Halloween Horror Themes 2013: From the Ashes Springs New Life - 1. From the Ashes Springs New Life

From the Ashes Springs New Life

I sorted through the mail while I climbed the steps to the apartment. When I finally reached the door, I had three piles, divided by my fingers: junk, bills, and an envelope that looked like it was made of handmade paper, the kind they use for wedding invitations and the like. Turning it around, I found my full name written in bright red ink.

Skylar Landen Porter

Red ink? Weird.

Feeling a strange trepidation I couldn't really explain, I opened my door, and threw everything except the letter on the little table by the hall. I turned the envelope around a few more times, even followed the writing of my name with the fingertip, before I finally wedged my pinky into the small gap under the flap and pried it open.

A sharp pain shot through my hand. "Damn!"

When I pulled my finger out, a drop of blood appeared at its tip and I involuntarily put it into my mouth to prevent the blood from falling on the envelope. I had cut myself with the paper.

Ew...I hated the taste of blood.

I opened the rest of the envelope--more careful now!--but didn't notice that the wound hadn't stopped bleeding.

"Shit! What a mess!" I tried to wipe the blood away, but the paper had already absorbed some of it. "Ew, that's so gross." My stomach cramped, the coppery smell always got to me.

When I tugged the stationery out from the envelope, I noticed a strange, powdery substance that clung to it and I had to carefully shake it from the sheet, before I could unfold it.

There was one sentence, written in the same bright red ink as my name.

Be aware that on All Hollows Eve the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is very fragile.

L.

I snorted, before I stuffed the letter back in the envelope. This was no wedding invitation but my friends' lame attempt to put some fear into me from afar. They were a little cross with me because I wanted to honor my favorite monster, the vampire, in private this time instead of visiting our usual Halloween parties.

***

I thought about buying one of those frilly white shirts, which by the way would have gone perfectly with the theme of the night and my one and only pair of black dress pants, but then I decided it would be a little bit over-the-top. I had a black, washed-out Metallica t-shirt with a big yellow mummy skull baring its fangs printed on it, which went well with the black pajama pants. That had to be enough, at least clothes-wise.

Humming, I arranged one of my grandmother's long-stemmed crystal glasses on a silver tray, together with a bottle of red wine and my favorite chocolate. I carried it over to my bedroom, where I set it on the nightstand, switched my desk lamp on and the ceiling light off.

There, all dark and mysterious, ready for the monsters to come out of their hiding when the right time comes.

I poured some wine in the glass and held it into the light, the deep red color reminded me of blood and I quickly discarded the disturbing thought. As much as I adored my beloved monster, the idea of drinking blood always made me shudder. I could never be a vampire.

Grinning, I grabbed one of the books I had always wanted to read: Anne Rice's “Vampire Chronicles”. Everyone told me the books were crap, so I had never read them before. I'd always wanted to give them a try though, and could there be a better time than on Halloween?

After making myself comfortable on the bed, I opened the first book: “Interview with the Vampire”.

Nibbling on a piece of chocolate I read, "I see...," said the vampire thoughtfully, and slowly he walked across the room towards the window....

***

Two hours later...

A shadow fell on my book and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. It was almost as if something was coming between the light and me. Irritated I looked up and my heart stood still.

About six feet away from me, in the middle of my bedroom, stood a naked man and everything in me screamed, 'Danger!' Seeing him, I felt like I was being watched by a predator ready to pounce. Without thinking, I jumped to my feet, my heart now beating frantically in my chest.

True to the old adage, 'The best defense is offense', I yelled, "What the...where the fuck did you come from?", while my eyes darted between him and the door, assessing my chance to get out before he could get to me.

As if he could read my mind, he took a casual step to the left, effectively blocking any chance to flee, daring me to try anyway with a mocking grin.

That was when I saw them: FANGS, honest-to-God-big-assed fangs peeked out between his lips.

Vampire! A fucking vampire was standing in my bedroom!

The vampire eyed me as a cat probably would a mouse it intended to play with before having it for dinner. He lifted his hand, and I was terrorized thinking he would grab me by my neck. I could almost feel his fangs sinking into me so that he could suck me dry. Instead of running, I froze. I couldn't move even though I desperately wanted to. When nothing happened, I finally registered he was only showing me the damn envelope and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding.

Certain he finally had my full attention; he raised the envelope up to his nose and sniffed appreciatively. "Hmmm, Luther has outdone himself this time; your blood smells delicious." His tongue darted out and he licked slowly along the open slit, a deep groan rumbling in his throat. "It tastes even better."

"M-my b-blood?" My hand quickly went to my neck and fiddled with the collar of my shirt in the stupid attempt to hide my jugular, as if a thin piece of cloth could prevent those fangs from ripping into my throat. Shivers ran up and down my spine and I started to tremble when the vampire stepped in my direction. I involuntary took a step back only to bump my legs against the edge of the bed.

He took another step, pinning me with his eyes like the prey I was. My frenzied gaze darted through the room, found the door again, so out of my reach, and finally fell on the mirror on the opposite wall. What I saw was a naked man with a really hot ass in my bedroom and rationality took over at last.

A hoax! Holy shit, that's what this it, a hoax!

For a moment, well more than a moment actually, I had believed a vampire was in my apartment. A VAMPIRE! Hot heat shot into my face, crept over my whole body. Embarrassed, I closed my eyes no longer able to face the man who inwardly must have been laughing at me this whole time.

Oh my friends had gotten me good! They would never let me forget this. Never. For the rest of my life they would talk about this. I could almost hear Trev's baritone: 'And then that one Halloween night Sky thought he had one of his beloved vampires in his bedroom! Hilarious...'

In an attempt to save the last shreds of my dignity, I placed my right hand on my hip, let my gaze run suggestively up long legs, lots of fair skin, and deep grooves of muscle. When it reached a distinctive jaw, swept over thin lips and high cheekbones, it was finally caught by flashing slate eyes. I held my breath as the vampire's shoulder flexed and an icy cold hand clamped down on my forearm. I watched sharp black claws forming out of fingernails, sinking painfully into my flesh.

Nobody can fake growing claws, right?

Panicked, I looked up into the smirking face of the vampire. "Awww my pretty, you were one of those who doubted the existence of my kind. Am I right?" Shaking his head, he made quite the show of his utter disappointment, whether with himself or with me, I wasn't sure. Still holding my wrist firmly in his clawed hand, his eyes riveted on me, he leaned forward, licked up the small rivulets of blood trickling down my skin, and groaned. His gaze was almost wicked. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and it seemed he got more satisfaction from my reaction than he got from tasting my blood.

Licking his lips appreciatively, he mused, "Delightful. You are a rare treat, too good to just squander." He tipped his head to the side and frowned. "I think I will wait for Luther. He will bring enough food to satiate my first hunger. After that, I will more likely be able to savor you, my pretty. What do you think?"

I shuddered and his eyes glittered with amusement. The whole time he had been talking to me, I had tried to free myself from his grip, tugging frantically at my arm, but to no avail. His hand holding my wrist had barely moved. Kicking him with my bare feet was out of the question also, I would only have made a fool of myself.

I tried to think calmly. All that was left for me was talking. In the past, I had talked myself out of some critical situations. I doubted that it would help me in this one, but I had to try.

Relaxing my arm to signal I wouldn't struggle any longer, I cleared my throat. "So...um, while we're waiting for err, Luther...do you have a name?" Even to me my voice sounded thin and brittle.

The vampire lifted his left eyebrow, slightly amused. Evidently perfectly aware of what I was trying to do, he gave a short bow. "Dermot Radu Serban, at your service."

At my service. Right.

"Okay, um, Dermot Radu Serban. That's kind of a mouthful, may I call you Dermot?"

He nodded graciously.

I did a little bow myself. "Skylar Landen Porter, my friends call me Sky."

"Sky." He managed saying my name as if he was thinking of his favorite dish and I willed myself not to tremble.

"Um...yes. So we're friends now, with you calling me Sky and all?"

Friends don't kill each other, right?

He hesitated briefly before he smirked and released my arm; I seemed to be very entertaining food. Looking around the room he eventually sat down on the bed, scooted back until his back met the headboard, still not in the slightest ashamed by the fact that he was wearing no clothes.

After putting a pillow behind his back, he patted a spot next to him on the bed, but I shook my head. I didn't want to be that near to him so I sat down in my desk chair instead. He winked playfully and I was well aware that he was toying with his food again and if I attempted to sprint for the door he'd catch me before I could reach it and then the twenty-question game would be over; I would be available food again.

It was so quiet that laughter and hooting from the street below could clearly be heard in the room. A part of me still couldn't believe that vampires existed and I was analyzing the facts, but couldn't find anything that exposed the man as an imposter.

The vampire looked at me expectantly and my gaze fell on the desk. There was the letter and around it some of the powdery substance and then I knew what to ask first.

"How did you do it, popping up in my bedroom and all? Were you in that envelope?"

He laughed out loud and under other circumstances I would have probably liked that deep laugh.

"No, of course not. The envelope acted as a beacon you could say, for the lack of a better word, which guided me back from the realm of the dead into the realm of the living."

That got my attention. "You died?" In the stories, vampires are reduced to ash when they died. Did this mean the powdery substance on the letter was his ash?

"So it was your ash in the envelope? Aren't vampires already dead anyway?"

He nodded. "My body in this realm became ash when I was banned, and no, we are not dead, I did not die." I think he actually rolled his eyes at my assumption.

"You were banned?" I don't think he meant to tell me that.

"My punishment was to spend one hundred years with the dead, yes," he said curtly.

Being my usual self, I couldn't take the hint though. "Wh-what did you do to get such a hard punishment?"

Wrong question. His smile instantly vanished. "That is none of your concern, at all."

"Oh, sure, no problem, I-I was just curious." I hurried to agree, feverishly thinking of another question. "Um... so how old are you?"

I can't describe my relief when he answered the question without hesitation. "What year is it?"

"2013."

"Then I am 514 years old."

I was impressed. "So vampires really live forever?"

His smile became wistful. "We try, but the day will come we fail, for all of us."

I could have kicked myself, reminding the man of his death or the death of others he'd known and maybe loved, hadn't been smart.

"Who is Luther?"

"Luther is my servant, my bonded, and that he isn't here yet, performing his duty, is vexing."

With every question, the vampire was becoming more restless and the most probable reason for it put cold fear back into me. He had to be hungry. One hundred years without food, and the food was asking him silly questions.

The next thing I knew the vampire was beside my chair. He took my arm again, waited until I looked at him, and then lapped slowly at my pulse point. I shuddered. Holding my arm like a vice, he started to nibble at the tender skin of my wrist, scraped his fangs over veins, which instantly brought back to me who he was, what he was.

I started to tremble and trickles of cold sweat were running down my back.

"Why darling, you need not to be afraid...yet." With that he bent down and nuzzled my neck, took in my scent with deep breaths.

I gasped.

It hadn't worked, I hadn't lulled him, but me with all my questions, I had distracted myself from the fact that I had a predator in my bedroom, who, in the end, was going to kill me anyway. My heart beat so fast I felt dizzy.

He petted my arm. "There, there. Calm down, my pretty. I can feel Luther, he's near."

He kept talking, but the blood roared so loud in my ears, I could barely hear his voice, much less understand the actual words.

His eyes never left me and his hand never stopped petting me. "About time, Luther. I almost could not contain myself from ravaging my pretty here. What a waste that would have been."

I hadn't noticed the other man standing in my bedroom until the vampire talked to him. Under a short black coat, he wore a turtleneck sweater and jeans, also in black. From his hand dangled a large backpack, black. Had it not been for his white blond hair and pale face, he would have reminded me of a crow.

"I'm sorry Master, you're earlier then I thought. I came as soon as I could feel your presence, but the house is on the other side of the city, and with it being All Hollows Eve, the traffic was heavy...much has changed in the last hundred years."

"I am aware of that, Luther and I will adapt," the vampire snapped in irritation. "Now, do you have the..." he stopped, and for a moment I thought he seemed almost embarrassed, "food?"

Instead of answering the question, Luther left the room. When he came back he carried one of my grandmother's crystal glasses filled with red fluid. I instantly knew what it was and recoiled inwardly. I wasn't the only one, though.

The vampire glared at his servant. "I abhor cold blood, Luther. How could you-"

The servant interrupted him. "It's fresh and warm, Master. Try it."

Reluctantly, the vampire took the glass, sniffed suspiciously at it before he carefully took a sip. His face lit up with an obvious feeling of bliss. "Awww, delicious." He emptied the glass rapidly and held it out for Luther to refill. "Why didn't you just bring the-" he looked at me again, "source in here? You know my taste; I don't need to sample different types before I decide. That is very thoughtful of you Luther, but unnecessary." He nuzzled my wrist again. "I only want to quench my thirst so that I am able to savor and enjoy this one here." He turned to his servant. "Remind me to thank you appropriately for finding him for me. He is truly exquisite."

The whole time he never had let go of my hand.

"Times have changed, Master; we don't have to hunt down unwilling humans anymore if we don't want to. There are other resources available for us now." He filled the glass from a thermos he had taken from his backpack. "Here, Master. I brought more; I have as much as you will need."

The vampire didn't seem to feel all that happy about this prospect. "I like the hunt. I don't think I will abstain from it. There is only one reason we won't hunt anymore, when we find our eternal mate, who will provide for us then. I don't see this coming for me in the near future."

I didn't really listen to them anymore, all I knew was that Luther had brought enough blood, so that I was no longer needed.

As if he'd heard my thoughts, Luther turned to me. "The ritual isn't completed, Master."

"I know that, Luther." The vampire seemed to be annoyed. Almost apologetically, he turned to me. "Unfortunately, the ritual requires the blood of the human I yearn the most for, all his blood."

Just when I had hope again, he squashed it with a few words. I looked at Luther.

"I am sorry kid, he needs to drink your blood, otherwise he will get sucked back to the place he came from; your blood will anchor him."

"But does he have to drink all of it, I mean, wouldn't a cup be enough or something?" I was grasping at straws.

They shook their heads.

While we were talking, the vampire was steadily emptying one thermos after the other. Luther seemed to have an endless stock in his backpack. When he finally seemed to be satiated, Luther pulled a freaking white linen napkin out of his coat pocket, which the vampire took to daintily dab at his lips.

I couldn't help myself and laughed out loud at the sight. I think my professor would have called that displacement activity.

The vampire, Dermot, pulled me out of my chair and over to the bed. "If there was any other way..."

My arm felt sore and my shoulder hurt; I must have been trying to pull my arm from his grip this whole time.

"I uh..." My shirt was soaked with cold sweat. I tried to free myself by prying the hand open that was still holding my wrist.

I didn't stand a chance against his superior strength. He pressed me down on the bed. Keeping his eyes on me, he sank his fangs into my wrist, pulled them out and started to suck. Sighing, he closed his eyes, when he opened them again his gaze was dazed.

I couldn't do anything. Helpless, I had to watch him sucking me dry. Strangely, the longer it took the more the panic disappeared and I became almost relaxed with a tinge of euphoria even.

When my limbs felt heavy, and coldness crept up my body, I knew I was dying.

***

I woke up with the mother of all headaches, my mouth felt fuzzy, and I was dying from thirst. Dragging myself into the bathroom, I drank several glasses of water. After that I felt slightly better until I noticed that every joint in my body hurt. It felt as if I had the flu. When I glanced in the mirror over the sink, I looked as sick as I felt; I was pale and there were black shadows under my eyes. I decided to go back to bed.

The next time I woke, it was from the incessant ringing of my phone. I pulled a pillow over my head and fell asleep again until someone woke me again by shaking my shoulder and stroking my hair.

"Sky, wake up! You need to eat."

I know this voice. Master!

And from the Ashes Springs New Life