The Blood Talisman

by Kim Culpepper

  Her arms were wrapped around a middle-aged, overweight man in a tie-dyed t-shirt. He could have easily overcome her and Alex wandered why he didn’t try. He looked terrified and Alex glanced down at their feet to understand why. Off to the right was another attendant but she was lying in a pool of her own blood with her throat ripped out.

  “Alex, my name is Ember. I need you to feed on this fat fuck. I’m only going to give you this chance. If you will look outside…” and she pointed to Alex’s car. Selene was standing outside it, being held by his former Commander, John Fortner. Surrounding the car were five men that Alex could sense were werewolves.

  “I’m not going to kill him, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t give a shit who you are,” Alex retorted.

  “You will either feed on him or I will let John break her legs and the wolves outside will have her. Your choice,” Ember responded.

  Alex looked back at Selene who was now in tears as John tightened his grip on her neck. He was nearly choking her through her tears. The fat man in front of him looked terrified. Alex reached out a hand to the gas station attendant and Ember laughed.

  “You have to change first, you moron. I swear, you wolves aren’t the brightest of breeds, are you? Here I’ll get you started,” she said.

  She flicked her hair back behind her and bit the attendant on his neck. He screamed out in pain as the blood from his veins trickled down his colorful shirt.

  The environment was starting to build on him. He felt the anger bubbling from within. His blood burned like fire and his bones began to ache. He wanted to feed but his heart wasn’t in it. He couldn’t take another life. Ember had given him a choice. A life for a life. He bent over in pain. The wolf within screamed to be released to feed but Alex resisted.

  Ember dropped the nearly lifeless attendant to the gas station floor and smiled at Alex.

  “That’s it, little doggie. Change, my pet. Your time is running out. He’s dying,” she taunted, blood dripping from her lips.

  “No,” Alex whimpered out in a deeper voice than usual.

  Ember grabbed Alex by the neck, lifting him off his feet. The bones within him started to break and his blood scorched angrily through him. She threw him down just as he finished changing into the wolf. He could smell the blood from the man lying on the floor, hear his heart slowly beating. He was very near death. Ember stood back and watched in enjoyment as he devoured the attendant.

  When he was nearly through, Ember picked him up by the fur on the back of his neck and threw him through the glass front doors outside to the parking lot. The other wolves had changed as well. They were still standing around the car, awaiting instruction from Ember.

  Alex began to change back into human form. He’d had enough of being told what to do by a woman he didn’t even know. The transformation was more painful this time. He felt different. Guilt and remorse started to set in and he didn’t know which was more unbearable – his emotional feelings or the physical pain.

  “Alex!” Selene yelled out.

  John’s big meaty hand covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking any further.

  “Okay, load up, wolves,” Ember yelled out to the others who had accompanied her.

  They trotted over to the big rig and climbed up into the open back of the trailer like obedient pets. “You too, sweetie.” She patted Alex’s cheek and ran her hand down his heaving chest. He struggled to hold onto what was left of his pants.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you, you mean ass bitch,” Alex said.

  “Oooo, feisty this one,” she remarked to John.

  John nodded an irritated nod.

  “How in the hell do you figure into all of this and what the fuck did you do with my wife?” Alex yelled at John.

  “Oh, he doesn’t know who I am, Johnnie. Why don’t you enlighten him?” Ember said.

  “Don’t call me Johnnie.” He rolled his eyes. “We were sent by Administration at Blearney Hospital. I think you already know why and your wife is safe. She’s in a holding area at the hospital. We will be happy to take you to her as long as you cooperate with Ember,” John explained.

  Alex looked over at Selene. Her tears had dried up and her eyes flicked back and forth at all of them. The wind picked up and the sky darkened. She closed her eyes and there was lighting behind the gas station, then in front of it. One bolt struck close to Ember.

  “Let go of her, John. She’s a witch,” Ember yelled.

  John released his grip and backed away slowly. Alex ran over and pulled her close to his side. She opened her eyes and could see he was searching for answers in them, but receiving none.

  “Are you okay?” Alex asked softly.

  Selene nodded her head. John crept over to Ember.

  “I think we will be arriving in Blearney all on our own,” Selene said to Ember.

  “You don’t get a say in this, witch!” Ember yelled at her.

  She strode forcefully over to Selene and pulled her unwillingly from Alex’s arms. Selene’s concentration was lost and the clouds parted to sunshine again. Ember held Selene against her body. With one hand on Selene’s waist and the other on her forehead, Ember licked her neck teasingly.

  Alex jumped forward to stop Ember but John pushed him back against the car.

  “Let it happen,” he whispered. His eyes and head shake were telling Alex ‘no’, but he couldn’t trust John anymore and he struggled to gain freedom from his embrace.

  Ember bit into Selene’s neck and drank from her for a few seconds before she completely let go of her. Ember fell backwards onto the ground and grabbed her own throat. She cried out in agony and threw up the blood she had just gorged herself on. She coughed and sputtered up at John.

  “Help me!” she shrieked at him.

  Her tanned skin had a turned grey and her darkened veins showed throughout her body.

  John let Alex go and raced over to pick Ember up and tote her like a baby back to the big rig. He started it up and they were gone in an instance.

  Alex walked over and helped Selene towards their car. He set her on the ground beside it, leaning her against it. Blood bubbled at the surface of her neck and Alex placed his hand over her wound.

  “Let me run into the store and find something to stop the bleeding.”

  “No, I will be fine… help is coming… don’t leave me,” she managed to sputter out.

  “Okay, but Selene, you’re going to die if I don’t stop it.”

  She reached up and grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes. They searched each other’s souls for minutes. The blood continued down her blouse and through his fingers. Her face had become pale from the blood loss. She looked like a bloody angel.

  Police car sirens sounded in the distance. Help was obviously at hand but Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to be there when it arrived. He nervously looked for them to come down the road any second. He looked at Selene then back at the road. She stopped his face from leaving her gaze with her hand.

  “It will be okay. You’ll see,” she whispered.

  Three cop cars spun gravel and dust onto the blood-soaked pavement at the gas station. They surrounded the car like Ember’s wolves had earlier. The officers got out of their cars quickly, two at a time. Six cops in total, one a female. Alex expected guns to be drawn any second but they weren’t. They encircled Alex and Selene. The female cop squatted down on the pavement next to Alex and moved his hand away from Selene’s wound.

  “I’ll take it from here,” she said.

  “Sister!” Selene whispered.

  “You’re her sister?” Alex asked.

  “Yes. We don’t have a lot of time. Take a few of my guys with you and go into the gas station and bring me salt and a wet towel, and if you can find witch hazel that would be helpful,” she answered.

  “Sure, no problem.”

  Alex and a couple of the cops searched the gas station in silence for a few seconds. Alex paused at the feet of the gas attendant that he'd unwillingly killed earlier. He
looked down at him and stared. He felt as if his soul had left his body and he was merely a shell of the man that he used to be.

  “Is that your first human kill?” a deep voice said behind him.

  “I… didn’t have a choice,” Alex said despondently.

  The deep voice put a hand on Alex’s shoulder and said, “I have some clothes you can change into. We’ve found everything that Rose needs to help her sister. You need to take care of yourself.”

  Alex looked outside at Selene and her sister, Rose. She seemed to be conducting some sort of ritual. A couple of the other cops were pouring salt on the ground into the form of a circle around them.

  “She’s amazing, isn’t she? My Rose, that is. Of course, Selene is amazing in her own right. So are we. I’m Ben, by the way.”

  “Alex,” he said, shaking Ben’s hand. The handshake left blood on Ben’s hand and he looked a little disgusted by it.

  “Sorry,” Alex mumbled, looking down at Ben’s hand.

  “Wouldn’t be the first human’s blood I had on my hands. You will come to learn to let it go. It just takes time. I wasn’t forced like you were to feed on a human but I wasn’t in control of my emotions the first time I changed. I regret that day more than any other day in my life. Rose has helped me to learn control but, as I’m sure Selene has told you, it’s not easy.”

  “She’s taught me a little about it. I really don’t understand how anybody could be so heartless to force someone to kill for them though,” Alex sighed, gazing back down at his victim.

  “Don’t even try to understand those soulless fucks that consider themselves vampires. Us werewolves believe their disease has caused them to lose their conscience. Rose says it’s only a symptom of it, but I like to believe a conscience is something that isn’t affected by disease.”

  A tall and intimidating cop came through the door to the gas station carrying a change of clothes with him. He ducked his head to avoid hitting it the doorway and passed several rows of disarrayed snack chips and candy bars.

  “Here you go, sir. Anything else?” he asked, handing the stack of clothes over to Alex.

  “Yes, get some police tape and the camera. We’ll pin this on wild animals again,” Ben said.

  The officer turned and left the gas station. Alex snuck off to the bathroom near the back of the store, leaving Ben to the crime scene.

  He reached down for the door and stared at his hand as it slipped around the handle. Blood smeared on the knob as he turned it to the left. Inside was a typical southern gas station bathroom. A gathering of scented pine cones were displayed on top of the aged toilet. A beige sink struggled to hang onto the wall and the fluorescent light above seemed to hum a judgmental hymn.

  Alex laid his fresh change of clothes on top of the scented pine cones and leaned forward over the sink. He stared at the image of himself in the mirror. His face was nearly unrecognizable and the rest of his body was a tainted shade of red. Blood covered the bottom half of his face, his torso, his arms and his hands. He glanced down at all of himself and followed the blood patterns back up into his own eyes. They had even changed. They seemed somewhat darker and less inhibited. He couldn’t stare into them for long.

  He turned the water from the sink on and placed his hands under the cool substance. It washed over him in true baptismal style. He washed his sin away at first slowly, then hurriedly as it became harder to make it disappear. He splashed some water on his chest and his face, then wiped them with paper towels.

  The bloody water swirled down into the dark drain. He turned the water off and looked at himself once again in the mirror. The blood was gone but the darkness in his eyes hadn’t. He didn’t recognize the man he had become. The wolf had corrupted who he was as a person and he had to find a way to get that back. The man staring back at him seemed evil. He punched the mirror, breaking the glass and cutting his own hand. A few shards landed in the empty sink below and shattered.

  “Shit!” he yelled out.

  He wrapped some towels around his injured hand and grabbed the change of clothes off of the scented pine cones. A knock came on the door and a familiar voice followed.

  “Are you okay in there?” Selene asked.

  Alex threw on the shirt quickly and yanked the door open. There she stood. Good as new. She looked positively radiant. Her blonde hair glowed vividly and her bright blue eyes looked clear. She smiled at him, waiting for an answer.

  “I’m better.” he finally responded.

  “Me too” she said, doing a curtsy to solidify her statement.

  He grabbed her and hugged her to his chest. There was some wetness from his washing that seeped through his new shirt along the middle of his sternum. She didn’t mind as she wrapped her arms around him in return. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek. She listened to each thump lovingly. Because of that heart beating, she could be happy, even if just for a moment. She pulled away from his chest and grabbed his face in her hands.

  “You seem different somehow. Don’t let what has happened change who you are. You didn’t have a choice,” she said to him.

  Tears formed in his eyes and they looked back and forth into hers, searching for more. He leaned closer to her face and a single tear dropped from his face onto hers. She leaned in closer and kissed his lips. He let her and kissed her back in return. Their tongues rubbed each other gently and passionately. He slid his hands down her back to her waist and pulled her in tighter. He stopped kissing her and looked into her face again, searching.

  Chapter 13

  Amalia had picked nearly all the paint off of the strip of wall behind her cot. It looked like her white wall had a grey stripe. She wandered where Alex was and what he was doing. The pink pajamas with grey poodles that Ram had brought her were giving her a headache. The hot pink color glowed against the cold, grey and white concrete wall.

  She heard footsteps hurrying to her cell. The keys outside jingled and a small, stumpy man barged into the cell, slamming the door against the opposite wall.

  “Come with me. Hurry, Ram wants to see you immediately and he’s pissed,” the man said.

  “And he sent you to retrieve me?” Amalia laughed.

  She left her cell with him. She didn’t know if it was because she was being imprisoned, or her anger for being brought here against her will, but her inhibitions had changed drastically. She threw caution to the wind. Her normal caring personality seemed to have disappeared and she was surprisingly fine with it.

  They arrived at a set of big mahogany double doors. The stumpy man opened one side and ushered Amalia in. The scene was one of chaos. Doctors and nurses encircled a woman lying on a California king-sized bed. Her clothes were drenched in blood and sweat. Her face was pale and there were small veins that had popped to the surface all over her body which faded to a blackish brown color. The veins resembled small, brown tree limbs. She continuously gasped for air although an oxygen mask covered her mouth and nose.

  The short hobbler exited the room and shut the door behind him. Ram and a tall, bulky man were quietly chatting in the corner of the room. He motioned to the man to wait and walked over to Amalia, aggressively. She backed herself against the wall. She realized the hobbler was right: Ram was pissed

  “Who in the fuck is this witch that your husband has with him?” he yelled at her.

  The doctors and nurses paused to look at Amalia and Ram, and then continued working on the woman gasping for air on the bed.

  “Wh…what? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Amalia answered.

  “Only a descendant of the Immortal can do this to a vampire. A witch like that would not be with some no-name werewolf if she didn’t already know him.”

  “I swear to you, Ram, I have no idea what you are talking about. “

  Amalia stared into Ram’s eyes searching for answers. They were cold and dark. There was no soul behind those eyes but she seemed okay with that. She peered around Ram’s shoulder at the girl on the bed.

  �
��She gonna be okay?” Amalia asked him.

  “I don’t know. That’s my wife, by the way,” he answered.

  The blood on his hands seemed of no concern as he had let his habit of tidiness go. Amalia wondered if she was seeing a softer side to the monster standing in front of her.

  Then something happened. The girl on the bed began convulsing and shaking. Black blood spewed out of her mouth, filling the oxygen mask on her face with blackness. Ram ran over to her side and one of the doctors yelled out, “We’re losing her!”

  They seemed to work faster but their efforts were in vain as Ram’s wife quit breathing. With her eyes still open, her head turned towards Ram, staring him directly in the face. He reached over and closed her eyes shut, allowing her to rest in peace.

  The doctor called the time of death at 6:15 p.m. and a nurse laid a white sheet over her face. Ram’s anger overcame him. He reached over to the nurse and broke her neck. The doctor stepped backwards clumsily to get away but Ram stopped him from leaving and ripped his neck open with one bite. Ram drank him dry and dropped his dead body to the floor. It made a resounding thud.

  He turned to the other nurse, who was screaming her head off, and demanded she run. She obliged and hurtled out the double doors, along with another male doctor and a male nurse. Ram smeared the blood off of his face onto his sleeve and looked over at Amalia.

  “John, I want you to bring me Sol. He will know what to do,” Ram said, still staring at Amalia. John scurried out of the room on his mission. “And you have to stay in this room, with this… mess that your husband… What he took away from me was a good soldier. You would do well to understand what this means.”

  Amalia stepped forward to him and touched his arm, attempting to comfort him. He pulled away from her and looked angrily into her eyes.

  “It has to hurt, losing your wife. I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.

  “Make no mistake, Amalia. I AM A VAMPIRE!” he screamed at her. He pushed her shoulders back against the wall and his face stood inches from hers. “We do not feel. We are bred to not feel emotions. You will know this soon. I could fuck you right here, inches from my dead wife’s body, without blinking an eye.”