Vampire Vocab

I had the oddest dream last night that I was on a class trip to a museum, and my father came and I asked him about his trip to Germany (even though he hasn’t been to Germany, lately) and it led to the basis for the series of short stories I’m going to write. This is just what you need to know so you understand what I’m writing about, I might not write a real short story right away.

The land, blackened and rendered useless from years of war, would eventually regrow, prosper even, but so long as it continued to be, so would its taint. The two countries had been at war for centuries, supposedly in a battle over land.

The Cursed Ones knew better.

Each side had powerful necromancers, strong cavalry,good soldiers if not good morale, but one weapon that was to be the deciding factor was known only to the Masters of each land. They took very commonplace shapes: a woman and a child, a simple fisherman, a teenage girl, a young man in his early twenties. They all held curses that would lead not only their respective countries, but entire world to destruction if used incorrectly. The woman held the most beautiful child in existance, but could not stop crying. If anyone reached out to touch her, they would shrink into a pile of dust, but that was a kind fate in comparison to what the child would do if you touched her. Origonally, these two were simply a woman and child, living their lives in their village. That was before the vampires came. They raided the village, until at last they came to the woman’s home. While the mother cowered in a corner, begging for her life, the child walked, unafraid, up to the strongest vampire and said “Leave my mother alone, you big meany!” (She was just a little kid, so ‘big meany’ is the best she could do) The vampires laughed, and it tolled through the now silent town like a funeral bell.

” We won’t kill her,” He said, still chuckling. “or you, for that matter. All I’m going to do is bite you, then we’ll be on our way!” He bent his head slowly to the young girls neck, while she stood fearlessly and defiantly.

” No!” cried the mother, just as she realized what the bite would mean. Too late. “nooo…” She sank to her knees, gathered the now unconscious child into her lap and sobbed, while planning her revenge on vampires with the single- mindedness of someone who has lost everything. The master saw exactly what he wanted in the woman. His voice drifted down to her, cool and insideous as a poisonous mist.

“How would you like it if no body could hurt you, ever again?”

She glanced up, then gestured to the girl in her arms. “What about Sarah? Will she be okay?”

“Oh yes, she’ll be just as strong as you when she wakes up. You’ll never change from that moment, so you can have what you’ve always wanted, Jane. You and Sarah, together forever.” The quiet voice was as soft as silk stretched over satin, but Jane could hear a steel interior.

“Whats in this for you? Why would you do that for me?”

” Oh you’ll see. No worries, just be yourself. That’s all there is to it.”

“In that case…yes.”

In his castle, the master cackled. She had bought it hook, line, and sinker. Now to just cast the spell…

The others followed a similar story: the girl loved to swim, but hated people getting close to her while she did, so she was cursed that she needed to go in water every day to survive, but anyone within a half mile radius in the same body of water would die. The fisherman hated to see gaping wounds, so he would, at the sight of blood, dissipate into a swarm of hornets and devour the source. The cruelest story of all is the of the young man, though the others are hideously evil.

John Carter had been happily married for five years and had three children who he doted on. He was a blacksmith and made a good living for his family. One day, the Master generated an urge for him to take a short day at work. He walked home briskly, happy at the prospect of seeing his lovely wife. He opened the door to his house, and saw his “faithful” wife passionately kissing another man. A range of emotions flew across his face: disbelief, sadness, denial, finally settling on a burning fury. This was the Master’s chance, he worked quickly and mentally. He offered John the option to be something strong, fast…and lonely. John took it immediately. Fur sprouted on his body, course and dark. His senses sharpened, and he knew instinctively what he was: a wolf. He could smell the fear of his wife and his children who now were peeking out from the room they had been playing in. The curse came into play, and when the wolf left the house, all that was left were three small skeletons, and two large ones.

This last story was the cruelest because John, unlike the others, will never be able to pretend to be a normal human, or even a normal wolf. The Master had made good on his promise. John would always be lonely.

The war was never settled, but both countries fell, dissolving into new nations. The Cursed Ones are not only bound by their curse, but they are bound to their land. They will forever have to hide their secrets, but for now, they are safe. Unfortunately, uncanny happenings are beginning again. Some think its the Apocalypse. Some think its global warming.

The Cursed Ones know better.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 10:25 am and is filed under Vampires, Writing.
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