by Ross, P. A.
John sprinted off like a freight train, and Tony ran with his long legs wheeling around as his tracksuit bottoms flapped about. They were scattering too quickly to get them all, and I would have to let Barry go and focus on the others. A trail of yellow light from their increased heartbeats traced across the dark park, and the orange glow around their bodies turned a darker colour as they warmed up from the fear and the sudden burst of energy. As the adrenaline kicked in for them to take flight, their scents left a unique invisible path identifying each of my potential victims. Fear consumed their emotions, and I experienced something beyond anger and rage, a primeval instinct to kill. The images of me as a vampire filled their minds, fangs snarling in the air and eyes raging with fire. I smiled.
I needed to stop them from getting out of the park, and I threw one of the broken railings at Tony as he ran. The metal railing spun and arched around hitting him on the back of his head dropping him to the floor. I threw another railing at John, and it penetrated through the back of his head. He was dead all too easily. He fell to the floor, with the railing embedded in his skull and pointing straight up in the air. I picked up Andy’s scent next and followed his light path. I tensed my hands and claws ripped through the ends of my fingers but I barley registered the pain. I sprinted past, swinging back with my claws slicing his throat in one easy action. The blood sprayed out as he tumbled to the floor and bled out onto the grass. On to Mike, he had reached trees and thought he was safe but the yellow pulse acted like a lighthouse drawing me towards him. I sunk my claws through his well-groomed hair, into his skull and yanked back to stop him from running on. I tore his head off his shoulders with spinal cord flailing behind it, as his body ran on for a few yards under its own momentum. Blood pumped out the top of his body like a fountain, as it slumped onto the grass sliding onwards and staining the grass red around his headless body. I was stronger than I realised. I dropped his head on the floor as I picked up George’s scent heading into the trees at the back of the park. I sniffed the air, followed it through the trees and circled around his back. His fear grew as I closed in, and his heart hammered. His head and eyes flitted about like a meerkat, and he pushed his wiry body into the trees to hide. I approached quick and silent from behind but he turned in time and stabbed with a knife. The stabbing knife moved in slow motion, and I swiped my fist across knocking the knife out of his hand. I speared my clawed hand through his throat, seized his windpipe and ripped it out. The blood burst out splattering my face and chest, as he dropped dead to the mud. The life force in Tony sung to me from across the park, and I blazed across the wet grass as he slowly tried to get up and crawl away.
It felt fantastic. I was faster, stronger, and more aggressive. In those thirty seconds, I smashed and tore their limbs apart and scattered them about the park, and they now covered the grass in fresh warm blood. I wiped my hand across my face gathering up the blood splattered across it and sucked my fingers dry. The blood tasted coppery in my mouth at first and then sweet as it slipped down the back of my throat. Its energy kicked in, and I shuddered with a renewed strength in my vampire blood. I didn’t need to think of what to do as an animal instinct had taken over; it seemed uncontrollable. I felt no remorse or guilt in killing them, just pure satisfaction. My fears had come true. I had become a murderous vampire, but I didn’t care.
Tony remained alive, and as he crawled away, the flesh on his neck continued beating vigorously, offering bounty to me. I wanted more and felt the urge to feed. The image of her again, that beautiful vampire woman, called to me.
“Feed.”
I dropped down to my knees and grabbed hold of his leg dragging him back, as he was screaming and kicking in a futile gesture of survival. I parried the kicks and pulled him closer. I wrenched his head back, exposed the sweet spot of his open neck and gave in to my urges. The blood pumped in, filling my vampire body with power and quenching its thirst. As I fed, her image continued to beckon me, as it had done in the research centre, and I sucked harder draining his body of life. He struggled with arms and legs kicking violently around and screaming to no effect, as I emptied him of life. Her voice sounded stronger and more urgent than ever after the killing. I knew I must see her again.
CHAPTER 10
Nothing happened on the journey to the centre as I clung to the sides of the pavement. I pulled my coat closed to conceal the blood on my shirt, and I dropped my eyes to the floor so no one could see their mutation. Once on the major roads I ran as fast as my new power would let me. I wanted to get back as quickly as possible before my power ran out. I wiped the blood off my face and concealed the other blood covering my clothes. By the time I arrived, I had regained control of the mutation and appeared normal to the security guards at the gates.
The guard remembered me and nodded as I approached.
“Need to call my Dad again,” I said.
He dialled through and handed the phone over.
“Who is it?” Dad said.
“It’s me, Jonathan, I need to come in.”
“Why?”
“I have been in another fight.”
“They beat you up again?” he asked.
I couldn’t answer properly with the guard listening.
“No, other way round.”
There was a long pause.
“Did you take the needles?” Dad asked.
“Yes.”
“Wait there,” he responded, and the phone went dead.
He came to the front gates dressed in his normal lab coat and jeans and signed me through. He behaved in a strange mood, a mix between excited schoolboy and concerned father. His research had worked better than he expected but his son was a murderous vampire. We hurried through the main white marbled lobby, around the desk, through to the corridor directly behind it, and down the endless white corridors to the lift. As soon as I entered the base, Subject X started calling to me.
“Welcome back my darling.”
“Come to me now.”
The image of her as a beautiful goddess, raven hair flowing and sky bright eyes dazzling replayed over and over again in my mind. I could feel her ghostly tentacles sweeping desire across my body but I found with my new powers I could resist and block it out if I wanted. We got into the lift and I explained the night’s events. I enjoyed reliving the memories of killing the gang but anger still boiled that Barry had escaped. All the time, I sensed Subject X listening in and reliving my memories with me, step-by-step, commenting on and praising my moves and style.
We walked into the basement and two security guards approached us carrying their guns.
“He isn’t allowed down here sir,” they bellowed out as we walked in.
Instinct took over, and I flashed across to them quickly. In seconds, they were disarmed and out cold on the floor. I kicked open the office door next to my Dad’s, dragged them through and cuffed them to the radiator.
I walked back to the corridor and Dad stood frozen to the spot staring at me.
“What!” I asked.
“That was amazing,” he said.
“Dad, what did you expect?”
He just shrugged his shoulders and ushered me into his room with the tinted mirror. I dropped into the seat and he pulled out some empty needles from the cupboard.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Samples, you are our first test case.”
“I am not a test case; I am your son,” I responded indignantly.
Once I sat down, I noticed ten more red needles lined up on the side.
“How many of these needles have you made?” I asked, pointing at them.
“That’s it after you took the last ones, which was our first batch. This is our latest run. We need to test now but I guess you have done that for us.”
He came at me again with the empty needle looking for samples.
“Give me your arm Jonathan.”
I backed off as he approached.
“No,” I responded. “This research is wrong Dad. She is
wrong. It can’t be allowed to continue.”
He looked surprised and asked, “Why?”
“I killed people tonight Dad, without remorse, without any thought, it was too easy. This power, this research has to be destroyed. We have to kill her,” I shouted and pointed at the mirror.
Subject X’s voice in my head completely stopped. Dad looked at me dumbfounded.
“It’s the only way,” I stated again.
“No this is my work; you can’t!”
“I can, and I will. This isn’t up for debate. Now leave,” I said.
“No,” he responded and stood upright and looked down at me exerting all of his years of fatherhood.
“GO,” I screamed and snarled at him with my best vampire face.
His face altered rapidly from authority to fear. His eyebrows recoiled upwards, eyes stretched wide, and his mouth pulled back. He walked quickly out of the room and headed straight for the lift. I ran past him and blocked his path.
“No alarms, just leave quickly,” I said staring straight into his eyes.
He nodded his head meekly and jumped into the waiting lift. I walked back to the security guards and took a gun and a pass for the prison. The gun had two settings, human and vampire. I switched it to vampire and walked back to the prison door. Her voice in my head remained silent.
I opened the door to the prison and levelled the gun, ready. She didn’t hide. She stood in the middle of the room facing me totally naked and smiling. I smiled at her and took a cautious step inside. Her tousled raven hair started blowing, her lips shocking red and body glistening with warmth.
“My darling you have returned to me,” she said softly and aloud.
“You know what I want,” I responded, pulling the gun up to my eye to take aim.
“Yes,” she smiled and stretched her arms out, “You are here for your reward.”
The vampire formula in my bloodstream remained too strong for her psychic abilities; yet, I still lowered the gun and dropped it clattering to the floor.
“Yes,” I responded, voice shaking, allowing my true emotions to become apparent.
“I will make you a proper vampire one day but first I shall make you a man.”
She walked over slowly giving me time to soak in her beauty, and stood face-to-face with me. She leaned forward, her seductive red lips millimetres away from mine; her sky eyes dazzling and the heat from her body warming my face. Her hand glided down my arm sending a tingling sensation racing up it, and I breathed in sharply trying to control myself. Her fingers slid across the palm of my hand and held it gently. She turned and led me back to her bed. I followed on without thought, with a thumping heart and the heat of my desire ignited.
“I will take care of everything,” she whispered sweetly in my ear as she laid me down on her bed.
She straddled over me and pulled down my trousers. She then grabbed my hands and placed them onto her warm glistening body.
“Relax and enjoy,” she said, and began gyrating slowly and writhing around on top of me.
I ran my hands all over her hot firm body. Her heat surprised me as I expected her to be icy cold but it wasn’t just warm, it was hotter than it should be. The heat felt electrifying in contact with my skin, and it seeped into my body as I touched her. I could barely believe it. This wasn’t how I imagined my first time. I didn’t imagine it would be in a prison cell with a vampire just after I had killed five people. I had hoped it would have been with Scarlett. I looked up at Subject X; her dark tousled hair started blowing backwards again. Her cheeks flushed and her lips where full and bloody red. The mist began pouring around the room as she continued to writhe on top of me with hair blowing, her head tossing backwards, body arching, and a soft moaning purring out of her. I felt lost in time with her, completely abandoned to her pleasure. She started to move faster and with more vigour, picking up the speed and power with every thrust with her body boiling like a furnace. She slowed closing her eyes, clenching her mouth shut and I felt a shudder running through her and my moment arrived. I tensed up, and her eyes opened changing to blood red and fangs appeared as she sucked in the air. I tried to sink back into the bed to escape but she bolted down at me, moved my head to one side and bit into my neck. Her body pumped from fangs to hips as she started draining me, and I experienced pleasure and pain at the same time.
She didn’t take much and sat back up looking down at me with blood running from her mouth. The blood dripped off her chin and ran down her chest taking the path of least resistance, and channelling into the valley between her breasts. The mist and the breeze disappeared, and her face changed back to normal apart from the blood dripping from her chin, which slowly soaked in leaving no trace. The blood on her chest slowly absorbed behind the line running down to her naval, catching up with the droplets and sinking in. It left her skin clean and glowing.
“Enjoy darling?”
“Yes, but I thought you were going to kill me.”
“No, not yet. When it’s time for you to become a proper vampire. I need to make you a man first.”
She jumped off and pulled on her black combat trousers and vest top.
“I’m not a man now?”
“Ha ha, it’s more than just sex. You will find out.”
I sat there in silence for a moment thinking what to do next. I swung out of the bed and pulled my trousers back up.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Thorn.”
“Thorn?”
“If you touch me, you bleed,” she smiled.
“Your name?”
“Jonathan Harper.”
“Hello, Jonathan Harper. I am pleased to meet you.”
I stood up and looked in the mirror realising that all the bruises around my face had disappeared. I also felt different and looked a little different. My clothes clung tighter than before. The gap between the end of my trousers and shoes had grown, and my toes squashed into the ends. I studied my reflection more closely. I had grown, bigger and stronger than before, and I guessed it must be a residual effect of the formula. I realised that at some point, walking into her cell, the formula had worn off. I had returned to plain human again, and uncertainty about my decisions crept in.
“We leave now,” she stated and headed through the door.
I ran after her.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Take the needles and destroy the research,” she added.
I didn’t question and shoved the needles into a bag, and then sprayed the equipment with the machine gun ripping through it creating sparks, and causing glass and metal to fly. Thorn found some combustible fluid and poured it all over the lab and the surrounding offices. I realised what she intended to do.
“The guards?” I asked.
“And?” she responded.
“We must take them out,” I pleaded with her, not wanting any more blood on my hands tonight.
“Okay, this time, but you will learn,” she answered, annoyed at my interruption.
She grabbed the guards over her shoulders, I threw a lighted match into the lab and we left.
The fire began to catch quickly and the flames danced around the edges of the doorframe from my father’s office, as we got into the lift and it ascended. We reached the top and as the lift doors opened, Thorn threw the two guards on her shoulders into the paths of an oncoming posse of soldiers. They tumbled to the floor, Thorn jumped through the gap and punched and kicked those trying to regain their feet. She knocked them down and out. Blood broke across their faces and spat out their mouths as the force of her blows connected with their feeble human bodies. I followed on with the gun aimed in their faces, keeping them flat against the floors and walls. We sprinted down the hallways flicking the pass at the security boxes to open them, and I pointed the gun back to force the guards down. The hallways were alive to the sounds of the fire alarms and red lights around flashing their beams across the walls, and bouncing off the glass in the offices. At the main lobby, a group o
f five guards waited, guns levelled and aimed as we arrived. The lobby had two big glass doors at the front and an enclosed desk area in the middle where the receptionist normally sat.
“Follow my instructions,” she shouted.
She grabbed the back of my jacket and slid me along the floor behind the enclosed desk. She skidded along beside me on her stomach taking cover. A flurry of bullets bounced along down the corridor behind us, as the guards tried to halt our escape.
“Shoot the lights,” she pushed into my mind, along with the image of the lights above the guards. I leaned back, arched the gun over the top of the desk area, aimed up and fired off the bullets in a reckless spray causing the lobby to descend into darkness, and the metal and glass above the guard’s heads to rain down.
“Stop,” she said in my mind.
The guards covered their heads and eyes. Thorn crouched back from the desk and leapt over it and into the raining sparks of metal and glass. The crack of bones and screams pierced the air between the sounds of the failing metal and glass showering like hailstones across the white marbled lobby floor.
“Out,” she shouted into my mind, and I bolted around the side jumping across bodies of broken men and out into the night.
Lights were flashing and alarms wailing, and guards in army uniforms emerged swarming in from every direction as spotlights swung around trying to highlight us.
“Hunters,” Thorn shouted and pulled me to the ground.
Two men dressed in grey combat overalls and black army boots ran at us with rifles pointed in our direction. One of them stopped and threw something from his hand.
