#firstofeden

For most of his life, Henry has operated on an irregular feeding schedule, stalking dark alleyways and satisfying his appetite by picking the scum of society out of the gutters. But since the early 20th century and the advent of blood storage, he's developed other options. Options that eliminate the need to kill for a meal.

In the time since then, he has whittled the entire feeding and blood storage operation down into the contents of a single locked and refrigerated security case. There are, of course, spares kept at his various properties. But because of whole blood's short shelf life, keeping the stuff in stock is tricky, and he usually only has one active case at a time.

It's midday, and he's in the process of shuttling his lunch back to the apartment on 66th by foot when, at a crosswalk, a bag-snatcher jumps him from behind and attempts to yank the case out of his hand. The shock on the man's face is immediately evident when not only does the case fail to budge an inch from Henry's side, but he realizes that his intended victim has caught him by the wrist with his free hand.

The vampire’s eyes dilate to an unnatural black as hunger fuels his irritation, and he very nearly subjects the would-be thief to a mouthful of fangs. As it is, the man still blanches, wriggling and striking out in an effort to free himself. Henry has an eye trained on his pulsing jugular when the shriek of brakes fills the intersection and a city bus strikes them both head-on.

The next few moments pass in sensory-overloaded blur as instinct drives Henry out of the gutter where he’d landed in a splash of human gore and down into the subway, before anyone can see his face. When reason returns, he finds himself still gripping the handle of his steel case. But there’s nothing left attached to it but twisted scrap.

Which is what ultimately finds him cursing all the way back home, to the one place on earth Adam knows where to look for him.