Curse of the Asuune

by Jr Steven Sterup

  “Sorry, Mr. Albet. My name is Alexander Gregor, with Gregor Legal Services. Please call me Alex.” Alex held out his hand.

  Mark stuck his hand out and shook Alex’s hand. Alex gripped Mark’s hand tightly but Alex was much stronger and soon it became painful.

  “You see, I’m like you. My employers wish for you not to rot in jail until you finally kill someone. That would expose our kind so, I’m here to get you out.” Alex then stood up and shut his briefcase.

  “But what about my defense? Don’t you want to hear my side of the story?” Mark asked, confused.

  “Nope, don’t care. I’ll get you out on bail then we will have a discussion about what to do next. Good day.” Alex turned and knocked on the door to the other side of the room to get the officer’s attention.

  “What do you mean you’re like me? What am I?” Mark pleaded.

  “Shh,” Alex said with his finger to his lips. “A discussion for after you are released. I’ll be in touch. And try not to hurt anyone else. It will be hard enough to get them to release you, don’t make things worse.”

  Alex got up and walked to the door opposite from the one Mark came through and knocked to get the officer’s attention. The officer let Alex out of the room and then the two officers from before came in and forcefully cuffed Mark. He made the same fake sounds to let them know they were hurting him, even though they weren’t. This would make things go easier, he thought. He needed time to think, frustrating the officers would only make this take longer.

  Mark sat in the cell alone. This was the first time he had been alone since it happened. He went over every detail in his head. Then it hit him like a boot to the chest. Jen was dead. He would never see her smiling face. He would never again hold her as they fell asleep. He would never kiss her. He would never hear her voice, the voice that still gave him butterflies in his stomach. He would never see her again! He didn’t care what the officers thought, he didn’t care what anyone thought. The love of his life was dead, he started to cry.

  Within an hour, Mark was free to go. As he sat outside the police station he realized he had no way to get home. They had given him back his wallet and credit cards but nothing else so Mark found himself walking down the street toward his office. It was actually only five blocks away so it was the logical choice, his home was another five miles.

  Mark felt strange as he walked to his office. Walking had never been a problem for him, neither had been running, but this felt different. He didn’t feel tired at all. In high school he tried out for the basketball team and was quite good at it but he was quickly distracted by the new school computer. After that he lost interest in sports but even now, at his age, he still felt athletic. He was never sick, never lacked for energy but walking five blocks? He should at least be out of breath, especially at the pace he was walking.

  Along the way Mark noticed things he never even knew about the area around his office. There was a restaurant only one block from his office that smelled amazing. He wasn’t sure what nationality the food was but he clearly smelled pork, chicken, some sweet peppers and fried potatoes. Suddenly he realized he hadn’t eaten and he was starving, so he headed toward the restaurant.

  Why had he never noticed this place before? It was well hidden but the smell traveled for blocks and it smelled better than anything else he had ever eaten. As he got closer to the restaurant he smelled something else. It was the most horrid thing he had ever experienced. It was worse than in the police station with Alex. It smelled like shit mixed with sour milk, topped with rotting meat. He was no longer hungry, but he needed to know where the smell was coming from. Moments later a garbage truck whizzed by and he realized that this must be where the odor was coming from. How did he smell it blocks away?

  Mark turned back toward the office, his appetite gone. He needed to talk to Sarah, tell her about Jen, and convince her that he had nothing to do with it. He only had two friends in his life, Jen and Sarah. The other people from his office were more acquaintances than friends.

  Soon Mark walked up the three flights of stairs and arrived at his office. Again he was amazed at how little effort it took. The stairs were a good work out normally but now it didn’t even raise his heart rate. His breath was still as calm and steady as if he was standing still. As he reached the top he could hear his coworkers talking.

  “Do you think he did it?” a male voice said.

  “Probably Todd?” Mark thought to himself. “Todd never really liked me.” Also the voice sounded like Todd, the man who thought he should be in charge instead of Mark.

  “No, he loved Jennifer. He was always talking about her,” a female voice said.

  “Marcy, definitely Marcy,” Mark thought to himself again. Marcy was a kind woman with two kids. Mark would often swap kid stories with Marcy as they got their morning coffee.

  “But did she love him the same way? We don’t know. And someone that much in love, finding out that it’s not reciprocated might just snap,” Todd surmised. “I mean look at Mark and then look at Jennifer.”

  “Not everything is about looks. Jennifer loved him too.” Marcy replied. Marcy didn’t really know Jen but they had met a few times at company picnics and get-togethers.

  Mark thought about this for a second as he stood at the door. Would everyone see it that way? What was a woman like Jen doing with a man like Mark? He didn’t think he was unattractive but she was seriously out of his league and apparently other people could see it too. The more he thought about it the more he realized that Jen was the only one who didn’t see it that way. She did love him as much as he loved her. This almost made Mark start crying again but he straightened himself and reached for the door.

  Mark opened the door and saw Todd and Marcy standing at the far end of the hall. They looked at him then headed back to their offices with their heads down. Mark walked along the hall leading to Sarah’s office and noticed that his shirt had blood stains on it. Whose blood was this? His, Jen’s or that agent? Nothing he could do about it now. He needed to find Sarah.

  When Mark got to Sarah’s office it was empty. Then he heard voices coming through the wall, she was in his office, talking to a man he didn’t recognize at first. He casually left Sarah’s office and headed to his. When he arrived in the doorway he realized who the man was. His boss, the owner of the company, Roger. Roger was sitting in Mark’s chair talking to Sarah until he saw Mark.

  “You shouldn’t be here right now Mark,” Roger said sternly.

  “Mr. Sandleton, I can explain. I had nothing to do with this, I was a victim. This was all just a misunderstanding,” Mark pleaded.

  “Well, which is it? A misunderstanding or are you a victim?” Roger asked condescendingly.

  “Both. It was a misunderstanding with the police. They think I had something to do with Jen’s death but I was a victim as well. I’m not sure why the killers let me live,” Mark explained.

  “Mhmm,” Roger said unconvinced as he played with his beard. “Either way you need not worry about coming in to work until your legal matters are dealt with. In the meantime Sarah will take over your duties and when it’s all over we’ll have this conversation again.” Roger waved his hand and expected Mark to just leave. Roger was a rich business man who had many companies all over the country. He was used to people doing whatever he said the second he gave them an order, especially employees.

  “But…”, Mark started but Sarah hurried over to him and boosted him out the door.

  “Let it go, Mark, it’s not worth your time. After this is all sorted out you will find another job, probably a better job. Heck, when it’s all over I’ll probably join you if you can find me a spot under you.” Sarah winked, apparently trying to cheer him up with flirtation but now was not the time. “Sorry, bad timing. I really can’t control it sometimes.”

  Mark understood and didn’t think badly of Sarah, this was how she always dealt with stress or feeling uncomfortable.

  “You know I didn’t kill Jen, right?” Mark
hoped that at least Sarah believed him.

  “Bah, if I ever thought you had it in you, I would have snapped your neck. You would never hurt Jen. Thought never crossed my mind.” Sarah looked almost serious. Maybe Sarah would have snapped his neck before, but now Mark doubted she would even give him a bruise.

  “What do I do?! Jen’s gone! Everyone thinks I did it!” Mark almost started crying again then a thought hit him. “Where’s Katie?!”

  “Don’t worry, I took her over to my place and she can use my bed til your situation is resolved. She needs a woman right now to help her with her mom’s death. There will be a lot of crying and going through scrap books, you don’t wanna be there dude.” Sarah smiled and patted him on the back.

  “As long as she’s ok. Tell her I love her and I will see her as soon as I can get this figured out,” Mark said, relieved that he could at least count on one person.

  “Don’t worry, she knows you didn’t do it. And now I can tell her you got beat up too. I’m sure this will get figured out quickly. Now go home, get a bottle of something and mourn your wife. If you need ANYTHING, just call me.” The look on Sarah’s face was pity. She didn’t know what else she could do except help with Katie, but if Mark asked she would do whatever she could.

  “Thank you,” Mark said then turned and gave Sarah a hug, careful not to hurt her with his new strength. Afterward he turned and started down the steps. As soon as he was half way down Sarah shut the door.

  While walking down the steps Mark realized how wonderful Sarah smelled. He had never realized it before but she even smelled beautiful.

  Chapter 5

  When Mark got home he was amused at his new stamina yet again. He had walked all five miles and still wasn’t tired. He was in a daze thinking about Jen, about the scene that was at the new house and trying to figure out who could possibly have done this. He barely remembered deciding that a walk was what he needed, but as he threw his jacket on the couch he remembered that there was no one here. He had decided to walk because he was in no hurry to come home to an empty house with reminders of his dead wife everywhere. Slowly Mark sank to the floor with his hands over his face. How could this be real? How could Jen just be gone?!

  A knock on the door startled Mark and he quickly got up and wiped the tears from his face. He had only made it a few feet in the door so he could see the outline of a tall, slender man on the other side.

  “Who is it?” Mark struggled to ask.

  “Alex Gregor,” the figure on the other side of the door replied.

  Mark cautiously opened the door and saw Alex standing there with papers in one hand and a briefcase in the other. A horrible smell wafted into his house, the same smell from the police station. It was Alex! He smelled like rotting meat, sour milk and decay. Mark didn’t react as badly this time but he still thought he might throw up.

  “Sorry, please come in. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.” Mark led the way to the kitchen slash dining room. There was at least a table in that room for Alex to spread out his papers.

  “We have many things to discuss and you have decisions to make.” Alex spread out a few documents with pictures of the crime scene in all its gory details.

  “Like what,” Mark asked distracted by the horror as he looked at the photos of his dead wife.

  “First of all, you are a vampire now,” Alex said then paused for the expected disbelief.

  “A what? How the hell am I a vampire?” Mark’s reaction was entirely expected and Alex didn’t even miss a beat. Mark got the impression that Alex had done this countless times before.

  “A vampire killed your wife, killed that other man and then bit you. You are now a vampire. A very young vampire, probably not even completely aware of your powers yet, but they will come.” Alex’s indifference told Mark that this was not the first time he had given this speech.

  “Why me?” Mark couldn’t believe that there were vampires but this question was far more pressing in his mind.

  “We don’t know why you were chosen and your wife killed. There is usually no rhyme or reason to the choice. Maybe you smelled less delicious, maybe the vampire who did this just has a very morbid sense of humor. Kill the wife, turn the husband. We don’t really know.” Alex paused to let this information sink in.

  After a few moments Mark was ready with more questions.

  “What about Katie! They think a friend of mine, Sarah, had something to do with it. Katie is with Sarah. What if they put Sarah in jail too? Where will Katie go?” Mark sounded like he was at the end of his rope.

  “They won’t be looking into it any further,” Alex said calmly. There was more to this and Mark needed to know everything.

  “What? Why would they just drop it?” Mark was now curious. How had this man been able to convince them to just drop the whole thing?

  “Because I told them you would be pleading involuntary manslaughter,” Alex replied just as calmly.

  “WHAT?!” Mark was livid. Why would he ever plead involuntary manslaughter? He hadn’t done anything besides getting hit on the head.

  “It was the best way to get you out of there quickly. This will never go to trial.” The calmness in Alex’s voice was now beginning to sound a little like indifference. He didn’t care what happened to Mark in the slightest.

  “We can fix this! I am not guilty of anything! We can fix this!” Mark was grasping at straws.

  “We don’t fix this. You run. You pack your things and we’ll find you somewhere secluded to wait a year or two then you will join one of our other houses in a different state, maybe another country. But we don’t fix this.” Alex was stern and sure of himself. Alex’s indifference was turning to annoyance but Mark didn’t care.

  “But we can prove that I loved my wife. That she didn’t cheat on me. There must be proof. We can win this.” In the back of Mark’s mind he realized that there was no proof. There was more proof that he had done this. The vampire who had done this was very careful and very precise.

  “I have better things to do than sit here and argue with a pathetic new vampire. I have been a lawyer longer than you have been alive. You can’t prove love in a court of law. And we can’t prove that your wife didn’t cheat on you. We could throw up some facts about the alleged boyfriend, maybe some eye witnesses that confirm parts of your version, but we can’t prove anything. In the end, it was determined that it is too risky for you to fight this. The general consensus is that you have an extremely high chance of going to jail. We can’t have a vampire in jail. Eventually the bloodlust would take hold and you would expose us.” Alex slowly collected all the papers he had laid about the table and put them in his briefcase. His brief anger faded and the indifference to Mark’s plight returned.

  “So that’s it? I get no choice in the matter? What about my daughter?” Mark was enraged. Who were these people to tell him what he had to do?

  Alex shut his briefcase and calmly walked to Mark’s side of the table. With one hand Alex grabbed Mark by the throat, lifted Mark out of his seat and in to the air.

  “You don’t have a choice! The decision was made and you will either abide by it or we will remove you and everyone that knew you!” Afterward Alex set Mark back down on his seat and straightened out his expensive suit. “You have two days to collect your things, say your goodbyes and then someone will be by to take you to your new home.”

  Alex grabbed his briefcase and headed toward the door. As he was about to grab the handle he remembered something. “Someone will be by tomorrow with your supply of blood. You may not want it now, you’re still in transition, but you will want it eventually. No need to have any more bodies attributed to you. We wouldn’t want a nationwide man hunt. If that were to happen, you and your daughter might be deemed too risky. And we don’t want that.” With a fake smile Alex opened the door and left.

  Mark’s head was spinning. A vampire? How had his life fallen apart in so quickly? He felt like he was living in a horror movie. And how dare they threaten his daugh
ter! When he was strong enough he would hurt them! They would regret making him leave and threatening Katie!

  Mark decided he needed to calm down. Getting angry wasn’t helping anything and he needed more information. True, that most information on the internet about vampires was probably the stuff of movies and novels, but if they were real then something must be true. He only needed to figure out which was fantasy and which was about actual vampires.

  With that in mind Mark headed to his home computer and sat down. He then moved the mouse to wake it up. As soon as he did he realized that Katie must have been the last one to use it because her messenger app was still loaded.

  “Damnit Katie, how many times have I told you? You can’t accuse me of spying if you leave your shit loaded when you’re done.” Mark wasn’t really angry at Katie, it was just a long standing difference of opinion between the two. He often let her use his computer as long as she closed out everything when she was done. He really didn’t want to find porn or nasty love notes from one of her boyfriends. Mark knew she had boyfriends and knew that she was interested in sex. What teenager wasn’t? He also didn’t want to see it.

  Mark clicked on the messenger and opened it. He was trying to find the log out button when he noticed one of the messages on it was for him.

  “Mark, please respond when you get home. And don’t believe whatever Alex says. You are not a vampire. You have other options. Most importantly DON’T DRINK ANY BLOOD!”

  Mark looked at the username but it meant nothing to him. Asuune030. Was this someone’s name? And how did this person know so much. They knew to leave a message on Katie’s messaging app and knew about Alex. Who was this person? Mark right clicked the username and looked at the profile but it was no more helpful than the name.

  “14th daughter, 30th child of Samael and Lilith.”

  Who were Samael and Lilith? And who would have thirty children? This had to be some kind of code. Mark couldn’t take the suspense any longer he needed to know more and this Asuune030 person apparently had them.