The old man sat alone and that’s the way he liked it. He was never a people person, but he could fake it if need be. And now it need be. He had suddenly felt dreadfully weak. He looked at his reflection in the glass and saw what he had feared. He didn’t understand why he let himself get like this. He should have fed earlier. It wasn’t like it was getting harder to do. These days, people were easily distracted by their cell phones, Kindles, and other various technologies that he himself did not quite understand. And those that weren’t blinded by their handheld devices were out causing the chaos he so yearned for: Bloodshed; Mayhem; Brutality. He wasn’t a picky man. While normal people watched through the protection of their digital screens, he sought to satisfy his cravings by walking into the very darkness they hid from.

 

It wasn’t going to be easy. He found himself in the worst possible place. He needed an outlet to charge his batteries, but as he sat on that uncomfortable seat, inside this dirty rectangle, flying along the tracks down a tunnel underneath the city of New York, he realized that he might just die in that very seat, turning this subway car into his coffin. He had no choice. He had to make due.

 

I must feed. Now.

 

“Mom, would you listen to me for once? Me and Ryan are going City University.”

 

The old man’s attention perked. No one else was talking in this subway car. It was late and everybody seemed too tired to hold a conversation. He was about to move to another car, but this had potential. Perhaps he might make it a few more days depending if this worked. He leaned forward to listen to the teenage girl and her mother.

 

“Marianne, you’ve got good grades. You can really go places. You can do much better than City University.”

 

“Don’t you mean ‘better than Ryan’?”

 

“No. I didn’t mean-“

 

“You know what, Mother? Maybe, you’re right. Maybe WE shouldn’t go there. Maybe WE should both go somewhere far away from here and far away from you!”

 

The teenager left her seat and stormed off towards the front of the train car, her long blond hair smacking other passengers on the way. She sat next to a young man about her age and wrapped her arms around him. The old man assumed that he must be one they were fussing about. She put in a pair of earbuds and curled up in his arms while her mother sat fuming several rows back.

 

The other passengers turned away and looked out their windows to either ease the mother’s embarrassment or theirs. This made it so much simpler for the old man. He stood as quick as his aching bones would allow and made his move. His cane thumped against the floor of the subway car, but it was easily masked by the sounds of the rails. It had been awhile since he had to actually use the cane to walk. The mother was staring at the back of her daughter’s head and didn’t even see him until he sat down next to her in the seat that was previously her daughter’s.

 

She jumped. “My GOD! You scared me.”

 

He smiled, his yellowed teeth peeking out from between his cracked lips. “No. I most definitely am not your God. My name is Emrys Sarlic and I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

 

Emrys extended his ancient hand. She reluctantly took it. “Joan.”

 

“Ahh, such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman. I couldn’t help but hear you and your daughter arguing.”

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb anyone. It seems like we’ve had this same fight over and over. We just can’t-”

 

Joan’s voice fell away. Her eyes became vacant. Emrys had raised his cane so the top was at her eye level. The cane featured a white glass globe with just a little bit of red at the bottom. The white insides seemed to swirl, mesmerizing Joan. She could not look away.

 

“Love and college. Both are counterproductive to each other but regardless, they always go hand-in-hand. However, this doesn’t mean you should let this go, Joan. The combination of the two can prove very dangerous, deadly even.”

 

Joan was unmoving. The rest of the train car didn’t seem to even notice the two of them anymore as if they were in some sort of blind spot.

 

“I want to tell you a story if I may? It’s not a happy story I warn you, but a necessary one. It’s a story of revenge and love gone wrong. It’s a story that could very well be your daughter’s if you let it.”

 

Joan slowly nodded, watching the swirling white within the globe dance. Her body may have been sitting on the subway, but her mind was not. She was within his words as he began to spin his tale.