Tyran's Thirst (Blood Lust) by Erika Lindsen Page B

hat, which were also black, and
out the door I went.
    It had snowed. I started my rusty Oldsmobile and found the
ice scraper. Chiseling the frost from my windshield, the scraper
broke and scratched the glass. I swore while trying to wipe away
the mark. My fingers became frozen after rubbing for a couple of
minutes. The scratch was permanent and right in my driving view.
Toes iced, I gave up.
I flopped in my car and used the de-icer from my washer
fluid to finish cleaning my view. I sighed.
    I was fired, single,
and alone. I didn’t have any friends.
Most of my days were spent watching re-runs of Sex and the City.
My mother died from cancer two years ago and my father wanted
nothing to do with me. It had been four years since my last date, to
which that was only one outing. The only real boyfriend I had was
in school. He used me for sex. I was just a notch on his belt. He
was a B-lister on the football team. Jay enjoyed showing off his
muscles, which were not very big, and trying to impress the ladies.
In the end he cheated on me with some freshman hussy. A shiver
ran over me thinking about him. Or was it the cold?I didn’t know,
nor did I care. Knowing I was throwing the pity party, I figured I
could for an hour or so. Christmas was right around the corner and
it would be alone.
    Once my car was warm, I threw it in gear and away I went.
Four days until Christmas. My plan was to put up a desk tree on
my buffet and drink hot chocolate all day. I bought myself a
present, but nothing special. A knife set. I needed new ones as my
current set was dull.
    The roads were icy. I had to drive slower and take things
cautiously just to keep from getting in an accident. The car in front
of me tried to stop at a light. He skidded through it and collided
with the curb. My own car swerved around him and just barely
missed hitting his bumper. In my rearview mirror I could see him
standing outside and assessing the damage. He was all right and I
was free to go. There were a number of accidents along the way.
One car had flipped on its side. Another hit a tree so hard the tree
trunk snapped in two and it fellin someone’s house. Ambulances
were everywhere. I had to take deep breaths and hope I would
make it.
    I made it home. As I got out of my car, I skidded on the ice
and fell on my bum. Standing up, it was difficult and my butt was
sore. I rubbed it as I walked the two flights to my apartment.
Could today get any worse?
    Clicking on the T.V., Sex and the City was on. I smiled.
My favorite girl was Samantha. I loved her carefree spirit and
boldness. She was such a spit-fire. If only I could speak my mind
like that.
I did, and where did it get me? Fired.
    I plopped down on my coral couch and one side broke. It
didn’t faze me. My answer was to pull my quilt on the floor and
watch as Carrie and Alexandr had a fight about cancer. Samantha
was recently diagnosed and Alexandr was telling Carrie about his
friend that lost her battle with the disease.
    As the episode ended, I gazed at my clock. 2:30pm. What
was I going to do for the rest of the day? Maybe take a nap or work
on painting my figurines. Anymore, that was how I passed the
time.
    The ground began to shake. Fear surged through me as my
soda fell from the stand, then my DVDs. I stood and ran past my
TV as it toppled over. Barely able to walk, I made it to the closet
where I hid in the doorway. Bracing my hands, I bit my lip so hard
I could taste blood. Tears rolled down my cheeks as the earth
shook so fiercely that my stove rumbled from its place. My fridge
toppled over and slammed onto my dining table. Pots and pans fell
from my cupboards, slamming against my counter and crashing to
the floor. Whimpers escaped my lips as I watched my apartment
being demolished by the quake.
    Finally it stopped. I waited in case of aftershocks. Nothing.
The coast seemed clear after hiding out for almost two hours. But I
heard nothing. The world stilled almost as fast as