Digging my way up through the soil. Struggling to surface under the star lit sky.
Lungs attempt to draw in a deep breath, but my body fails me.
Cough.
Hack.
Gag.
Bloody vomit escapes my lips as I crawl out of the cold ground on all fours. Some gets on my hand, and I am less disgusted than I should be.
Okay, so breathing is pain. Let's not try that again.
My head hurts. Vision's blurry. Hard to see. Difficult to even keep my eyes open.
Night.
Quiet, except for the sounds of nature around me.
Crickets. Owls.
I stand.
My head gets light, and my legs feel weak all of a sudden. I try to inhale and everything goes black.
The rock hits the side of your face and I get such a fucking rush. Your face cracks and the mixture of blood and sound emanating from between your lips is indescribably delicious. Your body goes limp before crashing against the wall behind you. Blood running down your face, dripping off your chin to your shirt. You look so beautiful this way.
So perfect.
You gurgle and twitch. Spitting up blood and teeth. You try to speak, but we both know that's out of the question.
I kneel down before you, looking into your pretty eyes.
Wide with fear.
"I love you, baby," I say, caressing the side of your face. "Do you love me?"
Her lips trembling. Bleeding.
"I need you, baby," I continue, kissing the side of her face. "Do you need me?"
On the ground again.
Head swimming.
Still struggling to breathe, but I can't.
Fists tighten. Nails digging into my palms. Blood begins to trickle down my wrists.
Shaking.
I see images I don't understand.
I kiss your bleeding lips. The favor isn't returned.
Sigh.
"No," I whisper to you. "You don't."
Maybe I should be surprised. I'm not though. So, I raise the rock to the sky.
I bring the rock down onto your head as hard as I can. Blood splatters against my face and I lick my lips. The taste of copper on my tongue.
Swallow.
Examine the rock in my hand. Painted red. Toss the rock to the side.
Your face doesn't resemble its former beauty whatsoever. Crushed and flattened. Brain leaking from the cracks I've made. Smile.
Everything will be okay.
I feel like I should care more.
But I don't.
Looking down at your corpse, I start to wonder just how long ago I would have.
It feels like it's been a lifetime.
Lungs don't work.
It feels better when I try not to breathe.
I'll have to get used to that.
The starry sky hanging above me, almost as if enclosed by the bare tree branches.
Winter.
But it isn't cold.
I don't feel anything.
I don't feel anything except for hunger.
Like walking through the desert for a millennia without water.
Need something. Need anything.
That's when I see her. Again.
"That was beautiful," her seductive voice cuts through my panting.
Slowly, I rise above the corpse of my ex-fiancé. Turn around to face the origins of the voice.
Long, black, elegant black dress made of lace. Exposing just enough of her perfect body to intrigue your average man. Smirking at me like she wants to fuck. But that's not what she wants from me. I can tell by the look in her eye.
I am not your average man. My guess is that she detects this.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"Who I am is of less consequence to you than what I am," she says, gliding towards me.
"You're a vampire," I tell her. "I wanted a name."
"Clever boy," she replies, stopping just short of me.
"I have my moments."
Her eyes drift downward, glancing at the dead body before bouncing back up to me.
"I've noticed," she says. "Who's your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend anymore."
"Is that what you were telling her when you were bashing her skull in with that big ole rock you have?"
"This old thing?" I ask, eyeing it while lifting it slightly. "That was just business."
"Did she break your heart, baby?" Her cold hand caressing the side of my face as she gets even closer.
Smile and close my eyes. "I no longer have a heart to break."
"I disagree," her breath against my neck. Putting me in something of a trance. "I think I could break it rather easily."
"Do your worst."
She stops and takes a step back.
Eyes open. Her head cocked, intrigued expression on her face.
"You're really not afraid of me."
"No," I say. "I haven't feared lady death in quite some time now."
"Don't you have anything to live for?"
"I just severed my last tie to humanity with a rock. What would you wager?"
Her confusion replaced with a smile. She steps forward again.
"You are beautiful," she says, pulling me into her.
"There once was a time when my greatest pleasure was tainting the innocent. To spoil something so beautiful was ecstasy. Until I fell in love with one of my creations. I thought it loved me back, for a time. But it didn't. I learned the hard way that you can't turn shit into diamonds. You've got to find a lump of coal. And you, Theodore, are my lump of coal."
Her sharp teeth tearing into the fragile skin on my neck.
The rush.
My heart almost trying to tear its way through my chest. Before she even has a chance.
Take me, I whisper. Take me away.
"You must be thirsty," she says. "I know just the place."