Grandiose Delusions of Grandomina.

Blood tainted my vision.
No matter where I looked, that one colour was all that I could see. It blurred my sight and corrupted everything in the home that I had once only associated with happy memories. In my desperation to get rid of the bloodshed, I squeezed my eyes closed tightly. Even the inside of my eyelids were stained scarlet.
A small whimper passed through my chapped lips, causing a bead of blood to trickle down the side of my cheek. I coughed slightly, gagging at the metallic taste of blood that seemed to line the inside of my mouth, coating my teeth and tongue.
My whole body was aching. I ran the tip of my trembling finger along the deep wound that marred the side of my head and it began to throb instantly, causing me to flinch. Reaching out my bruised arm, I slowly dragged myself onto my stomach, daring to open my eyes once more.
Cold, dead eyes gazed back at me.
Automatically my shaking hand reached up to cover my mouth as I screamed inwardly and scrambled back as fast as I could. My heart slammed itself against my ribs repeatedly like a frightened bird trying to escape its cage, so loudly I was sure the vampires would come back upon hearing it.
Somehow I managed to compose myself and forced my gaze upon the lifeless corpse of my father once more. I grimaced, gagging again... unable to help myself. The sight of his mangled and lifeless body; the way his neck was twisted around on itself at a sharp angle, how his blood soaked the front of his chest from where I had watched his heart being torn from his ribs and – and those empty eyes.
I could remember my father’s eyes perfectly. The periwinkle blue orbs that glittered and shone with the wisdom of his years and the generations before him. They were the kind of eyes that made you feel you were safe in the owner’s hands.
Glancing upwards I stared vacantly at the flickering flame of the only lit candle in the room. It illuminated the blood on the table, much like the moon reflects on the surface of a river.
Terrifyingly graphic images began to play in my mind, accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh and strangled sobs. All too clearly I could see my father being dragged away from protecting my mother, those sharp teeth flashing as they pierced through her skin before they moved on to my older sister and began breaking her bones..
Heavy footsteps and the sound of snapping twigs suddenly brought me out of my twisted memories. I blinked rapidly for a few moments before clutching handfuls of my hair as the fear consumed all I was able to feel.
Had the vampires realised they hadn’t left me dead.
With tremendous effort I hauled myself up off of the stained floorboards and scrambled unevenly to my feet, stumbling as my legs almost gave way beneath me. A sharp hiss fell from my lips as I tried to walk; apparently my legs weren’t too happy about me attempting to use them. I grabbed the doorframe and rested my weight on it for a moment or two, trying frantically to steady my breathing and stop my head from spinning. Though as I struggled to support my own body once more, my knees buckled beneath my and I crashed to the floor.
Anxieties flooded through me as I heard the wooden door creak open again, followed by the tension that came with the soft sound of footsteps. Pushing my damp, blood-soaked fringe away from my eyes I, summoning all the energy I could muster, crawled under the sanctuary of my bed.
Sprawling out on my side, I curled my knees into my chest and hoped that the vampires wouldn’t find me. A wish that seemed impossible as all I could hear was the sound of my violently beating heart and shaky, shallow breaths.
I watched, frozen, as a pair of beaten-up leather boots padded straight past my hiding place. To stop myself from crying I had to clamp my hands over my mouth and nose, my whole body shaking as I kept my focus on not being found. As I attempted to shift my leg further out of view I whimpered loudly through my fingers, in my fear I had forgotten just how damaged it was.
Suddenly the pair of boots turned on their heels and the figure dropped to their knees.
A squeak of terror fell from my lips as I came face to face with the young male who was wielding a crossbow so threateningly in his hands. I frantically used my arms to push myself as far as I could against the wall, cowering and whimpering like a cornered puppy.
“Luke!” The male suddenly yelled as he kept his dark eyes fixed upon me. “There’s a vampire in here.”
I tried to speak but as I opened my mouth the cuts on my lips split open again and caused me to retch violently. My stomach began heaving as the coppery taste of my own blood coated my taste buds. I was lucky that I didn’t survive on much food – otherwise I would have been sick.
The male watched me intently, peering closer at me as I tried to scrub the taste off my lips with the back of my hand.
Another pair of boots came into view as I curled up against the wall, weary of the crossbow that was still aimed in my direction. At least if I did die tonight... I could be with my family again. The idea seemed almost tempting.
A second face lowered beneath the bed, the flame from the candle lighting up the pair’s faces. They were bruised and battered themselves, but to a much slighter extent than myself.
One thing was certain – they weren’t vampires.
“Wait...” The clearly older male muttered, holding the candle closer to the underside of the bed and scrutinizing me. “He’s just a kid. A human kid.”
I nodded my head at the older male as my gaze flickered to his. Inside I was screaming ‘trust me!’ The sound would not pass my lips. Instead I had to will him to understand me, to trust me – to help me.
“Great, just what we need.” I heard the younger male sigh as he got to his feet and his footsteps tapped quietly out of the room.
If the older male heard him, he chose to ignore it. Instead he held out his hand to me, pushing the candle out of his way and giving me a taut, but encouraging, smile.
For a moment I watched him, a battle over whether I should take his hand or not had kick-started itself inside my head. Finally, the voices seemed to come to the same agreement and I reached out to clasp hold of his hand, wincing slightly as he pulled me out from under the bed.
“Oh, shit!” The male exclaimed as he saw me flinch. “Are you hurt?”
I blinked up at him, unsure of how to say that I felt as if my body was numb and my chest aching fire.
The man brought the candle to my face, his mouth falling open slightly as he caught sight of the injuries that had been inflicted upon me. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t blame him.
“Was that your family?” He asked me quietly, indicating back through the door.
My lips trembled as I opened my mouth, tears brimming in my eyes and spilling down my cheeks. Instead of trying to speak I simply looked up at him and nodded my head slowly – it felt heavier than ever.
“What happened?” His voice was gentle, yet it held a note of authority.
I swallowed, looking from him to the floor and then back again as I mimed fangs.
The male cursed loudly, shaking his head and running his fingers thorough his hair. After a long pause, he finally seemed to push himself to ask; “Why you?"
Wrapping my arms around my waist I stared at the floor, forcefully blinking back tears and swallowing the lump in my throat.
I couldn’t tell him. I wasn’t allowed. My father had sworn me to secrecy.
After all that was the reason the vampires had found us. Because somebody my father had entrusted broke their promise and spilled the secret somewhere it had gotten into the hands of the vampires.
My father taught me all I knew about mechanics and alchemy, astrology and chemistry. From a young age my head had been filled with pulleys, cogs and gears. There was a whole world of physics that he’d harnessed to create his own inventions, working the wonders of science and technology to his advantage in hopes of making a device to change the world.
He had almost been getting there with an elixir – one injection – that would kill off the vampire blood and leave behind what was still human. Of course you’d need willing human subjects to donate blood in order for it to truly reach its potential, which I didn’t mind being. It was, after all, for the greater good.
“Kid, you okay?” The male waved his fingers in front of my face. Maybe I had been in my thoughts a little longer than I had originally thought.
“I-”My voice wavered for a moment before dying out completely, fresh tears dripping down my face and off my chin onto the floor.
Was I okay? The answer to that was going to have to be no. I was about as far away from okay as you could get. Everybody who had ever managed to make me feel safe had slipped through my fingers, leaving me alone in a world that I couldn’t begin to try and understand.
“You don’t have anyone else, huh?” The way the male said it made it seem like much more of a statement than a question, but I nodded feebly up at him anyway. “Right then...” He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples and looking rather defeated as he rose to his full height.
I watched him from the floor, my head and heart both pounding.
“Looks like you better come with us.” He announced, bending his knees and wrapping an arm around my waist so that he could help me to my feet, his grip tightening as I swayed on the spot.
The tall boy helped me limp out of the room, supporting me each time I threatened to fall over from the sudden dizziness that had enveloped me now I was having to stand on my own two feet again.
“Wait here, I need to speak to Kier a moment...” I presumed that this Kier he was speaking of was the younger male with the crossbow.
I nodded at him, a grimace flickering across my face as I sat myself down on the table and wiped the fresh blood from the wound on my head. As I let my eyes drift shut, not wanting to see the bodied I knew were lying on the floor, I heard the faint sound of voices floating in from the window.
“You want to take him with us?” That was the younger male’s voice. The crossbow kid... Kier.
“We have to, his whole family’s dead.” The softer voice of the older male pointed out simply.
I whimpered slightly, letting my teeth sink into my lower lip. My poor, poor family...
“Luke, are you mad?” I could hear the venom in Kier’s voice. “If they want the whole family dead they’ll hunt us down with him.”
“I can’t leave him! You’re barely older than he is.” The voice – Luke – continued on.
“He’s wounded, he’ll slow us down.”
“If we leave him he’ll die of infection before the vampires have time to come back for him.”
“Good. Let him die.” The comment hung in the air, stinging me more than any physical wound I had gained from the night so far.
“Shut the fuck up, Kier.” Luke snapped back in response, I could hear the tremble of anger in his voice. “I wouldn’t leave him if he were you.”
My eyes flickered open as I hear the male tread in through the doorway again. I tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible, wanting to avoid him knowing that I’d heard the whole conversation that had been going on outside.
“If there’s anything you want to take with you...” Luke began, “get it now; we need to get the hell out of here.”
I nodded obediently, scooting off the table and onto the floor. I hesitated a moment before I crawled delicately over to the body of my father.
Gazing down at the fragile corpse a strangled sob caught in the back of my throat. I inhaled deeply and shakily, reaching out my trembling hands and placing my fingertips on his eyelids and pulling them down over those blank eyes. For some reason it made the tension in my chest slack a little, despite the body now being a hollow shell of the man he had once been, at least he could be sleeping.
Slowly and carefully I pulled the goggles off his head, the ones he’d promised would be passed down to me one day. Today was the day he kept that promise. I slipped them over my head and around my neck, stroking the soft leather strap for a minute before pushing them onto my forehead. A small, ghost of a smile flickered onto my lips.
I was going to make my father proud.
With pride of having such a brave father in my heart, I nodded my head in determination. I was going to carry on his legacy and make sure that he didn’t die in vain – that somebody would take on the responsibility of finishing what he started.
For a moment or two I looked down at him, knowing in my heart and mind that he would have wanted to die doing what was right. I hesitated a second before bending over and briefly pressing my lips to his cold forehead.
“I love you, Daddy.” I whispered.