Archive for August, 2010

RIXAS DE SANGUE: Part 11

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Rixas de Sangue: Part 11

Bendis wanted to hunt. I agreed. I needed to be on top of my game if I was going to formulate a plan. I couldn’t afford to be hungry.
 
I normally try not kill my victims, but I was so distracted by her and my new found mission that I let myself get lost in the frenzy and I ended up killing the old destitute man I found on the way.
 
She wanted a different venue; alleyways weren’t her thing. I chuckled at her dismissal and followed her to the downtown area.
 
For some strange reason, watching her stalk her prey was extremely erotic. She moved in a way that was charming, like she was inexperienced; as if she was a young woman hoping to find someone who would give her a happily ever after.
 
But, those she stalked were not gentle or innocent. I watched in awe as she chose carefully; she knew exactly what kind of person she was looking for.
 
The man she picked smelled of wrongness; he had a seediness that oozed off him in nauseating waves. She was sweet when she spoke to him – a naïve innocence seeping into every word, a gentleness that made her very alluring - as if he was the nicest man she had every come across. He swooped in on her thinking he could play his cat and mouse game; not realizing he was the mouse.
 
I kept my distance across the bar, just observing her. She let him buy her a couple of drinks- she even acted like they were affecting her. She played with short strands of her hair, she lightheartedly caressed her neck, and she laughed a friendly giggle.
 
He was actually quite aggressive in his body language. I felt my back bristle when his hand stroked her arm. I nearly came unglued from my chair when he left his hand lay on her leg. I knew better- it’s not like she was in any danger from him. I could hardly watch anymore. I did not like this feeling of jealousy.
 
Then, as if she could sense my discomfort, she finally let him talk her into taking a walk by the river.
 
I smiled to myself. How convenient.
 
She played the innocent part right up to the very end; letting him think he was winning his game. When he moved in to attack her, she was swift and deadly.
 
It was absolutely beautiful to watch. She dumped his body in the water.
 
We walked back to our room in silence. 
 
The charge in the air was amplified – I could almost hear it crackling.  
 
She must have felt the desire pulsing in my veins or perhaps noticed me salivating; because as soon as the door closed behind me she had me pinned to the wall. She was hungrily kissing me; the growling that reverberated from her was feral.
 
I could taste the flavor of the blood still on her tongue – tinny and slightly bitter. My heart was hammering in my ears and I swathed my arms around her. I deepened the kiss. There was no way I was going to let her go; though I didn’t think she was going anywhere.
 
Then, she removed her lips from mine; trailing them along my jaw and I felt her mouth at my neck. My knees fell weak. She was more than strong enough to support me as I swayed. I felt her teeth pierce my skin and I gasped wantonly. I turned my head, whimpering as my mouth found her shoulder. I bit into her flesh.
 
In all my long life I had never exchanged blood with anyone. The experience was very intense. The feeling of my blood, thick and poisonous, being pulled out while the sweet and spicy flavor of hers poured hotly into my mouth.
 
I felt the intoxicating effects of her powerful blood almost immediately and my desire grew to new heights.
 
The lovemaking that followed was beyond primal, and every sensation more profound than I could have thought possible. Time stood still. I do not know how long we were at it and it didn’t matter.
 
We exchanged blood several more times. I don’t think she could help it. I know that I couldn’t. And each time I tasted her blood I became more aware of her.
 
I felt stronger than I ever had. I felt energized, like I could do anything. I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust.
 
We lay there for a while just marveling in the afterglow of each other.
 
Then, she sat up on the edge of the bed, turned from away from me. I could feel that something was wrong.
 
“Bendis?” My hand was on her shoulder.
 
“I have to surrender. I have to go back to Malachi.” It felt like my chest caved in.
 
“What? No! I won’t let you.” I felt desperate, she turned back to me.
 
“Amara…” I shivered as she purred my name – I loved the way she said it. “I saw it in the blood… in our blood. I saw how this is supposed to happen. For this to work, I have to do this.”
 
“How am I supposed to protect you?” I was trying to seem rational, but I was panicked.
 
“You don’t have to… not yet anyway.” She smiled gently- that made this feeling worse.
 
“When?”  I hated this feeling of desperation.
 
“Tomorrow evening.” She stated plainly.
 
I couldn’t breathe – so soon?  “No, I need more time with you.”
 
“I can’t. It has to be now… you know that.” She spoke patiently. Didn’t this affect her? Was it only me who felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest?
 
Her hand was interlaced with mine as she looked at me with those smoldering indigo eyes. “It will be fine.” She kissed me sweetly as she pulled me down with her into her embrace.
 
I wish I could have agreed.

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©2010 N.M Faria

THE OTHERS: By Conan Young

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

<<Hackman 24.JUN.2072>>
“Nobody trusts me anymore.  I don’t have to justify myself to those bastards.  I know what’s going on.  Symptoms started showing up several days ago.  It’s gotten to all of them.  It has their faces and memories.  That’s how it lures you into a false sense of security.  Not me though.  Godfried says there’s a weapons cache in the wind turbine control room.  Not if I get there before he does.”
 
<<Godfried 24.JUN.2072>>
“Why did I ever transfer to this desolate place?  It’s always a hundred below outside and the wind never lets up.  I suppose someone has to run tests on the ice core samples if we’re ever to solve this global warming problem.  Yeah, here I am, thinking about my research at a time like this.  I’ll be damned if I let one of those creatures sabotage the fuel repository.”
 
<<Hackman 24.JUN.2072>>
“Just my luck.  At this rate, I’ll be lucky to scrounge up a spare ammo clip.  What do those things need guns for anyway?  They’re all working against me.  Godfried has the only working flamethrower too.  How do I know he’s not one of them?”
 
<<Godfried 24.JUN.2072>>
“Came across Blake, or something that resembled him.  He had the shakes real bad, eyes bulging, smelled like he’d soiled himself.  Was rambling incoherently that I was one of them.  I fired first.  Had to burn his body to keep the infection from spreading.”
 
<<Hackman 25.JUN.2072>>
“I’m out of options.  Out of ammo is more like it.  The creature that looked like Malone took three hits and kept coming.  How it’s even able to stand… I have to make a break for it.”
 
<<Godfried 25.JUN.2072>>
“Hackman still hates me, even after I saved his ass from what used to be Malone.  Lured that thing into the empty shack and burned the place down.  Let’s hope that finishes it.”
 
<<Hackman 25.JUN.2072>>
“So Godfried claims he doesn’t know what happened to all the weapons.  I’ll bet.  It’s rather convenient that he’s toting around the only thing that can kill these creatures.  I convinced him to lend me a sidearm, now that I know bullets won’t stop them.  How ironic.”
 
<<Godfried 25.JUN.2072>>
“I’ve gathered up the other survivors and I think I’ve managed to devise a test.  It’s just like in that old movie.  We’ve all seen how it works.  Everyone gives a blood sample.  If a person is infected, their blood will leap twenty feet in the air when touched with this red hot wire.  Hackman has already volunteered, so we’ll see how it goes.”
 
<<Hackman 25.JUN.2072>>
“After I confirmed what I already know, we approached Becker with the needle and he started screaming and thrashing.  I put a quick end to that.  Then his buddy O’Hannigen freaked out and tried to throttle me.  We evacuated the lab and burned the bodies.  Still, it’s awfully suspicious that Godfried hasn’t run the test on himself.”
 
<<Godfried 25.JUN.2072>>
“It’s down to just the two of us now.  Nothing I say or do seems to convince Hackman.  I could say the same about him.  He hasn’t exactly been very cooperative.  To make matters worse, no one’s responded to that distress call I sent before midnight.”
 
<<Hackman 25.JUN.2072>>
“We’ve managed to figure something out.  Either one of us is infected, or neither of us, but not both.  Otherwise we’d be working together, as Godfried put it.  For once I actually agree with him.”
 
<<Godfried 25.JUN.2072>>
“We can’t let the infection escape this base.  There’s no way of knowing whether Hackman or I are carriers.  I’ve gathered up the remaining fuel and charges.  There’s only one thing left to do.”
 
<<Hackman 25.JUN.2072>>
“It’s come down to this.  We’ve said our prayers.  The kerosene smell is getting to me.  This’ll be our last smoke together.
Sandra.
Kids.
I’m sorry.”
 
* * *
 
<<Stephens 01.JUL.2072>>
“We’ve gathered all the intact audio logs in chronological order.  Hazmat teams have recovered the bodies.  Preliminary autopsy results show no signs of infection.  I repeat.  No signs of infection.  Whatever was plaguing these men; beats the hell out of me.  Perhaps something we have yet to fathom.”

__________________

©2010 Conan Young

The author is an emerging writer of short stories, satiric poetry, and a YA novel series entitled “Lunar Realm.”  He attends Bergen Community College in NJ, where his short story “My Annoying Roommate” has been published in their Labyrinth magazine, winning the Best Fiction award for 2010.  His short story “The More Things Stay the Same” has been published in the Summer 2010 issue of Black Lantern.