by Sky Winters
Chapter 3: The Dream
Cindy was running aimlessly in a dark foggy jungle. The moon was fighting to peep through the mist with its glossy yellow light. Someone was chasing her. She got a few cuts on her arms and wrists as she tried to crawl her way out of huge thorny bushes. “Help!” she cried her lungs out, “help!” she kept screaming as loud as she could, but to no avail.
Suddenly, the whole gloomy forest literally went up in smoke, and she was caught between an eternal void. Then, two huge fiery-red burning eyes, emerged out of nowhere and began to stare at the young girl. “Who the hell are you?” she inquired out of immense fear. Her legs were uncontrollably shaking at that event, and her heart throbbed with fear.
She started to run, but the eyes kept following her. Those eyes were on her tail, no matter how hard she tried to run. “Stop following me,” she cried once again, as she turned her neck to glance at the massive demonic eyes. But the eyes were no longer there. When she looked ahead, those eyes were right in front of her, staring her from head to toe. She felt as though someone had peeled her soft skin off with a crowbar. She couldn’t even cry. It seemed like it was the end. Then suddenly, a red tear fell from those beastly eyes. The tear enlarged, the moment it hit the void. It sucked her in. She screamed as loudly as she could, knowing that nobody could hear her.
Cindy awoke, gasping for air and for a reminder that she was alive. Her whole body was covered in cold sweat. Her hair was badly tangled. Her skin had turned stiff and hard, and her face was as white as a corpse. She breathed heavily and thanked God, for restricting that nightmare from jumping into the real world.
She dragged herself out of bed and went straight to the bathroom, where she looked at herself for a couple of minutes. She vigorously washed the sweat and fear from her face. She looked horrible. She felt so lonely, and now it was time for her to her daily schedule. She took a deep breath, and stared into her own eyes declaring, “I can do this, and my luck will soon change.”
As she was recovering from her dream, she heard a knock at the door. She was surprised. For a second, she thought that answering the door wasn’t a good idea. Since she was new to the city, nobody knew where she lived, except for her clients. And why would her clients visit her? “Who is it?” Cindy asked.
There was no answer.
She walked toward the door and tried to stick her eye in the keyhole to see if it was someone she knew. But there was nobody outside. She gently turned the knob, and pulled the door back, just enough to stick her head out. Nobody was there, except a red-colored envelope that was lying at her doorstep. She knelt down and picked it up. The beautiful envelope was sealed, with a waxed stamp that had a strange icon on it. It looked like a symbol of royalty. She carefully opened the envelope in anticipation, and pulled a letter out of it that was written in a strange old English handwriting.
The letter read:
Ms. Cindy
I invite you to a small party at my residence, tomorrow, at midnight. Please bless the occasion with your presence.
Of course, you could have a day off.
Love,
Catherine Biel
She was happy to receive the invitation, but felt skeptical. Why was Ms. Biel showering her with attention? Plus, with a wealthy crowd like that what would she wear? She had no proper party dress. Wasting her savings on a party dress and some make over wasn’t the best idea. So she just folded the invitation and put it back in the envelope. She shut the door and jumped right on to her bed. At least she had a day off. It was something to celebrate. But again she heard a knock at the door. This time, she was more confident. She quickly opened the door curiously to find a man, wearing a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, along with a silly baseball cap, was standing outside, holding a big package.
“Ms. Cindy?” he inquired.
“Yeah,” her eyes were wide open, constantly staring at the package, and wondering whether it was for her.
“Sign here please,” he handed her a clipboard and a pen.
She signed it and gave it back to the man.
“Here you go, ma’am,” he gave her the package.
“Thanks,” she smiled.
The man nodded and walked away. Cindy closed the door and quickly sat on the floor to open the package. The package was wrapped in shiny red paper. She tore the package open, to find an exceptionally elegant dress. She looked at the sender-tag, to discover that it was the courtesy of Ms. Biel.
She knew that she did some hard work, but Ms. Biel was showing a little too much gratitude, she thought. Still she wasn’t sure about going to the party. She had not met very many people since she had moved to New York, but she wasn’t sure she would fit in with Ms. Biel’s guests. She decided to try on the dress anyway and went running into the bathroom to look at herself. She hung the dress high enough to see whether it looked good on her or not. But she knew that she would have to return it to Ms. Biel, because she believed that a dress as beautiful as that wasn’t meant for her.
Chapter 4: The Party
The clock was ticking. It was half-past eleven already. Cindy hadn’t made up her mind yet, about the party. She was lying in her cozy bed, staring at the clock. For some reason, she couldn’t sleep. Her heart was beating rapidly.
She closed her eyes and reflected on why she first came to New York; an opportunity for a new life. An opportunity to put her hum-drum past behind her. Her foster parents had been so strict. They were very religious, and never let her go on dates. They always favored their natural born children. Cindy felt that because of this she had lived a very sheltered life, and missed out on the adventure of youth.
With that, she spontaneously sprang out of her bed to take a quick shower. “I am not letting fear control my life anymore” she declared.
She didn’t have much time. She put the elaborate red dress on and looked herself in a small wall-mirror in her bedroom. What she saw startled her. Her breasts looked more voluptuous, and her long hair framed her face perfectly. All of her features seemed to be brought out by the magnificence of the dress.
Cindy had to make a run for it. She literally ran towards Ms. Biel’s house, all the way up the never ending staircase. This time, she was right on time. There was no need to knock the solid wooden door, because it was already wide open. The whole house seemed to be crowded from where she was standing.
A tall man darted out of the room, and stood right outside the door. He was wearing a jet-black suit that matched his hair. He was tall and muscular, and immediately began moving his eyes to Cindy’s neckline.
“Miss,” said the man in black, when he caught her staring at him for a while. “Can I help you?”
Cindy couldn’t respond. She was confused, searching for words. “Ms. Cindy Nightingale?” he inquired, following her silence.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Right this way,” he escorted her into the dance hall.
The whole house was full of intellectuals, billionaires, politicians, artists, and people of high taste. She wondered if it was obvious to them how bankrupt she was. But she was more confident than she had imagined. She couldn’t help but to look here and there at people, who were standing in small groups, chatting in a gentlemanly fashion, each having a champagne glass in their hands, which they were neither drinking nor putting away.
“Ms. Cindy,” said the man who escorted her, “Ms. Biel.”
“Thanks,” she said after a pause. It seemed as if she had got lost in a strange realm of unconsciousness for a few seconds.
“Hi Ms. Biel,” she said in a shaky voice, trying not to make eye-contact with Ms. Biel for some reason.
“Hi Cindy, you look beautiful. Good to see you in this vibrant dress. It really brought out the true woman in you.” she replied in a friendly voice.
“Thank you, Ms. Biel,” Cindy smiled, pretending as if she wasn’t scared. But she was, for some unknown reason.
“Let me show you around. I mean, let me introduce you to a few people.” she said gently.
“Thank you Ms. Biel, but it’s not necessary for you to focus so much attention on me” she replied.
“Of course it’s necessary.” she eyed her bitterly. “This is Mr. Ivanovic,” she stated pleasantly, and beside him, is Ms. Lamina.”
“We’re pleased to meet you,” both the well-dressed guests extended their hands towards Cindy for a warm handshake.
“Pleasure to meet you my dear, are you from around here?” Ivanovic questioned, in a fine Russian accent.
“Excuse me?” she couldn’t understand what he had just said. He seemed more focused on eyeing her breasts than anything else.
“I asked if you’re from around here, New York that is?” he questioned once again, but this time the accent was soft and simple, to her surprise, he switched from his Russian-American accent, to simply an American accent.
“Well, I moved here about a couple of months ago. I came from a small town in Virginia.” her voice staggered, not because she was confused, but because she was in panic-mode.
“Interesting, while we are so glad you could join us tonight. It’s always a treat to experience some new blood in this town,” he winked.
Cindy began to look around, just to see where she could sit comfortably, so that nobody could ask her questions. The way Ivanovic was looking at her made her uncomfortable.
Ms. Biel was highly involved in a conversation with Ivanovic and Lamina, so she allowed Cindy to sniff around a little bit, till she was done with others.
Cindy felt as if someone was staring at her. Just like her dream. But she looked around, everybody seemed to be involved in their own personal chit-chat, until her eyes came across a tall and startlingly handsome man, with long blonde hair that was brushing his shoulders. He had piercing blue eyes. He had grown a faint French beard, and the rest of his facial hair was finely trimmed, giving him a damn sexy look. He was wearing a dark blue suit, just without the tie. The two top buttons of his shirt were deliberately open. Cindy could easily see the half of his hairless chest, a bit sweaty though, but sexy. Most importantly his eyes were intoxicating and contained a drop of sadness. Cindy immediately realized he was just like the man in her favorite painting in the library.
There was a strange uneasiness in his attitude. He too was holding his glass of champagne, but wasn’t drinking. He seemed to be staring only at her. But why was she feeling a strange burn on her skin, while he was looking at her? She didn’t have the courage to stare right back at him, so she looked at him indirectly, trying not to catch much of his attention. She turned her attention towards Ms. Biel, in order to take a few seconds to relieve herself from the pressure which the handsome man was creating for her.
The moment she tried to look at him with the corner of her eye, he was no longer there. He was gone, as though he had disappeared into thin air.
Chapter 5: Night Moves
She abandoned Ms. Biel’s company to find the mysterious stranger. He had to be the tallest man present in the room, though there were many. She looked in every nook and corner of the huge apartment hall, but there wasn’t any luck.
“Cindy,” said Ms. Biel from behind, as if she had surveillance cameras on Cindy the whole time.
Cindy turned back to look at Ms. Biel. She was astonished to see that her mysterious hunk was right beside her, with an intoxicating smile on his face. She realized that the man was playing her. Cindy ran out of words at the moment.
“This is Cindy, an up and coming star in our city.” Ms. Biel introduced her to the man that was right next to her.
Cindy nodded, trying her best to hide her anxiety.
“And this is Mr. Ionesco,” said Ms. Biel, turning her neck a little to face the unbelievably handsome man.
“Please call me, Adrian,” he spoke in a Romanian accent, as he bent down a little, and extended his hand out of courtesy. Cindy gently submitted her fragile hand in his, which was big and strong. She could feel that. But his kiss was so soft and gentle. She could feel him touching her soul through her hand.
She quickly pulled her hand back, suddenly afraid of the immense pleasure it was giving her.
“If you’d excuse me I am wanted for the dinner preparation,” said Ms. Biel, in a hoarse tone.
With that she left Cindy and Adrian together. They stared at each other in eager anticipation. Cindy felt the blood rush throughout her body, and could see that her nipples were rising through her dress. Adrian eyes flashed, then quickly looked down in restraint.
“So, what is your relationship with Ms. Biel?” Adrian asked curiously.
“Well, to be honest I clean her house. I work on acting in my spare time.”
“I am sure you are very talented, I noticed you immediately. However, I must warn you that perhaps you should pursue another day job. Ms. Biel is not to be trusted” he said with concern.
Cindy was immediately confused. What is going on here?
“I have to go, I’m sorry,” she replied, and ran towards the bathroom.
There was already a woman in the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror. She was about her age, but the way she was applying lipstick, seemed as though she had been doing that for ages.
“Hey,” said the girl, while looking straight into the mirror.
“Hi,” Cindy replied, she was breathing heavily.
“I like your dress.”
“You didn’t even look at me,” Cindy turned the tap on.
“I don’t have to,” she replied.
“You’re wearing a nice lipstick,” said Cindy, trying to return the favor, “What color is it?”
“BLOOD-red,” she emphasized the word blood and turned her neck to look at her with an uncanny look on her face.
Cindy turned the tap off, and exited the bathroom in haste.
She saw Ms. Biel, standing with Adrian where she had left them before. She decided to listen to what they were saying. So she slowly moved around the hall, and hid herself behind a massive white pillar.
“I think it’s time to take this party to the next level,” said Ms. Biel, with a naughty smile on her face.
“What have you arranged this time, Ms. Biel?” he inquired hastily, as he emptied his glass.
“Well my dear boy, it’s a virgin that we’re going to get for this small party.”
“I’m sure that everybody is going to love this treat of yours too, like always. You’ve always had a great taste.”
“You always know how to flatter people, Adrian,” she raised her glass, and then brought it close to her lips.
“Where’s it?” he inquired out of great desperation.
“Not it, she. We need to respect our food.”
“Okay, where is she?”
“Right behind the pillar, trying to listen to what we’re saying,” she sounded confident through her pursed lips.
Adrian’s faced immediately changed when he realized who Ms. Biel was talking about.
“That girl deserves to live. She’s no food for us. She’s no food for me.” his face started to get harder and harder, and his eyes turned dark red.
Cindy had no clue about what was going on over there. But she was sure about one thing that she was in grave trouble. She made a run toward the main apartment door. But a strong wind blew the door closed.
She put her entire strength to pull that door open, but it didn’t even move an inch. When she turned her back, she found each and every guest staring at her with blood-red eyes. Cindy was heavily sweating, and her heart starting throbbing once again. She wanted it to be quick, whatever that was about to happen at that very moment.
“I’ve been hosting parties for our society for many centuries, and for every occasion, I had something special. This time, I’ve brought a virgin, and you know that virgins are hard to find these days. Please have a taste and pass her on, so that everybody could celebrate this communion.”
She felt the room fading, her heartbeat was getting slower and slower, and her blood pressure was dropping with every goddamn second. She fainted
.
Chapter 6: His Own Kind
Cindy was half-conscious, lying helplessly on the floor. She could hear what the people around her were talking about, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Her nightmare was turning out to be real and grotesque. Every guest was looking at her viciously, as though she their dinner. Ivanovic made a run towards her, but Adrian shielded Cindy. “Nobody touches the girl,” he said angrily.
“You’re a fool, Adrian. Step aside.” Ivanovic threatened him. His eyes turned dark and red. His long fangs clicked down. And he eyed Adrian.
“You’re making a mistake,” said Adrian, “leave the girl and I’ll let you walk away.”
“So, are you threatening someone of your own kind for this… for this worthless food? You’re better than that Adrian.”
“You could get anyone you want. It’s in your power. Why can’t you spare this one girl?”
“If you have any respect for your race, you would step aside, this very instant, and let us all have a merry night. Besides, this girl is special. Virgins with this level of development are rare in New York.”
“I’m warning you.” Adrian yelled at the man.
Ivanonic pushed Adrian aside, using all his strength. Then he advanced towards Cindy with a lightning quick pace. But before he could sink his long ruthless fangs into Cindy’s tender flesh, Adrian grabbed the man’s head with both hands, and yelled as he ripped his head off. He sunk his long fingernails in the man’s skull and raised it to show every individual who was in power.
Everybody started looking at each other with a look of astonishment on their faces. Ms. Biel couldn’t believe what he just did. She walked toward Adrian.
“How dare you kill one of our kind?” her tone was harsher than ever, “all this for a petty and worthless human girl? Your father would be ashamed of you.”