Ghoul

I sat there watching, just observing trying to take it all in before the inevitable outcome. There sat Mr. Epstein sipping scotch with a crystal decanter on the table beside him. The Lolita Express was just as tacky as one would assume it would be. Pictures of tropical landscapes adorned the walls and wood panneling encompassed the fuselage. The man seeme dpretty well pleased with himself, seemingly unwawre of any danger. However, we were not alone. I spied two unassuming characters toward the rear of the plane, dressed in smart suits and sunglasses. I contiinued to look around until my eyes fell at last on an old photo album. I picked it up and flipped to the middle. It was less a photo album than a meticulously organized file of Mr. Esptein's exploits with his friends. Or perhaps they weren't friends, merely clients or some combination of the two. There were familiar faces among the many pictures: politicians, titans ofindustry, prominent foriegn dignitaries. It all seemed so casual.

To this day I am not certain how I got onto this plane or why I was there, but no one seemed aroused by my presence. I decided to break the silence, knowing I had precious little time to find the answers tot he questions people would be asking a year from now.

"So" I began " Where are we headed, again?

He looked up, seemingly surprised at the question. "Well, New York, of course. We've got to take care of some business. You must need taking care of, your memory is lapsing already" he chuckled.

" You might be right." I replied quietly. " Will there be anyone meeting us, by chance?"

" Oh sure." He said "But they'll be waiting back at the house. We'll have to make this one quick, I've got to go meet some clients in Europe in a few days."

" Oh I see. So run the plan by me again. You must be right about my memory, I can;t seem to keep it straight." I lied. Hopefully I could find out what in the world we were supposed to be doing in New York. Maybe that would give me some clue as tot he events that I know would transpire.

" Ok, but keep your voice down and come with me to my cabin." I followed him to a provate quarters within the plane. he closed the door, locked it, and sat behind a wanut desk. I could see the room was soundporffed and the door was thick and strong.

" So" he began " We'll meet the car on the tarmac, it'll take us into the city, and we'll meet our fellow guests at the brownstone, right?"

"Oh right, right." I awcknowledged.

" Something's wrong, though." he said ominously. " I've been feeling weak more often, sick even. And now I see it's not just me, you're feeling it too. It seems we won't be able to stave off age and the reaper forever."

" Stave off age, you say?" I asked, without thinking.

" Do you have another way?" he asked sarcastically. " After five hundred years this lifestyle has finally started taking its toll." "Five hundred years?!" I thought to myself. "What in the world is this guy talking about?"

" Do you remember when were just boys in Vienna? So many centuries have passed but I can remember it like it was yesterday." I decieded to play along. "Ah, go one, I'd like to reminecsce."

He looked up and closed his eyes as if he were picuring it all. "We were obsessed, singularly. Why two young men were so worried about mortality is strange, but we could feel the creeping shadow of death even then. That's why I love you, you've always understood that." I kepy my composure but underneath that veneer I was lost.

" Romania. Romania. That was the key. How long we looked. We spent a lifetime looking for a way to live forever. It would have been tragic had it not worked. Who could have believed the storties of the vampires were real. Well, not as people nowadays think of them, but real nontheless. Can you believe that was so long ago, and look how far we've come. And al it cost was the lives of lost young women. But immortality is a prize worth paying a great cost for." My eyes narrowed and I felt my blood pressure increasing. The satisfaction on his face was enough for me to want to jump over the desk and kill him then and there.

" Ah, those were the days." he said smiling. I cracked a smile knowing that this monster would soon have his world turned on its head and find himself behind bars. " And look at this. Finding that secret costus a great deal. But as far as returns on investment, I couldn't be happier. Sharing that secret with the rich and powerful hs made us one of them: rich, powerful, and immortal. What more could a man ask for?" I could feel the plane beginning to descend. " Ah, looks like we're here. Remember we're meeting some important people, try not to forget them when we arrive." I simply nodded and followed him out of the cabin. The plane came to a halt and the staircase lowered. As he apporached the threshold of the doorway he looked back and me, knowingly, smiled, and turned. There was something peculiar about the way he moved. The years were taking their toll on him and I saw the pathetic old man he was at heart as he stooped out of the doorway. I watched as dark cars swarmed around the plane. We all know what happened next.