Chapter 5 Good Evening
I closed the door behind me and went over to the doors opposite the table to let in the night air. I stood in the door feeling the cold wind trying to breathe deeply to get hold of myself. I heard the door I just closed on the other side of the room close quietly again. I didn't turn around, I knew who it was, I couldn't turn around - I couldn't face him. I wouldn't be able to hide my feelings for him. " Good evening Christine" I closed my eyes and clasped my hand in front of me. Whether I wanted to or not I had to face him.
I turned around and met his brown eyes. i felt sick, the cold sickness in my stomach, I felt pricklies go up the center of my back to my neck. My mouth went dry, my hands and feet went cold and clammy, the room began to spin and the next thing I knew I was sitting in a chair and he was sitting next to me.
"Keep breathing deeply it will make you feel better" He looked around and got up and went to the glassware cabinet and got one glass out and filled it with water and put it down in front of me. "This helped you before, I watched you at dinner with Collette" My hand was shaking when I took the glass and drank. I let my head fall back on the rest.
" My name is Shaun" " What do you want" I said breathless. " Just to speak with you, I know you have more questions and I wish to put your mind at ease a little. " What if I can live with my questions and don't want to know ? " " Then I will go and you will never see me again if that's what you want. I felt devastated as he spoke the words. " Don't go" He filled my glass again and gave it to me.
" I want to tell you how I came to be, you know I can do things, things I have allowed only you to see" I closed my eyes and shook my head 'yes'. " Then that is your proof that what I am about to tell you is real" He sat back down next to me and held out his hand to me and I took it. It was so cold even in such a hot room. It wasn't clammy like mine - cold and dry, I looked at it. " More proof"
He smiled " Your shaking like a leaf" I looked away " I won't do anything until you are sure" I tried to pull my hand away but he didn't let go, he closed his eyes and winced a little and began.
" I was 20 when my life ended - life as you call it when your alive. Me eldest brother had already left to live his own life with his wife and my older sister had just been married. I was the only one left and I would be leaving soon as well, as was custom then. My parents had hired a house keeper and I was still there for a while until they found a man to do everything I was doing there. The house keepers name was Lynn, she was beautiful and younger than me by a few years ". He got up and walked over to the door and was facing out. " She was unusual, she was very pale and insisted she could only work there at night. My mother did not really want her there but my father decided she worked for cheap and there would be a man there during the day anyway. "
"For a week or so when she started everything seemed to be working fine, she usually came in just before sunset. One evening though she came in very late. My mother and smiled at her, I read her lips. 'I love you' and I whispered back ' I love you Momma' as I walked up the stairs I got the feeling of dread that I would never hear her say that again".
He turned sharply around and looked at me, I saw a rage in his eyes that frightened me. He turned to face the Ocean.
" My room was the farthest away, so I could not hear anything of what was doing on the the main dining room. I laid down on my bed and wondered what was wrong - if something had been wrong with the food or maybe the wine Lynn had given me. I heard a knock on my door, I thought it was my mother to tell me they would be looking for another house keeper but it was Lynn. She shoved me backwards into the room with a strength far too much for a young woman. I was stunned. I was going to ask her what she wanted but she kissed me very hard and I was taken aback by how cold she was and she did frighten me"
" She pushed me very hard onto my bed and as I told you I found her very beautiful. There had never been a woman in my life before so I really didn't know what to do so I just laid there and she laughed at me. To this day I am not sure why she did all I know is that - that was the beginning of my pain. She stood in front of me and undid her dress from the back and pulled it off. Looking at her I started breathing heavy. My young mans body wanted what all young men's bodies would have wanted at the site of a beautiful naked young woman in their bedroom. She sat down on the edge of the bed and I started kissing her neck and shoulders, she was so cold but I didn't care. She leaned back and put her hand around my neck and said " Should I give it to you?" "
He turned around and looked at me again not this time with anger. He didn't think I believed him. I did find it hard to. he came over to me and put out his hand to take mine. I put my hand in his hand and pulled away just a bit at the coldness of it. He pulled at it to help me up. He took me outside onto the balcony overlooking the Ocean. The sound of it was loud and beautiful. He gently touched my face.
" I can feel you warmth but only in my fingertips. Your Eagle friend doesn't like me much" I did't know what to say. "Animals smell death and so do we - much more than when your alive, more proof, he know I am not supposed to be". He took me back inside and I could again feel the heat in the room. He poured me another glass of water and placed it in front of me, I drank it straight down. He looked down and sat back down across from me.
" I was still feeling sick but I thought I could handle it, she laid down flat on her back and looked at me - I knew she was still laughing at me. As I reached to touch her she slapped me very hard in the mouth. I could taste my blood, I was scared by then. She sat up and kissed and licked my blood off my face. I didn't know what to do, I was shaking all over the way you were. She got up and walked to the other side of the bed and I crawled over and sat on the edge."
" I thought you were more of a man than this" She said to me and slapped me again much harder this time - I saw my blood everywhere. I tried to get up but I couldn't " I'll make you a man" and she pushed me back so hard onto the bed and bit into my neck so hard I cried out. I started feeling weak and I was so scared, I knew I was going to die. " I have killed you - you silly little boy" I heard her say. She slapped my again to tune my face to face the table where I saw a glass. " Drink that if you want to live - if not then you can just die"
"Everyone wants to live so I managed to make my way over to the table and take the glass, I could hear her laughing at me still. " You'd better hurry" I took the glass and drank - I could taste it was blood. She was putting her dress back on as I felt the warmth go down my throat then I felt pain in every fiber of my body and I fell to the floor writhing in searing agony in my stomach and my face where she hit me. The terror I was feeling was like no terror I had ever felt. I just wish she had killed me sooner. Then I slipped into blackness thankful for the fact it was finally over."
"When I woke up I found myself curled up the the fetal position on the floor, I was so hungry. I got up and found a note on my blood stained bed. ' You'll need more of the blood if you choose. PS. Your brother was more fun than you' written in lipstick. I went downstairs and went the other way to the kitchen for something to eat I thought it would make me feel better. I could smell the raw mean on the ice that Lynn had brought in earlier I headed straight for it without even thinking."
" I picked it up and bit into it - the thought made me sick, but I couldn't control the hunger. I ripped off a piece with no effort and tried to swallow it but I couldn't. I spit it out but still wanted it. I sank my teeth into it again and realized how far I had bitten in, I pulled it out of my mouth and felt my fangs for the first time. I still felt weak but the need for the blood was more than I could handle so instead of eating it, I sank my fangs in again and drank the cold blood out of it. Then I became aware of a more powerful smell of blood. I followed it out to the dining room."
He got up and went to the door again. I was speechless by now. I got up and refilled the glass of water and went to hand it to him. He turned and with such a beautiful smile, I could see his fangs. he bowed his head " I thank you for your kindness but I can no longer eat or drink mortal food" I just stared down into the glass. I felt hurt that I could not somehow make him feel better. "Thank you, go and sit back down" I did as he said.
" I saw my mother first, I dropped to my knees and crawled over to her, I kept calling Momma, I held her but I didn't know my strength and I crushed her shoulders, her bones went to pieces in my arms. I let her go and just wept, I had her hand and I felt the bones crack inside. I dropped her hand. I crawled over to my father and took his hand with my shaking hand and broke the wrist. There was blood everywhere. My instinct my hunger told me to drink it all but I couldn't. I just wept crying aloud. Then I thought of the note and my brother. I left them there and before I realized it I was running to his house. Faster than a horse at full gallop could have run. I found the same blood everywhere there as well - then I went to my sisters and found the same thing blood everywhere. I went outside and just collapsed from hunger and shock. I must have slept there for several hours but I really don't recall.
I woke up in the morning with a burning all over my body - it was the sun. Burning not like sunburn but much worse. I went back into her house and avoided looking at them but the smell was overpowering. I went into the kitchen looking for blood of any kind but found none. The burning sunlight was coming in at every window, the only place I found relief was the basement away from the sun and smell. I know though they were up there still and my brother and mother and father. I got into the darkest corner and curled up and just cried, she was right I was not much of a man and she did nothing to change that.
" No Shaun - you could have hurt me by now and you could have killed the Eagle but you haven't there is a gentle man within you" He smiled at me "I know how you love the Eagles"
" I must have fallen asleep again but I still don't remember doing so, when I woke up the next evening I again felt the hunger. On the way back upstairs there was a stray cat that had come. I took it, the warm blood went down my throat, I could feel it go down it was a pleasure I had never known. I felt a wee bit stronger. I went out into the living room to where my sister and her husband were. I bent down and picked her up - just barely controlling my hunger. I laid her next to him on the floor. I went and got the cat and laid it on top of them both. I lit the house on fire, I did the same at my brother's house and at my parent's house. The fires brought many to put them out but they were too late.
I turned around and met his brown eyes. i felt sick, the cold sickness in my stomach, I felt pricklies go up the center of my back to my neck. My mouth went dry, my hands and feet went cold and clammy, the room began to spin and the next thing I knew I was sitting in a chair and he was sitting next to me.
"Keep breathing deeply it will make you feel better" He looked around and got up and went to the glassware cabinet and got one glass out and filled it with water and put it down in front of me. "This helped you before, I watched you at dinner with Collette" My hand was shaking when I took the glass and drank. I let my head fall back on the rest.
" My name is Shaun" " What do you want" I said breathless. " Just to speak with you, I know you have more questions and I wish to put your mind at ease a little. " What if I can live with my questions and don't want to know ? " " Then I will go and you will never see me again if that's what you want. I felt devastated as he spoke the words. " Don't go" He filled my glass again and gave it to me.
" I want to tell you how I came to be, you know I can do things, things I have allowed only you to see" I closed my eyes and shook my head 'yes'. " Then that is your proof that what I am about to tell you is real" He sat back down next to me and held out his hand to me and I took it. It was so cold even in such a hot room. It wasn't clammy like mine - cold and dry, I looked at it. " More proof"
He smiled " Your shaking like a leaf" I looked away " I won't do anything until you are sure" I tried to pull my hand away but he didn't let go, he closed his eyes and winced a little and began.
" I was 20 when my life ended - life as you call it when your alive. Me eldest brother had already left to live his own life with his wife and my older sister had just been married. I was the only one left and I would be leaving soon as well, as was custom then. My parents had hired a house keeper and I was still there for a while until they found a man to do everything I was doing there. The house keepers name was Lynn, she was beautiful and younger than me by a few years ". He got up and walked over to the door and was facing out. " She was unusual, she was very pale and insisted she could only work there at night. My mother did not really want her there but my father decided she worked for cheap and there would be a man there during the day anyway. "
"For a week or so when she started everything seemed to be working fine, she usually came in just before sunset. One evening though she came in very late. My mother and smiled at her, I read her lips. 'I love you' and I whispered back ' I love you Momma' as I walked up the stairs I got the feeling of dread that I would never hear her say that again".
He turned sharply around and looked at me, I saw a rage in his eyes that frightened me. He turned to face the Ocean.
" My room was the farthest away, so I could not hear anything of what was doing on the the main dining room. I laid down on my bed and wondered what was wrong - if something had been wrong with the food or maybe the wine Lynn had given me. I heard a knock on my door, I thought it was my mother to tell me they would be looking for another house keeper but it was Lynn. She shoved me backwards into the room with a strength far too much for a young woman. I was stunned. I was going to ask her what she wanted but she kissed me very hard and I was taken aback by how cold she was and she did frighten me"
" She pushed me very hard onto my bed and as I told you I found her very beautiful. There had never been a woman in my life before so I really didn't know what to do so I just laid there and she laughed at me. To this day I am not sure why she did all I know is that - that was the beginning of my pain. She stood in front of me and undid her dress from the back and pulled it off. Looking at her I started breathing heavy. My young mans body wanted what all young men's bodies would have wanted at the site of a beautiful naked young woman in their bedroom. She sat down on the edge of the bed and I started kissing her neck and shoulders, she was so cold but I didn't care. She leaned back and put her hand around my neck and said " Should I give it to you?" "
He turned around and looked at me again not this time with anger. He didn't think I believed him. I did find it hard to. he came over to me and put out his hand to take mine. I put my hand in his hand and pulled away just a bit at the coldness of it. He pulled at it to help me up. He took me outside onto the balcony overlooking the Ocean. The sound of it was loud and beautiful. He gently touched my face.
" I can feel you warmth but only in my fingertips. Your Eagle friend doesn't like me much" I did't know what to say. "Animals smell death and so do we - much more than when your alive, more proof, he know I am not supposed to be". He took me back inside and I could again feel the heat in the room. He poured me another glass of water and placed it in front of me, I drank it straight down. He looked down and sat back down across from me.
" I was still feeling sick but I thought I could handle it, she laid down flat on her back and looked at me - I knew she was still laughing at me. As I reached to touch her she slapped me very hard in the mouth. I could taste my blood, I was scared by then. She sat up and kissed and licked my blood off my face. I didn't know what to do, I was shaking all over the way you were. She got up and walked to the other side of the bed and I crawled over and sat on the edge."
" I thought you were more of a man than this" She said to me and slapped me again much harder this time - I saw my blood everywhere. I tried to get up but I couldn't " I'll make you a man" and she pushed me back so hard onto the bed and bit into my neck so hard I cried out. I started feeling weak and I was so scared, I knew I was going to die. " I have killed you - you silly little boy" I heard her say. She slapped my again to tune my face to face the table where I saw a glass. " Drink that if you want to live - if not then you can just die"
"Everyone wants to live so I managed to make my way over to the table and take the glass, I could hear her laughing at me still. " You'd better hurry" I took the glass and drank - I could taste it was blood. She was putting her dress back on as I felt the warmth go down my throat then I felt pain in every fiber of my body and I fell to the floor writhing in searing agony in my stomach and my face where she hit me. The terror I was feeling was like no terror I had ever felt. I just wish she had killed me sooner. Then I slipped into blackness thankful for the fact it was finally over."
"When I woke up I found myself curled up the the fetal position on the floor, I was so hungry. I got up and found a note on my blood stained bed. ' You'll need more of the blood if you choose. PS. Your brother was more fun than you' written in lipstick. I went downstairs and went the other way to the kitchen for something to eat I thought it would make me feel better. I could smell the raw mean on the ice that Lynn had brought in earlier I headed straight for it without even thinking."
" I picked it up and bit into it - the thought made me sick, but I couldn't control the hunger. I ripped off a piece with no effort and tried to swallow it but I couldn't. I spit it out but still wanted it. I sank my teeth into it again and realized how far I had bitten in, I pulled it out of my mouth and felt my fangs for the first time. I still felt weak but the need for the blood was more than I could handle so instead of eating it, I sank my fangs in again and drank the cold blood out of it. Then I became aware of a more powerful smell of blood. I followed it out to the dining room."
He got up and went to the door again. I was speechless by now. I got up and refilled the glass of water and went to hand it to him. He turned and with such a beautiful smile, I could see his fangs. he bowed his head " I thank you for your kindness but I can no longer eat or drink mortal food" I just stared down into the glass. I felt hurt that I could not somehow make him feel better. "Thank you, go and sit back down" I did as he said.
" I saw my mother first, I dropped to my knees and crawled over to her, I kept calling Momma, I held her but I didn't know my strength and I crushed her shoulders, her bones went to pieces in my arms. I let her go and just wept, I had her hand and I felt the bones crack inside. I dropped her hand. I crawled over to my father and took his hand with my shaking hand and broke the wrist. There was blood everywhere. My instinct my hunger told me to drink it all but I couldn't. I just wept crying aloud. Then I thought of the note and my brother. I left them there and before I realized it I was running to his house. Faster than a horse at full gallop could have run. I found the same blood everywhere there as well - then I went to my sisters and found the same thing blood everywhere. I went outside and just collapsed from hunger and shock. I must have slept there for several hours but I really don't recall.
I woke up in the morning with a burning all over my body - it was the sun. Burning not like sunburn but much worse. I went back into her house and avoided looking at them but the smell was overpowering. I went into the kitchen looking for blood of any kind but found none. The burning sunlight was coming in at every window, the only place I found relief was the basement away from the sun and smell. I know though they were up there still and my brother and mother and father. I got into the darkest corner and curled up and just cried, she was right I was not much of a man and she did nothing to change that.
" No Shaun - you could have hurt me by now and you could have killed the Eagle but you haven't there is a gentle man within you" He smiled at me "I know how you love the Eagles"
" I must have fallen asleep again but I still don't remember doing so, when I woke up the next evening I again felt the hunger. On the way back upstairs there was a stray cat that had come. I took it, the warm blood went down my throat, I could feel it go down it was a pleasure I had never known. I felt a wee bit stronger. I went out into the living room to where my sister and her husband were. I bent down and picked her up - just barely controlling my hunger. I laid her next to him on the floor. I went and got the cat and laid it on top of them both. I lit the house on fire, I did the same at my brother's house and at my parent's house. The fires brought many to put them out but they were too late.