain. My stomach is burning!”

“Oh, yes, you need to feed. Drinking the blood of rats, that’s for emergencies only.”

“I couldn’t help myself. It was so disgusting!”

“There are still survivors in this city. Follow me!”

“What are you talking about?”

“A young man or woman, now that’s a real feast which can still your thirst for weeks.”

On that note, the mysterious gentleman levitates so quickly it seems like he is teleporting himself to a position in the starry sky high above Stefan. Grappling with the implications of his parting remark, Stefan follows his maker so as not to lose track of him.

Despite their supernatural senses, it takes a while for them to locate a suitable survivor on the streets below them. Eventually, they succeed, and Stefan’s maker swoops down on a young nurse who is working her way around the piles of corpses by the hospital, having miraculously avoided the infection which has slain all her patients. Even now, eons after the event, Stefan shudders at the thought of their grisly murder of this poor, innocent woman. While he did not initiate the killing, his unquenchable thirst made him drink her blood, thus also making him an accomplice to murder. This was the first and only time Stefan would ever take the life of a healthy, young human being.

“That’s more like it, Stefan. I see you are a quick learner!”

With disgust painted all over his pale face and wiping warm droplets of blood from the corners of his mouth, Stefan turns his back to the remorseless vampire in front of him. He remembers the bedtime stories his nanny told him about these nocturnal creatures when he was just a kid, but he had never imagined this legend to be true, nor that he would ever encounter such a monster or even become one himself.

“What’s the matter, my dear apprentice? As you are forever bound to your master, you can never truly leave me.”

Stefan halts, turns around, and shoots his master a defiant glance.

“Let me at least give you some important parting advice. Avoid sunlight at all costs and never, ever, drink the blood of the dead.”

Repulsed by the mysterious aristocrat and feeling a strong desire to see Elizabeth, the fledgling vampire stops listening and takes to the skies, not seeing his mentor again for several centuries. Praying for the safety of his first love, Stefan shoots through the air like an arrow, realizing that he indeed has the ability to transform into a bat at will, exactly like in the horrific bedtime stories from his nursery.

Phew! The flickering lights in the windows of the small cottage on the fringe of the forest below him reassure Stefan that The Great Pestilence has yet to visit death and destruction on Elizabeth’s household. Regaining his human form on touch-down, he lands at a safe distance from the house. Will she be able to tell that he has left the ranks of the living? Coasting by the dimly lit windows of the cottage, he cannot help but study his own reflection. How pale he looks. It’s a dead giveaway. Stefan emits an involuntary laugh at the absurd irony. With trembling hands, he knocks on the decrepit old wooden door. The door opens and Elizabeth’s lovely face welcomes him with a big smile.

“Stefan! I was worried sick about you! We heard reports that half the population of Lübeck has perished. Come in, come in!”

He enters the humble but cozy abode squinting at the bright light emanating from the blazing fire in the wood stove which is heating the living room to what is probably a delightfully comfortable room temperature – for a human. Stefan, however, derives no comfort from the warmth. She will surely see how pale I am now.

“Sit down. My dad and brother are sleeping. You look a bit pale? Are you ok?”

Stefan seats himself by the crooked dinner table keeping his pale hands in his lap. He might as well come clean. This is a secret he cannot possibly keep from her.

“No, I’m not ok. Or, well, in a sense I am.”

“You’re babbling, Stefan. What happened to you?”

“The pestilence got to us. My dad died first and then my mom.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible!”

“I was lying in the bed about to die when this strange gentleman climbed through my window and came to my room…”

“You were probably hallucinating.”

“No, Elizabeth. It really happened. He did something unnatural to me.”

Stefan bares his fangs, showing Elizabeth the most tangible evidence of his turning. She recoils from the table, shunning him like he is contagious.

“What... what on earth happened to your teeth!?”

“Don’t worry, the pestilence has cleared my system, and I am in control of this new... condition of mine.”

“I know about the Nosferatu… Please leave us this instant!”

“Calm down, Elizabeth. I would never harm you or your family.”

While extending his assurance, the unnaturally perceptive Stefan gazes at Elizabeth’s neckline. Her burgundy dress partly reveals her collar bones, but what is catching his attention right now is not so much her attractive shape. Involuntarily, he is zeroing in on the jugular veins visible on her neck. He can almost sense the constant flow of blood passing through them and, eerily, this excites him. Fortunately, having recently fed, he is easily able to suppress this instinctual reaction.

Having digested the situation, Elizabeth seems to be calming down.

“Let me get you a hot cup of tea. You must be freezing.”

Stefan accepts the offer and although neither the hot liquid nor the warmth from the stove can bring any heat to his icy hands, simply sitting there drinking tea with his first love invokes a semblance of normality, providing a much-needed mental relief after the horrific events of the evening.

“You know, if my dad learns anything about your… condition, he will never allow me to see you again.”

“I understand. I will be waiting for you by the edge of the forest around midnight. Every night. Don’t worry about finding me. I will find you. If you can come, fine. If not, fine. I have all the time in the world now.”

Finally, a smile illuminates her face. Not just any smile, but that special smile which is only for him. The radiant smile which captivated him when he first met her in the Lübeck bierstube, and she teased him about his inexperience with foreign beer.

Elizabeth gets up, walks to his side of the table and sweeps him away in a tight embrace.

“You feel very cold, Stefan, but you are as handsome as ever.”

She locks eyes with him, and he can tell that he has a hypnotic effect on her because she just stands there as if in a trance staring at him. He gives her sweet and rosy lips a quick kiss, breaking her trance but awakening in himself a vestige of human desire, having seemingly survived his transformation.

“Please let me protect you and your family. I can get you through this calamity. Bring you food and drink, so you can keep a safe distance to the infected.”

On that note, Stefan takes his leave.