First Hunger

Chapter 7: Sister

Pure hatred, submission, anger, pain, lust, hunger, thirst, sadness, depression…all these emotions formed a thick knot of thoughts in my mind, while I spent the first week in my self-made grave in the middle of this ancient Transylvanian forest. Months back, when I spent my mortal days at Valerious Manor with Anna and Carl – God bless them both – I heard many dark legends about this forest, being streaked with strong magical powers and housing the most terrible monsters.

Ironically enough, I myself became one of these monsters…but I didn’t come across any evil magic in the time I spent in the woods. Earth didn’t spit me out. I wondered…one might think that my guilt and my wish to die were poisonous enough to infect and strike down any living being around me.

It took over a week for the knot of emotions to slowly loosen and finally vanish completely.
In the second week that I was buried alive, I felt peace overtaking my tired mind and I was able to sleep for whole days without waking at night, when normally the vampire’s instincts would take over.

A month later, I was beyond hunger and any former bonds. I just enjoyed the feeling of letting my body rest, surrounded by this cool, fresh earth. Mother Nature took me back. At least I felt that way.

All this time, I never caught any feelings of Dracula. He and I shared an indestructible bond, and I already wondered why he didn’t try to find me. I could not feel him touching the edges of my mind, like I felt his presence usually. Not that it bothered me. Dracula was the main reason I was lying here, so I was very comfortable with my master not caring about me any longer.

So I drifted off intoead-ead-like state and completely lost track of time. I did not know how much time I had spent in this wet, dirty bed, when some day my ears awoke to strange digging noises and moments later, my body lay open, my eyes exposed to the seemingly harsh light of the moon.

Two hands roughly pulled me up into a standing position. But when my knees started to give way to my weight, the person next to me gently lead me back down to sit on the ground. I was so weak that I didn’t feel anything. I was beyond pain and realization. I could barely see through my eyes, which only showed me a blurred figure as the person who had found me.

“Don’t move. You are weak and your body hasn’t made a move for almost one century.”

I started to violently cough and gasp from this statement. Did the voice – a young woman’s voice – just tell me that I was dead for the earth for one hundred years? This could not be.

I gasped for some fresh air and tried to take a hold on something for support, but fd. Id. I still could not make out my surroundings with these old and unused eyes.
I felt my finder’s arms wrap around me and slowly, she started to rock us forth and backward, just like calming a panicked child. She then shifted her position and moved one arm to roll back her sleeve and offered me her wrist.

My teeth lengthened instinctively and caused my mouth to open. She didn’t make a sound when my split and rough lips closed around her soft flesh. Warmth…Life…Memories…Her life…Her death…all this flowed into my dry corpse-like body and gave me back my senses. The woman didn’t rip away her wrist, but let me finish.

When my first hunger was sated, she smiled weakly and offered me her other hand to introduce herself to me.

“I am Johanna. The rest of me you already know…“ she gave me a slight smile, referring to my former drink on her wrist.

Yes, I have seen many memories in her blood…old and new…but I also have recognized the face of the old enemy I had been running from so long.

Dracula.
Johanna was his creation.

At this realization, I shied away from her touch, suspecting her as one of Vlad´s spoiled and ever so faithful brides.

Johanna softly laughed: ”Times have changed, Gabriel.”

Could this woman read me like an open book, too?

“Of course, Gabriel, we are siblings in blood, bote che children of Vlad. So we share a deep bond.“ she explained, brushing a lock of dirty hair from my forehead.

All this mind-reading started to annoy me.

“Why the hell did Dracula not go after me himself?“ I demanded to know.

Johanna gave a small sigh.
“Vlad grew tired of you, constantly running from him, not able to accept your new nature and existence.
He got bored too quickly and so he let you be. Still, he never stops talking about you, since I know him.
He had changed me 40 years back from now and not a day passes that he wouldn’t mention you.

He still cares about you.“ she softly added and shot me a pleading look. I kept my cold stare and said nothing.

“Well…“ she continued with a resigned sigh, “I got bored of Vlad – I know he would skin me alive, would he have heard this now – and his constant repeating litany. So I decided to use my link to you to locate your hiding place.
I had to travel for a long time…“ my confused stare interrupted her speech. We were in the Transylvanian forest. Did Dracula move away from his beloved country?

Johanna nodded at my train of thoughts.

“Yes, we moved to London in the Sixties. Of course, Vlad loves his mother country, but he needed a change of scene. Transylvania was deserted back then, and Vlad is a person, who needs people around him…many people. Mortals. So, after his last All Hallows Eve Ball with only 40 guests attending, he packed up his things, grabbed me and took me to London.”

Johanna silenced at my irritated look. Dracula in London? A blood bath…my eyes grew wide in horror.

“Not quite a bath…“ Johanna tried to calm me, “but Vlad became very creative in arranging pompous balls and intoxicating party-weekends…”

I furrowed my brow in disgust. I could almost see Dracula in front of me, filled from head to toe with the blood of decadent naïve mortals.

Just when my mind started to recall this nasty smirk of the Count, Johanna shook me to drag me out of my visions. “No time for that now, Gabriel, snap out of it. We must leave this place now. This forest is ruled by Werewolves and I never was that skilled with keeping them under control.”

I let her help me up. “Wait!“ I called out, “where will you take me?”

“You will come with me to Valerious Manor, London.“ she simply answered.

I wanted to disagree, to shout out that I never would be willing to see Dracula again…but Johanna skilfully detained me from saying anything by shoving her still open wrist under my nose again.

“You WILL accompany me,“ she whispered under heavy breaths, while I greedily sucked at her wound.

To be continued…