Ela: Forever (Waking Forever)

by Heather McVea

  Ela lunged toward Michelle, bringing the full force of her weight down on the small girl. Straddling the child, Ela ripped at her torso and face with her claw-like hands. Before the girl could scream, Ela grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head into the hard ground. Michelle’s blood soaked body went limp. Ela sniffed her way up the child’s body. The smell of blood and Michelle’s natural scent of lavender caused a shudder to run through Ela’s body. “I only wish your sister could see you now.” Ela smiled and slowly sunk her teeth into the soft skin of Michelle’s throat, draining the life from the small girl.

  “Ela, enough!” Ivan hissed from behind Ela.

  Ela jerked her head around to face Ivan, taking the side of Michelle’s neck with her. Swallowing before she spoke, Ela stood and faced Ivan. “You’re interrupting me, Ivan. And frankly, that’s rude. I would have thought –”

  Ivan tackled Ela to the ground before she could continue, then Ela felt more hands on her as vampires from the Maquis camp restrained her. A split second later, Ela was flung over the camp’s fence and landed with a loud thud nearly thirty feet on the other side. The hands were instantly back, clutching and grabbing at Ela, effectively pinning her to the ground.

  Ivan’s voice was a low menacing growl in Ela’s ear as he knelt next to her. “You don’t think though, do you? You are entirely about the blood. Consumed by your own wants and hungers.” Ivan took Ela’s face in his hands, and his voice softened. “Your human tendency to only think about what you want has amplified ten-fold in you and has left you little more than an animal.” Ivan’s eyes glowed bright blue. “This will – over the centuries – only get worse, and you will be a danger to us. You are always thinking of yourself, and never the necessity for secrecy that we vampires live with.”

  Ivan’s brows furrowed and he learned back on his haunches. “I’ve been sent to fetch you, Ela. As your maker, Coleen is too close to you. I have no such restraint and will end you should you refuse to come with us.”

  Ela turned her head away from Ivan, refusing to look at him when he spoke. “Secrecy? We are superior to these – these cattle. Why should I hide what I am?”

  Ivan leaned forward and pulled Ela’s head back around so the woman was forced to look at him. “I can see now that turning you was a mistake. What Coleen took for persistence and bravery is nothing more than stubbornness and morbid curiosity.”

  Ivan moved off of Ela and stood looking down at her, then gestured to the three male vampires restraining Ela. “Get her up.”

  Ivan stepped in front of Ela, preparing to execute her. But before he could grab her by the throat to remove her head, Ela pushed off the ground with tremendous strength, throwing the three vampires restraining her off balance. She landed and pushed them to the ground with such force their backs snapped.

  Ela then leapt toward Ivan, tackled him to the ground, and slammed her fists into his clavicles. Bone splintered and tendons tore as the blows dislocated both of Ivan’s shoulders, rendering his arms useless. Sitting on his chest, Ela took his head in her hands and pulled up while twisting his head to the right simultaneously. A cracking sound echoed through the forest. Ela fell back across Ivan’s legs as his head came off. She was covered in blood, but unlike human blood, it was cold and dead.

  Ela tossed Ivan’s head to the side and pushed herself to her feet. With a quick motion she pounced on one of the remaining vampires and, grabbing the back of his head, pulled back with all her strength. Just as his head began to give way, Ela was flung backward and a tremendous pressure brought down on her shoulders as she was forced to her knees.

  “Hold her, dammit!” Coleen’s voice reverberated through the trees and this time many more hands were on Ela’s torso and legs. Ela’s wrists and ankles were shackled with silver cords. Coleen grabbed Ela by the throat. “Do you have any idea what you have done?” Coleen’s nails dug into Ela’s throat. “We don’t take the life of one of our own, except under extraordinary circumstances.”

  Ela’s jaw was clenched and she looked defiantly at Coleen. “He meant to end me. I defended myself - naturally.” Ela strained against Coleen’s vise-like grip on her neck. “I have spent my life letting the world tell me who I am. Rich, poor, lover, friend, saint, sinner. I will not let my past decide my future, Coleen.” Ela leveled her gaze on Coleen. “And make no mistake, I have a future.”

  Coleen hesitated before speaking. “You told me when you were still human that you felt stretched so thin you imagined you were invisible. That you were folded between what you wanted and what was expected of you.”

  Ela squinted. “What’s your point?”

  Coleen released her grip from around Ela’s neck and smiled as she reached for Ela’s shackled hand. “My point is the things that are important are often invisible to the eye. And you are important, Ela, but your purpose – your wants – must be about more than destroying.”

  Ela took a step back from Coleen, her face showing no emotion. “I remember people for what they have destroyed in my life, not what they created.”

  Coleen released Ela’s hand and took a step back, her eyes filling with blood as a great sadness moved through her. “You were damaged before – I see that now. Becoming vampire has only amplified the damage and further warped your mind.” Coleen turned her back on Ela and shook her head. “I can regret my decision to make you, but I won’t undo it.”

  Coleen nodded to the four men standing guard around Ela. Without a word, they stepped toward her, tightening the silver cords around her wrists and waist. Coleen shook her head again, her back still to Ela. “You are a danger to our kind and because of that, you cannot remain with our clan.”

  Ela began to laugh as she strained against the men holding her. The sound was not cheerful, but low and foreboding. “Is this meant to be some sort of punishment, Coleen? Because freedom from you and your twisted sense of right and wrong is a blessing.”

  She pulled against the cords and leaned toward Coleen with her teeth bared. “Whatever lies you’ve told yourself over the centuries so you can justify lifetimes’ worth of horrors are on you. I am at least honest about what, and who, I am.”

  Coleen turned and faced Ela. Her face was streaked with blood as the tears continued to fall. In spite of this, Coleen’s voice was low and calm as she spoke. “That honesty won’t stop you from killing indiscriminately and eventually being hunted by your own kind, and ended.”

  Coleen took another step back from Ela. “The maker’s bond is sacred. Even if you don’t think much of me, I still won’t end you. So, as much as this pains me…” She nodded to the men holding Ela and to the three slowly recovering from Ela’s previous onslaught. Ela was pulled by the silver cords further into the tree line of the forest.

  Now, nearly fifty yards from the camp, Coleen paced back and forth in front of Ela. “I am banishing you. Leave this area and do not return. If our patrols find you are hunting in this region, then I will have no choice but to order them to end you immediately.” Coleen stopped pacing and looked down. “Please don’t let it come to that.”

  The men released Ela, and she immediately stepped away from them and toward Coleen, her eyes glowing in the pre-dawn light. “How can you hate what you’ve created?”

  Coleen tilted her head back, considering Ela for several seconds before she spoke. “I made you a vampire – that is true. But what you’re becoming – what you will become – is entirely of your own creation.”

  Not waiting for Ela’s reply, Coleen turned and walked further into the woods, the men following behind her. Then, in a burst of speed, they were gone.

  Ela turned and lifted her head toward where Coleen had disappeared. “I’m becoming better!”

  She stood alone in the stillness of the forest, surprised as she felt sadness wash over her. She quickly dismissed it as the forced connection between her and her maker being severed. The sadness was then replaced with relief surging through her. This was a relief born from choice, without consideration of others, and
freedom from anyone’s expectations but her own.

  ***

  Ela moved through Western Europe for the better part of four months. Time meant very little to her as she never tired and was not at the mercy of day and night. After happily fleeing the southern part of Poland where Coleen and her clan resided, Ela made her way through Czechosavakia, across the Alps in Austria, along the southern coastline of France, and finally up to Bilbao, Spain, near the Bay of Biscay.

  Contrary to Coleen’s warnings, Ela and the ferociousness of her killings had gone undetected. The war was raging across the Continent, and Ela had found the brutality of her killings was indistinguishable from the atrocities humans were committing against one another.

  Now, as she stood on the outskirts of Bilbao, having wound her way along the peaks and valleys of the Pyrenees, she felt for the first time that she was free. Enough time and distance had been put between her and Coleen that the sadness she felt being separated from her maker was all but gone. The anger she felt toward Rachel, though, was still visceral and left Ela’s insides feeling brittle.

  Ela moved into the heart of Bilbao under the cover of darkness. A quarter moon shone overhead, as thoughts of vengeance coursed through her. I’ll find you, Rachel, and take your life. But not before I take whoever is closest to you – slowly, painfully – while you watch.

  Ela wasn’t interested in controlling her hunger completely. She had begun to take pleasure in allowing the thirst to linger. The swell of desperation accompanied by anticipation gave Ela a sensation she thought akin to bliss, and the satiation, once she fed, was more intense than any orgasm she had ever experienced.

  The narrow cobblestone streets of Bilbao were lined with closely packed clay colored buildings. The salty smell of the ocean mingled with the aroma of grass, dirt, cooked food, and humans. Ela meandered down an alley and past a discreet café. The scent of sandalwood mixed with patchouli tickled Ela’s nostrils.

  It was what she didn’t smell, though, that caught her attention. There was no underlying smell of human, and she didn’t hear any heartbeats. Ela stopped where the smells were coming from. She heard upbeat music coming from inside. Her hearing had become so acute that she derived each individual instrument, plus the unnatural crackling sound indicating the music was coming from a radio.

  Ela pulled the drape back that covered the doorway. She entered a dimly lit, stone floored room. There were badly worn wooden tables spread throughout the space. The back wall was lined with large clusters of dried peppers hanging from the ceiling. There was a large, broad shouldered man and a petite blonde woman staring at her from a table in the far back corner of the café.

  “Don’t be afraid.” A baritone voice filled the tiny room. Ela quickly turned her head and saw a man seated on a wooden chair with his legs stretched out in front of him. He wore a pair of dark trousers with a thin, tan linen button-up shirt. He was tall, lean, with thick black hair and iridescent gray eyes with metallic specks. They glowed in the dimly lit space. “Please, come in.” The man remained seated while gesturing to the empty chair across from him. “We don’t bite.”

  He smiled, revealing two extended incisors. “Well, not our own kind anyway.”

  Ela looked at the man and woman sitting in the corner. “What about them?”

  The dark haired man laughed. “They don’t care for vampire either.”

  Ela walked cautiously to the chair, careful to keep her path to the room’s only exit clear. She sat on the narrow wooden chair and crossed her legs. The man leaned forward and extended his right hand. “I’m Mateo. A pleasure to meet you.”

  Ela took Mateo’s hand, noting that his skin was the same temperature as hers. “I’m Ela.” She glanced over at the pair in the corner. “Are your friends going to introduce themselves or sit in the dark looking creepy?”

  Mateo chuckled and in a single movement was standing next to the broad shouldered man. “This is Gahiji, and this beauty is Nuria.” Mateo put his hands on Gahiji’s shoulders. “We are all glad to make your acquaintance.”

  “Gahiji – what sort of name is that?” Ela furrowed her brow.

  “Egyptian.” Gahiji’s voice was higher pitched than his girth would imply, and reminiscent of a prepubescent boy. Ela had to stifle a giggle for fear she would offend the man.

  “Nice to meet you both.” Ela leaned back in the chair. “So, what’s your story?”

  Mateo tisked and shook his head. “No, no. Don’t dispense so soon with the pleasantries. There is etiquette to follow in these things. Our stories – as you call them – are intimate, not shared so easily with a practical stranger.”

  Ela laughed. “Etiquette? Seriously?”

  Mateo walked back to his chair and sat. “You have all the time in the world. Be patient.”

  Ela quickly stood up, pushing the chair backwards. “I’ll ask you anything I please, whenever I please.” Her eyes lit up as she spoke.

  Mateo tilted his head to the side as he studied Ela. “You’re young. I would guess no more than six months out from your turning.”

  Ela clenched her jaw. “So.”

  Mateo smiled. “You’re still on human time. You haven’t completely grasped what forever truly means.”

  Ela saw Nuria’s movement out of the corner of her. She quickly pivoted so her back was no longer exposed, crouching and ready for a fight. Then Ela’s shoulders relaxed as Nuria picked the overturned chair up and slid it toward Ela. “Please sit. Make yourself comfortable.” She nodded toward the chair. She walked back to the table she shared with Gahiji and spoke calmly over her shoulder. “We aren’t enemies.”

  Ela looked at the chair, then over at Mateo who sat motionless. She had been alone for several months and, if she were honest with herself, she could use the company. “Fine.” Ela slid into the chair.

  Mateo leaned forward and grasped his hands together. “Wonderful. So, Ela, where are you from?”

  Ela hesitated before she responded. “I’m from Poland. Krakow.”

  Mateo frowned and looked over at Gahiji and Nuria. “Krakow? We have heard horrible things about what is going on in the Nazi camps. Is there any truth to it?”

  Ela felt like her memories of the camp were stories she had read in a book once, not the stories of her human life. “Yes.”

  Mateo got up and walked to the small window near the street entrance to the café. “Who is your maker, please?”

  Ela turned in the chair, feeling conflicted about whether speaking of Coleen would serve any purpose. She didn’t consider Coleen her maker since the woman had banished her nearly five months ago. “I – her name is Coleen, but we aren’t –”

  Mateo turned his head slightly. “Andrade? Coleen Andrade?”

  Ela shrugged. “I don’t know her last name.”

  Mateo walked over to Ela and knelt in front of her. Taking her hands he spoke quietly. “Brown hair and deep blue eyes? Her clan has taken up with the arm of the Resistance known as the Maquis?”

  Ela’s breath caught at the intensity she saw in Mateo’s eyes. “Ye – Yes.”

  Mateo quickly stood and pulled Ela up out of her chair. Taking her by the shoulders, he smiled broadly as he looked at Ela. “My dear, what luck!” He turned around so he and Ela were facing Nuria and Gahiji. “Do you know who this is, my loves?”

  Nuria and Gahiji looked as confused as Ela by Mateo’s enthusiasm. Nuria managed to shake her head.

  Mateo put his arm around Ela’s shoulders and pulled her to him. Ela felt the power in his embrace and knew if he meant her any harm she would be defenseless. “She is fourth lineage.” Nuria and Gahiji looked at each other in surprise and then back at Ela.

  Ela’s frustration was growing. She felt like the only one in the room not in on the joke. Gently shrugging Mateo’s arm off her shoulder, she stepped away. “What is that?”

  Mateo’s brow lifted in shock. “What? You mean Coleen didn’t inform you of your birth right?”

  Ela rolled her eyes. “Coleen didn’t inf
orm me of anything except not to kill humans.”

  Mateo’s eyes flashed and he clenched his jaw. “Then she has forgotten our history, our purpose.”

  Ela was interested in the conversation for the first time since entering the cramped café. Mateo’s repulsion at the idea of not killing humans intrigued her, giving her hope that Coleen’s philosophy of restraint was the exception and not the rule. “Purpose?”

  Mateo shook his head. “No, not here.” Mateo quickly turned and, opening a tattered wooden door near the rear of the room, disappeared.

  Nuria walked to Ela’s side and took her hand. “Come.”

  Ela was led through a narrow hall with a ceiling so low she had to crouch to avoid scraping her head. Nuria pulled her along and Gahiji followed closely behind. The hall opened into a large room with white stucco walls. Painted tiles adorned archways, leading in turn to an expansive garden. The garden’s vegetation was lush and large fountains accented each corner of the space.

  “Ela, come sit with me.” Mateo was reclined against the trunk of a large olive tree.

  Nuria released Ela’s hand, and she and Gahiji exited through another door adorned with ornate iron work on the other side of the garden. Ela approached Mateo and was amazed by what she saw. Mateo was pulling olives from the tree and eating them. Ela crouched next to him, watching closely as he put a third and then a fourth plump fruit in his mouth. “You’re eating food.”

  “Of course I am. I rather enjoy the taste.” Mateo shook his head and spit two pits to the ground. “Coleen should be ended for what she’s done.” Getting to his feet, Mateo brushed his hands together. “She taught you nothing.”

  He extended his hand to Ela and pulled her up. “Walk with me.” Ela took the tall man’s hand and paced closely at his side. “Ela, I am over four hundred years old. My maker is nearly three thousand years old. And her maker is millenniums old.”

  In spite of the rapid rate at which her mind now worked, Ela could not grasp that expanse of time, nor could she see its relevance to her own experience. “What does that have to do with me?”