The Urge Is Real

Victor eyed the gaggle of girls, sitting on the floor in the living room. Sally licked her lips and winked in his direction. His loins tingled, and he bit his lip to quell the urge to take them all. It’s what his father wanted, what Victor had been bred to do, but not anymore. Not this time. He’d made his decision. He was his own man. He would not succumb to his baser instincts, no matter the cost. 

The kitchen table was barely visible from all the discarded plastic glasses filled with a pungent array of elixirs. He wrapped his fingers around a warm glass filled with something brown, and downed it in one go. It burned on the way down his throat, and strangled his intestines before settling in his gut.  

“Victor?” Sally called from the other room. “It’s your turn.”

Steadying himself on the back of a wooden chair, he stumbled to the living room. The room swayed. The effect of the unknown drink was devastatingly potent on an empty stomach. 

Sally waved frantically and patted the stained carpet to her right. “I saved you a seat.”

A tight smile crossed his lips. He inhaled deeply, and shuddered from the delectable odor trailing from the trio of girls. He dug his nails into his palms.  I can control my urge. 

He sat cross legged, and whispered into Sally’s ear, “I don’t feel so good.”

She pouted, her ruby red lips glistening in the dim light. “We just got here.” She shoved a beer bottle in his hand. “Have some, it’ll make you feel better.”

His stomach roiled. “No, I’m good. What are we playing?”

“Spin the bottle,” she squealed. “I love this game.”

He furrowed his brows. “But we’re sitting together?”

“Yeah, so?”

A growl emanated from his chest. “Who are you planning to kiss?” 

“Don’t be jealous, it’s just a game, geeze.”

Brooding, Victor twisted his fingers in his lap, trying to hold his breath. The aroma was overwhelming. 

A blonde haired girl with perky breasts and a plunging neckline leaned forward and spun the bottle. The mixed crowd of guys and girls cheered their plastic cups. 

Sally bounced on her heels. “Oh my goodness, who’s it going to be?”

The bottle slowed, inching toward Sally.

One more inch and it landed on Victor. The crowd erupted. Victor leaned toward Sally. “I think we should leave.”

“No! Don’t be such a downer. Kiss her. I don’t mind.”

His breathing slowed, and a hunger unleashed from deep in his chest. He lowered his gaze, and stalked across the floor to his intended. 

The crowd hooped and fist pumped the air. “Go get her Victor.”

Licking her lips, the blonde twirled her hair. The tangy scent of her arousal tingling Victor’s nose.

He zoned in on the slight pulse thrumming on her neck, and cradled her head in his hands. Salivating, he ran his tongue along the edge of his fang, and pricked his tongue. “Fuck!” The memory of his latest kill trickling down his throat. A renewed fervor widened his eyes. Without as much as a beat, he sank his fangs into her neck, and sucked furiously. A primal scream erupted from the blonde’s gurgling throat. Everyone scattered toward the exit. Chairs and tables toppled against the walls as they stampeded out of the house. The blonde twitched beneath him, eyes rolling back in her head. 

Hands pounded on Victor’s back. “Stop! Victor, what are you doing?”

Victor released the dead body on the floor. He cocked his head to the side and pulled Sally to her knees. “You wanted to play. Let’s play.”

She pushed against his chest. “You’re eyes. They’re red. And your bleeding.”

He licked his lips. “She’s delicious. Want to taste her?”

She skidded backwards from his clutches. 

He gripped her raven hair, and pulled her toward his hunger. “I tried to control it, I really did, but the beast is unleashed.” He latched onto her neck, and sucked the life from her heated blood. 

Embolden, Victor wiped his chin, and threw her body to the side, discarding her like a gazelle carcass. 

Sirens blared, and lights flashed red against the walls. A moment of clarity catapulted him to the reality of what he’d done. He fell to his knees, his chin wobbled, and a cavernous ache spread across his chest as he cradled Sally’s lifeless body in his arms. “I’m sorry, baby. I told you I wanted to leave. Why didn’t you listen to me?”

“Come out with your hands up,” the police yelled.

He sobbed against the still fresh bite marks on her neck. “I thought we’d be together forever.”

He placed her head gently on the floor, morphed into a bat, and swooped out the window. 

Flapping his wings, he flew high above the scene of the crime, as his tears spilled to the ground. He dove into a dank cave on the other side of town. 

The coven encircled the altar, chanting the ancient spell of his ancestors.

Blood is our life

No one shall be spared

Take and you live

Spare and Be Sacrificed

Victor hid in the shadows, pacing beneath the stone archway. 

“My son has returned.” Altor lowered his chin and glared past the insistent crowd. “Come, show us your latest conquest.”

Gliding up the aisle, Victor’s hollow soul pulsed with the blood of his true love. Anguished, he climbed the steps, and stood by his father. 

A crystal sphere hovered in mid air, depicting the gruesome scene. Altor stood tall, and a sinister smile split his lips. “My boy has honored our coven with two fresh kills.”

Victor tugged on his father’s sleeve. “May I have a word?”

“Now?”

“It cannot wait.”

Altor waved his hands with a flourish. “Blood for everyone.”

The coven erupted in a frenzy.

Patting his son’s back, Altor guided him behind the velvet curtain. “What is it that cannot wait?”

Sweat beaded on Victor’s forehead. “I… I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what?”

“I have killed for the last time. I want to live as a human.”

A laugh rumbled from Altor’s chest. “Human? What on earth for? They are but insects. You want to be an insect? Is that what you're saying?”

“I had no control. I wanted her for my wife, and now she’s gone.”

“Ah, so you sucked her dry?”

“I couldn't stop.”

“You’re just like your mother. She was just like you after I turned her. Despondent, and full of self doubt.”

“So? Will you let me out?”

“You are my son, I will grant you this, but I have a feeling you won’t be gone for long.”

Victor exhaled, and bowed to his father. “Thank you. I am forever grateful.”

Altor parted the curtain. “Come, I have a surprise for you.” He ushered Victor behind the altar. Sally sat poised on the throne, her smile delectable as a trail of blood dripped from her bottom lip.

Victor’s eyes opened wide. “She didn’t perish?” A wave of relief sped his heart rate. He rushed to her side, and she whispered in his ear. “I'm hungry.”

Altor tutted, “now, now. You can’t have her if you’re human. Are you sure you want to renounce your family?”

Victor ran his tongue along his fang, and swallowed a drop of blood. “I may have been a bit hasty.”