Good evening,
I posted chapter eight of "Never Letting Go", so check that out if you haven't already.
Here's a new story that I've been working on. I already have roughly three chapter written, but I'm going to try and wait until "Never Letting Go" is finished before I fully release it. In the mean time, here's a taste of a new story.
I hope you enjoy.
Oxford Not Brogues
Sneak Peek
An Insufferable Life
Chapter One
Seras had a very unhappy childhood. She lived in an orphanage for most of her life after the tragic death of her parents. Being a witness to the murder of her parents left her with severe trauma that made her, what the Sisters at the orphanage calledt, a very problematic child. She was deeply misunderstood by many of the other children who did their best to keep their distance from her. But, luckily, she did have one friend. Tatum, the one person who stuck by Seras' side for all those years, wasn't exactly the perfect role model. She was quite the troublemaker. Always pulling pranks on Sisters they disliked. Getting into fights with kids who berated them. Tatum had started smoking when she was only twelve and started drinking when she was thirteen. She always snuck out late at night, some times to meet up with guys to have sex. However, Seras was rarely influenced by her. Every now and then she would pull a harmless prank or join Tatum in a fight. But that's where she drew the line. Seras was against smoking, drinking, and most of all having sex, especially all at such a young age.
Despite the girls having their differences, they remained good friends even after being released from the orphanage. They rented a flat together, helped each other find good jobs, and still found time to get into some trouble together. Normally, on weekends they would go out, have a drink, and wreak havoc. Tatum would manage to start a bar fight, snog the bartender, and hookup with some sod in the bathroom. Once her friend was so unbelievably drunk she ran down the street naked. Seras would, of course, always be dragged along by her friend's crazy antics. They had unintentionally started a small dumpster fire once, been arrested and spent the night in jail on two separate occasions, and questionably stolen a goat just to set it free, which Seras still had no recollection of doing. But she definitely had the proof considering she still had that damn goat's teeth marks on her calf. Who knew goats bite?
Tatum had a knack of getting Seras into trouble. But unfortunately for the small blonde, the most innocent sounding adventure Tatum wanted to go on turned out to be the most deadly.
The two girls stood outside a crumbling, charred manor. While most of it seemed to still be intact, the second and third floor on the left side had caved in. The manor was from an old story that was told quite often when they were just kids in an orphanage. Supposedly in 1952, a fire broke out. It is unknown how the fire started, but it spread far too quickly and burned everything in its path to a crisp. Everyone inside the manor at the time had fatally died. The doors and windows had been bolted shut from the outside, but it is unknown how or why. The police suspected foul play, but the arsonist was never found. Possibly he burned with the manor…or escaped. But that wasn't even the scary part of the story. No, when they were kids, there was an even worse part that chilled Seras to the bone. According to the story, the manor was severely haunted by those who died in the fire. People who had visited the manor would experience strange voices whispering to them, beckoning them, and demanding to be saved. Just thinking about it sent shivers down Seras' back. She didn't necessarily believe in ghosts or even in heaven and hell. But there definitely was something off-putting about the whole story.
"What are we doing here?" Seras asked as she glanced over at her grinning friend. Tatum was far too elated to be visiting the place they heard stories of for years. Honestly, it didn't surprise the small blonde. Her unusual friend had a great interest in the unknown and morbid things, such as a 'haunted' place where dozens of people had died. It was clear that Tatum wanted to have her first terrifying experience from a ghost.
"Come on, Ser!" Tatum laughed as she whipped her head around to smile so widely at her best friend. "This is the manor from all those stories we heard when we were kids!"
"I know." Seras responded with a nod. Subconsciously, she wrapped her arms around her body before she looked back at the manor in uncertainty. "But what are we doing here?" There was something…wrong with this place. If it was haunted by ghosts, then these ghosts must be full of hate and vengeance. Such negativity surrounded this place that it made the air so heavy that it was almost suffocating. Every part of Seras was screaming not to go into that manor. A part of her was starting to believe that ghosts were real and that this place was severely haunted. But that was just a small part of her. Ghosts weren't real. How ridiculous to believe in such a thing.
"You can't tell me that you were never interested in visiting this place. How could you not?" Tatum asked rhetorically as she went back to grinning at the manor, as if she was merely looking at a nice summer home. "This was a part of our childhood! Aren't you the slightest bit curious to see if the stories are true?"
"If the place is actually haunted?" Seras questioned with furrowed brows.
"Yeah!" Tatum exclaimed with a giggle.
"No." The small blonde answered rather quickly.
"Seras," Her best friend laughed. "You're such a scaredy cat."
"I'm not scared. I just…don't like this place is all." Seras murmured. She received a breathy sigh of exhaustion from her friend. Then, rather unexpectedly, Tatum spun on her heel, cupped Seras' face, and kissed her straight on the mouth. Seras was so surprised that her eyes almost bulged right out of her head. The slightly older blonde with toffee colored hair pulled away with a giant grin on her face. Seras was only capable of blinking stupidly at her for a long few seconds before she finally found her voice. "I don't really…I'm sorry but…I don't feel…" She stammered. She didn't want to hurt her best friend, but she didn't want to lead her on either. Tatum merely laughed, especially when the entirety of Seras' face turned a dark shade of red.
"Don't worry. Neither do I." Tatum assured her. Her hands slipped away from Seras' face to grab the small blonde by her shoulders. "You need to take risks, Seras. You need to live life to the fullest and do crazy things from time to time." That grin on her face only widened. "You can officially say that you've been kissed by a girl." She teased the small blonde. "Now, let's say that we bravely entered a haunted house and truly got spooked by a real ghost." A smile appeared on Seras' lips. She lightly shook her head at the strange girl and gave an eye roll. Seras still didn't believe in ghosts, but she was fully persuaded into entering that house. Tatum was right. She needed to live a little. It was just a rundown house. And if there truly were ghosts residing in that old, burned down manor, then at least they would have a fun story to tell.
"That was also my first kiss you just stole." Seras admitted with a faint blush. Her friend's eyes widened slightly in bewilderment.
"No, shit. Really?" Tatum laughed. "You have never been kissed before, and you're how old?" Something then lit up in the girl's eyes. "Wait, was I any good? How is my kissing?"
"Shut up!" The small blonde exclaimed before she playfully pushed Tatum.
"I'm sorry!" The older blonde giggled. "Come on," She took Seras by the hand. "Let's go ghost hunting together." Victoria sighed heavily before she lazily lulled her head to the side to stare at the manor. What would be the harm? The building was old. Ghosts don't exist. And it was just a stupid old story. The scariest thing in there was probably mold.
"Alright," Victoria yielded.
"Yes! That a girl!" Her best friend lightly cheered. With a spring in their step, the two girls ran off towards the manor.
Finding a way in wasn't too difficult considering people, mostly kids, have been breaking in since the fifties. The locks on the front doors were busted, but it was hard to say when exactly that happened. The girls invited themselves in without the slightest bit of hesitation. Surprisingly, the inside looked far scarier than the outside. Everything on the inside was either charred or completely black from ash. At some point, probably sometime during the fire, the chandelier in the foyer had dropped from the ceiling. Pieces of the fine teardrop crystals were scattered all over the dirty floor. Seras stared with her mouth hanging open, looking morbidly fascinated by the damage that was done. Why hadn't this building been demolished? Is it because it was so far out in the country that nobody cared about it? She wondered while her eyes scanned the charred room. The stairs looked like they would give any minute. There was no way in hell she would be walking up them.
"Hello?" Tatum sing sung as she wandered further into the manor. She didn't seem to care about the filth or the shattered chandelier. With her hands hooked behind her back, her best friend carelessly stepped on bits of crystal, gross leaves and other muck, and what appeared to be a long dead bird. Such a wide grin graced her lips as those excited eyes of hers flickered around in search of something. "Anybody here?" Of course she didn't receive a response, but this didn't discourage her. She proceeded on, hoping to make Seras smile or laugh. "Hello ghosts of this manor. Will you spooky spirits pop back into our reality to give us a good scare?" She waited a second or two before adding something else. "Oh, Casper. Where art thou? Come out, you little bugger, and greet your two new guests with a cliche 'boo'!" Again, the two girls waited for something to happen. They listened intently for the slightest of noises, but heard nothing. "Figures," Tatum sighed as she frowned in disappointment.
"I can't really blame them for not coming out. If someone came into my resting place, annoying the hell out of me, I would stay hidden too." Seras giggled in her hand.
"Yeah?" Tatum laughed as she turned to face the small blonde. Sassily, the older girl folded her arms over her chest and allowed one of her hips to drop almost sexily to the side. Giving a wicked grin, she teased her best friend. "Maybe it's your face that scared them away, Seras. Truly a terrifying sight."
"Oof!" Seras exclaimed through laughs. Since they were very young, the girls tended to tease each other quite often. Neither took offense because it felt similar to fighting with a sibling; a sisterly type of love, and that brought comfort to both girls. "Is that right? Perhaps they're just afraid that you might try to sleep with them. I guess you ran out of things with a heartbeat to fuck."
"Ouch!" Tatum laughed. "Shit, Seras. That was harsh, especially coming from you."
"Too far?" The small blonde asked with a pitiful smile.
"No! I fucking loved it! I wish you would burn me like that more often!" Her best friend admitted. Seras merely shook her head at her.
"Freak," Victoria snickered under her breath.
"You're far too nice for your own good." Tatum proceeded. "I love seeing that bad ass side of you." Casually, her best friend meandered towards her. "I also love seeing that childish side of yours." As hard as she could, Tatum slapped Seras on the shoulder. Pain overtook all other feelings, causing the small blonde to straighten. A cry barely broke past her lips, her brain too stunned to comprehend what happened. "TAG!" Tatum shouted on the top of her lungs before she ran off. Hearing that one word triggered something in Seras. In a blind state of panic, she chased after her giggling best friend. It was just like when they were kids. That subtle fear in the back of her mind while adrenaline ran through her veins, causing her to run as fast as she could. A childlike smile spread across Seras' face as so many memories of playing tag with other children resurfaced after so many years. Tatum made it her job to bring life to the party and to remind people of their youth. The adult life was far too mundane for her liking. She thought it best that adults acted and played like children every now and then just to keep from depression and insanity.
The two girls raced through that old manor, having fun where so many had perished. If there were any souls haunting those blackened corridors, then those two girls were most definitely disrupting them. However, no incorporeal being showed its white face. Reaching out her hand and stretching her fingers as far as they would go, Seras pushed Tatum's shoulder.
"Tag!" The small blonde announced before she turned and quickly ran the other way. She heard Tatum frantically scuffle as she made to turn sharply and chase after her. Despite their height difference, Tatum being a few inches taller, Seras was thankfully faster. She ran as hard and as fast as she could, as if her very life depended on it. Her breath was hitched in her throat, her lungs were burning, but this didn't keep Seras from laughing.
"Damn it, Seras! Get back here!" Tatum demanded. Each time she caught up to Seras she would stretch out her arm, trying desperately to tag her best friend, but she was always just an inch shy. "I don't understand how you always do this! You're short! How can you outrun me?!" Successfully, Seras dodged Tatum. In an almost elegant way, she zipped to the side and spun on her heel to watch her friend stumble.
"Ha ha." The small blonde teased her while she stuck her tongue out at Tatum. Her friend, once catching her bearings, turned to give Victoria a playful glare. Just as Tatum leaped to try and tag her, Seras swiftly bounced backwards, missing the tips of Tatum's fingers by barely an inch. "Now I know why you never wanted to play when we were kids; you suck at this game." Seras laughed.
"Oh, sod off!" Tatum growled as she continued leaping at Seras who proceeded to dodge with ease. Seeing her try so hard was incredibly amusing and made Victoria laugh hard. But, perhaps it was time to stop teasing her so much. "Slipping up" Seras "failed" to dodge the next attack. Tatum slapped her hand so hard against her already sore arm. Finally getting to tag her, the girl threw up her arms in pure excitement. "YES! FINALLY!" Her best friend exclaimed while victory shone so clearly in her eyes. Seras shook her head at the girl's enthusiasm and gave her a head start. Laughing like a lunatic, Tatum ran off in another direction.
"Oh, you can try running, but you know that I'm going to get you!" Seras yelled as she chased after her best friend. The two girls laughed like children. They ran through a dining room where a long broken table had split in two when a large chandelier had landed on it. The windows were all broken and the wind swooshed in to greet the girls. Leaving the dining area, they ran through a large hallway lined with many large doors that led to many mysterious rooms. Just as Seras reached out to tag her, Tatum cleverly swooped into one of those rooms. Coming to a sudden halt, the small blonde turned on her heel, and followed her best friend into what appeared to be a ballroom.
Neither of them wondered about the large groups of people that would join in this room so many years ago and dance the night away. They didn't think about the parties, the music that was played, the food that was made, or the way people dressed. They only focused on their silly little game. Judging her next move, Seras cut Tatum off before she could try to escape the room.
"Gotcha!" The small blonde hollered before she tagged her. Seras then immediately took off running.
"Damn!" Tatum laughed as she ran after her. "You sneaky wench!"
"Come on, old lady, catch up!" Victoria taunted her.
"Excuse me?! Old lady?! I'm only a month older than you, Seras!" Her best friend giggled. They ran down the corridor back towards the dining room. "Wait up!" Instead of taking the door that led out to another corridor, Seras instead went through a door that connected the dining room to the kitchen. And that's where she made her mistake. The old floor had given out a long time ago, perhaps during the fire or sometime after due to water damage. Perhaps it was a combination of both that eventually made the floor nothing more but a gaping hole. Seras fell through the hole into a scary black pit. A scream left her lips when she found that she was suddenly falling instead of running and playing tag.
"SERAS!" She heard Tatum scream from the doorway of the kitchen. "Oh god!" Thankfully, the fall wasn't terribly long. The small blonde landed on the top of rubble and glass. The wind was knocked right out of her when her stomach rammed right into a piece of plywood. She hit her head pretty hard on some broken concrete. Her body bounced, ascending at least an inch off the pile of rubble before she landed face down in the mess. Her face was scratched up, her stomach pained, her head was pounding, and her vision was kind of blurry. She felt disoriented, like everything was far away. It felt like all there was was her and that pit.
"Seras!" Tatum screamed, her voice echoing wherever Seras was. "Seras, please, say something!" Victoria shifted in the rubble when hearing her voice. "Oh, Seras! Please, please, please say something!"
"Tatum?" She murmured incoherently.
"Seras!" Tatum screamed. "You hit your head! Stay there! I'm going to call someone to come and help you!" Panic consumed Seras, even in her state. Call someone? Call who? The cops? Most likely. God, they're going to get into so much trouble! They were trespassing! They weren't supposed to be here! What if the person who now owns this building presses charges? What if they will have to go to court? These were things she probably should have thought about before they entered this damn building! Seras was furious with herself.
"No," Seras argued softly before she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Broken glass cut open her palms, but she barely noticed on top of all her other pain. "No, I'm fine." She refused to get caught! She refused to get the police involved in any way! She didn't know how, but somehow she will get out of this pit and they will go home. Nobody will ever have to know that they trespassed.
"Seras, you might have a concussion. Just stay still, but try and keep awake." Tatum instructed hastily.
"Keep awake?" Seras murmured and finally got back on her feet. She stumbled and wobbled a little, but slowly caught her bearings. "Why?"
"Well…I heard that a person could fall into a coma or…even die in their sleep if they have a concussion." Tatum responded hesitantly, now sounding very unsure of herself. "I'd rather not test it, so just…keep awake."
"I'm fine, Tatum." Seras responded, though she did not feel fine in the slightest. She felt woozy, but that could be because of the blow to her stomach from when she landed on the plywood. Her head was also reeling and her vision was still a little wonky. She subconsciously grabbed her head before glancing up to look at the giant hole in the ceiling. It definitely wasn't that long of a fall, maybe ten to twelve feet. Tatum stood in the doorway of the kitchen, staring down at her with such a worried look on her face.
"Are you sure? It looked like you hit your head pretty hard." Her best friend noted while Seras looked around curiously. She appeared to be in some corridor in a grim looking basement. Unlike the rest of the manor, the basement looked unscathed and fully intact.
"I'm…in the basement." Seras muttered. She looked left and right, but couldn't really tell which was the best way to go. After inspecting her area, she glanced back up at her frantic friend. "Tatum, why don't you go look for some rope or…something that will help hoist me up. Meanwhile, I'm going to look for some stairs. There has to be stairs here somewhere that will lead me out of here. We'll meet up here in ten minutes."
"And if I can't find rope or you can't find stairs?" Tatum asked nervously.
"Come back here and we'll discuss it. But let's try to find a way out of here first before we resort to calling the cops." Seras suggested.
"Seras, are you sure this is a good idea? I'm worried about you. What if you pass out down there? You hit your head, I don't think you should be wandering around aimlessly, looking for stairs." Tatum admitted to her. "Who cares if we'll get in trouble with the authorities? I just want to make sure you get out of there safely."
"I'll be fine, Tatum. I feel fine. If I do start to feel woozy or like I might pass out, then I'll come right back here. Alright?" Seras knowingly lied. It took several seconds, but her words eventually persuaded Tatum. Her friend nodded her head in agreement.
"Alright," She muttered. "But be careful."
"You too," The small blonde replied. Tatum turned to leave, but was immediately stopped. "Hey, do you have your lighter on you?" Without answering, Tatum automatically reached into her pocket and pulled out her old trusty lighter.
"Here," She responded and threw down the lighter.
"Thanks," Seras muttered as she caught it in her cupped hands. Tatum then ran off to quickly find some rope. The small blonde flipped open the zippo and flicked the tiny gear to bring life to a new flame. It barely gave off any light, but it was better than being in the complete dark. Deciding to go left down the corridor, Seras started her search for the stairs that will lead her out of this hellhole.
It was so dark and so very quiet. From the very little light she got from the lighter she was able to make out her surroundings a little. She passed doorways that led into large, dark rooms that contained what looked to be storage from different generations and for different occasions. But, truthfully, Seras wasn't able to focus much. She didn't feel right. There was a warm, wet, sticky substance near her temple. She could guess what it was, but she didn't want to think about it. No, she needed to push forward and find her way out of here.
"Seras," A deep, creepy voice spoke her name. Immediately the girl stopped in her tracks and her back straightened out of pure fright. What was that? The voice didn't sound…human. It was a ridiculous thought, but…that was the best way to describe it. That voice belonged to something else, something unnatural, something not human. Seras wasn't one to believe in the supernatural, but that voice was making her think otherwise. And yet, there was something about that voice. Something that made a questionable feeling creep in the back of her mind. It drew her towards the keeper of that voice. Mindlessly, she started walking again. Or, more realistically, stumbling since she wasn't able to walk straight at the moment. "Detain your conscience and listen to me. Listen well." The voice demanded…and she obeyed. Suddenly that voice brought her such warmth and comfort. Yes, she would listen with baited breath. She'll do whatever it asked her. She came across some stairs, but not the ones she had been in search of. She needed stairs that would go up into the main part of the manor. But these stairs went down further into hell.
"Don't hesitate. Climb down." The voice ordered in a harsh tone, making the small blonde wince for disappointing it because she had stopped. Seras slowly descended the stairs. What was she doing? She was fully aware that she should be looking for the stairs out of the basement, but yet she was going further down into it? Why?! Just because a voice told her?! Seras' conscience came through. Her heart was racing in her chest harder and harder with each step she took. She practically clung to the wall, allowing it to support her so her weary body wouldn't go tumbling down the stairs. Who was even speaking to her?! Who was down here?! Someone who needed help? Or something that wanted to kill her? What are you doing, Seras? She was so confused; her thoughts were jumbled together. She was unsure if it was the voice that was the cause of her disorientation or because of the fall. God, she was feeling so tired.
"Having doubts?" The voice whispered from somewhere in the depths of that pitch darkness. "Don't. We've been refused help long enough. Help us, Seras, and you shall be awarded." Her eyelids were heavy and her legs were like led, but she pushed on, heading further down those dark stairs. Seras paused on the last step when she caught sight of an ominous door at the other end of the hall.
"Is that…blood?" Seras whispered as she stared in horror at a large metal door that was covered heavily in ancient symbols that glowed a brilliant red.
"Our blood." The voice surprisingly gave her an answer. "To keep us contained in this room. We cannot leave it; we are forbidden to. But you can release us from this long imprisonment, Seras. Open our door and set us free." It spoke in a deep, velvety voice, entrancing the human further. "Open the door." It repeated. Seras boldly started walking towards that eerie door. "Open it." She hesitantly lifted her arm and reached out her fingers. "Open the door, Seras." The voice commanded. She wrapped her fingers around the ice cold metal handle. Taking a deep breath, the girl put all of her weight into the door and managed to push it open. The shrill of the hinges was almost deafening, but the cold chill that wafted from that room gave her shivers and goosebumps. The room was so dark she wasn't able to see who or what had been speaking to her. Her eyes flickered around, desperately looking for the being who spoke to her. Had it all been in her mind?
"Finally," That creepy voice breathed. And then suddenly an inky black hand with long talons popped out of the darkness. Seras gasped, but before she could bounce backwards those long, spider-like fingers were wrapping around her wrist. The creature gripped her tightly and then pulled sharply on her arm. Being forced into that dark prison, the girl stumbled before an arm snaked around her waist to keep her upright.
"GE-" She had started to scream, but the hand on her waist swept up to cover her mouth, silencing her scream. She was unable to see what had a hold of her, but she struggled hard nonetheless.
"I am so hungry." It whispered, sounding so very exhausted. "I haven't eaten in so long. A meal finally just falls into my lap, but unfortunately I have to share it." With that said, the creature used his talons to dig painfully into her wrist. Seras hollered in his hand as her warm blood trickled from beneath his nails. He turned them to face something she hadn't noticed before; something horrific. There was a dried up corpse slouched against the wall. It was a tall figure with long black hair. And though how leathery the skin was, she could tell that the figure was male. It was bound in a black leather strait jacket, though his arms were free. It bothered her further seeing that the strait jacket was ripped in some areas, signifying that the dead creature had broken free from his straints some time ago, but never truly escaped his imprisonment. "It's time to wake up, Alucard." Alucard? The girl thought in horror.
Upon smelling her blood, the corpse's eyes began to glow sinisterly; a bright red penetrated that darkness and her soul. Defying the law of nature entirely, the corpse twitched. The creature that had a hold of her dangled her bleeding hand over this reanimated corpse. Drops of her blood landed on the corpse's dry, leathery skin. Getting an idea of where the life giving liquid was coming from, the corpse tilted his heavy head back. Pushing her closer, the creature squeezed her wrist tightly, trying to get more blood to flow out and into his dead friend's gaping mouth. Seras was unable to understand what in the hell was happening. It was like she was having a nightmare. Would she wake up? She was so stunned that she couldn't move. All she could do was watch as her blood stained the corpse's unbelievably sharp, inhumane teeth. What was she feeding?! What was she unwillingly helping bring back to life?!
When tasting her blood, the corpse's serpent like tongue swept out to lick hungrily over his teeth, gathering as much blood as he could. Horrifically, the corpse's skin rejuvenated, becoming smooth, soft, and full. Suddenly, the beast was staring at her with hellish red eyes. There was a clear hunger there that scared Seras so badly that she nearly fainted on the spot. She knew that she was his prey and that there was no escaping. This man that was a corpse mere seconds ago, this Alucard, shot out an arm to grab her tightly by her other wrist. With one swift yank he managed to not only dislocate her shoulder, but also pull her into his lap. Seras screamed from the blinding pain as her arm hung limp at her side.
"FUCK!" She sobbed. The monster slithered his fingers into her hair before fisting the strands tightly. She automatically closed her eyes when he roughly threw her head back to bare her throat. With her good arm, she reached up to shove the monster's face away from hers. "GET OFF!" She cried out while she kicked her legs. But his arm, acting like a steel band, kept her pinned to his lap. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" As punishment for stopping him from feeding, the vampire hissed before biting her hand hard. It was a quick bite, reminding Seras of a deadly viper striking. Instantly, she drew her bleeding hand away with another scream. Alucard grabbed the human by her good arm then while he sneered at her.
"Don't fight me and I won't break your arm!" He warned her. There was an insanity glistening in those dark eyes of his. He was practically salivating at the mouth while his fangs grew larger and scarier. "I'm going mad with hunger." Subconsciously, his fingers curled tighter around her fragile arm, causing her to whine in pain. But he didn't seem to notice. His eyes were too focused on her soft, exposed throat. "The pain is almost unbearable. And your blood is calling to me. It tastes absolutely divine." Alucard again started to lean his head down, but was interrupted by the friend who resurrected him.
"Learn to share, Alucard." The creature that brought her here hissed. For the first time, Seras saw that creature as he dove down to kneel in front of them. He grabbed at her face, earning a sharp hiss from Alucard for touching his first meal in years. The human's eyes widened with fear when seeing the demon before her. He was a tall, inky black figure with horns that protruded from the top of his head. His eyes were a dark, dark red that looked similar to a pool of blood. His hair was shoulder length, but as dark as his leathery, black skin. There were long lines on either side of his mouth, a mouth that showed horrendous sharp, white teeth that were ready to tear into her supple soul. He wore a simple black leather outfit with long, leather high heel boots. "I could have devoured her on my own, but I chose to share her with you. You could extend that courtesy, Alucard. You can have every drop of blood. All I want is her soul."
"You fool!" Alucard replied harshly. "Consume her soul and the body goes cold! The blood will be foul then and do no good in replenishing me!" The two beings fought over her, like rabid, starving wolves fighting over a bone. They bared their teeth at each other, and she could have sworn she heard guttural growls emitting deep from within their throats. They looked as if they would tear each other apart. "I'm willing to share her blood! That should be enough to satisfy your hunger until we escape this prison! But her soul is off limits!" Too starving to argue, the demon flickered that grim glare right at her.
"Very well." The demon replied.
The vampire then struck. He buried those sharp fangs right into her arched throat. A sharp cry left Seras' lips as her body curved upwards. Her eyes flickered around in panic only to meet Alucard's gaze. He stared at her from the corner of his eye, watching her closely as if she would somehow escape him. The girl was so scared of everything that was happening, of the monster that was feeding from her, and the demon that gazed at her with hunger. She had completely lost her voice. She couldn't even move. Fear had paralyzed her from head to toe. All she could do was whine from the pain. Her brain screamed at her to fight, to break free, to run from this hell, but she couldn't. Was she going to die here? Hot tears ran down her pale face.
The demon snatched her good arm from the vampire's tight grip, nearly breaking it in the process. She hollered from the roughness, but it did her no good. The demon buried his sharp teeth in her tender wrist, causing another scream to escape from her lips. Her fingers curled into a tight fist as the demon fed from her veins. It was like something awoke in the monsters the second they tasted her blood. The vampire pulled her hair even tighter as he snarled against her throat. She could feel his body trembling in what appeared to be delight. A moan escaped from the demon before he buried his teeth further into her wrist. Too intoxicated from the taste of her blood, the monsters mindlessly devoured her.
"Oh, God." Seras cried out softly, and then she found the will to struggle. Closing her eyes tightly, the girl tried putting up a fight. She attempted to yank her hand free and kick her legs, but she was only further restrained by the starving monsters. The demon nearly crushed her wrist in his hand. He gave a loud snarl to warn her to stop now or he would shatter her bones. The vampire pushed against her hip, restraining her completely in his lap. Fortunately for the monsters, the girl didn't have much energy to fight back. Her head was still bleeding from her fall and she was losing even more blood. She gave it a good try. Fought for a little while longer before fatigue and nausea took claim to her body. Her head was reeling. She was hoping, praying to a god she had never believed in, that this was all just one giant hallucination due to a concussion. Or maybe it was just a really, really bad dream. Please let her wake up from this nightmare! Seras' breathing became heavy. She was starting to feel very faint, but did her best to try and keep awake.
"This isn't a hallucination." Alucard's breath wafted across her face. When had he stopped feeding? Had she passed out for a second? Opening her eyes, she met with the vampire's grinning face. "Nor is this a nightmare." He brought his face closer until his blood soaked lips were nearly touching hers. Those hellish red eyes of his burned into her ocean blue orbs. "This is quite real." He purred while he showed off his bloodstained teeth with a spine tingling, crooked smile. As if to further prove to her that this was indeed reality, he swiftly popped her arm back into its socket. Seras flinched as she gritted her teeth and gave a sharp cry of agony.
"Fuck!" She hollered. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt something long and wet lapping at her bleeding wounds. Peeking at the demon from the corner of her eye, she watched as the foul beast smirked at her while he dug his tongue painfully into his bite marks on her wrist. Why not just finish her off? Why play with her?
"We've been locked in here for so many years. Why did you open our door, girl?" Alucard asked in that deep, smooth voice of his. Her eyes flickered back to meet his gaze, but she was so dizzy and tired that she wasn't able to truly focus on him or his words.
"Perhaps it was a lack of judgment due to a concussion." The demon suggested before he cruelly pressed his thumb against the wound where she hit her head. Seras' eyes snapped shut as she gave another sharp cry from the pain. Instinctively, she jerked her head away from the demon's hand to end the pain. Seeing her suffer only brought amusement to these monsters. They laughed at her misery.
"So many humans had refused to listen to your calls to release us from this prison. Too many times, humans ran scared from this manor, believing it haunted. But this human was unable to ignore your siren call. She came without question. Why?" Alucard asked once more. "Why did you open our door when so many ignored us?"
"Perhaps because she's dense or has a weak constitution." The demon pondered. Alucard hummed in consideration while he gazed at the little human in his lap. There was a disoriented look in her eyes, like she wasn't currently there with them in reality. He figured she would pass out soon and die of blood loss.
"Dense maybe, but a weak constitution? I doubt it." The vampire purred with a look of pride. He stared at her for a moment longer before finally making up his mind about something. "Out of dozens, maybe even hundreds, she opened our door. And she shall be rewarded for that." The demon immediately looked at him in bewilderment.
"Really?" He asked, though he wasn't able to truly contain that look of excitement in his eyes. A subtle smirk settled on his lips.
"Can you not feel the unbridled potential swarming in this young being?" Alucard asked as his hand brushed down her face to her chest to her stomach. "She has piqued my interest. Her blood speaks to me, yet I don't know its story. There's something about her. Something that's…different…" He trailed off as a faraway look appeared in his eyes.
"I do feel it." The demon breathed while those devilish eyes of his flickered back to her face. Alucard's hand left her stomach just so he could trace the shape of her face. A shudder shot down Seras' spine. The human's heart was going ballistic in her chest, yet she was still paralyzed from fear and exhausted from blood loss. "There is something about her, though I can't put my finger on it." That smirk on his face widened. "I say do it. Feed her your blood. I'm curious to see the monster she will become."
"Your life will not only be spared, but you will be given a new one." Alucard whispered to the little human. "This is a rare opportunity I don't bestow on many, so don't squander it." The vampire then bit deep into his own wrist.
"So many needs that haven't been satisfied in so long." The demon sighed. He reached out a hand to lightly stroke over the small blonde's cheek. "I must have been locked up in here for far too long because I swear my standards have lowered considerably." The vampire brought his bleeding wrist to the girl's mouth. Finally, the human found her voice.
"N-no," Seras whispered. She moved her head back and weakly used her somewhat good arm to try and shove his wrist away from her face.
"There's no need to be afraid, dear Draculina." Alucard purred in a soothing voice. He ignored her struggling and, with ease, brought his wrist closer towards her soft lips. With his other hand, he gently pushed her head closer to his bleeding wrist. Such twisted grins graced the monsters' lips as his poisonous blood met with her lips.
"No." She sobbed softly and fresh tears ran down her face. But she was too weak to fight him off. His wrist pried her mouth open and he force fed her his vile blood. The hot red liquid practically poured into her awaiting mouth and pooled on her tongue. She refused to swallow however. Closing her eyes tightly, Seras closed off her throat and just allowed his blood to sit there in her mouth with nowhere to go. It didn't help her that more blood was flowing in, making it harder to contain all of that blood in her mouth.
"Drink, Draculina! Drink!" Alucard ordered her in that thunderous voice. Her body betrayed her. Too exhausted to keep fighting, she reluctantly swallowed, allowing his blood to flow down her throat and into her system. Deciding she had enough to transform her, the vampire pulled his wrist away. "Good girl, my Draculina." He purred before he swept his thumb over her lips to clean away some of his blood. "However, the process is not over. It's only going to get rougher from here on out." She could already feel it start to begin. There was a sharp pain in her chest. She had never experienced a heart attack before, but she imagined it would feel something like this. Was her heart giving out? She could feel it thumping away, harder and harder, in her chest. It felt like it was going to explode at any second. What did he do to her? Alucard cupped the side of her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. It was as if he was trying to soothe her, but she didn't feel soothed in the slightest. It only bothered her further that he was smiling at her, like he enjoyed watching her suffer.
"Your name, what is it?" He asked in a silky voice. The girl, however, didn't answer. She bit her tongue while her body started trembling from the pain in her chest. His eyes narrowed, making her aware that he hadn't blinked in sometime. "I'll ask you once more. What is your name?" Her body lurched and her mind felt like it was shattering. Her mouth opened, wanting to give him the name he sought, but she refused to give that information. Why was her body fighting her? Why did she want to give that information so badly? Even though Seras refused to give him the answer, he looked highly pleased instead of disappointed or angry. He even chuckled. "Such a fascinating little human. She hardly has a weak constitution."
"Then why did she succumb so easily when I called her?" The demon questioned with a bemused look on his face.
"Perhaps it wasn't the hypnosis that led her straight to our door. Perhaps it was something else." Alucard purred, sounding and looking so very intrigued.
"Like what?" The demon asked with an arched brow.
"A feeling, perhaps?" The vampire suggested, but didn't sound certain. "Her blood speaks to us, maybe our blood does the same. Maybe it was calling her to us."
"But she's human." The demon reminded him. "How could she possibly be attracted to our blood?"
"Not just our blood, but our very beings, Michaelis. Our voices, our scents, our cells, our souls…" He trailed off.
"What are you saying, Alucard?" The demon asked.
"The possibility that we have met our mate." Alucard responded after a small moment of silence. The two monsters then glanced back at the girl who struggled staying awake. She lightly writhed in the vampire's arms. Her labored breathing, pale complexion, and the sounds of her frantically beating heart were all signs that she was close to death. Yet, she showed her true strength by staying awake and struggled to get free. "Only time will tell. And we have plenty of that, don't we, Michaelis?"
"That we do." The demon whispered, though he still looked very uncertain by Alucard's little theory.
"This would go so much easier if you had just allowed me to entrance you with my words and eyes." Alucard snickered at the stubborn girl. "You would be asleep right now instead of experiencing your first brush of death." Little did he know that it wasn't her first and probably wasn't her last. She had nearly died at the age of nine when she was shot in the stomach and left to bleed out. Hot tears stung her eyes from that old memory of that fateful night. The pain in her chest became too much, however. The girl closed her eyes tightly. She heard a scream, but didn't register that it was actually herself screaming from the horrible pain. Pinching her chin, Alucard yanked her face back towards his. The human's eyes flickered open while she sobbed. This time, he did not go easy on her. Keeping their gazes locked, the vampire harshly ripped through her mind. "Now, tell me your name!" He demanded for the final time. She wasn't able to fight him off any longer. Her body and mind succumbed, and she gave him the answer he wanted.
"Ser-Ser-Seras V-Victoria," The little human fought to get out her name through her heavy breathing. The look in the vampire's eyes softened the slightest bit.
"Rest now, Seras." He ordered. "Suffer no longer from the pain and allow this body to die in your sleep. When you wake, you will be reborn, and we'll be waiting for you." Unwillingly, the girl's body gave out. Darkness consumed her vision and the pain drowned away in her deep, dreamless sleep.
End of Chapter One
I hope you guys like what I have so far.
Oxford Not Brogues