|I REMEMBER... |
Start writing with some version of the phrase "I remember" (Perspective and tense can be changed). Write for at least ten minutes, or 500 words.
I remember my first taste of blood. Not Herrick's blood though that's technically my first taste, but I was near to passing out then, darkness was closing in and I already felt numb all over so all I tasted was the tang of gunmetal on my tongue. Herrick held me before he let me drop, I remember that. I'd fallen to the ground and he cradled me like a mother would her child until I'd had enough from his wrist, then smiled as he let me fall.
But, no, I remember the first blood I had, real fresh and true blood. I remember the war being so cold. We could never get warm in the winter, not even shoved together in the trenches. I woke up in that pile of bodies, freezing, and Herrick picked me up a few meters away. They got me a change of clothes and a promotion and brought me to this inn. It only stayed in business, Seth said, because of "our kind". I didn't know what he meant then.
This sweet little girl of a barmaid came to out table to take our orders. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was pretty, but she had skin so creamy white, like milk, I could see the delicate lines of her veins, sliding down her neck and following the dip of her breasts, disappearing behind fabric. I thought I could see the blood rushing through them, could hear the beating pump of her heart. She pulled her hair back, exposed her neck without thinking, and without thinking I lunged at her.
She didn't make a sound I could hear. The rest of the tavern -- fifteen men, maybe, and the barkeep who made too good of living off our patronage to raise his voice -- erupted into cheers. Cheers for the new recruit, the new boy, making his mark already. That's a way, boy! Get it! And her blood was so warm. It flooded my mouth and burned down my throat and suddenly I could feel again, I was awake again like I'd drunk a canteen of coffee. I'd died out there in the cold and I was reborn in there, in the tavern, in the warmth, with new brothers, a new family. I drank and I knew that, from that moment on, I could never die and I could never be alone again.
I remember it felt so good.
[408]
I remember my first taste of blood. Not Herrick's blood though that's technically my first taste, but I was near to passing out then, darkness was closing in and I already felt numb all over so all I tasted was the tang of gunmetal on my tongue. Herrick held me before he let me drop, I remember that. I'd fallen to the ground and he cradled me like a mother would her child until I'd had enough from his wrist, then smiled as he let me fall.
But, no, I remember the first blood I had, real fresh and true blood. I remember the war being so cold. We could never get warm in the winter, not even shoved together in the trenches. I woke up in that pile of bodies, freezing, and Herrick picked me up a few meters away. They got me a change of clothes and a promotion and brought me to this inn. It only stayed in business, Seth said, because of "our kind". I didn't know what he meant then.
This sweet little girl of a barmaid came to out table to take our orders. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was pretty, but she had skin so creamy white, like milk, I could see the delicate lines of her veins, sliding down her neck and following the dip of her breasts, disappearing behind fabric. I thought I could see the blood rushing through them, could hear the beating pump of her heart. She pulled her hair back, exposed her neck without thinking, and without thinking I lunged at her.
She didn't make a sound I could hear. The rest of the tavern -- fifteen men, maybe, and the barkeep who made too good of living off our patronage to raise his voice -- erupted into cheers. Cheers for the new recruit, the new boy, making his mark already. That's a way, boy! Get it! And her blood was so warm. It flooded my mouth and burned down my throat and suddenly I could feel again, I was awake again like I'd drunk a canteen of coffee. I'd died out there in the cold and I was reborn in there, in the tavern, in the warmth, with new brothers, a new family. I drank and I knew that, from that moment on, I could never die and I could never be alone again.
I remember it felt so good.
[408]