by Dani Hoots
I shook my head, not quite sure how he knew they were there. “What are you talking about?”
“Your transformation, of course. I see that there are only three vials left, so you took the second one by yourself.”
I stared at the remaining three. “What are in those vials?”
“My blood of course. The blood of a vampire such as me can have extraordinary effects on a human, don’t you think?” he laughed, as if it was some kind of joke.
He was right, I felt wonderful after taking the vial, but I couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Your blood?”
“Yes, and after you finish these last ones, you will turn into a creature just like me, well after I kill you of course. Then you will be reawakened as an aufhocker.”
I shook my head. “No, no I won’t do that. I don’t want to be—”
He placed his finger on my lips. “Shh. Yes you do. Besides, you don’t have a choice. I own you, Ade. Forever.”
I couldn’t move, my body felt as if it were frozen to the spot. I couldn’t run, I knew. I couldn’t fight him either. “Why? Why do you want me to be like you?”
Herr Schmidt let out a laugh. “It was my plan from the very beginning, to have you be my apprentice, but not as a tailor, but as an aufhocker.”
“But... Why?”
“I promised your father that I would come for his first born—a price to pay for trying to kill me during the war. He found out what I was and tried to shoot me. Can you believe that?”
Did my mother know about this? Could this have been why he drank so much, why he was so uneasy when Schmidt was there? Because he knew what he was and what he wanted. “You are doing this for revenge against my father?”
“Yes. Now,” he grabbed the first vial, his voice no longer light as it normally was. “Drink this or your mother dies.”
If she wasn’t dead already. I didn’t know what to believe anymore, what was truth and what was fiction. The man I looked up to for my entire life was a monster. And now he wanted me to become one as well, and if I said no, my family would die. All because my father tried to kill him during the war.
I drank the first vial, tears beginning to escape my eyes.
“And the second,” he handed the next one to me. I took and drank it as well. “And the last.”
I hesitated. “How many people have you done this to? How many other servants do you have lined up?”
He shook his head. “None. An aufhocker can only create one other in his life. He has to choose wisely.”
“Then why me? Why not someone else?”
“Besides exacting revenge on your father? Because, admit it, Ade, you want this. You want to escape the prison of the human world, you want to see everything life has to offer. You want to see the world, live forever, and never have to worry about being beaten down again. I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in the way you work. You can lie to me and say it isn’t true, but I know better. You want to run away as much as I did.”
I should have known it was all a bunch of lies, that he was the king of deception, but I believed him, and I took the last vial and I drank it.
Herr Schmidt was on top of me in an instant, ripping at my throat with his teeth. I didn’t feel pain, or at least I didn’t remember pain. He took me back to the West side while I was still ‘dead’ and I didn’t wake back up for three days. I felt as if all my organs had been torn out of my body. I didn’t have as much conventional hunger or thirst as I did as a human. I didn’t want what I considered to be normal functions. All I wanted was to kill and drink the blood of a human.
He never told me that’s what it would be like, that I would have to kill to stay alive. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to ask. I was afraid, I decided, and the sound of his voice soothed me enough to do whatever he said.
But the story didn’t end there.
From what I have heard from other vampires, their stories usually ended when they turned, or just a bit after. The rest of their life was rather boring, in a sense, as nothing would compare to the initial moment they became such a creature of the night. Sure, there were stories of sneaking into military bases, witnessing some of the most important pieces of history and living forever to tell the tale, and knowing more behind some things than a history book would ever tell you, but it didn’t compare to your first few brief moments of bliss as a newborn.
I, on the other hand, had another night that is worth mentioning. A night where I almost killed my master.
It was about four years after I became an aufhocker, just getting used to the strange cravings and abilities. It took me a while to be able to fully interact with humans, as I wanted to rip each and every one of them into shreds, especially Herr Mueller. Schmidt had to stop me a few times before I ripped out his throat. Nevertheless, I was able to manage and found my place in the world once more.
Contrary to what I told Herr Schmidt, I kept searching more for my family. I wouldn’t give up on them, I knew they had to be out there somewhere. I had to make sure they were alright, and give them a proper goodbye.
Then I found them. It was a rainy February day, just two days before my sister’s birthday. She should have been turning eight. I heard word from one of my mother’s friends, that four years before they were found in the Spree River. Both of them. Cause of death was supposedly a cut throat, which she heard directly from the polizei.
Or more like someone ripped out their throats with his own damned teeth.
I visited their graves, collapsing into the wet grass, the rain washing away their tears. I had really believed they were okay, I had trusted Herr Schmidt to keep his end of the bargain. I became this creature, endured so much pain, to make sure they were okay. It all had been a lie.
He had killed them with his own bare hands.
After saying a prayer for them, apologizing to heaven that I hadn’t been there to protect them, to make sure they were all right, I went straight back to the shop.
Herr Schmidt was going to pay for what he did to my family.
I didn’t know how I was going to kill him, I didn’t know if it was even possible, but I was going to try my damn hardest.
I opened the door to the shop, my clothes soaked, and my body was covered in water, not that I cared. I wouldn’t get sick, it wouldn’t affect me at all.
“Ade,” Herr Schmidt exclaimed as he stared at me. “You are drenched. Go dry yourself off, you look miserable.”
“You killed them,” I whispered as I clenched my fist.
He looked at me, as if he was confused. But I knew better. “What are you talking about? Killed who?”
“My mother! My sister! You killed them!” I lashed out, jumping towards him and pinning him to the ground. “And I’m going to kill you!”
I bit at his throat, but he simply pushed me off as if I was just some small cat. I slammed against the wall. As quickly as I could, I jumped back up and grabbed the bench next to me, hurling it at Herr Schmidt’s face. He easily blocked it.
“Calm down, Ade!”
“No!” I exclaimed. “You killed them!”
“What was I supposed to do?” he asked with a slight smile. “I knew you would keep looking for them, try and help them. They had to die so you could let go of your humanity.”
Anger was boiling inside of me. I could feel my cheeks heat up as blind rage filled me. “I’m going to kill you!”
I leapt at him, driving one punch after another into his stomach, at his face. He simply took it, laughing.
“You can’t kill me, I am immortal! I will never die!” he shoved his palm against my chest and threw me across the room again. This time I hit the shelves, splinters of wood going into every direction. One piece of wood pierced me through the back and into my chest.
I gasped in pain, unable to move. I wanted it all to be over, to feel as if I was slipping away, but I could feel my body begin to try healing itself already.
If wood to the heart didn’t kill me, what would?
He
rr Schmidt stepped to where I lay, as I tried to breathe and move, but my arms felt numb. He knelt down next to me. “You can’t defeat me Ade, you should know that by now.”
“But I had to do something, you killed my mother and sister,” I spat out blood at him.
“And your father?”
I stared at him perplexed. “What?”
“Your father. He threatened to tell your family the truth about me. I couldn’t have that so I killed him, then I could put into motion you living with me. It was brilliant really, to see the horror in his eyes when he knew I would be taking you with me the moment I ripped his throat out.”
I shook my head. “I will never stop trying to kill you. I will never bow down to you, I will never listen to another word you say.”
Herr Schmidt didn’t respond as he picked up a piece of wood that lay next to me and drove it into my right lung. I gasped, trying to breathe but incapable of doing so. I could feel the world going dark.
“I’m going to let you think about what you said, let you cool down for a while. When you wake up, I will be long gone. When you have learned your lesson, I will come back for you. Meanwhile, take care of my shop, dear Ade. And remember how much I truly care for you...”
With that, I blacked out.
When I woke, he was long gone. I searched for him for days, years even. I gave up for a while, moved on with my eternal life. I found many other vampires, talked to them, listened to their stories. Most of them still served their master, or were completely alone. It was comforting knowing that many others suffered the same fate that I had. Though none searched so thoroughly for their creator as I had.
I never heard a word about him for all these decades. I searched and searched and nothing led me to his scent. I have crossed continents and oceans, looking for him, but nonetheless, he would not let himself be found. I knew he wasn’t dead, because I couldn’t die. But I would find a way, I would find some kind of weakness. We have to have one.
And I will find him and I will kill him if it’s the last thing I do.
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in writing and in this story. A very BIG special thank you to Justin Boyer for helping me edit and make this story so much stronger, he had made such a difference; Daniel Somerville for all the wonderful covers thus far, and I am sure to come; and Marcy Rachel for formatting and getting the novella ready to publish and supporting me through all this. I also would like to thank my friends and awesome cousin Earlene for helping me create this series and letting me bounce ideas back and forth with them (believe me, they are probably annoyed by me now). Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and my loving husband for always supporting me and helping me out when everything feels overwhelming. I love you all!
Dani Hoots is a graduate from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Anthropology who loves anything with a story. She travels around the west coast working at comic conventions and selling her stories and murder mystery party kits. Currently she lives in Arizona with her husband and two cats.
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