to throw his weight across the room. His headless form crashed through the window, busting out glass and unleashing the long, sheer curtains into the daylight. They flapped; furling blood-spattered flags announcing my victory.
The last night-walker moved in slowly. He thought to catch me off guard, but I could feel every vibration his foot made on the floor boards, every inhalation and exhalation from his lungs. I could feel the reverberation of his heartbeat and even if I were blind, I would still know exactly where he was in proximity to me.
I ran to him, grabbing his throat and squeezing, lifting him until my forearms screamed with delight and his feet kicked and thrashed, dangling just off the ground. I fed from him, lowering him to me and smiling, holding him to me just to show him he could never overpower me.
And then I tossed his body outside with his friend’s. They could float together until they were nothing more than bones, and then until those crumbled into brittle powder. Because we would all become dust again. Death was the only guarantee in life.
It was all over in less than a minute. Lydia’s hands eased across the wall behind her as she tried to creep away. “What’s wrong, Lydia? You wanted to see what I could do. Do I impress you now? The hybrid ? You want to be just like me? You want power, right? You want to spill blood?” Blood stuck to my teeth and my stomach began to roil in protest of its contents.
Her hair, laying in soft ringlets against her shoulders, shook violently. “Please,” she implored softly.
“Please what?”
Her thinned lips formed the words, “Please don’t hurt me.”
I walked toward her slowly. “Did the people of The Glen say the same thing to you right before you slaughtered them? Did they beg for a mercy you weren’t capable of giving?”
“I’m human now!” she cried.
“But you don’t want to be. It’s a gift you take for granted. It’s not good enough just to have a normal, human life. You want more.” I listened for the others. Marta and Elise were listening from another bedroom nearby, probably huddled in a closet or hidden beneath a bed. I heard their pathetic whispers, their murmurings and cries.
“Since I turned, there’s been this feeling under my skin,” I told her, following her movements down the long hallway.
“What sort of feeling?” Her fingers gripped the walls.
“Sort of like a hum; a current just waiting to break through the surface. And guess what?” I smiled.
“What?” she asked, her eyes darting around me.
“It’s free.”
I ran to her, pushing her neck against the wall with my forearm. “You want to taste what it’s like to be me?”
She shook her head vehemently. “No, n-no.”
“Yes you do.” My arm crushed her larynx. “You wanted this, remember. Always remember that.”
I bit the finger of my free hand and brought it to her lips. “Maybe those who wish to be cursed, should be. Drink it.”
She shook her head, clenching her lips tightly closed. “Drink. It!” I screamed into her face, shoving my finger into her mouth and prying her teeth apart. She bit me, but it was too late. My blood was changing her, making her into the monster she wanted to be.
While she screamed and writhed on the opulent carpet, I found the two women she considered to be her sisters. They were crouched in a closet, just as I’d pictured, quivering. The fabric of their dresses was wrinkled and tear-stained.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, crouching down. “You wanted this, remember? Let’s go see Lydia, shall we?”
I pulled them along with me, up the steps to the landing of the next floor where Lydia was still screaming and clawing at the skin of her neck. The other two tried to look for an escape, but I held tightly to each of their wrists. “It really burns,” I said conversationally. “I thought it would hurt, but you can’t even begin to imagine the pain. It’s torture.”
They tried to pull away, but I
The last night-walker moved in slowly. He thought to catch me off guard, but I could feel every vibration his foot made on the floor boards, every inhalation and exhalation from his lungs. I could feel the reverberation of his heartbeat and even if I were blind, I would still know exactly where he was in proximity to me.
I ran to him, grabbing his throat and squeezing, lifting him until my forearms screamed with delight and his feet kicked and thrashed, dangling just off the ground. I fed from him, lowering him to me and smiling, holding him to me just to show him he could never overpower me.
And then I tossed his body outside with his friend’s. They could float together until they were nothing more than bones, and then until those crumbled into brittle powder. Because we would all become dust again. Death was the only guarantee in life.
It was all over in less than a minute. Lydia’s hands eased across the wall behind her as she tried to creep away. “What’s wrong, Lydia? You wanted to see what I could do. Do I impress you now? The hybrid ? You want to be just like me? You want power, right? You want to spill blood?” Blood stuck to my teeth and my stomach began to roil in protest of its contents.
Her hair, laying in soft ringlets against her shoulders, shook violently. “Please,” she implored softly.
“Please what?”
Her thinned lips formed the words, “Please don’t hurt me.”
I walked toward her slowly. “Did the people of The Glen say the same thing to you right before you slaughtered them? Did they beg for a mercy you weren’t capable of giving?”
“I’m human now!” she cried.
“But you don’t want to be. It’s a gift you take for granted. It’s not good enough just to have a normal, human life. You want more.” I listened for the others. Marta and Elise were listening from another bedroom nearby, probably huddled in a closet or hidden beneath a bed. I heard their pathetic whispers, their murmurings and cries.
“Since I turned, there’s been this feeling under my skin,” I told her, following her movements down the long hallway.
“What sort of feeling?” Her fingers gripped the walls.
“Sort of like a hum; a current just waiting to break through the surface. And guess what?” I smiled.
“What?” she asked, her eyes darting around me.
“It’s free.”
I ran to her, pushing her neck against the wall with my forearm. “You want to taste what it’s like to be me?”
She shook her head vehemently. “No, n-no.”
“Yes you do.” My arm crushed her larynx. “You wanted this, remember. Always remember that.”
I bit the finger of my free hand and brought it to her lips. “Maybe those who wish to be cursed, should be. Drink it.”
She shook her head, clenching her lips tightly closed. “Drink. It!” I screamed into her face, shoving my finger into her mouth and prying her teeth apart. She bit me, but it was too late. My blood was changing her, making her into the monster she wanted to be.
While she screamed and writhed on the opulent carpet, I found the two women she considered to be her sisters. They were crouched in a closet, just as I’d pictured, quivering. The fabric of their dresses was wrinkled and tear-stained.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, crouching down. “You wanted this, remember? Let’s go see Lydia, shall we?”
I pulled them along with me, up the steps to the landing of the next floor where Lydia was still screaming and clawing at the skin of her neck. The other two tried to look for an escape, but I held tightly to each of their wrists. “It really burns,” I said conversationally. “I thought it would hurt, but you can’t even begin to imagine the pain. It’s torture.”
They tried to pull away, but I
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