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Kindred Spirits

Page history last edited by Chris Stephenson 15 years, 1 month ago

 

 

Kindred Spirits

By Robin Goldblum

Originally Published in the November 2002, December 2002, and January 2003 issues of The Mighty Max.

 

Part One

 

May 14, 1879

 

     He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  The party whirled around him, drunken people occasionally bumping against him or shouting some nonsense in his ear.  Yet, his attention was solely focused upon her.  He studied her finely-chiseled features, her flaming red hair, and her well-proportioned body.  In the sunny atmosphere of Georgia, her pale, alabaster skin gave her an exotic appearance when compared to the tanned skin of most of the other women at the party.

     She caught his eye again and gave a small smile.  He could not tell if the smile was meant for him or the gentleman of the house, whom she was conversing with.  He had her hand trapped within his own.  With the smile still on her face, she turned and looked directly at him.  It did not appear that she had made a sound, but he released her hand and walked away.  She began to make her way across the room.

     He knew she was coming for him and the breath caught in his throat.  As she drew closer, the band ceased playing and the crowd’s attention was drawn to the lady of the house.  She was ready to make a speech on behalf of her husband, whose birthday was the reason for such an extravagant party.  The red haired woman paid no attention, and she stopped dangerously close to the young man.

     “I want to show you something,” was all she said and led him outside.

     The night was warm, but not nearly as stuffy as a ballroom full of excited people.  A guard stood at the back entrance to make sure nobody would go in or out that way.  With a word, she sent him inside.  The man glanced at the stars as the woman led him to the private gazebo and wondered what was in store for him.

     “I’m sorry I was staring at--,”

     Her lips cut off the rest of his sentence as she kissed him.  An electrical tingle seemed to course through his body.  He’d never done anything this risque’ with a woman whose name he didn’t even know.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.  As her kisses became hungrier, she broke from his lips and moved to his neck.

     He wondered how far she would go out in public and what would happen if anyone ever found them.  She had to be the daughter, or even the wife, of someone very important to be at this party.  Besides, the guard saw them leave together out the back way.  He could get in a lot of trouble for this.

     These thoughts vanished as her teeth, now sharp fangs, entered his neck and pierced the jugular vein.  Ripples of pain shot across his neck, and he tried to push away from her.  Unfortunately, her grip was stronger than he imagined and he could not move.  Soon, the pain started to fade and was replaced by a glowing, euphoric feeling.  He felt so relaxed.  As the stars faded from his sight, he sighed contently and slipped into darkness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part Two

 

February 26, 1993

 

     She cursed herself again as snow slipped down her boot to make her sock cold and wet.  How could she lock her keys in her car?  After studying all night in the library from her biochemistry final the next morning, her brain must not have been fully operational.  Even worse, the library closed, the parking lot phone was busted, and security was all the way across campus.  She hadn’t even noticed that it had started snowing earlier in the evening until it was too late.

     On the small college campus in northern Wisconsin, not a soul ventured out into the cold night.  The woman could hear some faint music coming from the direction of  the freshman dorms but there were no other signs of life.  As a commuter student living at home, she did not have access to the dorm buildings and the classroom buildings were locked up.  Security was her only option.

     Off in the distance, she heard the howls from a pack of wolves. It didn’t frighten her.  Before her sister had left for college in Michigan, they would sit on their porch with mugs of hot cocoa and listen to the sweet night songs.  No matter how close they seemed, they never came close enough for her to see the wolves.  These howls did seem pretty close but she was not concerned.  The animals were frightened of the lights and buildings that surrounded her.

     The snow became thicker and a good inch had accumulated on the ground.  She could just barely see the lights from security across the large, main parking lot.  The howls grew louder, and she began to get nervous.  It sounded like the pack was at the edge of the forest that ringed the parking lot.  She started to run.

     As she neared the building, her foot caught on a snow-covered crack in the pavement and she fell flat on her stomach, her ankle twisted.  The howls went silent and she prayed that they had moved off.  She turned over to pick herself up and froze.  Standing five feet in front of her was a huge, grey-brown wolf.  She had never seen a wolf so big, not in pictures or at the zoo.  Snowflakes stuck to it’s coat and face, and a tattered piece of cloth hung from it’s front leg.

     For a  moment, she thought the thing would run back into the forest.  It didn’t.  It leapt on top of her, it’s weight crushing her beneath it.  She felt teeth sink through the coat and into the arm that she had instinctively flung up to protect her face.  Her screams mingled with it’s growls as it pawed and bit her.  Behind her, she heard shouts and other noises as people from security rushed out to help her.  The beast, realizing what was coming, released her arm and ran across the parking lot and into the trees, leaving her there bleeding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part Three

 

September 1, 2000

          He told himself that this would be the last time he played the game.  He'd told himself the same thing before but he'd never heeded his own advice.  The game was his own design and it thrilled him, making his cold heart beat again.  This would be the last though, he thought once more.

    After the red-haired beauty had made him what he was with her dark kiss, he spent many years learning from her and loving her.  Yet, as happy as he'd been, she's grown bored with his excited manner and abandoned him on the cold streets of Poland.  In desperation, he'd shed his given name and adopted the new name of Stefan, a name he saw as both powerful and sensual.

    The memories moved slowly around his head as he watched the player of his latest game.  He'd been watching her for about two weeks, mapping out her normal routine.  Like his past players, she isolated herself from the world, only interacting with people when necessary.  Although she tried to hide them, he had a feeling her loneliness was connected to the ugly scars on her arm.  The dull blue waitressing uniform she wore allowed him the occasional glimpse.  Her nametag simply spelled out ANN.

    Tonight he would make his move.  Her shift at the all-night diner ended at 3:00am and then she would go straight home to her little townhouse.  No friends, no family, no roommates.  Not a soul would disturb them since the townhouses on either side of hers were vacant and falling into disrepair.  He followed her at a safe distance as she left the restaurant.  At her home, he watched as the lights downstairs were extinguished in favor of the lights upstairs.  Once the place was completely dark, he slipped inside. 

    Silently, he moved into her bedroom.  Locks and security systems had not been a problem for him in over a century.  She looked so frail hiding under the covers, her scarred arm exposed.  He sat down on the edge of the bed and gently touched her forehead.

    "Ann.  Ann, I love you," he whispered, stroking her hair.  Her eyes flew open but did not focus.  She was trapped in his spell.  "You have been so alone but I am here to comfort you in your final moments."  He kissed her lips and then moved to drink the sweet life from her throat.

*    *   *   *

    This was his favorite part of the game.  Not nearly as exciting as what transpired the previous night but the mostly satisfying.  He wanted to know if anyone truly cared for Ann as much as he had.  He sat in a booth at the all-night diner, half a piece of apple pie in front of him and the other half shoved in his napkin.  Ann's shift was scheduled to start soon and he was waiting to see if any of her co-workers would be concerned over her absence.  The jingle of the bells on the door caught his attention.

    Impossible!  Ann walked past him to the employee door.  Her skin was slightly pale and she had a band-aid over her neck but otherwise she was fine.  He couldn't believe it!  He'd drained her dry, felt her heart stop beating. 

    Could he have given her eternal life by accident?  He'd only done it once before, and there had been disastrous consequences.  No, he would never attempt that again.  Besides, if she were a vampire like him she would not be able to have the donut he watched her eat, only blood.  He had to find out what was going on!

    He waited until the night of the full moon because he knew she would have that night off.  The townhouse was silent and dark but she had not left.  After a thorough investigation, the only place she could have been was the basement.  The wooden steps creaked loudly as he descended.  The main part of the basement was used for storage.  Big, cardboard boxes lined the floor and newspapers were stacked in the corner.  A light from a side door caught his attention.

    The lock did nothing to stop, and the door opened to reveal something he did not expect.  It was a huge cage, metal bars built into the concrete.  She sat alone in the center, her eyes closed.  One small window outside the cage displayed the stars but not the moon.  It had not fully risen yet.

    She suddenly realized he was there and whirled toward him, pressing herself against the bars.  She was apparently locked in.

    "What are you doing here?" she screamed.  

    He didn't know what to say.  "I'm…um…sorry…"

    "Get out!" she screamed.  Her breathing grew labored as the room brightened from the rising moon.  He watched in shock as her eyes changed from brown to golden and her teeth became pointed.  For a moment he thought that he had made her a vampire.  Then she reached through the bars and he saw her fingernails turn to sharp claws and hair sprouted from her skin.  She hunched over and her clothing ripped loudly to accommodate her changing body.

    In less than a minute, a growling wolf occupied the cage.  Stefan had never seen a werewolf, never even knew they existed.  For hours he stayed and watched her pace the width of the cage, growling often in his direction.  Twice she tried to use her strength to escape but failed.  Stefan now understood why she was so alone.  Like him, she was an outcast living in a world of civilized human beings.

    The morning sun threw a square of light on the concrete floor that he was careful to avoid.  Ann lay sleeping, her clothes dirty and tattered.  As she opened her brown eyes, he smiled reassuringly to her.  He had finally found a kindred spirit.

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