by Lillian Grey
“Damn it. Well, give me a sec to change this. I have to get the jack in the back and we will be on the way in no time,” he said, kneeling next to the flat tire.
“Ok,” I replied, getting out of my seat.
I don’t think he had noticed where we had stopped and I wanted to keep a lookout while Eugene was trying to get the car off the ground. This really wasn’t the best place to get a flat tire. The lone working street light overhead flickered in and out of life as the moths fluttered around it, throwing ominous shadows on the concrete walls that were heavily covered in gang signs and graffiti. Overhead, the subway roared past, rumbling the tracks and sending a small amount of dust floating down and shaking the ground. Something warm hit me on the shoulder and made me jump. I reached over and felt where whatever it was had hit me. It looked like something black and it felt sticky. I turned to go get a napkin and a glint of red from whatever it was on my finger caught my eye. I was completely puzzled as to what it was when a gust of wind from another train blew steam coming from a nearby manhole my way. When it cleared, I saw her. I never heard her approach, but I’d never forget her voice.
“Hi,” she giggled. She was very young, I’d guess maybe twelve or eleven, with red curly hair down her back and dimples that would put Shirley Temple to shame. Her head was tilted to one side like I was some fascinating toy, her scarlet eyes unblinking, unnerving me. She tilted her head to the other side as if another angle would show her something new. Her white top, red skirt, and big red hair bow matched her scarlet eyes.
“Uh, hi,” I said, trying to keep fear out of my voice. Normally I wouldn’t be scared of a little kid, however, there was something cold about this one.
“Are you lost?” asked Eugene, not feeling the same sense of danger that had my heart racing.
“No, I’m not lost, but I think we can help you.” The little girl giggled.
“We? Aren’t you alone?” I asked.
“You know, it’s not safe to be out late like this. It’s your lucky day we came along,” came a much deeper male voice; somehow he had gotten very close to me without me noticing. He took a long, thin, grimy finger and swept my hair aside to get a better look at my face. He looked into my eyes and I could see my reflection in his black ones. He grinned a smile of yellowing teeth, all but a single canine that glinted in the dim light. There was a hole where the other should be. A horrible smell slowly arose from his clothes, which were covered in dark brown stains and other dirt. The smell drew my eyes to his hand where he clutched a dead rat.
“Hey, don’t touch her,” Eugene yelled, standing and balling up his fist, which would have normally been a threat, but Eugene was visibly shaking.
“Calm down little boy, I’m not going to hurt her,” the male said, now next to Eugene. “I find that girls don’t taste as good,” he whispered into Eugene’s ear, licking his lips while running that same finger across Eugene’s neck. He grabbed onto Eugene’s wrist as he flinched away, tossing the rat to the curb.
“Let go of him!” I screamed, taking a step forward, but was blocked by an older girl.
“Where are you going, sweetie?” asked a female voice, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me closer to her. Her other hand was on my cheek, forcing me to look into her eyes, the same black eyes the male had. “I do like the taste of girls. Unlike my friend there, I’m not picky at all.” And she licked my neck.
“Ugh, what the fuck, let me go sicko,” I shouted in disgust.
“You are extra sweet, it seems,” she hissed in delight, opening her mouth and flashing a pair of white canines amid an array of yellowing teeth. She, too, was filthy; her hair matted with even more dirt than her clothes, with streaks of black on her cheeks.
"Please remember who is following us," the small girl said, sounding much older and bored by all of this.
"Relax Alisa, we lost him ages ago and you know I like to savor my food," said the girl holding me.
“Hey Alisa, are you sure this tooth will grow back, it’s just not the same, you know?” You could hear him running his tongue in the slot where is tooth was missing. Eugene had been pinned to the ground by the male, held in a hold you see on cop shows. Alisa didn’t answer, but was looking around instead, listening for something. “Hey, did you hear me?” he called again.
“Yes, it would have.” Alisa’s tone was now cold and calculating. I thought I heard her say “Oh well, there goes all my fun” very lightly.
“Would have? You said it would be fine…” He trailed off, looking in the same direction as Alisa now.
“Yeah, it would have,” said a fourth voice; this voice I knew. It was rich and creamy like the sound you would expect honey to make. It echoed off the metal beams that held up the subway tracks and for some reason I felt relief fill me. “Now, let him go, Jason,” Alik said, dropping from the tracks and landing gracefully on the street in between all of us. In his shadow was the girl who I recognized as the DJ from his club. She was carrying something that looked like a long sword you would see in some museum on Asian culture; she was taller than Alisa with straight black hair and almond brown eyes. Her pale skin was a stark contrast with the black eye shadow she wore. Her deep black knitted dress and leggings seemed to have a relation to Alik’s black suit. The sweet smelling rose in her hair seemed to clear the disgusting smell from the air given off by the other two.
“Or what?” Jason said, taunting, still holding Eugene down.
The girl with Alik then leaned forward and disappeared, only to reappear behind Jason. I couldn't follow her movements except for the bright gleam of silver that flashed and lit up this cold dark underpass. Jason's body fell onto its side, his head rolled away and blood flowed from his neck like thick syrup. Eugene screamed, scrambling to his feet and running away, yelling “leave me alone,” actually leaving me alone.
“Jessica, let her go,” Alik said, his voice no longer the rich creamy tone I liked, but was deep and cold instead.
“No,” Jessica said, and the little girl leaned forward again; Jessica moved as well, jumping back and taking me with her. She stopped about ten feet from the girl’s sword tip, which was glowing in the dim streetlight. It felt like I had been punched in the stomach and I was winded from the speed we moved at. “Your little toy doesn’t scare me, but if you want her so much, here,” she said and kicked me in the chest. It was the single most painful thing I had felt in my life. The scene around me blurred with the speed I was moving. The little girl moved again and Alik caught me in his arms; I coughed and I saw blood when I looked into my hand.
Alik laid me down and ripped open my shirt, his cool fingers ran across my skin, examining me like a doctor would. I heard loud scraping and slashing noises for the whole duration of his examination. Alik seemed to be ignoring everything around us as sparks flashed over his head. His eyes flashed left and right and his lips moved as he mumbled, trying to convince himself into doing something. The noise and flashes came to a sudden stop. "Is that it?" I heard Jessica ask; then there was one last slash and two thuds.
“Alik, sweetie, why do you always do that to my little toys?” Alisa asked, her arms wrapped around Alik's neck and her fingers playfully tracing his jaw line.
“Alisa, you will join them if you don’t get out of New York in the next 48 hours. You’re elder to me so I'm hesitant to ask June to kill you, however if Vanessa dies I will kill you myself.” I gave a cringe and I think he thought he hurt me, but it was the cold in his voice that made me move.
"If you don’t like the past, do not bring it back then. I remember the first Masteria, it was a lot of fun, much like yours. It was just missing one thing."
"They are human, and humans have a place in Masteria." He was now justifying his creation.
"So do vampire, or in this case, wannabe vampire. It’s all in fun and the veil is still intact. The humans all think this is some crazed trend and the deaths caused by some clever gang. If you don’t want to bring back all the ways, don’t bring back any at all."
>
“June, if Alisa isn’t gone in the next minute feel free to kill her."
“Okay, okay, you win. I will stop playing with the humans. It’s up to them to stop using those delightful Nightcap things. I never thought they would take it so far," said the young girl and when Alik gave no response, she stuck her tongue out. "You’re no fun," she said, pouting.
"I guess I will be seeing you later then," she said to Alik; I hadn’t seen her get close to me, but her cold fingers were tracing my chin leaving a burning sensation where they made contact. “Get well soon, sweetie,” she said sarcastically and then was gone.
“June, please get rid of those," Alik said and she pulled out a small flashlight; it flashed toward where Jason fell and once in another direction where I guess Jessica now lay for only a second, but two bright orange lights flared to life for a moment and then the sound of crumbling rocks was muffled by the passing of another train. “Vanessa,” he then called to me, the rich creamy tone back. “Vanessa!”
“Huh?” I responded, dazed.
“Where does it hurt most?”
“I… I think so,” I coughed into my hand again, more blood came up. I had no clue what he asked. Then he pulled back his shirtsleeve.
"Alik, don't!" cried June sharply.
“If I don’t, she will die. Four cracked ribs, I believe a lung collapsed, fractures to her spine, and a lot of internal bleeding. Look at her hand; no hospital can help her." He held his hand out and in a flash the young girl cut him across the palm.
"Think about what you’re doing. It would be better to change her completely."
"No, not now. She should make that choice herself."
"Alik, they will need to know then! You’re creating so much trouble for yourself."
"I know." He squeezed his hand and I felt the first few drops hit my abdomen, warm and soft, and he raised my head and a few more drops dripped into my opened mouth. The usual metallic taste of blood you get when sucking on a cut finger wasn’t there. It was a warm, wonderful taste that I couldn’t describe fully; it ran all across my tongue, firing off all my taste buds. Sweet, sour, tangy, spicy, and bitter filled my mouth all at once. The smooth, warm texture and cool soothing spread through my body as the pain slowly faded, firing off pleasure receptors everywhere and I gave a soft moan and passed out.
Vanessa Stanton
Chapter 06.0
Fainting- it was a curious experience. It reminded me of being put to sleep by a doctor once when I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. It could have been stress, pain, or any combination of things, but considering the night I had up until this point, I think it’s understandable. I don’t know how long I was out, but I woke up in the passenger seat of a car. My fingers felt the soft, smooth leather before my eyes ever opened. My eyes were sore and even the low light stung as I opened them; I rubbed them and as the scene before me came into focus, I saw a full moon reflected on a still body of water. City lights blinked and flashed in a rear-view mirror behind me. I felt for the door handle and stepped out of the car. The cool breeze on my skin sent a chill through me. The wind carried with it the sound of cars in the distance, with the occasional foghorn of a ship off in the night cutting in. I looked around but didn’t see anyone, but I heard a clopping sound that would start loud and then fade away. I walked toward the sound and again. Alik appeared out of the dark on a beach skipping stones. The car was parked slightly above the beach and there was a thin sandy path that led down to where Alik stood. As I made my way down, my shoe caught a rock and I stumbled, Alik caught and steadied me, despite having been clearly fifty feet away.
“You shouldn’t walk yet, you’re still weak. Sit down over here,” he said in his soft, deep tone as he walked me over to a large rock, his hand in the small of my back. “Just take a moment and rest.”
“Where are we?” My voice came out in a sickly wisp.
“A beach; Long Island is over there,” he pointed off in the distance.
“Why?”
“I hoped the salt air would wake you…” I shivered as the breeze crossed my legs. “I’m sorry, I forget that the cold affects you so much, maybe somewhere warmer would have been better?”
“What happened? I can’t remember the last hour or two.”
“It was....” he started, then he stopped and looked away.
“What?”
“I wanted to catch up to them, away from a populated area, I didn’t expect anyone to be in that part of town at this time. I was trying to make them act carelessly by thinking they had an advantage and then when I saw you in Jessica's arms... I had to be careful, it would have been so easy for her to kill you. She almost did, your injuries were so severe; a hospital would have asked questions, which I could have answered with lies, but… I don’t think you would have lived long enough to get there. Better safe than sorry, right?” the way he spoke and how he questioned his actions, he had been trying to justify something he had done, more for himself than me. He spoke very fast and I only caught bits and pieces.
“Slow down, what injuries? I feel fine.”
"Unbutton the jacket," he said softly.
“What jacket…” I hadn’t noticed I was in his jacket, and as I undid the first button, I glimpsed the inside of my palm and noticed the blood on my hands. Was this my blood? I started to shiver and it wasn’t from the cold. Under the jacket, my shirt was ripped down the middle and soaked in blood. However, everything seemed fine.
“May I?” asked Alik, kneeling, holding his hands a few inches from my skin.
“Sure…” At the promise of his touch, I forgot the seriousness of the situation. His hands were cool on my skin and gentler than I expected. They moved first up my stomach to just below my breast and then around to my back, feeling my ribs. Then to either side of my neck and down to my collar bones and just above my breast, checking for sore spots I was guessing. All I felt was his cool, smooth skin and the now familiar tingle his touch instilled in me, and I liked it, even when he found a sore spot and pricks of hot pain fired, I was lost in his touch.
“I’m sorry, but you had broken ribs and a collar bone snapped, they have healed nicely.
“Broken ribs? Broken ribs don’t heal in a few hours." I fought to stay calm.
“It’s actually only been thirty minutes and with a little help they can," he said, taking his hands from my skin and buttoning the jacket back.
"What the hell happened?" I asked again, looking up and meeting his eyes. I grabbed his hand and noticed it was ice cold to the touch; I reacted to the cold, but didn’t let go.
"A side effect of drinking my blood. Your skin temperature is much closer to my own around your injuries. It will go away soon, I hope," he said, moving his hand and averting his eyes.
"Why would I drink your blood?"
"I more force feed it to you, the memory loss… another side effect. Give it a moment and try to focus on what you lost, you should remember…"
I sat there for a moment and tried to remember what happened… It all came back in a painful unfocused flash: Jessica kicking me, the fight, Jason’s head rolling on the ground, bodies crumbling into ash, and a childlike face. Then Alik catching me, cold, soft fingers on my skin, and then a wonderful taste… I couldn’t help but lick my lips, tasting a faint echo of whatever it was. I had an urge to raise my bloody palms to my mouth and lick them, but I think Alik saw me moving my hands up slowly and caught them. I looked into his eyes filled with concern and then thought about what I was going to do and pulled away."I’m sorry," he said and I think he thought he scared me. It hadn’t been him, but I wasn’t thinking and said the first thing that came to mind.
“Okay… I’m calling a cab to take me home.” I started to stand.
“I... I have started all wrong, just give me a moment,” he said behind me. By this point, I was halfway up the little hill. “Please, Vanessa… you don’t even know where you are; it’s late and New York can be a dangerous place at night.”
“Apparently, where you a
re is worse; I will take my chances,” I said, just coming to the top of the little hill.
“You’re probably right… but nothing will ever harm you again when you are around me; I won’t allow it.” His voice, full of conviction, made me stop, and when he took my hand, I turned. My anger and panic numb the tingles but they were still there and I wanted them there so I forced a measure of calm.