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"Devote yourself to the lord and you will be forgiven," the words rang in Sammie's ears as he drove away from the very church where he was raised. He couldn't get far before his car stopped; he parked in front of Bo's convenience store. He entered the store and ended up talking to one of the people he couldn't handle talking to right now.
"Excuse me! Have you gone to Club Juke?" Lisa asked, and Sammie nodded. Lisa stared at Sammie's injury and led him to the back of the store. Sammie sat down by another man, who would tend to his injury. "Do you have gas for a car?" Lisa was confused by the question. "I'll give you the gas if you tell me where my parents are?" Sammie accepted Lisa's offer.
Even though he accepted her offer, there was a silence that seemed to be stretched on for hours, yet Sammie knew it was only for a couple of seconds. "They-" Sammie couldn't continue the sentence. What would he tell her? That her mother died, killing her father while she was on fire? That vampires come and attack them? Who would believe him?
"They... They loved you. They... died," Lisa didn't say anything, she just stared at Sammie with a blank stare. To Sammie, this was the worst thing; she didn't yell, she didn't get angry. Her face just had a stoic facial expression. Before Sammie could say anything, Lisa quickly turned away from Sammie and left. Sammie couldn't stop the shame and guilt that rose in his chest.
Sammie was briefly snapped out of his emotions and thoughts by the sting on his cheek. Lisa entered the room and handed Sammie a can of gas. "Oh...thanks," Sammie thanked Lisa, as his injury was finished being tended to. Sammie filled his car with gas, and before he left, he looked at Sammie with an empty stare and returned to work. Sammie entered the car and left the town where he had spent his whole life.
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Sammie started crying as he started the car and recalled his father's words. He held the remains of his guitar close to his chest. It finally hit him. He was alone. He had no one, not his family, not his cousins, not even the town he grew up in. When he had to leave his father, he didn't just leave his father, he didn't just leave him behind; he also left his mother and his siblings behind.
It was all or nothing. He truly was alone, left to navigate the world with no one by his side, and that crushed him. How his father and that... Monster wanted him for the same thing. Sammie couldn't grieve for long as the sun started going down, and without a doubt, the Klan would be after him. So, he was able to quickly hide himself and the car in a nearby town. Stay up all night, hoping they didn't find him.
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Thankful luck was on his side, but not for long. It was apparent that he had no money. He headed into town and looked at the billboard to see if there were any jobs he could do for money. There was one working in a choir for a church. The thought of working for a church again disgusted him. He left one church just for him to work for another, but what choice did he have?
He needed money, and there were no other jobs he could take. He was either underqualified or not qualified at all. Sammie let out a heavy sigh and headed to the church.
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A church brings bad memories to Sammie, whether it be his father or the vampire he encountered that night. There was a line of people auditioning for the position. They all had their instruments. Sammie recalled his broken guitar and hoped luck would be on his side. Eventually, Sammie turns, and he heads inside. "Young man, may I have your name?"
"Sammie Moore and I come from the Mississippi Delta," The pastor wrote it down. "Do you play any instruments?" "A guitar, but it's broken." The pastor looked at him with a disappointed look, "A musician should always have their instruments ready." The pastor remarked as he handed Sammie a guitar. Sammie felt embarrassed but grabbed the guitar and began to play.
Despite everything that happened that night and with his father, Sammie was still able to play like he did in the joint. The pastor was beyond impressed and gave Sammie the job. Which Sammie couldn't help but be grateful.
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Sammie would work for the church for about a month, and he was able to gather enough money to leave town. Sammie walked up to the pastor, "Ah! Sammie, you did a great job on today's sermon. Sammie tried to sugarcoat his words, and he prepared for the pastor's outburst. "I understand, shall god be with you, boy. Take the guitar, you have a gift, and you should use it."
"You're not angry?" The pastor was confused by such a question. "Why should I?" Sammie didn't respond. Instead, he thanked the pastor, who in turn would pray for his safety. Sammie left the church, feeling relief wash over him. Why couldn't his father understand? Why did his father make an example out of him? Sammie entered the car and left the church.
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Sammie didn't immediately leave town; he heard from the town folk that there was a hoodoo priestess in the town. Sammie headed to the edge of town, where she would apparently reside. He recalled Annie and how she's the reason they were able to defend themselves. How Smoke was alive because of the mojo bag. Sammie knocked on the door, and a tall woman came out.
"May I help you?" "I heard you practice hoodoo-" before Sammie could finish, the woman closed the door. "Please, I just need a mojo bag, I'll pay you." The woman opened the door. "With what money?" Sammie pulled out a large amount of money. The woman sighed and let him in. The home was full of herbs and spices. The woman began preparing the mojo bag.
"When you get the chance, get the bag cleansed," She stated, as she handed it to Sammie. "You should stay the night; we wouldn't want you running into evil now."
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Sammie left the town with two new gifts: a guitar from a pastor and a mojo bag from a hoodoo priestess. Sadly, those gifts could only do so much, as he was chased down by a vampire. Eventually, the vampire caught him, and just when he thought he was going to die, he heard a loud bang that rang in his ears, leaving him disoriented.
The vampire fell back as the men ran forward and killed it. They walked up to a scared Sammie who was still visibly shaking as he recalled the events from that night, of Remmick. They spoke a language that Sammie didn't understand until "Come with us."
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Sammie followed the people in front of him, which he would eventually realize was the Choctaw. He knew very little of their culture or their way of life, but they knew how to handle vampires, kind of like Annie. "How did you know it was a vampire?" "We've hunted vampires since the beginning," Sammie joined everyone else, and they began eating. Sammie received weird stares until the chief spoke, "He's a guest, please treat him with respect."
Despite the weird stares, everyone was quite respectful to him. "So, are you similar to a fire keeper?" The question caught Sammie off guard. "Fire keepers, they preserve our culture through oral storytelling," Sammie was amazed, "The boy is different, he's a griot." The medicine man mentioned, Sammie recalled his mother's stories, but the griot was his favorite story. A person with a gift of music so strong, they could pierce the veil between life and death.
"Their gifts bring healing, but they can also attract demons." The final part brought a chill up Sammie's spine, as he recalled the very monster who killed everyone. 'Did I bring that monster to us?' The thought ate Sammie alive, and he headed to bed.
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Water. Water filled Sammie's lungs, as two piercing red eyes stared directly at him, holding him down, as if to drown him. They pulled him up as the water fell out of his mouth, but the air couldn't reach his lungs, as he was swiftly pushed back into the water. His hands were so cold, to remind him that this person isn't a man, but a monster.
Remmick held him up, opened his eyes, and mocked everything he knew about his life, and he bit him. Sammie awoke drenched in sweat and paralyzed with fear from his nightmare. Sammie silently cried as he tried to hold the mojo bag close to him. He hated that monster, his name keeping up at night. Why can't he sleep properly? Why can't the nightmares vanish and give him a peaceful dream? Sammie just kept crying.
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Before Sammie left the tribe, the chief directed him to the medicine man. "I've cleansed it, but it won't last as long as the cleansing of your priestess." The man said as he handed Sammie his mojo bag. Sammie thanked the chief and the medicine man for their help, as he was about to leave, he was told one final thing. "Thank you for the knowledge of the vampire."
The chief mentioned more to Sammie, but sadly, Sammie didn't understand their language. Sammie left feeling more protected than ever.
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"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine," Sammie's song filled the train station as he managed to gather a crowd of people. The song would end, and the crowd broke into applause, as they tossed money into Sammie's hat. It reminded him of when he encountered Delta Slim. The memory was bittersweet. Two years have passed, and he has made a decent living.
He sits down and thinks about that day as he begins to write a new song. "Last time" is dedicated to everyone in the joint who died that night. The memory still brings pain, but he has a gift, and he will use it as how sees fit. Not being like his father or Remmick will stop him. He will live to see another day.