Chapter 1: Mama Gator
Ryan's frigid body was drowning in a black lagoon of foreign sensations, and they swelled with intensity as consciousness took hold of his psyche. He felt every inch of his flesh prickle as if a ghostly hand had gently swiped a finger down his spine, and allowed the slightly painful tingling feeling to wash over his entire frame. His internal organs where frighteningly still: the heart did not pump; the stomach did not turn; the lungs did not expand or contract. Everything just seemed so eerie, so wrong, so…lifeless…
…Then the voices came…
Hehehehe…
Yesssss…
Hush…
"Can you explain this to me?"
How could you…?
"Mr. McCormick, sir, I do declare that you should know how I operate by now."
Rust and blood on the control panel…
"Dear sweet Caine, woman! You did it again?!"
Knife loves the back…
"Now, Mr. McCormick, sir, there is no need to raise a temper."
"Temper? Temper?! Damn it woman, you ain't even seen my temper!"
Lick the star…
Kiss the flame…
"What do I have to do to get through your thick head that it is not okay to go around stealing other peoples kids?!"
Cradle to grave…
"Steal! Why, shame on you, Mr. McCormick! I am proud to say I have never stolen anything in my life or my death."
To be…
"Nodda penny, nodda kiss, and most certainly nodda youngin'!"
Two bee…
"Then what the hell do you call it?"
Kahhh…
Yessss…
"Deliverance."
Tie the lines never knotted…
"Oh, for the love of—BAH! You now what? Fine! Go along with your undeath recklessly, "delivering" every childe in the county area!"
Wicked little town…
"See how much I care when you get your head loped off because of your damned need to mother!"
And the smile was on the crocodile…
Gahahahaha….!
There was an angry slamming of a door—
Ka-boom, ka-boom…
Pop went the weasel…
—and the sound of heavy footstep clumping over to Ryan. The awakening man felt a large weight gently settle upon the rag tag mattress he laid upon, causing it to sag severely with a wheezing groan. A bit frightened of what sight would behold him, Ryan slowly opened his deep brown eyes, anxiety dancing in his useless lump of a heart. The being before him was a monster, yet, oddly enough, he was not afraid.
Mama Gator…
She was an amazingly plump black woman of her late fifties. Her salt and pepper hair barely touched her shoulders, and was course with leaves and swamp moss tangled in it. Her hands where webbed and long claws extended from her thick fingers. Her face and arms had patches of pinkish-white scales that had a slimy sheen to them. She smiled pleasantly at Ryan, revealing a row of sharp teeth like that of a piranha. The most defining feature on this hefty lady was her eyes: they were a solid yellow, and, despite the warm look on her face, they revealed with out shame she was predator. So may monstrous features, and Ryan was not afraid; the voices told him not to.
"Mama Gator."
The words came out of Ryan's mouth smoothly and without thought, almost as if someone had planted them there knowing this encounter would occur. To this, the alligator woman let lose a hearty cackle with a fond snort at the end.
"Yes, childe, indeed I am," the scaly crone commented sweetly in a strong southern accent, "You know, youngin', they say it's a wise childe that knows its sire, and I should now that such wisdom would come from a childe of Malkav so quickly."
He sleeps…
He lives…
He's here…
The beastly lady warped her chubby arms around Ryan's torso, and lifted him up into a sitting position to cradle him like an infant. In comparison to her, he was like a rag doll that had been subjected to ungodly abuse at the hands of a four year old: His frame was sickly slender and was riddled with sores and welts he had inflected upon himself. His slightly gray skin was tainted a putrid blue. His eyes sunk back into head making them appear to be nothing more than black circles. His dirty blonde hair was untamed and tuffs of it puffed out in all directions.
"My, my, childe! You is so scrawny," the motherly monster teased kindheartedly, "You must be stared half to death."
Too late…
Death, thy name is…
Ryan watched carefully as she brought a massive arm to her full lips and tore into her flesh with her razorblade teeth. Crimson life oozed poetically from the open wound, and Ryan suddenly felt a painful passion wash over him. Something vicious stirred deep inside his inert gut, and his gums ached with excitement.
Take it…
As soon as the alligator woman neared her wrist to his face, Ryan seized the lovely gift with an savage snarl. A rush of fulfillment coursed through his shell of a body and gave him pleasure that seemed impossible. It was like a happy pill forged by the gods that gave a big middle finger to Cloud 9 and shot you straight to Cloud 251. He relished every bit of blood that flowed down his dry esophagus, and he greedily took as much as he could.
Seeing that her childe lacked little, if any, self-control, the dark skinned crone drew her arm away from the fledgling when she felt he had enough, warranting a hissing whimper of protest. To this, the portly woman merely gave another belly laugh. The warm smile upon her face continued to glow brightly, but this time it held a shady plotting element to it.
Tie the lines…
Knot the lines…
"Now, darlin', you be a good boy for your Mama Gator," the scaly lady cooed. She then cackled for a third time before gleefully proclaiming, "Oh, I do indeed like that title that you gave me. Even though my days as a house slave is long gone, I usually just have childer call me Mammy, but Mama Gator will do just fine."
The motherly African American then helped Ryan to his feet and gave him a small push that caused him to wobble like a stack of pancakes.
Strawberry syrup…
Yessss…
"Now, you listen good and you listen hard to old Jeramima Harper," the reptilian crone continued on, indicating that this Jeramima Harper was indeed herself, "You go on and you do some s'ploring; figure out how things are. And don't be scared of what you may find. Trust me, you're in the safest place around."
Nest of rats…
Ms. Harper then rose up from her spot on the mattress, making it grunt in relief. After straightening up her dirty apron and long striped dress, she waddled over to a hole in the filthy wall and prepared to crawl into to it, but not before commenting to Ryan: "I'll be back soon for you and your brothers, sweet pea. There's something very special planned for you four."
Royal court…
Make a bow…
With that, Jeramima disappeared into the tunnel with animalistic grace, impressing Ryan that she could fit into such a space so easily what with her gigantic girth. Now all alone, the new vampire looked over to the other side of dank, grimy room and spotted the same ramshackle door that had slammed earlier. Two motives drove Ryan to walk through it and do as his Mama Gator said: One, there weren't any better alternatives available to him; and two, for a reason beyond his grasp, he felt obligated to obey her.
The end begins…
Ahhhh…
Yessss…
Shhhhh…