foul. One sleeve had been torn from his
jacket, and his shirt had come undone. Several threads stuck out
like spider legs where the buttons of his shirt had gone missing in
the struggle to lock him up.
“Hello?!” I hollered.
“No one can hear you, you fool,” he
growled.
“Don’t talk to me,” I snapped. “I
wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. You did this to me. You
stole my life.”
He lunged at me, gnashing his teeth,
baring his fangs. I jerked back. His chains held him inches away
from me.
“You wretched little girl,” he said.
“It’s your fault that we’re here. You’re the one who fell into the
well. Now we’re going to die together because of you.”
“The last thing that I want is to die
here with you,” I said. “I hope you burn in hell.”
His lips slowly descended back over
his teeth and he looked away. He took a few steps back and leaned
against the wall.
“We’re both going to burn,” he said.
“At least this way I get to watch you die.”
“Why are you so cruel?” I
whispered.
He curled his lip. “You think I’m the
villain.”
“I wasn’t the one luring girls to the
church to murder them.”
“You do not comprehend, do you? You
are insignificant. You humans crawl around the earth like insects,
destroying the land. Do you think it matters if one of you gets
crushed? You are food. I like to say you are nothing but ‘meat on
feet.’” He laughed scornfully.
“You’re wrong.”
“Do you know what is wrong?
When humans whine and cry before I feed. But hours earlier, they
were eating steak. Where does that meat come from? I do not see
people giving any sympathy to their meals.”
He pointed at me. “You would
understand now that you are a vampire. It is a pity that you will
never get to drain a human being. It is exquisite. It is best when
you hunt your own game and the blood is fresh. It is best when they
struggle. It makes the blood flow faster…”
“Stop it!”
“I was looking forward to tasting you.
I would have drawn every last drop.”
“Shut up!”
A minute of silence passed between
us.
“I didn’t want this,” I
muttered.
Paolo sniffed. “You should be grateful
that you were even blessed for a moment. You have been rescued from
your rotting corpse. You have experienced immortality. You have
experienced perfection. Look at yourself. This is your purest form.
Your worst qualities have been sifted out, the flaws and weaknesses
blown away. The way you have been experiencing the world with your
pathetic human senses? Now you know. You were living in a fog. You
were appreciating only a fraction of what this world has to offer.
That life was worth nothing.”
“At least I had a life. I had a
family. I was going to go to university and get
married.”
“That is pitiful, Zee.”
“Don’t you dare say my
name.”
I can’t die here with
him.
I pulled at my chains. They were
attached to a metal ring bolted into a plate in the wall. I scanned
the ground for rocks, tools, anything that might jimmy the
fastening.
“What are you doing?” he asked,
annoyed.
“We have to get out of here,” I
said.
“There is no way out. When the sun
comes in, we are gone.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked up. Our prison was topped
with an iron grate. The sky through the grate was blue. It was
dawn.
“What happens when the sun comes in?”
I asked.
“We burn to dust.”
***
I should have never trusted Paolo. My
entire life I had been a good, cautious person. Just this once I
had wanted a little adventure—and now this. Why? Why me?
“You want to know?” Paolo said. I had
unwittingly asked the question out loud.
“Why you? Because you looked,” he
paused, “as if you were bursting with energy. You were rushing
through the streets with your pastries, looking wildly around, your
cheeks flushed. And everyone else in comparison appeared in
black-and-white slow motion.”
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to be
tender in our last
jacket, and his shirt had come undone. Several threads stuck out
like spider legs where the buttons of his shirt had gone missing in
the struggle to lock him up.
“Hello?!” I hollered.
“No one can hear you, you fool,” he
growled.
“Don’t talk to me,” I snapped. “I
wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. You did this to me. You
stole my life.”
He lunged at me, gnashing his teeth,
baring his fangs. I jerked back. His chains held him inches away
from me.
“You wretched little girl,” he said.
“It’s your fault that we’re here. You’re the one who fell into the
well. Now we’re going to die together because of you.”
“The last thing that I want is to die
here with you,” I said. “I hope you burn in hell.”
His lips slowly descended back over
his teeth and he looked away. He took a few steps back and leaned
against the wall.
“We’re both going to burn,” he said.
“At least this way I get to watch you die.”
“Why are you so cruel?” I
whispered.
He curled his lip. “You think I’m the
villain.”
“I wasn’t the one luring girls to the
church to murder them.”
“You do not comprehend, do you? You
are insignificant. You humans crawl around the earth like insects,
destroying the land. Do you think it matters if one of you gets
crushed? You are food. I like to say you are nothing but ‘meat on
feet.’” He laughed scornfully.
“You’re wrong.”
“Do you know what is wrong?
When humans whine and cry before I feed. But hours earlier, they
were eating steak. Where does that meat come from? I do not see
people giving any sympathy to their meals.”
He pointed at me. “You would
understand now that you are a vampire. It is a pity that you will
never get to drain a human being. It is exquisite. It is best when
you hunt your own game and the blood is fresh. It is best when they
struggle. It makes the blood flow faster…”
“Stop it!”
“I was looking forward to tasting you.
I would have drawn every last drop.”
“Shut up!”
A minute of silence passed between
us.
“I didn’t want this,” I
muttered.
Paolo sniffed. “You should be grateful
that you were even blessed for a moment. You have been rescued from
your rotting corpse. You have experienced immortality. You have
experienced perfection. Look at yourself. This is your purest form.
Your worst qualities have been sifted out, the flaws and weaknesses
blown away. The way you have been experiencing the world with your
pathetic human senses? Now you know. You were living in a fog. You
were appreciating only a fraction of what this world has to offer.
That life was worth nothing.”
“At least I had a life. I had a
family. I was going to go to university and get
married.”
“That is pitiful, Zee.”
“Don’t you dare say my
name.”
I can’t die here with
him.
I pulled at my chains. They were
attached to a metal ring bolted into a plate in the wall. I scanned
the ground for rocks, tools, anything that might jimmy the
fastening.
“What are you doing?” he asked,
annoyed.
“We have to get out of here,” I
said.
“There is no way out. When the sun
comes in, we are gone.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked up. Our prison was topped
with an iron grate. The sky through the grate was blue. It was
dawn.
“What happens when the sun comes in?”
I asked.
“We burn to dust.”
***
I should have never trusted Paolo. My
entire life I had been a good, cautious person. Just this once I
had wanted a little adventure—and now this. Why? Why me?
“You want to know?” Paolo said. I had
unwittingly asked the question out loud.
“Why you? Because you looked,” he
paused, “as if you were bursting with energy. You were rushing
through the streets with your pastries, looking wildly around, your
cheeks flushed. And everyone else in comparison appeared in
black-and-white slow motion.”
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to be
tender in our last
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