Easy way out

1865

         

Thadius Hawkin knelt on the floor of the living room of his family home. He was hunched over, cradling a small child in his arms. His long blonde hair fell forward, hiding his face and the tears streaming down his cheeks.



         “Gloria, please don’t make me do this.” He pleaded.



         Gloria Myers stood across the room staring at him unemotionally. Her straight, jet black hair flowed over her bare shoulders and down to the middle of her back. Her alabaster skin was a stark contrast to the black of her hair and the deep crimson velvet and gold embroidery of her dress. One could almost miss the stain of coagulated blood smearing her ruby lipstick and running down her chin.



         “Thadius,” she said in an oily voice that oozed power and contempt, “I told you there was a price for what you wanted. This is that price. I took care of the other two humans. You must take this one yourself.”



         Thadius looked up to the sofa where his parents still sat. Their heads were tipped back and their eyes wide. Their throats had been ripped open by Gloria. He’d watched in horror as she drank greedily from the carotid artery as blood arced high, pulsed slower, and finally stopped.



         He reached up and felt the dual puncture wounds in his own skin. Last night he’d begged Gloria to turn him, to grant him eternal life. He had no idea that the cost would be so high. She’d fed from him, and with a grandiose display, had opened her wrist with a shining knife and he’d drunk from her blood. He could feel the transformation happening. Already he couldn’t bear to be in direct sunlight, his canine teeth had elongated, and a terrible hunger was gnawing at his very soul.



         Thadius looked down at the girl in his arms. It was his ten year old sister, Annelise. He loved her more than life itself. He’d sworn to her many nights when she’d woken from bad dreams that he would keep her safe from the monsters in the dark. Now he was the monster.



         She was looking at him, terrified eyes begging him to stop, crying uncontrollably, and shaking violently with terror. He could feel her pulse beneath her skin. He could hear the blood rushing in the arteries. He could smell her terror. It was more that he could take. Every fiber of his being urged him to continue. Slowly he dipped is head and sunk his fangs into her neck. Annelise released a carnal scream of pure terror and betrayal. To Thadius, it was an eternity until the scream fell to a low moan, and then to silence. His new senses let him know the exact moment that she died. He felt her heart stop and heard the last, raspy breath as it escaped her. Thadius slowly laid her body at the feet of his parents ruined corpses, his tears flowing freely, knowing he would never be able to forgive himself.



         “Good, very good!” Gloria said from the corner. “The price has been met, and you will now gain the rewards promised you. By tomorrow night, you’ll be fully changed. Your old life is now a distant memory. I have booked passageway on the midnight train. You will accompany me.” She added with a wink and a sly smile.



         “As you wish,” Thadius replied. He was in a daze from the nights events. He stumbled out of the house behind Gloria and into the waiting stagecoach.



         “Take us to the hotel, Syrus.” Gloria commanded the driver. “We need to get cleaned up before we catch that train.”

Today

         “Gloria, please just let me go!” Thadius pleaded, straining against the chains and shakles that were bolted into the wall. “I can’t take it anymore. I see her face and hear her scream every minute!”



         “Thadius. You really must let that old life become a distant memory. Forget it all together if you can. You know I can’t let you go. You have been trying to run off for years. How do you think that would reflect on me? I graciously give into your plea for eternal life, and then you leave me? I think not. You will remain here,  with me.”



         Gloria signaled with a wave of her hand to one of her scions. The door to her chambers opened and a small girl was led in.

         “Gloria no!” Thadius screamed. The girl looked remarkably like Annelise. Gloria had been bringing him girls like this one once a week for as long as he could remember. He couldn’t differentiate between the girls and his sister anymore. All he saw was Annelise. It was always the eyes that got to him the most. They all had the same look of terror.



         The girl was led to him and, as always, he had to kneel to reach her. He was starving and the hunger pulled at him and did not give him the slightest chance to resist. He pulled the girl to him, bit deep into her neck and drank his fill. A remorse so deep and dark hit him and tears poured down his face.



         “Annelise,” he whispered as he let the lifeless girl roll out of his lap to the floor.



         Gloria lounged on her huge, ornate bed. Her face showed no emotion, but her eyes sparkled as the pain Thadius was experiencing became like a physical force filling the room. Slowly she smiled and let out a deep sigh, clearly enjoying every moment of his torment.



         Much later Thadius was leaning against the wall he was chained to. The only time he saw Gloria any more was when she prepared for sleep in the morning, or when they brought him a “gift” for feeding. His mind wandered constantly as he stared blankly at the doors in front of him. He was emotionally exhausted and just wanted his torture to end.



         Suddenly, the doors of the room burst open. A man with a slight build and shaved head ran across the room. Thadius recognized him as one of the newest scions.



         “Gloria will kill you if she finds you here with me” Thadius said weakly.



         “She’ll do more than that if she catches us.” The man replied. He produced a key from a pocket somewhere and quickly unlocked the shackles on Thadius’ ankles and wrists.



         Thadius rubbed his worn skin and looked in utter surprise at his rescuer. “Why?” is all he could manage to ask.

         “I hate what Gloria is doing to you. Now go. Run as far away as you can. She’ll send search parties out as soon as she knows you are gone! She will join the hunt at nightfall tomorrow.”



         Thadius nodded once and ran. He burst out the door of the old house that was acting as a lair, tearing them from the hinges in his haste. He ran toward the smell of salt water. He knew they were at a coastal town, but had no idea where.



         When he reached the docks, he took a great breath in, reveling in the smell of the sea air and the feel of the brisk wind on his face. He walked out onto the beach, pinching the cold sand between his toes. How long had it been since he had been outside? He couldn’t remember. It had been even longer since he had seen the sun. He’d been in hell, and now he was free. Gloria would never stop looking for him. She would never forgive his escape.



         Thadius waded into the surf enjoying the shock of the cold water on his skin. He knew exactly what had to be done. He had been alive for so long, but it was not what he had imagined when he had asked Gloria to bring him over.



         He walked out of the water and looked to the horizon. The sky was purple with the beginnings of orange creeping in. He thought back to his parents. He had loved them, but had never really mourned them. He did now.



         “I am sorry,” He thought. “I never wanted any of this to happen. I hope you found your way to a better place.”



         Then, as they usually did, his thoughts went to Annelise. Tears formed in his eyes and he thought of playing tag with her in the yard with the other kids, reading to her after dinner in front of the fireplace, and walking with her to the candy shop to look at all the sweets and dream of what they would buy if they had money.



         He saw the shadows beginning to retreat up the beach. He sat cross-legged in the sand, admiring the distant colors or orange and red and blue of the sunrise.



         “Don’t worry about me Annelise. I go to where I belong. I hope you are together with our parents and happy. I am sorry for everything.”



         He raised his face to the rising sun, embracing its warmth. His skin began to blister, blacken and smoke. He felt no pain as the fire ate away his body. His only thought was “Annelise,” and then oblivion took him in a fiery explosion.



1537 words