Souls Of The Abbys

A (rushed) year 11 short story assignment. What if people have known about Vampires for an age, yet never saw them for their new title - Cannible.

Vampire; Noun:
A corpse, animated by an undeparted soul or demon, that periodically leaves the grave and disturbs the living, until it is exhumed and impaled or burned.

A definition completed by obtuse fools. Created many centuries before you – or whoever else graces these pages – were ever born; it was this ill-informed persona which had my ancestors hunted to near extinction.  However, this is no Hollywood picture-to-be, nor an epic horror written to enthral. It is a recount; nothing more, nothing less.
My family, antisocial and uncanny, have become this way because of years of bias started in the early 1800’s. Consumers of blood indeed we are, yet hardly immortal. A curious fetish for the crimson liquid has been passed from generation to generation, and then more. The only factor that has changed is our consumption techniques, and perhaps the improved title of ‘cannibal’.
Conversely, this information is irrelevant; as was mentioned above, this is a recount and you will receive no gory details of past events.

Our story, as cliché as this sounds, begins not in the era of cobblestones and horse-drawn wagons, but in that of sleek metal cars and asphalt. I was not a wealthy thousand year-old immortal being who had remained unchanged throughout the ages. I did not live in a castle astride a hill with gothic gates, and nor did my attire consist of trench coats and high collars. I wore a simple attire of jeans and a flannel shirt, and as most people my age suspected, I believed that if a person was good, they would go to heaven.

Unlike celluloid depicts, this night was clear and somewhat peaceful.  This, however, could be because of the circumstances, and my poor observation. I was headed to a small and tucked away restaurant, a date awaiting my arrival.
“Sam. How are you?” it was a feeble attempt at opening a conversation, and to my relief she seized it enthusiastically.
“What, since three hours ago? I’m great, actually. I got paid today, and apparently I worked double on Saturday! That means...” and so the rant began. It was soothing, and I much preferred her voice over mine. So did she, until the realisation of her command over the conversation dawned.
“...So what did you want to order?” Sam’s question shocked me back into the room, and I was rather surprised to see the same waitress who had seated us hovering nearby. I hadn’t even seen her arrive.
“Blue steak and water, please,” I answered in haste. It was the first meal that had entered my mind. It was socially unacceptable for me to eat raw meat, yet if the steak had been sealed on a sizzling pan I was in my right to eat as much as I wished. I always found this social rule bizarre.
“Oh, yuck! It’s still bleeding! How can you eat that? Do you want to send it back?” she asked, and after some carefully placed words I managed to convince her I liked meat this way.

“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” I enquired. Her eyebrows raised slightly before she split into a grin. “Nothing like that, I promise!” I quickly added with a blush, and her expression then turned into a smirk as I looked down to my plate.
“Fire away!”
“Do you believe in heaven and hell?” I peeked through my eyelashes at her. She was surprised and, to my relief, thoughtful.
“I’m not quite sure. I mean, it would be nice if heaven did exist. But don’t you think eternal bliss would get boring after a while?” we laughed at her joke, but I wasn’t yet finished.
“You believe a person can go to heaven if he or she has committed no sins?” once again, I was peering through my eyelashes. I had wanted to ask someone on their opinions of this topic for quite a while, but coincidently had encountered no openings to do so.
“No... I reckon we should all be allowed to go to heaven if we’re a truly good person inside.” There was a pause Sam kept open for a rather long time before continuing. “I think it’s one of those things we don’t find out about until it happens...But in case you were going to ask, I think you’ll definitely go to heaven. If not because of your personality, but because I think you’ll look great with a halo and wings!”
As light hearted as her jokes were intended, they left me feeling relieved. I felt that if, just maybe, I redeemed the grotesque eating habits most frowned upon, I could be accepted into this padded room of eternal bliss named heaven. Could there be such a thing as Vampiric Angels? This was a question I was more than ready to test, and prove correct. I had not killed any human to date, thus not finding myself under scrutiny of “Thou shalt not kill”.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, it took far too much effort to convince Sam I was paying the bill; she seemed to feel a heightened obligation to do so. Before long, however, we finally made a steady beeline down the street our restaurant was situated. It was horridly dirty, and definitely not the first place I would have chosen for our post dinner stroll to be.
It was a while before either of us realised there was a curious character trailing behind us. I spotted him in a reflective window, gazing intensely at the both of us. Perhaps, if I had better powers of intuition, I may have realised this man was after more than just a friendly chat.
“Can I help you?” I asked. The man’s eyes narrowed dangerously, flickering between Sam and myself.
“I don’t need your help! Keep out of my life!” was perhaps the best way to translate what the man replied with. In reality, there were many more profanities inserted. His personality thus far reminded me of the word ‘precarious’. He was unstable, and rather dangerous in my opinion. I felt unsafe with him nearby, and for good reason, too.
Before my brain even had time to register his actions, I was lunged at by the now aggressive man. It was beyond me how one could turn from humble stalker to violent opponent in a matter of seconds.
I hit the ground hard, cracking my elbow on the unrelenting pavement. I heard Sam scream, inwardly thanking whoever gave females such shrill cries when all I could muster was a somewhat pathetic grunt on impact.
Both of us were on the ground for a long while, throwing an occasional punch or awkward kick. Brazilian Jujitsu was certainly not one of my stronger traits, unlike the revolting man who was pinning me down.
“Sam! Call the poli-” my sentence was cut short by a sharp blow to my jaw, followed by yet more profanities to the effect of ‘be quiet’. I could hear Sam screaming once again, this time somewhat more hysterically. It frightened me, giving me the impression of something bleak and unforgiving.
Before long, Sam’s hysterics were explained with repeated pierces to my torso and stomach. This crazed man had desecrated my body with his contemptible blade, my body beyond repair or salvation, and leaving Sam’s mind forever scarred. It was despicable, and it infuriated me more than I would ever have believed possible. If given the chance, I would have certainly haunted that foul excuse for a human until the end of his meaningless existence.
But I wasn’t given the chance, and I never will.

I had come to learn, from personal experience, that there is no such place called Heaven, nor a place named Hell. For every soul departed, it is transferred to a realm known as Mu.
Emptiness.
Nothingness…
A vast abyss of naked scenery…
I had been a fool to hope for Heaven, and had been disappointed into a fit of depression. Even Hell would be a blessing, for at least there would be form. At least I would could endure the punishment I rightfully deserved.
There was no room for blood suckers in this world.

By J.M Selleck

Author's Note

Urgh.
My apologies for the shit ending. I wrote most of this in the period before it was due, thus not getting enough time to finish it properly. and now that it is, indeed, finished, i honestly can't be bothered trying to fix it up.
I had to have an even amount of dialogue and action, so cleaver me was like, "Hey! People /have/ to talk about meaningless crap on dates, so why don't i send Mr. Nameless Bloodsucker on a date? Sounded pretty good to me.

Rate and review if you'd like. I'm rather disgruntled by this one, however...

Reviews

[Dawn]

Dont be disgruntled, from within each piece we work on can come something far more exciting. Keep on going maybe this will be the best part of a new novel one day. You can never say never hun.

Keep writing. Dawn