S H O R T S T O R Y 1
Blood Gift
by
StormIsis
(c) 2004
I am standing at the front entrance to a dusty-pink stone house in a desert somewhere. How on earth did I get here? Perhaps I am dreaming? Okay then, I’ll go along with it.
I knock on a large wooden door. Immediately, it creaks open and reveals a beautiful woman. Her long dark hair and green eyes are enchanting. Her lips are painted deep red and as she smiles at me in friendly greeting, they reveal perfectly white, sharp fangs.
A vampire!! They do exist! I’ve dreamt of receiving the Blood Gift all my life! Have I finally been chosen? My heart pounds furiously in nervous expectation.
I follow her into a courtyard and she introduces me to two other women. One is quite young, maybe in her very early twenties. Of course, this could be an illusion, as she might be centuries old. The other is the oldest of the three, at least, in appearance.
The women form a circle around me, and link hands. They look up in reverence at the full moon above, and begin chanting a haunting yet beautiful song in a language I do not understand. Their soft hypnotic voices slip me into a light trance.
Soon after, I am escorted to a lavishly appointed bathroom containing a large tub full of steaming water and rose petals. They strip off my clothes and help me into the water. The youngest woman takes a sponge and washes my body with a jasmine scented gel. Peaceful ecstasy washes over me with each stroke of the sponge. I slip deeper into the trance. Soon they assist me out of the tub and dry me with large soft white towels, and then dress me into a soft and silky white hooded robe.
I am then led to a large bedroom, the centre of which is taken up by a king size bed adorned with multi coloured silk coverings. I am laid upon it, my head allowed to rest on a pile of feather pillows. Am I in heaven?
Two of the women sit either side of me and hold my hands. The woman I’d first met, slips up along the centre of the bed, smiling up at me as she takes hold of the robe and pulls it up to slowly reveal my ankles, then knees, then finally, my thighs. Her fangs grow longer, sharper, and she lowers herself down to pierce my thigh. This is it! I am about to be transformed!
But her fangs will not penetrate my skin! Her head bounces back as her teeth impact against my thigh, which suddenly resembles porcelain. No! This cannot be! I am immune to the Blood Gift!
She gestures to the others and they follow her back to the courtyard. Standing beside a glorious statue of an angel with wings, and fangs, they discuss what to do next. In my daze, I can only make out a small part of their conversation.
"She knows about us now!"
"We can not allow her to return!"
"We must kill her!"
I am suddenly very afraid. This fantasy is turning into a nightmare, and fast. Great! How do I get out of this one? Maybe I am dreaming. I test this theory.
"Wake up! Wake up!" I scream, so loud that it hurts my throat.
Moments pass, but I still lay on the bed.
They slowly approach. I think, Oh well, this is it. This is the end.
Unexpectedly, a large python jumps at me from the end of the bed. I am still paralysed from my trance. I am defenceless. I watch with horror as it raises its head high, then plunges down and bites me with shocking force on the back of my hand. It withdraws, and I look at the bloody puncture marks it had left behind. I laugh hysterically.
"Oh fuck! I’m gonna die of snakebite now!".
I awake with a start, and find myself sitting in a leather chair. Myriad wires interfere with my sight as they wind their way to attachment points on my skull.
I sigh. I am safe in the confines of Fantasy Reality Inc. Beside me, grinning from ear to ear, and sporting an empty syringe in one hand, sits my Personal Fantasy Technician.
"Whoa! That was lucky! Got you out of there just in time!" he spoke candidly. "One minute more, and you’d be in a coma the rest of your life!"
I return the smile, and contemplate requesting a refund, but decide against it. After all, I had signed a contract. The risk was entirely my own. It’s only thanks to the competent technician that I am back at all.
I vow never to return.
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