Carmilla Chapter 2
Two great beings moved through the darkness, seemingly in a dance with each other. They flew through the dark for who knows how long, until they steadily neared a green orb floating in the darkness.
As they came closer small parts started to fall of the two beings, and one of those smaller beings seemed to reach out. But as it came closer, a red mist started to seep into the darkness surrounding the being. Despite the alien form, you could see how the being seemed to become afraid of the blood-red mist, that coalesced right in front of it.
"Hmmm, what is this?" The voice of a woman sounded through the dark. The voice seemed to hold a chill and a promise of blood and despair.
"It has been centuries, and the first thing I see, after I have awoken, is a pretentious little thing, trying to take control of my own blood?"
"Despair little thing, because the blood of Elizabeth Bathory shall not be subsumed or controlled by something like you!" And with those words, the cloud of bloodred mist threw itself at the being, and completely engulfed it. The fear of the being was nearly tangible as it seemed to dissolve in the cloud of mist.
-
She had to move!
That was the first thought in Carmilla's mind, as she awoke. Feeling absolutely miserable and having a vague instinct telling her, that the feeling came from a certain direction, she quickly threw herself to the side, which incidentally led to her thumping on the floor next to her bed.
Suddenly feeling relieved, as the miserable feeling faded into near-nothingness, she recalled the last few parts of the dream she had, just before being so abruptly awakened.
She could barely remember anything, except some flashes of a great being and a red mist which engulfed and dissolved it. Feeling like that dream was important she tried to remember more, but the harder she tried, the less she remembered.
She did, however, recall what happened before she fell asleep, and a flash of guilt shot through her, quickly followed by the concern of whether someone had seen her or the bodies. She hadn't noticed anyone, neither had there been cameras, but the fear still remained within her.
Realizing that she had nearly brushed the guilt aside once more, she tried to focus on that, and why it seemed to always disappear after a short while. Was something wrong with her? Why was she so casual about murdering four people with what seemed to be superpowers? Is it because of her powers?
And what the hell were her powers exactly. Superstrength, super senses, as well as something bite-related. Before she could think more about her powers, she suddenly had that incredibly miserable feeling back.
Frantically, she scrambled back to get away from whatever was causing it. It wasn't until she hit her back on the wall, that she calmed down again.
Noting that her bed, as well as the point she had been lying on, was now bathed in sunlight, that came through the uncovered window. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as the thought entered her mind, that the sun was responsible for that miserable feeling.
Wanting to test it out, she slowly stepped forward and stuck her hand into the light, only to pull it back sharply as she nearly doubled over from the twisting, painful feeling.
Holding her arm close to her chest and she stepped back further into the shadows, until she was standing in the corner of her room. The light reached by now all the way to the wall opposite the window, which neatly cut her off from both the door and her wardrobe. She also realized, that with how the sun was moving, she would soon be forced into the light, as she was pinned in her corner.
She quickly took her thin blanket and held it up to block out the sun and move through the light spot that way. But she could only take one step, before she had to step back, to keep from passing out. While the feeling was slightly muted, it was still too much for her. She cursed the fact, that it was summer and because of that, she had only a very thin blanket at hand.
Hoping that her roommate had returned after working late and wasn't still at a client's house, she called out.
"Karla! Are you home? I could use some help!"
"Yeah, what is it?" Carmilla let out a sigh of relief, as she heard Karla's voice from the kitchen.
"Can you come to my room really quick!" She heard the footstep on the old wooden floor coming closer, only to realize, that she was completely naked. She quickly covered herself with the blanket, just as the door open and Karla stepped into her room, with a cup of coffee in her hand. Her long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail. A white shirt with some sports brand was tucked into the grey baggy pants, she mostly wore when at home.
"What's the emergency?" She asked, before she did a double-take. Having seen Carmilla huddling in the corner clutching her blanket around herself.
"Can you please close the shutters and pull the curtains on the window?" Carmilla pleaded, knowing full well what a strange request that was.
"Seriously?" Karla asked incredulously. "Can't you do that yourself? You don't have to call for me to do that. And why are you standing in the corner?"
It was at this moment, that the smell of the coffee reached Carmilla, and just as she focused on the smell, her enhanced senses kicked in. And with that, Carmilla noted a sweet and alluring scent, that she just knew, came from Karla. It reminded her of the sweet nectar she had drunk, as she woke up in the alley. One part of her wanted to race to Karla and taste that sweet liquid again, but she managed quickly to squash that feeling.
"Did your eyes just change color?" Karla added curiously, while still not moving from her position in the door.
"Can we talk about that later? Can you please just cover the windows? I promise, I'll explain everything to you afterward." Pleaded Carmilla, noting how the sunlight kept on creeping in her direction.
"Fine, but there better be some good explanation." Karla acquiescent, before moving to the window, to do as Carmilla asked. The scared tone in Carmilla's voice slightly concerning to her.
"I promise." Agreed Carmilla easily, while internally debating, on what exactly she would tell her friend and roommate. Should she tell her about the alley, or just say that the sun suddenly seemed to hurt her? Maybe just say she now has superpowers, and one of them seemed to bring an aversion to sunlight? But then she would ask how she got it, and would once more be forced to tell her about the alley.
Karla, ignorant to Carmilla's inner turmoil, had by now closed the shutters, as well as pulled the curtains. "Great, now I can't see a thing anymore." She said drily, before moving back to the door to flip on the light in the now darkened room.
Carmilla, unbothered by the lack of light with her automatic night vision, made a hesitant step forward to where there was previously light shining through. She was immensely relieved, as she didn't feel anything, and quickly hurried over to her wardrobe to put some clothes on.
Karla had reached the light switch by now and flicked it on. After a short adjustment because of the bright light, she took in the room. One thing immediately caught her eye, and she asked Carmilla with growing concern.
"Why is your shirt ripped apart? Did it happen at the bar?"
"Ah..." Said Carmilla eloquently, still trying to decide what to tell her friend. Hesitantly she explained. "It was just some idiot last night."
"Really? At the bar? Did you walk home with that ripped shirt? Why didn't you take one of the work shirts with you?" The hesitant answer ringing all sorts of alarm bells in Karla's mind. With years of working in the shadier parts of Brockton Bay, she knew that bad things could happen to beautiful girls walking home alone at night.
It was that concern, that made her walk closer to give her friend a hug. If what she feared had actually happened, then Carmilla would need some support right now.
"Carmilla sweety, did something happen on the way home?" She asked with concern obvious in her voice. The slight flinch in Carmilla's posture only solidified her concerns.
"No! Well yes, but not what you think." Carmilla stammered out. "They only tried to…"
Carmilla stopped talking, as the sweet smell of her friend came back, now much stronger because of her proximity. She felt her muscle coil and get ready to pounce on Karla. Terrified for the safety of her friend, she managed to squash that impulse down, and instead jump back out of reach of her friend, that had stopped in her tracks, arms still held out for a hug.
"What is it?" Karla asked with obvious concern and a bit of fear in her voice. "And why did your eyes change color again? It was like they were filled with blood and they looked like they were glowing."
"Please don't come closer." Carmilla forced out, trying to keep control of herself and willing her senses to return to normal. Not trusting herself to hold out on attacking her friend, with that scent in her nose.
"What? Why not?" Karla's voice sounded both concerned as well as a bit hurt, seeing that her friend seemingly didn't want her comfort. "Sweety, you're scaring me a bit. What happened to you, are you alright?"
"I don't want to hurt you too." Carmilla's voice was quiet, scared of her friend's reaction.
"Why would you hurt me?" Karla was confused, before noting the last bit in her friend's answer. "And what do you mean with hurt you too? Who did you hurt?"
"I have powers." Carmilla admitted, deciding to go all-in with the truth. "And I keep on having to reign in the impulse to attack you, like I did those guys in that alley yesterday."
"Powers? What guys? Oh…"
While Karla wouldn't say she was a cape geek, she was still fairly well informed on the cape community. You had to be, if you wanted to survive in Brockton Bay. She also knew what getting powers meant and the correlation of some guys in an alley, as well as a ripped shirt, did not paint a pretty picture.
"Yeah. Oh..." Carmilla mirrored her friend's words. "I killed them, Karla. I killed them all and now every time I smell you, I seem to want to attack you too."
"If my suspicion of what happened is right, then they seemed to deserve it." Karla was by no means a saint and while killing some would-be rapist wasn't the first thought on her mind, she wouldn't lose much sleep over it either. "What do you mean about my scent? I only just showered so it can't be that bad, so you would want to attack someone for it."
"It's not that." Carmilla chocked out with a short laugh. "You actually smell extremely good, but it seems to make me want to bite you every time I smell it."
"Bite me? Is that how you killed those guys?" Karla was getting confused with where the conversation was going. The initial concern had started to diminish, as she couldn't see any signs of injuries or abuse on her friend's body. "You know what? I think I need to hear the complete story. So why don't you get clothed and sit on the bed, while I get you a cup of hot chocolate and you get your thoughts in order? Then you are going to tell me everything from start to finish, okay? As well as why you seem to be so afraid of the sunlight."
She took the murmuring from Carmilla as agreement and went to the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate, together with some more coffee for herself, as she felt like she would need it. After some thought, she added some booze to the coffee just to be safe.
When she got back with both cups in hand, she saw her friend sitting on her bed, huddled up in her blanket. Placing her cup next to her, she moved over to the window, and opened just the glass panes, but leaving the shutters and curtain closed. She figured if it was her scent that set Carmilla off, then some fresh air couldn't hurt.
Removing the ripped shirt from the nearby chair, she moved a bit closer to the window and sat down, waiting for Carmilla to start her story on her own time.
While Karla had been in the kitchen, Carmilla was busy remembering the night before and lining up the events to better explain them. It still took her a few minutes, during which Karla just waited patiently for her to start.
"I was working a bit longer yesterday, because some guys didn't want to leave. It was pretty late when we finally closed up, so there was basically no one left on the streets. I started to walk home and thought because I saw no one around, I could take some side alleys to get home quicker." Seeing the look that Karla gave her as she said it, she quickly added.
"I know it was stupid, the moment I did it, because I could suddenly hear some guys behind me. I thought I could get away from them, but then there were also two guys in front of me. First, I thought they just wanted my money, but after I offered it to them, they seemed to want more. I tried to run past, but they quickly pushed me to the ground and started to..." It was here, that her voice chocked up, with the memories of that moment coming back.
"Take your time." Karla said compassionately, having to hold herself back from going over to comfort her. "Are you sure I can't give you a hug?"
"Heh, better not, even if it would be nice." Carmilla answered with a sniff before continuing. "I blacked out for a bit, but when I came back, three of the guys were already dead and I was biting the last one while drinking something from him. It tastes so sweet and delicious, kinda like your smell." Seeing that Karla was about to interrupt she quickly forged on, wanting to get it over quickly.
"I didn't know what to do and was afraid of calling the police, so I decided to hide them in the storm drains. One of the entrances was in that alley, and it was then, that I realized I had powers. It was so easy to pull off the cover to that entrance. Lifting and dumping the bodies down the hole was like lifting a sack of sugar. I barely had to strain myself at all. So, I dropped them there in the hope that the rats would take care of any evidence. I then quickly made sure no one saw a thing, before hurrying back and taking a shower. I went to bed, completely forgetting to close the shutters on the window."
"It was the sunlight that seemed to wake me from a really weird dream. I felt absolutely miserably in the light and could barely take a step into it, even with the blanket as cover, before doubling over. That's why I called for your help." All throughout the story she had been holding the cup of chocolate close, letting the scent of the chocolate overpower her senses. It had a calming effect on her, together with keeping her friends scent out of her mind.
Karla was speechless for a moment, letting the information rush over her, before a thought took shape in her mind.
"You're a vampire!" She exclaimed loudly, surprised that her friend didn't already make the connections.
"What?" Still holding the cup close without drinking, Carmilla was not expecting that sentence to be the first after her story.
"Sweety, most of the time you are really smart, but sometimes you can be dense as a rock." Karla shook her head in amusement. "Don't you see it? Superstrength, super senses, drinking something from a victim that you bite, and to top it all off, an aversion to sunlight. You, my dear friend, have triggered as a vampire." She was actually getting a bit excited at the thought, even if she was also a bit concerned for her friend's apparent hunger for her.
"A vampire?" Carmilla asked incredulously, seeing the point that Karla was making. The thought that what she had been drinking was that guy's blood feeling instinctively true. And to her surprise, there was no feeling of revulsion at that thought, only a strange sort of thirst that seemed to settle in her throat. "I mean it sounds true, but what kind of superpower is that? I never heard of someone getting a power theme like that."
"What about Lung? He seems to have gotten the power theme of angry rage dragon. Myrddin the theme of the wacky wizard and I'm sure there are others out there like that." Karla countered.
"Sure, compare me to some of the strongest capes out there. My powers don't seem that great to me." Carmilla felt a bit unsure about her friend's apparent belief in her capabilities. "I have extreme disadvantages like not trusting myself with people around, as well as an inability to go out into the sun."
"True, not many have an actual disadvantage coming with their powers, but maybe it is a way to balance it out? Maybe you're so strong, that you need something to tone it down." Karla mused.
"That's not how powers work." Said Carmilla, before adding. "Also, can we focus on the rest of what happened and what to do now? Knowing, if I can take on Lung would be nice and all, but I have other concerns right now. Also, why aren't you freaking out more, knowing that I would like to drink your blood every time I catch a scent of you."
"Meh, sure it was concerning at first, but seeing you so composed, I have full confidence that you can control yourself for now. We will have to see, however, how soon you need another dose of blood." Karla stated, and Carmilla was actually touched by the trust she heard in her friend's voice.
"I also noticed that your eyes seem to flash red, whenever you seemed poised to attack me. We might need to get you some sunglasses or contacts to hide that."
"Actually, can you still drink or eat normal stuff?" Karla added, before shooting a glance at the still full cup of chocolate in Carmilla's hand. "You haven't sipped on your chocolate even once."
"I don't know." Was Carmilla's answer, sounding unsure. She had been inhaling the chocolate scent all this time, but never felt the urge to drink from it. Lifting the cup to her lips she took a sip, but she quickly spat the liquid back out.
"Bah, it tastes rancid." She said with her nose scrunched up, before carefully taking in the scent once more. "It tastes absolutely terrible but smells delicious. How does that make any sense?"
"Hmm, seems like your body can't take anything else but blood, and maybe the taste is a way to make sure you swallow nothing bad." Karla mused. "So, we will have to see about getting you some blood. While I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that deserve to die, I would rather not have you kill the resident gangster in our neighborhood. I don't think there are enough rats around to eat all the bodies."
"How can you be so blasé about this." Carmilla wanted to scream, but she couldn't seem to be quite as concerned about the idea, as she would like to be. "Ever since killing them, I seem to not care at all about the fact, that I took someone's life. Maybe it's explained by my new powers, to make sure I can go through with eating. But why can you talk about it so easily?"
"That's easy." Karla said evenly. "I've seen enough shit around here to know that life isn't worth that much in this area. In addition, I care a lot more about you, than I do about some rapist or murderer. Also, the fact that at some point if you get too hungry, you will probably attack me, helps with the decision as well."
"I see." Carmilla didn't really know what to answer to that. It was touching to know that someone cared about her enough to ignore the murders. "Well, I drank from four people yesterday, so I hope that will last me a while. I don't really feel any thirst right now, unless I catch a scent of you."
"Hmm, that's good. Gives us some time to figure it out hopefully." Karla mused before drinking the last bit of her by now cold coffee. "Dou you think you could drink blood from animals? Like those twinkling vamps from Twilight? Or maybe from donated blood bags?"
"I don't know." The answer sounded unsure. "I mean I didn't really feel an urge to drink from the rats in the storm drain, but that could just be because it stank to high heavens, and I was still sated from the guys before."
"Something to test out then. Same as the rest of your power, I want to know how strong you are." Karla sounded exciting at the thought of testing her strength. "I want to see if you can bend steel with your bare hands, that would be so amazing. Of course, we will have to wait until nightfall. That sunlight aversion is kinda stupid, but at least you don't immediately burst into flames."
"Yeah, that would have been bad." Carmilla shuddered, thinking she could have died, just because the window wasn't covered.
"Well, I think I'll go out for a bit, to get some things to test out." Karla said while standing up, grabbing both their cups. "Why don't you think about some tests to do at nightfall. You could also go to the kitchen when I'm gone and see if it's only liquids that taste bad, or if it's also solid stuff. Maybe you are simply a carnivore now and can still eat meat?"
"Sure, I'll do that." Said Carmilla while watching Karla leave her room. She shouted after her. "And Karla! Thanks for supporting me, you don't know how much that helps."
"Anytime Sweety." Karla shouted cheerfully over her shoulders. "Only doing what you would also do for me."
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Author note:
Next Chapter probably on wednesday.