Chapter 9

Immortality, Part 1

March 9, 2005, Miami - 2:24 AM

"No puedes hacer eso!" Frank shouted in Spanish. (You cannot do it!) "And let me make a shocking suggestion, from one killer to another: If you do enjoy taking a life as much as you swear you do, why not murder the thing, or at least the body it possessed? Just drain her as soon as you can!" the old man added.

It was remarkable how annoying his voice was. I figured that his numerous victims were somehow relieved just before their deaths knowing that at least they would never have to put up with his voice again. I knew it was a mistake to tell him about my encounter with the woman, but I had my doubts; and quite frankly, I needed to hear an opinion, even if it came from a creature like him.

I stood there and watched him pacing about in his living room like a lion inside a cage, until he suddenly stopped, turned, and looked at me.

"I want you to get inside my mind. I need you to feel what I felt when I tried to reach for it, when I felt its power," he said.

"I don't need to. I already met with it," I said.

"Don't play with me! There's no time for that here. You do realize that it is clever enough to be counting upon your evil nature in this little scheme?" he asked.

Evil nature, what does he know about evil? Why do most killers think they are evil when killing is natural in every species? I thought.

"It handpicked you for this deal, just as it did with that poor woman's body. It knows what you crave deep inside. It knows your will, your curiosity, and your fearlessness. Besides, it can fairly well assume that you won't listen to a damn word of warning from me," Frank continued.

Necessities ... In the end, we come back to that very first principle in all of us. "Interesting. What else do you know?" I asked.

"¿Qué más necesitas saber?" he replied in Spanish with another question. "What else you need to know?"

"I want to understand this," I said bluntly.

"We are talking about giving up, willingly, all your gifts and your immortality," Frank said, gesturing with his hands.

"I know," I replied, trying not to think much in my own words.

"You can't do it! You have sacrificed too much! All would have been in vain!" the old man shouted.

That was it! Enough with the drama. Less from a drunken bastard like Frank. That was the notion going on inside my head while I looking outside from one of his windows.

"Hold that thought. Forget about draining her. It's better to smash her skull. Take her by surprise and see to it that you smash her cranium as you might do a raw egg," he said loud enough for me to hear.

I turned to him. His face was covered with sweat, and he was breathless.

"If it's not too much to ask, take me with you when you do. I would like to watch," he added, this time almost shyly.

His wicked fiber made me smile. "Has been awhile since I see you this worked up, old man. I almost like you this way," I confessed.

"That's because I know your thoughts, and I know you are thinking of going on with this deal. This STUPID deal!" he shouted.

I saw his red, disoriented eyes sinking in alcohol. "No, you can't read my thoughts. But yes, so far, yes," I confirmed.

"No, it can't be. I don't believe it. You're so desperately fond of being you," he continued.

"I have been alive for over two centuries, and yet I have never felt more dead than when that thing talked to me of the possibility of being a mortal man again," I said, more to myself.

Frank was quiet.

"Maybe there's a way, a trick to learn something that can be offered to those that no longer want this," I continued.

"Estás hablando acerca de alguien más," the old man said. "You're talking about someone else."

His words made me angry. Suddenly, it seemed as though everybody had enough authority to make an opinion on my life. But I was not going to let a drunken fool upset me. "I go to go," I said, turning toward the back exit of the house.

"You must understand how destructive and vicious this thing is. You can't give up your powers to it. Listen, if it was only you who wanted to be a mortal man again, I will still be against it. What's so great about being human anyway? Nevertheless, don't surrender your powers and your soul to an evil force so far more cunning than yourself," the old man pleaded.