After the Fall

by Martinez, A. J.

“Yeah?”

  “Please don’t drag that stinking bloody axe through the house. You’ll kill everyone’s appetite. Rhiannon is already having problems holding food down. She doesn’t need the extra help.”

  Of course she doesn’t. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll wash this before I return it inside.” I buried the blade in the dirt a few times, rubbing the gore off it until it came back clean. It would do well enough. I took the axe downstairs and came back up before anyone could see me.

  “Good evening, young man,” exclaimed a voice behind me. It was the matron. I found her greeting quite hilarious, and let her know by laughing out loud. Her expression returned to her usual dourness. “Will you be joining us for dinner?”

  “I think I will. My presence has been requested.”

  “Yes, the mister and ma’am would like you at the table.”

  “Then I suppose I will honor their request.”

  Dinner was ready a few minutes later. Evelyn came to fetch me and led me to the dining room downstairs. I got another chance to see that splendid dining table. It really was a masterpiece.

  The room looked deserted compared to the last time, with only Alaric and Rhiannon in attendance. Evelyn and Magda were there, of course, but only in a serving capacity.

  “Is this everyone?” I asked. Such a large dining room seemed to merit more diners than just the three of us.

  “I still have not heard from Matthias. There were other guests on our list, but it seems we may be dining by ourselves.” He looked down at his empty plate. “Since they were to provide your food tonight, I will not be able to feed you. We will have to make different arrangements.”

  I wondered what he said to them. How do you invite someone to that kind of dinner?

  “Hey, do you want to come over to eat dinner and give some of your blood to our Vampire guest?” Sounds good to me. I couldn’t imagine why any sane person would turn that down.

  The women came with their meals, which consisted of a succulent-looking rabbit roasted to a golden brown and mashed potatoes. Even as someone who could not appreciate food, I would say it looked appetizing. We joined in a quick prayer of thanks. After the amen, they picked up their forks and knives and got ready to cut into the rabbit when Magda came back down.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” she said.

  “What is it, Magda?” asked Rhiannon with a bit of an edge to her voice.

  “Your guests, Miss Sharon and Miss Jessamine, are here. Shall I bring them down?”

  “Of course! We’re about to eat. Don’t keep them waiting. And please bring them something to eat straight away.”

  “Missus Evelyn is already working on it.”

  “Good, send them straight in. Don’t delay.”

  “I’m sorry we are late,” said the first woman. She had hair as blond as a husk of corn, sky blue eyes, and bronze sun-kissed skin, with accents of red on her cheeks. The second woman had neck-length hair the color of chestnut and a pale complexion that rivaled mine. Her eyes were pine green with a small ring of brown on the inner irises.

  They came around to my side and sat on either side of me. Evelyn came holding a tray with a bottle of wine while Magda brought out the dishes for the guests. The wine in the bottle seemed a bit thick, so I picked up the bottle and swirled it a little. It was warm to the touch, and it smelled coppery. Now I knew this was not wine. This bottle contained what was to be my dinner.

  “Now that everyone’s dinner is here, we can eat,” said Alaric. Magda proceeded to pour me a tall goblet of the crimson liquid, holding it at a distance like it was some kind of poison. My sense of smell told me there was nothing else in it, not even alcohol. I thanked her and took a sip of the liquid. It was flavorful and heady, as the blood of young people tends to be.

  “Is it…how does it taste?” asked Miss Sharon, the blonde.

  “It’s very good,” I replied with a sincere smile. After downing the first cup, I poured myself another and allowed myself to enjoy it just a bit more slowly.

  “You can always take more if you like,” she said, baring her neck for my inspection. The blue vein stood out like a beacon. I could almost feel the heartbeat and blood flow from where I sat. It took a considerable amount of restraint to keep from biting down right then. Jessamine looked down at her plate and stole sideway glances at me.

  I looked over at my host and found him to be quite approbative of the situation. It was clear he had planned this whole situation, especially when I saw Rhiannon’s narrow-eyed glances in my direction.

  “Dear, you’ve hardly touched your food,” Alaric commented.

  “I know. It looks quite good, but I can’t bear the smell,” she said.

  “Well, you have to eat at least a little to keep your strength up.”

  “My friend Jolie is going through the same thing. She is expecting a child,” said Miss Jessamine, who had remained quiet until now. The remark caused Rhiannon to choke and start coughing.

  “That’s it, just let it out,” Alaric encouraged. Her cough subsided after a minute or so.

  “I can’t wait to have a child of my own,” said Sharon. She looked directly at me.

  In all these years, I had not made one child except those I had sired into my condition with a baptism of my blood. It never did stop me from trying, however. A sly smile spread across my lips.

  Rhiannon’s hatred radiated from across the table. “You still need a husband for that,” she said. “It must be done properly.”

  “I’m sure she will find a good husband. A woman such as these two would have no problem finding suitors,” said Alaric in her defense. It was his turn to receive that scathing look.

  “I am taken not just by their divine looks, but by the kindness and generosity in their hearts,” I said, pointing the goblet in their direction in acknowledgement of their sacrifice. Jessamine looked up ever so slightly in my direction and I could see the beginnings of a smile. I was enjoying this dinner as much as Rhiannon seemed to be hating it, which only made it all the more enjoyable.

  I was sure Alaric must have planned this. It all started with the end of dinner. After enjoying the rest of the bottle, I was in a very good mood. In fact, I was in a better mood than I had been in decades. You might have thought that the blood I drank was adulterated, but it was merely my own high spirits.

  “I have tried to do well by you, Mordecai,” he said. “Have I succeeded?”

  “Alaric, you have been as good a host as there has ever been. Yes, you have done magnificently by me.”

  “And you for us. The good you have done unto us can never be repaid, no matter how much kindness we show you.”

  “I’m not keeping count, but you’re doing just fine. There is no debt in my eyes. We have simply taken care of one another.”

  “Indeed.” He stood up. “I would love to stay up and chat with you, my friend, but the day has taken its toll on me. I think we are going to retire. You two are welcome to stay at your leisure,” he said to the two women. “Have a good night.”

  “We will,” they said. Sharon gave them a perky wave while Jessamine barely lifted her hand, and only I was able to hear the whisper of her voice. Rhiannon did not miss the chance to shoot me another glare before retiring with her husband. I was enjoying this.

  Magda came back into the room. “Is there anything else you would like before I retire?”

  “Wine would be nice,” said Sharon.

  “Yes, wine,” added Jessamine.

  I looked at Magda for a minute while she waited for a command. “Wine?” she finally asked.

  “You must be a mind reader,” I said, snapping my fingers and pointing at her. She walked out of the room and let out a low annoyed sigh that only I was able to hear. When she came back with a bottle of wine and some cups, I clamped down on the bottle, trapping her hand.

  “The next time you want to make rude sounds, you might want to do it farther away,” I told her. Her eyes went wide. I just smiled and let her go.

  “Will that
, ahem, will that be all for tonight?”

  “Yes.” I dismissed her with a wave of the hand and returned to my two guests, who had taken a seat on either side of me. Jessamine was already busy filling her cup to the brim. Not to be outdone, Sharon did the same.

  “Do you want any?” she offered.

  “No, I never take it by itself, only with food.”

  “Then you can just get it from us,” said Jessamine, lowering the high collar of her dress to show her neck. I was sold.

  “Don’t promise me that unless you really mean it.”

  “Oh, we promise,” said Sharon, also exposing her beautiful neck. “But we’d like to hear more from you first.”

  “Yes, tell us more about you. We hear you’re a heavenly being.”

  “Not as heavenly as you two,” I replied. They giggled.

  “But seriously,” said Jessamine. “We want to know what heaven is like. The pastor talks about it in church all the time, but we want to hear it from someone who’s been there.”

  This was an opportunity to play coy, if there ever was any. I thought back to better times, when I didn’t have to fend off packs of hungry scavengers or compete with them for the same source of food. I reminisced about times long gone when food was abundant and readily available. Believe it or not, the 1800’s were the best years of my life. Shortly after my death, I lived out the rest of my century and entered the best hundred years of my life, or what mortals would call their prime. Everything could only go downhill from there, and it did, falling off a cliff a couple centuries later.

  “There are palaces all over the place, filled with beautiful people, dressed impeccably. Chamber music plays in every room, accompanied by the accents of the sweetest perfume—jasmine, rose, you name it. There are servants at your beck and call, and they are always gracious, unlike some of the ones these days.” This last remark earned me a laugh from both of them. It was a cheap joke at the expense of poor Magda, but it was worth it. I saw the red liquid in the bottle diminish, along with their inhibitions.

  Sharon leaned into me and stroked my hair while Jessamine plunged her hand inside my shirt and caressed my chest. Now it became very clear where they wanted to take things.

  We went back to my chambers and committed many sinful acts which would probably have us all burning at the stake by dawn, were our hosts ever to find out, but they never would. Surprisingly, the two women had switched roles after dinner. Jessamine took the lead and became the dominant one, while Sharon simply went with the flow. We indulged in great pleasures, but greatest to me was the gift of their blood, which I drank with delight. All three of us debauched our way into a night of turpitude.

  For all that we had shared, I still would not allow them to sleep beside me. They woke in the guest room that morning, dressed in decent bedclothes. How they got there they did not know. Their drunken recollections only showed them scattered bits. None of it was anything that they would want to share with their hosts. They snuck out in the early morning to avoid answering any questions, which suited me just fine.

  I remained locked away in my quarters until morning. The night was unproductive, but I felt I deserved my break. The siege was broken and life had returned to normal. It was all thanks to me, and I was enjoying my just deserts, or should I say desserts.

  The sun made its course through the sky and plunged over the horizon. I awoke right at sundown, in accordance with the rhythm of nature.

  Damn. I’ve got to stop sleeping so much.

  A musty draft traversed into my basement quarters. It reminded me of the old catacombs in Rome. I wondered if there was such a place hiding just behind some secret passageway.

  I unlocked my room and stepped out, taking notice of the unusual silence above. Normally, I would be able to hear people around the house. It was as if everyone had gone to bed early. When I concentrated, I heard shuffling steps above. No, it was more like shambling, like everyone had decided to get drunk without me. I ran upstairs and flung the door open.

  The house was empty. A little disheveled, but empty. All the rooms upstairs were empty. Now I was scratching my head. Maybe there was some special event in town and someone neglected to tell me. No matter, I would find out soon enough.

  The heavy doors swung open and I was treated to a sight that was the stuff of nightmares. Living corpses walked, stumbled, and hobbled all around the streets. Their rotten smell dominated the air, followed closely by their strangled moans. Not a single live human was in sight, so they were calmly pacing the avenue in search of their next meal. My mouth dropped open. I shuddered and let out a whimper.

  Gone. Everyone is gone.

  My first instinct was to search for the people I knew. There was Evelyn. Magda followed close behind, just like she had done in real life. The two young women who had been my lovers just last night passed right by the entrance. They were only concerned with their newfound hunger for the living. They looked in my direction, but I didn’t seem to catch their attention. I might as well have been one of them.

  Alaric was nowhere to be found, and neither was Rhiannon or Matthias. I walked back to the house and went upstairs, to the main bedroom. When I searched this room earlier, it was empty, but now the bed was filled. Alaric lay dead on it, with Rhiannon and Matthias feeding on his remains. It was a grim family banquet, with him being the guest of honor as well as the main course. The other two looked at me and hissed. Their fangs were long like a Vampire’s, but they fed on the living.

  Welcome to Hell.

  New Religion

  I woke up screaming in my bed and rushed upstairs. Daylight be damned, I had to know if this dream was true.

  The house was empty, but not a thing was out of place this time. That musty air was conspicuously absent. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the scent of cedar and dried flowers from potpourri.

  “Good morning,” Alaric spoke from the second floor railing. The sun was not yet out and he was dressed for work. “Are you all right?”

  “You’re up early.”

  “Our long shift left me unable to wake up as early as I wished, but I wanted to be up before dawn.”

  “That’s good. What about Sharon and Jessamine?”

  “They left early this morning. I understand if they wanted to stay the night here instead of wandering the night alone. It might have looked improper, with their fathers being the Minister and Head Deacon. I appreciate you looking out for their honor.”

  I wished I could’ve laughed out loud. “Yes, their honor is very important to me.”

  “As it should be. Mordecai, would you like to go on a walk with me?”

  My eyes darted to the window. Self-preservation instincts told me it was time to seek the dark, but I ignored them and fetched my protective gear. Dressed like this, I looked like a highway robber or some other shady character, yet people waved at us and smiled. They went out of their way to shake my hand, or give me a hug in the case of the women. Proprieties be damned, they did it right in front of their husbands, who followed after them and gave me a hearty clasp and shake of the hand, adding a pat on the back for good measure. The children were more apprehensive, but with the encouragement of their parents, they approached me. I knelt down to receive their hugs.

  “Why is your face covered?” asked one girl. The little pearl had dirty blond hair put up in a bun and small stud earrings. When she smiled, she showed the vacant spaces in her gums where her new adult teeth would grow.

  “Because the sun hurts him,” her mother replied for me.

  “But Mamma, if he’s an angel, he comes from the light. Our teacher said God is the brightest light, brighter than the sun. So why does he have to hide from the light?”

  The parents stuttered and looked at me, their eyes pleading for an answer.

  “Because God made me special,” I said to the girl. “When I go back to Heaven, I won’t have to worry about the light anymore.”

  The girl seemed to accept this with some hesitation.

  “Did Go
d make me special, too?”

  “Of course he did. And someday you’ll be in heaven to see him. I’ll see you there, okay?”

  “Okay.” She still didn’t seem too convinced, but she pretended to be for her parents. Kids were smart. In fact, too smart for their own good. If the adults had half the sense their children did, I would have gone starving the first time around. They walked away and allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. I was thankful that at least she did not know to ask about my blood thirst.

  “Where are we going, exactly?” I was getting a bit anxious. Everyone, including us, were heading to the same place in town. What this place was, I did not know.

  “You have done much for us, Mordecai. There isn’t a life in this humble town of ours that hasn’t been touched by your deeds. The people are crying out to thank you.”

  “That’s a great way to avoid answering my question.”

  “Today is Sabbath, the Holy Day. I am taking you to our temple of worship.”

  I am impervious to the so-called holy symbols. That supposed weakness is ancient superstition, one that had cost many a slayer their lives. It was a good thing for me, because Alaric would not accept no for an answer. I could have denied him, begged off and run away, but it was important to maintain good relations with the food source. Even though I knew going to church didn’t spell certain death, it still made me very nervous. Those type of buildings were typically large, bathed in sunlight, and full of people who could trap me inside and subdue me with their numbers if they so desired. I was being paranoid, I knew, but that was what had kept me alive throughout the centuries. Whenever I felt danger, I would at least pause to consider the risks and plan my possible escape. It hadn’t failed me yet.

  “Here we are,” he said.

  The building was well-designed and decorated, but it wasn’t very large and only one story in height. Like everything else in this place, it was only the foyer to the real underground structure. We entered the double doors and walked through another set before heading down the stairs. Another set of double doors was at the bottom of the stairs. This place was not just a temple; it was also a fortification, a last line of defense against an invasion.