Evil Origins by JD Simser
Some would look into the darkness and see the echoes of death when they peered inside an abandoned factory like this. It's the unknown that causes the human imagination to go rampant and allows the images that live inside their minds to come alive. It makes their hearts race and they suddenly find themselves creating the evil they fear. I was like that once, when I was human. Most of the horrors I feared in the darkness never came true. Time had shown me that most people live their lives in fear. Humans would create fears that could never come true. It was that small percentage that that killed me. There was always that 1% of things we feared that could kill us. I was a part of that select group and inside this building somewhere was Jenny's 1%. The King! This city isn't big enough to allow 2% to co-exist. No it was time that all the over evils were wiped out. To restore the balance.
My one eye twisted as I forced my way into the building, scanning every corner. One side of my face had taken the full brunt of the attack. I was aware that there wasn't an eye left to twist and it was only a phantom one created by my mind, but it was annoying as hell. The place looked unused and forgotten, but a scattered set of footprints in the dust told me it was a lie. The room was just as I expected it to be. Rough concrete walls stood out above the old cracked boards that were placed along the bottom of the wall. Hanging from two thin wires was a double barrel 410 shotgun. I ran my fingers along the barrel, noting that it still felt warm to the touch. I pushed it and watched it rock, thinking about how this little piece of metal and wood was so deadly to most people. Luckily, I wasn't like most people that would try to enter this place. This little thing certainly would have done its job if I was still alive.
“Oh how cute,” Mihaela giggled as she playfully pushed on the barrel of the shotgun. “They still think that they’re fighting humans.” Still tapping the end of the gun, she smiled. “If this is the best they have to offer, they’ll be disappointed. Greatly disappointed.”
“Yes, before we even stepped through the door they blew a hole in Harrow’s face. Easy peesy, right,” Murlin muttered as she stepped in. “It’s never that easy. Being a predator and feeding on wounded prey for so long has made you forget it.”
Looking up at the ceiling, I could see freshly run wiring that seemed to attach to round lights that resembled bug eyes. It appeared that they were meant to be recessed lights, but whoever installed them was in such a hurry that they had just fastened them and left the loose wires dangling.
“What do you think of this mess?” No professional would run wires in such a way that is for sure.
“Men don’t take pride in their work like they did when I was a child. A true craftsman would spend weeks if not months building one amazing piece of furniture.”
Murlin snorted.
“If you like your ancestors and their handwork so much, I can send you back to them, no problem.” She flicked her fingers, forcing a little spark to dance in the air. She was also examining the mishmash of wires. “I think that this handiwork was rushed not because of lack of skill, but because of lack of time.” Maybe they were expecting us. Maybe the wounded prey was just playing possum, waiting for the time to strike. A flash of blue electricity crackled from Murlin’s fingertips and popped into the corner. “I don’t like being watched,” she muttered as a little round camera started to smoke.
“I can’t believe I missed that,” Mihaela snorted as she walked closer to the corner. “It was certainly well hidden, that’s for sure. Very well hidden indeed.” That was the troubling part. Murlin didn’t scan the room to find it. The wires and oddly shaped lights caught her attention like their mere existence confused her, but she simply turned around and found the camera. She might be older then both of us, but her senses were nothing compared to ours. She was designed to blend in with the world of the living. She loved sunshine, tasted human food, and loved it like all living beings. She was so much more than human, only she shared their needs and desires. We were designed for this type of environment. Our eyes were made to see deep into the darkness. Even now, I could read the small black letters that read “Made in Canada” that were hidden along the bottom of the light. It wasn’t worth asking because she wouldn’t tell us how she knew the camera was there, no matter how many times we asked.
Murlin marched towards the opening at the other end of the room. It wasn't too hard to realize that she had been here before, or at least had some intimate knowledge of the place. Most people saw the swing in her hips and the way her curves ran the length of her body thought she was helpless woman to be conquered, but never feared. I saw a warrior. Even now, when I took the time to look in her eyes, I was afraid.
"I’ll scout ahead," she said and before I even had a chance to respond she leapt through the air, changing from one form to another.
Mihaela was about to snap hold of her before she could run deeper into the building to be lost from sight, but I stopped her.
"What are you doing?" she snapped as she tried to break away from my grasp. "I might have been able to kill her in her cat form!"
"Or she might have tried to kill you. Or even worse, you might have accomplished it."
Shrugging, she said, "So?"
Mihaela was much older than me, but so naive about many things.
"Her kind are our enemies. It's been that way since the beginning."
"If you managed to kill her you would have to deal her master. Renaud is as much of a monster as the rest of us."
Smiling, she ran her hands across my cheek.
"Your brother spared my life twice now. I am not worried about him." Kissing my cheek, she whispered, "Daddy, aren't we family after all?"
"Don't ever play that card, kitten. Don't depend on human connections with whatever my brother is. Murlin is joined to him like they’re a pair of Siamese twins. You hurt her and he will kill us both."
"Oh Daddy, you worry too much," she said as she walked along the wall in the narrow opening. I stayed in the rear, scanning as we went. Heartbeats pitter-pattered in every direction. So many, in fact, that I had a hard time determining how many people there were. It was like walking into a night club and trying to determine where the loudest speaker was. Everything blended and merged until it became one sound.
Without even looking back, Mihaela said, “There's twelve."
A faint rosy smell was floating through the air. It wasn't strong, but there was the definite aroma of perfume. Generally, I would have thought that it was coming from far away, but I knew that it had to Jenny. It was her brand and she was here. I just needed to find her.
"Twelve what?"
"Twelve heartbeats. I think it's going to be an interesting night, Daddy. Very interesting indeed." Holding up a finger, she slowly turned and faced the wall, waiting. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled,
"Can you hear it, Daddy?"
There were too many heartbeats for me to pinpoint a specific location. The salty smell was strong, though. It stood out like a beacon at sea. My maker was much older and she had many lifetimes of experience to fall back on. Her former master trained her to be deadly, to hunt and to survive.
"Yes Kitten, I can smell it."
Tapping the wall with her finger she walked further into the room, whispering, "I am a very naughty girl, Daddy." The slow tapping sound kept echoing as she said, "I feel so naughty and now I want to play." She stopped and waited. A sudden explosion of rapid beating followed and I knew he was close by. Terrified and in the dark he waited, preparing for his time to strike. I could hear a light clicking sound as he put his finger on the trigger, waiting for the right time to shoot. Mihaela sang out, "Tap, tap, tap." Each time, her razor sharp fingernail dug into the wall.
“Got him!” She shouted as she drove her hand through the wall. The sound of her hand going through the wall was drowned out by a high pitched squeal that lasted no longer then ten seconds. That ten seconds of agony heard by all was enough for fear to snuff out the bravery in the strongest man's soul. Little broken pieces of blood stained lumber came
I watched a small stream of blood bubble out through the hole in the wall, leaving a wide red stain as it made its way down to the floor. She wasn't just naughty, she was batshit crazy, and that was exactly what we needed.
"Yes kitten, you’re a very naughty girl."
Dropping the heart on the floor, she licked her fingers and then pointed to a small set of wooden stairs.
"They’re up there, Daddy. Shall we go and get them, or can I play a little more?"
‘Play a little more’ was her way of asking if she could she hunt the whole first floor. I wasn't sure that it would be a good idea, though. She would kill everybody that she came in contact with. Not just the criminals we came to get, but every heartbeat on this floor would stop if I told her that she could play. I walked over to the stairs and the flowery fragrance from before was stronger and seemed to mingle with some kind of lavender smell. Yes, I think Jenny was definitely up on one of the upper floors. Mihaela would be a good distraction and give me time to rescue Jenny.
Touching my cheek, she whispered, "You finish what you came here to do and let me take care of everything else."
I nodded and walked towards the narrow stairs. Letting her loose tonight meant that our time here in the city of my birth was nearly over. We couldn't call this cement jungle of decay our sanctuary anymore, but at least the Jenny issue would be finished tonight. My brother, on the other hand had no real ending. We were like the two faces of a coin and like most things that are connected in such a way, at some point it must be broken.
"Daddy?"
I turned and saw her watching me. "Yes, Kitten?"
"If you must choose between your life and Jenny's, make sure you make the right choice. I need you." With that being said, she took off into the labyrinth of hallways and rooms that filled the bottom floors. I slowly made my way up the stairs step by step, listening to the creaking sound as I climbed them. Screams from the other side of the wall had already started. My real issue was I hadn't exactly decided what the right choice was.
Those damn creaky stairs seemed to be designed to announce my presence. At the top of the stairs there was the smell of Old Spice and two specific heartbeats. One a controlled season killer and the other a terrified rookie. They were drawn to me and in waiting. I stepped onto the landing and slipped into the corner, protected from their gaze. I wanted them to come to me rather than have to come to them. Bullets wouldn't kill me, but the more that entered, the more that eventually had to come out. Despite what people might think, it burned like fire when they’re torn out of your body.
One of them gulped some air and then slowly his heartrate began to slow down until it almost matched the seasoned professionals. Damn it, I hadn't quite determined which one was on the other side of the wall closest to me yet. They were waiting me out. Certainly the rookie was waiting for a sign to attack. I waited, hoping to hear a rapid heartbeat start, but it didn't. The rookie must be holding his breath. I slid along the wall, trying not to make any movements that would cause a creak or scuffling noise. The dim light from the other side of the door left no shadows that I could use to determine who was the closest, so I just stood there waiting. It sounded like some kind of frog at first. A slight croaking noise right on the other side of the wall. I’m not even sure what was causing it. A nervous man's body could cause the weirdest things to happen and the nervous man here had to be the inexperienced one.
I jumped to the other side of the doorway so fast that human eyes would only see a slight blur, if they saw anything at all. The movies always showed my kind as having lightning-fast reflexes and super human speed, but what they didn't tell you is that it also strips away your energy as well.
"What the hell was that?" a soft, dull voiced asked.
"Shut up, junior," a deeper-toned voice whispered from the other side of the wall. It was exactly what I needed to hear. The sign that told me who had experience and who was the novice. I turned and with all the strength I had I drove my first through the wall. As soon as my hand felt warm flesh I knew that I had connected with the back of his head and even if he somehow managed to survive, he wouldn't be troubling anyone again.
"Dad!" the younger one cried out and a short haired man jumped through the doorway with what I thought was a gun. Turning as he landed, a bright bluish light flashed me. It was so pure that it burned as it touched my hand. He tried to bring me directly into his sights, but he was too slow to make the UV light touch any more of my body. He was only human after all. With a quick, well aimed punch I heard his windpipe break and saw him fly backwards and land on the floor. I didn't waste any time on him. In one swift motion, I ended his life. The modern age wasn't very vampire friendly, I thought. Battery powered sunlight meant that the King came prepared. I walked through the door, pushing the new weapon the kid had from my mind. If they had one or a hundred and one of those damn lights, it wouldn't make a difference now. I was already too far committed to walk away and they were too invested to let me take what I came for without a fight. I couldn't help but wonder if Junior had a brother or two that could carry on the family name, or if I had wiped out their entire family.
There was a sound like a swarm of angry bees headed straight for me. I stepped into the empty hallway looking in both directions and, with the exception of long skid marks that trailed away further down, there was nobody else there. I headed down the hall towards the sound, trying to decide what else had the King had found to throw at me. Another scream from below meant that whatever they had wasn't affecting Mihaela and her playtime. In the distance, I saw the dim light turn into a bright, clear beam and charge straight at me. I turned to run away, realizing too late that the light was burning in my direction from the other side as well. The wall of artificial sunshine was not only trapping me from all directions, but blocking my escape. I dove forward and was immediately hit from above, feeling the burn as it touched my flesh.
"Daddy, help me!" I heard from below. "Daddy, I need you!"
Chapter THIRTY THREE
Renaud