Musicians of the Night

Zacky stretched out his arms, as he awoke. As he glanced to the left of him, he saw that Jimmy Reed the blues singer was smiling warmly at him.

“How are ya feeling, Zacky?” Jimmy asked, warmly.

“I’m not sure what you did to me, Jimmy,” Zacky commented, quietly, “but, whatever it was, I feel… much better than I did in days. It’s also nice to wake up in a warm comfy bed. I also have a craving for… blood.”

“That’s because you’re a vampire, now,” Jimmy explained, softly - as he leaned over and begin to stroke Zacky’s face. “You seemed to be in the brink of death, so… so it was the best I could do for you.”

“I’ve always liked your music, Jimmy,” Zacky commented, pensively, “but I never would’ve guessed you were a vampire. I guess that’s why you didn’t age a day, though - and why you still look the same as you did… on your ‘50s album covers. Do you think you might ever, uh, get back into performing blues?”

“I would like nothing more than to get back into blues music,” Jimmy replied, wistfully. “I just have to wait for the right time, though - and, of course, I would have to use a different identity. There is no way the general public is gonna believe that I’m Mathis James Reed, 74 years old - and our identity as vampires should be kept as a secret.”

“I wonder what the rest of our band is gonna think,” Zacky commented, quietly. “It’s gonna be awfully hard for me to keep a secret this big from them, y’know?”

“Well, I already told them that I’m Jimmy Reed,” Jimmy reminded Zacky, softly. “So, of course, it’s only fair to let them in on it. But we should make them swear to secrecy. I don’t think the world is quite ready to know that… that we exist.”

“So what do I do about this… this craving for blood?” Zacky asked, worriedly.

“Blood ice cream,” Jimmy commented, as he handed Zacky a container of ice cream and a spoon. “Well, actually, it’s flavoured with chocolate - but it’s got blood as one of the major ingredients, There is blood-flavoured ice cream, too, though.”

“This ice cream tastes quite good,” Zacky commented, as he swallowed his first spoonful. “Where do you get blood ice cream from?”

“Well, it’s not really something you can buy in your typical supermarket,” Jimmy explained, quietly. “In fact, my wife and I had prepared the ice cream ourselves. My ol’ lady is a vampire, too - and she was changed at the same time I was. We started out with chocolate-flavoured blood ice cream, since neither of us care much for vanilla - and then we went onto other flavours. Then, finally, we decided to make blood-flavoured blood ice cream - which, whilst safe for mortals to eat, is usually an acquired taste for them. So, right now, we have nearly a hundred different flavours. We usually look for new flavours at any ice cream parlour we visit, and then we scour this newfangled invention called ‘the internet’ to see if any recipes show up - and then we modify the recipe as necessary, in order to include blood as a major ingredient.”

“That sounds interesting,” Zacky commented, impressed. “But where do you get the blood from?”

“We usually get it from private independent butchers,” Jimmy explained. “The ones that are not under strict FDA laws with regard to distributing blood. We live in Moonlight Valley, where about half the residents are immortal.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of Moonlight Valley!” Zacky exclaimed. “It’s in Orange County, isn’t it? About a half-hour drive away from Huntington Beach. The town commonly dubbed ‘Halloween Town’, right?”

“Yeap, that’s the one,” Jimmy replied, smiling.

“So, Jimmy, if you’re the one who changed me,” Zacky commented, slowly, “then I guess you’re sorta like my… my father… now.”

“That’s right,” Jimmy replied, cheerfully. “Although, of course, I have no desire to take you away from your actual parents.”

“Well, actually,” Zacky explained, as tears came to his eyes, “my parents both died a month ago, in a car crash. They, uh…” Zacky was unable to continue, as he began to cry.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Zacky,” Jimmy replied, sounding tearful himself. He gently drew Zacky towards him, and gave him a big hug. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

For about the next ten minutes, Zacky wept brokenly onto Jimmy shoulder - as Jimmy hugged him tightly, whilst tears stung his own eyes.

When Zacky was finished crying, Jimmy grabbed a clean handkerchief from his pants pocket - and he used it to wipe the tears away from Zacky’s face.

“Thanks, uh, Jimmy,” Zacky commented, softly.

“It’s evident that you went through a lot, Zacky,” Jimmy replied, softly. “Look, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to take you and the rest of your band under my wing. I still remember what it was like to be a struggling musician, myself - so I understand how you guys feel. I’m not gonna try to convince you guys to, uh, change your genre to blues - unless, of course, it’s the direction you wish to go in - but I definitely do see the potential in your band.”

“Thank you so much, Jimmy,” Zacky commented, smiling.

“You are most welcome, Zacky,” Jimmy replied, smiling back. “Well, how about we go look for the rest of your band?”

Notes