Born at Midnight by C. C. Hunter

spatter on his shirt.” Saying the words sent another chill down Kylie’s back.
    When the chill hung on longer than it should, she wondered if the cold stemmed from her panic or was it from something else? Was someone else here? Someone other than …
    “Thanks.” Della smiled. “I knew I liked you. Come on—let’s get to the bonfire before they send someone after us.”
    They started walking again, but every other step had Kylie looking over her shoulder. What frightened her more—finding a ghost or Della’s cousin—she wasn’t sure.
    *   *   *
    The smell of wood smoke grew stronger as they made their way through the woods. The half moon shifted in and out behind clouds, shrouding them either in moon shadows or complete darkness. The strange animal sounds kept playing in the distance—lions, elephants, and even wolves. But thankfully, the cold faded into the darkness.
    Della never seemed to lose her way so Kylie stayed close, ignoring the feel of thorns and bushes catching on her jeans. Finally, a reddish glow appeared between the trees.
    Able to think clearly at last, Kylie took advantage of their last few minutes alone to ask Della a few questions. “Is … your cousin the one who did this to you?”
    Della looked over her shoulder. “Did what to me?”
    “Turned you into a vampire.”
    “Oh. No. I was born with the virus. But yes, it was probably the contact with him that activated it.”
    “I thought you became a vampire by getting bit? Or is that just a myth? I mean, I realize there’s a lot of myths about supernaturals. I saw you could eat pizza. And you were in the sun.”
    Della smiled. “The sun and I don’t get along, but sunscreen mostly takes care of that. I can eat—not like I used to. I mostly need blood. And yes, some humans can be turned by being … bit. There are parts of the myths that are true. However, most of us are born with the virus. But it takes being exposed to another vampire before the virus is activated.”
    Kylie tried to understand. “So you knew you were a vampire all your life?”
    Della chuckled. “Hardly. The virus runs in my family but we never knew anything about it because it only affects one in fifty family members, and even then it may not be the active virus. Everybody thought Chan died in a car accident when he was in France. Then one night I saw him, at this party. Freaked me out.”
    “I can imagine.” A lot of this was freaking her out.
    “Anyway, he of course could sense that I had the gene and having come in contact with him, he knew I’d turn and get sicker than hell. He showed up to help me. He told me that I was a vampire. It was a big friggin’ shock to my system. Sort of like what you’re going through right now.”
    “Yeah, but I haven’t been sick. We’re not sure if I’m anything.”
    “Yeah, denial is a big part of it,” Della said. “I remember. I swore I just had a bad case of the swine flu.”
    Kylie bit back another denial and let Della continue. “I went through it all. Of course with vampires it’s worse. The change is damn painful.” She moved a few branches out the way and held them back for Kylie to pass.
    “So your parents don’t know?” Kylie asked.
    “You kidding?” Della asked. “They would freak.”
    They kept walking and Della continued. “I got really sick at first. The doctors didn’t understand it, either. Chan explained everything to me. He hid in my bedroom and took care of me for almost two weeks. I owe him big for that.”
    “Enough to leave your family for him?” Kylie asked, remembering what Della and her cousin had argued about. Then Kylie recalled her own family drama and sympathized with Della’s plight. Losing someone you loved hurt like hell. An image of her father flashed in Kylie’s mind and her chest tightened.
    Emotion made Della’s eyes bright. “There’s a community of vampires who live in Pennsylvania. Chan thinks it’s best if I go there and live. It’s hard to live