“where are we going, Betty?”
Patricia was brave, as brave as any little girl could be held captive by a vampire. I envied her courage and innocence. I envied her living blood which coursed through every vein and artery. I… I turned my head in hunger and took a deep breath before answering her question.
“Do you want another mommy and daddy?” I turned back toward her and made eye contact, trying hard to hide my true desires for her life giving blood. I wanted to be a guide and help to this little one but truth be told, I wanted to eat her.
“I do…” Her eyes watered immediately and her lips quivered. “I miss my mommy.”
The dam broke and her little face fell into her dirty hands. She shoke with her sobs.
I wanted to hold her now. I wanted to bring comfort to her pain and make her know that everything would be alright. I figured that if I dropped her off at someone’s doorstep then she would find a home, but if I left her in the wrong hands, it could be a worse fate than the one with me. If, in fact, anything could be worse than risking your life with the undead as your chaperone. I was confused now more than ever at what I was meant to do. If I believed in god, then should I not pray?
“Patricia, come here.” I held out my hands to her and smiled as humanlike as possible.
She looked at me and furrowed her brows, then she got up and straightened her little tattered dress. In moments she was in my arms…sobbing like a new born. I bit my lip to contain my hunger. “It’s okay, Patricia, I will find you a home…somehow.”
The thick chocolate curls hung between my fingers and felt heavenly. For a moment, I thought I was holding my twins. The horrible memory of soothing my own babies pains momentarily gave me strength and the will not to bite. My heart hurt with almost a human hurt…in fact it screamed for all the things that once made me human. I felt a phantom tear near the corner of my eye and pushed her back from my shoulder so that I could get a good look at her face.
“Patricia, what do you want?” I offered her the key to her own destiny…even as young as she was, I wanted no part in her possible undoing. I wanted the decision to fall into her little hands as to what she wanted me to do.
From the corner of my eye, I saw his face, Casper. He winked at me and disappeared beyond the brush. I knew he enjoyed every minute of his little test and it made me shiver. As I sit upon the broken porch of the little dilapitated shack, I come to the realization that I was going to be followed and monitored throughout the whole ordeal. No matter where I left her or where we went, Casper was the master of this game. I dropped my head in defeat as I held her little white hands in mine.
“Patricia, I will find a way, I will save you.” My look was not riddled with hope, it wasn’t full of the promises a little girl would hope for, but it was full of something more. My eyes told her the truth and she turned her head to see what had caught my eyes before. When she looked back at me, I was amazed. I saw the understanding that most her age would never comprehend.
“I know, Betty, I know he means for me to die.” She leaned in and pulled herself up to whipser in my ear. “I saw him there, he is playing a game with you. I have an idea.”
Patricia smiled with a wisdom far beyond her age. For a moment, just a moment, I saw the tiny fangs from beneath her ruby lips.
“Betty…quick now…clear your thoughts!” Patricia held me tighter and sobbed fake sobs into my hair.
She whispered do softly into my ear. "Let us make our leave now, dear. This dreadful place fills me with melancholy. I haven't felt such darkness since I watched the townspeople laugh and cheer at the local beheadings." She sobbed harder and clutched my hair, pullin gently.
Then with her eyes locked with mine she pleaded. "Please...please take me away, mommy."
No comments:
Post a Comment