Another unfinished gem that I am rewriting from my highschool days over twenty years ago. It’s not done because I hate the original ending but I can’t think of a new one. This one is kinda fucked up, a little warning. Okay, bye.
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The Dark Man
I have dreamt of seduction my entire life – of a handsome man with long dark hair and clear gray eyes who seduces a woman with no face. For a moment, all is calm then there is a great struggle but it ends with a kiss. I can only barely see their faces and hands, the woman’s face blurred to the point where the emotions are indistinguishable.
My twin brother, Devin, and I have both had the same dream since as far back as we can remember. We used to try to figure out what it could possibly mean but over the years it’s just become something more of a comforting nuisance than anything else.
Devin is so full of energy and life that he amazes me every day. Even at nineteen, I could see that his future was full of promise and hope – I would make sure of it, no matter what, making sure no one ever hurt him.
We’d moved from where we were born in London to New Orleans – where our mother had grown up, when we were six. At first, the move was very hard, especially for us, being so young, but it was made even more difficult by the odd way that our mother seemed obsessed with not letting us out of her sight. Eventually, she started to relax, even letting us go out on our own during Mardi Gras every year when we turned fifteen.
“Come on, Christian!” Devin called to me as he went to run out the door.
“Wait, Devin, please!” I yelled back, my shoelaces getting tangled in my hurried fingers.
“You’re always making me late.” He teased as I finished tying my shoes.
“I’m done, I’m done!” I giggled, slinging my bag over my shoulders.
We rushed out the door onto the alleyway where the door let us out then turned down the main street. The streets were choked with the tourists and locals alike getting ready for the quickly approaching Mardi Gras celebration. This was our yearly tradition, coming to enjoy the way the city came alive during this colorful time.
As we turned another corner, on our usual journey through the streets to soak in the second half of our “Week of Freedom”, my brother’s long legs started to make the distance between us larger. I sprinted and caught up, tugging on one of his long dark curls. He turned quickly and, noticing it was me, smiled warmly.
“You’re leaving me behind!” I whined playfully. He took my hand.
“You just need to follow closer,” he said. “And to hurry up.”
I laughed. “I’m shorter than you, don’t forget, Mr. Long-Legs.”
He laughed, turning back in the direction we’d been going.
I turned my head to scan the wonderful crowd and the man stole my attention completely as soon as I saw him, my hand slipping from Devin’s grasp without a thought.
He had long dark hair just like Devin’s, dressed completely in black as if the early evening heat didn’t bother him at all. He was intoxicatingly handsome, though somehow familiar. He looked as if he was looking for something, his piercing eyes scanning the crowd.
“Christian!” Devin cried out and gripped my hand. It pulled me out of my trance just before I’d met the look of the mysterious man. “What’s the matter with you?” He asked, looking around for what could have made me zone out like that.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I just thought I saw-.” I began, looking back to where the man had been. The man was gone, almost as if he’d never been there at all, probably just swallowed up by the ever-growing crowds.
“What?” Devin prodded, looking through the crowd again, finding nothing of note then looking back at me. I shook my head. “Nevermind it then, whatever it was. You know we turn back into pumpkins at midnight.” He grinned and tugged on my hand.
The vision of the man hung heavy in my heart and mind the entire night. For the first time in my entire life, I didn’t dream, which made me feel like something had been torn out from inside of me. I walked with a darkness hanging over me to Devin’s room door and knocked.
“Come in.” Devin said from the other side of the door. I opened the door slowly. “I can’t even sleep in on a Sunday with you, can I?” He asked, a smile painting his voice. His face fell when he noticed mine. He sat up in his bed and bade me come sit next to him. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m sorry.” I said, referring to the obviousness of my having woken him up. I tugged at the edges of my robe and started to cry. Devin moved quickly to pull me into him and I wept onto his bare chest.
“It’s okay, whatever it is, just tell me.” He insisted, rubbing my back.
“I didn’t dream last night.” I pulled my face into into my hands. “Yesterday, when we went out, I saw a man that wasn’t there and then… I didn’t dream.”
“A man? What are you talking about?” Devin asked, obviously beside himself with worry.
“I saw him right when we first went out and then he disappeared.”
“Can you remember what he looked like?”
I shook my head.
Devin sighed, squeezing me tightly. “It’s okay, it’ll be okay.”
I looked at him and sighed, forcing out a smile. He tilted his head and looked incredulous. “It’s just weird, right? If I told anyone else, they wouldn’t think so much of it, not dreaming.”
Devin half-smiled. “We’re just weird like that, I guess.”
“Thank you.” I said, touching his cheek tenderly. “I’m going to go for my walk and hopefully I’ll feel better afterwards. Thank you.”
Devin smirked. “You sure you’re going to be okay? Do you want me to go with you?”
I shook my head and stood up. “You go back to sleep, I’ll be fine now.”
He laid back down, pulling the sheet back up over his shoulder. “I’ll see you when you get back.” He said, shutting his eyes as I left the room.
I shut his door and then went into my room. I changed into a plain black t-shirt and a knee-length black skirt. I put on a pair of knee-high striped socks and a pair of black boots. I brushed out my long brown hair then put it up into a high ponytail. I put on light eye make-up as well as a choker and a pair of dangle star earrings. I looked at myself in the mirror with a strange detachment for what felt like forever before shaking the feeling off and going downstairs.
I found my mother standing at the sink in the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel as the TV talked on and on. She used the TV for company while she cleaned early on Sunday mornings while Devin slept and I went for my weekly walk.
“Mom,” I called to her, having the vague feeling that she wasn’t real if I didn’t see her face. She turned to look at me with some surprise on her smiling face. “I’m going for my walk now.”
She looked at me with confusion as I usually just left without saying anything. She nodded slowly. “All right.”
I nodded and forced out a smile, feeling better that I had seen her before leaving. I went out the door and into the alleyway. I felt my steps were heavier and slower than usual as I walked by the place where I had seen the man the day before, as if I was expecting to see him again. When nothing happened, I continued on my way to the church. I’d had this strange feeling of needing to see the church, not needing or wanting to go in, but just to make sure it was there.
The church near my house was at the end of a long street that wasn’t usually traveled by tourists, but because of the season, the locals were pouring in. I walked over to the church fence and then followed it along the tree-lined street until it turned. I went to follow it further down, out of sheer absence of mind, when I heard someone calling my name from behind me as if they were whispering right in my ear. I turned quickly to see who it was, but there was no one there. The hairs on my neck prickled in fear. I just stood there, not moving, watching the last of the people walking into the church in a way of calming myself down.
“Christian.” The voice whispered into my ear from behind again and I felt my heart starting to pound. I wanted to scream, but screwed up my courage and turned around again.
In the group of trees behind the church, the man was standing in between them in the shadows, just looking at me. I felt compelled to walk over to him and my legs began to move as if they had a mind of their own. When I reached him, he put his hand on my cheek and came up close enough to smell my hair. I shuddered for a second before I finally got control over myself and was able to tear myself away from his intensely beautiful – familiar – gray eyes, turning around quickly and running back home. I looked over my shoulder to see if he was following me, but he was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t want to lead him back to my house so I ran into a small shop on the way back. I looked out the door to see if he was anywhere near me and sighed with relief when I only saw the normal throngs of people milling about their Sunday. I stepped out of the shop and started toward the house slowly. I didn’t want to see him again, especially not alone. I tried to stick with the people walking as closely as I could without being weird. As I walked, I thought about how cold his touch had been, but the only thing I could remember of his face were those piercing eyes – nothing else. Why couldn’t I remember anything else, again?
I took the long way home, going in through the front door instead of the alley door. When I got in, I could hear my mother talking to someone, a pique in her voice.
“My babies and I have gotten along just fine without their father their entire lives, so even if you are their father, we don’t need you. Then, now or ever. So you can just go on back to wherever it is you came from.”
I heard the alley door open and the man said: “We shall see.” Then the door was slammed shut.
I walked over to my mother and she nearly leapt out of her skin at seeing me, then rushed over to me and wrapped her arms around me.
“How much of that did you hear?” She asked me, seeing the paleness in my face.
I shook my head. “Just the door slamming.” I lied. “What was all that about?”
She sighed deeply, letting me go and seeming to think about what she was going to say for a moment. “Just some weirdo claiming to be your and Devin’s father.” She shuddered. “Gave me chills just looking at him. And imagine the nerve, if he was your dad, showing up now after nineteen years?”
I nodded absent-mindedly. “I’m sorry, mom.”
She nodded and shrugged, going off into the living room to start dusting with abandon before suddenly standing bolt straight. “Your brother!”
I shook with surprise.
“I just sent him out to get some coffee, I hope that-.”
As if he’d been called from her words, Devin walked into the house with a strange look on his face and three coffees in a carrier in his hands.
“I swear this place gets weirder and weirder every year.” He started, then noticed both of us looking strangely. “Are you guys okay?”
“Are you?” Mom asked, watching him closely.
“Well, some random guy just told me that he’s my dad and that I should come with him.” Devin chuckled, but noticed mom’s face losing its color. “What?”
“That man was just here.” I replied as my mom went back to super-dusting to distract herself.
“Don’t take it seriously, mom.” Devin said, noticing our mother’s version of freaking out, putting the coffees down on the living room table. “It’s just some random weirdo.” He went over and hugged her. She sighed deeply, hugging him back.
I wanted to tell Devin all day about what had happened at the church but couldn’t think of a way to bring it up, especially since the whole thing with him, mom and the weirdo saying he was our dad. But, while Devin and I sat on the roof that night, watching the sunset, I felt compelled to talk about it.
“Who do you think he is?” I asked after telling him what had happened.
“Probably the same guy that thinks he’s our dad.” Devin tried to joke. I shook my head. He leaned his head onto my shoulder.
“Honestly, you don’t think they’re the same person, do you? I just wonder how he knew my name.”
“Is that why you don’t want to go out tonight? Are you scared we might see him again?” Devin looked up at me.
“I don’t know if I would even recognize him. Every time I try to think about what he looks like, I can’t remember. What did the guy who talked to you in the alleyway look like, do you remember?”
Devin opened his mouth to speak but then a look of raw confusion took over his face. “Um, well…” He stuttered then shook his head. “No, I can’t remember.”
The room was a deep red. I looked down at my white dress and found the bottom was drenched in blood. I was laying on the softest bed I’d ever been on. I felt drowsy and dizzy, like I wasn’t under my own control.
“You will be mine.” A man’s voice came from everywhere in the room. I slowly looked around the room and found the man who was speaking at the foot of the bed. He turned to look at me and the piercing gray color of his eyes shot through me with a bolt of recognition. The man from my dreams was the man that was now haunting my life! I leapt up but slipped and fell into a puddle of blood. He reached out to help me up.
“No!” I cried out, slapping his hand away. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at him and the realization bled cold through my whole body as I understood why his eyes had been the one thing that had stood out to me: they were my eyes.
“You belong to me.” He said, kneeling in front of me, since I found I couldn’t move. I just couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. “You are my daughter.”
I shook my head, trying to shut my eyes and pull myself together. I got up and went to run from him – where, I don’t know – but he was already standing in front of me. He grabbed me by the arms and held me to my spot.
I felt the fear pounding in my ears turn into courage and I found myself able to ask the question that was on my mind: “Who are you seducing in my dream?”
He came in close, dragging his lips along my neck and then putting his mouth to my ear. I could feel my blood pounding in my head.
“Your mother.”
I awoke with a start. It took me a moment to realize I was alone in my own room. I sat up for a moment but felt the pull of a deep sleep dragging me back down. As soon as I closed my eyes, I was thrown back into a dream.
I was standing in Devin’s room, looking at him from a few feet away. The dark man was standing in front of him, just watching him sleep.
“Devin!” I screamed out, trying to warn him. I wanted to run over to him, but I was completely stuck to my spot.
Devin woke up, turning to look at me with horror in his eyes. I noticed there was blood all over the side of his neck and realized whatever the man had come to do, he had already done it. I was too late and, as Devin reached up and touched his neck, something passed between the two of us – a strange feeling, a bizarre recognition. Devin slowly pulled his hand off of his neck and began to shake at the sight of the blood.
The man was suddenly in front of me, holding me close as he went to kiss my neck.
“No!” I screamed out.
I woke up but was definitely not alone in my room this time. The man was on top of me, going for my neck. I screamed and used all of my strength to push him off of me. Somehow, despite what felt like a superhuman effort, I managed to get out from under him and ran into Devin’s room, almost running into Devin himself.
“Christian!” He pulled me into his room, shutting the door behind me. “Why did you scream?” He asked, his eyes frantically looking over me.
“What did he do to you?” I asked and went to grab Devin’s neck to check it. He pulled away. “Step into the light, Devin.” I demanded, pointing to the moonlight streaming in through his window.
Devin shuddered and shook his head. “N-no.” He stuttered.
“It was a different dream, wasn’t it? But it wasn’t a dream, was it?” I spluttered, only barely making sense. “I need to know. Please.”
“I-I can’t.” Devin shook his head. “I’m afraid of what you’ll see.”
“Please, I just need to know.”
“It doesn’t make any sense.” Devin growled. “What do we think we’ll see? What do you think…?” His face was full of despair.
“Then just step into the light.” I commanded. “If it’s too ridiculous to be true, then step into the light and let me see.”
Devin shuddered. “I’m scared, Christian, please. Please, if it is there, you can’t tell me. Not even with your face.”
I nodded and made my face be still.
He stepped into the leaking moonbeams, letting them fall onto his neck. What looked like two raised insect bites with deep divots in the middle of each of them were on the side of his neck. I didn’t move a muscle even though I wanted to do nothing more than scream. But, I could feel a tear silently escape down my cheek.
“I told you not to tell me.” His voice betrayed his fear.
I shook my head quickly. “No, it’s nothing, it’s not bad.” I lied and reached out to touch the bites. They felt hard and rough. “It looks like nothing more than a couple insect bites.” I tried to reassure him.
Devin doubled over with a deep groan and I stepped back to give him some room.
“W-what’s the matter?” I watched him closely as he seemed to writhe in pain.
“I. Don’t. Know.” He groaned and shook then quickly reached out, grabbing me by the throat. I choked on my breath as he looked into my eyes. He stood, pushing me against the wall with a hunger in his eyes that scared me.
“Stop,” I gasped for breath. “Devin, please.” I pleaded, starting to cry. “What’s the matter with you?”
“He’s becoming what he truly is.” The dark man came out from the shadows behind Devin. Devin shuddered and let me go.
“No, I won’t.” He said and doubled over again, groaning. “I’m not turning into anything.”
The man looked deeply into my eyes. “He’s becoming a vampire.” The man said, staring at Devin with a smile. I fell back into the wall, reeling. I could see Devin suffering out of the corner of my eye, looking as if he was being burned alive. “Now he knows real hunger.” The man turned to me, his teeth glittering in the dim light and I could easily see they were beautiful white fangs.
I cursed our mother for being such a heavy sleeper but gathered all of the breath I could and wailed: “GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP!”
I could hear our mother hurriedly rushing over to the room and the man effervesced into nothing, leaving Devin doubled over on the floor, shuddering and sweating.
“What’s going on?!” Mother said as she burst into the room.
“W-well, look at him!” I squealed nervously, pointing at Devin.
Our mother knelt down to him, rubbing her hands on his back. “Baby, what’s the matter, what’s going on?”
“N-nothing. I’m okay.” Devin lied through grit teeth. He forced himself to stand up, but I could see the beads of sweat glittering on his forehead. “It was just a little stomach ache. I must need something to,” he looked at me and I could see a deep red in his eyes. “Eat.” He looked away.
“That’s it?” Our mother looked at me with disbelief. “That’s all you woke me for?” She looked back at Devin. “Just go downstairs and get something then.” She murmured, sighing. “You nearly scared me to death, Christian.” She shook her head and went back to her room.
I followed Devin downstairs, afraid of what was happening to him. As soon as we were in the hallway between the living room and kitchen, he turned on me and pinned me to the wall.
“What are you doing?” I felt like weeping, my heart pounding in my ears. Devin’s hands on my shoulders were as cold as ice.
“Oh, god.” He groaned, breathing heavily. He came up close to my neck, his nose stroking my skin. He took in a deep breath before he spoke. “I can’t help it. All I want is to-,” He groaned and let me go, falling to the floor. “But I can’t hurt you, I love you.” I stayed perfectly still against the wall.
“I love you, too, but what can we do if you’re a vampire?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. It’s just psychologic-.” He groaned loudly, as if in great pain, holding his stomach. My heart ached. “He wants you, I can tell, I can feel it.”
I shook my head. “But why did he bite you?”
“He needs you to come to him willingly… and now he doesn’t have to be the only one to bite you.” He shuddered and wept. “It can be me.”
I started to cry. “Please, Devin, somehow, you have to fight it.”
“It hurts.” His body was shaking violently.
“Maybe that blood sausage from the last time grandma was here will-?”
“No, stop!” Devin groaned deeply, holding his head. “Don’t talk like that. I have a feeling it wouldn’t help anyways. I think it has to be,” he gagged. “Fresh.”
“I don’t think I can help you with – Devin?!” I went to reach for him when he disappeared. I rushed through to the alleyway door and noticed it was wide open. He was gone.
I looked up and down the alleyway and saw no sign of him. I closed the door and locked it, then dejectedly went back up to my room. I tried to stay awake but felt the events of the night wearing on me and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, I went quietly into Devin’s room, hoping against hopes that he would be sleeping soundly and that the night before had been a figment of my imagination. But the black curtains in the room were drawn tightly and the room was as dark as it could be. Devin was wide awake sitting on his bed.
I shut the door behind me softly. “Devin.” I started but said nothing else.
“I’m sorry,” he said and my heart sank through my chest. “But I couldn’t help it, I had no choice.”
“Why didn’t you fight it?!” I asked, angry tears flowing.
Devin shook his head. “Please, don’t cry. There’s no denying it, it’s just what I am now. There’s no use in trying to fight it. If it makes you feel any better, it was just a stray dog,” he coughed. “Or four.”
“No, that doesn’t make me feel any better! You didn’t have to do that!” I shook my head and felt nothing but bitterness eating away at my heart. “But if you’re just going to give up and give into this, then you may as well be dead to me.”
Suddenly, Devin was upon me, holding me tight to the wall.
“Don’t you dare say that!” He growled at me.
“This isn’t you!” I said forcefully. “How can you just give up like this?!”
“What do you think last night was?” His red eyes blazed with anger, bright even in the dark room. “A dream? A delusion?” His voice was wild but secretly fearful. “Well, it wasn’t, it was real. The hunger I feel is real! Do you think I would willingly put myself through something this terrible? It hurts more than anything you can imagine. But you want to wish me dead because I’m – what? – too weak to fight it? As if I did this to myself? No, this is real, he is real.”
I just shook my head as he let me go and went back to sitting in the middle of his bed. I walked out of the room, my heart broken.
Devin stayed locked up in his room all day until the sun had gone down. When he came downstairs, our unaware mother cheerily joked: “It must be nice to sleep the day away!”
Devin ignored her, looking directly at me. “Are we going out tonight?” He asked, his expression serious and somber.
“I, uh, don’t know if we should.” I replied, which obviously angered him as his eyes grew large and started to glow.
“What do you mean you don’t know if you should?” Our mother scoffed. “This is your favorite time of year!” She looked us both over with confusion. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”
“I’m scared that man might find me.” I replied, looking still at Devin.
“Don’t be silly!” Devin quickly retorted, obviously growing more enraged. “He’d never find you in the crowd.” I grit my teeth, knowing he was lying. But it was a perfect defense against me for our mother, so what could I say?
“Besides, you two have each other.” Our mother patted me on the shoulder. “Just go out and have fun! Don’t you dare let that weirdo win by ruining your enjoyment of the season!”
A thought occurred to me and I turned to our mother. “But I can’t just leave you alone, mom.” I could feel Devin’s gaze boring holes through my head.
Our mother scoffed. “Christian, I’ll just lock the doors and plus,” she chuckled to herself. “I’m pretty handy with a frying pan.”
I smiled half-heartedly and nodded. I could see the happiness in Devin’s eyes.
“Good, then. Go on and get outta here.” Our mother said and sat down onto the couch, turning on the TV.
Devin followed me toward the alleyway door. When we got out of earshot of our mother I turned to him and said: “You stay far away from me.” He looked surprised, as if the real Devin was still within him somewhere. My heart sank to the floor.
“You’re safer with me by you, you know.” He said sadly. “I really am sorry, but if you knew what this was like.” He paused. “I hope you never do.” He kissed my cheek. “I love you, I would never let you know this hunger. Watching you suffer while you try to fight it, to no avail, that would destroy me.”
I couldn’t help myself and hugged him tightly, crying a little to myself. I looked into his eyes, finding my brother in there despite the blazing red color.
I sighed and took his hand. “Let’s go and enjoy our night.” I said and he smiled.
We rushed outside and ran down the alleyway. But, before we’d even gotten down the whole way, I was pulled in between the houses.
“You can’t run from me.” The man said as he pinned me to the side of the house. There was a deep glow in his incredible eyes. Then I was freed of him, Devin standing next to me.
“Stay away from her.” Devin said forcefully. “She’s not going to come to you willingly no matter what you do.”
“You obviously don’t know who I am.” The man sneered, making his perfect face look ugly.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the Devil Himself, I won’t let you do this to my sister.” Devin stood strongly between the man and me.
“You’re so nearly right.” He almost laughed. “But, as you would know me best, my name is Dracula.” He turned to look into my eyes. “No matter what you try, your sister will be mine.”
I felt my resolve to stay away from him weakening, replaced by the overwhelming desire to touch him. I took a step toward him. Devin noticed and barked: “Stop! Don’t move!” He stretched out his hand into my way, which brought me back, breaking the spell Dracula had over me and I stepped back, looking away.
“Both of you are my children. You already have the blood of an immortal vampire inside of you. I am merely trying to awaken it.” I felt everything in my body telling me to look at him, but I fought it. “Don’t you feel free, Devin, my son?”
“No.” Devin replied strongly. “I had to kill to satisfy this hunger.”
“That’s the problem. You chose to kill worthless animals instead of going after those that you could have set free! You would have found far more fulfillment if you had drank from a human being – and you could set them free as well!” He said with flourish. I could see his feet rising from the ground. Within the blink of an eye, he was holding me from behind. “Now comes your time to be free.” He whispered into my ear and then we were flying.
In what felt like no time, I was in an empty cemetery. Night had long since fallen and everything had a desperately eerie feeling. I was by myself sitting on a tall, flat headstone. But I could feel I wasn’t alone. He was there, he was just waiting.
“Where are you then, you coward?” I said with a shaky voice. I felt the cold grip of his hands on my shoulders.
“I am not a coward.” He hissed into my ear. I turned to look at him.
He was incredibly handsome. His dark curls, his fiery gray eyes, his perfect mouth, his incredible body covered in black clothes. I felt so compelled to kiss him. Then I remembered that he was my father. This man, who looked no older than twenty, was my father.
“You may not think you’re a coward, but you are a brute with no compassion. To harm your own child and let him suffer? How could you think I would join you willingly after seeing what Devin is going through?”
He stepped in front of me. “He just hasn’t given into it. But he will and then he’ll know how free one can be – and how great it is to free others as well. There’s nothing like it.” He smiled and chills thrilled through my body.
I shook my head, trying to think of something to stall him from doing anything else or using my dwindling resolve against me. “But what will happen when all the world is vampires?”
He shook his head. “Not the whole of the world would ever be vampires, my dear. We would certainly still need to feed. But those that are, they will be free. And what kind of father would I be if I didn’t try to free my own children?”
I felt my head getting fuzzy and could barely catch my breath with my heart pounding against my ears. I felt his cold hands caressing my neck before an incredible wave of pain sailed through me causing me to close my eyes.
I opened my eyes to find myself on the floor of the red room. I propped myself up onto my elbows and looked around, I was in the white dress with the blood soaking the bottom. About thirty feet away stood Dracula, his back turned to me. I let my eyes flow up and down over him, entranced.
I could hear my mother’s voice and soon she appeared, younger, from around a corner that I hadn’t noticed before. She went walking past Dracula, wishing him a good evening as she did. Then she looked back at her own feet. He turned around, watching her walk by. Then he reached out, calling to her. She turned back around and they caught eyes. She moved toward him as if she was caught in a trance. He took her hand and brought her close. He spun her around so that her back was against his chest and then he bared his teeth.
“No!” I screamed out. “Stop!” I tried to get up, but found that I couldn’t move.
To my surprise, it was as if my mother had heard me. She quickly pulled away from him and went to run. But he had her hand clutched in his. She tried to fight him off, but it couldn’t be done.
“Please.” She pleaded, in a soft voice as if she could barely catch her breath. “Please, don’t.” She began to cry. He pulled up her face to look into his eyes and even looked somewhat sympathetic.
He smiled at her warmly and they kissed.
I was alone again, now on the soft bed I’d been on in the dream where Dracula had come to me the night before. I was laying under the white sheets but realized they were covered with blood and threw them off of me in disgust. I leapt from the bed, expecting to find a floor to greet my feet but instead found myself immersed in a sea of blood, unable to breathe. I struggled to find the surface but I just kept sinking.
I felt arms grab me around my waist. They carried me, in darkness, up to the surface. As soon as I’d broken through, I began to cry. I tried to wipe my tears and found that I was crying blood. I searched for the one that had saved me, but realized there was no one. I struggled back to the bed, cold and wet, getting back on top of it. I shivered and held myself tightly.
I watched the sea of blood for a few minutes and then I remembered the pain that had sent me into the dreams. I slowly reached up to touch my neck, wondering if it had been because he’d bitten me. Fear gripped me and then I felt them. As soon as I touched them, thus making it real, I felt this incredible pain, starting at my stomach and spreading throughout my entire body. I doubled over, feeling like I was being burned from the inside.
I felt hands touching my back and the pain went away. The hands draped me in a black cloth, warming me. I turned to see who it was, who could possibly drive away such horrific pain with just their touch.
At first, I thought I saw Devin and my heart felt full. But as soon as I realized that it was Dracula, I fell backwards in shock, off the bed, back into the sea of blood. The black cloth enveloped me, making it impossible to move. I began to choke on the blood.
Between gagging and feeling the world growing dark around me as I began to lose consciousness, I could hear Dracula saying: “You will give me a child and they will be perfect.”
I woke up in the cemetery alone, draped in Dracula’s long black coat. I put the coat on as I stood up slowly, looking around. I walked toward where I could see street lights and found myself on a familiar street not far from my house. I walked home feeling cold and hurt, an emptiness burning through me. I made it up to my room without anyone noticing and sat on my bed, crying to myself.
‘What have I become?’ I shuddered, thinking about the dreams in the cemetery. ‘Now that I know what he wants, how can I let it happen? I have to do something.’
I reached into the drawer of my nightstand and took out a pair of scissors. They were so sharp that the moon shone off of them with a bright gleam. I opened them and brought the edge to my skin, tears falling quickly. I pushed hard, down onto my wrist, and dragged the edge across.
Nothing. It was as if the scissors were as dull as the edge of a coin! I threw them to the floor, cursing their existence.
Then I noticed him standing at the foot of my bed.
“Stay away from me!” I cried out. “You won’t have your way, I won’t let you. And now that I’m a vampire, you have nothing to use against me.”
I could hear my mother’s footsteps running up the stairs. I looked at him, victoriously, but he only smiled.
The door flew open, my mother on the other side. She stood there for a moment, dealt dumb by the unexpected man in the room.
“You again?” She screamed out. “Didn’t I-?”
Within a second, he was holding her mouth shut from behind, looking at me with threat in his eyes. I felt myself move with a quickness I didn’t realize I had, rushing at him. I knew I couldn’t pull him off of her so I did the only thing I could think of and slapped him across the face with everything I had. He threw my mother down the hall and into her room then grabbed me by the wrists, shutting the door with a brisk wind.
“You have a choice,” he began, looking into my eyes deeply. “I can either take your mother’s life or spare it, but you have to give me what I want – willingly.”
I thought I would be immune to his charms once I was turned but found myself even more drawn to him. “You already have your children.” I complained weakly.
He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”
I was in the red room sitting on the edge of the blood drenched bed, wearing a very short blood red dress. I pulled up my feet, afraid of drowning again until I noticed Dracula a few feet from me standing on a solid red floor.
“You’re safe.” He assured me.
“Where is this place?” I asked, feeling strangely calmed by his words.
“It is a place that those with vampire blood can come to whenever they wish.”
“So, it’s real?”
“In a way.”
“So when Devin and I would dream about this place?”
“It was your blood calling out to your heritage. You are a vampire by birth, not by force.” The emotion in his voice and eyes sent my heart fluttering. He was incredibly beautiful. “And I am the first. If you were to give me a child, they would be perfect. The perfect immortal vampire.”
He appeared in front of me, kneeling with his hands on my thighs. He looked up at me with desperate, pleading eyes and my heart sank.
“Aren’t you already perfect?” I asked.
He smiled and I could almost see a blush on his cheeks. “There are still things that can kill me, you know. But our child would be beyond death.”
I shook my head. “But, you’re my father.”
He looked away and then back up at me. “It’s not the same thing as humans, you know. One of the perks of being an undead being.”
I felt the whoosh of wind blow by my cheeks and found we were standing on the top of a mountain and I could see beautiful cities glittering below us.
Dracula put his arms around me and held me close. “You could be Queen of the entire world, ruling by my side in a world of our own making with our Prince and your brother. Eternally.” He looked into my eyes and smiled. “All you have to do is say ‘yes’.” He kissed me tenderly. “You have your options.” He said as we came back into the red room. “Please, make your choice.” He pulled me close to him on the bed and kissed my neck softly where he’d bitten me. I felt a rush overcome me and I couldn’t think straight. All I knew was that I wanted him, desperately, more than I had wanted anything in the world. I pulled his face to look into mine and kissed him.
“Yes.” I managed to gasp out between moaning breaths.
I woke up the next morning with a fogginess in my head. My room was incredibly dark and I felt grateful for that as I knew sunlight would hurt me. I turned in the dark and found myself surprised to see perfect Dracula sleeping peacefully next to me. I reached out to touch him, my heart pounding in my throat. My hand had hardly graced his dark curls before he was awake and looking at me.
“What’s the matter?” He asked. “Why did you wake me? Are you alright?”
I sat up, shaking my head, the fogginess clearing as I realized we were both nude. I pulled the sheets up over my body, to which he smirked. “W-what happened? Where’s my mother and Devin?”
“They’re fine, of course.” He sat up, looking deeply into my eyes. He came up close to me and kissed me tenderly. Images of the night before pumped through my brain, making my skin tingle with heat. “I want you to have your first taste. You need it to stay strong.”
I looked at him with surprise. I didn’t want a taste, hadn’t I done enough damage already? I only dreamily remembered the night before but I was certain that I had more than consented to what had happened between us.
“Don’t look so afraid,” he said calmly, kissing my neck. “You will bite me.” He looked at me with his neck exposed to me. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I shakily came closer to him, still gripping the sheets to my chest. As soon as I touched my lips to his skin, overwhelming desire seized me and I put both of my hands on him, holding him tightly in place as I dug my teeth deep into his neck. Blood came up quickly, hot and sweet. I drank it with fervor, desperate to have it, needing it like I needed my next breath. After a few moments of reveling in the pleasure of the blood, I pulled back, licking my teeth and mouth clean.
“Did you enjoy that?” He asked and I watched the wound heal before my eyes.
I felt disgusted at myself. How could I have let him turn me into what he was without a fight? I felt nothing but anger toward him and slapped him as hard as I could. I leapt out of bed to the covered window and threw the drapes open. I jumped back from the light but not before my hand got burned by it. Sunshine poured into my room, but he must have been wise to me because he was behind me with superhuman quickness. He grabbed my stinging hand and turned me around. He kissed my hand tenderly and all the pain was gone, the burnt skin healing before my eyes.
“Are you crazy?” He asked, worry glowing through his eyes. “You could have killed yourself.”
“Maybe I should do that.” I said, trying to pull myself from him to jump back into the light but he quickly closed the drapes before I could.
“You can’t!” He pulled me to him and held me tightly. “Have you no compassion? You’re carrying our child now.”
“What?” I scoffed. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Don’t tell me that you don’t feel them already.” He gently touched me and I started to cry. I walked over to my bed and lay down. He lay next to me and held me, which I found myself with no desire to resist. I turned to look at him and shook my head.
“Then I have already given up, I’m pretty much dead already.”
He smirked. “No, you’re undead. Immortal. Something most people would give anything for.”
“What kind of existence is this?” I asked, incredulous. “You’re terrified of sunlight, crosses, garlic-.”
“No, you’re wrong.” He replied, wiping my cheeks sweetly with a sad look on his face. “We’re not terrified of the sunlight, but we will burn if it touches our skin. If we were to be covered from head to toe, we could go out during the day. As for crosses, nothing to do with fear, I just happen not to be very fond of Christians.” He smiled. “The garlic thing is silly – I love garlic.”
I giggled out of sheer spite. “I don’t want to live this way and I don’t want to have a child this way either.”
He shook his head, one of his hands under my neck and the other on my hip. “You have nothing to worry over, my Queen, I will give you everything. I have more than you could ever want.”
“But now I can’t even enjoy my favorite time of the year, it’s passing me by as we speak.”
“It will be even better at night, you know that. Not to mention, it will be a perfect time to feast.” His eyes glittered brilliantly. I turned my back on him. He began running his hand through my hair.
“Christian, what do I look like?” He asked. I turned back to him, confused. “I haven’t been able to see my own face for a very long time.”
I wanted to be angry but studying his face made my heart soften and I touched his cheek.
“Well, you have Devin’s curls, my eyes, his mouth, my nose, his,” I smiled, thinking about Devin. “Ears.”
“You love your brother very much, don’t you?”
I sighed. “Yes, and I would kill anyone who harmed him.” I glared at Dracula and he frowned.
“You’re tired.” He said sadly. “Sleep.” He waved his hand over my eyes and I fell into a deep sleep.
I woke to the sun already having set, alone in my room. I got up and got dressed, throwing on Dracula’s coat as I stepped out of my room. I went to go downstairs but all I could think of was Devin, so I turned back, going to his room. I hesitated at his door but something told me that he knew I was there.
“Come in.” I heard from inside. I opened the door slowly. The room was extremely dark, as I had expected, but found that I could still see perfectly fine. Devin was laying on his bed, fully dressed with even a coat and shoes.
“Devin, are you all right?” I asked as I closed the door.
“I saw him leaving your room.” He said, sitting up. “I would have confronted him, tried to save you, but I can already feel what you’ve done.”
“I can’t fight him, he’s got a power over me.” I replied calmly.
“Then, if you’re giving up, you may as well be dead to me.” He sneered. My heart stung me and, in a moment, I was on top of him, pinning him to the bed.
“Don’t you dare use my own words against me!” I growled at him and could feel my eyes blazing.
“Now you know how I feel.” He snarled. “But, despite everything, we still have to stop him – don’t we?”
I shuddered and got up from him, walking over to the window.
“Otherwise we’ll just continue suffering and causing others to suffer.”
“But, how can we do that?” I asked, touching my stomach with both hands. “What would happen to… us? Aren’t we as much a part of him as he is of us?”
Devin stood up and came over to me, putting his hand apprehensively on my shoulder. “What are you trying to say?”
“Isn’t there some way,” I sighed deeply, turning to look at him and putting my hands on his face. I smiled warmly, gazing into his face and seeing so much of Dracula, so much of myself. “Something we can do to find harmony living this way? Like he said, he has always been a part of us – maybe this is what we were meant to be.”
“What’s made you change your mind?” He looked hurt and angry.
I looked down. “I’m afraid.”
“But not for yourself.” He started to breathe heavily, shaking his head.
“You said that you could feel what I’ve done.” I shook with confusion and guilt.
He nodded slightly. “That you’d become one of… us. But, your mind, it’s… hiding something more from me. Why?” He grasped my shoulders violently. “Tell me what it is. Tell me what you’ve done.”
“I-,” I began but my words failed. I shuddered, looking into his eyes, knowing what I needed to say would shatter his heart. “I’m pregnant.” I finally pushed the words out of my mouth.
I could feel his body shiver with rage. Within the blink of an eye, he’d thrown me clear across the room. I hit the closet door, splintering it. Before I could even stand up and react, Dracula had his hand gripped tightly around Devin’s throat.
“How dare you accost your Queen in such a manner!” He bellowed, holding Devin off of the floor by a couple feet. “You insolent whelp! If she didn’t care for you so much, I would end you right here and now.”
I held out my hand, standing up. “No, please, don’t hurt him. I’m alright, I promise.”
“Sit.” Dracula’s eyes glowed bright red as he stared deeply into Devin’s, commanding him and setting him back on his feet. Devin, in a trance, sat down on his bed. Dracula came over to me, looking me over, with concern and then love in his eyes. He looked back at Devin, a snarl on the edge of his mouth. “You can either fight me – and lose – or fight beside me,” he looked into my eyes. “And become stronger than you’ve ever imagined.”
/////
-EA
Eddie Amazon - muXi 