Sorry about the delay. Was searching everywhere for my vampire story. Finally found it on the machine.

Tally huddled in the far corner of the back seat of the cab returning her to the ferry terminal.  It reminded her of her first trip to New York four years ago, covered with a dark sheet and curled up in the back seat of a limousine with heavily tinted windows.  She had been seventeen then, confused and alone, heading toward the only sanctuary she knew.  Now she was twenty-two, confused and alone, with no sanctuary in sight.

            So, Helen had been right on the money about the effects of sexual excitement.  Tally looked at her nails.  There was blood beneath them.  Well, at least she hadn't bitten him.  But the thought of it made her hunger surge again, almost painful in its intensity.  She pressed one hand to her stomach and studied the cabbie's thick, fleshy neck.  He seemed like such a lout.  Would anyone really miss him?

            No, Tally, you have a choice!  Even louts have families who need them.

            She breathed slowly and deliberately, trying to calm herself.  She could handle this; she had prepared for such emergencies.  Methodically she searched in her purse for a small silver flask, unscrewed the lid, and lifted it to her lips.  She sipped slowly, rolling the dark liquid on her tongue before letting it slide down her throat.  With all the insulation, the flask couldn't hold much, but it was enough.

            She licked her lips and smiled in satisfaction.  God bless anti-coagulants.

            The cab driver's eyes followed her in the rear-view mirror.

            "Just for emergencies," she called gaily from the darkness of the back seat, with what she hoped was a jaunty smile.

            He didn't reply but his eyes snapped back to the road again.  She took one more sip. Why had she thought she had to explain herself to him?  So what if some loutish cab driver thought she was an alcoholic?  He'd probably seen a lot worse--and at least he wasn't dead!