The Progeny

by Shelley Crowley

  And with that in mind, she prised herself off him and got to her feet. She had come to use the washing machine and grab some new clothes, not to wallow and torture herself.

  She stripped out of her dirty clothes and changed into a fresh set before heading down the stairs, forcing herself to not look back.

  But as she leaned against the counter top in the kitchen, her mind started to wander.

  Maybe I should just become a vampire again. It would solve everything. Caius would go back to being my Maker. It would no longer be so terrible that I love him and things could go back to the way there were.

  But the simple, undeniable truth was… she didn’t want that. Immortality was a curse. Nico had been right. Doors that had been bolted shut were now flying open. She couldn’t go back to being a vampire. She just couldn’t. Things might look like they were at a standstill now but she did want all those things she had said to Caius. She wanted to get married. She wanted kids. She wanted grandkids. She wanted to grow old. She wanted a career.

  She wanted to be human.

  She made beans on toast for herself and sat in front of the television. She moved her clothes then from the washing machine into the dryer and relaxed back onto the sofa, knowing that she had no priorities now. She could watch mindless T.V all day.

  A few hours later, a vibration in her pocket yanked her out of her dazed state. She pulled out her phone and arched an eyebrow when she saw Joe’s name lit up on the screen. I hope I don’t regret giving him my number.

  “Hey, Joe.”

  “Hey, Evie, are you busy?”

  Her eyes shifted to the advert on the screen selling mop heads. “Not really, why?”

  She was pretty sure she heard him sigh. “Can you get down to the Golden Lion in like… fifteen minutes?”

  She furrowed her brows. He sounded different but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Rushed, maybe? On edge? Tired? What was it?

  “Erhh… yeah, I guess so. Okay.”

  Another sigh. “Okay, great. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Bye.”

  He hung up on her.

  “Well that was odd…” she said to herself before slipping her phone back into her jeans pocket.

  The pub was about a ten-minute walk away so she figured she could go and meet up with Joe and find out what the hell is going on, and then be back in time to take her clothes out of the dryer and iron them.

  She left her backpack upstairs but put on her hat and coat. Caius hadn’t moved. She ran her hand over the feather soft skin of his shoulder before leaving. Every touch was like torture but she couldn’t stop herself.

  Joe was waiting for her at the bar. He didn’t look back when she walked in but when she took the stool beside him, his eyes shifted to her and he seemed too pale.

  “Joe, what’s going on? You sounded so weird on the phone,” she asked with a nervous laugh. Everything about him seemed off. The way he was clutching his glass. The way his jaw was set. The way he was shifting uncomfortably on the stool. It was starting to make Evie uneasy.

  He stared ahead but leaned into her a little, lowering his voice. “I need you to leave out of the back exit. Walk. Don’t run. Don’t look back. But once you’re out… get as far away from here as fast as you can.”

  Her blood ran cold at the intensity of his whisper. She was about to look around the pub but Joe caught her. “Don’t look. Act normal. Leave.”

  The weight of his gaze made her shrink back a little. His eyes shimmered with brewing tears. “I’m so sorry. This isn’t my fault. It had nothing do to with me, I promise.”

  “What are you talking ab-”

  “Just go.”

  She hopped off the stool and made her way towards the back door, trying her best not to look back but the urge was too great. Three men from the back tables had gotten to their feet. They were dressed in washed out denim and plaid but there was something about their faces. Their scrunched up, tight features that showed they meant business. Evie recognised that look. They were Nico’s men.

  Fear sent her heart pounding. Her eyes flew to Joe who was looking down at the bar, his eyes clenched shut. She stumbled over her own feet as she hurried to the door. The sound of scraping chairs and a wail of pain made Evie look back for a fraction of a second before she leapt out of the door. Joe had kicked out the stool beside him and one of the men had toppled over it, cursing.

  She was out in the car park. Her mind was spinning. Her nerves were shot. Where was she? How did she get to the main road? Were those men still gaining on her?

  The door flew open behind her and before she even had a chance to figure out the best way out, her legs were sending her fleeing across the car park and around the corner. Due to the horrible winter breeze that seemed to cut right through her, there weren’t many people out which terrified Evie even more. Her hat blew off, sending her red hair whipping across her face. She yanked the strands from her eyes, gulping up scratchy winter air as she veered down a driveway behind a Chinese takeaway.

  She dropped against the back of the building but bent double, grabbing her knees to hold herself up as she coughed and gagged on the air.

  Were they still chasing her? She didn’t know. She hadn’t heard footsteps clattering behind her, but that could have been because they had been drowned out by the wailing of the wind which had sent her ears unbearably numb.

  “Thought you’d gotten away from us?”

  Evie jerked up and smacked her back against the wall. Her heart was in her throat. She was staring down the barrel of a gun. Four men swarmed around her. Different men to the ones in the pub. These men were dressed all in black, equipped with rifles and armoured with bullet proof vests. Definitely Nico’s men. She recognised the rifles from the ones that the guards had held.

  There was no doubt about it now.

  She held her shaking hands up as her wide eyes flickered from one gun to another, all trained on her.

  “Y-you’re going to shoot me? D-doesn’t Nico want me back? B-bit of a waste to just kill me.”

  One of the men –the one who had spoken earlier- sneered at her. “Nine of our men died when you escaped with your little vampire friend. I should kill you right now.” He stepped forward and jabbed at her with his gun, making Evie gulp and shrink back. “But I won’t. These are tranquilisers. Doctor Bergan wants you back alive. So, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

  “W-what’s the easy way?” Evie asked, buying time although she wasn’t sure what for. They were blocking her only escape route.

  “We lower our guns and you come with us.”

  “A-and the hard way?”

  The man grinned. “We sedate you and drag you ba-kah!”

  The man’s eyes rolled back in his head. Blood poured out of his open mouth. A mangled fist had punched straight through his chest like it was drywall. The man’s heart was in its grasp, held out to Evie like an offering. The fist retracted with a wet sound and the man fell to the ground. The three remaining men started firing hysterically at the hunched-up figure as it lurched, jumped and staggered around them like a dying fly. It swooped, becoming a black blur and then buckled and coughed, clutching it’s middle as it sprayed the floor with blood.

  Everything was happening so fast that Evie’s eyes couldn’t keep up. The figure sank its teeth into one of the other men’s throats, its wild black hair hiding its bloody face as it tore at his neck until the man dropped dead. The figure then fell beside the body, curling up on itself as the sun overhead crisped its skin. It howled and shrieked and shook as bloody blisters covered its pale skin. But then bullets began firing again and it staggered doggedly to its feet to dodge them. It swooped and ripped one of the other men’s head clean off, spraying blood and entrails like a grotesque piñata.

  The last man, now too terrified to even hold his gun, let it clatter to the ground as he tried to make a run for it. The black figure threw the head aside and it rolled to Evie's feet. She fought back the urge to vomit as i
t stared sightlessly up at her. The distinct crack of bones made her head bounce up just in time to see the last man drop to his knees and keel over.

  Evie was gasping for breath. The metallic smell of blood clogged her nostrils. The figure staggered into the shadows of the trees and fell to the ground, groaning and spewing blood.

  Evie blinked in shock. She was gripping the bricks of the wall behind her so tightly that her fingers were burning. Bodies lay massacred around her but they were in the back of her mind. She squinted into the shadows, trying to get a good look at the figure shaking and crying like a wounded animal. She edged forwards to get into a position where the hanging branches were no longer obstructing her view.

  Then she saw it for real. Saw him. The long, matted hair draping over his face. The old threadbare grey tunic that hung down past his knees like a nightshirt. And the sobbing. Oh, the sobbing. The sound was like daggers to her heart.

  She closed the distance between them, letting the shadows swallow her up, and dropped to her knees beside him. He winced and curled in on himself, his body shaking with agony. She carefully brushed his hair away from his face. Her heart plummeted at the state of him. His skin had torn from his cheeks, leaving bone behind. One eye had completely melted shut and there was nothing left of his lips to hide his bloody fangs.

  Evie’s heart was in her throat as she stripped herself of her coat and threw it over Caius to cover his bare feet and legs which were torn and oozing blood. His skin was peeled back like old paint. He continued whimpering and crying, his head in his hands.

  “Caius,” she said tentatively. She pushed up the sleeve of her jumper and lifted her wrist to his face. “You need to drink.”

  He hissed and turned away from her, burying his head into his chest.

  “Caius.” Her voice was now coming out shrill and desperate as tears collected in her eyes. “Please. You have to. You’re going to go into hibernation.” She looked skyward and cringed as the sun peeked through the clouds. “Or worse…” But he just moaned some more and regressed back into the trees. Fallen leaves and rubbish swirled around them in the breeze. The smell and taste of blood was thick in the air but that was in the back of her mind. Cold seeped through Evie’s thin jumper, chilling her to the bone.

  She thrust her wrist into his face even more. “Caius… you can’t die. Not after you just saved me. I can’t let you die. Please drink. For me.”

  There was rustling under her coat. A clawed, bony hand pushed out from her parka and grasped her wrist. Evie winced at the feeling of his melted, blistered skin against hers. He angled his head slightly. She was sure she saw a glimpse of a pale iris before it clouded black and he swooped, sinking his fangs into her forearm. She cried out in pain and surprise. He pulled back almost immediately and coughed up her blood down his tattered shirt.

  Tears blurred her vision as she saw distaste and nausea scrunch up his face. “Caius… I know it’s hard but you have to drink. Push past the sickness. You can’t die.”

  His fangs sank into her at a slightly different spot, piercing her skin again. His bony grip on her wrist tightened and guttural, animalistic growls rumbled deep in his throat as her blood flowed into him and he managed to keep it down. She could feel his tongue rasping against her skin, coaxing the blood down his throat.

  Evie tried to distract herself from the odd mix of pain and drugged elation by focusing on the way the mangled skin on his face was healing and returning smooth and perfect once again. Dried blood still marred him but it was no longer oozing and swelling. Moments later, he was completely healed.

  And yet he was still drinking.

  His grip on her had not loosened. He was still gulping down her blood like there was no tomorrow. Evie was starting to shift from blissfully dazed to dangerously lightheaded.

  “Caius.” She strained against his grip. “Caius, you can stop now.” She started to yank and push against him with her other hand. He growled at her in protest and pulled her forwards, curling himself over her like a dog with a bone. He continued to suck at her wrist, gripping it with two hands now, stronger than before-- now revitalised. “No. Caius.” Tears were streaming down her face now, so much that her temples were pounding. “Please. Stop.”

  She caught sight of something shining in the corner of her eye. A glass bottle. She grabbed it and smashed it against the tarmac before driving the jagged edge into Caius’ side. His head whipped back, dislodging his fangs from her, and he screamed in pain before spinning to face her. His eyes were as black as the night. His fangs were extended, blood smeared over his chin and cheeks. The circles under his eyes were coiled with thick purple veins as he hissed at her, ready to strike at her throat.

  “Caius, no!” she shrieked and shielded her face with her hands.

  Seconds passed. Her heart hammered against her chest. She felt so sick she thought she might pass out.

  “… Evie?”

  She gasped and dropped her hands. He was curled up as deep into the trees as he could with her coat draped over him, shielding him from the spots of sunlight that lanced through the bare branches. His top half was fully cloaked in thin grey shadow and his pale blue eyes gazed at her with a mixture of guilt and exhaustion. He was back. He had come back to her.

  “Caius!” Evie gushed with relief and fell forwards, wrapping her arms around him. He held her close, rather weakly, but then started coughing and retching. She pulled away as he spat blood down her jumper.

  “I’m sorry…” he wheezed, wiping his mouth. The back of his palm momentarily caught the sunlight and he hissed, pulling it back as it burned.

  This was clearly no time to get reacquainted. Evie got to her feet, now aware of how little time they had and how much danger they were in. “I’m going to get the car. Stay here. I’ll come and get you.”

  “What about the bodies?” asked Caius, coughing up another mouthful of blood. It sloshed down his cheek into the leaves.

  Her gut twisted as she looked over at the severed bodies now in a pool of blood that could fill a bathtub. “We don’t have time. We have to leave them.” She looked back at him. “I’ll be back for you. I promise.”

  He didn’t argue but instead pulled her coat over his head so he was completely submerged.

  The cold wind was like being sliced by shards of ice as Evie raced home. Her red hair slapped against her cheeks as her eyes darted down every street she ran across. Were they still looking for her? She couldn’t be too careful.

  The front door was open when she reached it. A trail of blood droplets ran from the drive to the stairs. It was clear where Caius had lost his balance and toppled over, leaving behind smudged bloody handprints on the floor and walls.

  She grabbed the car keys then stopped.

  What was the plan? Were they going to leave the city? How long for? Ever? Nico’s men weren’t going to stop looking for her. And it was clear that they had a grudge against Caius, too. Which would only grow when they found out what he had done to more of their friends.

  So, they were both leaving then… After ten years of this place.

  But if they were going for good, she needed to grab the essentials. The things they never left a place without. She ran upstairs and into the bedroom. Her backpack was empty and open on the floor, she grabbed it and shoved in a clean pair of jeans, a shirt and a pair of boots for Caius, and then also a jacket for herself before opening the bedside drawer. Her heart stammered and she swallowed a sob as she took out the framed photograph that was an aged, sepia colour. She wrapped it up in her jacket before placing it into the backpack so it didn’t break. She zipped up her bag, slung it onto her back and grabbed the duvet. After piling it by the front door, she crossed into the kitchen and checked the fridge. Ten blood bags remained. A small handbag hung on a hook on the wall. She took it and filled it with the blood bags. She couldn’t have Caius feeding on her any more.

  His phone was on the kitchen counter so she threw that into the bag, too.

  It was quite difficult
shifting everything and shoving it into the back of the Cavalier but she managed. Wiping the cold sweat off her brows, she set off to collect Caius, hoping he hadn’t shrivelled into a crisp in the meantime.

  She drove like a maniac, tapping impatiently and nearly fidgeting out of her seat as she waited behind red lights. Then she was finally at the Chinese takeaway. She drove down the driveway and parked as close to the trees as she could. She flew out, her adrenaline thumping in her veins so fiercely that she couldn’t even feel the cold anymore.

  He was still shaking under the trees, spewing up blood and hissing with pain.

  “Caius. Caius, I’ve got the car. I’m going to help you up now, okay?” She bent down beside him and wrapped her arm around his thin waist. He groaned and staggered to his feet. Once he was upright, Evie rearranged her coat so it hung over his shoulders and the fur-lined hood protected his face. But his legs and feet were still bare. He stepped into the sun. He fell against her then almost collapsed from the pain. His legs were turning a horrid mixture of red and black as his skin smoked but even with Caius’ lack of strength and dead weight, Evie managed to throw him into the backseat of the car. She was running purely on adrenaline now. She couldn’t stop to think about what was happening. If she did she would have collapsed herself.

  She threw the duvet over his body, slammed the door and got into the driver’s seat. As she spun the car around, she winced at a crunching sound. Bile rose up in her throat. She had just accidentally run over one of the dead man’s limbs. It was an arm. It sounded like an arm.

  “I have no idea where I’m going,” Evie stated outright. She was talking to herself. Caius had fallen asleep as soon as she’d thrown the duvet on him and he was completely shielded from the sun. They were now on the motorway heading out of the city. It was almost three when Evie had stopped to get a McDonalds drive-thru and smiled overly cheerily as the man passed her burger from the window and looked back curiously at the lump on the backseat. He arched an eyebrow but said nothing so she had driven on.