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Horror Mystery Fiction

"Where is the container I set here when I got here?" Ulysses asked as he turned off the mixer.

"What container, what did it look like?" Questioned Lily.

"It was small and black." He described.

"A black container? No, I don't think I saw it... I mean, I would

remember that." Lily replied, with a broom and dustpan in one hand.

"What makes you so sure?" Ulysses quipped, licking off a spoon.

"Don't see black containers very often. Their usually clear, or

pastel. Something you would want in your kitchen. You can't even look

into a black container to see if your cream or butter is growing its

own forest. So its probably not the best idea in a restaurant kitchen."

"Oh, okay, now you're the know-it-all all of the containers. I mean, I

never said it was an actual kitchen container or food container and

now you're saying they don't exist and I never brought one in."

"If it's not a kitchen or food container what is it? You are making

food right? For the party, I thought."

Lily was loading the dishwasher with Ulysses dishes, and starting to sweep the floor.

'"Well, um...It's chocolate. It's from chocolatier friend. I

don't control what they package in." Ulysses was precisely lining silver platters with thick, bat-shaped sugar cookies.

"Mmhmm, See... main food group right there."

"It's more of a spice, a topping, or a condiment rather than a food."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you on that." She laughed.

"Isn't that what you've been doing the whole time I've been here?" He quirked a perfect espresso-brown eyebrow.

"Not purposely, it's hardly my fault you're so weird, Uly." She playfully shoved his shoulder. "I mean,

chocolate is life, you can eat it plain, you can eat it melted in

drinks, you can eat it cakes, cookies, pudding, in sauces fo--"

"Ugh, Lily, I'm going to stop you right there. Where is that

container? I need it for the dessert. This is time sensitive you

know." Ulysses interrupted.

"Are you sure you brought it in? I haven't seen your mysterious black

container and I don't know where it would get off to by itself."

Ulysses sighed.

A pale sallow head peaked around the corner of the kitchen doorway.

Cheekbones jutted out sharply under white sickly skin. Gray mousey

eyes that hid under bushy black eyebrows, darted between the two

guests in the kitchen nervously.

"Excuse me, Ulysses, sir, ah, is the dessert" He cleared his throat

dryly. "Almost complete? The host is getting restless, sir." He

adjusted his posture, holding himself a little higher. He wore a black

tuxedo and looked a lot like a butler.

"It's coming, Roscoe. I'm hurrying."

As soon as Roscoe, the ghostly-looking butler exited the kitchen

completely, Ulysses started opening every shelf, every drawer, and every

door he could find.

"Help me look, Lily! They are expecting dessert very shortly, the

icing is all ready I just need the one last ingredient so i can top the cookies."

"The chocolate?"

"Yes!"

 "I hate to say it being a big fan of chocolate myself but, can't you

just skip it this time if they need it right now?" She asked. As she

rifled through the pantry. "You could stick with vanilla, or add some

cinnamon. I think there are some lemons in the fridge. Citrus is

refreshing, they probably wouldn't mind." She suggested helpfully. Her

hands already working the handle open on the fridge.

"NO." Shouted Ulysses, louder than he'd intended. He was on his tippy

toes now, giving his already six-foot-four and half-inch frame another

inch or two to search the tops of the cupboard cabinets. But to his

dismay, he only found dust bunnies and a bright green ivy plant that

could only be fake.

But the sweet smell of metallic, copper hit his nose before the sharp

tinkling of glass breaking on hard tile made it to his ears. He turned

abruptly, zeroing in on the black glass littering the beige-tiled

floor. Thick splatters of red splashed across the floor, a blood pattern analysts dream.

"Sugar sticks!" Lily cried. "Well, I found your mysterious container."

She looked over at the man staring at her from across the kitchen.

Just realizing now how large his frame was, how tall he was, he could

be a football player, combined with a basketball player, it all seemed

pretty silly because he was wearing a tall white chef hat over full espresso chin-length dreadlocks and matching white apron.

She was very aware if not even a little frightened as his intense

turquoise blue eyes met hers, and then the mess she made and then back

up to her. He did not look angry as much as he just looked frantic,

wild even.

"Sorry." She mumbled, "About your chocolate." Lily was reaching down

toward the mess. "I'll clean this up."

She looked up at the man who was still staring at her.

"This is not chocolate..." She stated, confused and concerned.

"I know, Lily." The man, smelling of pine cones, sugar cookies and earth, purred. He was inches from her now,

all fast, and quiet. With all the stealth of a jaguar. "It's blood."

Ulysses purred. "It's the secret ingredient to life and the secret in the dessert I'm serving to

the Boss's guests."

"What?" Lily stuttered in shock.

Ulysses still hadn't backed away from Lily. He reached out touching her face, trailing shapes across her nose, her cheek and down her neck. He leaned down sniffing a trail down to her collarbone. She smelled sweet, fruity, and intoxicating.

"I need more, and quick. Before the guests get out of hand... New um, members can be a tad unruly."

A pair of hazel eyes frozen in terror stared back at Ulysses.

With one hand Ulysses reached up and took Lily's blond hair in his hand twirling it, before cupping her smooth cheek. With his second hand he reached out and held the back of her neck. Leaning in to kiss the fluttering pulse of her neck before two white fangs protruded.

"I'm sorry, Lily but I have to..." He felt her trembling, uncontrollably in his grip. She was under his spell and frozen in place, but she could still show emotion. A part of that hunter and prey game vampires adore.

Without another thought Ulysses bit into Lily's neck like an apple, drinking a few mouthfuls, before taking what was needed to finish his icing. He used the mixer combining the ingredients, transferring it into bags to use to ice the bat cookies.

"Ulysses, sir..." A sallow-faced Roscoe peaked into the kitchen again.

"Yes, they're ready Roscoe. Take them."

"Sir.." Roscoe nodded toward a frozen Lily. In each hand he held a platter of cookies.

"I got her Roscoe, I know as soon as the guests taste their cookies they will smell her from miles away. She will no longer be safe here. So, I will do what needs to be done. The Boss doesn't like messes."

"Good on you, sir." Roscoe winked as he left the room.

Ulysses planned on biting Lily again, so he could drink from her until she was at the brink of death and then feed her his own blood. So she would turn into a vampire like him. She was beautiful, and witty, and kind and he was not ready to lose her. Especially to something so ridiculous as this party. He refused to kill her. He couldn't because if he was being honest with himself he loved her. Loved her and he was too afraid to tell her.

Before Ulysses could get any closer, a very much not frozen Lily slunk soundlessly behind him impaling him right through the chest with a giant wooden stake. Dark maroon blood oozed out from around hole in his chest. He let out a curt shriek, before falling to floor.

"Take that blood sucker, eat wood and die!" Lily yelled, "Yeah, I knew you were a vampire Uly, I know all of you creeps here at this hell hole resort are a bunch of blood-suckers! I'm not stupid, and I am not your next meal. I may be a woman but I am not, a ditzy, helpless damsel-in-distress!"

She stood on top of the most handsome Ulysses body, celebrating her victory when a giant mob of newly turned vampires tore into the kitchen like tornado.

"Blooood." They gurgled, red eyes and all.

"Oh, shit."

The End.

October 05, 2024 03:57

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