After David had eaten, Aidan beckoned him to the back end of the house. "I'd rather not sit out in the front room just now, and I'd rather not mope around brooding either. We need a distraction, and I have just the thing. Ever see a movie before?"

"No. I've heard about them, but since nobody in the city has electricity anymore, well..."

Aidan grinned. "Well, since I've got plenty, and also happen to have a television, and a number of old movies, and the DVD player even still works, I thought you might like to see one."

"Sure."

Aidan flicked on the light in his bedroom and hopped over the bed. Thankfully there were no bloodstains here. The boxy object that David had been unable to identify earlier proved to be the "television" Aidan had mentioned, and the cabinet it sat on was full of thin cases that Aidan said contained the movies.

"I've picked up a few things that interest me as I've been able to find them," said Aidan, "but most of what's here reflects the interests of the original owner, sadly. A few too many religious shows and just plain weird stuff, I'm afraid. Is there anything that catches your fancy?"

David ran a finger over the startlingly shiny plastic of the movies. The titles were all unfamiliar, of course. His finger suddenly stopped. "What's this one?"

Aidan pulled out the case. "You would pick this one, wouldn't you?" he said with a wry smile, running a hand over the title. "Vampire Hunter D. They banned it, not long before the collapse. I was very surprised when I found this copy." He looked at David seriously then. "It's not real, you understand. It was made before the vampires turned up, even. Back in the old days of the previous century. They didn't know what vampires would really be like, but there were legends, and myths, and stories, and somebody thought about what a future with vampires might be like, and this is what they came up with. It's not much like the truth, in most ways. It's just a story. I always rather liked it though. Do you want to watch it?"

David nodded.

Aidan opened the case, took out a shiny circle that glittered with rainbow highlights, looking strange and magical. He put that into a machine that sat below the television, and then pushed a button. The screen of the television suddenly glowed, and David sat down on the bed, and watched intently. He felt strange, tense, and alert, as if this movie was going to be a revelation of some kind, even though Aidan had said it wasn't real. Then the movie started and he was absorbed into the dark imagery of it. Despite the fact that he could tell it was all somehow drawn, or painted, it seemed strangely believable, as though somewhere it might actually have happened.

When it was over, David flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Aidan had been right, the world in that movie had been nothing at all like the real world. And yet... And yet there was something, somehow, the same. His mind didn't whirl now, in fact it was very calm, but it was slowly working. He could sense the revelation in there, somewhere. Some idea that was beginning to bud.

"It's a good story, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's a good story." David yawned. "I think it's time for bed though. Dawn can't be that far off."

Aidan nodded.

"Guess I'll go off to sleep then." David got to his feet. He walked out of the room, but paused just outside the door and turned back. "Aidan, in the movie, the vampire hunter was a half-vampire. Is that possible?"

Aidan shook his head. "No. It's not possible."

"I see." David turned back and headed for bed, dim thoughts still circling slowly in his brain.