by Dani Hoots
I stared at Joshua’s hand, the blood dripping seductively down to the ground. The hunger was there, the hunger that I would find to never end. I had to do it, I had to help Brain. I cared for him, I was completely and utterly in love with him. With this I could save him, with this I could be strong and finally stand up for something I believed in.
I grabbed Joshua’s hand and drank the blood that spilled out of his hand. The warm liquid filled my mouth and instantly everything was clear. My headache went away, my senses heightened a hundred fold. I felt more alive than I ever knew possible. And the taste of human blood, nothing could come close to how satisfying it was. Nothing.
My body felt like it was transforming, every sensation magnified tenfold. I felt as if it had awoken from sleep, every sense heightened. The hunger grew and grew in the pit of my stomach.
Joshua pulled his hand away and for a moment I forgot he was there. I forgot I was drinking his blood, a living being. The only thought I had was about the drink itself. I licked my lip, not wanting to waste a drop.
Joshua looked at me as if I was a monster. He wrapped the wound up and nodded to the stairwell. “He’s in his room.”
I nodded and headed up the stairs.The creaks echoed through the empty house. I could feel my heart beat in my chest. I was changed now, I was no longer human. The thought echoed in my mind. No longer human. I couldn’t believe it. Everything I knew about life was gone and only a mystery remained. An eternity remained.
And that scared me, but at least I didn’t have to face it alone, at least not at that moment. I wondered how Brian could have done it all this time.
I opened Brian’s door slowly. Something crawled into the shadows as light flickered into the room. I quickly shut the door behind me.
When I turned, Brian was in front of me. This time I didn’t jump.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he whispered, his eyes a glowing yellow. Blood was splattered across his face and his wound on his arm seemed to be getting worse.
Placing my hand on his cheek, I leaned in and kissed him. He tried to push me away but I didn’t let him. I pulled his mouth down to my neck. He bit down but this time there was no pain, this time I could feel everything without the pain. I ran my hands through his hair. The feeling was haunting, as I could sense my blood being taken by him. It was the closest our kind could be, sharing each other’s blood.
Moments passed as he drank my blood, he was not hesitating as the hunger trapped him. I didn’t stop him, knowing full well it would not kill me. It was strange, being able to compare being bit as a human and as a hooh-strah-dooh. My body was so much stronger now.
When he backed away from me, his eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, no, you can’t.”
I placed my finger on his lips. “Shh.”
“He killed you, didn’t he? After I gave you blood. He did this to save me!” Brian tried to open the door but I grabbed him and pulled him close. I kissed him on the lips, my teeth biting down and drawing blood.
And it tasted fantastic.
Brian wrapped his arms around me, forgetting about everything that happened. I loved him, and I wanted to forget the rest of the world. I wanted to forget where I had come from, the gangs, the wolves, the people wanting to kill him. I wanted to forget that life was happening outside those doors, I wanted to forget it all and to forever be in his arms. And for a brief moment, I thought we could.
Brian pulled me to his bed, unzipping the back of my dress. I unbuttoned his shirt and pushed him on the bed. I licked my blood-stained lips. Nothing was as satisfying as the taste of the blood of the one you love. With someone who felt the exact same thing. I jumped on top of him and bit down on his neck like a savage animal.
I woke up alone in Brian’s bed. I could still smell his cologne on the bed sheets and for a moment I lay there and took it all in. Everything seemed right in the world, insofar that we overcame everything and nothing could stop us.
At least I had hoped.
I heard shouting coming from the floor below. Quickly, I grabbed some clothes and hurried down the stairs to find Brian and Joshua arguing.
“You had no right!” Brian shouted, throwing one of his antique vases at him. I really liked that vase, too.
Joshua ducked out of the way. “I did it for you, it was because of her you almost died!”
“You turned her into a creature just like me! Did you think I would be happy about that?” Brian threw another vase at him.
This time the vase hit Joshua in the chest. He flinched as shards went in every direction. “Why do you care? She is just one of your servants!”
Brian grabbed him by the throat. “I care because I love her! Do you understand that? Apparently not since you have been trying to sabotage it from day one!” He kept his hand around Joshua’s throat and wasn’t letting go. I could see his face starting to turn color.
I placed my hand on Brian’s arm. “Let him go, Brian.”
Brian’s eyes didn’t leave Joshua. “He did this to you, don’t you understand that?”
“I would have done it willingly. You could have died because of me and I wouldn’t have been able to live with that. Not when you saved my life more than once.”
He glared at Joshua a moment longer, then let him go. “Go now, head back to town. I will be there later this week. Just get out of my sight.”
Joshua didn’t say a word as he opened the door and left. I shielded my eyes from the light coming in, blinking a few times to get the pain to go away.
“How do you go outside?” I asked rubbing my eyes.
“Years and years of practice,” his eyes were still at the door.
I leaned in and kissed him.
“What was that for?” he asked.
I smiled. “You said you loved me.”
He kissed me again. “Well, I do. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me since getting turned into this creature. I’m sorry that the misfortune has fallen to you as well.”
I shook my head. “No, this is the greatest thing that has happened to me. I feel strong for once, as if I can do anything,” I stepped forward. “And we can finally be together.”
He grinned and placed his hand on my cheek. “Tonight, it is just going to be you and me. I have something to show you, I think you will like it. Then we will return to the city,” he kissed my forehead. “And I can train you in the ways of a hooh-strah-dooh. Meanwhile, you relax. I would stay out of the light, you aren’t strong enough yet to endure the sun.”
“How did you manage it?”
“I have had a couple of centuries to figure it out. Mostly I just stay out of the sun, if you haven’t noticed. That’s why I get up so late in the day.”
“Here I just thought you were lazy.”
“Anything but,” he nodded back up the stairs. “Go get some more rest, I will come get you when twilight falls.”
I did as he said, the light did cause me to feel a bit dreary. It was strange to not be able to look into the light without pain. To forever live in the darkness. I didn’t feel that I would miss the light, that truthfully I had always been in the dark. Now I was strong enough to fight back.
I lay there a while, staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t fall back to sleep, realizing everything that happened. I was now a creature, a monster of sorts, but I felt somewhat the same, still me. Granted the confidence and strength were there, but for the things I enjoyed, the things I loved, they were all the same. I was still me. And I would be me until the day I died, if I ever did. I had an eternity now, an eternity with Brian.
That night, Brian drove me to the coast. It wasn’t that far, probably just a few minutes in the car. The moon was half full, bringing some light to the sandy beach, but I didn’t need it to be able to see. I could see everything fine then. A predator's eyes could see in the darkness.
Brian parked the car in an abandoned area. No one was around, being so late into the night. It felt invigorating to have the place to ourselves. The normal fear
of the darkness was gone and all there was, was excitement to start life anew. I followed him out onto the beach.
I never realized how serene the night was until then. The dark waves looking like a never ending pool of black ink, the sand a shadowy mess of shimmering glitter in the moon light. Shadows engulfed us and for once in my lifetime I felt at home.
“What do you think of this gem of a spot?” Brian asked as he watched my eyes light up.
“It’s beautiful, I can’t believe I had never noticed how gorgeous the night is.”
He laughed. “Glad you think so, for we are forever trapped in it,” his face became stern as he grabbed my hands. “Anne, this isn’t a curse I ever would put on an enemy, let alone someone I cared about. Please don’t think I would ever want you to endure this pain as I have for over two centuries.”
I shook my head. “I don’t blame you and I’m happy to be able to share this.”
“You may one day regret it, and I have to tell you there is no way out.”
He didn’t smile and I began to worry as to what he meant by it. No matter how much pain we had endured and wanted to end it, an internal instinct of survival inside fought it. We could never take our own lives, no matter how much we wanted to. That was our curse.
I kissed him on the lips. “I don’t want a way out. I just want you.”
He grinned and hugged me, holding me there for a long moment. His embrace was warm and I felt I could let him hold me forever. After a while, he stepped back and got down on his knees. “Anne, will you spend the rest of eternity with me? We can run away from this place, go overseas. I heard Paris is lovely.”
I couldn’t believe what was happening. I covered my mouth. He wanted to leave everything behind to be with me. I stood there, speechless. After the roller coaster of the last few days, running away from it all seemed like a brilliant plan. “You want to run away with me?”
“Yes. Just let me finish up the year, moving Joshua in charge. Then we can leave, at Christmas. I will get the tickets and we can leave this place behind forever. Just you and me, we will forever be free.”
I nodded quickly. “Of course, Brian, I will run away with you.”
He stood up and kissed me, his soothing lips warming my own. His smooth hands ran through my hair and I pulled him closer so our bodies weren’t apart. I knew I wanted to be with him for that measure of time. We stayed on that beach all night, talking of all the things we were going to do in the future. I wanted those things so much and it breaks my heart when I remember everything that was said that night.
We went back to south Boston later that week. I hadn’t been back in over a month and surprisingly I had never realized the stench of city air until that day. I didn’t know if it was my heightened senses or if I just was always used to it. It took me a while to get used to this new hypersensitivity to smell.
As promised, Brian taught me everything I needed to know to be a hooh-strah-dooh. The pros, the cons, the secrets, the ways we can die, the ways we couldn’t die, all of it. I don’t think I would have survived this long if it weren’t for those two months of learning how to fend for myself, to find victims that I could drink from, how to fight, skills just to survive in the world.
I thought about going to my home and showing my family what I had become, let them fear me just as they had made me fear them. But I decided not to. That life was behind me and I didn’t want to remember it ever again. There was no reason to dwell on the past when I had eternity for a future.
Thinking back on it, those two months were the best of my entire life. It felt so short, only a fleeting moment in my memories and if it weren’t for the biggest mistake I ever made in my life, maybe it would have been better then. Maybe life wouldn’t be so lonely now.
Brian had gotten us tickets for December 23rd to sail to France. We would celebrate the New Year in Paris, just as we had discussed. It was going to be a new start for the two of us. No more gangs, no more fighting, just adventures. It would have been perfect, but, as I know now, nothing can be perfect.
The night before we left, Brian got a call from Frankie Wallace. They had just hijacked an important shipment from the yards that day and the gang leader up north, Joseph Lambardo, wanted to cut them a deal. ‘Normal business transaction’, I had found that was what they called it. Frankie wanted Brian and a couple of his men to come with them for back up, they never knew how those things would go down. I begged Brian not to go, a feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me it wasn’t going to end well, but he said it would be his last meeting and that there was nothing to worry about. So I waited for him to come back, our suitcases ready to go.
Letting him go was the worst mistake I would ever make in my life.
As I waited, the silence in the house was eerie. I felt as if it haunted me while I waited for Brian, echoing in my mind that he was never to come back and I was forever alone. I didn’t know why I was so afraid, in only a few hours we would always be together. We could finally not have to think about anything except for ourselves. And that would have been a first for me.
I daydreamed about the places we would see. We had the entire world to explore. Europe, Asia, Africa, it was all there just for us. I wondered if there were others like us that we would run into while we traveled. I didn’t know if that would be a good thing or not and figured it wouldn’t happen. It would have been interesting, though, if we did.
Out of nowhere as I sat in Brian’s house, bullets rained through the windows, glass flying in every direction. I ducked and waited for the attack to stop. I wouldn’t necessarily die from getting hit by a bullet, but I knew it would hurt like hell. Whoever it was stopped shooting and kicked down the front door. Hurrying around the corner into the entry, I surprised the attacker and slashed his throat with my nails, a trick Brian had taught me and one that I would use more often than not. As he lied there, dead, I took a good look at him. Italian. Part of the gang Brian was to meet that night. At that moment, I knew my fear had been correct and Brian was in deep trouble.
I ran outside to find three more men waiting. Bullets poured out of their guns at me, but I was too quick for them. I had learned to anticipate where they would shoot and they couldn’t get a hit. I slashed each of their throats and stared at the blood that began to seep out of their throats and stain the concrete beneath.
The sound of clapping echoed through the streets behind me. I spun around to find Joshua standing there, smiling. “Bravo, Anne. Brian has taught you well.”
My heart pounded in my chest. How could he have just stood there while I was being attacked? Unless... “What did you do?”
“What am I doing? The better question is what you two are doing?” he held up the tickets. “I found these on Brian. You two were leaving for good, weren’t you?”
I didn’t say anything but focused on the blood that covered the tickets. My heart felt as if it sunk into my stomach. It couldn’t be true, I couldn’t have lost the one I loved. Every emotion in my mind shut off as I stared at the blood. I could smell it, it was Brian’s. He wasn’t lying to me.
My body started shaking. We were supposed to run away together, we were supposed to start anew, finally, after all this time. All this pain. There was supposed to be happiness at the end of the tunnel, not complete and utter darkness. “Why?”
“He lied to me. I asked him about this and he lied. He said he would always be here and he would never leave. Until you came and destroyed everything!” he held up a stake. It was made of the wood Brian told me about. The only wood that could kill us. Red-bud.
“You killed him,” I stated. “You killed him! You bastard, you are going to die!” All I knew then was that I was going to rip Joshua into a million pieces for what he took from me. My blood turned hot and I was beginning to see red. Nothing was going to stop me from ripping him into pieces.
“He deserved it! He lied to me!” he started for me. “And now it is your turn.”
I started to back up when I heard the sound of gro
wling. I turned to find three wolves behind me. “The Wyandot,” I whispered.
“Yes, they were very happy to find Brian’s whereabouts. I mean, I knew I couldn’t kill Brian alone and I happened to come across one of the wolves that survived the night a couple months back. I also let them know of you and how you were also one of those creatures. They were more than happy to help me kill you.”
I ran towards the house. I knew exactly where Brian kept the gun to kill the wolves, the ones lined with silver. I barely made it through the door as one of the wolves jumped at me, hitting the door as I slammed it shut. A few pounding sounds later and the door was open again. I ran up the stairs, the monsters biting at my heels. I couldn’t let them get one bite or I was dead. Without Brian, I had no one to save me.
Grabbing the gun, I turned back on my attackers. The three wolves growled as I pulled the trigger. None of them got close enough to stop me. I watched as they slowly turned into the men they once were.
“Well, that went surprisingly different than earlier, but I guess killing you myself will have to suffice,” Joshua stepped over the three bodies. I raised the gun at him. He simply laughed. “You are out of bullets, sweetie.”
I pulled the trigger. He was right. I threw the gun down and stared at the stake he had in his hand.
“Funny, I would have never known about this wood if it weren’t for the movie earlier this year. Dracula, do you remember it? Brian took me and laughed at the things they used to try and stop the monster. He said, though, a stake made of red-bud would indeed kill him, but that was the closest that movie ever got to the truth. I wonder if that movie didn’t come out, if I still would have been able to kill him.”
“You bastard, he was your friend!” I yelled.
“And it was you who ruined it all. It was you that brought this death upon him,” he raised the stake. “And now it’s your turn to die.”
I wanted to die that night, but as Brian always said, we were never that lucky. With a simple flow of motion, I smacked the stake out of his hand and grabbed him by the throat.
