by Mikel Wilson
"Funny, young one, you still think I'm like you, a human. Now, what if it had worked and I dropped your body from this height onto the concrete floor?” He began laughing as Mackinzie’s blood loss got the best of her, and she slowly drifted off.
Lillith was frozen with fear and she fought against the ice that had invaded her limbs. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing would come out. After what felt like an eternity, her body started to get the message, and her feet and mouth finally obeyed her brain. She took off in a dash toward the opening of the subway, screaming at the top of her lungs for help. Just when she thought she might make it, a hand covered her mouth and halted her progress.
"No, no, no, young one, we can't bring any unwanted visitors to us, now can we?" he cooed just before his teeth pierced her neck.
Her body went limp as the warm blood flowed out of her neck. She felt nauseous, then completely faint, and her green eyes became heavy as she slowly lost consciousness.
Sometime later, Lillith was awakened by a bump in the road. She was in a large vehicle, and she could hear by the roaring of the tires that they weren't driving very fast. She felt around in the gloom, awakening Mackinzie.
“Are you okay?" Lillith asked as her friend stirred. They were still alive, but she felt so terribly weak. It was as If her entire body was being held down by weights.
“I think so,” Mackinzie groaned as she sat up. They got unsteadily to their knees and felt around to find only a wooden box and a lot of cardboard boxes filled with useless items. The van tossed them around as it went over a bump in the road, but they managed to stay upright and continue their search.
"What in the heck was he?" Mackinzie asked franti‐ cally. "Vampires aren’t real, are they, Lillith? I mean, he did bite us, so maybe we are dreaming."
"That's exactly what he was! We have to escape him. There's no telling what he really has planned for us," Lillith responded while she frantically searched for anything they could use as a weapon against the terrible monster who had them trapped in this vehicle.
They tried for a few minutes, but their weakness slowed them down, and they needed to rest. Being so drained, they once again, dozed off. Minutes later, a bump in the road caused Lillith to wake up. Still quite groggy, she felt around until she touched the van’s wall and found the cargo light. Clicking it on, she looked around, taking in her surroundings which seemed bereft of anything except a large black box. She nudged Mackinzie awake just as the box that was in the back of the van abruptly opened, startling both girls who clung to each other in surprise and fear.
The man sat up while shaking out his hair and stretching with a loud yawn before climbing out of the box to stand before them like some dark, beautiful angel. He smiled benevolently, as if he were bestowing upon them a precious gift by simply being in their presence.
"Hello, ladies. It was so rude of me not to introduce myself to you. I am Christian of the vampires from Taldor. I am from the Elite branch of vampires, and you both have been gifted with my power,” he explained. Then to Lillith, he continued, “You will always be a protector of us, and as my soon-to-be bride’s best friend, you will sit at court with us, and you shall live well.” Turning to Mackinzie and looking into her eyes, he said, “And you, my beautiful soon-to-be queen, shall rule at my side."
The two girls stared at the beautiful creature in both awe and confusion, as if they had been kidnapped by an alien in a dream and in a moment they would wake to find themselves eating pizza. The creature continued his tale as if completely unaware of their turmoil.
He explained about his father while fighting his human-like emotions and forcing himself to remain composed even as he fought back tears when he showed them the ring his father had worn. This ring had great significance in their world as it was only worn by the leader of Taldor, the Elite, they were called, and the ring showed his Elite status as the heir to the throne.
Lillith's anger grew, and she drew her hand back to slap him as she screamed, "I'm no slave, you pompous jerk!" She swung hard at his face, which he quickly dodged as Mackinzie jumped on top of him, attempting to help subdue him. The girls were thrown back easily with one hand as he began to laugh.
"You are both far too weak to harm me. You are still human, but soon you won't be. The change will happen very soon, and you will need to feed. I shall teach you of your new heritage and the dangers of being a vampire. People on this plain always fear what they don't understand. I will teach you to survive and how to feed. ” Christian explained patiently, as if he were explaining something to a toddler.
“I am not going to be eating people! Yuck!” Mackinzie yelled, showing her disdain for the very thought of drinking blood while Lillith nodded in total agreement.
Christian fought back amusement and pretended to take their complaints seriously as he informed them of the terrible truth.
"Then both of you will die in a horrible way, your body craving plasma until you turn to dust. It’s up to you." Christian gave a shrug of his shoulders before turning to Mackinzie. "Where we are going, humans serve us, so prepare to be treated as a God, my queen."
"And what about me?" an annoyed Lillith inquired, crossing her arms.
"You will learn your place, that I can promise you. You are one of us; that should be good enough for you," Chris‐ tian said with a sly smile.
Their outburst took a lot out of them, and Mackinzie and Lillith started growing weaker and weaker until they laid over against each other, trying not to fall asleep.
Christian smiled as he said, "We must stop soon so we can feed." Time seemed to nearly stop, and the minutes felt like hours when finally, the van stopped. "We are here, and the night calls to us. Can you not hear it?"
The girls slowly raised their heads as their hearts nearly exploded from their chests. They became even weaker as the seconds passed. Their bodies started going into convulsions, and their canine teeth grew longer. Their mouths were parched, their lips cracking, and their stomachs cramped and rumbled as a thirst unlike anything they had ever felt consumed them. They fought with all they could to contain themselves, to hold on to their sanity, but this thirst was too much.
Christian watched the girls suffer, their bodies curling into the fetal position from the pain. After about thirty minutes, he decided it was time. His hunger was controlled. He had lived with this thirst his entire life, but the newly turned girls would go mad if they didn't feed soon. Figuring he had them right where he wanted them, he smiled as he took flight into the skies.
“Mackinzie, he’s gone, but I don't know how much time we may have. We have to get out of here now, this is our chance,” Lillith pleaded.
"I'm so weeeeak... Sooo thirsty," Mackinzie cried through trembling lips.
"I know, but if we don't fight this, we will be just like him. Do you want that?"
“I want to EAT!” Mackinzie screamed, her eyes slowly turning red as fangs extended from her mouth. Lillith grabbed Mackinzie and began shaking her. "I want it too, but we have to hold on to what makes us who we are!" she insisted, trying to get through to her friend.
As it turned out, they didn’t have time to escape. Christian returned very quickly, landing smoothly while holding a middle-aged woman who looked like she was just coming to. She began whimpering as she struggled to break the hold he had on her. She was average height and weight, wearing turquoise scrubs with a black leather jacket. Her eyes were wide with terror and shock, her red hair standing out in sharp contrast to her pale face.
"She's all yours, girls. Try to save something for me." With that, he tossed the terrified woman into the van with the girls and closed the door.
The woman screamed and cried out in fear as she smacked the door of the van, trying to get out. She must have been bleeding because the aroma of blood filled the cabin, causing the girls’ senses to come to life.
"Can you help me please?!" she pleaded with the girls, but they both just stared as their vampiric instincts took over, and their bodies began to shake
and sweat profusely as their craving took over. "He gave me to you, didn’t he? Please, please, don't hurt me,” the woman cried. “I have money. Anything you want, take it.”
"Shhh, it’s okay, Miss, we won't let anything harm you. We were kidnapped just like you. We all need to stick together," Mackinzie said as she pulled the lady close to her. The sobbing woman laid her head on Mackenzie’s chest.
Mackinzie’s smile soon changed as did her appearance. Her eyes turned as red as coals of fire as her mouth opened, revealing her fangs. Mackinzie watched the veins in the woman’s neck move with every breath she took, the smell of blood and the sound of the woman's heart‐ beat finally overtook her. She gripped the woman tightly, and when she could no longer fight her new nature, Mackinzie grabbed the woman by her hair and sank her fangs into her neck.
The woman gasped for air and her body shook. As the blood filled Mackinzie’s mouth and slid down her throat, she came back to herself. Her real consciousness had once again returned, and she was disgusted with herself and what she had just done. Angrily throwing the woman down as she screamed, she sank to the floor of the van, wrapping her arms around her knees and sobbing while rocking back and forth. She was a monster! She couldn't believe the terror she had become!
Lillith’s change seemed very different. Her body gave off a strange aura, and her disposition changed dramatically as a sinister smile crept across her once innocent face. No longer did her eyes give off fear. Instead, they were full of confidence.
The woman was barely breathing but still alive, and as she gasped and struggled to breathe, blood poured from the two incisions in her neck.
"Please, please don't kill me," the woman begged as she attempted to pull herself up using Lillith's pants. Lillith grinned unpleasantly as she helped the woman to her feet. Their eyes met, and Lillith punched her in the face, breaking the woman's nose, which spewed blood, before sinking her teeth into the woman’s neck. As her strength began to return, she raised her head and grabbed the woman by the neck, squeezing as hard as she could until she heard a blood curling pop. The grin across her face grew even bigger as she sank her fangs into the woman's neck again, draining her lifeless body of its blood.
"That's enough!" Mackinzie screamed at Lillith, who had seemingly gone mad.
Lillith’s green eyes changed to red as she began laugh‐ ing. "So, this is the power I now possess."
Christian stood outside the van with his driver, Kale, and he could now sense that something wasn’t right. He flung open the door and was met by the dead body of the woman.
"You killed her? She was to be one of us," Christian stated flatly.
"One of us? She was not worthy. Now, get me another vessel... I thirst," Lillith commanded with a sinister laugh.
Christian threw his head back and laughed incredu‐ lously. "You speak to me as though I obey you, servant. You will learn your place even if that means I must teach you."
"Then, please, teach me, oh master!'' Lillith cried, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Christian darted toward her, and she slipped under him, grabbing him by the throat as she came back up. "This is the power of an Elite? It would seem my powers far surpass yours. Is this normal for you, prince? Humbled by a woman?" Lillith laughed mockingly. Christian broke her grip with one hand and with all his might, he punched her square in the face. “There is much to learn, and if you quiet down, I shall teach you. It’s impossible for one such as you to possess the type of power you claim,” he said, looking at her skin. “Does my color offend you? This is what you meant by my place, is it? Does my caramel skin offend you, Prince Christian?” Lillith sneered. “Then let us just see how skin color makes power.” She charged at him full.
speed, then wrapped both of her arms around him, embracing him in a strong bear hug.
"You will learn your place right now! Unhand me! NOW!" Christian screamed.
"You shall never be forced to look upon my skin again, my prince. I swear it." Lillith loosened her grip, and Christian grabbed his throat, attempting to catch his breath, but quick as he tried, she punched him hard in the gut!
Christian's knees nearly buckled, and Lillith tried to strike him in the eyes with her newly found claws. He dodged at the last minute, jumping into the air and managing a well-placed kick full force into her head, knocking her unconscious.
"This one I like, she has a lot of fight in her, my soon to be queen. I have decided that instead of taking you to my home, I will stay here a bit longer. I will stay here and get to know you if that is alright with you,” Christian informed Mackinzie as though she had a choice. “Tend to your friend, your real training will start soon. Be safe, dawn is coming soon.” He bowed to Mackinzie and turned to his driver. "Kale, come, we must find some‐ where to rest before the sun rises."
Minutes later, as the girls were still trying to recover from the shock of it all, the sun began creeping through the clouds, and when it touched the girls’ skin, it caused a pain unlike anything they had ever felt before. Luckily for them, this was their city, and they knew their surround‐ ings. Christian had left them at the end of a very dark alley, so they found the subway entrance and quickly darted underground escaping the sun's violent rays.
As they rubbed their burning skin, they looked at each other and their circumstances began to sink in. “We are vampires, creatures of the night. I’m sure it has to come with some kind of advantages. You watched Twilight; what kind of perks did they get?” Lillith ques‐ tioned, snark clear in her voice.
“Yeah, they sparkled in the sun. It didn't burn their skin, you idiot!” Mackinzie responded with equal snark. “Of course, Edward was a total fox and didn’t leave Bella to figure it all out by herself.” Mackinzie giggled a bit as she tried to get a grip on everything. “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into, Lillith," she added, folding her arms across her chest.
“How is this my fault? Explain this to me, please. I would love to know just how this is my fault,” a confused Lillith responded in a harsh tone as she lay back onto the cold floor of the subway.
“You’re the one who wanted pizza! We’ve been out all night, we were turned into vampires, our parents are going to kill us... Oh, and we’ll be late for school!” Mack‐ inzie said with a sly laugh. “There may be a benefit to this whole vampire thing.”
Lillith stood after a few moments, and as she dusted herself off, she thought out loud, “He treats me like I’m an outcast. I think I should learn all I can from him and steal the throne out from under him. I mean we could rule together as sisters!” As the idea formed inside her mind, she slowly smiled before turning to Mackinzie, “We can do it. Are you with me?”
"Of course, I’m with you, sister," Mackinzie agreed. “What about our families? Do we just leave them?”
“We will give them the choice of joining us for eter‐ nity or dying like the rest of the cattle,” Lillith answered with a sinister smile. “It will be left up to them though. Our parents are going to freak, but we both have to talk to them. Hopefully, for their sakes, they will become one of us. And to think, until now, we never even knew there were vampires!"
Mackinzie, still somewhat shocked by the entire thing, took a deep breath before saying, "He wants me to be his queen. That’s a little creepy, don't ya think? I mean, he hasn't even asked me out yet."
"He did give you a mean hickey though." Lillith burst into laughter.
Chapter Two
After a long day of waiting out the sun in the subway, night finally fell, and they were free to walk the streets again. They arrived at Mackinzie’s home first to find two angry parents.
“Mackinzie Lee Ann! Where on earth have you been? And you too, Lillith Michelle, we are calling your mother right now!”
"Guys, before you do that, we need to talk to you. Please," Mackinzie said, holding up her hands to stop them.
Her father looked her over and noticed the blood on her shirt. “Baby, what happened to you girls? Are you okay?”
“I’m
okay, Dad... Well, for the most part,” she explained, pulling back the collar of her shirt to expose the two bite marks on her neck.
Her father ran to her aid as her mother dropped the phone in shock. “Were you bitten too, Lillith?” Mack‐ inzie’s mother asked.
“Yes,” Lillith responded, showing her neck as well. Mackinzie’s mother was visibly shaken. “Go home to your mother right now. Keep your neck covered and go home.” Her voice trembled unlike anything Lillith or Mackinzie had ever heard.
“Mom, what is it?”
Mackinzie’s mother embraced her as her father stood watching in stunned silence, unaware of exactly what was going on.
“Sweetheart, years ago, we escaped our small town in California. There were creatures we had believed were only nightmares, but they exist. Vampires. No one knew where they had come from, but they came down on our town like a plague. Nothing we had could kill them or harm them, they were completely unaffected by bullets. They just laughed at us as they slaughtered hundreds. All we could do was run and even then, I was nearly bitten, but I was saved by a slayer. That one young woman stood against them, so powerful and strong that she turned many of them to dust and single handedly caused them to run away. Your mother was with me, Lillith, she knows how lucky we were to escape those beasts. Go find your mother quickly! I can't believe this is happening again!”
“What's happening, Susan! Talk to me,” her husband demanded, shaking her shoulders.
"It's happening again. They are coming here to slaughter us all. Death is coming for us,” she answered but would say nothing more.
Lillith covered her neck with a scarf and walked a couple houses down to her own home. When her mother saw her neck, she knew exactly what was happening. She fell to her knees, crying.
