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Up until now, Momo had been content with sitting in the passenger’s seat, letting Fine drive, as emboldened as she felt after managing to escape her supposed uncle’s team, she understood that driving required some delicacy. Night had fallen a few hours ago too, so these were Fine’s best hours, even if she did only ever drink alcohol.
As she looked up at the night sky, she began to feel quite sleepy. The stars were numerous and bright, covering the entire sky. She recalled how freshly fallen snow always seemed to reflect the sun’s light directly into her eyes, though the stars weren’t nearly as blinding. She had made an attempt at counting them all, she quickly gave up. There were just too many. It was a much more manageable task back in Central City, on nights where she and Mirena were stationed together during nighttime guard duty. The pillars of light were so powerful that most of the stars in the sky were completely outshined and made much too dim to be seen.
Vampires had stronger senses, right? Perhaps she could ask Fine how many there were. Momo figured that, if she were an immortal nocturnal being, she’d probably try counting up all the stars in the sky at least once.
‘How many stars do you think there are?’ She asked, not really expecting a concrete answer.
Fine smiled, stifling a chuckle. ‘You know, you aren’t the first Warm One to ask me that question.’ She recalled the night, many, many years ago, when Aria had asked the same thing. They had stayed up all night stargazing and laughing. Counting, losing count and recounting, over and over and over again.
‘Really?’ Momo was in disbelief. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of Fine speaking to other humans. Fine had said that she was never going back to wherever she came from, did that make her an outcast as well? One thing was certain, and it was that escaping Central City and being pursued by the military had certainly made Momo feel like one.
‘There are more people like me out there? I mean humans who don’t hate vampires?
‘Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of you, but I imagine that few have the courage to step out into the darkness and say anything about it… In all my years, I’ve only ever met one such person.’
Momo didn’t want to be rude by asking how old Fine was, but she recalled from the military academy curriculum that vampires could live for many centuries. Fine could’ve easily been over a hundred years old, and if she was, she must’ve spoken to other humans in the past. It just made sense.
Fine continued. ‘So, to answer your question, I do happen to know how many stars there are, but simply giving you the answer would be a disservice to the human I just mentioned. You’ll have to try counting them yourself, first.’ Momo watched as a big smile crept up onto her new friend’s face.
‘But that’s not fair!’ Momo loudly protested. ‘I’ve been trying to count them this whole time, but I keep losing count or getting distracted!’
She was met with a hearty laugh from Fine. ‘And so did she…’
Reaching into the brown paper bag between them, Fine pulled out a soft military-green blanket they had bought in preparation for their journey and handed it to Momo. ‘How about you get all bundled up, and try counting them one more time?’
Momo placed the blanket over her body, tucking the edges between her and the passenger’s seat for maximum comfort. ‘I guess I could try one more time, but you have to promise to tell me after!’ She was pouting, but started counting aloud anyways.
She had started off strong, but yawns began interrupting her count after about seventy stars. Soon enough, the counting itself slowed down as well, and when she reached around one hundred and eighty stars, her voice had become little more than a quiet whisper. She got quieter and quieter until two hundred and thirty-six, which was the last number that Fine’s vampire ears were able to hear. After five minutes of waiting for the next star, Fine looked over only to find that Momo was fast asleep. She reached over and adjusted the blanket to make sure that it covered her shoulders. She couldn’t help but smile.
* * *
Never before had the night stretched on for so long. With Momo asleep, Fine was alone with her thoughts. She had ‘Oratio Nocturna’ playing, the same song that she had shown Momo in the mansion. The volume of the radio was just low enough so that she was the only one who could hear it, but it wasn’t even audible over the droning hum of the engine, so she just turned it off.
Fine gazed up at the sky, finding it hard to believe that it was still the same sky from… what was it, over half a century ago now? Though if anything, it should’ve been even harder to believe that she was doing this again.
She wondered what Allegro would think. He certainly wouldn’t be happy. He already wasn’t. It worried him to no end that Fine refused to drink blood, or at least that’s what he claimed. He had changed since Aria died, or rather, since Fine had led Aria to her death. He had repeated to her numerous times that he only wanted the best for her, to protect her from the sorrow she had felt for these past decades. That meant that he would surely take Momo’s life, or at least make sure she was out of the picture should he find her alongside Fine again.
Fine did her best to not be plagued by thoughts of Aria, but they were an almost nightly occurrence at this point, and with Momo within arm’s length, there was nothing she could do to stop them. She looked over at her protégé, peacefully lying in the seat, neck entirely exposed. If Fine wished to, she could… No. She kept her eyes on the road, clumsily reaching into the bag of provisions for another bottle of something. Anything that could stave off her vampiric urges. Her hand landed on another bottle of whisky, it was the same brand as the one she had emptied earlier today. Uncorking it with her teeth, she took a few sips, and stopped thinking about Momo. In the rear view mirror, she observed the blood-red hue begin to fade from her pupils.
Something would have to change. She couldn’t trust herself to stay her hand like this forever.
After spending a few more hours in silence, Fine finally saw the first hints of dawn in the East. Momo tossed and turned a little in her sleep, the girl had gone through so much in the past few days, and yet she was still as fierce and optimistic as ever. Fine admired and envied her, for she didn’t seem to yet be scorned by the reality of the world they lived in. Even if she had been, she was strong enough to continue - after all, she had escaped Central City almost entirely by herself.
Slowing the car down, Fine reached over towards Momo and began stroking her hair. She deserved it, and somehow, it was difficult to imagine her mother doing any such thing for her. How could a mother order a firing squad to shoot, knowing that her own daughter would be caught in the crossfire? It was appalling and inexcusable. She clearly had a reputation for it too, since the sword-wielding man that had come to repatriate Momo - her supposed uncle - had mentioned his sister’s ways.
Quiet groans and whimpers accompanied Momo’s rise from what had apparently been a decent slumber. She rubbed her eyes with her hands for a few seconds, at which point Fine stopped playing with her hair. After a minute or two of grogginess, she neatly folded up her blanket, apparently perfectly awake and alert.
‘Just like that? No coffee or tea required?’ Asked Fine, taken aback by how quickly Momo was on her feet.
‘Well, kind of. It’s more of a habit than anything, really.’ Momo answered. ‘All daytime operations in Central City begin at dawn, no questions asked.’
‘Really? Even for someone as young as you? I guess you Warm Ones need all the sunlight you can get. Then again, you always have…’
‘I’m not that young!’ Momo complained. ‘I’m fourteen and a half! And I’m a military academy graduate too.’
Fine could barely believe her ears. Technological advancements aside, it seemed that human society had changed greatly in the last half-century. Aria was about a decade older than Momo when Fine had eloped with her, and she hadn’t known her way around a weapon whatsoever. Yet just a few days ago, Fine witnessed Momo and Mirena firing guns with more or less professional accuracy. The thought of children as young as fourteen being military academy graduates sickened her.
The car was approaching an open clearing in the tundra. Fine slowed the vehicle down until they had made a complete stop. She turned to Momo and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to contain her disgust for the blatant militarism that humanity had sunken into.
‘Well, if that’s the case, I’m surprised you were never taught how to drive a car. Even vampires need sleep, you know, so you’ll have to take over eventually.’ Fine unlocked the doors and stepped out into the permafrost. ‘You said you wanted to drive me to a place where humans and vampires could live together. This is your chance to learn.’
‘Wait, really?’ Momo asked, beaming with joy.
‘Yes.’ Fine answered simply. She remembered what a hassle it had been for her when she learned how to drive. She would never tell anyone, but when flying wasn’t feasible, she still preferred riding on horseback.
Fine continued, looking back into the car and over at Momo. ‘Now, why don’t we swap seats?’
Without a word, Momo excitedly sprung into action, taking her seatbelt off and exiting the vehicle in an instant. The two walked counterclockwise around the car and sat down in their respective seats. ‘So, you were able to start the car earlier when we had to escape the mansion, right? Show me how you did it.’ Fine’s request was clear and firm.
Momo gripped the transmission with much strength, and pushed down on the gas pedal just as hard. The engine roared, but the vehicle didn’t move, at which point she pressed her foot down onto the clutch pedal and shifted into gear, suddenly sending the car hurtling forward, accompanied by the loud grating noise of transmission gears grinding together. This startled the pair, with Fine gritting her teeth and securing their bag of provisions with one hand, while holding on for dear life with the other, and Momo letting out a tiny yelp, nearly losing control of the car as she gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.
‘Momo!’ Fine complained, her voice turning from a whine into a frightened yell. ‘The brake! Hit the brake!’
In her confusion, Momo accidentally pressed down onto the clutch pedal a few more times before finally moving her leg over to the correct pedal. In contrast to the instant acceleration the pair had just experienced, the slowing of the vehicle took much longer, the driver unconsciously compensating for her previous mistake. As the speed once again became manageable, the passenger tilted her head down and placed a hand on her forehead, simultaneously obscuring her eyes. The car kept slowing down, shaking more and more until its eventual stop accompanied by the loud thud of the engine turning off as Momo had forgotten to take the transmission out of gear.
Fine cupped her face in her hands. Her silence spoke volumes, which resulted in Momo’s own frightened expression turning into a look of worry directed at the vampire.
‘I’m so sorry Fine! Are you ok? That was way too fast, I didn’t mean it!’ Momo swiftly began apologising for the twenty-second commotion that had just occurred.
Fine’s silence was quickly broken, as she couldn’t help but giggle at the events that had just taken place. Her giggle turned into a laugh, and soon enough, she was wiping tears out of her eyes. Momo’s shy, embarrassed laughter also turned into genuine amusement, partly due to just how excessive Fine’s reaction was.
‘With skills like that, it’s no wonder you barreled straight into your uncle back at the mansion!’ Fine answered, failing to contain her mirth.
‘Hey!’ Momo’s protests were in vain.
Fine reached with an arm towards the back seats, where she had stashed her dark cowl and cloak. ‘How about you try that again. Think of the two pedals as opposites - you have to push down on the gas while you let go of the clutch. Try being more gentle with them too.’
Her trainee listened attentively. That dreaded academy having primed her for following orders. ‘And go slower this time.’ Fine concluded her lesson by carefully taking Momo’s hands into her own. ‘You’ll be fine. Better to let the engine shut off than to go speeding off like that again.’
With a slight smile, she gazed into her pupil’s eyes for much too long. ‘You can do it. I know you can.’
With those words, Fine finished donning her cowl and cloak. She pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her cloak pocket and put those on too. Momo gazed out to the East. It was getting brighter by the minute. She placed her hands back onto the steering wheel. ‘Here goes nothing…’
* * *
Her attempts stretched on well into the morning, the pomegranate clouds of dawn having been replaced with a familiar blue sky. Fine had moved to the back seats in order to avoid direct sunlight, and would’ve been dozing off were it not for the constant stopping and starting of the engine. Instead, she had lied down horizontally across the seats, looking up at the car’s ceiling while occasionally taking sips out of what was now a bottle of seven year old red wine. She liked its striking crimson color.
While nothing would ever match the taste of blood, at least alcohol didn’t leave behind the foul aftertaste of pure guilt.
In contrast, Momo was deeply concentrated on her own driving. She had grown so accustomed to the constant shaking of the car that she barely even noticed that at some point between her first attempts and now, it had stopped.
‘Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of it! The car isn’t shaking anymore!’ A gleeful look was painted across Momo’s face. As if on cue a loud metallic thud was heard from underneath the vehicle as she accidentally drove over a rather large rock. ‘Well… Maybe one morning of practice isn’t enough, but I’m still doing much better than my first time, right?’
‘That you are, Momo.’ Fine replied, looking at her trainee with tired eyes.
Momo gave her her own worried glance. ‘I’m sorry for what I said before… about you drinking alcohol and all. But you really should drink less, it doesn’t look like it's doing you any good.’
Fine sat up. ‘And what would I drink instead? Certainly not your blood - I already told you I didn’t need it.’ She winced. ‘You sound like my betrothed.’
Momo’s eyes went wide. ‘Huh? You’re engaged? I mean… I didn’t know vampires did those kinds of things! What’s a vampire marriage look like? In Central City, we just sign a piece of paper - it’s kind of looked down upon, and most people never do it.’
Fine squinted, looking into the rear view mirror and into Momo’s eyes. ‘Vampires do all sorts of things, we’re much more than whatever bloodthirsty, corrupt monsters you Warm Ones make us out to be.’
She continued. ‘Typically, it’s a large ceremony with great amounts of music, food, and blood. The newlyweds take care to invite many people from their families, and in some cases, it results in a celebration of a few hundred people. The union of two families is a very joyful occasion, and the couple exchanges rings and vows to commemorate it.’
Fine stopped. She had had a similar conversation before. What Aria had described half a century ago was very similar to what Fine had just told Momo. They had hoped to get married back then, when they would reach Eden, but the opportunity never arose. Fine became engaged to Allegro shortly after Aria had gone. He promised to love and protect her, and for what? To ensure that she would sit upon that blasted throne and give up her freedom? Not a chance.
Momo could hardly even picture such a celebration. ‘Wow. Sounds like… it must’ve been a lot of fun. I’d love to see something like that someday.’ A neutral expression returned to her face.
An uncomfortable silence arose between the two. Momo was trapped in her own head, thinking about how depressing nearly everything about human society sounded in comparison to these past two days with Fine. Similarly, Fine grew angrier and angrier, finding it impossible to think about anything other than the vile rhetoric reserved for her kind by Momo’s home. And yet in front of her sat Momo, having abandoned everything she had, driving them to an Eden which didn’t exist, fuelled by nothing but the false promise of an escape from the pointless war which divided their peoples.
She tried to lighten the mood by asking some questions of her own. ‘You said that human marriage is limited to a pair of signatures on a paper?’
‘Yeah.’ Momo’s voice turned quiet.
‘Everything in Central City is really orderly. I already mentioned how we get up at dawn all the time, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are no ceremonies, everything is bureaucratic.’
‘What do you mean, no ceremonies? Surely there are things to celebrate! If nothing else, maybe a victory over my kind could be accompanied by some fanfare?’ A sour taste was left in Fine’s mouth after that sentence. She thought it a silly thing to ask, but was instead met with a very serious answer.
‘It isn’t by choice. Music and other forms of art are criminalized.’ Momo’s face was blank. It wasn’t even a strange thing to say or to think about, as it was the world she had been born into, after all.
‘Criminalized!? You’re kidding, right?’ Fine was unable to hide how appalled she was.
‘They say it’s because of your sharp sense of hearing - that if we played music or made any noise other than what was necessary, you’d come running to tear our throats out in a heartbeat.’ Momo had slowed the car down and was staring intently at Fine, almost as if she was desperate to hear a rebuttal.
‘No more than necessary, huh?’ Fine pondered what to say. The only promise she could make was that she would never do that, but she couldn’t make any claims on behalf of her peers.
‘They say that it’s the only way to ensure our survival, and they punish anyone who steps out of line.’
‘Is that why they’re looking for you then? To bring you to justice?’
‘I guess. My mom reacted pretty poorly when she caught me listening to that music box. She said that it’s your culture, not ours. She didn’t take very kindly to me running away, either.’
Initially, Fine believed that Momo was simply unfamiliar with records and cassettes because the technology was too old. Aria was the one who taught Fine the piano, the violin, painting, and other forms of artistry - she didn’t recall her saying anything about the criminalization of music.
‘Huh… Out of curiosity, do you know when music was made illegal?’ Fine asked, attempting to locate herself in time.
‘Thirty or fourty years ago? That’s what they said at the academy, but I’m not so good with remembering dates.’
Once again, Fine couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Music and art, banned? She had stayed far away from any humans while she grieved for Aria for over sixty years, and most vampires were deeply uninterested in humans for anything other than their blood. It was a perfect set of circumstances for her to have never heard of the musical ban.
She suddenly felt a great sorrow wash over her, as she realized the newfound significance of all that Aria had taught her. Fine was in possession of knowledge that would probably never return to the Warm Ones.
‘I… I’m not sure what to tell you, Momo. I’m sorry that you’ve had to grow up in such a world - one ravaged by constant war.’
Momo didn’t know what to think of Fine’s apology. She could barely imagine a world that wasn’t in constant conflict. She had seen the conditions under which people lived in the poorer districts of Central City, it wasn’t pretty. Sure, humans did undertake a handful of offensive operations when the ressources allowed for it, but they weren’t the ones who sucked the blood of their enemies.
‘Yeah, easy for a vampire to say. Must be nice being the predator rather than the prey.’ Momo was visibly upset. She tried her best not to hate vampires, but vampires and humans weren’t made equal. They had told her so in the academy, and she had seen it out in the field.
Fine furrowed her brow and took a deep breath. ‘I was afraid you’d say that.’
She had grappled with the same issue decades ago. While mourning Aria, she contemplated their relationship. In her final hours, Aria had given up on searching for a place where humans and vampires could coexist, and Fine couldn’t blame her. Aria’s blood was on her hands, for she had failed at protecting her.
Fine recalled the sight of Aria’s neck. It was right there, laid bare before her as Aria lay dying on the ground. She had almost given into her urges, almost bitten her and taken Aria’s blood for herself. How could she?
The vampire was horrified with herself. How could she have tried to drink the blood of the human she had loved more than anything else? To drink the blood of Warm Ones while claiming to love one of them - it was deeply immoral! Despite how hard she tried to resist her urges, she still felt deep down like the monster that the Warm Ones claimed she was. After all, only a monster could’ve let Aria down like that.
Fine could feel the tears welling up in her eyes when Momo had stopped the car. The girl was gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles in the same way she had on her first attempt at driving. This time, however, it was not out of fear, but out of anger. She couldn’t help but think about Mirena. Singing in her honor helped her be at peace with the events that transpired on that fateful night, but it didn’t erase what had happened. With no other vampires around, the blame naturally fell onto Fine.
She wanted to yell again, to cry, to do anything that would get her sudden surplus of emotions out. In the back seat, Fine put the open end of her wine bottle into her mouth and tilted her head back. The sound of the liquid sloshing around in the bottle infuriated Momo, pushing her over the edge.
‘Do you do anything other than drink? I never see you without a bottle in your arms! Just how depraved can you be!?’ Momo adopted an aggressive and accusatory tone of voice as her sorrow for Mirena boiled over into fury directed at Fine. The vampire violently removed her sunglasses and stuffed them in one of her pockets.
‘Let me remind you once again that you begged me to take you with me!’ Fine matched Momo’s tone. ‘This is about that girl again, isn’t it?’
Momo was quick to retort, but lost focus, and her feet flew off the pedals. ‘She’s not just some girl! She was my-’ The familiar sound of the engine abruptly shutting off interrupted her before she could finish.
The car drifted off the road and into a coniferous bush. Fine let out a deep sigh, allowing her retaliatory anger to dissipate. Momo had been quietly tearing up for some time now, her head filled with thoughts of Mirena. When the droning hum of the engine was replaced with the silence of the tundra, Momo gasped in despair and cupped her face in her hands. The floodgates opened, and she began wailing as tears streaked down from her cheeks to her chin, and dripping down onto her coat.
Fine’s gaze softened as she looked up into the rear view mirror at Momo’s weeping face. ‘I didn’t have to try to save her, you know. But I did, because I know what it feels like to lose someone you love.’ Her tone of voice was calmer and kinder than before.
‘Yeah? Well you failed! You didn’t save her! And besides, what would a vampire know about love anyways!? Your words mean nothing!’ The harshness of Momo’s answer stung.
The loveless vampire took yet another deep breath. ‘I know, but they are all I have.’ She shed a single tear for Momo and Mirena, before lying back down across the back seats. ‘I’m sorry, Momo.’