Kraemer 2014
"Driving. Not a good time," I answered my cellphone only to shut it up after it rang for the third time.
"I think my problem is a little more important than your fear of being pulled over by a cop," responded the sardonic English voice. "You see, your cop will be human, most likely, but I'm dealing with witches."
I sighed. What had he been up to? "If you're still in New Orleans, I'll help out. I'm in Kraemer dealing with a Windigo, but I'm not driving across the country for a guy I haven't spoken to in a year."
"Sorry, luv, I've had family things. I'll tell you everything when you get here. Go kill the cannibalistic fucker so we can be killers together," he laughed.
"Let's get one thing straight. I might be a killer, but I'm a vigilante; you're just a serial murderer," I retorted.
He laughed again, letting me have the one small victory before hanging up.
Windigos aren't hard to track, only hard to kill. Standing alone in the forest, I found myself wishing for a partner. The thing could eat me and no one would know. No, I shook my head. I can't think thoughts like that, they will gnaw away at me and create a weak spot.
It came for me like I knew it would. It was hard to not stand defensively, to look vulnerable. It took my feet out from under me before I even saw it and I scrambled back to my feet before it came at me again. This time when it charged, I was able to cut it. It yelped, but took a chunk out of my shoulder as well. I tried to ignore the blood, but I could feel it seeping through my shirt. I was able to land a few more blows, before realizing I was severely outmatched. I was growing tired, but the creature didn't seem to be slowing down. Before panic could set in, I made a determined leap at it, intending to take it with me. My knife went through its head, under its chin and up into the brain. It fell back and before I could enjoy my victory, everything went cold. Its talons had ripped through my abdomen and I was losing blood, fast. I stumbled backwards, holding onto my wound as though that would stop the bleeding. I knew I was a goner when black spots started clouding my vision. They cleared for a moment and I saw blue in front of me. It took another moment to realize I was on the ground and that blue was the sky. I didn't want to die. I began to hyperventilate, panicking because there was nothing I could do, I couldn't even stand. No one was even going to know that I died. Klaus's face appeared above me. I didn't know what was going on in my subconscious, but I thanked it for giving me a better vision than one of blood.
"No! No! No!" he cried.
I tried to tell him not to worry, but blood bubbled up in my mouth and I began to choke, throwing myself into a coughing fit.
Hallucination Klaus offered me his hand which was bleeding profusely.
I shook my head. I was dying and would die human.
"Drink," he commanded.
Against my will, my mouth opened and I put my lips to his skin.