Show Me Your Teeth

The mirrored ceiling of Fangtasia gleamed, even with the minimal lighting. I couldn’t remember when I woken up, but then again, the last thing I remembered with clarity was the way Eric smirked when I conned him into buying me a new car. When I tried to laugh my chest remained stiff as a board, unyielding to the commands I was sending it. It was then I realized that I was freezing, like I had fallen asleep in the snow; yet the blood in my veins felt like liquid fire, and I wanted desperately to rip out every blood vessel in my body.

“Eric, you must do something, she is dying!” Bill Compton hissed.

He rolled his eyes, adjusting himself on the lounge so that I was leaning against his chest.

“And what would you have me do, hmm?” Eric scoffed. “Feed her blood and have her react like Sookie did?”

I had gotten a brief rundown about that incident from Pam. Sookie had been attacked by a Maenad that had left a poison in her blood, and she had reacted terribly to the blood she was given.

“You were smart not to, it would have killed her.”

All eyes turned to the petit woman that had silently entered. Actually, petit was being generous. This woman was most definitely a Hobbit, even if she didn’t have furry feet. It was the same doctor who treated Sookie, a specialist in the field of supernaturals. She gave Eric a resentful look, obviously not happy to be back here.

“Is she human like the last one?”

Everyone sat in silence, exchanging looks. No one knew exactly what I was. Obviously, after the whole scene in my front yard, it was pretty obvious I wasn’t human. Suddenly, Sookie started running her mouth, describing every last detail of what happened the previous night. I had never heard a more detailed account of what someone looked like; it was as if she wrote everything down.

She probably did, come to think of it.

“I see,” the doctor answered curtly, and began rummaging around in her back, coming up with a small bottle filled with clear liquid.

When she came at me with a scalpel, I felt terrified. I couldn’t move, couldn’t resist what she was going to do to me. I knew it was going to be painful; the minute she cut into my skin, the venom would double its efforts, and rush for my heart. If the venom got there, it would be all over. Reapers can recover and survive from what would mortally wound a human, but that venom would be the end of all things for me.

I was correct about the pain; once the scar was opened air came rushing into my lungs in rapid, hasty gulps. For being so small the doctor was remarkably fast. I didn’t even notice her pour the liquid onto my bleeding side. All I could focus on was filling my lungs with as much oxygen as possible.

It was over almost as soon as it began. The pain began to subside; the fire in my veins died down, and finally I felt some semblance of calm. I had survived. Against all odds, and for most Reapers, the odds of survival are just terrible, I was going to live, but not before slipping into a coma like state of recovery.



Have you ever experienced a fever dream? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. It is a nightmare that cannot be escaped; a grotesque scene with things that are unfathomable.

I woke up from such a dream with a start, covered in a sheen of cold sweat. My heart thrummed in my chest like a hummingbirds. At first, I thought that I had woken up from the dream, but when I looked around, I saw that it couldn’t be so.

Dusk had just started to settle over the land, covering the world around me in a mix of golden color. The air was heavy with the smell of fragrant blossoms, and the earth below my bare feet was supple and comfortingly warm. In the distance I could hear the soft whinnies of the horses in their stalls. When the wind blew, the trees swayed and colorful petals danced around me, landing haphazardly in my hair. This had to be a dream, for I had not seen this place in centuries.

A small dirt road that lead to the villa was lined with orange trees, whose limbs were filled with blossoms and slowly ripening fruit. In front of me, the road wound like a ribbon over the landscape, through fields and other orchards. I couldn’t bear to look behind me, to see the villa I had loved so dearly; the pure white marble columns, the colorful murals, and my favorite cedar door, would have been all too much.

“Wake up.”

I turned my head and looked up to see Eric, who stood perfectly still.

I shrugged, “I will, sooner or later. Are you worried?”

“No,” he answered quickly.

I smiled knowingly, but didn’t call him out, instead I just leaned against his shoulder, and admired the scenery.

Around us the sun finished setting, and on the horizon a pregnant moon had begun to rise. We stood in silence for some time, watching the moon ascend and cover everything in silver. Orange, peach, and oleander trees looked ethereal bathed in the silver glow.

“I found this in your memories. Where is it?”

“It was my home, many centuries ago, when this was still the Roman Empire.” I smiled wistfully, remembering the glory and splendor of the time.

“You can’t stay here forever. You have to wake up.”

“I know.”

“It’s been three days, you need to come back.”

He squeezed my hand and disappeared into the forest. Eric was right, I couldn’t stay here forever, although I wished I could. It was so beautiful, and I had been alive. Free to do what I wanted, not bound to a world where I did not belong. But like he said, I couldn’t stay here forever.

I had to wake up.