by Dylan Keefer
The jaw disconnected at its weakest point. Flesh ripped, and blood sprayed all around the walls. Prudence dropped the mass of bone on the floor and backhanded the vampire into the wall.
“Go,” she said to Milo and Charlotte. They nodded and left as fast as they could, Charlotte applying pressure to Milo’s wound as her other hand hung beside her body. They sunk in the first open door.
Gurgling noises Prudence could assume to be laughter rang out, and the vampire was on her feet. Before Prudence knew it, she was on the floor, and the vampire was trying to claw her eyes out. Fangs weren't of much use without a lower jaw, but when they were as large as the ones staring Prudence in the face, they couldn't be ignored.
Prudence stuck her hands up. Claws shredded her arms while a fang was stabbed through her palm. Prudence kicked the vampire between the legs repeatedly, then used her other clawed hand to slash at the vampire’s stomach.
The fang in her hand broke off from the vampire’s mouth. Prudence punched the vampire in the face, feeling the bones in her hand snapping. The vampire flew to the side.
Prudence got up, breathing heavily. Just then she noticed the sun right out of the open window. Behind the vampire.
Before the vampire could fully straighten, Prudence ran towards her and pushed her out of it.
There was a dull bump, and Prudence looked out of the window.
The house was shading the part of the yard where the vampire fell down. She had already gotten up and started climbing up the wall. Prudence tensed up, thinking about how she could even kill this thing when an arrow stuck in the vampire's body. Two more followed. Prudence could see that one found its target, and the vampire slid down the wall.
Prudence stood frozen, waiting for the vampire to move again. But there wasn’t anything except her own heartbeat and the sounds a dead body made. She looked down at her hand and yanked the fang out of it. Blood streamed down, washing the poison out of the wound.
“Is the crazy bitch gone?” Charlotte yelled. The sound made Prudence’s vision come back to normal. She ran to them, ignoring the pain in her body.
“I think she’s dead. How are…” Prudence stopped talking when she saw Charlotte crouching, her hand by her, trying to stifle Milo’s bleeding.
Milo was pale. Too pale. Prudence crouched over and focused on his heartbeat. Something wasn’t right.
“He’s not okay, is he?” Prudence’s voice was low. A low wail was stuck in her throat.
“We need to get him help. I need to get my phone and call Wentworth. Can ya stay with him?”
Prudence nodded and replaced Charlotte when she got up. Milo just then opened his eyes.
“You’re… hurt.”
Prudence looked at herself. Her whole body was covered in scratches, and there were several puncture wounds all around. She was certain one of her eyes was puffing up, and her face was stinging. Why was he worried about her? He can obviously feel the fact he is hurt worse. Prudence didn’t think that saying that would benefit anyone, so she focused on keeping him talking. "It's nothing; I can heal easily."
“I’m sorry you had to fight.” His voice was getting fainter. Prudence resisted the urge to hug him.
Prudence smiled at Milo. "I wanted to protect you guys. You are important to me. And that is worth fighting for." As soon as the words exited her mouth, she realized they were true.
“Am I going to die?” Milo asked.
“No, we won’t let that happen. Charlotte would yell at death itself.” Prudence chuckled, trying to keep Milo’s hopes up. She sat there, hands pressed against Milo’s stomach and reassuring him he would be fine as a car pulled over, and someone ran in.
“Oh, my god, what happened?” Prudence heard Doctor Wentworth’s voice.
“Leave me alone, get Milo.”
Prudence avoided the doctor’s glance as he came in the hallway and administered first aid.
“He needs a hospital. Both of you do too.” The doctor tried to help Prudence with her wounds. She shifted away.
“I’ll be fine, take care of Charlotte and Milo.” Prudence got up, feeling faint. “They’re hurt worse, I’ll live.”
"Basement, casket-shaped fridge," Charlotte whispered when Prudence passed by.
Prudence walked into the basement and broke the lock on the fridge. She took out the blood and walked to the kitchen.
Milo had been busy writing down instructions and sticking them around the kitchen, so Prudence could do anything on her own. Prudence walked over to the oven and, after transferring the cold blood in a metal container, put it inside.
“It seems like a large microwave,” she muttered to herself. Turning the dial, she waited for the blood to heat up to at least a drinkable temperature.
The pain had finally come to the forefront of her mind. Every wound on her body stung because of the sweat, and some of them oozed. It would have brought her to her knees if she wasn't so worried about Milo and Charlotte.
The blood heated up, and Prudence immediately drank as much of it as she could. She didn't pay attention to the taste, instead of forcing the hot liquid down her throat.
Her body had begun to heal up when her phone rang.
“Charlotte?”
“Both of us are okay.” Charlotte hurried to reassure her. “They gave Milo a blood transfusion—“
“A what?”
“They gave him blood similar to the one in his body, but through a needle in his vein. It’s a doctor thing.”
“Oh.” Prudence was surprised that they would do a procedure that reminded her of vampires that much.
“Then they fixed his wound. I got my arm set. What about ya?”
“I am drinking as much blood as I can. Healing slowly. I’ll go outside later and try to figure out what to do with the vampire body.”
“Burn it.” Charlotte’s voice was quiet. Prudence assumed it was because she was in public.
"Red can out in the back. Gasoline, the things we put in the car to make it run. Very flammable. Cover the thing in it, and then light a match. Don't get any on ya. Nothing can come back from that."
“Okay. When will you be back?”
“When they discharge us. Ya can come visit us when you get better and clean up.”
“I’d like that.”
The dry blood came off so easily. Simple water and a towel, flowing down the drain. The oozing stopped right after I drank the blood. Wounds knit together, the new skin losing its pinkish hue almost immediately. I know this is not what happens in the hospital, but I can’t help but think of Milo’s transfusion. His fate might not lie in the balance, but I still feel like it is. I feel like it would break me if he died.
Blood heals wounds. It means life. It is what rushes through us like a river. I think back to when I emptied the veins of that poor woman in the ambulance. I will never forget that sound for as long as I live. It haunts me in my dreams, like the visions of death I have as my only memories.
Maybe that is the only thing that separates me from that thing in the yard. Guilt. She didn't think about how she would feel after killing my friends or me. And I still sometimes wonder if the vampire hunter would have been something else if he grew up in a world where monsters like me don't exist. Maybe he would have raised a family. Instead, he spent his life causing pain.
Yes, I am a monster. Or I have a monster in me. I think I accepted that in the very moment I decided to fight back. The very moment I sunk my claws into the vampire's flesh. No amounts of showers and clothes will fix that. When I think of it, I feel numb but panicked at the same time.
How many people had she killed? How many people has she grinned at, while they crawl on the floor, trying to get away from her? Has she ever felt sad for the dying flames in someone’s eyes? Was I like her?
That figure was looming above me in my nightmare. Was it a human or a vampire? I don't think I could tell. I didn't believe that cruelty like that existed. I thought that violence like the one I caused those innocent humans was a mark of
something twisted inside me.
Maybe that defines us is our choices. Do we choose to protect others, or dismantle them? Do we fall down an abyss or rise up, refusing to give up? Charlotte walked into the grayness for me. Milo was apologizing to me on his deathbed. Why shouldn’t I dive into my own gray for them? Even the thought of diving in and never resurfacing haunts the back of my thoughts.
I walk down the hall with the gasoline can with me. People said that fire was cleansing. Cleansing the soul. I think I have disagreed with that. At least now I do. It feels more like reducing something to something less. I don’t mind reducing her.
The body in front of me is mangled and unnaturally twisted, the arrows protruding from it. Will I one day end up like this if the people who want me dead get their way? Pouring the gasoline over it and lighting the match, I am faced with more questions than answers.
In fact, I think I only have one answer.
The claws on my hands are weapons. They destroy. The fangs in my mouth are there for me to pray on things, on people. But whether or not I do that is my choice. I need to live with my decisions, and if I ever get reduced to the crackling, melting monstrosity I see before me, I need to die with peace of mind. Maybe then I’ll stop being haunted by my decisions.
The ones hunting me are not right. They are like her. They choose destruction. They chose to come after me. They don’t need to.
The need is hunger. Need is being afraid. Need is protecting the ones who care about you. Need is the only reason I will ever do anything like this. And I will live with my guilt. My ferocity doesn’t control me.
As the flames flicker on, I make a promise. I will never be like her. But I will fight to live.
CHAPTER ONE
Prudence could not wait to go to the hospital. She got dressed, got her handbag and flagged down a car. It was easy to figure out that the yellow car named taxi could get her to the hospital. She paid the man the money he wanted and didn’t wait for the paltry change. She bolted down the hospital hall until she found Doctor Wentworth. He was sitting in his office, the same one he saw her in when Charlotte took her here. As soon as Doctor Wentworth saw Prudence, he got up. He stopped and looked her over, then frowned. Prudence just then realized he was trying to check her injuries, but didn’t find any. She would need to explain it later.
“I’ll bring you to them. Follow me.” She was surprised he didn’t say anything to her.
Prudence nodded. As they walked, he kept quiet, but she could see that he was still shaken by what he saw in the house. His jaw was set, and his posture was rigid.
The room he brought her in was filled with people. Milo was lying on the bed, sleeping. Charlotte was sitting next to the bed, arm covered in white bandages and hanging from a sling around her neck. Prudence took a deep breath when she heard both of their heartbeats. Rick was standing behind Charlotte, his face showing exactly how distraught he was. John was standing on the opposite side of the room next to the door, hands in his pockets. Doctor Wentworth immediately walked over to Milo’s bed and checked the various instruments.
“He was lucky. The operation went smoothly, and he is recovering well. He’ll probably be healing well. Now,” he turned to Charlotte, “tell me what the fuck happened.”
Prudence stopped breathing. She didn’t know what Charlotte would say, and there was no way to ask. Vampires were a myth. Charlotte turned around. Prudence had never seen her look so worn down.
“We got attacked at home. Someone was trying to break in. Prudence scared them off.” It was so short and blunt, and truthful.
“What have you gotten yourselves into?” Rick rubbed his head.
“We didn’t get ourselves into anything.” Prudence thought and then realized she had said it out loud. When everyone looked at her, she stammered. Prue looked over to Charlotte, whose eyes were wide.
Prudence decided to follow Charlotte’s lead and tell the truth, but not mention vampires. “I mean, they assumed we knew someone they were looking for, because of who we are. We didn’t know anything about it until the person showed up and started attacking us.”
“How did Milo get his stomach shredded?” John asked.
“Not sure, the attacker had something on him I didn’t quite see.” Prudence stared at her hands. Tears started pooling in her eyes when she remembered the scene, Milo bleeding out on the ground. The first memory of her past flashed back in her mind for a quick second. There was a lot of blood there too. “I was so scared.”
“It’s okay.” Prudence heard Rick’s voice. When she looked up, she saw him looking at her with an expression one would use to address a small child. He didn’t even ask about the person the attacker was looking for.
Prudence mustered a smile.
“Will they come back?” Doctor Wentworth asked.
“We don't know," Charlotte said.
“Well, we’re not letting them get you either way. Everyone okay with taking shifts here?” Rick scanned the room. Everyone there nodded. “Both me and John are armed at all times, and during the day it’s hard to come here without us getting alerted.”
“I want Prudence to get Milo out of town as fast as possible. The second he can survive the car ride.” Charlotte stated matter-of-factly.
“What about you?” Doctor Wentworth asked.
“I spend most of my time in the coroner’s office, and the place is teeming with cops. No one is going to attack me there.”
“Then you’re staying with me over the night.” Doctor Wentworth stared Charlotte down. Prudence remembered their banter when she first met Doctor Wentworth.
“Philip, I don’t want to mix ya up in this.” Charlotte glared at Doctor Wentworth.
“You have no choice. My house’s the safest. John lives next door and dad was a hunter, so we have plenty of rifles at home. I know a person in New York that will get Prue and Milo an apartment. It won’t be a fancy one, but it will be clean.” Philip put his hands on his hips.
“It’s a good idea, Charlotte.” John chimed in.
Charlotte turned to Prudence. Prudence nodded. She wanted Charlotte and Milo to be safe more than anything.
“Fine.” Charlotte coincided.
“Okay, I better get back to the station, or people will have a fit.” Rick stretched his neck. “You’ll be okay here Doc?”
“For the day, yes. I’ve ordered that no one except the people in this room are allowed inside. The nurses will page security and then the cops if someone tries to force in.” Philip shook Rick and John’s hands. “I need to go check on my patients.” Philip walked away, once more looking over Prudence. “You might want to come in my office later, for a check up.”
Prudence didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded. She didn’t even notice she got the gender of the attacker wrong until now. She didn’t know if it was because of the fact that the man she remembered attacking her was male or not.
When everyone was gone, Prudence immediately went over to Charlotte and hugged her. Prudence tried to not squeeze too hard, to not hurt Charlotte even further.
“What was that about with Philip?” Charlotte asked, gingerly hugging Prudence with one hand.
“He saw me injured a few hours ago, and when I came here I was fine. He’s confused.”
“I’ll talk to him.” Charlotte smiled, rubbing one of Prudence’s shoulders. “Now, ya're going to learn everything ya need to know to take care of Milo’s wound. I know it’s not easy to ask when ya just saved our lives, but I can’t protect him here.”
“I don’t mind. I want you two to be safe. I don’t mind learning new things.”
“I’ll be fine here. I’ll keep a gun on me at all times. Knife too. Ya just make sure Milo heals okay and take care of yourself.” Charlotte gestured for Prudence to sit in the chair Charlotte was sitting in before. “I’ll go and see Philip now.”
Prudence sat down and observed the various things hooked up to Milo. She listened to his heartbeat. It was slow but strong. It was almost scary how m
uch she was worried about him. He’s alive, he’s fine. She didn’t even mind the hospital smell. She heard a groan coming out of the bed now. Milo was awake.
“It’s too bright in here. And there’s sand and batteries in my mouth.” Milo’s voice was barely audible.
Prudence sighed in relief, shooting up from the chair. She didn’t want to hug him and hurt him. So she looked around. Her eyes landed on the water pitcher on the table.
“Want some water?”
“Yes.” Milo nodded.
Prudence went to the table and filled up a glass of water and put a straw in it. She held it for Milo. He moved up a little but winced immediately.
“I don't think you should move much.” Prudence thought back on how her wounds closed. If they closed the same on humans, only slower, the less he moved, the better.
“You’re right. But at this point, I’m just glad I’m alive.” Milo drank some more water and then stared at Prudence. “You have pretty eyes.”
Prudence couldn’t help but laugh at the way he said it. She didn’t want to leave the room after that. She stayed there, sitting like a rock next to Milo, holding his hand as softly as she could even when Charlotte came back and told her that Philip now knew she could self-heal, but not what she was. Prudence didn’t care much, especially when Charlotte told Milo he was going to move to New York with Prudence and stay out of the way, he didn’t complain. Prudence was relieved. Not only that Milo didn’t fight the decision, but that he didn’t mind being alone with her. He even seemed to like the idea. She didn’t know how to feel about that.
Charlotte fell asleep at ten. Prudence threw a blanket over her and cracked open the notes and books Philip had brought over and read up on how to clean large wounds and how to make sure Milo healed properly. There were a lot of diagrams that made her sick. Various infections and causes of death. But this was for a friend. She was trying to stop it, and that filled her with a lot of determination. Morning came, and Prudence didn’t even feel a little bit tired. The eight cups of coffee might have helped.
