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Author's Chapter Notes:
The Nightmare Before Christmas Contest.
Penname: Russet Fur BR Tittle: Christmas Gift Summary: This is the story of how James and Victoria became mates.
An empty silence surrounded the human neighborhood that I spent the night exploring. White and cold snow was falling lazily from the sky, lulling the houses' owners in their confident and peaceful sleep.
I chuckled sarcastically because of their naivety while my powerful eyes scanned the cocoons made of bricks, wood, cement and lockers that the humans so confidently thought were their safe places. They didn't know how wrong they were.
Luckily for them, I was there with a single purpose, and that purpose alone was the only thing that was keeping their lives safe. I was there just to observe.
It had always amazed me how pathetically similar the patterns of the human lives were. If you stopped to watch over one of them you could almost foresee their next move. They had schedules, routines and even their calendar events were predictable.
For instance, I could tell that it was December just by looking at the colorful lights, angelic decorations and Santa Claus dolls scattered around the city. It was unbelievably boring, but extremely useful. Especially if you had a plan, and I definitely had one.
"James, can we go? I'm bored and thirsty. If you really don't want me to eat these humans, it would be wise to take off now," Catherine said, annoyed, her wild blonde hair floating with the heavy winter wind.
"Of course, my dear. Let's feed ourselves. We have to be strong for this task," I replied, smiling calmly. I've learned a long time ago that it was easier to make her obey me if I allowed her little indulgences here and there.
"Thank you," she responded, delighted with her power over me. So pathetic.
"Anything for you, my goddess," I said before kissing the side of her head, earning one of her brightest smiles.
Females – human or not – were just so easily manipulated.
My mind drifted off to our past while I ran after her to look for some snack. I had found Catherine, in a small town around Virginia, ten years after I was changed. She was having a feast in a local farm. It was a prosper cattle farm with lots of employees, and they were having some kind of party.
I had never seen something like that before. She devoured everything there, including the animals, while I observed. I thought that she would feel threatened by me and try to attack me, but she just laughed and asked me if I wanted to join the dance. I had my part, but I tried my best to stay out of her way so she could feel safe around me. I wanted her to trust me. I always had a good talent of knowing what was a good deal for me and I sensed that she was a good company to keep.
I took her for the first time in the middle of that barn. Drained corpses all around us. She fell in love with me there. It was one of the most exciting times I had sex with her.
The newspapers printed alarming breaking news the next day. The headlines were warning the population about a strange and unknown disease that had killed an entire farm in just one knight. Humans were pathetic.
Remembering that night so many years ago was a very amusing way to entertain myself while I waited. I had to keep focused on my task for that day, though. It wasn't very late in the night, but the bad weather kept the humans inside their cocoons, and the streets were relatively quiet.
By the patterns of the humans I was observing, it would take a little while before the inevitable daily fight that I was waiting for happened. One or two hours away wouldn't make any difference, giving us some time to kill. I laughed quietly to myself. I found the irony on this common expression quite amusing.
I wasn't really sure what city we were in at that moment, simply because it just didn't really matter to me, as long as it had enough food. I knew it was somewhere around Wisconsin, though.
Catherine flew at full vampire speed, her thin body elegantly crossing the Christmas decorated streets, toward the market place next to the river. We knew there would be homeless people hiding from the snow in an abandoned building nearby.
I couldn't avoid thinking how stupid humans were. They simply didn't learn. We had been hunting around the area for two weeks, and they still were oblivious to the deaths, thinking that it was just a coincidence that their colleagues were disappearing.
My partner didn't bother going there, though. There were enough humans to our meal under a small wooden bridge that united two of the market's pavements, dimly illuminated by a strand of tiny Christmas lights, gathering around a burning cask trying to warm up. The wet sound of fresh blood running freely and vigorously through their bodies due to the heat was wonderfully appetizing.
Catherine silently positioned herself above them in the bridge, savoring their scents for a minute, deciding which one of them smelled the best. For me, there was no difference between any of them. Only once I had found someone who smelled like nothing else. Knowing that I would never have that blood was still something that made me insanely furious. She found it quite amusing to make the distinction, though, so I let her play her little game for entertainment. After all, it was fun to watch her do her little ritual.
She jumped on them so quickly after sniffing the air that I would have missed it if I was human. Which was probably what had happened to the male she killed first. The second one didn't have time to recover from his astonishment before she grabbed his neck, breaking it with an effortless twist. She had bitten his arm and sucked his blood even before the first one hit the ground. Her killing skills were very, very arousing. I would make sure to reward her before going back to my previous activity. I really had a lot to thank Catherine for.
Including for finding me a new pet.
Victoria.
Catherine could detect a crowd from miles away of it, a very useful talent if you're a thirsty vampire. A week before that day, we were hunting at the abandoned building. There was a group of ten or so junkie humans sharing their drugs inside of it. That was the reason that brought Victoria there that night.
If there was something I loved about the seventie's, it was the drugs. Humans did everything to get them. Including put themselves in unbelievable amounts of danger. Like sneaking into a dirty old place – that was falling to pieces – just to follow someone that could provide them some illegal substance. And the said substance would, most likely, end up killing them or damaging their brains and bodies. Not to mention that the infamous building was being haunted by vampires.
Catherine was in frenzy that day, slaughtering half of the humans in five minutes. She would have taken all of them if she wasn't saving some for me. They were all gone before the first one could reach the front door. My share was also consumed very quickly.
My partner was laughing and racking up the bodies to disposal – discretion was vital to us – when I heard a heart beating. Someone had escaped. A good smelling one.
I entrusted Catherine to hide the bodies while I tracked down our little fugitive. I got extremely frustrated, though. Of course, I found her trace easily, but I simply couldn't get to her.
She was as slow as any human being could be, yet she managed to stay away from me long enough to find a police car and get into it. The human police couldn't do anything against me; however I wasn't stupid enough to mess with them. It would draw unwanted and unnecessary attention to us.
At that point, a blinding wrath had taken control over me, though. The only time a human had escaped me was because a vampire had killed her first. No one alive had ever escaped me. I was that good. And that weak little red-haired girl wouldn't be the first.
I followed the cruiser closely to the cheerfully Christmas decorated police station. I listened very carefully to the conversation inside the car; I had to know how much she saw. If the woman told them about us I would have to do damage control. That was how I learned her name.
Luckily, she was so high that she hadn't see anything. She just had heard the screams, and ran out the building scared. She also wasn't in any condition of telling stories to anybody. The policemen just ignored her babbling, and took her to the station where she spent the whole night.
Her parents took her out of jail the next morning, yelling at her, and throwing her in the back seat of their car roughly. By then, I was calmer and had come up with an interesting theory. I would have to test it, but I was positive my musings were right. I just had to be patient, following her steps and observing.
I didn't have to be a vampire with a highly advanced hearing to know that she was crying in the back seat of the car. Her parents fought and yelled with her at the living room choked with an overly decorated pine tree. They grounded her and sent her to her room. I spent the day outside her window, waiting for a chance to prove my theory.
She sneaked out through the window that night; taking advantage of a heated discussion her parents were having. They were trying to figure out the best way to handle her situation. Being pathetically human as she was, she couldn't hear how worried and desperate they were with their only child's drug addiction.
I laughed at the father's rage. He blamed the modern times for corrupting his little, innocent girl. I almost gave up following her, just to enjoy a little more of their drama. It was hilarious.
I sighed, resigned, and walked after her.
Faithful to her patterns, she went directly to the market, looking for her drug dealer. Unfortunately for her, he was one of Catherine's meals that first night I saw my red-haired girl. Luckily for me, there were a lot more scumbags at the area, dying to find some spoiled and empty child like her. Someone to sale their merchandising to.
I had instructed Catherine to wait for me nearby, so we could test her. As soon as Victoria approached a new junkie group, my old pet started a fight. Nothing too rough, just some light punches with the biggest guy she could find among them, just scary enough to make the humans run for protection.
Taking advantage of the disorder, I chased after her. Just to test if I was right. Once more she managed to escape from me, running back to her cocoon with me on her heels.
Although that time I wasn't intending to kill her, I assumed that I still was enough of a threat for her to use – unconsciously, I was sure – what I had already confirmed was her ability. An ability that could be very useful for me.
I smiled to myself, forming a plan on my mind. If it worked – and I was sure it would – she wouldn't be the first to escape me, after all.
Two nights after that, I decided that it was time for introducing myself to her officially. I knew she wouldn't resist much more without having a little of whatever crap she liked so much, so I just waited. In order to make my master plan work I couldn't use Catherine as bait again.
When Victoria approached the area's new dealer, the police conveniently did a round up, alerted about their illegal activities by an anonymous phone call. The commotion that followed the cruiser's red and blue lights was funny, full of homeless and drug addicts running everywhere.
I ran closely after Victoria, and finally was able to catch up with her, confirming marveled that I could, indeed, manage to take a hold on her, as long as I wasn't a threat. I jumped ahead of her, landing inside a yard faintly illuminated by a snowman, and waited for her.
"In here," I whispered, grabbing her by the waist when she passed along my hiding spot, covering her mouth and shushing her. She nodded, assuring me that she wouldn't scream, and I released her. At the same time, the cruiser crossed the street slowly, looking for someone.
It was time to work on my acting skills. "Are you okay?" I asked with my most concerned tone, knowing that my unnatural beauty would do the rest of the work.
"T-Thanks..." she said, looking at me with wide eyes "…I… I thought they would catch me."
"I would never let someone as beautiful as you get arrested," I said gently, meticulously tucking a stray of her hair behind her ear, and feeling her skin getting hotter by the rush of blood floating to her face. I held my breath and looked away to not be tempted. I had to be very calm.
"You… you think I'm beautiful?" she asked, dazzled.
"I think you're more than beautiful," I said, still looking away as if I was timid.
"Your e-eyes… They're…" I made a sad face "…I'm sorry. Your eyes are red. Are you okay?" she asked, sounding truly concerned.
"I'm sorry if it scares you. It's a rare disease. Don't worry, it's not contagious."
"I'm not scared. It's different. It's… nice."
"I'm James, by the way," I declared, smiling gently.
"I'm Victoria," she said, still looking affected by my beauty.
"I know," I answered, leaning forward sensuously and tilting my head, positioning my lips in front of hers.
"You know my name?" she babbled in awe.
"I suppose you have to learn the name of your admiration object. Can I take you home? I think our path is free now," I pleaded, putting the right amount of devotion in my voice.
"Yes, please," she answered in a weak voice.
We walked slowly to our destination, and I made sure to pretend being extremely interested in her tedious life. She seemed delighted to have someone who listened to her talking about her ridiculously boring problems, complaining to no end about her tyrant parents, and how they didn't understand her.
I was glad that my vampire brain could process her assertions, and plan my next move at the same time, because I would need any information I could have. I was seriously thinking about killing her, just to get rid of her childish demands, though. Luckily for me – or her, we reached her house before boredom got the best on me.
"Thank you for walking me home," she said with a bright smile.
She stopped at the door, her heart beating fast, her head just below the pine smelling garland that decorated it, already completely convinced of my passion.
"Thank you for existing, my sweet love," I answered, slowly bending my head and capturing her lips in a brief kiss. She melted under my lips, apparently oblivious to their coldness.
"Would I see you tomorrow?" she begged.
"You can count on it," I assured her, turning around, and leaving with a victorious smile spread across my face.
Just then, a human ran in front of me, bringing me back from my memory and reminding of me my mission, the reason I had to follow Catherine to the market area. I took down three of them, getting annoyed when I realized that the two firsts were dry in a blink. I took an unnecessary breathe before taking the third, trying to remain focused on controlling my thirst.
I needed to learn how to bite without feeding. I had been trying to do it since I first understood Victoria's power, and comprehend how useful she would be for me if I could keep her. I was satisfied when I bit the third without draining him.
In fact, I managed to bite him several times without problems, learning that I had to be satisfied to do so. I had to break his legs before biting him so efficiently, of course. I didn't want to loose my focus on the biting technique just because I had to run after him. I didn't think that this would be necessary with Victoria, though.
His desperate screams of pain were just an enjoyable side effect of my experience. I experimented in another two humans; just to be sure I could do it, with gratifying results. It turned out to be a very good hunting.
Taking me out of my musings, Catherine came to me. She was naked and covered in human blood, knowing exactly what was my body's reaction to that kind of vision. Of course, she thought it was her and not the blood that did that to me, and, of course, I incited her to think like that. Sex with her had proved to be more pleasant when she was convinced that I was in love with her.
Licking every drop of blood from her body, I took my time consuming my raw needs inside of her. When she screamed my name in her ecstasy I bite her neck hard, injecting venom enough on it to make a mark. She smiled at that, saying that she loved when I claimed her. Like I said before, pathetic.
Exactly two hours after leaving my spot across the street of Victoria's house, we came back. Precisely in time to see another epic fight between her and her devoted parents.
As usual the fight ended up with her crying and locking herself in her room, her mother kneeling down and praying before a Christian cross, and her father filling up and throwing a glass of whisky inside his mouth. Lovely family scene, really.
Half an hour later, my little pet was again sneaking out of her house, carefully climbing through the window, so she wouldn't damage the lights forming an angel hanged outside of it.
We didn't let her reach the market that time, though. She always used a short way there – again, faithful to her patterns – through a dark alley at the end of her street. And there was where Catherine cornered her, playing and scaring her as we planned earlier.
It was a game we used to play when we were bored with the lack of challenge our preys offered us. Our routine consisted on hunting our victims slowly, approaching them mysteriously, like my female fellow was doing, and playing a little game. We ironically called it God Monster, Bad Monster. We alternated our characters depending on the victim's gender.
She threw Victoria on the opposite wall, probably breaking her leg, earning a beautiful scared scream. Catherine had her fun, slapping her gently enough not to kill, but breaking two of three of her ribs. The poor thing was already begging for her life.
That was when I interfered, pretending that I was rescuing the damsel in distress. We usually did this just for the fun of seeing the hope and gratitude on our victims' eyes, and the absolute terror taking them when they saw that we were together, but not that night.
I grabbed Catherine by her shoulders, throwing her some yards away, and jumping in front of Victoria. She recognized me immediately, holding me by the waist, and begging me to run and get out of there with her. I had other plans, though.
Catherine lunged at me quickly, and I ran to her, our bodies colliding in the middle of the alley with a racket similar to a thunder. She wasn't expecting a real fight; therefore, I was able to rip her arms out in just one move.
"What are you doing?" she asked with the most skeptical expression she ever did.
"I'm replacing you, my dear. I found a better company," I mocked.
Ripping her head out, I destroyed her rapidly and efficiently, lightening a match in mere seconds. When I turned to Victoria again, a purple mass of smoke had just started to spill up the sky. She was sobbing, crouched against the wall, and looking at me as if she was seeing an angel. As soon as she saw me walking down to her she dragged her broken body to meet me, and I threw myself on the ground with her, holding her tightly.
"Oh, James. I was so afraid. I thought she would kill you," she cried.
"Don't worry, my love. She can't hurt you anymore," I patted her back, affectionately.
"What was that? She seemed… She looked…" she babbled, terrified.
"Inhuman. Yes, she did. That's because she wasn't human. She was a vampire," I said with a sad voice.
"What?" she yelled, shaking uncontrollably.
"She was a vampire, Victoria. And so I am. I lied to you about my eyes. They're red because of what I am. I'm so sorry about lying. I couldn't tell you the truth because I was too afraid that you would fear me. I thought that we could be together, at least for a while, if you didn't know what I am, but I was wrong. That's why I can't be with you. She attacked you because of me. She wanted to hurt me and she knew how important you are to me," I lowered my head, whispering my broken heart.
"What do you mean, you can't be with me?" she asked with wide eyes.
"You'll be in danger with me, Victoria. You're too fragile. I have to leave," I made sure to let the words tremble at the end
"No. No. I love you. Don't leave me," she cried, desperately.
"I love you, too. But we're too different." My hopeless response made her stiffen.
"Then make me like you," she said, strongly.
"Are you sure? You'll feel pain for three days," I said with a concerned tone, smiling internally. It was easier than I thought.
"Yes. Do it." Her determinate expression was exactly what I wanted.
"I love you," I said, before tilting her head gently, and biting her neck.
I had already arranged an abandoned cabin outside town, and took her convulsing body there. I left her there to burn while I hunted and had my fun in the city, knowing that she wouldn't be able to move enough to leave the place.
Occasionally, I checked on her, making sure to talk to her, and to squeeze her hand, as a good boyfriend would do with her sick lover. It wasn't such a bad task, and I had to mark my territory, reassuming her that we were the ultimate love birds.
She woke up on the third day, glorious and smiling. Her hair shone with the deepest orange I had ever seen, and her skin was perfect porcelain. She would lure a lot of human males for us.
I explained again what she was, and everything that we went through to be together, standing at a precautious distance. She got impatient with the lack of contact with me, but I reasoned with her, talking about her strength, and volatile newborn temper. She promised to work hard to control herself, so we could be together. She was convinced that we were made for each other.
After a week of constant hunting and talking, I decided that she was ready for a final loyalty test.
Her parents had spread posters around the city, offering rewards for any information about her. They were devastated with her disappearance.
I spent some amusing time watching her mother praying for her to come back. I had told her everything about her story with her parents, encouraging her to remember them. Especially remember her resentments against them. On Christmas night, we decided to give them their most wanted gift.
"Can I help you?" her father asked me, attending the door.
"No, sir. I can help you. I have something for you." Taking the hint, she stepped out from behind me, smiling at him.
"Oh, my God!" he whispered, holding her tightly and dragging her inside the house. I followed suit. "Margaret, come here. It's Victoria."
Her mother came running with tears in her eyes, throwing herself at them, kissing Victoria at any available place she could find, complaining about how cold she was, and saying that she must had caught something because her eyes looked odd.
"Did you like my gift for you, mom and dad?" she asked, sweetly, in her musical voice.
"Oh, honey. We were so worried. Yes, we like it very much," her mother said, sobbing.
"Good. Now it's time for you to give me mine, then," she mocked, wickedly.
She stepped out of their embrace and took her father's hand. Gracious and slowly, she twisted his arm, ripping it out of his body, laughing evilly at her parents horrified screams. I held my breath to not be tempted, enjoying the show. Her next move was a lot faster because she just couldn't resist to the rich red blood pouring down the male's arm. She bit and drained him quickly.
Her mother ran screaming to the kitchen, in a laughable attempt to find some weapon and defend herself. It served only to make the scene funnier. That little woman, clutched to a small knife cowering in a corner, was the most entertaining thing I had seen in a long time.
Victoria didn't even blink before slapping her hand, throwing the knife across the room, breaking some fingers in the process, and viciously ripping her neck, ending her useless life by sucking her dry.
We took the bodies upstairs and put them side by side on the bed. Then I took her for the first time. Right there, in front of her parents corpses.
I wished they were still alive to see what I was doing, in their bedroom with their sweet little girl. Although, it was still extremely erotic to profane their death like that. After we finished, Victoria happily burned the house, and we took off to our new life. That was definitely my best Christmas gift.
A/N: I want to say thank you for the people that helped me put this story together.
Efficient Vixen for pre-reading and encouraging me.
And ele05gs for being so kind and generous to beta it and pointing all the things I should improve. Be careful, Ele, you're dangerously close to be considered my friend. :p
You guys were the best.
Also to everyone who read and voted for me on the contest.