by A Lorenzen
‘I was there with Kim! Caleb made it on time and everything was fine! Now put the gun down!’
‘He will get you killed Ameerah! He is dangerous! He doesn’t deserve you!’
‘My job is to kill those monsters and sometimes things go wrong! You can’t keep me locked up and protect me everywhere I go! Now put the gun down!’’ I barked at him.
‘Blake-’ Ben tried to get his attention.
A shot rang out.
I reacted by shooting at Blake.
I spun around and saw Ben going down, bleeding from his left shoulder.
Blake grabbed me from behind and smashed the gun out of my hands. I reached for his and clawed it out of his grip and threw it across the room.
He tried to overpower me, but I elbowed him in the face, breaking his nose. Blake kicked me in the stomach, crushing my intestines. I tackled him at his waist and threw him to the ground, landing on top of him. He sent me flying against the side of the couch, breaking at least two ribs. I tried to get up, but Blake was quicker. He kicked me violently. One of the broken ribs pierced through my lung. I gasped for air but got none.
Ben hoisted Blake off me, receiving a few blows meant for me. Blake was so overtaken by anger he broke Ben’s already wounded shoulder in a single move by twisting Ben’s arm onto his back. Ben screamed in pain and fell to his knees.
I could see them wrestling. Then my gaze fell onto a gun. It lay by the end of the couch. Sliding along the slick floor I reached for the black piece of metal. Blake pummelled Ben, ignoring me for the moment. Holding my ribcage together with my left hand, I forced myself to sit up where I had a direct line of sight and painfully lifted my right arm to take aim at Blake.
I wanted to yell ‘stop’, but only blood sprayed out of my mouth. I had no time to wait. Without thinking twice, I shot at Blake. The bullet pierced through his shoulder blade. With a thump he fell to the ground.
‘Ben?’ I asked, distressed, my voice cracking. His answer was a long howl, resembling a dying wolf.
Blake had turned on his back and managed to sit upright, leaning against the bloodstained back of the kitchen counter. With a shaking hand, I kept the gun pointed at him. Blake held still when he saw the deadly metal aimed at him. Our eyes locked.
Ben crawled away from him towards the fireplace.
‘I’m done with you,’ Blake stated breathing heavily. He grabbed the counter and pulled himself up.
His deep blue eyes stared at me one more time, and then he swayed towards the front door, disappearing behind the wall. I heard the elevator doors open and close again. My hand went limp. The gun fell to the ground.
With the little strength I had left, I crawled over to the fridge to get the bags of blood we needed. Ben was soaking in a pool of his own blood. Though my hands were shaking, I managed to insert the tube into Ben’s arm. I let myself fall to the ground the moment the blood started transferring into him. It took me longer to build up the strength to also connect myself to my blood supply. Once I had finally done so, I reached for Ben’s hand and clutched it.
I looked over to where Blake’s blood tainted the living room. I had inflicted him with this pain. Why had it come to this?
That afternoon I got sick. At first it was a persistent headache, accompanied by fatigue. Later my stomach turned and I threw up several times. I spent the day in bed. Ghosts rarely got sick and if they did it was from bites from other supernatural beings. It had to be the moloch blood.
Ben wanted to call Caleb but I insisted it was not a good idea after the shootout with Blake. I considered telling Ben the truth but given my state he most likely would not have believed I had swallowed just a few drops. And I couldn’t admit to dipping my fingers into the sweet red poison oozing from a dead moloch and sucking my fingers dry.
I swore to never take it ever again. All would be well and fine. No one would ever know. The sickness would pass and everything would be uneventfully dull as always.
BLOOD SPILL
My health returned to normal after a few days of headaches and nausea. I couldn’t believe I had ingested moloch blood and not expect it to have any consequences.
Ben knew something was up. It felt horrible lying to him, but I didn’t know what would happen if I told the truth. Drinking blood didn’t seem like something one should admit to. What if Ben had to report me to the council? What if I needed to take some sort of detox to rid my body of the moloch blood?
There was no way for me to get any information on the side-effects without giving myself away at the same time. Ben eventually let it go.
A week later I was fully recovered and had started training intensely again to keep my mind occupied. I had run for several miles in the cold and sprinted all the way up the hill from the river to the apartment. Small snowflakes sprinkled down from the sky and danced in the air from the strong wind.
With the approaching winter I was also reminded it was yet another Christmas I wouldn’t spend with my family. It was hard to imagine all the time I had been here already and the years to come could be crumbled up through a ‘time loop’ and have me return to my human life to the same evening I had been hit by the car. Would my mind even be able to process memories from so many additional years? What happened to ghosts once they were back on the other side?
I got off the elevator and walked into our apartment. Ben wasn’t home and I took advantage of it to have a long bath. First, I stretched and took off my sweaty clothes. I filled the bath and mixed bath salts and bath soaks into the steaming water. Within minutes a thick layer of foam had formed on top of the water. I put next to the tub and placed a bottle of exquisite red wine on it with a fitting crystal glass. On the opposite end of the tub I aligned scented candles and turned on some relaxing music. Finally, I eased myself into the hot water and enjoyed the aromatic scents around me. I closed my eyes and let my mind go to pleasant memories while I listened to gentle piano music.
There was a thump from somewhere in the apartment, followed by steps. I called out and shortly afterwards Ben stuck his head through the door of the bathroom.
‘Hi my love, how is your bath?’ His green eyes looked lovingly onto me.
‘Good, but it would be even better if you joined.’ I answered winking at him.
He approached and crouched down by my head, taking a sip from the wine. ‘No, you enjoy your bath. I’ll make a fire and we can watch a movie tonight.’
Ben leaned over and kissed me.
The foam had disappeared by the time I got out and my skin was wrinkled. I put on comfortable clothes and tied my hair into a high bun. With the bottle of wine in one hand and the glass in the other I walked towards the kitchen and placed them both on the kitchen counter when I saw what Ben was doing.
He had laid rose petals everywhere on the floor in the living room and a fire was burning in the fireplace, casting yellow flickers into the room. There was a fully decorated Christmas tree by the sliding doors to the terrace with Christmas lights twinkling in all colours. He turned towards me and had a present in his hands.
‘This is for you.’ He placed the gift in front of me on the kitchen counter.
When I opened it, I found a dark blue jewellery box. In the box was a delicate bracelet with diamonds set onto the silver chain. The diamonds were discrete but didn’t lack sparkle.
‘What’s the occasion?’ I asked as Ben fastened the bracelet around my right wrist.
‘The occasion is I love you and you’re beautiful.’
I threw my arms around him and held him tightly. He caressed my arms and back. We spent the evening on the couch watching a movie and cuddling.
* * *
Christmas came and I celebrated with Ben at our apartment. Kim had gone to see June over the holidays and Caleb was also away. It made me sad that I wouldn’t see him at all. I hadn’t seen him since I had been bitten by that vampire. He kept telling me he was busy doing other stuff and after a while I stopped chasing him. I missed him terribly, but he obviously had other
priorities and I didn’t want to beg for his attention.
Months went by with the usual training, hunting molochs and vampires, and spending time with Ben. With Kim now also seeing someone, I understood she wanted to spend her time with June so we only saw each other once a month.
As time went on, my desire to drink moloch blood had diminished and I had forgotten all about it by the time summer came around. Compared to the previous years, I wasn’t under any pressure from Blake to adhere to any rigid schedule. All I had to do was keep up my killing numbers and that was easy enough. I hadn’t heard from him since we had had the massive fight which had ended in injuries. I regretted shooting him but at the same time I wouldn’t have let him drag Ben to the council.
My relationship with Ben was great and I enjoyed living with him. He made me laugh and cared for me. My feelings for him grew stronger and there wasn’t much we didn’t do together. Whenever I went out with Kim, I missed him, even if I was just out for a few hours at Santa’s pub. The moment I came home I felt complete again.
Over the summer we had redecorated the apartment and gotten new furniture. The white leather couch was replaced with a beige cotton velvet one, and the glass coffee table was replaced with a vintage low table of dark wood and black iron. I got several plants and dispersed everything from small cacti to bamboo palms across the apartment. Ben got outdoor fairy lights for the balcony.
I wanted to move to a bigger apartment at first, but Ben explained the council imposed where ghosts had to live with their recruits. If we wanted to move, we would have to make an official request. We would also have to get Blake to testify that I could still fulfil my duties while living with Ben, and that wasn’t going to happen.
It was towards the end of August when Ben woke me up in bed and told me he wanted to take me away for a few days but said the location was a surprise. His deep green eyes were on me while I caressed the side of his face. Sometimes I couldn’t believe I had found him in this hellhole. He was the best thing to have happened to me. I considered myself very lucky.
Ben planted a kiss on my lips and then swung himself out of bed. I watched his naked body move as he walked out of the room and into the kitchen.
A few minutes later he came back into the bedroom, carrying a cup of coffee. A trail of steam swirled in the air.
‘Thanks babe.’ I took a sip and set the cup down on the bedside table.
He walked over to the wardrobe at the foot of the bed and picked out clothes he wanted to pack for our getaway. I was getting turned on watching him. His body was so muscular…
I climbed out of bed and walked up to him until our bodies were touching. I kissed him passionately and gestured him to come back to bed. Ben’s eyes filled with excitement; he didn’t need a second invitation.
Ben and I each packed a bag. Out of precaution we took some guns and ammunition. This world always had a joker card in its hand and when you least expected it, you would get hit by a wave of trouble.
I took the elevator down to Ben’s car and put my bag in the back. I put two machine guns in the boot and left one on the backseat with extra ammo.
I texted Kim our plans, while I waited for Ben.
We drove out of our district and into a new one, away from the river towards the west. Things began looking unfamiliar. Buildings flashed by, schools, offices, houses. Every now and then I would see a human or two.
We stopped at a traffic light and Ben took my hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. I grinned and could feel my cheeks reddening.
Suddenly, Ben’s face changed. Anxiety manifested in his eyes. Seconds later, I could feel it too. There was something in the air. Something wasn’t right. A knot in my stomach tightened. Ben pulled into one of the side streets. My sense of unease augmented; I felt in danger now.
‘What’s happening?’ I asked. He had let go of my hand and was looking around, searching for something.
‘Vampire.’
The panic instantly spread through me. I hadn’t expected to fight a vampire suddenly. Even if I had fought them before, I always needed time to mentally prepare myself.
‘I need to see who it is,’ Ben answered calmly. ‘It could be Jason.’
His eyes were dead, his muscles tense, like a cheetah ready to pounce. Ben was cold and calculated, just like Blake got when he was in a dangerous situation. He was in trainer-mode. Yet, I felt like we were the prey.
‘Babe, I don’t know if we have enough ammunition, we-’
Ben brutally spun the car around. His eyes flashed with insanity. ‘I saw him! I saw Jason!’
He made the car roar and raced at incredible speed towards a distant figure.
The anxiety coursed through my veins. My body was on high alert.
The vampire turned around to face us just as the car slammed into him. His body gave a sickening thud against the windshield and bounced off the metal frame of the car. The windshield splintered on impact. In the rear-view mirror I saw the vampire crash into the pavement behind us. Blinded by fury, Ben slammed the brakes and jumped out of the still running car. The smell of burnt tyres invaded the car.
I reached onto the backseat and grabbed the machine gun. Moments later I followed Ben out of the car. I saw Jason running with astonishing speed at Ben who was emptying his clip into the vampire. It didn’t slow Jason in the least.
I raised my machine gun and let the bullets rain until the two got too close together and finally slammed into one another. Ben was thrown backwards and skid along the road until he was brutally stopped by the pedestrian walkway. I started shooting again. The vampire barely stumbled from the barrage of bullets.
He turned and his eyes settled on me. In a split second he closed the gap between us and tore the machine gun from my hands. He gripped my throat and pressed my windpipe shut, while lifting me up in the air.
I had to free myself from his deadly grip. I could feel my throat swelling from the pressure. My head was about to burst. In seconds, I would pass out.
With my left hand I reached down my left leg while I pulled my ankle up. I unholstered a small gun and shot from below at the arm suffocating me. It was enough for Jason to let go with an annoyed roar. I fell on the hard concrete, gasping for air. Coughing and wriggling on the pavement I pointed the gun and fired at the vampire’s heart from underneath him.
From behind me another storm of bullets hit him as well. He fell to his knees from the impacts. I unsheathed one of my trusted knives I kept at the back of my hips, hoisted myself up, and plunged the blade into his heart. Three bullets hit me from behind, sending me sprawling on top of the vampire. The back of the knife drilled into my ribcage.
I had to get away from him! I rolled to the side, but the vampire got a hold of my vest before I could get clear. With one powerful yank, he pulled me back towards himself. Instinctively, I protected my face with my arms. He sank his teeth into my left underarm. The excruciating pain immediately numbed my body. A tortured scream echoed from my throat. It felt like I was corroding from the inside.
He bent my hand backwards and aimed for my throat, breaking my wrist in the process. The paralyzing pain from his bite had maxed out what I was able to feel. I only realized the bone had broken from the crack it made.
The bullets stopped. The red-eyed beast fought his way up, grabbed me by my jacket and pulled me to his face. His velvet cat-eyes stared at me thirstily. He licked his razor-sharp teeth and pulled me closer.
My breathing shuddered.
The sound of bullets pierced the air again. My ears rang, blocking all other sound. The vampire’s head turned away from me. More bullets hammered it. The monster let go. We fell backwards onto the ground. Moments later Ben appeared above me, firing with a machine gun at the vampire. The empty casings rained down on me.
Ben aimed directly at Jason’s head, tearing apart his face. Ben stopped when the creature hadn’t moved for several seconds. A thin trail of smoke escaped his gun. He turned to me. ‘You ok?’
‘I was
bitten,’ I said, having trouble speaking. Ben checked my body and looked at the trail of blood escaping the bite wound, crisscrossing down my arm and finally dripping from my elbow to the ground.
‘Fuck!’ He lifted me up and supported my weight as I hobbled back to the car. I had trouble breathing. My throat ached and closed up.
‘You need Caleb, fast.’ Ben’s voice was panicked. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears over the ringing from the gunshots.
Something wasn’t right. The bad feeling in my gut momentarily dimmed the ringing in my ears. ‘Ben…’ I reached for his collar and grabbed it as tightly as I could. We weren’t alone.
Ben looked up. He could feel it too. Abruptly he spun around, letting go of me, and started shooting. I crashed onto the concrete, hitting my head. I saw Ben firing, a shadow draping itself over him and wrestling him to the ground.
With absolute horror it dawned on me. The shadow was another vampire.
My heart skipped a beat, before accelerating to a point where I couldn’t make out the individual beats anymore. Ben laid helplessly on the ground. The vampire bent over him. I wrestled onto my side and grabbed Ben’s leg, pulling myself towards the gun. I got a hold of it and fired the entire clip at the monster. The vampire started turning towards me, but several more bullets hit him in the face. The vampire fell backwards with his face deformed by bullet holes. But where had the shots come from? The body landed on the ground next to Ben’s.
Ben lay lifeless in a pool of his own blood. It couldn’t be. He was alright, yes he was. He had to be! He had to be!
Fearing the worst, I pulled myself closer to him, powering through the pain. My vision was swimming from tears. I pushed the vampire away from Ben and placed my hands on his face. His eyes flicked towards me. He was alive! Oh thank you heaven, he was alive!
A chunk of flesh was missing from Ben’s neck where the vampire had bit him. Blood was pissing from the wound. I held the gash closed as well as I could.
‘Ben,’ I mouthed tonelessly.
‘Je… Jes…,’ was all I could hear.