Sitting on the Ceiling

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: The beginning


At 19 years old with dark purple hair and faded lime green eyes, I was a scary person. I was a loser that lived off my stupid parents. I had two other friends. We were like soul buddies. We enjoyed going out and getting wasted and picking fights with bigger strangers. The funny thing about us was that we were still in our junior year of high school. We had no licenses, for they were already cut in half. Didn’t mean we didn’t drive. We were masters of disasters.
So one night, while my parent’s yells echoed around the neighborhood like every other, I slipped out of my bedroom window. Crawling beneath the large living room window that revealed my drunk parents hitting each other, my mother yelling about my fathers drinking while he droned her out with her lack of nurturing towards me, I hopped the fence and dove through the bushes onto the cement side walk. Taking a left at the first corner, I chuckled at my parents’ stupidity.
As I looked around, straining to see through what little light was available, I stumbled, landing heavily on my face. Before I was able to get up a man was upon me. I noticed his eyes out of everything else. With the proper angle, they flashed like a nocturnal animal does when angled properly. I thought he was going to help me up but, as I soon realized, he was there for different purposes. I felt his sharp fangs stab into my neck, his hand over my mouth so to muffle my shriek of terror.
He had my hands and I would pull him closer to me if I moved my feet. He stopped a minute later and whispered, “You have a choice my innocent child,” he was grinning by the way it sounded, “Would you like to join us? To be a vampire I mean.”
I couldn't think. My heart was in my ear, its slow thump reaching a glug in seconds. My brain worked furiously trying to keep my body in line. It was a feeling of many; cold like being naked in the snow, tingling pain so thick and unbearable it felt like a headache about ten thousand times more powerful, aching so treacherous my muscles tightened. I couldn't think and when I tried, it was like sticking a knife through my temple. I moved my head in a slight quarter-nod.
“Ah, so you do have taste. But don't be so frantic, it will be over in a few minutes.”
He bit his own wrist and showed me to drink from him. I did, and the more I drank the more I came to realize what I had done. The more I drank the more I lived. The thick texture of his blood ran down my throat like coco, hot and soothing. Supporting my dead organs and heart, my veins and arteries flowed back to life as I began to breathe. He fondled my head as I drank, eventually telling me to stop. My chest was exploding with pain.
Like blood replaced with fire, my organs being gasoline-drenched puzzle pieces that have gone askew. A gust of crisp autumn air blew past us, giving me something to try and distract myself with. But it lasted only the slightest of seconds and I returned to cursing the second I chose this. I felt a pair of staring eyes on me. They were hidden, but somebody was undoubtedly watching.
“It only lasts a minute. One long minute. Then you have eternity to dwell in,” the man said.
I sighed, the breeze running through my hair.
The feeling was terrible, like veins being ripped from your wrists and tied into millions of knots and teeth all being knocked from my head with a sludge hammer. A cold feeling swept over me, so cold it was hot, and the pain died into a more controllable sting. The man wasn't helping my situation by the slight and almost put me into shock when I noticed he was not touching the ground. He was hovering above me instead. I accepted his strong hand hesitantly. He looked at me, making mental notes. I wasn't embarrassed, though I knew I should be.
I was wearing big black baggy pants with about a thousand chains and a black and white tang top that exposed my tattoos and piercing on my colorless stomach. I had a good figure. I wore a gray man blouse over it, unbuttoned. He took my hands and flipped them to see the writing in black Sharpie my friends had put there as well as several scars and a tattoo of a skull. I loved it. He thought it was interesting but moved on. I had many tattoos in many places, but I wasn't like one of those people that have tattoos everywhere. Mostly under my clothing they were.
He got to my face, my ears surrendering several holes with gothic hoops. He licked my neck free of blood and finally spoke as I looked him over. He was wearing a long black cloak, baggy blue jeans, and regular shirt that had a middle finger in the center. His black hair went with his emerald eyes naturally. My eye caught his necklace, a long chain with two swords crossing at the bottom to connect it. He looked about mid twenties to me.
“My name is G.D. You seem to have an inhuman strength, yet you don’t have that power,” the man said.
“My name is Tesela. I’m sorry, I don’t completely comprehend all of this,” I said, a little dazed.
“This is the vampire world. We belong to a palace now and a Queen named Kabri who rules it. We get the good shit: immortality, flying, mind reading, that brand. You’ll get it down as we go. I’ll show you.”
“This is crazy. Listen, I was on my way to a rock concert when you came and—”
“I know. But you cannot go to your friends. You would act on impulse naturally and expose everyone, including you. Now, is that what you want? Everyone to know you’re a vampire?”
But I didn’t get to speak. He took my hand and guided me into the air. I gasped as he showed me through the entire night sky. I saw all the places of the city from behind the cloud cover. He showed me how to use my powers also before he took me to the palace. The palace was amazing. It was humongous.
We stood on the ramparts, which emerged twenty-five feet out of the ground, to admire the palace. It stuck almost a mile out of the ground. There were four towers: two tall and two short. The tallest had a large cross mounted on top of it. I could only make out the shadow in the dim moonlight. There wasn’t very may windows here, only stained glass in the tall tower and a bare few other rooms from the outside.
“What’s up there?” I asked, pointing to the tall tower.
“Kabri. That’s her bedchamber. She—hey, what are you laughing about?” he asked as I bent in half laughing.
“I’m sorry…it’s just…the way you looked…like she was God or something!” I choked.
“Well, she’s my Queen. I have to give her that credit.”
“I’m sure she enjoys you worshipping her,” I said once I had regained my upstanding attitude.
“You have a sick humor,” he said, shaking his head.
I only laughed more. He led me to the grounds, which I could not see due to the night. There was a pair of black doors he kicked open and walked through with me. They slammed on their own angrily. We were now standing in a gigantic room that was an outlet to a long hall with about 50 doors on each side. In this room was a long table against a wall and a stereo next to it. The walls were lined with torches as far as I could see.
G.D guided me to the second door down the hall on the right side and up a spiral staircase to another door. He opened it, revealing another long hall with doors going all the way down either way you looked. G.D walked across and to the left a few doors, then opened it. There were three men inside, drinking and smoking and laughing. G.D took a drink of one of the men’s bottle and pressed it back into the man’s chest, showing him the door.
The man threw the bottle back at G.D and got up hastily. I leaned against the doorway, watching G.D. The man stopped when he saw me. I ignored him until he put his hand on my chin and forced me to look at him. I looked obediently, hoping that I wouldn’t have to fight this man to keep him off me. I didn’t want to become the bitch of the place the first minute I was here.
He laughed and kissed my lips, using his tongue aggressively. The men in the room turned to look when the man had laughed. He had grabbed my wrists and put them above my head. I kicked his groin and bit through his tongue. He cried out and held his injuries momentarily. A second later, he hit me. I was infuriated. I grabbed a torch from the wall and shoved it as far as I could into the man before G.D had my hands behind my back, restraining me from furthering my attack. The man had a torch half way inside him. He pulled it out quickly and ran off.
“Come back! That’s how I say ‘I love you’! Come on, you know you want me! Rape me right here in the doorway ya drunk bastard!” I screamed after him.
“Tesela, please,” G.D hissed.
“Please what? And why isn’t that torch out. I just shoved it in a guys stomach,” I said, still fighting.
“They don’t go out—”
“What are you looking at you homo hermaphrodite!?! Got something stuck up your ass or something?” I yelled at a man and woman that were passing the open door.
G.D kicked the door shut and bit a nerve in my neck. My chest went out and my head went back automatically. I was laughing and cringing at the same time. It felt good but it hurt at the same time. He bit harder.
“Stop it, hahaha, your gonna, hahaha, make a hole, hahaha!” I laughed.
I relaxed when he stopped, panting.
“Hmm, smells like pot. Drug addicts. Hahahaha, losers,” I laughed again.
They only looked at me.
One man broke out laughing after the silence. He had dark blue hair that grabbed down at his eyes, which had fire swirling around their black pupils. He wore a white muscle shirt and black pants. There was a tattoo of a woman being dranken to her death on his shoulder.
“Dan, take off now. I want to see who this is,” he said.
The other man got up, glaring at me the entire way. “Whatever, Vladmer.”
“Darling, Tesela, you do not look like your as straight either. In fact, you look higher than I,” Vladmer said to me.
“Darling, Vladmer, I believe that was the waterbong that gave you that idea,” I copied.
“She’s untouchable. Sweetie, come and sit,” he said.
He himself was standing. He had stood up when I had attacked his friend. I looked him over and laughed. G.D looked at me and smiled. It was true that I was untouchable, though I had no idea what they were talking about. I didn’t really care. I looked from one man to another and laughed again. I couldn’t believe I was here and that it had happened so fast cracked me up more than it should have.
“You want me to sit with you?” I asked.
“Yes. We’ll talk,” Vladmer said, “All of us. I’m sure you’ve got something to say.”
“Actually, I have to get going. I stayed longer than I should have. There are no other rooms. Where shall she stay?” G.D said.
Vladmer looked at him expressionlessly.
G.D expected him to answer.
“What do you want me to say, stay here?” he asked.
“That’ll work. Bye Tess, have fun,” G.D said.
“What? Wait, you can’t leave her here—”
But he shut the door and left down the hall.
We were silent.
“So, he’s just going to leave me?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah,” he said.
There was another silence.
“Well how rude,” I said.
He looked from the door and laughed. I smiled.
“So you do have humor. I thought you were just a bitch,” Vladmer said.
“I was afraid of that.”
“Of what?”
“Becoming the bitch for sticking up for myself.”
“It’s attractive that you are strong and brave and stuff, it’s funny how you talk. It’s a little sick.”
“Sick? As in perverted?”
“No. It’s sick. As in…I don’t know, just…for mature audiences. Yeah.”
“G.D said the same thing almost. He says I’m sick because I laugh at his loyalty to Kabri. She obviously doesn’t respect herself.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I noticed there is no King. It would seem as if ruling a German Empire would make her crave companionship in the deepest form.”
“Really? Hmm, well, maybe that’s true. She has a boyfriend.”
“Then he must be stupid if he thinks she doesn’t want more out of him.”
“I’m her boyfriend.”
He was almost insulted now.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. I’m sure your not stupid or anything,” I apologized quickly.
“No, it’s fine,” he said.
It was rather awkward, with the silence and all.
“Do you really think she wants me to screw her and get it over with?” he asked.
“How long has it been?” I asked.
“I feel stupid talking to a stranger about this. It’s been a few months.”
I went paler than I already was and looked down.
“Yeah, I guess it depends on what kind of woman she is. I’m not exactly the woman’s woman, but I think that if being deprived for a few months didn’t bother a woman then she’d have to be the dedicated, shy, loyal kind. Cause, buddy, if that’s how you are, then she’s gonna have to be real loyal and understanding of your space.”
“It’s not me, its her. I’ve gotten so far with her but she doesn’t—hey, what am I talking to you about this for?”
“Because I will deliver.”

++++++++++++++++++++

It turned out he had a very emotional Queen and girlfriend. A drama queen, girly, arrogant princess, or that’s what I thought by the impression he gave of her. Vladmer had given me a tour of the palace, showing me the tens of floors of bedchambers, the dungeons, the meeting rooms, the main hall, and the grounds. There were more rooms, but I was too drunk to remember them all.
I, right then, was passed out on the couch two weeks later, lying limp across it. Vladmer kicked the side of it.
“Get up! You’ve been asleep for two days now!” he yelled.
“What? No, it’s not time to be awake yet,” I groaned.
“I’ll throw out the rest of your alcohol,” he threatened.
“No! Okay, I’ll get up. Why do you care what I do, anyways? You won’t even let me go see my friends.”
“Because vampires go to sleep for lots of years and don’t wake up sometimes and they don’t realize it. It’s because you’re dead. And I’m only keeping you from your friends until we see G.D. But he doesn’t seem to be coming since we haven’t seen him for two weeks,” Vladmer said.
“He’s really stupid if he thinks I like his delay. If he were so accustomed to you, how did he manage to keep in touch like this? Did he stop by every month or so?”
“No, he came by a few hours a day. I wonder. Maybe it was his girlfriend. You might intimidate her. I’m sure the moment G.D said you tried to kill Gary she dictated that he was to stay away from you. So, maybe he was waiting for us to figure that out and go get him.”
I yawned.
“Well why didn’t you say that a week ago?” I asked slowly.
“I didn’t think of it.”
He held out his hand to help me up. I’d gotten to know him considerably better since I’d been here. I’d never seen his girlfriend, or, the queen, if you will. I had thought about questioning his relationship.
“Speaking of phantoms, where’s Kabri been out to?” I asked, a questioning grin on my lips.
“She’s sleeping,” he answered, looking wearily upon my face.
“Sleeping? She runs a palace in her sleep? Skill. I would fuck all the sleepy ones up and see how much they want to sleep next time.”
He gave me a look signaling for me to cool. I stood up with him and stretched out.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t like to hear that. She’s a pretty good fighter too you know. I’d bet money you’d bite your tongue in her presence.”
“How much?”
He was wondering, I could tell, if I really was going to bet him.
“Two hundred.”
“Fuck that. If I’m gonna get my ass kicked or stuck in a stupid cell I’m gonna want more than two hundred bucks.”
“Fine. Fifteen hundred.”
“Done,” I smiled, shaking his hand.
“You’re so going to lose a lot of money. Kabri could make you cringe away from your own thoughts.”
“Then we’ll see how she likes the only person that isn’t afraid of women. Your probably pussywhipped. I can see why you would want to keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, you’ll never get laid. Hahahaha! Wait til she finds out you cheat on her with people you don’t even know.”
“No I don’t!”
I grinned again, rolling my eyes and pretending to grab an invisible sac.
“Hey, how do you know?”
“What else would you be doing? No man that isn’t a faggot wants to walk around this stupid hole for fifteen minutes. Unless you’re trying to exercise, your getting laid the only way you can. Not to mention you, more than likely, are raping your food too.”
He was shocked at how ignorant he had been towards me.
“Have you been stalking me?” he asked suspiciously.
“Why would I want to watch you screw people?”
“Because your sick like that. You still think its funny. Your sicker than Kabri should be.”
“Should be? What do you mean?”
“I mean, Kabri, she’s a little…emotional. Once you get to know her you can ignore it, but it’s bold.”
“You mean the Queen is a pussy?”
“No! No, no, no, no, no. She can still protect this place better than anyone I’ve seen, but she takes things to heart and I think that affects her self-esteem. I think that’s why she’s sleeping.”
“Oh. For a second I thought there was a reason to laugh.”
“Don’t think she’s weak just because you’re strong.”
“I don’t. I don’t believe I could beat her and I never will until I see how she fights. That would make me ignorant.”
He only shook his head.
“Let’s go see if G.D is still alive,” he said.
We walked seven doors down and entered another spiral staircase. Vladmer led me up it and down the next corridor for twelve doors. When he stopped in front of a bedchamber and knocked, I inwardly sighed. G.D was the one that answered. He smiled and pulled us into the room, hurriedly shutting the door.
“Sorry I didn’t come, Tess,” G.D said, hugging me and looking me over.
“I barely know you. Did you know that? It fascinates me how much you seem interested in me,” I said.
“It was Krystal. She didn’t want me to go because she knew you were my creation and that I was more interested in you than her. She doesn’t like not being the dramatic bitch that she was.”
“Was?” Vladmer asked.
“Well, I’m getting her assassinated right now. Ignore that, though. How have you two been getting along?”
“We’ve been excellent. It’s a shame you had to dump her on me, we might have gotten to know each other better by just being friends,” Vladmer said.
“Sorry about that. But Tesela seems against women. Too offensive,” G.D answered gravely.
“What do you mean?” I asked indignantly.
“Nothing. It’s fine to be that way. I didn’t want to leave you with Vladmer because I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to…start something.”
“Oh, well, I’m a heshe.”
Both of them went pale. I kept a straight face. I wanted to see how long they would think I was really both sexes.
“Oh,” Vladmer said awkwardly.
“Well, maybe you’re a little lucky then,” G.D said.
“Why did you think I was always running into your ass?” I asked Vladmer.
He was horrified. I wanted to laugh so loud Evan, Trevor, and Chris could hear me. I smiled softly and patted Vladmer on the shoulder. G.D laughed.
“I had my reasons,” I said quietly.
G.D seemed to already know I was lying.
“Yes, well, everyone is their own,” Vladmer said, glaring at G.D.
After that, Vladmer was a little distanced from me and G.D was a little closer to me. Vladmer was confused as to why G.D would want to hang on a man woman. But G.D saw right through my lie. I didn’t know how, but he did. He wasn’t telling Vladmer either. I was puzzled more than I wanted to admit.
“Vladmer won’t let me see my friends. And they would totally be ready to come with me. But he keeps saying they have nowhere to stay,” I said as G.D stroked a vein on the other side of my neck. He was playing with my shirt as well, looking down at it.
“They can stay with Vladmer,” G.D smiled, looking up into my eyes.
“What? No they can’t!” Vladmer cried at this unjust.
“But why not? Tesela can stay with me and the guys can stay with you. And don’t tell me there is no space, because my bedchamber is just as big as yours and I can fit many people in here comfortably. Unless you’re being sexist.”
“No, I don’t care what sex she is. Or, it is. I don’t know. But I don’t even know them.”
“You didn’t know her either when she came. But they can stay with me and you can stay with her. It doesn’t matter to me, as long as she doesn’t go find something to kill herself with, like she wishes she could do.”
Vladmer was silent. I don’t think he knew which was better, my friends or me.
“That sounds fine to me,” he said finally.
“Good. Then go help her make her Children,” G.D smiled.
Vladmer was about to be sick by the way G.D’s words sounded. I wanted to laugh so bad I could hardly stand it. G.D laughed openly. Vladmer jumped out of G.D’s window and waited for me, hovering outside in the air. It was sunny out with very little clouds to cover us.
“You know exactly where they’d be?” Vladmer asked.
I nodded my head.
“And you can fly faster than a human could see you?”
I thought about it, then nodded my head.
“Then head for it.”
It was hard not running into things in the city. I stopped a block away from the high school we went to and walked slowly. Vladmer was right beside me. He was trying to forget my lie to him. We walked in silence. I laughed on accident.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“What are you laughing at me for?”
“I’m not!”
“Yes you are.”
He was paranoid now.
“I’m not laughing at you, honestly. I just miss my friends is all…you know, they let me have them sometimes,” I added, a wicked smile secretly playing my lips that he didn’t see.
Vladmer was going to say something but there was a scream from the house we were passing. Vladmer seemed to recognize this house. It was a mansion it was so big. Loud rock music drifted out to us as the door flew open and a woman, half naked, came running out of it. I laughed. A man with black hair that hung just under his chin and fluorescent green eyes that jumped out at you from behind his hair came out.
He had an exotic appearance, marking him a freak in the normal society. He had black lips, tattooed I assumed. He had no shirt. His nipples were pierced and tattoos ran up his arms. One was on his chest. It was of a dead, naked woman in a bathtub. He tackled the woman to the ground and drank from her neck, laughing the entire time. He was attractive in my eyes, and seemed to have humor, sick as it was.
He looked up at him from his position on top of the body, his strong arms keeping him from touching it. He was very precise in every movement he made. He stood up, still expressionless. Then he smiled. “Hey Marco, its your brother and his next bitch!” he yelled. He waved his hand over the body. It burned up and sunk beneath the ground. A head looked out from behind black curtains in the window.
This man was like the last except he had ice blue eyes that gave the same exotic effect. He came out of the house and smiled the same cruel smile as the other man.
“How’s Kabri since I fucked her, eh? I suppose she slept on it. Nah, I killed her buddy. You should check her coffin more often. And who’s she?” the man, Marco, said.
“It,” Vladmer said.
“This isn’t an it. Too hot to be an it,” he said.
I was shocked when he used his hand to check my pants. I laughed unintentionally. He looked up and smiled again, thinking I would be insulted by his taking of my liberties. Furthering his attempt, he pulled me against his chest and kissed me expertly. I didn’t pull back, but rather challenged his attitude by putting it against my own. He wanted to see how far he would have to go to make me step down. I slid my hand down his stomach and did the same thing he did to me. Apparently, it felt good because he was unable to continue molesting me.
“You got yerself an ultimate slut there, eh bro? Yeah, we’ll have to see you sometime,” he said, passing a wicked grin to the other man, “What do you say, Alex?
“You think J.Z and Sean could use a say or is it decided her nerve will not break as easily with us?”
“I say, fuck J.Z and Sean. They’re passed out, what do they care?” Alex said.
Vladmer was stunned that he had fallen for my trick and that I was so fast with his brother.
“No, you can’t have her. In fact, you’ll probably never see her again. And Kabri isn’t dead, asshole. It’s nice that you think she’s nice though, its great motivation for me,” Vladmer said.
“Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you. Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you,” he singsonged until he got to his house and shut the door.
Alex followed him.
I had made it five feet when Vladmer said, “Why did you tell me you were an it? I’m sure G.D knew you weren’t, so how did he know?”
I continued walking, leaving him behind.
“Because it was funny to watch you try and persuade yourself to believe I wasn’t, even though you knew I was. Or, you thought you knew,” I laughed.
“Yeah, but you made me literally sick. You could’ve told me,” he said, catching up.
“They aren’t very worried about the exposure of our kind. Why are you so uptight?”
“They’re high all the time, they don’t think they’re risking anything. But they’re not people you want to get to know. They use women to screw and break their personalities down. They destroy people’s characters. Marco and Alex are from way back in my time, J.Z and Sean are a little newer. Not much though. Marco spent years studying women in his own twisted obsessions. They’re all nympho’s.”
“I’m a nympho, are you saying that’s a bad thing?”
“No you’re not, you’re—is that why you leave all the time?”
“No, I take walks,” I said sarcastically.
“Where do you go?”
“People’s houses, bars, nightclubs, my friends. Depends on what I’m up for.”
“Ewww, is that why you said you screw your friends?”
“Yup. We have a very strange relationship. Intercourse is a favor to us, not a commitment. Half the time we won’t remember it.”
“Jesus Christ you’re confusing. I thought you were an ‘it’. Then I thought you a man that got mutilated, then I figured you were a chick because of Marco. Can we straighten it out now, so I’m not so…unknowing? Who are you?”
“I haven’t lied to you that much. Only about my gender. Oh, and about screwing my friends. And visiting them. The rest you just failed to see. Of course, my past time we haven’t talked much of because you don’t care but—”
“Hey, I didn’t say that!”
I remained silent. We walked through the gym entrance, down the hall, and into a small room with three people. One man teacher and two guys goofing around while the teacher read a book.
“Tesela!” one of them cried and ran to me.
His name was Evan. He had short blonde hair and cold, hard gray eyes. He was almost exactly like me. Like my male counterpart. He was tough but still very humorous. His strength was on the physical side though his advantage was sometimes with his brain. In other words, he was smart, but not ingenious. He had one ear pierced with a black, thorny hoop and a tattoo of a killer clown with blood on his teeth on his back. We all had sick humor, we all had a tattoo on our back that, together, made a collection. Evan had the clown, I had the bloody knife, and Chris had the dead, bitten into body. A cannibal clown scene with a weapon to dissect with, basically.
He hugged me and kissed my cheek reproachfully. Chris got up and did the same. He had black short hair, hazel eyes, and a pierced ear with a skull in it. His nose and lip were pierced as well. He wore black make-up today. Both of them did. I laughed at this as they left black lip marks on my cheek.
“Where have you been?” the teacher asked.
“Hell. Fuck off,” I said.
“Yeah, where did you go? We’ve been mourning for your dead deceased existence for two weeks now! Oh yeah, your mom shot your dad and the cops think she cut you up and spread you across the nation,” Chris said.
“I’ll show you in a second, once we get out of here. You two look very stunning. Gothic, satanic punks, yeah, that sounds right. What would you say, Vladmer?” I said.
“That sounds about right,” Vladmer smiled.
They looked at him, nodded their heads in unison to acknowledge him, and turned back to me.
“That’s what we were going for,” Evan said.
“Let’s get out of here,” Chris said.
“Detention is not dismissed,” the teacher reminded.
“We’ll remember that,” Evan said.
We shut the door before we had to argue with the man. We walked all the way to Evan’s house talking about what all had happened since I had been gone. Vladmer was interested in how we acted around one another. Deliciously carefree and easy. When we did arrive at Evan’s door my stomach was nervous. I was about to ask them to be a vampire. They would believe me and completely do it, I knew that, but it just sounded odd to me.
“Finally your back. So, now that we’re here, like you were set on, where were you?” Chris asked.
I looked at Vladmer. He was looking around the house. He winked at me and shook his head.
“I was at the German Empire,” I answered honestly.
“What Empire?” Evan asked.
I hesitated.
“The vampire Empire,” Vladmer said for me.
He knew I was going to lose my nerve. He ran his hand up and down my back comfortingly.
“The what?” Chris asked.
“You heard him,” I said quietly.
“Vampire. Hmmm, I’ve heard of those before,” Evan said.
“You’re looking at two of them,” Chris concluded suddenly.
“What? Tess isn’t a—oh. Well, maybe I’m wrong,” Evan said.
“That’s what I came about. I thought that maybe you’d be interested,” I managed to say.

++++++++++++++++++++

They had agreed with me that vampirism was something they would like and decided they would join us in the palace. We led them around and gave them a general tour before going to G.D’s bedchamber and introducing everyone to everyone. We were sitting and talking, exchanging stories and praises to one another, wondering when the queen would awake.
“Shouldn’t she be woken up if it’s taken her months to sleep? I never got to sleep in that late,” Evan said.
“You could wake her up, but she’d probably put you on the wall for that,” Vladmer smiled.
“Let her. I want to see her. She sounds like a goodie goodie from my perspective. I’ll tell her you told me to do it. Hey Tess, are you going to come along and wake up another stranger?” Evan said.
“Only if Chris will so kindly escort us,” I smiled.
“But of course. I think, my beautiful mistress, that you ought to be the one to do the honors,” Chris grinned.
We walked out of the room chatting about how we’d do it.
“You guys are really going to wake up one of the most dangerous people you could wake up, that you happen to know nothing of?” G.D asked.
“Yup. You gonna come?” Evan asked.
“What do you mean am I gonna come? Of course I’m n—yeah, why not. I bet you guys’ll lose the nerve,” he answered, jumping up and standing beside us.
“Well I’m not staying in here alone,” Vladmer finally said to himself, jogging to catch up to us.
We walked up, laughing and making jokes about how she might wake up. Vladmer insisted that she be violent and unwelcome to their jokes.
“Hey, if she attacks me I’ll do the same favor for her. Win or lose,” I said.
“Lose,” Vladmer sided.
“Win,” Evan said.
“Win, definitely,” Chris said.
Everybody looked to G.D.
“Deathmatch,” he said.
“Deathmatch? What a wimp. Can’t even pick a side,” Vladmer laughed.
“Just because it isn’t yours,” Chris said.
We walked up the last set of stairs and through an invisible wall that Vladmer led us through we went up a trap door and through a door. When we tried to get in it was locked.
“Oh, we’re screwed, lets go back,” G.D said.
“Hold on a sec. Don’t you know? We can pick locks like you two can use hair ties,” I smiled.
Chris pulled a bobby pin from his pocket and bent down to the lock. He listened and heard a click, smiling and then opening the door. We walked in and looked around. There was a master bed in a corner underneath a stained glass window of a cross. It gave little light to the dim room. There was a round table and a chair across the room from the bed. A bookcase sat next to the table.
The coffin we were looking for was in a corner diagonal from the window, in the darkest part of the room. There was a black and red rug in the center of the stone floor that we walked upon carelessly. I was the one supposed to wake the queen up, so I walked up to the coffin and laughed at myself.
“Here I am, waking the sleeping beauty up. She’s gonna flip the fuck out,” I laughed.
“Yes she is. Good luck, it was nice knowing you,” Vladmer said.
I flipped him off and lifted the top of the coffin up. A woman with no piercings, no tattoo’s, but long brown hair in many small braids She wore a long red dress in her sleep. She was attractive, but plain to me. I didn’t see what made her so desirable.
“Wake up, ya dumb dike. It’s time to stop sleeping on the job,” I said loudly.
Her eyes opened and she gasped for air. When she saw me, her emerald green eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?” she hissed.
“Me? Hi, my name is—hey! That was a cheap shot!” I cried as she slapped me.
I grabbed her by the hair and drug her out of her coffin. She screamed and clawed at my lower body. It stung badly, like fire. I pulled her head up and sent it crashing into the rock sticking out as a decoration on the wall. She screamed again and put her hands up, as if to stop me.
I pulled out my blade and stabbed her in the back as many times as I could. I had gotten out of it the cheap way. She tried to escape, fighting me to run the other way and heal, but with no success. I stabbed her until the blood had gathered, and her body fell to the floor. The men sat there and watched me, staggered.
“Well, that bitch won’t be slappin’ me any more. She won’t be getting up for a while either,” I said optimistically.
“She won’t be getting up at all,” Evan said.
“She’s dead,” Vladmer said.
“What? No! She’s tougher than that!” I said.
“No. No she’s not. You killed her. You killed Queen Kabri,” Vladmer said again, “You killed my girlfriend.”
“You never screwed her, so that doesn’t count,” I said.
He only shook his head.
“Well lets get going before someone finds her,” I urged.
“No, we can’t. You can’t, we can,” G.D said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you killed the Queen. What do you think I mean?”
“I think you need to explain why I can’t leave.”
“If there is no queen of the palace, there is no palace. There is no nothing without a ruler. Vladmer never had sex with her, she didn’t have a lover ever really, and you killed her. You’re the closest relation the palace has.”
I was silent.
“I don’t get it,” Evan said.
“He’s trying to make Tesela think she’s the queen of this place. You goddamn people better smarten up. Tesela isn’t a queen…that’s too much to be possible for us. She killed the Queen the cheap way, stabbed her in the back, and that means she’s dead. No queen anymore. Whoever was meant to be the queen will be the queen. Not Tesela,” Chris said.
We were all silent in thought.
“Tesela was meant to take this roll. I could feel it when I saw her that night I took her. That’s the only reason I wanted her. But I did not give her an option. She either died or lived as a vampire, and that was to ensure she was not going to be lost to me,” G.D said.
“You didn’t tell me that!” Vladmer cried.
“You didn’t tell me a lot of things. Shall we share?”
“Whatever, man. You should’ve told me.”
“Likewise.”
Sometimes, to me, they seemed to hate each other. Only for specific moments, when they started speaking of things I didn’t know about. It wasn’t always apparent what they were talking about. Other times they were like best friends.
“I don’t want to be a queen. Queens are too royal. I like being the inferior. The one everyone thinks they’re better than. The beaten one. Not the beater. I’m not the good one,” I said almost imploringly.
“You’re the one that killed her,” G.D said.
“No, please, don’t make me do it. Don’t make me take responsibility,” I pleaded, taking his hand and getting on my knees.
“Stop. Get up. You should’ve thought about it before you stabbed her to death.”
I stood up and kissed him, feeling his chest with one hand and one hand on his shoulder. He did not respond to me but I continued anyways, uttering words in between.
“I didn’t know she was such a pussy…please don’t make me do it…I don’t want to…not here…please,” I said.
He gently pushed my face to the side and spoke.
“It’s not up to me what Hades names you. Fact is you’re already under observation and you have more power than before. And your hair and eyes are turning a blood red. You’re a queen now, more than Kabri ever proved enough to be. Soon the palace will know, and you’ll have to answer to them,” he said.
“No, no, no, no, no,” I said, holding my face and turning to the bloody body.
I walked over to the door next to the table and chair and opened it. It was a doorway to outside. There was a few hundred feet drop. I got an idea. I picked up the body of the dead queen and chucked it as far out of the door as I could, laughing brutally as it bounced off the sides of the palace.
“Now that was something Kabri would never have done,” Vladmer said.
“Are you saying that’s a bad thing,” I asked, deffering (teleporting) to up against his chest, “Cause you know, if it is, I could always fix your head in like hers just did. Unless you want to smoke a little Mary Jane and swap stories.”
My speech was fast and psychotic. Like I was already high off something. I licked his lips and walked off the other way. He wiped his mouth off instantly.
“Ewww, Tess, you just licked me,” he said.
“I wish you’d lick me. Hahahahaha,” I giggled crazily.
“Tesela!” Evan reproached sarcastically.
“Hehehehe, you too,” I said.
“Ladies first.”
I morphed my voice into a man’s.
“Who’s to say I’m a lady?” I said.
I laughed uproariously. Chris was already on the ground holding his ribs. Vladmer was shocked at what he was hearing and G.D was smiling. He knew something I didn’t.
“What makes you so horny, darling?” I asked him.
“Hades is having his fun with you. It seems as if you could come Kali ma, but I don’t know,” he said.
“Who the Hell is that?” Evan asked.
“Hindu goddess of Death and Destruction.”
“HDD! Hahahaha! That’s what I’ll call her. HDD. Instead of that other long ass name,” I said.
Chris got up and walked to me. I was sitting on a chair facing them, laughing lazily and playing with my hands.
“We must dance. You are a queen and you look more enviable than ever,” he said.
I stood up and took his stance. He lead me, stepping around the room and looking directly into one another’s eyes like people who want to get laid do. We did this to confuse our prey. I got closer to him. He smiled and peered down at me. He was taller by a few inches, though I was fairly tall.
My ambition for him was to convince Vladmer in particular that I really did go farther with my friends, and I told Chris this through his mind. He was confused as to how I could talk to him this way, and I did not blame him. I said I had gotten the power a few minutes ago.
“Love, if there weren’t people other than Evan in here I might lay you down right now,” Chris said.
“And if Evan were the only one in here I would let you,” I said.
Chris laughed slightly. Vladmer shifted on his feet. I watched him in my inner eye and laughed without ever opening my mouth. This freaked out Chris. Everyone was. We broke apart and went our separate ways.
“I’ve celebrated enough,” I said.
I magnified my voice so everyone in the palace could hear.
“My beautiful maggots borne from the deepest realms of Hell, take your rotten asses outside and burn your eyes out in the overwhelmingly foreign sun. And don’t thank me for my flattery.”
Evan laughed and held his arm out for me to take. I stepped out of the door with everyone following behind us. We glided down to the ground and hovered just above the crowd, so all could see. I mentally counted all the people there. The palace had 1321 people in it exactly.
“My ladies, my gentlemen, and everything in between, I present to you your new leader. G.D,” I said, pulling G.D ahead of the crowd.
“Hey! Tesela! No I’m not. Tesela was attacked by Kabri so they fought and Tesela won. She won ownership over this palace and she’s already proven much more than we’ve ever accomplished. In our entire history. Now tell me, who’s glad that Kabri is gone?” he said, grabbing me by my arms, turning me to the crowd, and speaking to them over my shoulder.
A loud roar erupted from the crowd. There were fists encouraging me, people bowing to me, and my friends coming up behind G.D and tickling him until he let me go.
“Thank you, my darlings. I appreciate your beauty. You are the true people I’ve been looking for. Please, I wish to tell you, I believe I hit one of you with her body,” I said.
“Me!” a woman cried out gleefully.
Everybody laughed. Whether it was at her or with her, I didn’t know. Vladmer was the only one not laughing and it was because he was the only one who did like Kabri. I knew nothing of her, just that she bitch slapped me. My friends were cheering because they liked to make loud noises.
“Wonderful. Now, I am Tesela Smith. You are…hmmm…you’re going to be my beautiful children. Welcome to the new world. Are there any problems I should know about that are reasonable for the palace?”
“What are you going to do about the witches?” a man asked after a silence.
“Witches?” I asked, looking to G.D who was behind me.
“Yes, witches. They’re attacking us on the streets and killing us. Pretty soon they’ll realize this is no mountain and come after the palace,” the man continued.
I was traumatized. I had just gotten into office and already there was a bigger problem than I wanted to mess with. I felt somebody looking at me from the clouds. When I looked there was nobody in sight, but I knew somebody was watching me. This was worrying. I ignored it though, since I was distracted enough with the palace.
“Well, uh, we’ll fight them back! What else would you do if you had someone attacking you for the Hell of it? You wouldn’t just stand there and let them kick you in the head, now would you? No! You’ve got to work through it, not around it. We’ll fight em’ if they come, we’ll go after them if they don’t. But let time work its beauty. Anything else I ought to know about?” I said finally.
“No, nothing,” G.D said.
I looked out to the crowd again.
“Nothing?” I asked them.
They agreed. I smiled a toothy grin and bowed.
“And now I take my leave. I live with two other men in the top tower. Anything you need, I’ll be there. Goodbye my pets, until next time,” I announced.
They cheered and started packing back into the palace.
I flew back to my room, entering its dim magnificence.
“You know what? I think we need some incense. Yeah. That’s the only thing this sacred mess needs. Next time we go rolling people for money we’ll get some. And—what?” I said, noticing Vladmer’s betrayed looks.
“You’re leaving me?” he asked.
“Well, yeah,” I said.
“Do you have to?” he asked again.
“Er, since you don’t want my friends staying with you, yes, I do have to go.”
“You agree to come and stay with me sometimes?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Listen you guys. Something is up with my body. All of the sudden I’m really…tired,” I yawned.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot. You’ll be asleep for awhile, but I’ll get you up when your body’s used to the changes,” G.D said.
“So we get to live up here with you?” Evan asked me.
“Yup.”
G.D gestured to my coffin. I got in it and smiled as he kissed my forehead and shut it. I said goodnight to all the men before the sarcophagus was completely shut.

++++++++++++++++++++

I awoke to find myself thrown over Evan’s shoulder and being spun around in circles. I hit him in the butt once and said, “This is a very unbecoming way to be greeted when one wakes.” He stopped and let me down. I fell back against him with the dizziness. He laughed and supported me. I saw that everyone was in here.
“How long have I been asleep?” I asked.
“A few days,” Chris said.
“How long have you guys been here?”
“Me and Evan have been here the entire time. They just came a little while ago. We figured you would sleep for years if you could.”
“But are you wrong? Who’s to say I should want to sleep for so long? Unless you’re implying that I’m lazy,” I smiled.
“No, not lazy. Do you remember everything?”
“Of course. I killed whatshername and became the Queen. Simple.”
“You promised the palace to do something about the witches. Remember that?” Evan asked.
“Yes. Have they come?”
“Yes, but we ended up fighting them off with some other people in the palace. We kept a few, put ‘em in the dungeon.”
“Oh goodie. Interrogation time.”
They laughed and walked out of the door leading to the ground, flying slowly and savoring the sensation. We touched down and walked through the big first doors. We walked across the humongous Main hall and into the mouth of a corridor, taking the first door in it and walking down the stairs. There were three men in a cell they led me to.
“Hmmm, they look attractive enough,” I said, winking to the men and unlocking the cell door.
They got my plan.
“Who are you?” one of them asked.
“Tesela Smith, Queen of this Empire. And you?”
He hesitated.
“Isaac,” he said.
“Isaac. Such a unique name. And how did you get here?”
“I am a warlock. We are, I mean,” he said.
“And I am a vampire. We all have our faults now don’t we? How did you end up in here?”
“Don’t you know this already?”
“No. I just woke up.”
He looked at the other two men as I let them out.
“We attacked your palace with 500 others.”
“500? Jesus. I thought it would only be 100 at the most. So you guys really don’t like us. Why?”
“We don’t know yet.”
I stopped and laughed.
“You mean, you have to wait to be told why you don’t like us? And you came here to fight with people you don’t even know about because some guy or chick said so?”
“Yeah.”
“Darlings, that’s terrible. I admire your loyalty, but if that’s how high your self-esteem is you’ve been deprived of reinforcement. Is it a man or a woman?”
“A man,” one of them said, “A man that sits around and laughs with his friends all day.”
I looked to the men and smiled slyly.
“Then why do you stay with him?” I asked.
They were quiet, looking at one another hopefully.
“Well, we never thought of it. Witches don’t fair too well by themselves,” Isaac said.
“I can imagine. Vampires fair fine because they have more abnormality than witches. Or warlocks. Pick your poison. What if we made you vampires? Would you help us find your leader?”
They looked at one another again, uneasy.
“Why would you want to know?” Isaac asked finally.
“So we can take revenge for all that he’s killed for no raison d'être,” I said optimistically.
“What?”
“Reason. It means reason.”
I started dancing my way up the stairs with Isaac, getting to the top and putting my back against the door. He was terrified. He thought I was insane. And maybe I was.
“So where does your loyalty lie? With me in this palace, or with him. Where is he darling?”
“I can’t tell you,” he said.
I laughed and kissed him, putting my arms around his neck.
“You can tell me anything. The worse thing he could do is kill you but guess what? So can I. Tell me. I can give you more than vampirism if you let me.”
He put his hands on my hips tensely and kissed me himself.
“He’s underground in the old Christian church on the outskirts. By the forest. The run-down one,” he said.
“Ah, and your not lying. That is wonderful. I’m sorry I have to do this. You really are beautiful. But you’re a witch and you’ve associated with those in the conspiracy,” I said, kissing him one last time before shoving him off the side of the staircase.
He broke his neck on the landing. The bone eroded from his body, bloody and chipped. I jumped down next to him and broke his bones into pieces. I licked the marrow and ate the flesh. I chucked the leftovers at everyone down there. But the pieces burned up and turned into nothing. I looked at the men and gestured for them to finish the other two men off. They yelled for them to stop. The other prisoners laughed and cheered wildly, making savage noises as the warlocks died.
“Easy as pie. Now, we let the witches learn that 500 of their men are dead. Let it sink in for a while. Then scare them by sending a score or two and disguising them for a few hours. It’ll be easy. I want to talk to you though, just you guys. See who you really are,” I said.

++++++++++++++++++++

Two days later we had been talking and sharing stories the entire time, just trying to get to really understand each other. We were all fairly honorable yet considerably different from one another. I had taken a personal liking to Vladmer for reasons unknown to me. I only wanted to be his friend, nothing more. I would look into seeing what would happen if I did do anything more with Vladmer and I’m sure he would do the same for me. G.D wasn’t interested in girls like me. He liked girly girls. I was not a girly girl.
“How did you break your knuckle?” Vladmer asked me.
Chris and Evan laughed. Vladmer looked at them curiously.
“I was playing with my boyfriend,” I said.
He raised his eyebrows.
“I’m sorry?” he asked.
“Well, he called me a dumb slut that acted more like a whoring bitch so I slammed the car door on his head. But I forgot my hand was still holding his head and it got stuck in there.”
I made a fist, showing him my unnatural knuckle deformation. He was going to stop there but he was interested.
“What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. I kicked him to the curb and drove off. He might have bled to death…”
“But he had a damn fine car,” Evan said.
“What kind?” Vladmer asked.
“Green Mustang. It could go pretty fast before she messed it up,” Chris said.
“Huhu, yeah, fifth joyride I took smashed it to pieces. I was making faces at this old man on the highway and he gave me the finger, dickhead. So I saw him crossing the street one day and put him under my tire. His old lady saw me and almost shit her diaper cause she knew I was coming after her next. I could have got her if the semi hadn’t sent me flying across the intersection. I was too busy laughing at the old man to notice.”
“Why are you still alive?” G.D bursted accidentally.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that after all your stories and all your scars you ought to be dead,” he said.
“I only survive because I’ve learned how at a young age. Far too young for any mortal to want to understand. It’s not something I’m proud of at all.”
“Awww, Tess, come on. Your independent but not to the point of bitchiness. It’s perfect,” Evan said.
“Yeah,” was all I could say.
I remembered what had made me so hard and I shivered. I closed my eyes and tried to forget about it but the images were burnt into my mind like hot cast irons on flesh.
“I’ve got to go meet with a friend, I’ll see you guys later,” G.D said.
“See you,” I said.
Evan, Chris, and Vladmer said their goodbyes.
“Tess, I’m kinda hungry,” Chris said.
“So am I,” Evan said.
“I’ll show you how it’s done,” I said.
“Can I come too?” Vladmer asked quickly, standing up.
“Yeah, go ahead. You can help. You probably know more about it than I do,” I said.
We ate, showing Evan and Chris the places that shed the most blood faster. Vladmer was itching to ask me something but I didn’t know what. He would start, but then Evan would make some stupid comment on how the city citizens walked and we’d get distracted. We walked the city just to see the human civilization for a while. Vladmer finally beat Evan to words and asked me his curiosity.
“You want to hang out at my place for a few days? I mean, it wouldn’t be just us. But its nice to have you around but still have my stuff around me. Like—”
“I get what you mean. Like me staying with you, as it is,” I smiled.

A day later I was sitting with him on the couch talking. He was edging the personal boundaries of topic. I didn’t mind. In fact, it felt better to be talking to someone about it. But the way he seemed to feel about my life was interesting. He was fascinated yet pitiful.
“I don’t want to be nosy, but I’m just wondering. What happened to you to make you so hard?”
“You don’t want to know,” I said.
“Yes, please,” he said, putting his hand on my thigh.
I looked at it.
“I was raped. Several times. At different ages. The first time was at 6. My dad did it. He beat me afterward and told me not to tell anyone when I woke up. I respect my dad to this day, though, so I haven’t told anyone. The other ones were at 6 up until 8 when I shot all the men that ever touched me. I stabbed the last one.”
He took one of my hands and rubbed up my arm soothingly.
“I shouldn’t attack you like—oh, Tesela, what are those?” he asked me, finding cuts all up my arm.
He looked at my wrists and rubbed his hand over them.
“And you aren’t letting them heal,” he frowned.
I looked from them to his face.
“I just like to do it when I’m bored,” I said.
“But you shouldn’t. I don’t know how you got your hands on a cursed blade but they can poison you. I’m not reproaching you,” he added.
He showed me his ankle, which had hundreds of scars going up to his knee. He let me feel them to see if any had elevated. It had occasional bumps.
“Then you know the thrill,” I said.
“Yes, I know it. I also know that guys really aren’t going to dig a woman with so many intentional scars.”
“You don’t?”
He was looking at my lips. I felt his craving as if it were my own. He leaned forward to kiss me. I let him come to me, watching him. He was not struck with second thought about this by my lack of participation. He knew that I was very surprised about him making me so much more than he acted like I was.
When he met my lips it was only a respectful kiss, acknowledging my personal boundaries and utilizing appropriate technique. When he left them, he stayed only a few inches from my face to let me think about whether or not I wanted to return to his lips. I made as if to withdraw, excusing his impertinence as an effect of prior alcohol intake. But then my mind spoke to me.
I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to do much more than kiss him but I believed even he would have to be absurd to be of the same mind. So, the slow, unspoken movement showed our agreement that I would kiss him, and he would kiss me. Oblivious to who was standing right before us, we did as we had sought after.
I enclosed his lips and felt the gentle lurch of where my stomach would be if it hadn’t been burnt up in my transition. I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I could feel two pairs of eyes on me. One from the window and one standing to the side. Vladmer’s feelings for me were about me as well. I could experience everything that was happening from both angles. To him, this was what he had hoped for but better.
When Vladmer noticed that we were being watched he let me part from him slowly. I looked to see who was standing beside us, watching. My ‘stomach’ no longer lurched so gently. It rose to my throat and gagged me. I looked at the man and opened my mouth to explain.
“We were just—” I started.
“I know what you were doing Tesela, that is not the problem. It’s who you’re doing it with,” G.D said reproachfully.
I stayed silent and watched the ground intently. What was so bad about Vladmer?
“Oh, hey G.D,” Vladmer said.
G.D put on a fake mask of comradeship.
“Oh, hey Vladmer! How’s it goin’?” he asked in mock enthusiasm.
Vladmer fell into my pose, staring at the ground and waiting for G.D to say something.
“Vladmer, I thought I told you to stay away from her,” G.D said.
“Why? She’s perfect. I shouldn’t have to let up my game just because you said so,” he said.
“I shouldn’t have to force you to leave her alone!” he yelled.
Vladmer ceased to speak.
“I’m sorry Tess. Could you go back to your bedchamber for me? Later, if it’s all right with you, could we get the palace outside? I found something that I want to share with them,” he said.
“Yeah, that sounds fine,” I said.
I deffered back to my bedchamber, laughing with anxiety. I wondered what G.D would be saying to Vladmer right now. There was an assortment of things I would have been honored to know, like what G.D discovered. But I was sure he’d tell me when he told the palace. I wanted them to stop talking in code whenever I got close to Vladmer. Well, actually, I noticed that I never did anything to Vladmer besides return his favors. He was always the one to start things.

I had gathered everyone outside to speak with G.D two hours later in the fading sunset. It was beautiful out here, just seeing the flat, desert-like area on a sunset. Vladmer was in the crowd somewhere with Chris and Evan. I was only up there because G.D wanted me up there. He had a drink that he had been sipping on. He saw me looking at it curiously. I’d never seen it before.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Want to try it? I’m done with it. It’s too strong for me,” he said, holding it out.
I took it. It was only a glass. I could take it, I thought. When I drank it, G.D was watching me. Like his objective was for me to finish it. I wondered why he was so nervous. Something was wrong. I sensed it. I finished it and looked around. Things were getting blurry. My flight was failing me and I was starting to lose it. This was what G.D was looking for.
Vladmer, Chris, and Evan flew up to come and help me but G.D cried, “She’s a witch! She can’t drink Kabri’s blood because she’s a witch! Get her to the dungeons!” Tons of people immediately reacted to G.D’s words. “She’s got accomplices!” he added. I almost lost consciousness from whatever it was that G.D gave me. Vladmer was clutching me, keeping me away from anyone who wanted to hurt me.
He himself was getting thrashed on. He was supporting me but both of us were being pushed into the palace dungeons. Chris and Evan were fighting against the crowd, but with no avail. I got my wellness back when I was about to be chained to the wall. Vladmer had been torn from me by now. I attacked everyone around me, beheading three and mutilating several others. Somebody took my sword from me. I fist fought, screaming and kicking to avoid the shackles.
“G.D! You liar! I hate you! I hope you burn in Hell for what you’ve just done to me! To all of us! I’m not a witch!” I shrieked.
“Shut up,” one of the women said.
“Fuck you!” I said, grabbing her and strangling her with my chains. She fought, but I had broken her neck and she had bled to death.
The people backed up, terrified of what I might do to them if I could. I saw G.D and my mind snapped. I giggled wildly and walked back to the wall. My mouth started whispering indistinguishable words that weren’t really words. But to me they were. And they had great meaning. Everyone was staring at me, even the prisoners. It seemed as if people were holding their breaths to hear what I was saying.
“You think you’ve done the just, don’t you? You believe that stupid fool. Well remember this G.D. When I get off this wall I will crucify you and hang you to my bedchamber wall as a DECORATION!” I said.
He was paler than usual.
“Out,” he told the people, “Get out.”
They couldn’t move. They were engrossed in me.
“Come here, I want to show you something,” I told a man.
He only looked.
“Come on, I won’t hurt you,” I said, putting on a warm smile.
He came, entranced.
“Did you know that that’s my blade?” I asked delicately, pointing to the knife that was carelessly shoved in his pants.
He looked down at it.
Before he could answer I had it shoved through his pit. He shrieked a mighty cry of pain.
“It does you no good,” I told him loudly, “Nobody is going to help you. They don’t care. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. Here, I’ll scream with you.”
I screamed with him, my scream turning into wicked laugh as his died, along with his body. There were eyes on me from a distance, however that could not have been possible unless there was a camera or some other. Though there were many eyes on me, these ones were watching in a particular way. They made themselves more noticeable among the crowd.
“I hope all of you remember that next time you go eat, because this will be my meal until I’m off this wall. In fact, we’ll all share his organs for you. That’s right, run. GET OUT! All of you get out! And don’t ever come back you psycho freaks! Hahahahahaha! I’ll cast a spell on you and turn you into a toad!” I laughed crazily.
“Tesela, I’m only doing this to help you,” G.D said when everyone had left.
“Help what? My mentality?” I asked.
“Yes, actually. But I’m not going to explain it to you until you’ll believe me. I’ll know when your ready. Dear god I hope it’s soon.”
He shut the door and locked it, telling everyone outside not to open the door again.

++++++++++++++++++++

Throughout the next three years we'd caught some people who came down just to watch us so we weren't too hungry. Just starving, not dying. This was something we had learned to get used to. We talked alot, planned how we would torture G.D and whoever chose to follow him. Talked of how he did it and figured out what had happened to me. We learned of how the queen related to Vladmer through their brief relationship before she died. We all got to know each other better.
One day while we were talking of elements a very strange man that looked about my age walked into the dungeons quietly shutting the door behind him. We went silent and watched him as he jumped down the stairs. He was your average Goth, black short hair, black baggy pants and a black comedy shirt with a black sweater. His eyes however were a medium blue, not too dark not too bright. Attractive though he was, I still asked the others which one was going to eat him. They said Vladmer should have it for being so helpful lately. Our plan already formed, we waited for the man to do something.
He eyed us all quickly, taking in our appearance and analyzing our expressions thoroughly before talking. His words were hushed so he was not to be heard in the hall. “You seem to be exactly how people said. But this doesn't bother me, I still need to say my piece.”
“And you seem quiet. Any point in particular?” Chris asked loudly.
“G.D has ordered nobody to be in here, otherwise we're locked down here. I have the keys though so it doesn't matter. I'd just like to keep the keys. Wouldn't you?” he asked cleverly, his voice still lowered.
We went silent. People had stopped coming down here lately and the last few people had all tried to make us believe their lies. We were smarter than that though. This man, however, was different. His mind was open and he let us look through it knowingly.
“I did not come here to tease you with them though. My name is Philip, created about a month ago. You guys are all I've heard about the whole time I’ve been here. It never dies. You’re like four celebrities captured by stalkers. But I have to be quick about it, G.D is expecting me soon. Witches upon witches have come from all around Europe. Angry witches, far smarter than the Germans. They've got no power difference but they think things out. They know how we operate and whatnot. Alot of people are against G.D. He's so paranoid about you getting out he doesn't realize that tens of us get jumped and killed a day. It's gone on for so long, only a few still support him. We could kill them, me and my side, we could kill the small hundred slowly, eventually.”
“Why? You would only be killing your own kind. Traitor,” I told him.
“No, you misunderstand me. We know you will hold your anger against us but we aren't stupid. The witches will kill us without ever presenting an objective if we continue to miss the spies. We’re getting nervous, killing each other like hypochondriacs. Its not the same as it was I’ve heard.”
“Then you heard right. It was more relaxed. Careless and such. Very nice,” I reasoned, more to myself than everyone else.
There were no more words for me to say. I didn't know what he wanted and he knew it. Right now he was forgotten as I continued to talk to myself.
“Do you know what he's telling us Tess?” Vladmer, my neighboring wall friend asked, hitting my shoulder.
All of us had developed nothing but savage, cold, people-hating temper.
“Vladmer, have you noticed something? The original three always acted like this, you didn't. You were different. You hadn't taken enough shit to give it. See the difference?” I asked, off topic.
“He's saying they want you back,” he forced through my brain.
“So? Who says I want to go back?”
Everybody looked at me disbelievingly.
“Come here Philip, I want to show you something,” I told him, walking as far as I could and stopping before my hands pulled me back.
“Why?” he asked, digging in his pocket and dropping the ring of keys on the ground.
He remained motionless.
“Because I asked you to.”
“I've heard bravery isn't rewarded down here.”
“It's not. But this isn't bravery, this is direct order.”
He walked forward. He wasn't afraid of me, he just didn't want to die yet.
“What do you see when you look at us? Do you see any likelihood of pain? Torture? Do we resemble the perfectly groomed Kings?”
I played with his shirt testily. He ignored this.
“No. I see the true vampires. The ones that have learned things even the biggest dictator couldn't match. All the small things, the ones that look as if sand could dominate it. Torture is shown in your eyes. All of you. Gone, lost, in your own head where you know the difference of everything. I see G.D's mistake, his fate written in every carving of your fierce features.”
“Does this frighten you?” I asked, looking into his eyes.
They exaggerated him tremendously but made him look so much more attractive.
“It would.”
“Would?”
I searched his pockets to look for anything sharp.
“Would. It doesn't. To be frightened of you is to run from death. Should I be afraid of death I will avoid all of you.”
I chuckled lightly, finding nothing in his pockets. I checked his arms. Vladmer had told me he and G.D did this when they first met me because they thought I did drugs. It was a good way to see stuff: his strength, blood flow, everything. You could see if he had any diseases when he was human, if he was a witch.
“Good save. So tell me, why should I come to the palaces’ rescue? Do they deserve it?”
“I'm not going to tell you why you should do something. You can think about that for a while. And if they deserve it is clear, they don't. Of course they don't. You can tell by where your standing that they don't. But I—no, I was the only one to volunteer my life for this. This...fight, this fight has escalated. I can't tell you how bad it has gotten. Our numbers have decreased and G.D's asked for help, he's flown everywhere but not one person will give him anything. The palace is empty. German vampires used to be one of the biggest communities. It’s reduced to a quarter. You can think about that. I have to go get beat by G.D, but you can think about that. And give me my flask back.”
I sighed and dumped the flask back from my sleeve.
Disappointedly, I said, “No incentive from beggars...”

I had thought about it. It would be nice to get off the wall like the others said. But the only thing that really got through was that I should have eaten him. I was getting hunger pangs from Hell. Lucky for him though, Vladmer let me take some of him before Philip actually got down the stairs next time he came. Vladmer liked it, the way I embraced him as I did it. When I stopped and waited for him to heal and licked the blood from his neck.
He liked the pain it gave him too. The sharp piercing of his skin…the sensuality. If other people didn't know better I'm sure they would have made some immature sound effect. It probably looked like I was hitting on him. But we all had different ways of fooling people. Mine was through seduction.
“What do you want?” I asked absently, wiping off Vladmer's neck with my sleeve and taking his arms from me.
“It's getting worse by the second my lady. You have to say something,” he was worn out, bruises all on his face.
“Ohhhh, poor thing…How’s that?”
“No.”
His voice was flat, almost demanding.
“No? There's a good one. No.”
“Come on Tess. I don't want these wrist-breakers on me anymore,” Chris persuaded.
“Yeah, I swear these things have broken mine about ten times. Doesn't mean it hurts anymore,” I spat back at him foully.
“Come on!” echoed around in loud whispers.
The pressure was on. This could be my day of revenge.
“We killed them. We killed them all. G.D's killing now for no reason. He can't touch me. These aren't from him,” Philip was breathing heavily and supporting himself against the wall.
“Killed who?” I asked dividedly.
“Everyone G.D had. His friends, his followers. We can't kill him though. We can, but, well, you.”
“What about me? Kill the man! Bring me his brain, I'll fix it!” I held my hand up as if it was obvious.
“No, you. You have to kill him.”
“Have to? How do you figure?”
“It would be simple to come up behind him, knock his head in and eat him. Too simple. This man does not deserve simple. He deserves everything but simple! He's...he's a traitor, a liar.”
“And you just noticed this? What did he do, tell you?”
“No. Much worse than that. Nobody can leave. Nobody. He's forced the trolls to put a weird shield over the palace...nobody can leave. At first it was just a temporary until he could count the numbers and stop them from dying. It didn't help because we kill each other. He kills people too! Anyone who sticks around long enough to talk to him.”
“So?”
“HELP US! HELP US LIVE! MAKE HIM SUFFER!” he screamed.
Jerking my wrists up he jammed a key in the lock and threw the cuffs at the wall. I merely stood there, a new air of fresh anger lodged down my throat and entering my tongue as the door flew open and G.D yelled, “SHUT THE F—NO! YOU IDIOT! NO!”
“Hello G.D. Guess what? There is only 50 feet between you and I. You knew I wasn’t done. I’m still not done. Run! Run as fast as you can! It's not like you can leave! Hahahahahaha! Run! Run from all of us!” I laughed.
He did just that, slamming the door shut behind him. I was my own person at last. My own self. A queen!
“Look at him. Fuck crucifixion, we’ll just nail him to the cross, stab him up a bit, and drink him to death,” I said.
“Seeing him die will be enough for me darling. Don’t get too riled,” Vladmer said, holding me to him from behind.
He drank from my neck and kissed it at the same time.
“Please. If that were in the least way arousing then I would have screwed far too many men at my young age,” I said.
“It’s not for your satisfaction,” he said.
“Ewww, your gross man,” Evan said.
“Yeah, perve,” I grinned.
He laughed, letting me go.
“What do you say Tess, we hunt the bastard down?” Chris asked.
“You read my mind,” I said.
We spread out and searched for G.D. It wasn’t hard for us to find him, for everyone pointed to where he was. Vladmer was the one that found him in his bedchamber, holding a blade before him. Vladmer fought the blade off of him. I saw Vladmer dragging him down the spiral staircase and took liberties to cut down the cross in the main hall. It crashed down the wall and stuck in the ground.
Vladmer shoved G.D into it and stepped to the side. I spread his arms out against the cross and let Evan and Chris stab his wrists through with knives. He screamed but I muffled his mouth with my hand. He bit hard. I only bit his neck back, brutally tearing. He released my hand.
“You thought you would win, didn’t you? Cheaters never win,” I said slowly.
“I was trying to help you. You only got worse. I couldn’t just go down there though. You made it impossible for me to help you,” he whined.
“You aren’t helping me by chaining me to a wall.”
I shoved a sphere off the wall behind us through his ribs. He arched his back.
“Now tell me, I want to know. What went through your head when you faked everyone out? Were you nervous? Scared? Happy? Happy to be rid of me? Just like you were when you left me with Vladmer. You fucking disappoint me,” I said.
His eyes loosened at my last words. He looked ashamed. I struck him once, twice, many times until I was too tired to continue, which was a while. I was almost as bloody as him. He stayed silent and shut his eyes, hoping I would stop. I walked toward the others.
“He’s far too limp. Take a swing. I say we finish him by the blood. Force it all in different directions with our tongue strength. Eh?” I said lazily.
“Well let’s see. He has to have good circulation for it to hurt enough. He must have, since his veins are purple. They make him seem so...unhappy. Wonder why,” Vladmer said.
“Then its agreed we'll drink him to death,” Evan said.
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea. It could really traumatize him in Hell,” Chris agreed.
Vladmer beat him brusquely just as I had. G.D was sobbing to him, begging him not to do something. I wondered what they were talking about. There was a pair of curious eyes on us, and it was not coming from the crowd. It was from a distance. It was twice now, twice that I'd felt these eyes. I looked around for them. I was the only one that noticed. I looked and saw nothing. I bit my bottom lip in uneasiness, trying to forget that this felt wrong somehow.
It didn't seem possible for it to be wrong. What was wrong about it? He put me on a wall. A wall that broke my wrists several times and held me back from things for three years. I watched him weep over something he would never benefit from and smiled. I liked Vladmer and the way he did G.D. Somehow it made me feel better about everything. Evan and Chris beat him with knife hilts and fists alike. They played mind games with him, making him feel worse than ever.
We finally drank him from either side of his neck and his wrists until he screamed to his death. Once he had died he was hung back up on the wall on his cross and given a moment of silence to be laughed at in the minds of the palace. His limp body pleased my mind. The eyes that had been watching were now upon me. They felt strongly for the man I had just killed.
“So, now that you beggars bemused me I will only say this. Watch what you eat and watch what comes into the palace. I can’t keep all of you in line. There are witches in here. I can feel it. So check your neighbor’s darlings. Witches can’t protect their minds,” I said.
They looked around at each other nervously, checking minds. I saw several people attack others and kill them. One person stepped out of the crowd, pulled a red vial out, and threw it at me. It missed me…but it didn’t completely miss. It hit Chris instead. I watched in horror as he looked down at his chest where it hit him and screamed. Right before he burst into flames and was lost in to the world of fire and torture. I held my hand to my mouth and stared at the place where he used to be. I reached out, but there was nothing.
I looked down at the woman who threw it. Everybody was silently watching her. I shrieked in anger and threw myself upon her. She screamed louder than I when I stabbed her insides innumerous times, screaming brutally. Everybody was terrified. Not Evan or Vladmer. They were in shock at Chris’s death, but I was infuriated. I kept beating her even after she was dead until her corpse was covered in blood. My body was covered in blood too.
“I don’t care what you do or eat,” I said weakly, “Go fuck yourselves.”
I went outside, gently asked the trolls to take the shield off the palace, and went to my bedchamber. I had no idea there were trolls out in the forest until Vladmer told me. They obeyed me not because they feared me but because they respected my leadership. I laid on my bed and wept quietly.
Chris was one of the only people I ever really loved. He had the best sense of humor I’d ever lived to see and could laugh about anything. Even being put on the wall. I wanted somebody to come talk to me. I hated being alone when I felt like this. It really wasn’t my favorite place to be. By myself, in my own mind. It just didn’t fit. I had been abandoned there long ago by a man and ever since I had feared that place…the place that destroyed my character.
I wanted to see someone in particular. He wasn’t my best friend, but he seemed to have something about him that drew me his way. I didn’t know what I would say to him if he, or anyone, came. Nothing was to be said. Chris was dead and that’s all that could be said for. I was half crying because I was lonelier than ever before. I wanted anyone to come say anything to me.
It was five minutes until anyone came to see me and it was the person I’d wanted to see. Five minutes felt like five days, but you could imagine since mourning for a loved ones death isn’t exactly like throwing a party. I heard the footsteps echo across the room. My hands went up to cover my face immediately. He stood above me, peering down. He sighed and laid next to me on the bed.