Vampire World

by Douglas, Rich

  “But what if they don’t?” she said. “I could get really sick if I don’t get blood soon. My body must have a certain amount every day.”

  Now I was worried. “Okay, let’s scream like hell for some,” I said.

  Sally said they wouldn’t hear us, but I knew that wasn't true because I'd heard the boy behind the wall. They had to hear us.

  “We need more blood!” I shouted as loudly as I could. “Help us!”

  I waited in the darkness for a response, but nothing happened. Nobody came in and no new blood was delivered. I was actually starting to feel as if I'd been buried alive.

  I kept talking to Sally, trying my best to comfort her.

  “I wish I could see you,” I said. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay for now. But I’m starting to feel tired.”

  “Well just hang in there, girl.”

  Sally coughed occasionally and was soon saying very little at all. Freezing and worried about her, I screamed again. Still nothing.

  To make matters worse, I felt two more deadworms slithering up my leg. I managed to brush both of them off, but my anger was growing. I tried to use my extra vampire strength to break the chains, but it was no use.

  The time continued to drag by. I could hear Sally now shaking and convulsing as her need for blood increased. It was only a matter of time before she couldn’t take any more.

  “Please hold out, girl,” I told her. “You’re the only friend I’ve got in here.”

  Her voice was now very hoarse. “I…..I…don’t know if ….I…c…c..can.”

  I screamed louder than ever for someone to help her, and when no one responded, a huge new wave of anger coursed through my body. With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I twisted and turned violently, ignoring the pain as my body was crushed up tight against the chains. Then, amazingly, there was the sound of metal snapping. I was free.

  I was free. I couldn’t believe it. I pulled both chains from the wall. They say that anger can make you stronger, but damn, right now I was freakin wonder vampire!

  Ignoring the darkness and a slew of deadworms, I rushed over to comfort Sally. By now she was unable to talk and badly needed warmth. I held her trembling body close and shared my body heat with her the best I could.

  “You’ll be alright!” I cried.

  She didn’t respond, almost like she was already dead. This was horrible! How could they do this to her? They were killing her!

  Yet again I hollered for help.

  Those murderers. Filthy cruel murderers!

  Sally made no sound. I didn’t know what she looked like, but she felt so very cold. I wondered if she was already a goner, even though I thought I could feel her faint breath against my cheek. It was all that cruel Bitemore's fault. I wanted to kill her. Bite her until she bled to death.

  Just when I was about to wish myself dead, the door opened and light shone in.

  “Janice! Get over here,” a harsh voice ordered.

  Now I could see Sally. She was slumped over to one side, drooling and barely conscious. Her skin was a nasty green color.

  I turned my attention to the awful vampire standing in the doorway - the blob. I charged at Bitemore with my hands outstretched. Not that I got very far. Three brawny guards intercepted me and held me firmly.

  “You killed her!” I shouted. “I hate you! You killed her!!!”

  My throat was hurting from shouting so much as I struggled against the meaty arms of the guards. Bitemore simply laughed. She peeped her massive head inside and eyed Sally.

  “Well, that’s what she gets for spilling her blood. And that’s what she gets for being in the dark room in the first place.”

  “Didn’t you hear me screaming for blood?” I yelled.

  I kept my mouth open, revealing my fangs and not caring one bit.

  “How dare you show your fangs to me?” Bitemore snarled. “You can thank your lucky stars we’re getting rid of you.”

  She took a closer look at Sally.

  “She’ll be fine, unfortunately. It’s just a little blood withdrawal. I need a guard to take her to the infirmary. Tell the nurse to pump her with blood. And when she’s well...”

  Bitemore paused to give an evil little chuckle. “When she's well, she’ll be coming right back here to finish her time.”

  One of the guards carried Sally away. I didn’t back down from Bitemore.

  “If you hate kids so much, why do you work with them?”

  “Because I need to provide my family with blood, you spoiled little twit. But never mind about that. Today is your lucky day. And mine as well if I don’t have to see you ever again.”

  Bitemore turned to the remaining two guards. “Take her to the holding room.”

  The pair of them yanked me toward the doorway.

  “Janice,” Bitemore called after me. “You’re gonna be wishing you were back here when you get into the real world. You won’t make it out there.”

  I gave her one last scowl before being taken away and thrown into another room. Here, there were more bars, and on the other side of these stood a man I instantly recognized – the same one who'd been eyeing me at the standoff.

  “Hello Janice,” he said.

  I took a deep breath and realized that this man was my ticket out of hell.

  “I’m Mister John FreeCut. How are you feeling today?”

  “Horrible,” I said. “I hate this place.”

  “Well, most people do. I’ve heard some bad things about the Bitemore Orphanage. That’s why I’m going to make you on offer.”

  I gazed at the man, noticing his curly grey hair and pale face that had a hint of green about it. He was probably old enough to be my grandpa. His fangs flashed when he opened his mouth.

  “You’re going to take me out of here?” I asked.

  “Yes, and I also want to adopt you, Janice. But only if you are happy for me to do that.”

  My heart throbbed. This was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

  “Yes please,” I said in my most positive voice.

  His face became a little less pale when he smiled. “That's wonderful. Now you must understand that I’m not the richest person in the world. But I promise I will do my best to provide for you and make sure you grow up to be a very special vampire.”

  I was so overjoyed I wanted to cry. But that would have been embarrassing in front of a stranger. The weird thing was though, he didn’t feel like a stranger. He felt like a father. Already.

  I thought of Sally. The fact that I was leaving her behind was depressing. “Is there any way you could adopt someone else along with me?” I asked.

  He sighed. “I love children. If I could, I would take ten of you home with me. But sadly, I can only afford to take one.”

  Well, at least Sally had Jennifer. That was my only consoling thought.

  “We have much more to talk about, Janice,” he continued. “But right now, there's something you must do.”

  He handed me a pill. “Because you’re a vampire, you cannot survive the daylight outside without taking this. It protects your body from the light. So please take it now.”

  I swallowed the pill. Moments later, my new caretaker departed to fill out more paperwork and I was left alone in the room and still behind bars.

  For the first time, I truly felt happy. Because of my accident I had no idea what the outside world was like, even though I'd been born there. But I was quite ready to find out. And most importantly, I was more than ready to get the hell out of hell.

  Mr. FreeCut came back into the room. I swear I saw a few tears forming behind his glasses.

  “It is done then!” he exclaimed.

  A guard unlocked the prison door and I immediately felt a beautiful wave of freedom wash over me. I hugged the man, which seemed to make him so happy. Though I could smell his horrible vampire breath, I didn’t let it bother me. Sure, he meant a lot to me. But I could tell that I meant so much more to him.

  “Let’s go,” he said.
“When you walk outside you will feel a bit uncomfortable because of the daylight. But don’t worry, you’ll be fine. The pill will protect you.”

  RED WORLD

  I took the old man’s hand and walked down a long hallway. Together, we passed through the orphanage's main door and I entered into a whole new world.

  Almost at once I felt a hard pressure on every square inch of my body as daylight shone down from above. I closed my eyes in fear.

  “I told you it wouldn’t be easy, Janice,” he said. “Don’t worry. The pill will kick in soon and you’ll adjust.”

  At first, the pressure was so great I felt as if I was at the bottom of a swimming pool and unable to breathe. I couldn’t even walk and dropped to my knees in a panic. Even so, the man still held onto my hand.

  “Try to relax,” Mr. FreeCut said. “Try not to think about the pain.”

  It was extremely difficult to do anything. Yet soon the pressure lessened, allowing me to stand up and open my eyes.

  “You okay now?” Mr. FreeCut asked. “Told you it would kick in.”

  I was speechless with wonder as I looked at my fascinating world for the first time. Well, it felt like the first time. Above me was a deep red sky with three large stars that were so bright they were hard to look at directly. A breathtaking yellow moon loomed over the horizon, lighting up half the sky even though it was daytime. It seemed so close, I thought I could throw a rock and hit it. But that was silly. I knew it was most probably a long, long distance away.

  “Welcome again to Vampire World.”

  “It’s so beautiful,’” I said. “What is the name of that moon? It’s so big.”

  “That’s called Garlic Moon. Kind of ironic since garlic is lethal to vampires.”

  My head swung back and forth as I enthusiastically scoped out the cityscape. It was strange and stark. Small rose-colored homes were stacked close together, while spiky black grass and weird looking trees with black, needle-like leaves featured in most of the front gardens. Even the roads and sidewalks were painted blood-red.

  “I can’t remember any of this,” I said. “Are you sure I’ve been here before?”

  “Yes. You were born here, Janice. I know you’re probably confused. I’ll explain more to you on the way home.”

  The light was still putting a bit of pressure on me when we stopped at what appeared to be something like a bus stop. Mr. FreeCut pressed a button on a skinny metal post. In response, the sidewalk opened up to reveal a staircase leading deep below ground.

  “This is called the underground," he explained. "It’s a quick form of transportation across Vampire World. Let’s go.”

  I followed my caretaker down the steep steps into a gloomy room. There was almost instant relief as the pressure from the light lifted.

  “So is this like a subway?” I asked.

  “A subway?” he repeated. “What’s that?”

  “I don’t know.” I felt strange for having mentioned it.

  A rocket-shaped train screeched to a halt in front of us. Mr. FreeCut took out a card.

  “This is what you use to pay for things in Vampire World,” he said, sticking it into a slot.

  “Oh, kind of like a credit card,” I replied without thinking.

  “That’s a strange name,” he said. “But I guess you could call it that.”

  The train door opened, allowing us to step inside its tubular carriage. It was packed with vampires of all different kinds, and the strong smell nearly knocked me out.

  I found myself sitting next to a woman with straw-like grey hair and green skin. She was coughing up disgusting looking mucous and spitting it on the floor. She reminded me of what Sally had looked like back in the prison room.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I whispered to Mr. FreeCut, who was sitting on my other side.

  “She is close to reaching the three hundred year mark," he told me. "Once a vampire reaches that age they can no longer process blood.”

  “But I thought vampires never die."

  “Well, not by age as such. But vampires can die from lack of blood. Eventually, when we reach a certain age, our body rejects the life-giving blood we need for survival.”

  The old lady suddenly looked straight at me; my youthful features appeared to repulse her. She coughed again, this time shedding some of her jade skin, bits of which flew disgustingly into my face. I flinched and buried my eyes into the shoulder of Mr. FreeCut.

  “I know it’s gross,” he whispered. “But she can’t help it.”

  I felt a sudden acceleration as the train moved off, jerking and twisting so hard that I had to grab Mr. FreeCut’s arm. I wondered why there were no handlebars in this damn thing.

  “You’ll get used to the speed,” he said.

  Certainly none of the other vampires on board appeared to be bothered by the acceleration. In fact, at least three of the younger dudes already were checking me out. I even spotted a couple gazing at me. I should have been honored. But in truth, all I felt was uncomfortable.

  “Tell me about the accident,” I asked Mr. FreeCut.

  “The doctor who operated on you told me that he couldn’t believe you survived the crash that sadly killed your parents. You did lose a lot of blood, and you were badly injured, but your medical treatment went well and you made a full recovery.”

  “Full recovery? Then why can’t I remember anything?”

  “That’s what we don’t understand.”

  “So that’s why everything feels so weird to me.”

  “Yes. And I will do everything I can to help you adjust.”

  The train stopped again and we got off. After climbing up more stairs, we emerged back above ground. The pressure of the light from the three suns hit me again, though this time not as hard.

  While walking a few blocks I glanced up in astonishment at Garlic Moon, which apparently shone both day and night. We eventually came to a cozy looking red house. Another one of those peculiar dead-looking trees towered in the front yard.

  “Here it is,” said Mr. FreeCut. “Home sweet home.”

  I followed him up the porch steps and on through the front door.

  We entered a cluttered living room with dark, rubicund walls. Statues of outlandish beasts with horns and fangs greeted me. After walking past this frightening array of animals, I immediately smelled blood on arriving in the gloomy and modest kitchen. Once again, it tempted yet repulsed me in equal measures.

  On the table, in pride of place, sat the head of what looked like a deformed monkey sitting in a pool of its own blood. There were multiple side dishes also drenched in blood, along with glasses filled to the rim with the red stuff.

  “We won’t be eating this well every day,” Mr. FreeCut said. “But since this is our first meal together, I thought we should eat in style.”

  “I’m working up quite an appetite,” I said after thanking him.

  An odd noise, like a woman or child screaming, then caught my ear. It was coming from another room. “What is that?” I asked.

  “That’s Ernie. He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

  “Ernie? You mean a dog?”

  “Dog? What’s a dog, Janice?”

  I shrugged, confused myself. What the hell is a dog, anyway?

  I followed him back into the living room. A sofa made up of rocks was in the center, while a small television sat on a slab in the corner. Framed pictures of bloody carcasses, vampire teeth and various bizarre creatures decorated the walls. On making my way over to another door, the startling screams suddenly got louder.

  “Did you kidnap somebody back there?” I asked.

  Mr. FreeCut opened the door.

  A monster leaped up on me, sending me reeling back, screaming.

  “It’s okay,” Mr. FreeCut said. “It’s only Ernie.”

  I opened my eyes, cautiously studying the gross beast that had just jumped on me. It was quite small, had short legs, and no hair whatsoever covering its peeling pink skin. It had just one large blue eye
in the center of its face and a horn protruding from the top of its head.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Mr. FreeCut assured me. “He’s harmless, I promise.”

  Somehow believing the crazy old man, I stepped closer to the creature, paying careful attention to its fangs and long claws. It released another crazy scream and licked me with a slimy green tongue. But instead of pulling away, I suddenly felt a sentimental attraction to Ernie. I bent down and patted him on his back.

  “He’s the nicest RazorCut you’ll ever meet,” Mr. FreeCut added. “And he’s so glad that you’re now a part of the family.”

  After standing back up and letting Ernie moisten my leg with his emerald saliva for a few minutes, I took a quick peek in the garage, noticing extraordinary tools and flasks filled with bubbly liquid. I also saw a black car that looked like a hearse. Hmmmm. It was a piece of crap. But I had to ask him if I could use it. I already hated the train.

  We sat down at the dinner table to feast. My desire for the red stuff grew so strong that I forgot how sick it really was and downed my glass of blood in one big gulp. Clutching a large blade, Mr. FreeCut sliced up the creature’s head and handed me a piece. The blood-soaked meat was delicious, even though the fur, which I did not swallow, repulsed me.

  “I’m glad you like the Martok,” he said. “I wish I could have food like this every night. But as I said before, I’m not rich.”

  I thanked him for the meal while tucking into vegetables that looked pretty much like cucumbers soaked in blood dressing.

  We talked for a while about Vampire World, also a bit about himself. He told me he'd never had any children, and that his wife had died of an unknown disease at a relatively young age. I told him I was sorry, not forgetting to thank him once again for adopting me. Then I asked Mr. FreeCut something very, very important.

  “You have a car…I was wondering if you’d let me take it out sometime.”

  He frowned. “Well, I work from suns up to suns down. So if you want to go anywhere, you will have to take the train. However, I don’t mind driving you around when I’m available.”

  “I just hate that train,” I griped. “The vampires on it creep me out.”