Requiem for Blood

by Alexandra Hope

  “Ah, Mr. Martin. It's always a pleasure to have you in my home. Please come in.” She waved her hand to the door and allowed them to walk in first. Natalie shut the door behind them and they followed Mar to the living room. The student's desk had been removed and replaced with two sofas and a swivel designed chair in one of the nooks of the room. A dark wood coffee table buried it's legs in the plush white carpet, candles, magazines and tiny porcelain tea cups sitting on top of it. JoAnn started toward the swivel chair that had large rose petals across the white fabric, but her elbow was pulled back by Mr. Martin who shook his head.

  “Surely the chair will not hurt her,” said Mar, taking notice of them still standing.

  “We're just here to conduct our inspection.”

  “Yes, of course. Let's inspect.”

  Mar gave them a brief tour of the house and JoAnn was in awe of it all. It was immaculate, each room of the five bedroom, seven bathroom house was perfectly polished and in awe-inspiring condition, even Olivia's which Mar had Noah go through when she left on her hunt. They walked back downstairs and Mar directed them outside, showing off the land and commenting on the students' work ethics.

  “All of our students are advanced because of our rigid curriculum,” she said.

  JoAnn asked for an impromptu interview with one of the children and Mar happily obliged, offering Felicity up. Felicity was dressed in a conservative navy blue dress and nude flats, which was anything but her, and spoke politely as she gushed about living in the colony.

  “...and yesterday we began reading work by Transcendentalist author Henry David Thoreau.”

  The teacher smiled at her, “He's my favorite author.”

  “You have great taste miss,” Felicity beamed. Underneath it all, she couldn't be any more annoyed as she played along, dumping out everything the woman said as soon as it had entered her brain. Mr. Martin had gotten enough information from them and pulled JoAnn up so that they could leave. They stepped outside and JoAnn bid them a pleasant goodbye but before the man walked off the steps after her, he turned to Mar.

  “I've always been suspicious of you since you bought this land and I know there's something about you that's wrong. Mark my words—I will find out.”

  She smiled ever so politely. “I do look forward to seeing you again.”

  He caught up with JoAnn and they began whispering as they walked alongside each other.

  “That wasn't so bad.”

  “Wasn't so bad?” he scoffed. “Those people are weird and they're hiding something that I will find out about.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Aren't you the least bit concerned as to why they do everything at night and have a closed off community? Like a creepy vampire cult...”

  “Hm, that wasn't very nice,” said Natalie as she sat on the railing of Mar's porch. They were both listening in to the conversation as the two made their way to the gate. She turned to Mar. “What do you think?”

  “Kill him.”

  Natalie shrugged her shoulders and jumped down to the ground. She pulled out a pocket knife and when it clicked open, she heard Mar speak again.

  “On second thought, kill the girl. Bring Mr. Martin to me.”

  Natalie ran and caught up with the two, waving her free hand and tucking the knife behind her back. “So glad I caught up with you guys!” she said, smiling.

  “Do you need something?” asked the man.

  A whip lashed out behind him and it wrapped around his wrist, blood dripping from the gash created by the newly adorned spikes at the tip. Felicity, even with as little muscle as she had, rendered him to the ground as she threw out another whip. JoAnn opened her mouth to scream but Natalie had already covered it and stabbed the pocket knife into her neck.

  Three

  Olivia had buried herself into the cool sand, stringy stalks of grass growing sparsely between them. Despite the numerous amount of hours spent training her body, she was weak. She had always been weak and her body didn't hesitate to tell her as her legs throbbed and every other part of her ached from the endless walk. She stared up at the night sky, the moon half bitten by darkness and the clouds colored a grayish blue as they drifted across it. She wasn't so much fazed by the night sky, of course it looked beautiful but it was nothing she hadn't seen before. It was daylight, the sun burning at it's peak on a warm sunny day, that she yearned to be in. Now that would have been a beautiful sight. Instead, she lay on a beach several miles away from home, the dull roar of waves as they crashed onto the rocks at the shore and the faint sound of hot oil rumbling and popping.

  She hadn't been resting for more than a few minutes when the sound of heavy thumps drifted into her ears. She slowly brought herself upright and her eyes narrowed as she canvassed the initially quiet beach. Her eyes drifted to the rocks but she saw no one, yet the thumping grew louder and more fervent prompting her to stand up and whip her head around. A shadowy figure ran over and pressed it's hands against the rocks and climbed on top of them and when she got a better glimpse of it, she noticed it was a boy dressed in a gray shirt and black sweatpants, his chest heaving up and down. She would've been mildly impressed at how quickly he moved if she weren't so tired and weak but then she thought on it, not even then would she have given a second thought to him. She willed him away, back to the tiny orifice he had crawled from but he didn't move, he just stood on the rocks looking out onto the ocean. He seemed to enjoy the breeze as it blew past him, pulling his shirt up and forcing strands into his eyes, but Olivia didn't share the same joy as she tried to push away the incessant beating of his heart that had invaded her quiet solace.

  It hadn't stopped despite her inward pleading and then she thought that it had probably been a sign. She had left the colony for a reason, to hunt a human and drink their blood, and here was one practically offering himself to her. She noted his scent which smelled appetizing but was shrouded in something else, something repulsive. She clenched a fist at her side and wondered if she had a shred of humanity that could and would keep her from trying to attack him. Before she could make up her mind, her stomach had declared its opinion and told her that it was hungry and would get it any way it could.

  Olivia started for the rocks that were tumbled on top of each other but caught the scent of something else. Her head turned back and she saw the flickering of a fluorescent light faintly lighting up a small stand. She didn't notice it before but that had been the source of the popping sound and now that it had her attention, she took in its sight. A few haggard red umbrellas were barely affixed to the tables, tilting precariously to the side. The benches were littered with sand and water and she walked passed them both to the metal counter only because she was curious. She always knew what human blood tasted like but only a handful of times had she tried actual human food. Technically if she were freeing herself from the ties that held her to the colony, she would have to get used to the taste of human food since human blood would become a rare commodity soon—if she chose not to go back.

  “Um, excuse me?” she called, leaning forward.

  “We're closed! Open at eleven tomorrow!” A guy shouted from the back.

  “I was just hoping for a little,” her voice was small as the man emerged from the back, burly and tattooed with an enormous graying goatee that would raise many eyebrows of health inspectors. “I'm really far away from home and I do not know of any places around here that are open.”

  “On the other end of the strip, there's a street...lots of twenty four hour joints,” he moved his hands around in an attempt to clearly direct Olivia.

  “But I don't know the area. I believe I am at least five or six miles away from home and I walked.”

  “You walked five miles?” he asked as the skepticism showed on his face.

  “Yes, it was much lighter when I left the house.”

  “You seriously walked five miles?” he sized her up and found it hard to believe.

  “I would not lie about that...”

  “
Well hell, I guess I can fix you something since you walked so far.”

  “Really? Thank you. Just a ha-hamburger and um, fries? Please.”

  He looked at her with a confused expression then broke out in laughter, “You act like you don't even know what a burger is! Sit down little girlie, it'll be a minute.”

  Olivia sat down at one of the tables and listened to the crackle of the hot pan as the burger sizzled in it's own juices. The scent made her slightly nauseous but she swallowed it down as the man came back and served her the food in a Styrofoam box to takeaway. She reached in her pocket to pull out some change and was suddenly aware that she didn't have any money on her.

  The man shook his head. “Keep your money, it's on me!”

  Olivia politely thanked him and walked back to her spot in the sand, noting the boy still standing on the rocks. She sat down and took a bite of her burger which was more or less decent but not quite what she was used to, prompting her to spit it out. She looked down at the regurgitated bits sinking into the sand, confused as to why she couldn't stomach the taste. She nibbled on a fry, surprised that she was able to hold it down a little better than the burger but as she grabbed more and stuffed it in her mouth, the remains of the first fry spat out without warning. Cringing at the defiant cry from her stomach, she gazed at the boy who's scent was unlike anything she had ever smelled. She had tried to eat human food and failed and now the only viable option stood just a few yards away. The distance between them made him disproportionately small and she looked down at the thin legs holding her up.

  I guess I could...choke him out and draw a little blood, she contemplated. How did Mr. Stevens show us again? Just come up from behind...cover the mouth...and… She shook her head to free herself of those irrational thoughts but they weren't that irrational. That's what she lived to do, after all, and that's what she would die for: blood. Still, other thoughts had plagued her and she remained in place as she watched him.

  “If I can't even take Felicity out...” she said quietly. How could I take out a boy who's probably twice my size?

  The pocket knife pulsed in her hand and she looked down at it, remembering that she had pulled it out when she stood up. Just a little blood Olivia, it won't kill him, the words of her subconscious trailed as she walked toward the shore. Little did her subconscious know, those words needn't be uttered as she scaled the uneven earth. The boy's hands were planted on the rocks, his feet in the air and his shirt covering his eyes. On the top half of his arm were colorful markings she could just barely see. She could practically feel the rush of blood filling his face as he stayed like that, his back to the ocean. Against the stillness of his body was the heavy beat of his heart, high off the adrenaline of something, probably the thrill of being just an inch away from plummeting into the water. As the blood ran to his face and she stepped closer, the scent grew stronger, sweeter but still masked by an unpleasant scent that she couldn't pin. There was a scratching sound underneath her feet as she walked and he wobbled a bit, flipping his legs back and landing in a crouch, facing Olivia.

  “I didn't mean to disturb you,” she said quietly. Inside her head, she was cursing herself up and down for not just stabbing in the neck or any other tactical thing that would have disabled him when his attention wasn't on her.

  “Oh, you weren't bothering me,” he waved her apology away and smiled.

  Olivia didn't notice his perfect smile, his golden strands teasing his eyes as they blew in the wind or the blueish green color of them when he pushed the wandering strands away. She only noticed the age he wore on his face, or lack thereof.

  He politely engaged her in trivial conversation and sounded far older than he looked. He appeared ageless to her, as if he had grown old and acquired all of the world's knowledge and was reborn with it instilled in him. She nodded along without a care to his friendly conversation as he made remarks about the sea but underneath each breath he took, the sound his heart made as it pumped blood throughout his body hypnotized her.

  “Do you come to the beach often? I've never seen you around here,” he commented.

  “Huh?” She blinked several times.

  “Oh, I just asked if you come to the beach often?”

  “My apologies. I was a little distracted but no, I don't actually. This is my first time, and I just kind of found my way here by walking.”

  The scent of his blood was killing Olivia on the inside as she swallowed hard. What was it about his scent that rendered her thoughtless? She had never lacked so much composure and had to fold her legs and slam herself against the rocks to keep from charging head on, reckless. He was definitely not something to be wrecked with, his arms bulging underneath his short sleeves. She didn't have to think about the many ways he could disable her if she even thought about attacking him, especially since she neglected to bring a larger weapon. A pocket knife was great for concealing and taking smaller people out but Olivia knew she couldn't put a dent anywhere on the boy with it and definitely couldn't force to make him lose consciousness with her bony arms.

  “What are you doing out here so late?” she asked him, regaining her bearing.

  “It's not that late,” he said, humor in his voice, “But I got off the ship early, we dock at Port Culligan not too far from here. I'm a fisherman...well...a deckhand actually, it's an inglorious job but whatever. I got off the ship because my girlfriend is pregnant. I came here because this is my place of thought; I like to contemplate my existence in the vast space called the universe.”

  He turned back at Olivia whose face read nothing, an unexpected reaction. “I'm kidding, my thoughts aren't that complex but it seemed like you didn't even care.” He let out a brief laugh.

  “It's not that. It's just...how old are you?” Her face contorted into something of confusion, still reeling from the fact that he announced his girlfriend was pregnant. He just looked ageless to her as if he had been suspended in infinity but there was a youthful glimmer in his eyes that made it hard for her to believe that he was old enough to make a child.

  “Eighteen. I guess I look young for my age.”

  The more he spoke, the older he began to look as if his youth was just a façade that could be torn away just by hearing him speak. With every word he spoke, he aged before her and finally his face met his figure and he truly looked like an eighteen year old guy. When she studied him some more, she found there was something about him that felt not right or rather, too familiar. Just as she was trying to figure out what about him seemed off besides his scent an irritating growl broke the silence between them. She tried to ignore it but he had already noticed, a single dimple sinking into his cheek as he smiled then let out another laugh.

  “You hungry? I know of a place open now that I can show you to.”

  Just very thirsty, she thought and clasped at her neck.

  Shaking her head at him, she replied, “No.”

  “Well, you look like you could use something to eat. I just...I don't mind showing you to a place.”

  She shook her head again and said more forcefully, “No. I am alright.”

  He shrugged his shoulders, giving up. A faint buzzing went off in his pocket and he turned away from her and answered his phone. “Hello? Oh yeah, I'm at the beach...” His words faded as Olivia focused on his scent and the throbbing in his chest. After a few minutes he was off the phone and had it back in his pocket but when he turned back to her she had disappeared.

  That was odd, he thought. He saw headlights flashing and heard the soft hum of a car sitting idly in a parking spot by the boardwalk. He started towards it but he was momentarily distracted by something glinting in the light. Right where the girl had been sitting was a pocket knife wedged between the jagged edges of the rocks and letters inscribed on it but he couldn't make them out. He put it into his pocket and walked toward the car. Slipping into the passenger's seat, he thanked the man behind the wheel but the man waved him off, “Stop thanking me, it's getting on my nerves.”

  He grinne
d, “Sorry Vic.”

  “So you headed home, right?”

  “Yeah,” he said, stretching his arms upward. “I'm tired.”

  The man's mouth had only faintly been veiled in gray stubble and he didn't look as old as the gray color suggested. His hair was dark brown, speckled with bits of gray and shaped into a buzz cut and his stomach rolled over into a tire belly. “You still want to buy this car off me?”

  “Uh, yeah,” he replied, and his voice fell into a whisper, “As soon as I get the money.”

  “You don't have to pay me all of it.”

  “I'm going to pay you all of it.”

  “Troy the Honest...” the man snorted, his voice scruffy. He shook his head as they turned onto another street. “What is Alexa going to do with you?”

  It was a rhetorical question, Troy knew that, so he kept his mouth shut. The street they had pulled into was empty, except for one house. It was situated on two acres of land and a moderate size that held three bedrooms and had a wooded area across from it. Vic pulled into the driveway and Troy bid him goodnight with thanks and pushed the door open. He stumbled into the darkness and cursed at whatever he tripped over then pulled out his cellphone to illuminate the darkness. He kicked his shoes off before truly stepping into the house and then went further into it. He went upstairs and walked down the hall, shutting another door before making it to his own room. The cellphone light fell onto the bed where his girlfriend lay tightly under the comforter. He took a quick shower and dressed in sweatpants, then he slid in beside her and turned to clasp her from behind. He nestled his head in the crevice of her neck taking in the sweet scent of her peppermint body wash and drifted to sleep with it dancing in his nose.