09 January 1980

Bowie County, Texas

The sound of children's laughter was what I heard at other carnivals but in all my time here, I had never seen kids frolic on these grounds. I looked down when I felt soft hands lace themselves in mine: "Mama's been waitin' for you." Smiling as they looked up at me, I ran at the pace of the little girls, heading for the tent.

"Thank you, babies, you may leave," my old friend greeted me.

"Both are as beautiful as their mother," I smiled at her.

"You lie," she said jocularly, as she poured the tea. "Three of Cups, reversed: overindulgence, gossip, isolation. Ten of Pentacles: legacy, culmination, inheritance. Ten of Wands, reversed: inability to delegate, overstressed, burned out. The Emperor reversed: tyranny, rigidity, coldness. Queen of Swords: complexity, perceptiveness, clear mindedness."

"I sense that my time here is drawing to a close," I spoke a minute later.

"Wen Junhui, I don't need the cards to tell me that your greatest battle is ahead. I will see you one last time on that day but until then, good luck- you're gonna need it," we shook hands, the perfumed tendrils of smoke doing nothing to dissipate the grim air. The little girls were waiting outside, escorting me to the gate. I waved until the tent swallowed them whole.

The East Coast was relatively tame during the '80s so I focused on the music. That being said, there were fundamental changes in American households. There was a whole host of new programming. ESPN, a sports channel, aired 24 hours a day while CNN did the same procedure but with news, instead. The VCR made it possible to watch your favourite show at any time.

Children were plugged into Nickelodeon during the day while their parents and grandparents sat in front of the screens at night, watching reruns of classic sitcoms. MTV broadcast music video interpretations of Madonna and Michael Jackson. Crescent had changed its name to Wax & Wane. Fame was never our goal as it would only lead to suspicion and our inevitable capture.

Paper documents were replaced by files on the personal computer and Silicon Valley in California became the technological hub of the USA. Yuppies, who spent their money on branded products and engaged in regular fitness routines, replaced the socially conscious hippies of the '70s. Drugs that were considered recreational years earlier were banned, exacerbating the problem.

The sexual revolution was rocked by the spread of AIDS, so we chose to abstain, not knowing what the disease would do to vampires' bodies. Because of this, in addition to the behaviour of Yuppies, there was a tendency toward conservative values under Reagan: New Age evangelists. However, that proved just as disastrous as Nixon's presidency.

Homelessness, child abuse, and fear of nuclear war were sides that the government chose not to reveal to the world. Victoria followed the lead of Princess Diana, dressing in expensive, double-breasted suits to express her growing power as a working woman. Her wardrobe was filled with shoulder pads and floppy silk "ties". A woman was finally appointed to the Supreme Court.

Ricky and Tony preferred playing Centipede, Pac Man, and Street Fighter in the arcades; when we craved human food, they brought home pizza from Chuck E. Cheese as well as Orange Julius, forgoing the entertainment of the giant rodent mascot. They could also pick up leads on paedophiles while smashing records on those machines at the malls.

The Cabbage Patch Kids were a hit product among children, as well as Rubik's cubes and Transformers models. I paid attention to Margaret Thatcher from across the pond, seeing how skilfully she made her way through politics. The New Right, who were anti-tax crusaders and defenders of an unrestricted free market, made their presence known.

The stock market crash of October 1987 did little to undermine the confidence of middle-class and wealthy Americans in the economic agenda. During Reagan's 8 years in office, the federal government accumulated more debt that it had in its entire history. This would continue until his successor, George HW Bush, took office.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to elect a movie star as President, I didn't dare say, as the anti-Communist rhetoric flowed unpunished. The Reagan Doctrine was applied in Grenada, El Salvador, and Nicaragua; the spending cuts and tax increases elsewhere failing to offset the $34 million/hour spent by the Pentagon.

This resulted in a recession worse than the Great Depression, with 9 million people unemployed, in 1982. Luckily, the economy bounced back (unluckily, people thought Reaganomics was a good idea). Only popular culture continued to be an arena for dissatisfaction and debate; heavy metal acts such as Metallica resonating with many young men.

"I'm not a fan of Kung Fu films in my cinemas," a voice I hadn't heard before invaded my private space.

"Get used to it, you bastardised coloniser," I knew that Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen would gain resilient critical success as decades passed. It wasn't just movies that these Chinese stars had influenced but also music. Many b-boys in the Bronx credited the crouching low leg sweeps and "up rocking" to old Kung Fu films.

"You bees need to stop buzzing," the American deity failed to rile me up with the derogatory insult of black and Asian people. He manifested himself into his physical form. While my experience of nearly a century ago had shocked me to the core, I sniggered at his form: shorter but definitely broader, probably as a result of scarfing down Mickey D's.

I knew that he had researched into my past so I no longer used my long-range distance attacks, instead running for him. My hands reached for my sides, drawing my butterfly swords forth. I slashed at him, my hips throwing my weight forward at his centre. He lazily swatted one of them aside so I used the other as a broadsword.

When I was disarmed, the deity smiled smugly and I was determined to wipe that grin off his face. I distanced myself and attempted to regain the upper hand, fending him off with the Eight Trigrams Palm before hitting him with the Eight Extreme Fists. Knowing that he'd target my legs in order to get me in a vulnerable position, I also used the Poking Feet technique.

I used the various types of boxing attacks incorporated under wushu so he had no idea the way my fists would move. Pairing the Spring Kick with the Eternal Spring, I managed to floor him and tried to get my second wind in the air. I remembered that I was merely a vampire while he was a deity. He had drawn more blood in his centuries than I had during my millennium above.

I returned to the earth and served him an Eagle Claw fist since he favoured the bald eagle as his celestial animal, a totem stolen from the indigenous peoples. The deity stood up so I went with unpredictability of the Drunken Fist although I was as sober as a priest. I followed up with kicks reminiscent of Taekwondo before grabbing him and throwing him to the ground in the style of judo.

My hands assumed the forms of the Praying Mantis and Snake Fist as he tried to get up. Sensing that I had the upper hand, I Cannon Punched him and used the Southern Fists. I had him ground-prone as I delivered the Monkey Fist and Tumbling Fist. The deity of serial killing breathed no more as I flew like a bat out of hell.

"Congratulations on your revenge," Caishen murmured as he healed the wounds from the deceased's knife and gunshots.

"Thank you," I felt the cells rapidly reform and the progress spread in my blood, travelling from top to toes.

"What's more is that I have found a way for you to become human again," I could hear the smile in His voice.

"You're the best," I mewled at finally winning my prize.

"There is one problem, though," my guardian smiled.

"Every rose has its thorns," I sighed before waiting for Him to reveal the condition.

"You will be born again, as a vampire, and slowly lose your ghastly nature, aging as a human being does," I nodded, letting Him know that another 100 years, as current statistics predicted the human lifespan would end, was okay with me, one who had lived through more than a thousand years. If He could, He probably would have expressed His relief.

"There's some things I need to sort out before then," I reminded my guardian.

"I have chosen a blessed date for your rebirth: 10 June 1996. You'd better hurry," I wrote a note to the others that I would invite them to Augerino at a date convenient to all of them.

"My band and my coven loses a member," Victoria pouted.

"We can use that fact when we rename the band," Ricky mulled over his actually Bloody Mary.

"Maybe something like Last Quarter," Tony's words were barely audible as he crunched his celery.

"I'll have to shuffle your Quadrant with Jun's until 1996," our leader ignored the glances our way. "We'll need a replacement member for after. I hope it's a girl, I need someone to have fun with."

"Give these a peep," I handed the "Help Wanted" posters to her. She nodded before calling Bunny over and asking him to plaster them over the bulletin board. "You can also hang these at the Laundromat. If a human asks, it's a gag by the Goth teens and you wanted to humour them," I smirked at my ingenuity.

"I'm earlier than predicted and yet you still have the tea already brewed for me," I smiled at the fortune-teller. There were lines running deeper as the years had passed her by, imprinting wisdom and experience around her eyes and mouth. Her daughters, twins, I realised, were less exuberant than their childhood days.

"Adolescence in a woman brings out her divine powers. That's why men try to stamp it out in their teenage years," my host nodded at her children, who drew around the table. They were apprentices in this noble art, watching as their mother skilfully laid the cards on the extravagant tablecloth that hadn't aged since I first saw it.

"Seven of Pentacles: hard work, perseverance, and diligence. King of Wands reversed: impulsive, overbearing, and unachievable expectations," one of the twins read the cards I had revealed. "Six of Swords, reversed: emotional baggage, unresolved issues, and resisting transition. Five of Cups: loss, grief, and self-pity," the other twin intoned.

"The Chariot reversed: lack of control, lack of direction, and aggression," their mother concluded. "Cassie and Sandra, please continue with your studies," the girls were dismissed. "I have had a spiritual flare upon reaching menopause, allowing me a heightened sense of clairvoyance. Let me map your way. And to answer that old question, my name is Leticia."

I spotted my prey stalking a Korean woman, a few feet away from her. Jesperson had been eluding the police for nearly 5 years and I had tracked him down here. As he was about to reach for the strap of her handbag, with which to strangle her in a nearby alley, I pounced. My target probably saw the blurring of my black leather jacket in the shop window next to him, and fled.

He knocked her over and due to his stature, I decided to check on the almost-victim instead of continuing my pursuit. "Are you okay, ma'am?" I hoped my accent sounded like I was from LA, instead of the lazy drawl I had become accustomed to using in my almost-50 years in the States. She accepted my hand and my offer to walk her home.

"Who are you?" the lady asked after we had crossed the street.

"Jerry Moon of Last Quarter," I fished out a flier for our concert on Friday night. "We'd be glad if you could join us. This will be my last national tour so I'd really appreciate it if you and a plus one came."

"I'll talk to my husband and see if we can afford it," she sighed. "I'm starting a home business as a traditional healer while he works."

"Here are two free tickets- you can make it a date night," I smiled as I handed them to her. "I'd like to meet him too."

"I hope it's not metal- our church won't approve," the lady hadn't yet taken them.

"What if I promised there are no lyrics advocating gambling, being promiscuous, violence, or Satanism?" I admired her devotion.

"We'll be there," she bowed and crossed the street to the now-anxious husband pacing in the small kitchen as he waited for her.

"Goodbye, Mrs," I waved her off to her household.

"Mrs Hong," she bowed and started ascending the stairs to her apartment.

"What's the giggling about?"

"You'll see in about 19 years," Caishen vanished before I could ask Him for more details.

I got to meet Mr Hong and he seemed great. Tony took out photos on his Polaroid, giving a copy to me and them. Years from now, people would say that the cameras would be shaken in order to get the images printed correctly but back then, nobody did that because they correctly feared damaging the equipment.