A short story I wrote for my final project last year. I enjoyed it, with a little polishing up I would love to submit it for publishing.
The Cure
Cain pushed back his ragged blonde hair, and suppressed a shiver. Rumor said the bottom layer of Hell, Cocytus, is forged of ice rather than fire. Cain found actually feeling the cold biting his skin quite disconcerting.
Sirenia lay unmoving on the ice sheet. Her black eyes remained forever locked in a traitorous gaze of seduction. A stake jutted out from the center of her breast. Solemnly Cain pulled his saffron eyes away. He knew well that no hope existed for access to the upper layers of Hell. Killing Sirenia effectively trapped him, just as he had planned.
Cain trudged away without a backward glance, and stalked down the barren path without the slightest sign of faltering. Corpses mortared the walls, the visage of each one twisted in torment. Minutes ticked away…or perhaps millennia. Neither one mattered to Cain. He slipped a hand inside of his coat, pushed aside countless weapons until freeing the gun he sought, an antiquated flintlock pistol.
“Well, you seem quite ready, boy!” issued a ragged voice from nothingness.
Six feet ahead of him a throne forged from human bones materialized within the path. Upon it sat a skeletal figure dressed in gleaming white robes. The figure crouched in an exaggerated fetal position, its black hair hung in wild dreadlocks, the crimson eyes glared out from fathomless eye sockets.
“I am assuming that I need no introduction.” the figure giggled inhumanly.
“Rue, the Vampire King.” Cain stated in a fierce challenge.
The King grinned and hooked a skeletal finger against his lips, exposing inch long fangs. “Did you enjoy the journey? Do you like my kingdom? I have killed so many, absorbed so many souls – but all I can show for it is this corner of hell.”
“Well, my Lord,” Cain scoffed, “You’ve achieved the rank of King. You possess power beyond any other; know secrets that most of our kind never bothers learning. I am certain you embody something of value to me.”
“Is that so, boy?” Rue leaned forward to study the charismatic vampire before him. Cain truly proved himself an exceptional individual. Cain stood tall, well honed with muscle and striking in his leather clothing. The majority of vampires lived as indolent leeches that sloughed through life in bloodstained rags.
“You speak too much, Vampire King. I came to destroy you. That is all we need to say.”
Rue howled in mirth, “Just what do you think my death can offer you? This shoddy corner of hell, or perhaps my throne? No, you must want answers. I see it in those accursed eyes. The human notion to seek answers never quite died within you. You seek the cure to immortality, yes?”
A twinge of emotion tugged at Cain’s face.
The Vampire King shuffled forward. “Astonishing weaponry, boy! I take it that you made a living as a hunter in your human life. Yes, this is interesting. Not only do I see an exceedingly rare vampire in you, but also I see a huntsman. I must represent the biggest game you can bring down. Correct?”
Cain tried to ignore the wretched stench of the King. “Yes, I am desperate for a challenge.”
Rue crowed harshly, “You are telling me you’ve fought your way down through Hell, and slain your beloved just to slake your thirst for the hunt? What a tragedy, what a comedy! How about a trade? You wish to know about the cure, and I am more than happy to surrender that information. Therefore, I will give you the answer, and guide you back to the world above. No more blood shall spill; perhaps you will even find salvation. All you must do is just let me go on living my unlife in peace. What do you say, Cain?”
“You worthless piece of shit.” Cain raised his gun and fired.
A single explosion shattered the air causing icicles to rain down. Rue jolted as a blossom of crimson spread across the center of his chest. He howled without bothering to hide his agony, than sank downward. “ Ah… I am too late I fear!” He giggled even as blood gushed past his lips.
“You didn’t even ATTEMPT to dodge!” Cain shrieked, his face convulsing.
“Why would I do that?”
Cain bent down next to the skeletal vampire and seized its throat. “Talk! I want the answer!”
The King chuckled weakly, amusement flashing in his eyes.
“Stop fucking laughing!” Cain hissed, bared his narrow fangs, than sank down onto Rue’s throat. Life force more potent than any flooded Cain’s mouth. Shocked, Cain yanked away.
The King broke into hysterical laughter, but his voice soon faded. His sunken eyes didn’t close; they remained fixated on the ice above. Soon enough the corpse crumbled into ash colored powder.
Cain pulled away with a groan of pain. Rue’s blood unleashed its power. Tremors rocked Cain’s body. He could no longer feel the cold, instead his brain burned with a torrent of memories from a life more than two thousand years past.
Once again, he felt Sirenia’s hands the first time they touched his skin, saw the flames of her hair, and heard the purr of her voice, “Kiss me, huntsman, and I shall forever be your bride.” He gave no thought of his wife and children awaiting his return. He simply choose her temptation. Instantly Cain wrapped Sirenia within his arms and ravenously found her lips, but she shifted to bite rapaciously into his neck. From that moment onward, he never again fought temptation.
A voice that wasn‘t his own rattled, “Do you see now, boy?”
“What do you mean?” Cain groaned as the memory faded.
“ Think! If you simply returned to your family, lived and savored life, instead of craving Sirenia, would have ever fallen into the depths of Hell to slay me for answers?”
“Is THIS the cure? To savor life and not to crave it?” Cain gasped desperately.
“Yes. We are nothing more than parasites that attach ourselves to the pleasures of life. However, what if we evolved beyond such needs? What if instead of constant temptation, we learned satisfaction? That is the only cure. To evolve, to stop wanting, seek contentment and simply live.”
“I understand…we must change our instincts. Relearn our humanity” Cain whispered and pulled himself up from the dust heap that remained of his prize. “I shall let our race know. Thank you Rue, my King.”
“Going somewhere? That will prove a problem, you‘ve forgotten a serious conundrum.”
“What…” Cain broke off and frantically recalled the details of the icy cavern. He saw nothing except empty throne. He found no exit, no cracks in the walls, only entrance that he had forever sealed off. “NO!” he shrieked. “It…can’t be…”
After all these years immersed in sin, he‘d descended into the lowest level of Hell, one from which nothing escaped. Screaming, Cain began to claw frantically at the walls. Corpses tumbled out of the ice sheets and stared blankly up at him.
At last, Cain drew back, weeping in his helplessness. Crimson tears coursed down his cheeks.
One final time the Vampire King’s voice twittered, “ Ah…so much like me. Welcome to your new kingdom, boy!”
The End
- Posted using the awesomeness of Salazar Slytherin!
