by Ian Woodhead
“This is your first true night, my new First Son. Savour this moment. The sun is now your enemy but no matter, for the moon and her daughters will guide your senses to your forthcoming kills.”
Damien watched the brothers bow their heads and quietly recite a prayer. The sight of them praying caused him to just pause; he hadn’t expected them to do that. Was this the closest that these animals got to having a religion?
“Damien, why do you stare?” The Swarmer First Father walked up to him and placed his hands at either side of Damien’s head. “If the name of the noon and her daughters is invoked, it is wise to follow the actions of your fellow Clan members,” he whispered. Desmonus glanced at the brothers. “Their last First Son was also their priest. It is also wise to remember that although it is in their blood to obey, you could be presented with unwanted tribulations if they think you mock their faith.”
Desmonus suddenly released Damien’s shoulders and jumped away from him. The vampire then cocked his head to one side.
“First Father!” cried Helix. “What has he done to you?”
It didn’t escape Damien’s attention that those two clowns were glaring at him, with accusing eyes, automatically thinking that he was to blame for the vampire’s odd behaviour.
“This settlement is just too quiet,” he replied. “I hear only our voices.”
Helix shrugged his great shoulders. “Is that not how the settlement should be at this late hour? They sleep in their beds, or hiding from us, dreaming and hoping that they will wake in the morning unchanged.”
“I predict that many will not tonight, my brother,” added Healiod. “Especially those firm young maidens.”
Both brothers chuckled.
“Cease your lustful ramblings!” snapped the First Father. “I have already explained our situation to you twice now, is it that difficult to adjust your thinking? Just look at the buildings around us, do they resemble crude wooden shack to you? Perhaps it is time to block up the holes in your heads to stop your wits from leaking out.”
Damien suppressed a chuckle. He loved the way these guys spoke. He wondered how long it would take them to adapt and start to talk like him. Looking at these two brain-dead clowns, he guessed that it would never happen.
“Do you not remember how this land looked when we emerged from our long sleep, Helix? Even you asked me if they had woken on the moon. Remember how the lights on the ground really did feel like we were running through all the moon’s daughters?”
The town wasn’t completely dark, the streetlights were on but Damien now noticed that not one single shop was open. Metal shutters covered every shop window. “This isn’t right,” he muttered. Some of the shops ought to still be open, it isn’t that late. The pubs and the takeaway should definitely be open by now.”
“Damien I regret that some of the words you utter are unfamiliar but your meaning is quite clear.” The First Father leaned against the side of a green Ford Focus and stared at him. “I did not expect this to happen so quickly. The thought had taken up residence but I really did believe that time truly had scrubbed away our legacy.” He sighed. “I fear that the humans have fled this settlement.”
The brothers looked at Desmonus and then at each other. “Our legacy?” said Helix. “You mean that they remembered us? This should not surprise me, we used the human as food and slave for many generations. Our tales would have been passed from mouth to mouth for many generations.
“That is not what I mean. This is their inner minds, talking control of their brain and telling them what should be done. I do not think that they were even aware of their actions.”
“It’s a racial memory,” murmured Damien. “I’ve read about things like this before,” He looked up and down the empty street. “Never on this scale though. You guys must have really scared the shit out the humans in your time to make such an impression.”
Helix ignored him and marched over to the First Father. “If they have all gone, then how will we expand the clan? Without fresh bodies, the Deathgazers will destroy us for good.”
Desmonus moved off the car and stood behind Helix. “Follow this road, my son, can you not see that collection of tiny lights peering out from above the rooftops? I see you can. Helix, there are huge crowds of humans all bunched together in some fields beyond this settlement. There is enough meat there to last us for a long time.”
Helix eagerly nodded. “Oh, yes I see that now.”
Damien heard the noise of technicians starting to test out the sound system, he giggled quietly to himself when he saw the other vampire’s reactions. He guessed that they had yet to experience a metal festival.
“First Father, the riddle is solved. The people from the settlement are over there, my guess is that they are trying to work out what that dreadful noise is.”
“It sounds like a thousand fox cubs, all caught in wire snares, all screaming out for their mothers,” said his brother.
The First Father gazed at Damien. “Is he correct?”
Damien grinned. “Healiod is right about the bands, but right now their skivvies are just tuning up all the equipment. As for what Helix said? No way, the townsfolk stay well away from the festival, mostly they spend their time bitching about the noise and what effect it’ll have on the house prices or some shit like that.” He turned around and slammed the palm of his hand against the steel shutter. “It doesn’t stop them from keeping the shops open until midnight, trying to skim off as much money as possible from the visitors.”
“It does not matter then about the humans all running from their homes,” said Helix. “Our food has not gone anywhere!”
“You truly are an idiot,” snarled Desmonus. “This, I did not predict. It made sense to believe that the Deathgazers would act in their own pre-determined method of putting down their roots, changing a few of the humans then attempting to milk the rest like big fat cows.” He sighed. “Conflict is now inevitable, we fight for the same resource.”
The brothers both laughed. “We are still many and he is just one.” They looked at Damien. “We have already started to build and expand.”
“We waste time,” said the First Father. “If there is to be a fight, then we should join up with the others. I want to see the rest of my Swarmer Can. I am also eager to see Eleanor.” He looked at Damien. “I believe that she has some explaining to do.”
Damien conjured up the image of him sitting down to eat a huge plate of chocolate ice cream, covered in stale vomit and horse manure, just to stop his mind from dwelling upon Eleanor’s perfect breasts.
“Once our clan is complete, then we can begin our work.” He grinned at the brothers. “While I am aware that you two did not fully obey by rule of abstinence the previous night, you still were able to reign in your natural desire to swarm. Tonight, all your lusts, crazes and desires will be sated. If Amulius is there, remember, he is only one vampire, he cannot fight all of us.” Desmonus then walked over to Damien. “Now, my new First Son, perhaps it is time to discover why Eleanor took it upon herself to play the role of First Father?”
The vampire lunged at him. Damien’s quick reactions were no match for Desmonus’s lightning fast movements. He felt the vampire’s canines sink into the flesh on the side of his neck before his whole body locked up. Damien was helpless, he couldn’t move a single muscle, he wasn’t even able to blink.
His eyes lost the ability to focus and the view of the pavement and the First Father’s dirty black boots all dissolved into one blurred mess. The sensations of sight, sound and feeling left him. The only experience left to Damien was of thought, and the First Father was delving into that like a fat worm eating through black soil. He was powerless.
The vampire’s dominant probe stripped away every barrier, exposing all of Damien’s innermost thoughts.
Blazing white light exploded behind his eyes and he saw the image of his mother, followed by his father and then Elsie. The First Father was bleeding out every shred of knowledge from his mind, soaking it
in like dry sponge plunged into water. The kaleidoscope of faces stopped when he was shown a full frontal view of Eleanor. The image wasn’t from his mind. Damien had never seen her like this before.
He couldn’t stop the sensation of arousal when the image suddenly turned her head and winked. The low light illuminated the vampire’s well proportioned body, hiding behind very thin sheets of green and purple gauze. He groaned in pleasure as she walked up to him, took hold of his wrist and placed his hand over her full breast.
Damien hooked his fingers behind the material and tugged it down, exposing the full beauty of her creamy white flesh. She released his wrist and dragged her fingernails down his chest. He lowered his head and watched her hand stop at his waistband. The woman then got down on her knees and unfastened his trousers, freeing his erect penis.
He watched her grip his shaft hard lift the organ up then slowly run her cold tongue along the underside until she reached the head. Eleanor giggled before she pushed his full length into her mouth. Eleanor held him tight with her powerful lips then slid him slowly out stopping when she reached his head.
The pleasure circuits in his brain blew when the woman somehow wrapped her long tongue around the tip and gently squeezed and caressing the sensitive flesh. She suddenly released him and stood up. “He knows now, Damien,” she whispered. “I should have realized that he would peel you like an onion. Worry not, my lover; this particular transplanted memory is hidden away. We will bide our time. It is one thing we have on our side.” She wrapped her arms around his naked body and pulled him tight against hers. “I must go; he is close to ending this. I will play my part, Damien, worry not.”
Damien cried out in shock when the world reverted to its former state of absolute blackness before his very sense suddenly returned to him. He couldn’t stop himself from screaming when he looked down and saw the town hundreds of feet above his body, rapidly reaching up to embrace him as he plummeted through the night sky. Damien shut his eyes, anticipating his body to smash into the hard floor any second.
The eye watering stench of rotten meat, combined with a sickly sweet smell of fermenting fruit suddenly filled his nostrils. Damien snapped open his eyes and found his body lying on the pavement, slumped against the metal shutter, the memories of his last few minutes, quickly fading away. He saw the two brothers grinning down at him. He then saw the First Father crouching beside him.
The vampire leaned closer until his mouth was a whisper away from Damien’s ear. “Even now, I feel your mind, desperately trying to hold on to your recent memories, yet, no matter how hard you want to hold them, they just slip away like smoke from a dying fire. No matter, I have what I need. The aroma still lingers, does it not?”
Damien nodded, unable to clear his nose.
“The thick crust of Eleanor’s alluring perfume is not often breached. She strives to maintain the reflection of the sweet young virginal maiden, Damien. Once you do break through, the reality is that Eleanor is just an ancient disease-ridden living corpse.” He stroked Damien’s ear. “You are but a puppy dog for her, a plaything, a child’s toy, my young rabbit. You are not her first, Damien.”
The first Father pulled him off the floor and leaned him against the metal shutters. “This world will give my devious little woman a medley of new playthings. You will not be her last embryonic vampire to fall for her silly games either.”
“First Father, can we chew on his bones now? It is more than he deserves for the trouble his presence has caused.”
Damien looked into Healiod’s blazing eyes. He knew that he wouldn’t have stood much of a chance if just one of them went for him, let alone two. Right now, Damien felt like he’d just been run over by a truck, what the fuck had just happened to him? He felt great just a few moments ago.
Even if he was outmatched, Damien wasn’t going to allow these bastards rip into him, not without a fight, even if the odds were insurmountable. He clenched his fist tight. As soon as that vampire leaned closer, Damien intended to push hid fingers into Healiod’s throat. Even as his brother and the First Father ripped into his flesh, he would have, at least, have the satisfaction of taking one of them with him.
He then remembered that Desmonus could have killed him at any time, unless they were just playing with him? Damien just wanted to go to sleep, he was confused and very tired.
“Damien is still your First Son, Healiod.” He turned around and grinned at the brothers. “You might find that your First Son could prove to be worthy adversary, perhaps you two should reserve your scorn and open ridicule?” He looked back at Damien. “Do you think it would be wise to see him lose his temper?”
Helix just sighed, “My First Father, I am just a lowly vampire, your word games just confuse me. I look at this pathetic creature. I see not a great vampire, just some wasteful human who was unfortunate to meet your wife. I mean no offence, First Father but, his presence makes my stomach churn.”
“And you feel the same?”
Healiod nodded. “Yes, my First Father, more so than Helix.”
Desmonus stepped back and winked at Damien. “Then if either of you are able to defeat this little rabbit then you can claim title to First Son. Damien, these two clan members enjoy throwing their opponents to the ground, standing on their backs, and then twisting off their heads. It is advisable not to allow either of them to get you into that position.”
He watched the two brothers separate, each one stepping to either side of him. Damien knew now that escape was not an option. He quickly glanced at the First Father, just waiting for him to tell his gorillas to back off. This just had to be another stupid test, surely, it must be, the bastard even winked at him.
Healiod growled and then lunged for him. Damien managed to duck just in time and rolled to the side, he heard the huge vampire crash into the metal shutters, he quickly turned to see him spin around. Damien saw the huge dent in the metal, it looked like the shop had just been ram-raided. He twisted his body, crying out when Healiod’s brother swept his legs out, catching Damien’s ankle. He stumbled but managed to thrust his hand down to stop his body from hitting the floor.
From the corner of his eye, Damien saw Healiod running towards him. These bastards were slow but he knew that it was only a matter of time before one of them would get hold of him and throw his body onto the pavement.
The First Father laughed, “He is like an eel. You two really are lumbering idiots. Cooperate and he will be yours.”
Damien glared at the First Father, he clenched both his fists, he’d had enough of this bullshit, “Fuck the lot of you,” he growled. “I just about had enough of your crap!” He turned and ran at Helix, pulling back his arm. He screamed out in fury and rammed his fist into the vampire’s nose. The result of his sudden assault caused Damien to screech to a standstill as his pile-driver blow shattered the vampire’s nose, flattening the nose flat. The vampire flew backwards, crashing into the side of the green car.
Damien looked at his blood-stained fist and then at Helix lying against the car, moaning quietly. His brother ran past Damien and helped Helix onto his feet.
“At this moment, Damien, I suspect that concern for the well being of Helix is not on your mind,” chuckled the First Father. “He will recover though, the damage is just superficial, his body repairs the damage, even as we speak. Healiod, your head has no so many holes as your foolish brother. Did it not occur, even to you that I would not give the First Son position to some pale blooded lamb?”
He marched over to the two vampires and clamped his hands on their shoulders. “Healiod, did you believe that whilst sleeping, Eleanor somehow attained the gifts given only to a First Father?”
The large vampire shrugged. “I know not what I thought. It is easier to accept the evidence before my eyes than to try and unlock the mystery. I am sorry, my First Father, even as a human, I did not dwell on issues too complicated.”
“There is no mystery, Healiod. It is just improbable. Your new First Son has diluted Deathgazer blo
od running through his veins.” He sighed heavily. “I see that even this revelation just skates over your befuddled mind. Think back to before we went to sleep. Do you remember a human female called Maisen?”
Healiod slowly nodded. “Yes, I remember her. She had thick long black hair and intense blue eyes. I also remember that her breasts were very large. She was one of the girls that you chose to pass on our bloodline.”
“Well, it was her descendant whom we feasted upon in the hole. It was her sweet flesh that reactivated the Swarmer Clan.”
Healiod burst out laughing. “Are you saying that our new First Son is nothing more than some forgotten waking meal?” He chuckled to himself then frowned. “Do you think that Eleanor would have known of how her bite would affect the human?”
“It is unlikely. Did you know that this mutation could cause a change in humans? I did not know of this. Our race has not slept like this since the time of the great freeze. I do not think that there is any vampire so long lived who would have being able to foresee this outcome.”
“What about Jalim? He was from before the time of the freeze.”
Desmonus spat on the floor. “He was a senile old fool,” he snapped. “That demented wizard had problems in remembering his own name on most days. Do not utter his name in my presence ever again.” Eleanor just saw an opportunity to make mischief and seized upon it, as she is want to do.”
The First Father approached Damien. “Now, it is time to finish your initiation into the Swarmer clan.” He held out his hands, palm up. “Clasp my wrists, then close your eyes.”
Damien followed his instructions, trying not to wince when the First Father’s fingernails dug into his skin. Before Damien did shut his eyes, he saw both brothers spin around.
“First Father!” shouted Healiod. “The other clan members approach.”