Are you there?

Darkness answered me, the depths of my soul were unreachable, the Beast was hiding.

I really wanted to swear but held myself back.

Marie was going to her lessons, as usual. I had not changed back to Ray’s form for quite some time.

Stan’s stares as I went in and out of Ray’s room under my female form were increasingly inquisitive, but he too, had to go to his courses. I was alone that day. It was the middle of the afternoon but almost no light came through the balcony window/door of my room. Massive cumulonimbus' were seemingly waiting for the rush hour to drop all their snow on the ground below.

The vampire would not find me under my female form, she had no way of knowing it was me. As such, she would not recognize Marie and Stan as Ray’s roommates either.

It was a short-term plan, and at least until today, almost a week later, it worked.

The killings had continued, two new victims had been found.

I was trying to paint, but nothing was coming to me.

I felt dark dread drawing closer and closer.

My canvas was of the sky, I was using brushes this time.

I did not feel the promise of the storm inside my strokes, so I scrapped it and began anew.

One unexpected result of my fusion was that I inherited a lot of painting and drawing experience. Both lives had drawn, Ray as an aspiring artist, and Igris through her own method of prophesizing. My technique may have gained years of practice, but my feelings did not.

Too much was happening, Marie, the Beast, and now the serial killer on my trail, I was too shaken to hold my utensils adequately.

I sighed; nothing would come today.

Before understanding what was happening, I was on my feet, backing myself against the wall, all senses on high alert. I had heard something different but now…

Silence.

Perfect silence.

The police had stopped talking, the mouse in the pipes had run away. At this hour, almost no students were in the building, but the absence of any sound was eerie.

The police.

They never saw me leave the flat, if the vampire had followed a patrol, she would have seen the same thing.

Maybe she would think I was hiding. Or that something important to Ray was in here.

Why did I only realize now? Because it was unlikely, but it was the only explanation as to why…

I heard a soft thump on the balcony.

…As to why she was here.

I did not try to understand how she managed to climb up to the top floor so silently.

She just had.

I had to transform now. It took time, if I waited I would…

NO.

I couldn’t change to wolf, the Beast refused access.

He could do that? And even then, why?

I heard knocking on the balcony door.

“Hello sweetheart, is Ray of the Dark Trees not here? It’s his apartment, right?”

I saw her face.

It was hard to recognize.

Not that it had changed, it was just covered in blood and grime.

I ran towards the corridor. Immediately following, I heard glass shatter, even though it sounded more like an explosion.

I felt her behind me, could not dodge her pouncing on me. Lukewarm liquid and a hard, cold body held me down. She had caught up to me immediately, and the blood drenching her was seeping on my clothes and on my flesh, it smelled like honeyed metal to my new sense of smell.

“Wow, you’re quick.” Surprise filled her words, then something else. “Stay still, would you?”

I felt the power in them.

It was so obvious, so much time was in those, such presence.

It held no claim on me. A breeze over the ocean.

How much power did we gain, when we became one?

YOU IMPRISON ME. NO MATTER, DO WHAT SHE SAYS.

What?

No answer.

I listened to his advice. After all, maybe she wouldn’t notice.

I stood perfectly still.

“Nice girl. I like what you’re wearing, t-shirt and panties? I prefer male snacks, but when something looks so delicious, I like making exceptions.”

I shivered. I remembered so much more vividly now. How she said such sexual things, but with such a different type of hunger.

I felt her weight on me disappear.

“Get up.” She said.

I did as she ordered, and felt her eyes on my body, evaluating me like a piece of meat.

“Nice. You look healthy, and seeing how fast you ran, you must be into sports.”

I was trying my best not to run.

“You’re Ray’s girlfriend, are you not? You smell like him.” I felt the insidious nature of her words glide off me, unbeknownst of her.

My brain was overheating. What was the right thing to do? I saw the clock on the oven.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Four PM.

When were Marie’s classes finished?

The vampire was waiting for my answer. Concentrate, I do not have time.

“Yes.” I decided.

“You’re a bit slow, aren’t you? He must like dumb ones. A shame.”

I had to make her leave. I just made myself a hostage and she didn’t need two, if Stan or Marie came home…

“So, where is he?”

“Who?”

“Ray of course, you dumb cow.” She said as she slapped me. I took the blow, stars dancing in front of my eyes.

“Still standing? You’re really strong.” She noted.

This was bad, I wasn’t used to my strength and resilience, how could I act as if I was normal?

“So. Answer the question bitch.”

I winced and made a lie up on the spot. “He’s at his father’s, he’s hiding there.”

She looked pensive, not caring about me anymore. She began speaking in French, and surprisingly, considering my poor level of Canadian French; I understood everything.

“Je ne peux pas tuer un haut placé, ils ne le permettraient pas… que faire que faire.”

(I can’t kill such a highly ranked dignitary, he (or they) wouldn’t permit it…what to do, what to do.)

She didn’t take long to think about the next step.

“You’re rather recent, aren’t you? Barely one or two weeks? I’ve never seen you before.”

What? Then I realized that she was talking about me being my own girlfriend.

“Yes.”

“Do you think he’d trust you enough for him to leave his daddy’s safe house?”

If I answered no, she would kill me here and now.

“Yes.”

“Parfait.” (Perfect) “Well dally-ho, move it sunshine, we’re going on a trip together.”

I followed her to our entryway, almost naked and tainted with red.

I had no way to contact Marie or anyone else. But that was for the better.

She was going to bring me to a secluded place to lure “Ray”.

I was trapping her as she thought she was trapping me. If we fought, no one else would be hurt.

It was still freezing outside, and the first snowflakes were falling from the darkened skies.

I continued following her towards the elevator. It smelled like golden honey in there.

“Don’t mind the mess. I’d eaten already, so I didn’t worry about my manners.” She said before the doors opened.

It was a nightmare.

Blood and guts everywhere. It was hard to say how many people had been in there.

I guessed two. As two guns were lying on the floor.

People had died trying to defend me…again. Police doing their job.

And the worse of it was, the sight was making me hungry.

I was salivating.

I fell on my knees. Shock or hunger, I couldn’t decide which.

“No no no. Back on your feet sunshine.”

I forced myself to obey.

Felt my naked flesh on the already cold liquid on the floor.

I hadn’t heard anything, they hadn’t either. The noise of the elevator, her supernatural abilities.

She was whistling let it go from frozen.

She brought me to a different car, a BMW very much like the one my dad owned.

It wasn’t his though, I had been scared for a second.

As I climbed inside and sat down on the leathery seats, she stopped whistling and began to drive.

“Talk to me on the way there. Who are you?” Her question took me aback. She wasn’t really interested. She was just killing boredom with noise.

“I’m Igris.” I began.

I was going to have to do the thing I hated most in my life, for a whole car ride, accompanied by a serial killer vampire.

“I’m 23, and I’m an art student like Ray.” I lied.

“An art student? I didn’t see you in the registry. I wouldn’t have forgotten such a strange name, celebrity parents?” Her question so devoid of emotion it was scary.

That and she was barely watching the road.

“I’m not a student in this university.”

“Mh.”

“My parents are dead.”

“You’ll be dead soon too, don’t worry about that.”

Anger flared inside me.

I held myself back.

I told her stories about my childhood as Igris, revamped for the present day, until we finally arrived at her destination.

It was an old house, in the middle of the city.

Not a recluse place? There are lots of people here!

I WARNED. ONLY THOSE CLOSE TO YOU.

No. NO.

But it was too late, I had no choice but to follow the vampire inside the house now.

It was derelict. The outside seemed old, but the inside was in a really bad state.

She looked displeased to be here. I heard someone come meet us.

He was a rat in the form of a human. He smelled a bit like my kidnapper, but younger.

Another monster.

WEAK.

Could you help instead of just…

IT was gone.

“Goddammit.” I said out loud. Sorry Francis for swearing.

“Ooh, she’s a feisty one mistress.” The man that felt like a rat spoke exactly like that character from Harry Potter. He was taller and scrawnier but held his hands the same way.

I could not complain more about the servant being unoriginal, as I felt her take my chin to examine me.

“She should not be able to speak.” She said out loud.

“Mistress.”

I tried my very best to look like I was under her grasp.

She lost interest almost immediately. “Weird.”

She looked at the other vampire with disgust. “Bring her to my room, don’t touch her.”

“But Mistress? I thought the girls were for me?” He held my arm, already dragging me to a dilapidated staircase. His touch felt so wrong, I could not stop myself, I had to…

The monster who called itself Miranda vanished from sight, to reappear just next to us.

No sound, no smoke.

Her fist drove straight into his face. He flew twenty feet (6m) backward and broke part of the wooden floor on his fall.

“Don’t touch her.” She repeated, flatly.

He got back up as if nothing happened, half of his face seemed broken. It shifted back in front of my eyes.

I looked away.

“Yes, Mistress. Follow me.” I felt no power in his words, so I didn’t know if I should follow him or not.

Was it a trap?

“You’re so weak. Follow him.” She said.

I obeyed, feeling the power glide off me once again.

I heard her sit on something as I climbed upstairs.

I was able to concentrate a bit on my surroundings; the grimy servant was not paying much attention to me.

The house was mostly all in dark wood. Even though there were lots of paintings and furniture everywhere, it was all rotten and dusty.

The air felt diseased.

I could hear sobbing in the basement.

I arrived at a door, clearly in better shape than the rest of the house.

As I followed the ratty man inside, I could not hide my surprise.

Everything was beautiful. A large bed, a nice bathroom with glass panels, an old but obviously pricey bookshelf, and lots of pelts on the wall.

I recognized some of them. Felt their anguish as I had before.

She had managed to recover some of the stuff from her home.

“You’re beautiful.” I heard.

I was rushed back to reality as I saw my guide come closer to me.

“I never get them so beautiful.” His hand was coming closer to my body, it was darkened, a crust of rotten blood covering it almost entirely.

It took all my self-control not to back away.

His hand just hovered over my breasts, undecided.

“Hans, come here.” Shouted my captor downstairs.

He flew outside the room, at an unbelievable speed.

I could follow his movements though, not like Miranda.

SHE’S STRONG. HE’S NOT.

I didn’t even try to answer.

I was eavesdropping.

“Mistress? Do you want something?”

“To go back home.”

“You can’t Mistress, the police…”

I heard a loud thump.

“I know that, imbecile! But this place…you’re disgusting. Your pets too, they’re a bother. I told you to get rid of them.”

“But…mistress, I love them.”

“So young. So pitiful. I should kill you.”

“M..mistress.”

“I’m just joking, don’t worry.”

“Ha, haa.”

“I’m going to bring the boy here, he’ll give me my pelt back, then I’ll kill him.”

“What about the girl?”

“I’m having her for dinner tonight.”

“Could…Could I…?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself again.”

“Sorry Mistress.”

Then there was a sort of flutter in the air. I stood still, my eyes looking outside.

I felt her come next to me.

“I won’t make you wait any longer sunshine. Just call your boyfriend. Call him, bring him here. The address is…”

I was going to gamble with my life. Again.

“I can’t.”

“What?”

“I can’t call him.”

“Wait, are you a Conscious too? How can you say no to my orders?” She was looking at me, ready to hit me, or worse.

“I don’t have my phone. I don’t know his number.”

I saw my body leave the ground before even feeling the hit on my cheek.

Something definitely broke.

Fortunately, I flew towards the bed, where I bounced before hitting the wall behind.

My body dented the wood but did not break it. She had not hit me as hard as she had her servant Hans.

The pain was manageable, but I felt woozy.

“Are you still alive?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Good, sorry about that. It’s my bad. Of course, you don’t have his phone. And younglings like you don’t remember anything anymore.”

She didn’t feel sorry at all, just annoyed.

“Mistress?” Hans looked at us, having appeared in a blur.

“Get out of here. I’m fine.” She said, and he disappeared.

“Come here.” She ordered me. I tried my best but fell on the way. My left foot was broken. I grunted in pain.

“Fucking humans. Stay there. I’ll go pick up your phone. It should only take an hour or so. With this traffic though...Piss.”

She disappeared as she appeared.

I was left trembling.

At this hour, my friends would both be back. Wait, no, with the elevator scene, no one would be allowed back in the flat.

Still, the police would be back on the scene. Investigating.

Was she going to kill them all?

And what if the police tried to question Marie or Stan in front of the apartment building?

Would the vampire go quietly? Or go on a murderous rampage?

She was annoyed already, and with this weather on the rush hour, anyone would be out of his mind.

She was going to kill everyone that stood in her way.

I could not let this happen.

Take me.

FINALLY.