Kiss of Death

I awaken from a deep slumber into the night. Standing above me is Halo, the girl I took in. That’s what I started calling her. Halo - a perfect name for her, this beautiful child. She doesn’t speak. I know she can, but she still doesn’t trust me enough. I understand. I am a cruel monster without emotions excluding hatred and anger. Halo’s eyes, she can see right through me. She can see what I do for my everlasting death. Halo, she knows I am bound to this hunger. She knows I am bound to manslaughter. I don’t care about who I slaughter as long as I don’t slaughter Halo. Halo is my heart, my other, my completion. Without her I would have no one. She doesn’t need to speak. She has no reason to speak. I just want her to be safe and happy.
As I get out of my oak wood coffin with red velvet inside for me to sleep on, Halo holds my hand to help me. Not that I needed it, but I feel an emotion that isn’t anger. I feel an emotion that I have forgotten long ago. I want to make her mine, because of an emotion I can not name. There’s something about her silence, about her eyes, about her fragile skin. There’s something there that makes me feel this way. Halo is different from the world. Maybe that’s why I feel these unknown emotions. How is it that I’m able to control myself when I’m around this girl, but without her I’m incapable of it? It’s like she’s a part of me.
I walk outside into the night leaving Halo behind. The streetlights are on, buildings’ lights are out, the sky is shining with the stars, and people are walking around with smiles on their faces. I don’t want her to see my cruelty. I don’t want her to see anything cruel anymore. There are guys dressed formally and casually. Some are wearing blue, black, and white suits. Others are wearing jeans that are tight, baggy, or loose with long sleeved shirts. Of course their trousers are all blue and their shirts are red, blue, yellow, black, or pink. Some women are wearing black, red, blue, yellow, green, white, and pink dresses. Others are wearing blue trousers that are tight with long sleeved shirts that are the same color as the men’s except some have words.
I walk up to them with footsteps silent as death. I sink my fangs into their neck and drink their crimson liquid blood. They all scream in terror and in pain. My fangs are sharp as daggers. I drink until I’m full. Their heads fall to the concrete by my bare hands. I become hungry again from the scent of their blood. I look for more crowds filled with people. The night is always crowded with ignorant, fragile mortals. Ignorance is everywhere. I’m so sick of it. I’m so sick of these mortals. They are always walking the night, leaving their self easily captured. They are easily corrupted. I want to capture them all. I want to destroy the world.
I find mortals everywhere I go. No matter how much blood I drink I end up getting hungry again. It doesn’t take long at all. This world that I loathe more than Ivy herself is full of ugliness. Bittersweet words can hurt them, make them cry. But I will only destroy them and make them scream in anger. They will cry as they suffer and they will suffer for a long, long time. The world exists now, but it won’t much longer. A few years may seem like a long time for mortals, but it’s like a few minutes for a vampire who has lived for an eon. I will make sure no one is alive in this world when I’m through with it.
I go inside the mansion and the first thing O see is Halo’s angelic face with a frown disapproving it. She knows what I had just done. She knows what it’s like. She saw it all when she should have been at home getting love from her parents. But she wasn’t because she has none. She was brutally hurt. I wish I never hurt them. I wish I could change even if it’s for a single mortal. I wish I could be able to make her happy. I want to stop this chaos for her. Halo, you are my companion whether you like it or not. I didn’t mean to take you in and care for you, but it seemed to have just happened naturally. I hope you don’t mind staying with me. I will bring you food every night. I will tell you how I feel about you when you want to hear me say it. I will do anything for you. I hate these feelings. I hate how I feel about you. I want to hate you, but I can’t. The sorrow in your eyes makes me like you more and more.
The next night I wake up and the first thing I see is Halo eating food that I bought for her. I haven’t seen her eat ever since I first saw her. She looks over at me and goes back to eating her food. I hope I gave her enough. I hope she doesn’t care about everything I had to do to get it. I hope she understands… These emotions are really aggravating. I want to speak to her, but I’m feeling… weird. What kind of emotion is this? Why do I feel these emotions for her and her only? There is something about her. I know there is. She’s doing something to me. Maybe she some different kind of vampire… She wouldn’t be eating this food that I got her as if she was starving if she was a vampire… Would she?
“Thank you,” Halo says in a soft whisper that only I can hear.
“Y-you’re welcome…” What is this?
“I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
That’s the first time she said something to me. She never even said one word. It makes me… happy. I never knew that these emotions existed within me. Her voice is delicate like a flower. Her innocence is sweet and pure like a honeysuckle. I just want to hear her delicate voice more now that I’ve heard it. One may think I am vampire who feeds off blood, but I’m not. I am a sanguinary vampire who feeds off emotions by drinking mortals’ blood. This girl, Halo, has so much emotion built inside of her that it would be too much for me to handle from one person.
I go outside with Halo beside me holding my hand. I take her to a clothing store where there are enough people to make me starve. I smell the scent of their blood- purity and sinful. Some are drowning in anger and sorrow. Others are drowning in joy. I want it. I want their blood, but not in front of Halo. I can’t do it. She’s… special.
Halo goes over to a beautiful azure blue dress with a red rose pattern that is a little too long for her, but I get it anyway knowing I can fix it. I buy her so many clothes in one night. Halo chose a plain silky white dress that looked exactly like the one she wore on the night I saw her except it has no rips. She gets a red cotton shirt with five pairs of blue trousers and a pink belt. She gets two blue shirts and three white shirts. They’re all t-shirts. She gets one long-sleeved black shirt with two purple long-sleeved shirts and three more that are yellow. She smiles boisterously as I buy her these.
We go back inside the mansion, but I leave anew. This time I’m alone. I go back into the clothing store and drink and destroy the mortals. Halo needs a mother, but I can’t resist the temptation to kill. I am tempted to kill because I was made that way. If I don’t kill them they will suffer for three days. If they’re lucky they will die. If not they will turn. It’s raining outside, but rain doesn’t bother me. I go outside and find more mortals. It’s always crowded. I drink their blood and feed on their emotions. I kill them all. They are headless. As soon as the sun starts rising I go back to the mansion.
Halo is standing in front of my eyes as if she’s paralyzed. I go to her and hold her close to me in an embrace. When I let go I realize that she changed into one of her new outfits. It is now stained with blood. I briefly take it off and put it in the washer. When it is finished it is stained with blood. I throw it out and tell her I am going to get a replacement for it. She smiles, but does not say a word. When I find a replacement for the azure blue dress and give it to her she hugs me… She never hugged me before. She must trust me now even though she hasn’t been here long. I’m glad though. I’m glad I have gained her trust.
“What’s your name?” I ask Halo.
“It’s Halo, isn’t it? That’s what you call me, so I assumed that my name is Halo. Do I have another name or something, sir?”
“…I’m Thorne. You don’t know your own name? I just called you Halo because you remind me of an angel and I thought you would like it.”
“I-I don’t mind Halo. I like it and I’m used to being called Halo now. Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you drink blood and kill people?”
I hesitate a little before answering. “I drink to survive. I kill because of temptation.” I know I have the power to fight it when she is with me. When I am with her I am completely different than when I am without her. It’s like Halo is my heart. I can feel things I haven’t felt ever since I was turned. Halo is everything to me. Ivy, my mistress, is nothing at all. “I never felt as if I cared about it, but ever since I saw you I have changed tremendously. I don’t know what it is about you, but I just want to give you the love that you deserve.”
Halo hugs me as I kneel on my knees. She kisses my cheek. My cheek feels warm. I feel flustered. This never happened before with a mortal after I became a monster. What’s so special about Halo that makes me feel this way? I want her to stay with me eternally. I don’t want to lose her. I don’t want her to leave. Without her I would be lost again. Ivy would use me to her advantage again… With Halo here Ivy hasn’t been as bad. Ivy will occasionally come see me and tell me to drink the blood of her enemies. I do as I’m told whenever Ivy tells me do something because she is my mistress. She is the one who drank my blood and created me. She is stronger than I.
Ivy comes in and walks up to Halo. Halo is silent. She grabs Halo’s arm and walks away from me with her. Halo yells out for me. She’s frightened of Ivy. She always has been. The first thing Ivy did when she first saw her was laugh and slapped her. I pulled Halo away and Ivy laughed at both of us and gracefully walked away. I was never infuriated with her until then. I tried to bite her arm, but she screamed and the noise hurt Halo’s ears. I backed away. I never forgave Ivy for that and she knows it, but she doesn’t care. Ivy is a cold heartless bitch. I never felt this way about someone before until Halo came along. I only have sincere emotions for her. I don’t want her to stay if I will hurt her, but I want her to stay because I care about her so much.
When Ivy and Halo come out of Ivy’s bedchamber I see something different on Halo’s skin. There’s fresh blood pouring out from the scratches on her arms and legs. Ivy’s trying to get me to drink her blood, but it won’t work. If I crave her blood then I will leave and drink from someone else’s neck. If that does ever happen then I will ask her if should rather die as a mortal or become a vampire. I don’t want her to become like me. I don’t want her to be a bloody thirsty murderer. I’ll let myself burn before that happens. I will NEVER let that happen. Ivy can stick her fangs in someone else to turn Halo. Ivy won’t tell me why she can’t do it herself. I have a feeling that Halo’s keeping something important for me to know from me. I never asked. I don’t want to pry with Halo’s life unless she wants me to know more about herself.
“Thorne, I am not what you think I am. I am not a mortal girl. I am a half-fledged vampire. I am the only one. I never told you because I thought you would hate me for it. I can drink blood and eat food, but even though I eat human food more I prefer blood. You don’t hate me, do you?”
“Of course I don’t hate you. You’re the only one I care about. You’re like a daughter to me. I love you.” I glance behind me and see Ivy. Her jaded eyes are full of envy. I don’t care if she’s envious or not. I’m not going to hurt Halo. I look back at Halo and find guilt in her eyes. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“My mother is a vampire. My father is, too, but he was a human during the time he and Mom created me. I was born about seven hundred years ago. I age slowly. I have been looking for father. Thorne, you are my father and Ivy is my mother. I think that’s why you care about me so much. Ivy knew all along, but she tried to keep me from you. She’s the one who beat me. She’s the one who hurt me. When I saw what you did to those humans and when I saw how you looked at me with guilt I automatically knew you were my father. I kept silent because I have always been afraid of Ivy. I call her by her name because she would beat me if I called her mom. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”
“Ivy never told me she was carrying a baby.”
“I was born after three days.”
“I have never been this ecstatic and upset in this life. I mean – I’m ecstatic to know that I’m a father, but I missed the first 674 years of your life. That’s why I’m upset. I love you so much, Halo.”
I’ve never told anyone that before. It feels… nice to be able to tell my daughter how I feel about her. I will give her everything I have for her. I will die for her if it ever comes to that. I go into my coffin and sleep the day away. When I rise I don’t see Halo. I go outside and what I least expected is happening at this very moment. Halo is eating a woman’s hand. My own daughter is like a cannibal… I go to her and wipe the blood off her face with my thumb and taste it. The blood has the taste of purity.
I take her with me to drink blood from more. Halo told me that she was still hungry. As soon as we stop in the middle of a crowd Halo jumps on the back of a man, bites his neck, and drinks his blood. I turn around and grab a woman’s neck. I drink her blood. Her blood is filled with sin. Some of them are filled with remorse, some are filled with cruelty, some are full of pity, and others are full of pride and joy. Halo doesn’t stop after I kill them. She drains everyone of their blood. When she finishes tears pour out of her eyes. Remorse strikes my heart. I take her hand and lead her to a restaurant. Halo tells me she’s full. We go back to the mansion with Ivy standing outside the door.
Ivy grabs Halo by her arm and beats her. I grab Ivy and bite her neck. She screeches with pain. I let her go to cover my ears, and Halo does the same. Ivy grabs my neck and throws me across the street. I go through a window. The glass is shattered and everyone runs away into the basement. I go back outside and run to Ivy and Halo. Halo has already been brutally beaten. There’s fresh blood streaming down her face. She has black eyes and bruised arms and legs. There’s nail marks on her chest where her dress is ripped.
I kneel on my knees for Halo to climb on my back after Ivy goes inside. As soon as Ivy’s out of sight we leave. The sun’s going to rise soon so I take Halo to a house with a family inside, a woman and a man with two little boys in their preteens. They scream as soon as I barge in. Their house has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and one bathroom. Their two couches are white, their bed has a sky blue sheet with a white comforter and soft white pillows, their dining room table is oak with four oak chairs under it, their kitchen has a black refrigerator and a white stove next to counters with granite countertops, and they have a dark dusty basement. The guy is a cop so he grabs his gun and shoots it. The bullet misses me by a few inches. I know it was deliberate because I have Halo on my back. He tells me to put her down, but I don’t adhere and take the gun. I break it in half effortlessly. Halo lets go of me and jumps down. “My father and I need a place to stay. My mother has been hurting me… I don’t know why. She hated me ever since I was born. Maybe even before that. Please, let us stay. We’ll stay in the basement and we won’t be a bother to you.” She forces tears out of her eyes. The cop grabs the phone, but before he starts dialing I pull the cord and rip it in half. He and his family run away into the bedroom.
A few minutes later they come back. The cop has a rifle in his hand. He shoots my shoulder. It’s painless. It tickles. I take the rifle and throw it out the window. He holds his arms up in the air. Halo and I go into their basement. Halo seems to love it in here, although there are just cobwebs, dirt, dust, and antiques. Halo’s smiling a beautiful golden smile. That’s the kind of face that I want her to show every day… or night. I go back to the living room and look in their closet for a blanket or a sleeping bag. I find four sleeping bags. I take the blue one for Halo and the yellow one for me. When I go back into the basement I find Halo asleep on the concrete floor. I lay out the sleeping bag for her and carefully put her inside. She opens her eyes for a second before closing them again. I put out the other sleeping bag adjacent hers and lay inside it. I stay awake a few more hours to make sure no one comes down here before I drift into oblivion.
The next evening I go into the couple’s bedroom while Halo sleeps and find out that they left. I go back into the basement and grab Halo as soon as she gets out of the sleeping bag. We leave the house. Ivy knows where we are now since we didn’t go very far away. I wanted to go back to get her clothes, but now I’ve changed my mind. I take Halo into a clothing store. We drink everyone’s blood and kill them like we did before. She gets two pink t-shirts, one blue t-shirt, five pairs of jeans, a white dress which seems to be her favorite, a green dress, and a black dress with a red rose imprinted on the chest area. Halo takes the black dress from my hands and goes into the changing room. When she comes out of the changing room I notice that the dress makes her look more beautiful than any other girl that walked the earth. She doesn’t need a dress for that. Halo is the most beautiful girl in the world.
“Halo, sweetheart, I need you to do something for me.”
“What?” She smiles at me with those pearly white teeth showing. I don’t want to take that smile away. I don’t want Ivy to take away any happiness Halo has left in her heart.
“I’m saying this to keep you safe. You know that I don’t hate you. You know I love you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I need you separate from me. If we don’t go our separate ways, Ivy will find us and she’ll want to take you away. She’ll keep hurting you while we’re together.”
Tears form in her eyes and fall to the ground. “But Ivy’s been hurting me ever since I was born. She will keep finding me and she won’t stop hurting me. Please, don’t go. She’ll find me. I know she will. I don’t want to be away from you. Please, don’t leave me.” Halo hugs me tightly. My bones would easily break if I was a mortal, but her hugs give me the warmest feeling. It’s as if she fills my heart with warmth.
Ivy finds us. She walks up to us and grabs Halo around her waist to pick her up. Halo cries out my name. I touch her hand as I try to grab it. My hand slips. Ivy runs away with a preternatural speed. I run after them. I lose them at the corner of the street. I go back to the mansion, but Ivy and Halo are not there. I don’t know where else they could be. I go back to the house where Halo and I were staying and go to the basement. I find Halo lying on the floor covered in blood.