Thirsting for Life

By Francesca Grillo

Thirsting for Life takes the classic vampire story into the present, exploring both the psychological and spiritual mind of the vampire and how it transcends through the experiences influenced by life, love and fate. This story probes themes of divorce, life as a single mother, as well as coping with anxiety and being diagnosed with a disease. Rebecca is a recently divorced single mother, whose life intersects with Adrianos complicated secret identity, forcing them to confront societys pressures to conform. The story ultimately provides a looking glass into which we peer and discover ourselves, our frailties, and our passion for love and life as living beings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 14, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450261890

Francesca Grillo

Francesca Grillo lives with her two boys just outside Toronto. Growing up in an Italian family in Ontario, she found inspiration for her writing in the words, sounds, and dialects of her surroundings. Discovering the beauty and power of Bram Stokers Dracula, and later Anne Rices Interview with a Vampire and Lestat, she developed an understanding for the psychological layers of identity rooted in the embodied vampire narrative. By day, Francesca works at Ryerson University in Toronto; by night, she travels the imaginative underground and thinks up characters for her short stories and poems.

Book preview

Thirsting

for

Life

Francesca Grillo

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Bloomington

Thirsting for Life

Copyright © 2010 Francesca Grillo

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4502-6190-6 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-6189-0 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 11/8/10

Dedication

To my little men, Luc-Michael and Matteo

May you both always pursue your dreams and be guided on your journey through your spiritual energy

Preface & Acknowledgements

Thirsting for Life has been with me and in me for many years but it took the right circumstances for it to find these pages. I envisioned this story as a modern twist on the classic vampire genre, as this book took me into the lives of everyday people who yearn for love and life while facing extraordinary challenges. Travelling into the past and back into the present, Adriano, a man with a mysterious secret, and Rebecca, a single mother, are filled with hope while also struggling through the complexities and adversities that surround their lives in the city. Fate and chance intervene to fuel their experiences. But can they transcend barriers of social norm and prejudice?  

Many people helped me along my journey of bringing this book to life, most notably my parents, Donna and Carmen; my brothers, Nick and Lino and close friends who listened and encouraged me to continue on along the way. I want to thank Jean-Paul who helped me at a critical time when the light was dim; he gave me the spiritual and personal tools to believe in myself and bring my characters to life with a voice and spirit that is a part of me. And last but not least, I thank Lisa Vuong whose creative vision and graphic design helped capture my ideas for the book cover perfectly. This book is dedicated to my children, my most precious inspiration. 

F.G.

Toronto

Contents

Chapter 1

Taking out the Garbage

Chapter 2

In Honor

Chapter 3

Rebecca

Chapter 4

Hero Tormented

Chapter 5

Elizabetha, His Rock

Chapter 6

Date with Anxiety

Chapter 7

Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 8

Vampire’s Kiss

Chapter 9

A Breath of Fresh Air

Chapter 10

First Impressions

Chapter 11

Life Interrupted

Chapter 12

The Choice

Chapter 13

Paris, a Renewed Experience

Chapter 14

The Stranger

Chapter 15

The Eiffel Tower

Chapter 1

Taking out the Garbage

As the corpse dropped to the floor, never to be missed or respected,

the stranger’s need was satisfied, while leaving the world less infested.

—Francesca Grillo

Kyle stepped off the elevator at his floor and turned his iPod off. He was immediately confronted by an unpleasant odor traveling through the hallway. As he continued down the hall toward his unit, 1209, the smell became stronger. He stopped in front of 1205 and quickly covered his nose with his hand. The grotesque, foul odor coming from within was one of rotting meat. He hesitantly knocked on the door, but he really wasn’t sure if he was mentally prepared. Who could possibly breathe in that rancid stench? How could they stand it? It was overwhelming him, and he was outside of the door. He tried desperately not to take in many breaths. He covered his nose and mouth with the bottom of his black graffiti shirt and tried to hold back from gagging. He waited a few seconds and then knocked louder. He next tried the doorknob, but it was locked, of course. The smell was unbearable, and since the building had no air conditioning, the humidity from the extreme heat wave that day intensified it. Kyle had a feeling of panic. He looked at his watch; it was just past 3:00 am. He couldn’t contact the superintendant this early, but his instinct told him he needed to contact both the super and the police. A few minutes later, Mr. Walden, from the unit next door, stepped outside of his own apartment. He, too, had a disgusted expression on his face and covered his mouth and nose as he approached. Kyle was already on the phone speaking to a 911 dispatcher, and he acknowledged Mr. Walden, who was knocking on the door of 1205 with trepidation.

A half hour later, Detective Tom Galloway arrived, and he was met by his partner, Peter Johnson. As they walked into the lobby, they noticed the air was very thick and musty. It was a very old building, with very little décor in the lobby, but it didn’t look run down, just worn out from the many years of activity from the different lives it protected inside its walls. The two detectives took the elevator up to the twelfth floor, and, as they stepped out, they too were assaulted by the ghastly odor. Kyle saw something in their facial expressions that left him feeling extremely worried and nervous—something was very wrong in unit 1205. Mr. Walden quickly motioned them over. Kyle whispered into the cell phone, Yeah, man, the smell is killing me! Got to go, Neil, they’re here. Yeah, I’ll call you back later. He did feel some curiosity as to what he would see inside.

The super arrived moments later and unlocked the door with his master key, but the chain was still on it from inside. Detective Galloway threw his shoulder into the door and snapped the chain. The door opened to darkness, and they were instantly confronted by the same putrid smell—only stronger. Kyle had to rush out; he was about to be sick. The detectives called out, but no one answered. When the super turned the lights on, he stared in horror at the scene in front of him. Kyle heard his scream of terror, ran inside, and cried out in shock at the disturbing, shocking sight. Tied up in a chair was a man, his neck completely torn apart, as if some grizzly bear had gotten to him and fed on him. He was almost decapitated. Kyle ran from the apartment into the hallway. He was shaking as he walked back and forth, holding his stomach. He quickly got his keys and opened up his own unit two doors down. He ran to the bathroom and threw up a couple of times. He was not able to erase the most disturbing image he had ever seen. A few minutes later he got on the cell phone to his friend Neil; his hands would not stop shaking. He had seen a lot of gore watching horror movies over the years and had become almost desensitized by the graphic scenes he had seen. But this was something he would never have imagined seeing. It was so disturbing because it was real life, and the smell was just so incredibly putrid! Horror movies had never had that effect. Kyle stayed out in the hall talking to his friend Neil for support. He described to him over the phone the scene now forever engraved in his mind. By this time, more police had arrived; emergency workers and the commotion in the hall had awakened other residents, and they started opening their doors to see what was happening. They were told to stay in their units until further instruction.

After a while, Kyle calmed down, and the detectives were able to ask him some questions. He told them that he didn’t really know the victim; he had only seen him once or twice in the elevator or walking to the garbage chute. Kyle was never really home; he was either out with his friends or working as a bartender down the street at Elephant Castle.

Detective Galloway again approached the body in the chair near the kitchen entrance. He moved in closer and looked at the wound on the neck. It was torn open, but, as he looked around the floor, he noticed that there wasn’t a lot of blood considering the vicious trauma to the neck area. It was as if this man had been attacked by some kind of animal. Galloway looked toward the huge sliding door to the balcony. It was partially open and was cracked all the way down. He noted it in his pad, along with the question he needed to find an answer to: Was the sliding door window already broken? He walked out onto the balcony and looked down and then up, shaking his head. And just loud enough for his partner to hear, he commented This building is twenty stories high. There is no way someone could climb the balconies. We are on the twelfth floor, so they couldn’t have come through here. Then he looked back at the sliding door and noticed that the lock on it was broken. He jotted this down in his notepad, too. He went to the front door, puzzled, since the chain had still been on when they had tried to open the door. He was thinking to himself, Okay, maybe he opened the door to the killer, but he couldn’t have locked it and chained it again after he was killed. So, how did the murderer get in here? Galloway went back to the balcony and asked forensics to do a thorough search for anything they could find. While the forensic photographers were busy photographing the body, the scene, and the balcony, Detective Johnson focused on the victim’s face. It looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember why. Then, suddenly, he remembered something. He pulled from his jacket pocket the crumpled fax they had received three days ago. On it was a picture of a man named Douglas Grandon. He quickly showed the fax to Detective Galloway and, moments later, to Captain Reynolds.

It’s him, said Galloway.

I thought his face looked familiar, Captain Reynolds said. He ripped open the shirt of the corpse Son of a bitch! he blurted out. "It is him. He pointed to the chest and the tattoo on it. The tattoo was of a list of names: Meagan, Cheryl, Susan. I’ll never forget—evil, plain evil," he said in a disgusted voice.

Hours later, the news was out, and the crowd outside was getting louder and more restless. Some of the onlookers had been there for hours, and the news reporters and photographers had their questions prepared. An hour later, Captain Reynolds stepped outside the front door, and the crowd of reporters quickly rushed in. It grew very quiet as the captain began to speak. He informed them that a thorough investigation was underway, but all he could say at