Dreams
At dusk Faith awoke suddenly, hungry. So very hungry, as though she had not fed for weeks, the scent of blood already filling her senses. She rose from the bed, slipping out of the house like a shadow, moving through the streets with no thought, only the desire for blood. Death.
The siren's call of life drew her to a modest home not far away. The door opened at a touch, her steps silent on the tile floor. She could feel life there. A family. Children, such pure innocence... sweet and clean. She crept through the rooms, watching the family at dinner, praying together. For some reason they did not feel her presence. She felt her lips stretch into a feral grin, sharp fangs cutting into her lower lip.
She did not wait until their prayer was finished. She struck the man first, a blinding move of her hands crushed his larynx, rendering him senseless. Movements blurring, she reached out to the woman, who could only watch in confusion as claws ripped her arms from her body. She shrieked then, pain and shock creeping into her face. The children were last, the small ones trying to run from the danger they could not yet see. It was over quickly, almost too quickly for Faith, who wanted to savor the terror coursing through this family's blood.
She carried each victim into the master bedroom, where she tied and secured each in turn. She started with the infant, forcing the horrified parents to watch as she ripped the tiny form to pieces, spreading its blood over her body in a parody of sexual fulfillment. She then forced the mother to choose which child would die next, with the promise it would be painless. The mother begged for her children, and Faith laughed. Laughed with the joy of bloodlust. Each child she tortured, rending the bodies so that blood and viscera sprayed the ceiling, tinging the very air red.
Finally, drawing her knife, she killed the woman slowly, using her knife the way her husband used himself to pleasure her in times past. The woman's screams grew hoarse before she succumbed to death's merciful grip. Faith gloried in the terror, the agony of every moment, knowing all this was as it was meant to be. At the end, after having watched this beautiful creature slaughter his entire family without being able to utter a sound, the man had nearly completed Faith's work for her. His hands were mangled with the force of his struggles against his bonds. Face ashen beneath the blood, he sagged against his ties, exhausted beyond measure. Defeat pored from every part of him, even his eyes.
Faith cupped his face, so gently he barely knew her touch. Carefully she tipped his face until his eyes met hers. She spoke, softly. "Know you did nothing to save you family. Know that it is your fault they died in agony." She then wielded that same knife, skinning him alive with the care a plastic surgeon. As the last breaths left his body, she wrapped the dead infant in its gory shroud and left the house, confident that she wouldn't be seen. She grisly package she left on the doorstep of a church she passed, laughter ringing through the night air.
Faith awoke from the dream screaming, red-tinged sweat dripping from her to the tangled sheets. The smell of blood filled her mind, the taste of fear mingled with savage joy. She sat up, hand scrambling for the lamp. As light filled the dark room she examined herself, finding no trace of blood to show the truth of the nightmare.
It was just a dream, she thought. Only a dream.
For a long time she lay on the bed, huddled in the covers like a small child too scared of the dark to move. Finally, the heaviness that came with the dawn returned, stealing her back into the dark embrace of sleep. As her eyes closed, she had one more thought.
Vampires don't dream.
The siren's call of life drew her to a modest home not far away. The door opened at a touch, her steps silent on the tile floor. She could feel life there. A family. Children, such pure innocence... sweet and clean. She crept through the rooms, watching the family at dinner, praying together. For some reason they did not feel her presence. She felt her lips stretch into a feral grin, sharp fangs cutting into her lower lip.
She did not wait until their prayer was finished. She struck the man first, a blinding move of her hands crushed his larynx, rendering him senseless. Movements blurring, she reached out to the woman, who could only watch in confusion as claws ripped her arms from her body. She shrieked then, pain and shock creeping into her face. The children were last, the small ones trying to run from the danger they could not yet see. It was over quickly, almost too quickly for Faith, who wanted to savor the terror coursing through this family's blood.
She carried each victim into the master bedroom, where she tied and secured each in turn. She started with the infant, forcing the horrified parents to watch as she ripped the tiny form to pieces, spreading its blood over her body in a parody of sexual fulfillment. She then forced the mother to choose which child would die next, with the promise it would be painless. The mother begged for her children, and Faith laughed. Laughed with the joy of bloodlust. Each child she tortured, rending the bodies so that blood and viscera sprayed the ceiling, tinging the very air red.
Finally, drawing her knife, she killed the woman slowly, using her knife the way her husband used himself to pleasure her in times past. The woman's screams grew hoarse before she succumbed to death's merciful grip. Faith gloried in the terror, the agony of every moment, knowing all this was as it was meant to be. At the end, after having watched this beautiful creature slaughter his entire family without being able to utter a sound, the man had nearly completed Faith's work for her. His hands were mangled with the force of his struggles against his bonds. Face ashen beneath the blood, he sagged against his ties, exhausted beyond measure. Defeat pored from every part of him, even his eyes.
Faith cupped his face, so gently he barely knew her touch. Carefully she tipped his face until his eyes met hers. She spoke, softly. "Know you did nothing to save you family. Know that it is your fault they died in agony." She then wielded that same knife, skinning him alive with the care a plastic surgeon. As the last breaths left his body, she wrapped the dead infant in its gory shroud and left the house, confident that she wouldn't be seen. She grisly package she left on the doorstep of a church she passed, laughter ringing through the night air.
Faith awoke from the dream screaming, red-tinged sweat dripping from her to the tangled sheets. The smell of blood filled her mind, the taste of fear mingled with savage joy. She sat up, hand scrambling for the lamp. As light filled the dark room she examined herself, finding no trace of blood to show the truth of the nightmare.
It was just a dream, she thought. Only a dream.
For a long time she lay on the bed, huddled in the covers like a small child too scared of the dark to move. Finally, the heaviness that came with the dawn returned, stealing her back into the dark embrace of sleep. As her eyes closed, she had one more thought.
Vampires don't dream.