The Vampire Council: Case File:1

by Steve Cunningham

  ‘Make me.’ Leofric smiles.

  Within a second Will’s eyes become black as he transforms into his vampire self. He rushes for Leofric, but is cut short as Leofric quickly drops Beth to the ground and turns the gun on Will. And shoots. Will flies back down the hallway into Katie knocking her to the floor as his bleeding body lies on top of her. Will coughs up blood as he struggles to pull himself up. Leofric reloads his shotgun as he walks softly into the dining room where Beth had managed to crawl to coughing loudly as Leofric’s hold on her neck restricted her breathing.

  Katie remains frozen on the floor. Her eyes stay wide open as she stairs into the ceiling. Will has begun to crawl once again down the hallway trying to fight the pain so he can stop Leofric.

  ‘Will. It’s too late.’ Katie whispers softly as a single tear falls down the side of her face.

  Bang! A gun shot. Followed by slowly fading laughter.

  Silence. Katie’s eye lids slowly shut. Please be a bad dream. She opens her eyes slowly as she hopes to be in bed and this terrible ordeal was nothing but a nightmare. As they open fully she’s still staring at the ceiling of her hallway. Her heart sinks. Will manages to drag his injured self over to her. ‘Katie? Katie. I’m so sorry.’ He whispers gently in her ear. Katie never takes her eyes off the ceiling. His words just pass right though her. They mean nothing to her. She uses the banister to the stairs next to her to help herself up as she slowly trudges towards the dining room door. ‘Katie don’t!’ Will screams in pain. As she stands just by the door she shuts her eyes and turns her body into the doorway. Inhales a deep breath before… opening her eyes. She falls to her knees within a second as she breaks down into tears at the sight.

  Beth’s body lays motionless on the dining room floor. That is all, just the body. Beth’s head has now become just a mess of blood, skull and brains splattered across the entirety of the backside of the room. All over the floor and rising up the back wall. Katie cannot stop herself from staring at the lifeless mess that used to be her mother. Will manages to get himself up and stands behind Katie leaning against the door frame. The sight itself even brings a tear to his eye. ‘Katie…’

  ‘Save it Will.’ She quickly interrupts.

  ‘But…’

  ‘No Will. There’s nothing you can say.’ Katie says as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

  Pause.

  ‘We need to get out of here.’ Will states still coughing up blood.

  ‘I’m not leaving her. Not like this.’

  ‘There’s nothing you can do Katie.’

  ‘Don’t say that!’ Katie screams as she jumps to her feet and pushes Will which forces him to fall back into the wall of the hallway. He moans due to the pain of his gunshot injury. He looks up into Katie’s eyes. ‘Don’t look at me with those eyes.’ Katie begins to feel hatred towards the black eyes staring at her.

  ‘Katie. Listen to me. We need to leave right now. You’re neighbours would’ve heard the shots fired.’

  ‘Tell me the truth Will. Go on! Just say why you want to leave so quickly!’ She screams into his face.

  ‘Don’t do this Katie.’

  ‘Say it!’

  ‘Fine! I need blood, and your mum’s dead body isn’t helping.’ Will shouts in anger. ‘I need blood. Ok. We’re vampires Katie. We knew the risks involved from the beginning.’

  ‘Jacqueline and Vaelen never mentioned this.’ Katie utters through a concoction of tears and snot streaming down her face.

  ‘My guess is nothing like this has ever happened before. Something is up Katie, Leofric, a vampire hunter, killed a mortal.’ Will looks into Katie’s eyes with the darkness of his.

  Katie stares into the blackness of Will’s eyes as a frown develops as anger builds within. ‘A mortal?’

  Will realises what he has just stated. ‘Sorry, you know I didn’t mean…’

  ‘That’s my mother Will! My mum! The person in which I hold… held, most dear to me. So how dare you call her a mere mortal. And now. She’s now dead because of me.’ Katie sobs once more.

  ‘Don’t say that Katie,’ Will moves in closer to Katie still in pain from the gunshot, ‘there was nothing we could do.’

  ‘If I wasn’t upstairs in bed, with you. I could’ve been here for her. If I had never met you, I could’ve been there for her. If I never got picked to be a part of all this vampire business…’

  ‘Katie, stop it!’ Will shouts but with an edge of calmness.

  ‘If my stupid fucking overdose worked… Then none of this would’ve have happened.’ Katie drops her head. Tears fall and crash to the floor.

  Will can’t help but be shocked at the revelation of Katie’s suicide attempt. He put it down to just a reaction to her father’s disappearance and thought it best not to bring it up in conversation at this moment in time. Silence had fallen throughout the house. Not even noise from the garden or street could be heard. It was like life had frozen in time. ‘I’ll go get help.’

  Katie doesn’t answer. Or move an inch.

  ‘Katie look at me.’

  She does not.

  ‘Look at me!’ Will shouts, but not out of anger.

  Katie lifts her head slightly so their eyes meet. She feels a pain in her heart every time she sees Will’s black eyes.

  ‘I need you to promise me you’ll stay right here. I don’t hear any sirens, so I think no one heard the gunshots. But in your room, I left my gun. I know you have one too but it is best if you have both for now. I will be back or at least sent help as soon as I can. Promise me Katie that you’ll keep safe.’ Will looks into her eyes as he gages no response from her. ‘Promise me! Please!’

  Katie just lets off a small nod of agreement. Will leans into her and kisses her forehead before staggering to his feet. He leaves through the kitchen and out into the garden to avoid being sighted by any mortals.

  Katie slowly drags herself to her feet using the doorframe to help pull her up. She wipes her forehead in anger before wiping her tears away. She gazes at her mother’s body once more before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in. Composed. She heads for the stairs.

  On entering her room she immediately begins undressing. Throwing the dressing gown to the floor. She looks at her naked self in her floor length mirror. On her forehead she spots traces of Will’s blood from where he kissed her with a bloody mouth. She wipes at it furiously until it’s completely gone. Her eyes do not move from her own reflection as she walks in closer till her and her reflection are face to face. She spits at the mirror before turning to her wardrobe. Katie slips on a pair of blue skinny jeans. Whether or not she wears underwear is the furthest thing from her mind right now. Lastly her outfit is complete with a black vest top. The walk toward her bedside table felt like an eternity as she picks up Will’s gun. She looks at herself in the mirror once more. She checks the gun, it’s loaded, ready for fire. Looks at the gun, then her reflection, then back to the gun and finally back to her reflection as she begins to lift the gun.

  CHAPTER 20:

  A DEAL WITH…

  Jeff edges his feet closer to the edge of the roof of The Ruby Hotel as the cold unforgiving wind slaps his face. His body is shielded from the cold air by his suit jacket now stained with the blood of the family dog. He glances at these stains ever so often but only one thought continuously crosses his mind. This could have been theirs. The thought of murdering his wife and daughter sickened him right to his core. He has never felt anymore less of a man than he does at this soul crushing moment. I never asked for this. His head slowly droops down until in his eye line was a street filled with the hustle and bustle of city life. From this height the people in the streets looked like ants to Jeff. None of you know. That’s the sad part. He rubs his face as he breathes deeply. I’m envious. Envious of all of you. I had it. Everything I could possibly have hoped for. I enjoyed life. And you naïve mortals get to keep on enjoying the wonders of life. As I suffer. The wind picks up catching Jeff off guard and pushes him slightly back away fro
m the edge, he remains standing firm though. It takes more than a gust of wind to kill me. Essentially not even a bullet can kill me. But you. All of you. You get that pleasure. He reaches into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulls out his issued pistol which had been slightly modified by Tessa. And points it down toward the street of people.

  I could pull this trigger. And with good aim I could kill one of you right now. Watch as your cranium explodes in a mass of skull and brain. Then you know what follows? The blood. The one thing that pumps around all of us, to keep our hearts pumping, to keep the rest of our organs running. And now for me at least, a tasty treat. Whoopie! Daddy I want some blood for my breakfast today. Don’t worry about a bowl, I’ll just rip the fuckers head off and shove my mouth into their neck stump. Fresh blood spraying my face. Getting into my eyes, my nose. Just shower me with it. Cover me with it. FEED ME WITH IT! Jeff shakes his head violently as his eyes begin to switch between bright and black just like his thoughts. His dog’s blood must not have been enough to quench his thirst. He quickly shoves the gun back into his jacket pocket and turns to run towards the door that will lead him back into the hotel. He stumbles to the floor as he grabs his head desperately trying to think of anything that will stop this dark side of him being released once more.

  Jade. Lisa. Jade and Lisa. Jade and Lisa. Rip open their chests. Our wedding day, how beautiful she looked. Punch through their ribs. The day Lisa was born. Yum fresh young and mature blood ready for consumption. Grab those hearts and tear them out. Bathe in it. And that’s just the start.

  ‘Shut up!’ Jeff screams still clutching his head with his body curled, knees pushing into his chest. His body quakes in fear. Kill them all. Take it all. Have it all. The voice in his head rises to a menacing shriek. Fuck them all! Each and every last one of them. They’re not right for this world, mere pawns in which we get to play with. The ultimate is me. The almighty is me. The One is me!

  Suddenly through his mind is calmness, the voice had stopped. The sound of the wind and car engines from the street below are all that can be heard. Jeff remains curled up as a tear roles down the ridge of his nose and drops to the floor. Wha_. Jeff could not think of a single word in the English dictionary in his head. It seemed empty, dark, void of anything. Peaceful. He closes his eyes. The sound of the wind begins to overpower the everyday noises of the city. Jade. Lisa. The thoughts of Jade and Lisa return. Jeff sneaks a small smile as he has now regained control of his mind and body. For now.

  ‘What on earth are you doing?’ A female voice asks.

  Jeff shuffles onto his back where he bares eyes on Tessa who stands no more than three feet away from him tapping her foot with a queer look on her face. ‘Get up you fool.’ She orders but in a jokey sort of way to keep Jeff at ease.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Jeff politely asks as he gets himself up and quickly wipes the tears forming under his eyes hoping Tessa didn’t catch them and think less of him.

  ‘You called me here. I got a phone call from you and all I could hear was you heavy breathing along with some strange moans. Believe me I’ve heard my fair share of strange moans and heavy breathing and they didn’t sound like the pleasurable kind. So I traced your location and came straight here. The traffic was horrible. Took me forever. Couldn’t you have done this not at rush hour, maybe in a few more hours so I could’ve changed form and got here in a few minutes flat. But no. Just under an hour. In rush hour traffic just to get down a few roads. Not to mention the fact of the location you chose to do this. You know what will happen if I get caught or to you if caught with me.’ Tessa’s kindness towards Jeff wore off as her annoyance of the situation took over.

  Jeff scratches his head. ‘An hour?’ He asks.

  ‘Yes a bloody hour. You phoned me…’ Tessa pulls out her phone and presses some keys to bring up her recent call list. ‘Exactly fifty four minutes ago.’

  I must’ve pocket dialled her when I fell. But an hour ago? It felt like seconds for me.

  ‘And I come here to find you curled up on the roof of a building in which I shouldn’t be anywhere near crying like a baby!’ Tessa begins to pace back and forth in frustration.

  ‘I must’ve pocket dialled you when I fell.’ Jeff tries to explain to Tessa without trying to sound like a teenager who accidently pocket dialled their parent at an inappropriate time.

  ‘So let me get this straight. You came on to the roof why?’ Tessa stops and gets a real look at Jeff and spots the blood stains on his jacket. A frown appears on her face. ‘Whose is that?’ She points to his jacket.

  He looks down and realises what she’s asking him. ‘It’s my dog’s blood.’ As these words fall from his lips the thoughts of the events that occurred earlier come flooding back to front of his mind. ‘But it could’ve been my wife’s, or my daughter’s.’ His body becomes weak at the mention of his family.

  Tessa drops her annoyed angry woman status and begins to realise what occurred. ‘You got hungry, didn’t you?’ She asks with a soft gentle tone to her voice. Jeff didn’t answer in words he just nodded his head slowly. Tessa walks the few feet towards Jeff. She gives him a hug, speaking softly into his ear. ‘Just think about the positive. They’re both still alive and well. No harm will come to them, the council will protect them from our world, it’s what they do, they’re superb at it and considering you’re with me most of the time, I’ll protect them from you.’

  That last point Tessa made just played on repeat in Jeff’s head as Tessa releases him from the hug. ‘I wanted to kill them Tessa.’ His voice shakes.

  ‘I know. Could you not control it?’ Tessa asks still with a sympathetic tone to her voice.

  ‘The hunger itself, it’s like a separate entity within me. It completely took over. I had no control. I could’ve killed them, I wanted to kill them.’ Jeff holds back more tears. ‘Not only kill them, but tear their bodies into pieces. Drinking every last drop.’ His eyes stare at Tessa.

  Silence falls between both of them as the eeriness of Jeff’s stare doesn’t sit well with Tessa as she slowly begins to move her left foot behind her.

  ‘Scrape scrape scrape goes the meat from the bones. Drip drip drip goes the blood from the veins. Delicious, isn’t it Tessa.’ Jeff’s eyes begin to flash between bright and black once again, this time with Tessa as a witness.

  ‘Jeff? Control it. Don’t let it control you. You control the curse. Not the other way round.’ Tessa shouts as she stops her left foot and begins to slide her right foot backwards.

  ‘Sniff sniff. I smell blood. A familiar smell. I remember the taste being delightful.’ Jeff snarls through gritted teeth.

  ‘It’s me Jeff. My blood. You’re sensing me.’ She begins to back off quicker.

  Jeff slowly edges towards her, his eyes have now frozen as a pit of darkness. ‘I’m going to fuck every hole in your body, right before I riddle you with more holes, fucking them all! Getting your blood all over me, rubbing it into my skin. Licking it from your body, before I eat you out… From the inside.’

  ‘Jeff don’t do this. Don’t let it do this to you. Your family Jeff, think of them.’ Desperately trying to get Jeff to remember something about his life.

  Jade. Lisa. ‘Gone. All gone. Left me. Saw this.’ Gesturing at himself. ‘This is who they were scared of. The One. Me.’

  ‘They’re not scared of Jeff. They’re scared of you. Jeff I know this isn’t you. They love you. They would never leave you, no matter what you’ve become.’

  Love. Jade. Lisa. They’re a part of me. My life. Me. I am me. All of them. The world. Jeff collapses to his knees, his head spinning around. ‘This isn’t me.’ He whispers. Fuck them all. Do it! Fuck them all! The voice screams before silencing once more.

  ‘No it isn’t you. This is you. You’re Jeff!’ Tessa retraces her footsteps back to Jeff’s side.

  ‘Yes.’ Jeff states whilst staring dead ahead.

  ‘Yes exactly. This is the Jeff everyone knows and loves.’ Tessa smiles. Then slaps him across t
he head. ‘So no more of this.’ She grabs his arm and helps him to his feet.

  ‘I feel all light headed.’ Jeff states as he leans forward holding himself up with his hands on his knees.

  ‘Just shake it off and let’s get out of here.’ Tessa explains.

  As Jeff rights himself he turns to the direction of the door leading back into the building to see Vaelen standing in the doorway. ‘Erm Tessa.’ He utters.

  ‘What now?’ Tessa asks in a huff. She also clocks on to Vaelen. ‘Well look who it is.’ She states with a grin suddenly appearing on her face.

  As Vaelen walks out from the doorway and onto the roof he quickly pulls out his gun and aims it at Tessa. ‘Now what do you plan on doing with that?’ She asks creepily still with a grin on her face.

  ‘I believe we both know why this must happen Tessa.’ Vaelen sternly says with a complete straight face.

  ‘How did you know I was here?’ She asks, with her grin beginning to fade.

  ‘I was coming here to meet Jeff to have a little chat.’ Vaelen answered.

  Tessa sharply looks at Jeff in disgust at the fact he had set her up. Jeff knew that this is what she thought from just her look. ‘Trust me Tessa this wasn’t meant to happen like this. I didn’t mean to phone and bring you here!’ Jeff tries to explain.

  ‘No it was just pure luck that I was running a little late due to a mishap that happened earlier. I would’ve liked to have wrapped this meeting up quick so I could get back there and help sort it out. But since I’ve now come across you, I might as well kill you before heading back.’ Vaelen explains.

  Jeff quickly pulls out his gun and presses it against the back of Vaelen’s head. ‘Put the gun down.’ Jeff asks with anger in his voice.

  Vaelen turns his head slightly to look at Jeff, ‘you’re a good rookie Jeff, don’t do this. You won’t win.’ He states calmly but with a hint of malice.

  ‘I think he may with me on his team.’ Tessa chuckles as while Vaelen was facing Jeff she had pulled out her pistol and is now pointing it at Vaelen’s face. ‘Now do as the man says and put down the gun. Pretty please?’ She asks with a smile. Vaelen slowly bends his knees as he lowers himself and places the gun on the floor. ‘Now slowly come back up.’ Tessa demands this time without a smile.