A few hours after having soup with Gabriel, Alyssa returned to her room to rest. While she was apprehensive about the agreement she had made with a Vampire, she could tell that he was desperate and that gave her the leverage. He couldn''t keep her prisoner; because she could refuse to eat and the lack of nutrition would simple degrade the quality of his food. Her willingness to volunteer made it easier to keep the quality of her supply fresh, and that made the product much more valuable to trade. But she was still tired so Alyssa returned to her room that night and slept comfortably in what was the softest bed she''d ever layed down on. It was also the biggest bed she had ever seen, as she was quite sure four or five people could easily sleep in it together. She felt guilty having it all to herself, but enjoyed having a room to herself, something she''s never had living in her small town. Since her father passed away, Alyssa and her sister had been shuffled from one house to another, sharing a bedroom between then because they were too young to own their own dwelling, which the town was strict about letting people have unless they contributed. That''s why she had agreed to go out and look for supplies; Alyssa was trying to earn the right to get her own place with Diane. That was the one thought that kept her awake that night, the fear that her sister was crying in her room under the impression that her only family was now dead. Killed in action trying to find food like their father had only a few years earlier. This was one reason why Alyssa was willing to negotiate with Gabriel, he would help her get the supplies she needed to be independent and even stay alive for her sister. They were both getting something out of the deal, so she had to get past the gross part of donating blood to get what she wanted most. If he wasn''t going to bite her and not drain the life out of her, this could work rather well for both parties. It was that thought, as well as the very comfy bed that helped Alyssa sleep well that night.


    The next time she opened her eyes, it was light outside. She slowly strolled back into the living room, and saw that the curtains were open and the sun was brightly shining in. She strolled around the room, and over to a massive bookshelf that was on the end opposite of the kitchen. After scanning the books, she walked over to the kitchen to check and see what was there. She didn''t expect to see much, but the shelves were in fact well supplied, but it was what was in the fridge that surprised her the most. In there was a shelf that had medical bags that here filled with a red liquid, and Alyssa knew exactly what she was looking at. She took a deep breath and kept looking to see there was milk and she had noticed the cereal when checking the cupboards so she decided to make herself some breakfast. She poured herself a decent bowl of cereal and filled the bowl with as much milk as she could without spilling the cereal over the edges. She wasn''t used to having this for breakfast as milk was a rare find and usually it was powdered, as opposed to something fresh. She checked the expiry date, and it wasn''t even due to go bad for at least a few weeks. It was obvious to her that Gabriel had done at least a little shopping while she was asleep.


    She spent most of the day scouring the house, looking in every nick and cranny for more clues about the man who was man who lived there. While she was tempted, she stayed away from the other bedrooms, showing at least minimal respect for the privacy of the man that saved her from the undead a few days prior. He didn''t seem like a threat, and if he really was the creature he claimed to be, then he genuinely needed her help. That need was enough to keep her safe, and she had to work that angle while it was a good deal for them both. She didn''t want to break that bond by snooping around too much so she kept her searches to common rooms like the hallways, closest and even the bathroom. To her surprise the water was running, and even though she had no idea how he managed to do it, she took her first shower in what seemed like forever. Afraid she''s run out of water halfway through washing herself, she did all her scrubbing first and enjoyed the hot water before turning it off after a brisk fifteen minutes. She could have stayed there for hours, but didn''t want to be that kind of guest.


    It wasn''t until after the sun fell that she saw Gabriel again. She was reading a book on the couch when he strolled into the living room.


    "Sleep well?" She asked him.


    "What makes you think I was sleeping?" Gabriel countered.


    She held up the book, which was a book about vampires. Considering where she was, it seemed like a good book to take from the book shelf.


    "For the record, I prefer a soft bed as opposed to a casket." Gabriel informed her. "That whole casket thing came from paranoid members of our group. They were afraid that people would stake them in their sleep, so they would lock themselves in caskets which could lock from the inside. I never liked doing that. If someone can break into your house, they can break into a casket. I personally preferred a safe room, which had more room and privacy."If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Good to know," Alyssa said, putting the book down. "Is all of this true?"


    "No," Gabriel confessed, "A lot of what people assume about us is fabricated. Some of it was made up by us to give false hope. For example, silver doesn''t affect us at all. This myth has saved friends of mine on more than one occasion."


    "Interesting," Alyssa said, thinking about it.


    "I can only imagine," Gabriel said as he walked over and sat down on a chair that was opposite of the love seat she was sitting on. "I also happen to be over three hundred years old. I''m surprised you''re not going to ask me about how things were in the past, especially before the outbreak when humanity was thriving."


    "Is that what you call it?" Alyssa objected, "Famines and genocides in Africa, wars being waged over oil, and people killing each other with assault rifles in their own schools. That''s your idea of thriving?"


    "Wow, I''m impressed." Gabriel said, smiling at her. "What makes you think I wasn''t taking about civil rights in the 60s, or winning the world wars? I''ll be the first to admit that world wasn''t in the best shape entering the twenty-first century, but it wasn''t all bad. Despite what I thought of humanity, even a vampire like myself would never claim that humanity deserved to have a zombie apocalypse."


    "Fair enough," Alyssa conceded, "But we invented the apocalypse, so we kind of deserved it considering we tried too hard to play God."


    "That''s true as well, but we can''t blame the masses for the malice of a few scientists who messed up a flu vaccine." Gabriel said, enjoying the conversation. "When this thing first broke out, it was like the whole world was set on fire. We lost a lot of our own as well. Many of those not luck enough to fly had to fight their way out, and sometimes the numbers were too overwhelming, even for a vampire."


    "Vampires against zombies," Alyssa said, thinking about it. "I could only imagine how many you guys could take out."


    "I watched one vampire kill over two hundred zombies in less than thirty minutes." He informed her, "We are very fast and can more from kill to kill before they can even grab us. These come in handy as well when taking out the undead."


    Alyssa watched as Gabriel held up his hand and the nails on each finger began to grow right in front of her until they were claws that were at least a inch long and looked rather menacing. She looked back at Gabriel after looking at his hand.


    "You can shred them without any weapons," she noted, "That''s helpful."


    "I''ll use a weapon if one is handy," Gabriel confessed, "but if I can fly away without having to come in contact with them, it''s usually my preferred method."


    "Wise choice," Alyssa admitted, "Lowers your risk of infection. Are Vampires capable of being infected?"


    "Yes we are, but it hasn''t happened in a while." Gabriel said, "And trust me, you guys don''t want that to happen again."


    "I don''t doubt it," Alyssa said, putting the book down. "I did a lot of thinking about what we talked about, and considering the talk we just had I''m confident I can help you."


    "I''m glad to hear that," Gabriel said, "But it''s nice to hear you confirm it."


    "How do you intend to take my blood?" she asked him.


    "I will show you the first time," Gabriel explained, "But after that, I would recommend you do it on your own after. It''s best if I''m not around when you''re draining into the bags. I have a lot of control, but I prefer to stay away from temptations."


    "So you want me to do it myself, in my town?" Alyssa asked.


    "I would prefer it," Gabriel insisted, "To help with my portion control."


    "Seems fair," Alyssa said, thinking about it. "I wouldn''t want to sour this deal over something this simple. Show me how to do this so I can get home."


    "Alright," Gabriel said, as he stood up. "I fetched some medical supplies, more than enough to help you withdraw blood for a while. You can bring them back with the other supplies I gathered for your town. We can take you back after I show you how to fill a bag up with your own blood. I recommend doing one bag every few days but no more than three a week. I would personally recommend only two, at least three days apart. Anything more and you put your own health at risk and I don''t want that anymore than you do."


    "Alright," Alyssa said as she watched him put the tools onto the table in front of her. "So after you show me this, you''re going to take me home?"


    "Of course," Gabriel replied, "I will honor our bargain. So let''s get started."