I really liked writing this one, probably because it was sad but at the same time bittersweet - to me anyways. Enjoy!
-Plainsong30
"Two pale figures
Ache in silence
Timeless
In the quiet ground
Side by side
In age and sadness."
- The Funeral Party, The Cure
Marko clenched and unclenched his fists. Perspiration clung to his forehead in small, watery beads. He could taste the scent of that electrifying, warm liquid on his tongue already.
It was a few hours after dusk. The night was chilly and the moon was now coating the eastern horizon. Night was Marko's new hour.
"Take her," exclaimed Paul as he pointed to a figure in the distance. She was strolling down the lane, stumbling slightly, and it was obvious that she was drunk. "One kill, and you're a full vampire."
Marko could feel the silence of the night piercing his ears. He glanced over at Paul's handsome face, who smiled at him, his amiable appearance deceiving his true personality.
He had liked Paul from the start. If anything, out of the other three, he got along the best with Paul. Paul had a good sense of humor and knew not to take things too seriously. If Marko couldn't get along with Dwayne or David for the rest of his immortal years - which he'd soon be experiencing - then there was always Paul to turn to.
"You want to be one of us, don't you?" Paul asked him.
Those words gripped and controlled Marko so much that he almost took off after the girl. A place of acceptance. It was almost too good to be true… and it was. He smirked to himself as he thought about it.
"Of course I do," answered Marko, his eyes still following the girl.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Marko glanced at Paul again, a manic smile on his face as he gave Marko a soft push. Marko started walking down the lane, his eyes on the far-off girl. He picked up his pace, the scent of her filling his nostrils. He could smell her pomegranate scented perfume and longed to run his fingers over her warm, tender flesh.
"Excuse me," he said as he approached her from behind.
She turned quickly and lost her balance for a moment. Marko reached forward and grasped her by the arm, catching her.
"Are you all right?" he asked her in alarm. He could smell the faint scent of whisky coming off her.
"I'm fine…" she mumbled, then let off an awkward chuckle. "I've had one too many, I believe."
Marko laughed. "Haven't we all?"
She looked up at him and gave him a funny look. "Have we met before?" she asked him, a sense of curiosity beaming in her eyes as she took in his face.
"I don't believe we have," he replied as he hooked his arm with hers.
"I must look awful," she murmured as she brought a hand to her face. "Please, don't look at me… I look horrible."
Marko couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure you're beautiful." He could see the blood rushing to her cheeks. His heart jolted in his chest - it felt painful. "Why, what's the matter?"
"I told you," she slurred. "I've had too many drinks. I'm not myself."
Her aroma was killing him at this point. He could barley control the urge. But for some reason she gave off an aura that he liked.
Her hair was the color of fire - he could even tell in the soft moonlight. Her skin was ivory colored, and the veins that pumped underneath brought Marko into a trance that he had to break every few seconds. Her eyes were soft and enticing; Marko had never met a girl with such alluring eyes.
"What's your name?" he asked her.
She sideways glanced at him, a sudden uneasy look on her face. "I'm Emily," she answered. "And you are?"
"Marko."
"Well, Marko. There must be only one reason why you've accompanied a drunk girl on an empty lane," she said to him briskly.
Marko felt his heart drop… she knew?
"I know exactly what's on your mind," she continued. "All you want is what every other man wants."
Marko suddenly relaxed. She was completely off track with what he was thinking. "Oh? And what is that?"
"I'm not going to say it out loud," she snapped. She suddenly jerked her wrist free from his arm. "You, like all the other men… that's all you want from me, isn't it?"
It was then that she suddenly broke down, soft sobs escaping her lips as she brought a hand to her forehead. Marko was amazed at the glistening tears that streaked down her cheeks.
"That's not what I'm interested in at all," Marko replied. It was the truth.
A sudden feeling of pity escaped him as he stared at this young, crying girl. He had been just like her - young and confused. He knew her pain…
But then he had met David, and was offered something that he couldn't refuse.
Emily continued to weep and turned away from Marko. She started walking, alone, down the lane, and tripped suddenly. Marko ran up to her again and grabbed her, her balance much more off. He grasped her by the waist and clutched to her satiny skin. Her eyes were barely open as she grasped Marko's chest.
"I just want it to end…" she whimpered.
The scent of her was overtaking him. He could barely control it. The aching in his gums was reacting as he felt his teeth move forward and grow. He could feel his face shift and his eyes burned with a sense of power. The vein in her neck was pulsating so quickly.
"You're too young to die," Marko exclaimed. He was leaning closer and closer to her fragile neck. She was barely conscious as he felt his lips quiver by her skin.
"Everyone dies young," she suspired. Marko knew she wasn't speaking of life itself, but something else that he couldn't quite touch.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into Emily's ear. Emily, the girl who would be his first. Emily, the girl who's pain he understood. Emily, the one whom he believed he was going to free.
He opened his jaw and buried his face in her neck. She let out a painful gasp and tried to break free from him as she struggled in his arms, but he held onto her. He could feel her slipping away. And then suddenly, she became still.
Her body was limp in his arms as he pulled away from her, the last of her being drowned away. Marko gently took her and laid her down in the soft tresses of grass by the road. The pity he felt before rose back again. He remembered the pain that she had shared with him, and knew how she felt.
It was then that a pain Marko had never felt before took over. He doubled over, clutching at his beating heart. Crying out, he collapsed on the ground. He thought his heart might explode.
And then the pain ceased as quickly as it had come. He no longer felt that unnoticeable, but familiar beat in his chest. His body had just died, but he was still there.
"Bravo!" a voice cheered.
Marko looked up to see Paul standing before him, a sneer on his face.
Marko didn't smile. Nor did he join in in Paul's enthusiasm. He stared down at the dead Emily and glanced back at Paul.
"How does it feel to be a full bloomed vampire?" Paul asked him.
Marko was silent as he reached up to touch his cold, dead lips that were coated with a soft, warm liquid. He pulled his fingers back to see blood. He closed his eyes and stared up at the starry sky and took in how bright it seemed to him. His senses were on fire. His lust for blood was excruciating. He never felt such power before in his life.
Marko looked back down at Emily, knowing that his feelings for her would always be the same. He would never forget Emily.
Emily, the girl who's pain he understood. Emily, the girl whom he believed he had set free. Emily, the girl who had given a new life to Marko that he could barely begin to imagine. A life of immortality. A life of murder. A life of a vampire.