Chapter 8
The rage inside me was boiling to a point of no return. As I stood in the shadow of my parents’ bedroom, watching him, I felt so many different emotions battling to take control: disgust, anger, heartbreak, and blood thirst. This man has violated my trust in the most despicable way, and I had all the power to end his life, right here. I would be so quick that he couldn’t even scream. No, I would be out of here before my Mom even realized what went wrong, before she could even recognize who I was. It would be so easy… so very easy. I watched his chest heaving up and down as he took his last breaths. As I neared his bed, his thoughts and memories became clearer to me. Humans… their emotions were totally unguarded during sleep. I saw him, in his twenties, holding my Mom’s hands and proposing to her. I saw their excitement and joy when she gave birth to me. I saw him changing my diaper, feeding me, singing me my favorite lullaby. The thought of him even capable of love was such a strange notion to me…. What went wrong along the way? How? How did he go from that to this? His thoughts were laid out to me like an open book. I saw his face when my Mom got diagnosed with cancer. Stage four. She would only have a couple of years to live now. He was comforting her, her shoulders shaking violently, her tears soaking the front of his shirt. I saw him take to drinking, and drugs. It was too much for him… the loss of his children’s mother. This wasn’t a sudden loss. No, this was more painful: watching your wife wither more and more before your eyes, every day. I saw them standing over my baby brother’s crib, my Mom handing him a note, probably her last wish when she passed. I saw his rage, smashing tables, breaking plates, punching holes through walls. He was grinding his teeth, and crying. No, I refused to feel sorry for this pathetic bastard. He should have been stronger. He was supposed to be the one left standing to protect us. And my Mom didn’t even die yet. But he violated me, under her very roof, when she was still alive! I took a few more steps forward, hand reaching into my pocket to get my Swiss knife ready. That’s when it hit me: a memory, one that he was trying so hard to bury. But I dug it up anyway. I had no problem robbing him of whatever memories he considered most precious. He took the most precious thing away from me. The memory was faint at first, but with focus, I brought it to the foreground. He and Mom were talking to a gynecologist.
“She can’t have this baby. Her cervical and breast cancer risk is already too high. If she gave birth to her, it would double the possibility, even triple it.”
“It’s ok, honey. We can adopt. Ok? Please, listen to me. Your life is more important.” My Dad tried to console her.
My Mom kept crying. Then her eyes sharpened. She made her decision. Every time my Mom’s eyes sharpened like that, I knew she made up her mind, and nothing could sway her, not even death. My Dad knew it too.
And that… that was how she gave birth to me: by giving away her own life.
I…. I killed my own mother! No wonder my Dad hated me. He was… he was punishing me for taking away the love of his life. Tears began to roll freely from my eyes. I didn’t stop them. I couldn’t.
I just stood there, paralyzed, stunned by the realization. And then my eyes sharpened. Yes, I have the same eyes as my mother’s. Once those eyes sharpened, I would never go back. Nothing could change my mind now, nothing.
With one stab, I landed the knife right between his legs, cutting off his manhood without mercy. The sharp pain jolted him right up. My Dad registered the cut in his mind and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more as he saw blood staining their white sheet. My Mom was in full panic mode. She grabbed the phone and called 911, still shocked as to what just happened. The screaming and shouting must have woken up a few people in the neighborhood, as lights were turned on and a few heads poked out. People in their PJs looked up to see what happened. By this point, I was already hidden behind a tree, looking in. I turned to my brother’s window. The light was still off, but I could feel someone looking out, watching me, and monitoring my movement in the shadow. Did he know? Was he awake? Did he see me? I was so focused on revenge that I forgot to check on him. If he was watching me, I wouldn’t have known.
The ambulance siren broke my chain of thoughts. I dashed off into the distance, leaving my Mom to deal with the mess. Now he would never be able to hurt anyone else again. Ever.
I reached the warehouse when the sun almost came up. I could feel my body gradually shutting down on me. No, not yet. Just a few more steps. The others were still up, obviously waiting for me. Rachel was the first one to notice me, and she ran over to hug me. “OMG Rain! You had us so worried.” She paused when she saw the blood on my hands. She could tell what happened. She could sense it in my emotions. They all could. If there is one thing vampires are good at sensing: it’s murder. Not wanting to answer any more questions, I grabbed my blanket and went off into another corner of the warehouse. There was a container made of consolidated steel, with a door latch from inside. Good enough for me. I had a feeling sleeping alone in some unknown corner was more to my liking.
The next evening, I woke up before everyone else in the warehouse. It must have been the exhilaration, the fast blood pumping in my vein from last night’s act. I stepped outside to feel the cold freeze of Chicago’s winter. Ummm, so fresh, so full of life. I got to admit: revenge felt …so much better than I expected! And I am so glad I didn’t take his life. Let the bastard live with the fear, the impending doom over his head that one night, any night, someone could easily come into his bedroom again and stab him. He would never be safe, not in his own home, not anywhere. How much longer until he went completely insane, I wouldn’t know. But I hope he would suffer for a very, very long time.
Speaking of revenge, I wonder how Daemon and his brothers were doing. A wicked smirk appeared on my face.
“Morning, anti-sunshine!” Jimmy waved at me.
I just laughed. He was right about that!
“So are you going to tell us where you went last night?” He asked.
“I went to cut off my father’s dick.” I gave him a straight answer. His eyes opened wide, as if to expect me to burst out laughing from my joke. But then he realized it wasn’t a joke. “Oh!” was all he said.
A minute passed by. “You don’t have to fill these awkward silences.” I told him.
“I wasn’t going to.” He said.
“You know, I hated my father once. Ever since I was a young boy, he would always ridicule me. Not the kind of brotherly good-natured ridicule. But nasty mockery that would cut me like a knife. He would say I looked so fat they had to book me two chairs on the bus. He would ask me why I wasn’t masculine like other men. Everything I did, he would find a way to put me down. I was really into literature as a kid, and instead of encouraging me, he said it was not a true subject worthy of pursuing. Then he would point out to me how his colleagues’ kids were really good at science. He came home every day praising other people’s kids, other people’s wives, and how my Mom and I had so much to learn from them.”
“Seems like he got inferiority complex” I sneered.
“In fact, he did. I spent the majority of my human life and many years in darkness wondering why, why he treated us the way he did, why he was never proud of me. And then I realized: he was not capable of being proud. His self-esteem was so low, so non-existent that he could not accept anything of his own to be worthy. Not himself, not his wife, not his kids. You know how every son has an impulsive and instinctive need to be approved by his father? Well, the minute I realized what he was: an insecure little man, and what he could never become: a proud Dad, I gave up on that need for validation and approval. Why would I ever seek the approval of such a weak and insignificant man? Just because his sperm brought me here, does not mean I am destined to be like him, or that I even resembled him in any way. He was not my ceiling, and I could be so much stronger, smarter, and more confident than he ever was or could ever dream of. We are all destined to surpass our predecessors. The sooner we realized how limited they were, the quicker we would outgrow them and be content with who we are and what we can accomplish. Now, the only validation I need is from myself. The only judge of my accomplishment and self-worth is myself. And trust me, I am a harsh critic. But at least, I am capable of being proud, unlike my father.”
“For what it’s worth, I find your feminine nature kind of charming.” I told Jimmy.
“Haha screw you! I may not be a man’s man, but I can rock a woman’s world.” He laughed.
“Yes, you keep telling yourself that!” I joked. It felt good to joke around with someone my age for the first time, well, someone who looked my age at least. I never had an older brother or sister. And somehow, in this abandoned warehouse, I just found myself four!
Just then, the door opened and I saw Rachel, Jennifer, and Summer walk out, stretching their arms and yawning.
“Hey you guys want to hit some sports bar tonight?” Jimmy asked.
“No, Jimmy. We’re supposed to lay low.” Rachel gave a stern answer.
“Oh come on! I’ve had enough girly activities for the past two nights, what with digging for Goodwill dresses and spilling heart-felt stories.” Jimmy pleaded. His bright, puppy hazel eyes could be very convincing when he wanted to.
“Sigh… fine. But only for a couple of hours. And no big crowds. We stick to the spots we know close to home, ok?” Rachel gave in.
“Deal” Jimmy grinned from ear to ear.
And so we put on our best dresses and make-up. Call it a girls’ night out, with one guy tagging along. Chicago had always felt so lonely and deserted before. But this, this is different. For the first time in my life, or post-life, I felt myself having fun, laughing with friends who truly cared about me, friends that stuck through me through life-and-death battles. We bared our souls to one another, not afraid of being judged or deemed unworthy. Deep down, we all had such low opinions of ourselves. But at least together, we felt like a stronger whole. There is no comparable feeling in the world, when you can show the ugliest side of yourself to someone, and having them accept it, cherish it, and share theirs in return. We giggled, and bounced from one side of the pavement to another, totally carefree.
“You guys, can we come in here for a second?” I stopped in front of a tattoo parlor.
“Yeah don’t waste your money, Rain. Whatever tattoo they put on you will be healed up in a couple of days.” Jennifer said.
“No, that’s not what I have in mind.” I said, and walked in. The four of them had no choice but to follow.
Inside the parlor was a guy in his forties, ripped jean jacket and torn leather pants. He certainly had the look. I asked if he had some permanent hair dye.
“This is the best we’ve got. Premium Japanese import, will darken your hair for months.”
I had to borrow money from Jimmy, and got myself two small tubes. My hair is pretty short. Hopefully this will be enough.
We finally made our way to a human sport bar on the outskirt of town. Rachel’s idea. Nobody would know us here. To them, we were just some teenage kids fooling around, totally harmless.
The bar-tender was hesitant to serve “under-aged” customers at first, but with some flirting and hush-hush money under the table, Rachel quickly brought us back five gins and tonic. I wasn’t surprised. If I were a straight boy, no way I would be able to resist her. Rachel has an ageless beauty, with big brown eyes and cheek bones to die for. Her hair a mysterious dark-brown color, hanging down invitingly to her slender hips. And her lips, those full lips of cherry color accented her pale skin, giving a nice contrast to her luscious dark hair. The way she moved was so elegant, yet captivating. You’d find yourself staring at her for a full ten minutes before you realized you were being a creep.
“If I had a nickel for every time Rachel here got a guy swooning…” Summer teased.
“Hey hey Summer, you’re quite a looker yourself.” Jennifer said.
“Please. I’m just a farm girl. My girl next door look doesn’t stand a chance next to her mysterious beauty.”
“Are you hitting on me, Summer?” Rachel winked, and moved closer to aggressively brush up against Summer’s nose, their lips two inches away from touching.
I looked over at Jimmy, and he basically froze! His jaw dropped so fast that his teeth almost broke! And if I were not mistaken, he probably had an instant boner right now! So did all the guys in the bar.
“Ok, who wants to shoot some pool?” Jennifer broke the tension, not wanting to draw too much attention to ourselves.
She got up, and moved her Victoria’s Secret body to the closest pool table. Her thick blond hair swirling flirtatiously as she walked. One ball, two balls, three, Jennifer arranged all the balls within the hardwood triangle. Her tank tops struggled to contain her D-cups, as she leaned over, almost spreading herself over that table. Then she looked back at us, her deep blue eyes twinkled with an erotic invitation, and she laughed playfully: “What? I can be sexy too, you know?!”
It suddenly dawned on me what was going on: the three of them were flirting with Jimmy at the same time, almost fighting for his attention! Well, that’s what happened when you put three young girls in the same room with a guy. I don’t think Jimmy realized yet just how lucky he was right now, or about to be.
Rachel got the signal, and came to join Jennifer by the pool table. She caressed her cue stick with the blue chalk cube, taking her time to show off her… skills. The two of them stared at Jimmy the whole time. As Rachel bent down to shoot, Jennifer stood behind her to place one hand innocently on Rachel’s hip, and played with her hair using the other hand. At this point, I think Jimmy might have stopped breathing. Not wanting to lose to her friends, Summer got herself another stick, and with her radiant charm, managed to make the scene even more alluring, if it could possibly get any hotter. The air felt thick and heavy. All the guys in the bar have stopped talking. I think the girls enjoyed the attention. The music slowed down almost to a halt, and I found myself gasping as Jennifer and Summer basically started grinding against each other like two snakes entangled in a lustful dance.
“Come on Rain, come join us!” Rachel shouted out to me. She handed Jennifer the stick and came to drag me over. Half amused and half curious, I wanted to see how far they would take this. I raised my beer bottle, and “accidentally” spilled it over Rachel’s top. The glistening liquid dripped down and drenched her shirt. “Oh my Gosh sorry, let me get that for you.” I smirked, and lowered my head to lick the beer from her neck. I let my tongue go lower until it almost reached Rachel’s bras, and used my teeth to tear at them a little. Summer and Jennifer were shocked at the competition. They quickly switched strategy. Jennifer placed her hand carelessly on Summer’s bras, and squeezed them gently, as Summer cupped Jenn’s globes with both hands. All four of us stared at Jimmy and smiled. And then…
A fork stabbed right through Jimmy’s throat, blood squirting all over our table! We saw it happen but were too far away to stop it. As the weapon got lodged inside, Jimmy struggled to speak, his tongue torn to bits.
“Fancy seeing you girls here!” A vampire stepped out from behind him.
“Amy?” All three of the girls shouted.
“It’s so great seeing you gals out and about having fun, especially after your little stunt at the club. You know they skinned my sister alive to make an example for your escape? Yeah, and if I don’t bring back four of your hearts on a stick, I may as well buy her a coffin already.”
Before we could utter another word, Amy twisted her body and delivered kicks after kicks into our stomach, sending us flying to the wall. She was the fiercest fighter among all the girls at the brothel, and they had to put a special restraining device on her. But right now, she was not restrained. They clearly wanted to sic her on us at full force.
Her agility and limberness are unnatural, even for vampires. Before we could even get up, she smacked me right across the face, sending my head straight into a table, bloody teeth dislodged from my jaw. Rachel and Jennifer met a similar fate as she high-kicked their chests and punched them both in their abdomen. They both held their tummy and winced in pain. I flipped up on my feet and got ready to pay back her slap with interest. But before I could even move, she twisted my arms behind me and stretched my back with her two feet, almost dislocating my arms from their sockets. I screeched in tears. Jenn ran over to help me, picking up a table and hauled it at Amy. But she dodged as soon as she saw it, letting the table crash-land two inches away from my face! She quickly jumped in between Rachel and Jenn, and grabbed both their hair to smash their heads together like two metal gongs. I swear I could hear the buzz resounding from the hit. Jenn and Rachel were both faltering and tumbling on their feet, obviously feeling dizzy from the smash. That’s when Summer screamed her battle cry and her skin began to glow like the sun. She shot rays after rays of sunlight at Amy, burning her skin to a crisp. Summer is the only legit fighter amongst us. Her strength came from working on a farm her whole life and her techniques from years of kick-boxing as a teen. Amy was quick to realize who her real opponent was. She focused her attention on Summer, and with a roar, she lifted the pool table on its side and thrust it towards Summer. Before it could hit her, Summer’s body became a burning torch and incinerated the whole table, leaving a body-shaped hole right through it.
At this point, Jenn and Rachel have recovered from their injuries. They made it to the bar where all the liquor was, and started inserting rags into the whiskey bottles, creating makeshift grenades by burning one end and throwing them at Amy. That’s when something happened and we all witnessed Amy’s extra come into full force. It was as if her body had become joint-less, every single muscle, every cell, every tendon relaxing and turning her four limps into snake-like elastic ropes. With one twist of her body, she turned around and used all four limps to catch five burning bottles at once, only to throw them right back at Rachel and Jenn! The bottles smashed against the bar and caught fire, spreading rapidly around them and trapping them inside a circle. Jenn and Rachel jumped around and patted down the fire to prevent it from eating at their clothes and hair. As if to add salt to injury, Amy swung her body up on the chandelier, grabbed the big-screen TVs hanging on the walls, and yanked them right off, electricity sparking as she violently hurled them at Rachel and Jenn, now sinking in a sea of fire. Sh*t! I got to help them if they were to survive this.
I threw my pocket knives at Amy to break her focus. But to my astonishment, her chest split apart like the Red Sea, creating a hole in the middle, and the knives hit nothing but air, flying straight through her and almost stabbing Summer in the face! “Hey, careful!” Summer yelled at me. Realizing the effectiveness of this new strategy, Amy now stood between Summer and me, and played us off against each other to force us into pulling our punches. As Summer shot a burning ray of light through her palm, Amy ducked down and sent the ray towards my loin! I flipped over to avoid it, only to catch a kick in the jaw from Amy. I broke the pool sticks in half and flung the pointed end at Amy. But she caught them all in midair with four limbs and began to stab at our hearts! Summer was too busy fending off Amy’s attack to even use her extra. This is humiliating. Four against one, and still, we were having our asses handed to us by Amy!
I looked over at Rachel and Jenn to see how they were doing, but to my confusion, they were gone. I hope they made it out of the fire ok. Then, something moved inside the walls. It was Jimmy! He has now managed to pull out the fork from his throat, and took Rachel and Jenn with him, merging them into the walls. My jaw dropped as I saw them jump in and out of the walls to deliver kicks, punches, elbow and knee shots at Amy. Surprised by their new tactics, Amy took some hits to her body. Maybe she was not invincible after all! I spun forward to grab her arms to drape them over my shoulders. With a forceful yank, I broke them off as her bones cracked under the pressures, sending waves of pain through her body. Amy was confused as to why her extra didn’t work to protect her. Little did she know that Rachel was enhancing Jenn’s ability to mute her elastic limb-bending extra. That’s right. We may not have the best offensive extras on our own, but by working together and combining them strategically, we could clearly stand up to the best of fighters.
Realizing the numbing effect from Jenn, Amy switched up her tactics. She retreated her two broken arms and began to liquefy them. Soon, her arms and legs turned into those snake-like ropes again, as she grabbed Rachel, Jimmy, and Jenn from the walls, twisting their necks simultaneously with her tentacles. Their faces turned purple from the lack of oxygen and their body twitching from the pain. I opened the slag hunter’s pen and shot a red ray of laser at Amy, cutting off all four of her limbs at the same time. Amy shrieked in anger; her fangs have now dropped down all the way, full hunting mode. But it was too late. Taking advantage of her momentary weakness, Summer took a deep breath and suddenly the air around us felt hot. “Take cover!” Summer shouted at the top of her lungs, as we all scrambled to hide behind some furniture. Her body lit up like the sun, rays of sunlight shooting out from every pore of her body. With a halo that blinded all of us, Summer screamed and dispatched at full force a thick beam of sunlight at Amy, giving her an instant sun quest on the spot! The pool table I used as a shield was now burnt to dust. Even my skin was red with blisters from the heat. I tried to recover from the heat stroke and glanced over at Amy… or what was left of Amy. A pile of ashes on the floor, smoke coming out and little sparkles of fire still rimming the edges. Every single human in that bar has either been smashed to a poodle of blood or burned to ashes, or both.