Nefarious: The Christmas Edition
Lucille Moncrief
Part 1: The Vampyre Talcott
The air was crisp and trees bare. The weather unusually cold and bitter for Savannah at Christmastime. I grinned to myself as the heels of my boots ground the cobblestone. I wonder if she is staying warm? My curiosity now piqued, my extremities shook slightly at the thought of her warm, safe in her bed, none the wiser to my less than gentle intentions. Delicious! I licked my lips in the frosty night air, a hint of salt in the wind. I could scarcely hear the ocean roar in the distance, like a barreling freight train, like my desire. But I mustn't distract myself, her protector could be near. Damn him! Always thwarting my plans, the humorless, melancholy git. Immune to my predation, it was I who was prey to him. A peculiar turn of events. Odd indeed, to be the hunted after nearly a century of being the hunter.
I began to feel vulnerable, my shaking from arousal turning to fear. Shivering, I wrapped my great coat about me in the glare of a street lamp, the merry wreath adorning it a mockery to my plight. Snarling, I ripped it and threw it to the ground. I viciously ground the sole of my boot into it, imagining his face. Feeling's gone! With newfound confidence and head determinably high, I went to darken her door.
Part 2: Elyse Delafayette
I was upstairs in my room wrapping the presents when I felt a coldness come over me. It swept in like a fog, the festive paper strewn about me an ironic juxtaposition to it. I dared not breathe. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall sounded like it was underwater, its tempo drowning in a funerary mist extinguishing the joy I'd felt moments earlier. Where was he? I panicked, a canary in a coal mine. I abruptly left the room, slamming the door in my haste and flew down the stairs. I rounded the corner of the first landing when I hit a wall and felt his arms embrace me.
"What's the hurry?"
"I'm just happy to see you." I didn't want to worry him, and I had no fear now.
"Are you hungry?" I asked, his fingers entwined in the ends of my hair. I loved it when he did that.
"I could eat." We headed downstairs and into the kitchen. It smelled like cinnamon. Mrs. Ewee was clattering away in front of the stove.
"Samuel! I didn't see you come in. The soup's almost done and I just finished brewing that new cinnamon tea Mr. Pembroke bought. Are you two interested?"
"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Ewee." I said and we took our seats in the breakfast nook.
I was next to the window, the cold radiating from it seeping into my skin. Surely it can't be that cold outside, is it? That cold was unnerving, like it had eyes. Mrs. Ewee set the plates and mugs down onto the table and I dismissed my worry with the heat of the tea and his arm around me, those fingers in my hair again. How'd I get so lucky?
Part 3: Talcott
Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to her. I could feel her near, pulsating with that warmth and innocence of youth. I inhaled deeply, the anticipation of seeing her made me feel near to bursting. Under the dolorous hanging moss of an oak tree, I stood across the street from her house. I sensed her joy and wanted to...possess it? Be the cause of it myself? No, destroy it. I wanted to destroy it and replace it with something else, my own cynicism. Then, we would be complete. She the bride to my Frankenstein.
Alas, my current form just will not do. I changed into the creature I was so very fond of, the vampire bat. How clichΓ©, you say? Well you see, I could be any creature. The cat in the alley that rubs against your ankle on your way to work, the dog you adopted from the pound for the little munchkins because I was just "Oh so cute!" I could even be the mouse in your cupboard, or the spider in your bed, listening to your soft breathing, knowing that all it could take is one bite and I could send you into the ether for all eternity, never to see those precious munchkins of yours again. But, I digress. I prefer the vampire bat since I am a vampire and this creature is so hated and feared. Just like me.
I soared straight into the air and over the roof of the house, circled it, and plunged down into the branches of an azalea right outside the kitchen window. And there she was, her smile like the sun I longed to see again. It was easy to see why she was so joyful, that damn git was there. Why yes, I greatly wished to destroy it now. His calloused hands were entwined in her raven hair, looking stupidly happy. I hated him. But, I couldn't look away. I wanted to soak in their naΓ―ve happiness, like bathing in warm blood. Observing the high would make the low all the sweeter, especially since I would be the cause of it. That's it, sip your tea, laugh at his inane jokes. Inhale her perfume, you melancholy bastard. Soon, you won't breathe at all.