I am true to myself, and they still judge me. I follow my heart, yet I'm condemned as a freak. They hate me and they revile me. They make no effort to understand.
Give me strength to overcome their smallness. Give me wisdom to rise above. Fear is in the seed of their hatred. I must accept myself regardless of how I feel.
I will not let their misunderstanding daunt me. I will not let their prejudice keep me from who I am. I am stronger than all their narrow opinions. Throughout all hardship, my soul shall endure.
Is this Hell? Am I dead? Is this… finally it? All I wanted was everything to be okay. I could've fixed what we had… or was it too late to save? All that's left is darkness and sin around me. It feels like I fell into a void of evil and despair. The sun has been buried in a landfill of failure and dark matter. Only yesterday I was with them… my friends… my… love.
What brought me to this nightmare? What did I do to deserve this? What kind of God-forsaken land is this? So many questions in my head, it hurts so much, it feels like my skull could burst at any second.
It feels like I'm swimming in an ocean of nothingness. Like floating in water… or maybe space, I don't know what that would feel like, but I guess it must feel something like this. The feeling of being weightless while also drowning in black tar, like I'm being burned alive, but also freezing cold. The Bible claims that Hell is so dark from sin that you can feel the darkness itself or even cut through the sin with a knife. I couldn't even see myself. My body is so cold, my heart feels heavy, and my head hurts so bad like a migraine has festered for a year.
The air itself is cold like shards of ice scraping, running down my throat and into my lungs. In the blink of an eye, that moment of stillness left me. I started to fall, free-falling into the depths of the dark abyss. My stomach vaulted into my chest, and my heart pounded with fear. I screamed, but no sound came out, it felt like a dream where no matter how desperately I wanted, I couldn't wake up. My eyes swelled with tears as my life, my home, and my family flashed before my crying eyes.
I want to go home, I want to live, is this what I deserve? Is this my Hell? The faster I fall, the darkness surrounding me turns solid, closing in on me. Funneling me into this abyss. It started to burn around me, dragging my skin along its path. No hand reached out to me, there was no redemption, no salvation. I only fell deeper. My life was coming to its close if it hadn't already.
In a spark of whiplash, I woke up in immense pain, gasping for breath, lying under the stars. As I looked around, everything started to come back. My joints were aching, I was finally able to draw a breath. My surroundings felt familiar, like a home I had no memory of. It was dark, with no street light or shop light in sight, only the pale moonlight. I felt a sense of unease.
The icy wind whipped my tender skin. I attempted to lift myself as my muscles struggled to keep from buckling underneath me, and I let out an anguished cry. I wiped the tears from my eyes to regain my composure. My joints cracked as I came to my feet. The surrounding buildings were still, however, a ghostly blur. Almost like a dreamscape. Familiar yet unsettling, it left me with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. As I try to identify my surroundings, I recognize a sign I'm all too familiar with, paint chipped and stained with rust that had been taken down when the store was remodeled. I realize I'm back in my hometown, or at least an empty faded memory of it. I turned around to try and make sense of it all.
Down the alley stood a tall, hooded figure. I could feel a gust of freezing wind from its direction. I could feel the fear set in my chest. I turned to run, but I was met by the towering figure. At first sight, I knew this thing wasn't human. Its ragged hood draped inches away from my face, it reeked of death and putrid decayed skin. In an eerily shrill voice, its breath blowing into my face, it finally spoke, "Thomas Lowrin, 16th generation of the Lowrin Bloodline. Born February 13, 1998, to Maria and Jared Lowrin. Your final chapter is not yet written, youngblood."
I froze in fear, I couldn't… no, I wouldn't move. I was frozen in place at this demon's mercy. "You are not dead yet," it spoke softly, "yet you are not alive. Tell me, young Thomas, do you have any memory of how you ended up here in this realm?" I opened my mouth to speak but froze again, "I… yeah I…" I pause, surprised by my confusion, "I… don't remember… sir." Still afraid of what this thing could do to me. It rose and towered before me. "The transition and ritual have not yet been completed." It raised its hand, and an orb of magenta molten fire appeared. "The transition is a curse set in place by Gabriel, It is a means to strip your humanity from you, turning you into an animal." The being lowered the orb closer to my face.
I flinched, expecting the heat to singe my skin, but there was no heat. "We must ensure that we salvage what little humanity you have left." I was confused. I opened my mouth to ask it a question, but it cut me off, "Don't speak, just witness and let the memories consume you." I saw that the orb was twitching and sparking in my face. The fire consumed me, sending me spiraling into a vortex of flame. Snippets of memories passed by me until finally, everything went dark.
I woke up in a cold sweat, panting… out of breath. I felt like I had an insane dream, too bad I couldn't remember it. It might be for the best, but it left me incredibly sore throughout my body. I rolled over, every joint popping from pain. It was 5:58 a.m. Two minutes before my alarm. I grabbed my phone to turn the alarm off, just another normal day. I lay in bed, arms folded, trying to recall the dream I had.
I looked at my phone again to see it was 6:01, time to get up. I threw my legs off the bed and sat upright to adjust to the morning wake-up. Mom says I work too hard, but I just do what I can. I like to get up early so I can be productive before I hop on my computer for school.
I've started homeschooling to help Dad with work at the hobby shop, he's getting too old to run it by himself, and I needed to make the extra money for college. He was only 4 years old when he arrived in 1945 with Grandpa Bear. I don't know why he and Mom decided to have me so late.
I got out of bed to pick up some clothes off the floor, My room isn't usually so messy aside from my TV stand littered with cords from my old Genesis and Xbox. It's still a mess from when Erin came over a few days ago. I've known him since we both could walk. We grew up here in Woodville, Mississippi. Mom and Dad aren't from here originally. Dad's from Romania, and Mom came from Michigan. She moved down here for work and ended up meeting Dad. Grandpa and Dad came here to find a better life in the States. Grandpa always told me it was because of bad men and monsters.
Grandma died before they left, leaving just Dad and Grandpa. Some sickness took her right as they were planning to run away from the monsters. Grandpa is well-known in town; he's 88 but somehow or another has the looks and physique of a middle-aged man. Everybody in Woodville loves his Cinnamon Cider, something he learned to make when he got here with Dad. Why here, though, none of us know exactly why Grandpa chose to come here.
I hopped out of the shower and made some breakfast, I saved Mom some since Dad leaves earlier than I do some mornings. I decided to play a few rounds of Mortal Kombat for a little while, and as soon as I beat the tower, I heard a knock on the door. At almost 7 in the morning? I rushed downstairs so I wouldn't wake Mom up, and who do I see at the door?
Erin stood in the cold morning mist, his sandy blonde hair shining in the porch light. "Get in here before you wake someone up," I let him in as he waltzed in as if he owned the place, "Erin what do you want this early in the fucking morning? Shouldn't you be hungover like every other morning?" Erin flung his backpack off his back onto the countertop, "One, fuck you… And two, yeah, but I had better plans than drinking, I just had to show you this."
Erin was the type of friend that parents hate, a bad influence. His parents were neglectful, and he got away with a lot of things. I remember he had to stay at my house for a while cause his parents up and left him there alone for a month with nothing in the fridge except a few leftover bottles of beer. He would sneak behind his trailer with his Mom's cigarettes or weed. His dad used to force him to drink just to get on his good side. Eventually, Erin would use drinking and smoking as a coping mechanism.
All this would lead to him being skeptical about everything, or some conspiracy guy. He doesn't trust anything or anyone half the time. He thinks that the government is putting chemicals in the ozone to make us not see the world for how it truly is or some shit. He also believed in monsters, "This better be ten times better than your 'Mrs. Marlow is a Cat-Human shindig if it involves barging in at 7 in the morning." Erin gave me a daring look, he opened his mouth to speak and paused, "Okay, maybe I was a bit off about that theory. So turns out she wasn't a 'Cat-Human' but we did figure out she was keeping feral cats in her basement."
It was so funny, Erin was on that tangent for weeks. He would keep surveillance on her house and watch her sneak in and out with bags and a ton of cat accessories.
I'll never forget watching him crawl into the basement window and getting attacked by all those cats. Okay, but if it's so much more important than that, why are you in such a rush to show me?" I asked skeptically, he had just finished pulling out his computer. He plugged in his headphones and scrolled through various files he had.
After a minute or two of silence, I sat with crossed arms and was about to speak before he spoke, "Here, listen to this." he handed me the headphones, "Remember those stories of vampires up in Natchez?" I looked at him with a pissed expression, there was an awkward pause.
I took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, "Biologically, I could believe in a… Wolf Man or some… Cat Lady, or even a fucking swamp monster. Erin… something that lives for centuries and never ages and feeds on purely blood does not exist. I'm trying to be a Zoologist, someone who studies real living things. I'm done…"
I started to take the headphones off until Erin snatched my hand, and the look he gave me. The fear in his eyes, he started to tear up. "I know I don't have as good of a life as you, shit like this… is all I have going for me. Please Tommy… please just… hear me out." He started to choke up on his own words. I let out a soft sigh and put the headphones back on. "This is the last time, Erin, if it's nothing, then I'm done." I knew it wasn't going to be real, but I genuinely hated the thought of leaving my best friend.
I looked at him, waiting for him to play whatever he had pulled up. "You ready?" he asked me. I gave him a nod. I heard Erin's voice, he sounded winded… and afraid. "Vampire Log #27, I've been tracking the whereabouts of a Homo Sapien Hemovorous, also known as a Vampire," I gave him a look of aggravation.
"There have been some stories of vampires here in Mississippi, and I've been using every tool I have to somehow track one, and I believe… I have. The one day I don't bring my fucking camcorder if only the camera on my phone wasn't busted, I've used my dad's tracking guide from his time in the Marine Corps to hunt down a rare species of bat said to be seen over route 61.
Local reports said it was a larger version of the common vampire bat, even bigger than they're supposed to be." I gave him a motion gesturing if it was almost done, he assured me it was getting to the important part with his terrified glassy eyes.
"I believe I spotted it a few miles back, and I've been chasing up the highway, I think I should be getting…" The screech that followed, making me genuinely jump in fear, was the most inhuman sound I had ever heard. It was… unholy. The audio kept going, "God, it's close… I… I hope that garlic fucking work, I'll attempt to take pictures for evidence… if I survive." The audio went silent. I took the headphones off slowly, realizing now I was drenched in sweat. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Do you think I'm going to believe some… recording of a random animal?" Erin proceeded to cut me off, raising his voice a little. "What did I say in the end, huh? I knew you wouldn't fucking believe me over some audio." I stepped forward and almost got in his face, "Because it's not fucking real," I could smell the faint skunky smell off of him, "You were probably just high off your fucking rock." He started to turn red in the face, he shoved me back and lifted his shirt… five scratch marks crossed diagonally across his stomach. "Explain this!" he was shaking in anger, "And these!" he threw a yellow folder at me.
It was always like this, it used to be normal. The drinking and smoking only started a year ago. We had a few other friends in our little group. Mikey, Bentley, and Aisha were the others in our little friend group. Erin and I had been friends since Pre-K, but we met the rest of the gang during the 5th Grade 4-H Clover Bowl at our school, undefeated, I might add.
Mikey was quiet, he loved to read. His parents were Professors at Southern University and A&M down in Baton Rouge. He would live here with his Aunt during the school year. They would take him on all sorts of trips to libraries, museums, and historical places outside of the country.
Bentley, on the other hand, was such an outgoing guy, he played every sport you could think of. Basketball was his forte, I don't know it that well, but watching him play was like watching professional NBA. He and I hit it off as great friends, we would hang out and watch whatever sport was playing, and just talk or sit outside, and he would teach me a few things.
I enjoyed Soccer even though he didn't like it that much. Turned out his parents would just sign him up for whatever to give him a good future or a scholarship when he got older. It worked he got a scholarship to Mississippi State and was there now for his first year. I miss him sometimes, he was always there for me when I needed someone the most. I would do the same.
Lastly, Aisha, we ended up dating 2 years ago. We seemed to always have a thing for each other. She was kind and funny, and her smile always lit up the room. Her being the odd one out in the group meant she thought she always had something to prove to the guys. She would always try to one-up us, and most of the time she did. Our relationship, though, has hit a rough patch.
I don't know if I'm trying hard enough, or even she is just staying with me out of pity. I miss when it was just all of us against the world. We've all kind of distanced from each other now.
I opened the package to look inside, it was Polaroid photos. I laid them out on the island. I had never seen anything like it, it had a humanoid figure but bat wings coming from its arms. I examined and studied every inch of the creature from all the angles Erin had taken photos from. "This can't be real, Erin, you had to have made these… there… there is no fucking way," I paused to look at him, something in the back of my mind told me he wasn't lying.
It's like I had a gut feeling, seeing the way his eyes twitched and shimmered with fear, the trembling and shivering of his body… and the scars he had. "I mean… look at it dude, it's built like a human but with wings coming out where the arms should be.."
"Like a bat!" Erin exclaimed. I gave him another look, my expression softening every time I glanced at him, "Look at how it's built, the head has protruding and elongated ears too, and the eyes are red, which is completely unnatural." I sifted through the rest of the photos, "and I understand that there are some hairy guys out there, take Grandpa Bear for example, he's a hairy motherfucker but not that hairy."
We both sat for a second staring at each other, and started to chuckle. We both knew those chuckles were hollow deep down.
"I'll let this slide for now," I decided to go along with him for now out of sympathy. "How long has this thing been out there?" I asked calmly. Erin pulled out his journal, his mood had lifted a little, he flipped through the pages and pointed at a date, 'September 15, 2015'.
"That was the first time I officially recorded the account of the thing. People's animals have been going missing… and even more road kill than usual has popped up all along 61 since that date." I sat and thought for a moment, playing along.
The rising level of animal deaths could mean a predator has moved into the area, Panthers do that when their territory is overrun; They move to a new location, and it messes with the surrounding wildlife. "So… with the increase in animal disappearance means this thing is hungry, but not hungry enough for humans. Which means it either has self-control or knows if people go missing, it could get unwanted attention." I furrowed my brows with a realization and gave Erin a concerned look, "a human knows how the police would act if too many people went missing."
Erin shook his head, "Remember back in 2011, is this starting to sound a little familiar?"
Back in 2011, a few years ago, a lot of Amber Alerts started showing up more than usual. People from the age of 12 to late 70s were going missing. We were still younger teenagers and didn't think much about the real world, just our own little lives.
The police and city issued a curfew when too many people went missing; they blocked off roads and shut down every store until whoever was taking these people was put behind bars or six feet under the ground. Rumors started spreading, like always in a small town, that it was some sasquatch or monster. Of course, however, the authorities didn't believe it was such a thing.
Especially in a town full of older folk who grew up on these wives' tales and scary stories. When all the hysteria ended and the culprit was caught or "caught". A good friend of Grandpa Bear's came by his house while all of us were hanging out. Grandpa Bear sent us upstairs so they could talk.
Sergeant George Mowery was the guy's name, I stood over the balcony of the stairs trying to listen in. "Bear, I'm telling you I don't know what I saw." I heard a scoff from Grandpa, "Brother, I've been on this earth a long time, you can't surprise me none." The officer sighed and sipped on some cider.
"The Mayor and Chief told the press it was some crazy redneck killer from the holler. That's not what we ran into." I could hear Grandpa's low growl, "What did you see then, George?" George's breath shuddered, "Bear… we…," he took a deep breath before continuing.
"We had finally tracked him out to his… lair. It was early morning, right before the son rose. We chased him out through the streets that led us out to the backwoods half of town. This guy outran our goddamn cars." He took a long drink of cider and exhaled, "It was away from the most populated areas of town. After about an hour of chasing, we had him cornered. I stepped out of the patrol car with my gun raised, being the first one to pursue him, and before I could read him his rights to take him, he took his hood off and…" He lowered his tone, making me have to lean closer over the railing.
"I swear on my mother's life, his eyes glowed red, his teeth looked sharp like an animal's. The sun finally came up over the treeline, and he screeched like nothing I had ever heard before… It was like watching a man being burned alive slowly." It sounded like he was starting to cry, "I tried to help'em, but he started lashing at me… I called for an ambulance over the net, and squad cars had finally caught up to us." He sniffed, "We were too late, he had burned to the point that there was only ash and singed flesh in a pile of clothes in front of me."
Grandpa had consoled him and assured him everything was okay. He talked about the things he saw the bad men do in Europe and told him he understood. "You need to take a few days off, George. Take your mind off things, take the wife to Daytona like you were talking about the other day." George eventually left, and I ran to my room with the others and explained what I had heard. We, of course, didn't tell Grandpa I overheard the conversation. Thinking back now, the pieces are starting to add up.
"What are you two doing?" I hadn't noticed Mom had woken up and come down the stairs. "Why do you have to be so loud? It's the one day off I got this week, I would like to sleep." Erin began putting his stuff up immediately, feeling guilty. My mom was more of a mother to him than his own Mother, so of course, he would have more respect for her, "Sorry, Mrs. Lowrin, I just wanted to show Tommy something." She put her hands on her hips, giving us the "mom" look, and waved us off as she made her way back up the stairs.
"Hey, Tom.." I looked over to Erin as he zipped up his bag, "I'm… sorry about that… getting mad and all… I don't want to end up being the pothead that cried vampire, you know…" I could tell he was flustered and embarrassed, "Bud… I don't want our friendship to get any worse… for the time being… I guess I believe you." Erin proceeded to light up a little, "Okay… want to go out later? Head over to the diner, and we could even hang out with Aisha if she's working today. I gave him a faint smile and brought him in for a hug, of course, man."
After Erin left, I got my classwork done, and the rest of the day, before I went to meet up with Erin, I had goosebumps. The hair on my neck stood straight up all day like something was watching just beyond the corner of my peripheral's. I couldn't shake that feeling. Around lunch, I finally went out to meet Erin at the diner. Walking down the street, you could see everyone in town mingling, heading to different stores and shops. The town was pretty busy for a Friday and a small town in general.
As I turned the corner, I bumped into someone, and we bumped hard. We both backed up, and I apologized. He said nothing, he wore a hoodie, jeans, and high-top shoes. It was a fairly warm day, so I wondered why he was all covered up. One thing that stood out was his eyes. I just assumed I was seeing things or was just hungry, but I could've sworn they were red. Like a crimson, vibrant red.
He started to shake a little. "Hey? Dude, are you okay?" he rushed past me, hitting me in the shoulder and disappearing past the corner. I then realized my nose was bleeding, I wiped my nose with my hand and made my way to the diner, hoping I wouldn't run into anyone else weird.
I made it to the diner, which is a little deli and bakery near the middle of town. Aisha works here and helps her Grandma around. Erin had already beat me and waved frantically as soon as he saw me through the window. Before I could sit down Aisha got to me first, "Hey handsome." She gave me a gentle kiss, "Hey baby, you busy today?"
She looked back at the kitchen and her Grandma was holding a receipt and walked out from behind the counter, it met the floor. I cringed, "Catering? Who's getting married?" She laughed and threw her head back, "It's for a church barbecue, actually, you know the one I go to with grandma? You should come, it's tomorrow."
"I might take you up on that offer, if it's your grandma's cooking, then of course I'll go." She gave me a snarky look and hit me with the menus in her hand, "Soo? Not even because I'll be there?" I gave Erin a look, and he clasped his hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh.
I looked back at Aisha and we both started to laugh now. I sat down with Erin and Aisha went back to the kitchen already knowing our orders. "So, you know Mikey is coming back tonight right?" Mikey had been on a trip to Germany with his parents over the summer, honestly, I don't know how they'll convince him to come back.
"Mikey? Leaving Germany? That boy has been waiting on that trip forever, I don't think he would ever want to come home. If he does, it was unwillingly." Erin chuckled, "His parents probably have him tied up cargo just to get him home." I started to laugh more now. Mikey was the biggest history buff you'd ever meet. He loved learning about culture, history, and especially religion. He'd go to museums, historical sites, and galleries with his parents all the time. He could tell you when, where, and what someone was eating at any given point in history. It was like he lived those moments and had been there. He even believed in fictional history like Dracula, Robin Hood, and The City of El Dorado.
Aisha came back with our food, "What're ya'll laughing about?" Erina and I couldn't hold it in, trying to fight past the tears I tried to explain until someone behind me chimed in, "Hey ya'll talking about that Mikey kid? Mikey Silcox right?" I turned around, my laughter finally settling, "Yeah, what about him?" It was the kid that lived across from Mikey, we would all play with water balloons in the summer. Mikey obviously, wanted to reenact real battles. "Dude he came back like a month ago how come ya'll didn't know?" Aisha cocked her head to the side and put her hand on her hip,
"That ain't right. Why would he come back so early and not even tell us?" The kid shrugged, "How should I know I just happened to look out the window and see their car pull up. Mikey jumped out of the car clutching a backpack and sprinted to the door. I felt bad for his parents they looked dog-tired." I looked over at Erin, "Well we gotta go see him, we'll finish up here and head over there." Aisha grabbed her tray, "Well you guys have fun, I gotta get back to prepping this catering order," She kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear, "Also don't you dare forget about tonight."
***************
I paced around my room, thoughts racing in my head. I was sweating bullets and felt like I was going to throw up. Why… why did it choose me, need me, whatever it fucking wanted You realize I can hear your thoughts child. I whipped around and looked at it, my heart pounding and chill bumps all over. "Why… why me? There were…" I got sick and almost threw up, "There were so many… so many bodies… of kids my age… and you chose me and left them dead and alone. I almost fucking died because of you !" I could feel it, its anger and bloodlust, I didn't choose you, you earned your right to bear my knowledge, those children were weak. Their souls are now a part of me.
About a month ago my family and I 'coincidentally' came back early from our trip to Germany. What really happened was this book I found did some magic bullshit and caused a series of events that lead to this moment. Now, to business. I require you to find someone in this town. I huffed and tears swelled in my eyes, "Why can't you find them since you're all powerful?" I asked choking up, I can only use a mere fraction of my power, I need the blood of a Soulless. I can't find them without you, you have been chosen by fate to be my Day-Bearer.
I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. "What does any of that even mean?" I picked it up and shook it, it forced itself out of my hands and launched me to the floor sliding across the room. It opened up and flipped its pages glowing a vibrant red, "I will show you everything…" knock knock "Micheal your friends are here they want to see you!." The book slammed shut and fell on my desk "They must not know of my existence or anything you have learned, do you understand me?" I shook my head nervously.
"Send them up Mom!" as soon as I uttered those words I could hear footsteps, I quickly started to act like I was cleaning when Tommy and Erin barged in. They ran over and hugged me tight, I felt like I was going to pass out. "Ya'll trying to kill me," I said gasping for air. They backed away, "Sorry man we just missed it's felt like forever." Erin chimed in. Tommy punched me in the arm, "Why didn't you tell us you came back early?" I rubbed my arm, "Well Mom and Dad had a work emergency and we had to cut the trip short." I continued to act like I was cleaning making sure they didn't see this demonic-looking book on my desk.
"Well since you're back we got so much to catch up on, me and Tommy have so much to tell you" So do I, I thought to myself, Utter one word about my existence and I will leave your body with the others. "Well, first you won't believe what I fucking found." As Erin said this I could see the annoyance in Tommy's face. 'Just go along with it,' Tommy mouthed to me, "Erin thinks… well he has… 'proof' of a vampire living here." Erin shoved Tommy, "Don't think I didn't see that, I have actual fucking proof." He lifted his shirt and showed off five slash marks across his torso.
My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat, Where did he find it? Ask him! I jumped a little and the two of them looked a little concerned. "Where? Erin where did you… find it?" Erin pulled out his journal from his bag, "Along Route 61 in the County park. I was thinking…" He looked at Tommy as if knowing what his reaction would be, Tommy knew exactly what he was about to say and clenched his jaw. "...maybe we could go tonight and try and find it again?"
Tommy's stone-faced stare turned red, "No fucking way Erin, I am not making up another excuse for Aisha again. You know what makes it worse? Today is our Goddamn anniversary!" I'm surprised this one even survived, a vampyr doesn't leave its victims to tell the tale.
Get out of my head for one fucking second. Tommy barged out of the room, "Erin do you really think this is a good idea? We should just leave it be." Erin rubbed his face and took a deep breath in, "I know it's not, I barely survived last time. But maybe, just maybe if we find this thing and get proof. My actions might finally be worth something." He started to tear up then looked away, "I'm gonna go smoke, I'll call you if I can convince Tommy." He walked out without another word. I ran over to shut and lock the door.
"I like the tall one, knows what matters most. The blonde one, however… he must be stupid to think that vampyr would let him live a second time." The book sat upright on my desk and I jumped when it spoke out loud, "I'm taking you with me, I swear if any of them get hurt…" The book laughed loudly, I shushed it and held my finger to my mouth "Boy only you can hear me, you just sound like you're talking to yourself. Besides, as if you had a choice, I am bound to you. I cannot leave within an arm's distance of you. I started to cry, I've seen the worst horrors of my life. I don't want the same or a worse fate for them.
"Just promise me okay… promise me you'll protect them, I know you can do at least some magic. I am your 'Day-Bearer' or whatever, just please." The book sat in silence for a moment. Then it finally spoke, "Fine… I can't have your emotions fluctuating, it will weaken my power. It is hard to find a Day-Bearer I don't want to wait another hundred or so years waiting for a new one." I took a deep breath and sat up against my bed. What did I get myself into?
***************
I could feel my heartbeat in my throat, I was terrified. Erin had somehow convinced me to go out with him to find this "vampire" of his. I held my phone to my chest waiting for her to text back. My phone vibrated making me jump. She was calling me, I answered instant to plead my case.
"Before you say anything I know we have a date tonight and I know it's our anniversary but Erin…"
"Tom, no," She cut me off, "you have to stop doing this. We have been together for four years, why can't you make time for only me just once in your life?"
"I'm sorry I…"
"Stop, you don't get to pull that card anymore," She started to raise her voice, "I have needs and you know that, you need to set your priorities straight if you love me."
I pause, my body shaking in anxiousness, "You can come with us… if that makes you feel any better? Then tomorrow we can do whatever you want…"
"What do you really want? You asked me out remember? I have done nothing but love you and you can't even give me the time of day."
"I want you… I never wanted our friends to come between us."
"Your friends…" There was a moment of silence, all I could hear was her heavy breath, "I'll think about it, I'll call you later… bye."
Love you too.
I didn't tell them. Of course, they would be mad, Erin has a way with his words though. I don't even know why I'm doing this. It was dawn and the sun's final light was etched across the sky, turning the clouds into a brisk orange. We were at my house packing up and told Mom we were just camping. I didn't want her thinking we were insane, 'Oh yeah Mom we're going to hunt down a vampire.' She would put me in a padded room so fast. I don't believe Erin, but I can't stand to see him the way he is.
The only time I see him smiling is when we're hanging out on our own, when he's with his family he looks… empty. I'm also afraid he's going to kill himself if he does something stupid like this on his own. "So, we got everything we need?' I ask as I'm about to close the trunk of my car. Mikey nods his head and Erin is already hopping in the passenger seat. I shrug throwing my metal bat into my bag, and close the trunk, I can't explain what I felt but as I got in the car the ambience changed. I got chills up my spine and a queasy feeling in my stomach. "You look sick Tommy, you good?" Erin asked looking at me with furrowed brows. I nod my head, "I just got a really… bad feeling, none of ya'll felt that?" I looked back at Erin and then to Mikey in the backseat.
They both shook their heads and as I looked forward I heard Mikey say something under his breath. "Shut up." I started the car and looked into the rearview mirror, "You say something, Mikey?" He shook his head clutching his backpack. I shifted the gear and waved to my Mom who was on the porch, "You kids have fun!" I pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the street, Erin had turned on music. I couldn't shake the conversation I had with Aisha, just then my phone dings. "I'm going with you guys." I put my phone back down and turned the car last minute, "Woah… Tommy where are we…" Erin snapped at me, "Dude you said she wasn't going." I shook my head, "Last minute changes… sorry guys." Erin threw his head back and groaned.
"Now it's going to be awkward the whole time…" He said with a pained expression. I huffed, "Well I'm sorry we're going through a rough patch I can't just ditch her on our fucking anniversary, Erin." He looked at me with his jaw clenched, "If she gets the life sucked out of her by that leach then you get to fucking deal with it…" Mikey said something under his breath again and clutched his bag harder. We finally pulled into her driveway and she was waiting for us.
Erin was just about to get out and give up the front seat but she refused and was already sitting in the back. I took a deep breath, I know I really fucked this up. I pulled out of the driveway and drove off. The car ride was quiet and unsettling, aside from Erin's terrible music taste. We decided to take a back road to Route 61, Erin directed me to the spot he was in that night he "saw" it.
I parked the car in the clearing in the woods. Erin excitedly hopped out and started grabbing his things from the trunk while Mikey followed. Aisha and I were left in the car, I stared through the windshield. The last bit of sunlight shone through the trees piercing my eyes. The wind blew against the car, shaking the trees and their limbs around us. I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Aisha just staring at her phone curled up leaning against the door.
My heart sank. I knew going out with Erin would hurt her, but our relationship was never the greatest in the first place. My feelings had always been torn between her and quite literally anything else. I don't know why I had asked her out in the first place, it had felt right in the moment a year ago. Now it feels like a chore, but being with her makes my mind go quiet. Seeing her happy is like a light rain on the weekend and I just want to run aimlessly feeling the cold raindrops hit my skin.
I was about to speak and my lips began to separate. I see her expression, I can't quite tell what she's thinking but I can see her eyes. They hurt. The way her braids cover part of her face, the little bit of sunlight left glowing on her soft dark skin. I want to save this, I do love her. "Get out." She tells me before I can even form a word. "Okay…", I say opening the door, the pang of guilt in my heart hurting as I get out of the car and close the door.
I walk over to the campsite that Erin and Mikey had put together. The cold wind grazed my skin. The sound of the leaves and branches rustling. The crackling of the fire they built, its heat combating the cold chill of the breeze. Erin fiddling with camera equipment whilst Mikey is attaching a GoPro to his hoodie. "Yo, Tommy put this on." Erin tossed a GoPro to me, I fumbled it in my hands and almost dropped it.
"What's this for?" I asked holding it up and looking at it. Erin shows his attached to his shirt and then gestures to Mikey. "I plan to put cameras up around us but we should have these on in case we come into contact with it." I hate to play into delusions, but Erin has never seemed more happy before and it makes a smile creep onto my face. I attach the GoPro to my hoodie and sit down on a camping chair.
I stare into the fire lost in thought, the amber glow of the embers and the sparkings floating towards the sky entrances me. I was so lost in thought I didn't notice Erin nudging me. "Hey, you mind helping me with these?" He asks holding up a bag I can only assume is more cameras.
Lo and behold, he opened the bag to reveal more cameras. Just a pile of small Canon camcorders and a few more GoPros. "I'm gonna go put these up in some of the trees around us." Erin then snapped his fingers and ran to a cooler, "We'll need this too." He grabbed the cooler and the bag of camcorders.
"Erin… what is in that cooler?" I was genuinely worried about what could be in this. He doesn't say anything just gesturing me to follow. I turned to look back at the car and the last shimmer of sunlight was fading, its golden light reflecting off the roof of my car. "We better hurry its, about to get dark soon."
We set up a few cameras around the camp and then ventured deeper into the woods. The chirp of crickets and croaking of frogs started to fill the air. I felt a pinch at the back of my neck and swatted at it, the mosquitos were out too, unfortunately. We ventured through the brush climbing over fallen limbs and through the overgrowth. I could feel the thorns of the vines gripping and snagging my jeans and my hoodie. How can Erin only wear shorts and a shirt out here? Erin finally stopped and looked up at a tree. It was probably twice the size of my house. "This'll do good." I was confused at first until he opened the cooler.
The smell of raw meat soaking in its juices made me cringe. "What is that for?" I asked covering my nose with my arm. Erin proceeded to pull a rope from his cargo pocket and tied the meat to it. "Bait, duh…" he said bluntly as he held the hung meat by the rope. I didn't know how long I could keep acting like this was real. He was looking up at the tree swinging the meat back in forth while clicking his tongue, "How are we going to get this up there?"
I sighed and began to walk toward him, "Erin…" His head turned and his eyes met my gaze. "What? You got an Idea?" I didn't have the heart to tell him how I truly felt. How dumb this whole escapade is. I could've had a fun date night with Aisha but instead, I'm out in the woods hunting vampires… with my best friend.
"Do… you really believe…" I could see his expression change to a somber look, "Tommy…" His tone changed, it was the sound of regret. "I don't… not anymore… truth is, I was 100% high that night. I…" he began the cry, tears streaming down his face, "I don't remember that night… all I got from it was a few recordings and some pictures."
We were standing toe to toe from each other. He started sniffling, "Honestly… I'm just happy we're all hanging out." My heart shattered, I loved him like a brother. We haven't genuinely hung out together in quite some time. Ever since his habits started we began to drift apart. We used to run in the woods pretending to be soldiers, we used to go to the park and pretend to be knights guarding our castle. Later as we grew up we just used to adventure through the town, walking aimlessly through every scenic route, every shortcut.
I remember the feeling, the feeling of the moment never-ending. One day it did, I went over to his house to show him my new Lego set and found him over the toilet throwing up. His parents weren't home that day and he had been drinking all day. I didn't know what to do, I was too scared to call 911. So I sat with him all day while he was unable to even stand up, or even sit up for that matter.
Smelling that rancid smell from his breath changed how I saw him as a person. A few weeks later he started to smoke. I never liked it, he always said it was a coping mechanism. I didn't blame him, what hurt was seeing him go into a downward spiral of abusing weed and alcohol to numb a pain that wouldn't last forever. I guess I should have been a better friend. Maybe he would have found a better way to cope with the abuse. I guess this is my time to make it up.
"Hey man…" I can't help but feel sad and regretful looking at him, "Even if we don't find a vampire or whatever… at least we can have fun…" Erin wiped his tears with his forearm and smiled. He comes towards me for a hug and I back away with my hands up, "Woah… you've got meat juice all over your hands you are not touching me." We both go quiet for a moment and then begin bursting out in laughter.
I help him throw the meat up into the tree and come to realize Erin can very easily climb a tree like a monkey. Watching him come down was funnier, he had gotten to a point and fell on top of me. We lay on the cold earth laughing in pain. The moonlight had already bathed the forest in its glow. We set up only two more cameras on the way back. When we finally made it back Mikey was scrambling to put something in his backpack. The fire's glow illuminated the clearing in its ambered glow.
I looked at my car and saw Aisha's hair in the fiery glow sitting on the hood. I didn't have the heart to talk to her still. We sat back down at our camping chairs. "Anyone up for s'mores?" Erin says excitingly rubbing his hands together. "You mind making me one Erin?" Mikey said as he pulled out a computer. I rested my hand on his shoulder, "Unless you want meat juices on your shit I wouldn't ask Erin to make you a s'more."
Mikey gave a disgusted look of horror at Erin. Erin proceeded to grab a marshmallow from his bag and ate it licking his fingers while staring into Mikey's soul. Mikey shuddered and went back to the laptop and started looking through the GoPro footage. I was sitting next to him every once in a while glancing at the footage. Nothing yet, which was to be expected. We continued to sit and enjoy the snacks we brought.
The forest was quiet, the only noise was the cars on the highway beyond the treeline. The cold breeze battled the heat of the fire. The moonlight shone through the trees meshing with the flickering of the fire. I stared into the fire pit entranced by the steady glow and motions.
"Is Aisha okay?" I had been staring into the fire so long Mikey had caught me by surprise. "Uhm… yeah…" I looked over at Aisha who was still sitting on the hood with her knees to her chest. "I don't know actually." I was torn between my feelings, I still didn't feel like I could talk to her. "I just… I don't know if it was a good idea to rain-check our anniversary date to be out here." I sigh and lean back into the chair to stare at the stars through the canopy of the woods.
"Go talk to her…" I lift my head and face Mikey, "I don't have the heart to.." Mikey cocked his head to the side and Kubrick stared at me. "Dude… you've been dating for how long and you still don't understand how women work?" I shook my head. Mikey gave me a strained sigh, "She deserves your time, I never understood why you always felt annoyed when she asked you to go out with her for the evening." I didn't even know how to respond, of course, that's how I felt.
Every time she would ask me to go out it always felt like a chore or like an errand. Even though after the night was over I would be happy as can be. It was an odd feeling. Not wanting to do something but after it's done you feel content and happy. "Do you love her Tommy?" I was shocked at this question because I was afraid the answer I would give wouldn't be true. "Of course I am. I love her more than anything and I would even die for her." Erin chuckled.
"Don't push your luck, maybe that thing might show up," Erin took a sip of his drink, not beer surprisingly, then muttered under his breath, "White knight head ass…" I grabbed a marshmallow and threw it at him. It hits him in the head and falls into the dirt. Erin picks it up and dusts it off. "Thanks…" he adds as he proceeds to eat the dirt-covered marshmallow. "You truly are a disgusting human being," Mikey says to him.
"What? I'm an animal." Erin says mockingly as he gets up and howls at the moon jokingly. We get a laugh out of it but my gaze averts back to Aisha. I finally get up and grab a sandwich making my way to her. I walk up to the hood of the car and Aisha sits with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head down. "I brought some food for you…" She stays silent, I get up on the hood of the car and sit next to her. I lean back on the windshield and stare at the stars for a moment. "I know things have been rough lately… and I'm sorry for the way I've been."
She looks back at me with red puffy eyes, "You suck you know that…" I take a deep breath in, "I know baby… I know." there was pain in both of our voices. "I guess I've been pretty shitty too?" she chuckles softly wiping tears from her eyes with her sleeve. I shook my head and was about to say no but she beat me to the punch. "Don't shake your head I want you to be honest, I'm clingy and I want your attention only on me."
We sat in silence just gazing into each other's eyes. "Why are we still together?" The question hit me like a knife to the chest. A tear formed in my eye and streamed down my cheek. "I…" it's the only sound I could muster without crying completely. She moved back to me up against the windshield and threw her leg over me hiding her face in the crook of my neck. "I don't know either." She says softly.
Her warm breath instead of giving me a feeling of comfort gave me a feeling of sorrow. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. "What's wrong with us?" I managed to say holding her tightly to me. The warmth of her body on mine was a sensation of contentment and unease. "We suck." She lets out a chuckle and soon I chuckle too. "I don't want to lose you." She adds, "I just feel like… you've fallen out of love with me."
I keep staring at the stars through the leaves, "It's hard to explain… I guess…" She shifts a little, not wanting to let go of me. It was as if she was trying to hold onto what she had left of me. "Try me." She says not in a stern or aggravative tone, but in an empathetic tone. Like she was feeling the same way. "I just… I think…" I pause collecting my words trying to understand my own thoughts, "I love the idea of you… but I don't know how to… love you."
My anxiety sets in as she is quiet for longer than I anticipated. She lifts her head and puts her hand on my cheek and forces me to look at her. Her dark chocolate eyes gleamed in the minimal moonlight. "I feel the same…" Tears streaked down her face, her eyes darting trying to focus on mine. "Do you want me?" Her questions still drove the spear deeper, twisting it in my chest.
I don't know if I just had a moment of clarity, or if my feelings finally manifested. I genuinely loved her in this moment, I wanted her and only her. The way she laughs. The way she looks at me. I wanted her and only her. "Yes…" She smiled behind the tears and came closer to me, our noses gently touching. "Let's learn to love each then… because I want you, so fucking bad…"
The pain in her eyes made something come over me, a feeling I hadn't felt since our first date. "Just give me the night, and we'll see where things go by sunrise…" She says with a smile. She brought me in for a kiss. Her lips were warm on mine. The sensation felt like the world around us stopped. No leaves rustling in the wind, the crickets stopped chirping and the wind stood still. She was gentle and soft. A sense of warmth spread from my chest like the heat from the sun on a summer day.
I could feel her breath hitching, the slight tremble of her lips on mine. My heart raced, it felt right. It didn't feel like a kiss but a silent promise, unspoken but understood. I wanted this to never end, I wanted to hold onto this moment forever. Her hands rested gently against my chest, I caught myself pulling her even closer. As if to feel the reassurance of her presence, assurance that this was, in fact real.
I smiled against her lips. She smiled too, our lips dancing against one another. I rest my hand on the back of her head cradling her neck. We pulled away, and the timing felt right. The way she looked up at me made my heartbeat skip. "I'll keep trying harder for you," I say softly as I lead my hand to run my fingers across her cheek. "I'll do the same for you baby…" She tells me inches away from my lips. Then I finally felt content, and my chest was consumed with the warm sensation of happiness.
I felt content, a sensation of bliss, but how I felt when all of it ended abruptly as a screech echoed through the forest. My ears rang as I held Aisha close. She held her hands over her ears, her entire body stiff from fear. As it ended and the faded echo was all that was left Mikey jumped out of his chair, "Fuck…" He screamed out in a shrill cry holding his ears. That combined with the thud of the laptop made me jump in fear. I slipped off the hood of my car and banged my nose onto the side mirror.
I fell to the ground and held my nose feeling the blood stream through my fingers, going cold as it hit the night air. My vision blurred from the impact and I felt Aisha grab my shoulders and help me up. Erin and Mikey were freaking out around the fire. As I got up and gained my composure and quickly lost it when I saw the image on the laptop screen that Mikey dropped. A deformed creature sank its teeth into the meat we had hung up earlier.
Its teeth were long like a crocodile's, shredding the meat. Its nose was pressed against its face, its nostrils at a point at the bridge. Its skin was an inhuman pale, not an unnatural pale. You could read every vein on its face. Its hair was matted and unruly. The worst part of this grotesque creature was its eyes, a familiar crimson red.
"I fucking knew it!" Erin screamed as he scrambled into his bag and pulled out a M18 pistol. I support myself on my car and walk toward the fire as my composure comes back and my vision clears. Aisha was digging her nails into my shoulder out of fear, "Tommy please tell me I'm dreaming…" Her voice is raspy drowned in tears. I shrug her off of me and hand her my keys. I walk toward the fire stumbling using the car for support, the cold metal and glass freezing my hands.
Erin is jumping around screaming in joy, I grab him and stumble onto him. "Dude, are you okay?" He asked, his demeanor changed quickly. "I fell, I'm fine… we need to fucking leave." Erin looks at me holding me up, I can see his eyes focusing on my bloodied nose. "No… no… dude we gotta get the cameras and take our evidence and then leave." Mikey is just standing over the fire holding his ears and crying. "You got your goddamn evidence, we know it's real and we need to leave…" Erin shakes his head, he looks disappointed in me. "And just leave the cameras with all our real evidence?!" He shoves me and I hit the ground hard. I roll over in pain and hear the car start up. The exhaust hit me in the face.
Mikey is freaking out holding his ears, I can only imagine what he's thinking. The world spinning around him, the shortness of breath, and the pain in your chest. Your heart feels like it's tightening and twisting. The warm exhaust warmed my face and the smell made me lightheaded. I roll away from it and try to get up. I get to my knees to crawl to my backpack and pull out my bat. I use the bat as leverage to get up and pull myself up, Mikey grabs me by the shoulders and stares me in the eye.
"I'm sorry Tommy…" My mind is fractured and unable to think straight, It's like the world itself is shifting from side to side every time I blink. "What…?" I attempted to mutter. We were then hit by cinders and ash from the fire pushing us to our sides. Still unable to look straight I focus on what was left of the fire. Before me stood an eight-foot-tall beast, it searched the air sniffing and laid its gaze on me, and let out a low blood-curdling growl.
I try to grab for my bat which is just out of reach as it slowly steps toward me. I swallowed hard and the dried blood on my upper lip cracked. "Mikey…" I say softly, "Go." I turned to Mikey who was scooting backwards already hyperventilating. His eyes were the size of silver dollars staring at this towering creature. The creature approached me closer and crouched down to all fours. As it climbed over top of me I could feel its cold breath hit my face, the smell was rotten and putrid. As it opened its maw saliva dripped out and fell on my shirt. The smell made me gag and dry heave, I began breathing quickly. My heart racing about to burst out of my chest.
Then a loud bang went off and blood spewed out of the side of the thing's head. It looked in the direction of whatever had hit him and I turned my gaze curious as well. There stood Erin with his bag aiming his gun at him, "That's for cutting my ass up bitch." Erin hissed at the creature. Mikey took the chance to run around and to the car. I took this chance to finally grab my bat and swing into its jaw making it stumble back and scream. The sound pierced my ears making me arch my back in pain.
Erin ran to me holding his ears and reached his hand out. I reached back but was too late as the creature grabbed his throat. "No!" I blurt out as my head pings in agony. Erin drops his gun clutching at the things hand and wrist. The creature is unfazed and throws Erin at the car shattering the back window. I looked at the car and the side mirror I fell on, it was positioned to face the driver seat. I could see Aisha frozen in fear, completely still. Her eyes were wide and red from tears. She shifted her gaze to the mirror and met my eyes.
I love you. I mouth the words and feel cold skin squeeze my throat. I went limp and tried desperately to breathe but couldn't. Go. I mouth the words at Aisha. I stare into the side mirror at her reflection. I love you. She mouths the words to me as the backup lights light up, and the tires burn out on the ground kicking up dirt and rock. I averted my gaze to the creature who then threw me into a nearby tree. My back shatters and I open my mouth in shock but unable to make a sound.
It was a pain I had never felt before, every vertebra in my spine completely shattered leaving me limp against the tree. My breath hitched clinging on to consciousness, Tears streaming down my face. The blood on my face dried yet moist, cracking and leaving a thick film on my mouth. The creature jumped onto me pushing me against the tree. The shock of pain surging through my pain made me cry out and lose my breath until it was a faint sound of agony.
Its cold breath hit my face again, the smell of rotten meat and flesh making me gag. It came inches away from my face, its eyes a blood red. Like a glistening ruby, It ran its cold tongue across my lips and up my nose, it was like wet sandpaper cutting my flesh. It closed its eyes throwing its head back and let out a satisfied sound. "You will do…" it grumbled in a hungry tone looking back down at me. Tears flowed down my cheeks, so warm, keeping me grounded in reality. The pain in my back kept me awake, the shock leaving me motionless.
"Just do it…" I manage to squeeze out. It looked at me with a smile. "What do you think I plan on doing mortal?" It growled deeply. I begin to lose the effect of the shock and everything starts to fade slowly. "Feed…" I say just above a whisper as I lose my strength. It laughed, the bass of its voice echoing through the quiet woods. "No, no, no… I am old… I cannot live much longer… you, however…" I am unable to respond slowly dying. The thing smiles and takes its hand and bits into it ripping its thumb off and thick black blood begins to pour out.
It grabbed my hair with the other hand and titled my head back. The pain of moving woke me back up just a little. It placed the wound over my mouth and the cold thick liquid filled my mouth. The taste was putrid like bile. It pulled my head back more and shut my mouth with the wounded hand. The thick blood running down my throat made me convulse in disgust. I stared into the creature's gaze, the whites of its eyes started to turn black in the low light. Death took its toll and pulled me into its sweet embrace.
A life taken, a new life is born. For the soul becomes part of our people. The soulless part of a greater purpose. A warrior in the night, a new being, an old god. A son of Lucifer, a lost person. In the shadows they may rise, to seize the night to take the day. To take back what is ours and lead our people and all into a new age. One day we will return. For Yahweh cannot keep us in torment. Rise youngblood.
The fire died around me and I was back. Standing before the cloaked deity in this limbo realm. I was panting trying to catch my breath, covered in sweat. "Now then, you have regained what little humanity remains inside you, we must not succumb to the curse Archangel Gabriel has put in place… and turn into what Yahweh intended for us to be…" It stated in a formal yet authoritative tone. I felt strange, the pain I had felt before was completely gone. I felt completely rested and fully awake. I felt like I could fight a bear and win.
"What am I… Why am I here, why is this happening to me?" The cloaked figure removed its hood to reveal a deformed humanesque face, I jumped back slightly startled at the sight. The being raised its hand begging me to not be frightened, "We are the Vampyr, sons and daughters of Lucifer. Long ago at the dawn of humanity, we were cursed into slaves of instinct and animalistic hunger by what you humans call God. Us purebloods who fell from the heavens knew their time was limited so we created a spell to bore new Vampyr." I was so confused, I didn't know how to feel. It felt unreal.
"We did this so that our race wouldn't die young. I don't know why he chose you or what his motives were, but you were born of the blood of your changer. Drinking from his blood changed your physiological structure turning you into one of us… and killing him in the process." I was shocked by all of this information coming all at once. It was too much to process. I walk over to the nearby wall of the store leaning my back to it and slide down next to the old sign. "I'm… not… human anymore… am I?"
The cloaked figure let out a sorrowful sigh and threw his hood back on, "No, I'm afraid…. However, you have a new chance at life." He turns to walk away down the alley, "May Lucifer guide you… you won't be alone… I promise." The world around me began to fade, my breath shortening. I clutch my chest trying to breathe as I fall over. The brick wall snags my hoodie as I topple to my side. Sleep.
I had never experienced pure nothing before, just darkness. I felt the cold stone of the alley beneath me but the world was pitch black. A glint of red blinked from the void. It began beating as if the light was breathing. The light seemed alive. It slowly came closer to me. The pure darkness slowly turned into a storm of shadow surrounding me. I started to salivate, the crimson light beating and dispersing its light within a network of veins and limbs. My stomach churned and growled at me.
I painstakingly brought myself to my feet. The light got closer, taking the form of a beating heart flowing into the elaborate structure of the human body. I felt starved, I felt hungry, I felt… primal. A voice came from the storming void, "Tommy? Is that you…" I clutched my stomach driving my nails into skin. I winced in pain as the saliva leaked from my maw.
"Tommy! Oh thank the lord you're alive…" The figure this heart belonged to seemed to be holding its hands to its face. I can only see the network of veins, making a crude image of a human. An inhuman growl came from my diaphragm, and my jaw separated. The figure approached me as if to comfort me, but the hunger I felt was too much. My stomach screaming at me, saliva pouring from my mouth and the smell… was addicting.
The smell of iron, raw metal the savory taste of salt. It was tantalizing. I needed it until I saw their face. It was Aisha's grandmother, I winced withholding myself. Trying to fight the urges, I cried out a hurt cry. I'm sorry. I lunged at her and pinned her to the ground, it was so easy. Like holding a baby kitten, so fragile, I could break her bones at any given moment if I wanted. "Tommy please…" Her begging cry meant nothing to me at this point. I held her down with my knee to her chest, with both arms pinned her to the ground.
I felt the way her bones gave in, crunching under the pressure. I rared up and opened my maw as I sent my teeth into her throat. The crunch of her jugular and tender muscle sends shivers down my spine. I bit down hard, stopping her from screaming. The blood from her artery spewed, and the floodgates opened. The taste I hoped for, the metals, the savory, the sweetness. I could feel her life leave as her muscles gave out.
The last beats of her heart shot blood out of her open veins with every beat. I drank and drank, my body shivering. The warm feeling of pleasure washed over me from head to toe, filling my chest with butterflies. Thick hot blood flowing down my throat. It was like a drug, I needed more. My skin felt tingly. My mind on cloud nine, I bit hard, and with every last drop I ripped her throat out completely and raised my face to the sky. My eyes rolled back in ecstasy.
The dark storm around me subsided, revealing the night sky. The moon is directly overhead. It was bright blue, almost blinding. The stars are vivid, scattering the realm above me. The mixing of colors of red and orange is unnatural. I had never seen the sky so vividly before. It was like staring straight into deep space from just the naked eye. I smiled I felt alive. How I got to this moment is completely forgotten, All I remember is the hooded figure and now this. It was pure bliss.
I smelled blood, I looked down from the sky to see the most horrid sight. Aisha's grandmother's body laid there lifeless and pale, the light in her eyes long gone and faded away. Her throat was ripped open, leaving nothing but a cavity in her neck. Just black muscle tissue, torn to shreds. Stripped of life. I brought my gaze down further to my knee. It was sitting inside her chest cavity, her ribs had scratched my leg. The bone was jagged as if it had been shattered. I lifted my knee and saw her heart, A flatted mess turned into mush.
I began to cry and put my hand up to my mouth. I felt it covered in blood, her blood. I choked up and the tears flowed down my face across my finger and hand. I gagged and felt the warm blood and bile come up in my throat. I couldn't stomach the sight of it. I pulled away and scooted backward across the alley floor, Her chest making a wet crunch as I shifted my weight. I slowly got up, weak in the knees unable to fully stand up.
As I stood in the alley, I felt numb. A feeling of absence from reality. Standing over her dead body, cold tears streaming down my face. The hairs on my neck began to stand and a hand grabbed my shoulder and dug its nails into my skin and pulled. I was jerked back and without thinking I sent my fist into whatever it was. It connected with the jaw of a person and sent them to the ground. They held their face and crawled toward the old neon sign of the store. I stood in shock feeling awful. "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to I swear." I cried out slowly and calmly making my way toward them with my hands raised.
I hadn't even blinked and the sign hit my face, Glass shattering and cutting up my skin. It sent me spiraling down the all hitting a dumpster at least twenty feet away. I groaned in pain and the person lunged at me completely airborne from their position to me and straddled me pinning my body to the ground and head up against the dumpster, they clutched my throat, and I grabbed at them and sent my hand to grab their throat. We strangled each other, neither of us letting up. They were wearing a hood, but under that hood was the face of a girl. She looked like my age or at least a year or two older than me.
Her eyes were that familiar crimson red, like bloodstone crystals. She was gritting her teeth, her fangs prominent and quartz white. She breathed heavily, panting. Her voice growled through every exhale. "Why the fuck would you do that? Why would you kill a mortal?" Her voice was like a siren, growling at me. She was a whole lot stronger than she looked, keeping me in place on the ground. "Answer me before I send your ass back to hell!" Her voice pierced me straight into my soul, do I even have a soul?
She slammed my head back into the dumpster and I let out a pained cry through my clenched teeth. "I don't know…. I don't know! I don't know why I'm here, I just remember some cloaked guy and then seeing Mrs. Simmons' body underneath me…" I cried out through my teeth, agony in my voice from the emotional turmoil. I never thought I could cry so much. Her stern look never faded, only the color of her eyes. They faded from the blood red to a crystal ocean blue. She got off of me and turned to Mrs. Simmon's body.
She knelt and shut her eyes with her hand, "I'm sorry you had to go like that sweety…' She said in a soft tone, angelic even. She let out a noise that shocked me, it sounded like a coyote. She looked out of the alley across the road into the woods and two coyotes came out. She clicked her tongue with her hand outstretched beckoning them. "What are you doing?" I asked in a raspy tone holding my throat as I came back to my feet. She took her hood off and turned her head to look back at me, her hair was pitch black, contrasting her pale flush skin. "Can't let anyone see her like this… make it look like nature just taking its course…"
I felt a twinge in my heart, how would Aisha feel if she found out what I did? "That's horrible…" I moved forward, the coyotes made their way to the alley and were on the other side of Mrs. Simmon's lifeless body. As I got closer they snarled at me. I stopped in my tracks. "I wouldn't do that…" She cautioned me, I sighed and ran my hands into my hair. "I just… I can't just watch…" My mind raced with so many feelings. A pain in my heart from guilt, my heart sank and a pit formed in my stomach.
The girl got up turned around and marched toward me and stood inches away. She was just a little bit shorter than I was, having to slightly look upward to meet my gaze. "I know how it feels… waking up surrounded by darkness." She sighed and moved her arms as she spoke, "The only light you see was the red beating heart of a human, but I moved on… and you should too." She stared into me, almost through me. Her expression was void of any emotion, the moonlight reflecting off of her pale skin and her diamond eyes.
"What are you…" I muttered softly, slightly frightened by her. She grabbed my hand and brought it to her chest. I flinched and pulled it not wanting to touch her. She death stared at me and tugged my arm clenching her jaw and slightly scrunching her nose in annoyance. I gave in and she brought my hand to her chest, "What… what are you trying to prove?" I asked confused, she brought my fingers to her neck and pressed them onto her carotid artery, her skin was cold and had no beat. She had no heartbeat. All I could feel was the cold soulless aura emitting from her. I started to breathe heavily unable to process this. She then gently moved my hand to my neck, no heartbeat.
"We're what humans call vampires… or leaches or unholy spawn… you name it." It was too much to take in I stumbled to the nearby wall and caught myself onto it. The brick was chill to my touch and rough on my hands. I felt cold and empty. It all felt so wrong, I hyperventilated and held my hand to my chest. I breathed harder when there was no heartbeat against my hand. A soulless creature, the cloaked figure had told me earlier that we were vampyr, sons and daughters of Lucifer. I guess I just thought I was dreaming. However, reality came crashing in like the morning tide. I just stood there against the wall and wept.
"I don't know what's going on in your head but… I know your pain, not all of us are heartless… metaphorically." I clutched my hair as she spoke to me, "What do you know? I had a family, friends… girlfriend who I had finally made amends with." I got up off the wall and kicked a can deep into the alleyway. "What is Aisha going to think of me now?" I cried as I squatted down and held my head in my hands. I heard the snarling and ripping of clothes behind me, the coyotes must be finally digging in. Making it all look like some freak accident.
The girl put her hand on my shoulder and knelt next to me. "You can't go back to that life anymore… you're not that person now." Her words echoed in my head, circling my train of thought. The life I had is over, I lost everything. "I have no one now… Mom, Dad, Erin, Mikey… Aisha…" Saying her name brought a crack in my voice as I continued to cry. The girl gripped my shoulder tenderly, "You're anything but alone… I didn't have anyone around when I changed. I may not know you but we're the same, birds of a feather… or bats of a… forget it."
I turned my head to face her, "How could you be joking around?" I say with utter concern. Her expression still null, she pats my shoulder, "When you're undead long enough you'll understand." She eyed my face and her expression finally changed into a curious one, "Your name's Tommy isn't it?" I stand up in surprise and scrunch my eyebrows, "How do you know that?" She cocked her head and examined my face, then ran to the front of the store building out of the alley, jumping over Mrs. Simmon's now mangled body. She came back with a newspaper and handed it to me.
I carefully took it from her and there I was on the front page, the last high school picture I had ever taken next to a picture of a funeral. My funeral. Aisha had her arm intertwined with my Mom's, and both of them were in tears. Mikey and Erin were hugging each other, Erin looked like a complete mess. What surprised me most was that Bentley was there in the picture. He was on one knee and had his hand on the casket, the face he was making was a knife to the heart. I had never seen so much pain in someone's eyes. I scanned the rest of the faces in the photo. One face caught my attention, Grandpa Bear. He looked angry, like seething in anger. He didn't look sad, he looked furious staring at the coffin.
"They had an empty casket…" The girl said, I looked up at her, "What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow, and gave me a look, "They couldn't find your body… so they lowered a casket anyway for closure after they couldn't find your body." I clutched the newspaper in my hands, crinkling and crushing it at the edges. "How long ago was this?" The girl lowered the paper and I looked up from it to her eyes. "This was last week… all they found in the forest was your blood and an ashy pile." I shook my head, "How do you know all of this…?" I asked. I didn't know who this girl was and I just had to trust her word.
"I've lived here all my life in the shadows… I always know what's going on." I didn't notice but I had ripped the newspaper in anger. Every word she spoke just added to the array of knives in my heart. "I know you're going through a lot right now but if you haven't noticed we're standing next to a dead body… we need to get out of here." I snapped back to reality and the severity of the situation came to light. She grabbed Mrs. Simmons's body and tossed it with ease into the pile of trash next to the dumpster. "Can't they fingerprint the body…" I question and she just as quickly cuts me off, "We don't have fingerprints…"
I looked down at my hands and closely examined my fingers, there were no grooves. She got to the corner of the store and whistled at me, I looked up and she waved her hand gesturing me to follow. I quickly jogged to catch up with her and we walked along the sidewalk. I quickly noticed the town had changed since the last time I saw it. The leaves of the trees had completely fallen and covered the ground in their arrays of yellow, orange, and brown. I examined the town more as we walked, the decorations. Jack O' Lanterns, skeletons, ghosts, and ironically vampire decor covered every building. Fake cobwebs around windows and cartoonish monster stickers on every window.
The town was dead, it had to be extremely late in the evening. Seeing all these decorations however made me think, how long was I gone? When I was in the woods with my friends it was almost a month away from Halloween, and Woodville only decorates a week before Halloween. "What day is it today?" I ask the girl, "Two days before Halloween." Her soft voice was monotone. She had her hood back on and her hands in the pockets of the hoodie. She was wearing a snug-fit hoodie and black jeans. She had dirt-covered and beat-up Hightop Converse on. Her heels softly clacked across the concrete.
"Where are we going?" I ask walking behind her still. She stopped abruptly and turned around and her crystal eyes pierced a hole through me, "Look I know what I said back there but you haven't given me a reason to trust you. Just shut up and you'll find out when we get there okay?" I froze and just nodded my head. She rolled her eyes and turned to keep walking. "You might want to clean yourself up too." I paused and realized I still had caked blood on me, I freak out and wipe it off with my hoodie sleeve.
A new blood has risen, Micheal, you must find him. Bring me to him. We have business to attend to.