Parasite ; Sleeper Cells ; Kingdoms of the Dead

by Ian Woodhead

“It was,” she whispered, pushing open the door. “But, I need a change of scenery.” She wrapped her arms around his strong body and walked him into her previously prohibited area of the house. “Tonight has got to be different, Paul.”

  The boy briskly nodded and chuckled, “Oh yes. I can do that, my darling. You bet, I can do that.”

  Darlene fell back onto her son’s bed, trying not to sigh. She looked up at the poster, bloody hell, the lad was only a few years older that Damian. Paul’s bedroom was probably just like this one.

  She’d just have to tell him tonight that the fun would have to end, it wasn’t even fun anymore. Despite her gentle teaching, Paul still couldn’t satisfy her needs. She received better and more rewarding climaxes from her hidden collection of secret toys. The boy’s equipment was definitely impressive but he lacked the skills to use it correctly. She closed her eyes. She’d give him this one chance tonight to prove her wrong. She sighed, knowing for a fact that the poor boy wouldn’t have a clue on how to try something different. Within a few seconds, the big oaf will be all over her, fumbling around, trying to rip off her clothes as quickly as could whilst telling Darlene just how lucky he was.

  “Undress!” Paul commanded.

  Darlene snapped open her eyes and stared at the imposing looking young man glaring back down at her. Now, she was seriously confused. Where did her shaky nervous man bugger off to? Gone were those eager to please puppy dog eyes. Paul’s trembles had just vanished. He stood there like a statue, as if carved from marble. Darlene didn’t know who this man was, not that she was complaining. Bloody hell, this was exciting.

  “Sit up, Darlene,” he said. “Start to undress. Don’t make me tell you again.”

  She did as the man ordered, trying her best to suppress her smirking. “Of course, Paul,” she replied, putting a slight quiver into her voice. If he could put on such a magnificent performance, then so would she. This was so unreal, Darlene couldn’t stop trembling.

  She threw the top onto the floor, daring not to tear her gaze away from Paul’s icy-blue eyes. Darlene reached behind her back and undid her bra strap, expecting him to jump on her at any moment. He didn’t move a muscle. She saw no excitement, no desire, there was nothing in his stare. It was like looking into a pair of doll’s eyes.

  Her lacy bra landed on top of her blouse. Oh god, she so hoped that he wouldn’t slip out of character. This was such a fucking turn on.

  Paul treated her to a quick smile before he slowly slid his index finger into his mouth. She pushed her thighs together and clenched every muscle in her legs in a vain attempt to stop the shaking. The man dropped to his knees and pulled his finger out of his mouth. Paul examined the finger before he slowly drew it down her cleavage. Darlene let out a guttural moan, she reached up and wrapped her fingers around Paul’s wrist, wanting, needing him to grab and massage her breasts.

  He ripped her hand off his wrist. “Did I say you could do that?” Paul placed his hand on her knees and pushed them apart. “Keep still!”

  She nodded, biting her lip. For the first time, Darlene wasn’t too sure that she liked this game anymore. The realisation that this man currently pulling her body towards his hips, could do anything to her and there was very little Darlene could do to stop him, took up residence in her head and refused to leave.

  Paul then placed his hands around her neck and forced her forwards. She yelped. “Come here, you little bitch.” He snarled. “You’ve upset me and now, I think it’s time for you to learn your place.”

  Darlene went cold inside; this game was getting out of hand, something was seriously fucking wrong with this picture. Paul shouldn’t be acting like this. What the fuck was going on?”

  He scraped his stumbled chin against her ear. “Is this too much? I’m not overdoing this am I? I’ve never done this sort of thing before.” He glided his hand up her thigh. “I can be more gentle, Darlene.” Paul brushed his fingers against her clitoris and pushed two deep inside her. “Do you want me to be gentler, Darlene?”

  She cried out and thrust her hips forward, grabbing the top of his jogging pants and yanking them down. She wrapped her legs around Paul’s thighs. “I want you to remove your fingers, Paul and fuck me.” She gasped. This was just incredible. He was taking way too long to comply.

  Darlene snapped open her eyes. “Honey, what’s wrong?

  He jerked his head towards the open door. “I thought I heard something!” he hissed. Paul jumped back, almost tripping up over his trousers.

  Darlene sighed, “Yeah, my fucking passion flying out of the window.”

  “I’m serious, Darlene. I think there’s somebody else in the house.”

  She stood up and marched over to the open door, glaring at Paul. He hadn’t moved one inch, it didn’t please her to notice that the trembling boy had returned with vengeance. Fucking hell, and to think, even if it was for a moment, that she’d actually been scared of this big oaf.

  Darlene gazed along the hallway, there was nobody there and the only sound she heard was Paul’s panting.

  He sounded like a hot mongrel dog.

  She placed both hands on her hips. “Well?”

  Paul shook his head, “I did hear something, Darlene. Please believe me. I swear down, I did.”

  “Well, go and look, you’re the big hard man, Paul.”

  Darlene wanted to grab hold of the boy’s throat and throttle him for making her feel like a mother again. Paul was terrified. She honestly thought that he was about to start weeping.

  “It’s not my house, Darlene. What if it’s your husband, or your two kids?”

  She turned away from him, took a deep breath and held it while counting to five. Paul wasn’t the only one in the room who was now on the verge of crying.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll go down to check, if you like, darling. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. It’s probably nothing anyway. I mean, aren’t Damien and Elsie are staying over at Jenny’s house for the weekend?”

  Darlene didn’t even bother to reply. He already knew that Paul wouldn’t be stood here, in her son’s bedroom, if they were due back. “Look, Paul,” she said, not turning around. “I want you to…”

  “You want me to go?”

  She almost nodded. His slip back into his old self had ruined everything. It would be better if he did go home; all Darlene needed to do right now was to finish herself off then just get wasted on red wine.

  “Darlene, I’m talking to you,” he snarled. “Don’t you dare fucking ignore me, you whore.”

  She jumped, feeling the beginnings of a smile appearing on her lips. Perhaps this evening still had some promise. “Get those clothes off, Paul,” she whispered. “Then climb into bed and wait and for me.” Darlene picked up her son’s red dressing gown wrapped it around her body and hurried over to the bedroom door. “I’ll bring us back a bottle of wine,” she said, turning her head. “We’ll drink it together, after we have both satisfied each other. You are old enough to drink?” She giggled and dodged the thrown pillow.

  “Don’t keep me waiting!” he shouted after her.

  Like that was going to happen, she wanted to forget all about checking out the house for Paul’s imaginary noises, go back in there and dive onto his body. Darlene reached the top of the stairs, turned around and sighed. He wouldn’t be able to relax though, if she did that.

  Darlene placed her hand upon the banister and made her way down. “Just how confused are you?” she whispered. Experiencing Paul dominating her had seriously turned her on. She grew wet just thinking about what other surprises that boy had for her. Where did that hidden desire come from? How the hell did Paul know what buttons to press?

  She reached the bottom of the stairs and checked the front door. She sighed; it was locked, just like she had left it. Why was she even doing this for crying out loud? Darlene should just run back up those stairs, tell him there’s nobody here and get that big boy to fuck her brains
out.

  “He’d want to know why I didn’t bring the bloody wine.” She might as well check the other rooms, while she was here. Besides, Darlene still needed to get wasted but not before that virile young man had finished abusing her.

  Darlene wandered into the living room, running her fingers along the spines of her husband’s many books. She found it a little strange that, Geoff had never suggested any bedroom role-play before. Darlene stopped and pulled a book out at random. The cover showed a large breasted blonde girl, dressed in tight leather and standing over a semi-naked muscular young man. “And I wonder where Damian gets his odd ideas about women from. Was it too much of a coincidence that the man on the cover bore a slight resemblance to Paul? Darlene threw the book on the sofa and headed towards the kitchen. She needed wine and she needed that boy to climb back inside her. “Perhaps I ought to buy a whip?”

  “You have several already, my princess.”

  Darlene’s shriek stuck in her throat at the sight of the huge dark haired man leaning against the refrigerator. No matter how hard she tried, Darlene could not find the will to tear her eyes from his deep hypnotic gaze.

  “I thought that I’d truly lost you, that those filthy fucking animals had found you first.” The man held out his hand, he blinked.

  The movement was just enough to break her paralysis. She turned around, trying to remember where she’d dropped her mobile phone. Oh Jesus, what was she going to do now?

  “Don’t make me tell you again.”

  She spun around, “Paul?”

  The man shook his head, his arm was still outstretched, “No, my princess. It was me, on both occasions. The soft human beast, currently lying in your son’s bed had no idea that I was inside him. Then again, how could he?

  “Who are you?” Darlene then saw the bottle of wine he held in other hand. “How did you know I wanted that?” Her initial terror had now passed, leaving behind only confusion and curiosity.

  “Come here, my princess, allow me to embrace you and I promise that I will tell you everything.”

  Despite her trepidation she crossed the few tiles between them and placed her hand into his. The man then yawned, revealing his oversized canine teeth. She panicked and desperately tried to break from his grasp. He leaned closer to Darlene’s neck.

  “Don’t fret,” he said. The man then wrapped his other arm around her trembling body and pulled Darlene tight against him. “I’d never hurt you, my princess. I love and adore you I always have done, and I always will.”

  “But I don’t even know who you are!” she wailed.

  He tilted her head up and sighed. “I hid you amongst the beasts many years ago, my princess. I am sorry but, there was no other way.” He leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips.

  Darlene closed her eyes, feeling her passion rise when his other hand released hers, slipped under her dressing gown and cupped her breast. A raging fire detonated between her legs when he ran his other hand up her smooth thigh.

  He then drew apart and wiped his bloodied lips. “Don’t stop!” she cried. “Oh my, please do that again!”

  He sighed heavily. “Do you not think I desire this as well, my beautiful wife? We will, that I promise but not just yet.”

  She leaned back against the counter and gripped the edge, waiting until her jellied legs were strong enough to take her weight. “Wait,” she muttered, running her tongue along her lips, she tasted blood. “Did you just bite me?”

  The man pushed his own tongue out and licked his thin lips. He gave her the wine bottle. “Yes, I did bite you but, it was just a nip, my princess. Go take your bottle up to the beast. By the time you reach the bed, you will remember who you really are. You will remember that I am your real husband and you will remember just what we do to those human beasts.

  She found her eyes closing, after what seemed like hours Darlene was able to open them. There was no sign of the handsome stranger. Darlene gazed at the wine bottle in her hands. Had she imagined him? The woman ran her tongue across her lips, tasting blood. No, he’d been here all right.

  The sweet taste of her blood awakened a memory hidden from her for many years.

  ***

  She stood in the middle of a blood-drenched field, surrounded by churned wet mud and scattered pieces of human flesh. The stench of decay lay heavy in the air. This was not a fresh battle. The smell invaded her nostrils yet; instead of it sickening her, she embraced the aroma, breathing in the scent, like a fine wine.

  Darlene opened her eyes and found that she’d already climbed halfway up the stairs. The bottle held tight against her breasts. Paul stood at the top of the steps, gazing down, concern and worry was etched into his young face.

  “You’ve been ages, my darling.”

  “So troubled that you almost came down to make sure that I was okay?” Darlene slowly licked her lips, disappointed not to taste any more of her blood. Her tongue did find something of interest as she explored her mouth. Darlene’s own canines had grown, ever so slightly.

  “I was just about to check on you,” he replied.

  Just seven steps stood between her and the beast. The beast? It felt so natural to think of Paul as food. The memory of that battlefield rushed back into her mind, she watched herself stride over the many dismembered corpses, towards her husband, towards Amulius.

  Her beautiful husband stood a few feet away from her, holding a long handled curved sword, covered in congealed blood. “It’s not here, Freya. The bastards have lied to us.” He spun around. “We need to move quickly, my princess. The Swarmers and their foul constructions are closing in. They’ll be here any moment.”

  In the distance, she saw the vast cloud of approaching enemy vampires. The Swarmers had indeed brought their flesh dragons. Freya felt her weak human heart race at the sight of the monstrous vampire organic warriors, created out of vampirised pieces of their enemies.

  Her huge husband swept her into his embrace. “We will meet again, my princess,” he growled, exposing his large teeth.

  “You told me that I would be spared, Amulius. That you wouldn’t change me until the war was over.”

  He nodded, “and I will keep my promise.” He looked over her shoulder. “The Swarmers have changed the balance, they have accessed the dark arts, forbidden to every clan. Just for the Deathgazer clan to survive, we must do the same. It could be decades before we see the outcome. By then you will be an old woman.” He bent forward.

  Freya felt his teeth pierce her flesh and then she felt no more.

  ***

  She opened her eyes and found that she now stood at the top of the stairs. Paul’s arms were resting on her shoulders.

  “Darlene? God, what’s wrong with you?”

  She smiled, enjoying watching his face change to terror when the boy saw the size of her teeth. The bottle fell from her hands and rolled down the stairs. “My name, food, is Freya.” She smacked his arms away and pushed the shocked man back, giggling as his back slammed into the wall behind him.

  “Well, isn’t that a bit of a surprise, Paul, it appears that I’m a lot stronger than I thought.” She watched him slide down the wall, revealing cracked plaster and a couple of blood spots. “Oh dear, did that hurt?”

  She crouched down in front of him and lifted Paul’s head up, relieved to see that he was only dazed. She’d never forgive herself if she’d already killed the boy. “I’ve been living a lie for over a thousand years; all that unaccountable time involved in so many banal relationships without knowing about my true destiny. He removed the veil from my eyes, Paul. Have you any idea of the misery that I’ve suffered?”

  The boy didn’t answer. She looked through his eyes and skimmed across the surface of his thoughts. All she could pick out were confusion and terror; this was a waste of time. He had no idea what she was talking about, even so, Freya had to continue, she needed an audience, if not for him, for her to put the forgotten pieces back into their correct slots.

  “The Swarmer clan had destro
yed all the other clans. Only the Deathgazers survived the cull. Even they were down to their last few numbers. Those things wouldn’t stop until they’d exterminated every last one of the remaining vampires. Why should we humans have cared about monsters slaughtering themselves? We cared because our clan had looked after us and kept the towns prosperous. Allowing the Deathgazers to take their pick from the strongest men and desirable females was a small price to pay. If it wasn’t for the Deathgazers we would be crawling in the dirt, looking for scraps of food like the rest of the humans.”

  She tilted his head to one side and stared in fascination at that huge artery pumping sweet blood up to his brain. “I was one of the chosen few, Paul. It was my destiny to become the wife of the First Father. If it wasn’t for the filthy Swarmers destroying the land, I would have helped to rule a dynasty that would still be feeding on you pathetic animals.”

  Freya sank her teeth into his flesh and drank deep, gasping in pleasure as his hot blood filled her mouth. She would still take her place beside him. Freya would relish her role as loving wife and, as his adviser. Amulius needed to understand that the world has moved on.

  Chapter Two

  She was going to launch into yet another bitching session. Damien Myers didn’t need to even look at his sister to gleam that nugget of information. It was like sensing the onset of a major storm. As soon as Elsie’s mood took a dive and swung into the red, the hairs on his back stood at attention and, more often than not, Damien found himself burdened with a deep grinding headache.

  It was pointless trying to stop the inevitable. Instead, Damien drained the beer from his can and laid back down, feeling the damp grass pressing against his shirt. He stared up at the star-lit sky for a few seconds before closing his eyes.

  “What the hell is he playing at, Damien?” his sister poked his side. “I swear that damn Ben is so going to pay for this, you know. I’m not an idiot. It’s obvious that he just can’t be bothered to drive all the way up here. I tell you, I’m so going to smash his face in for this.”