A soft breeze fluttered the curtains that hung on the open window. Legs tangled with silk sheets on the bed. Two lovers tied in passionate embrace in the darkness. Daria slinked on top. Her palms pushed down on Jake’s chest. He slid inside of her as she began to rock back and forth. The bed creaked in protest of their efforts. He looked up at her as her head cocked back, her raven hair drifting back from her face. Their eyes locked. She began to grind down on his pelvis locking them together in one continuous motion of ecstasy. The minutes passed as their passion built into their inevitable climax. Daria and Jake now spent, collapsed upon each other both exhausted but fulfilled.
Daria moved up close so to whisper into Jake’s ear.
“Happy Anniversary,” Her hot breath almost ignited Jake’s passion once more.
“I love you too.” Jake told her.
The curtains moved again without aid of the wind. Jake looked around and saw nothing but blackness all around them from their bed’s edge. Suddenly red eyes appeared in the center of the blackness. Jake went to move…It all happened at once.
A flurry of motion and panic filled the room. Powerful hands took Daria from him by and dragged her to the window. The One held her in his arms, his bleached incisors clamped down upon her throat. Blood flowed around his mouth and down her neck. She swooned in his arms and went limp. The One smiled at Jake as he rushed the window. His powerful hand slapped Jake throwing him to the ground like a rag doll. The One stood over Jake delivering his pronouncement before vanishing with Daria in his arms. He left nothing but the fluttering curtains in the darkness of night.
“I have given this mortal love’s greatest gift! More valuable than anything you could possess. Behold, now she is immortal!”
To Jake’s ultimate horror Daria opened her eyes. Their crimson orbs focused on him. Her hungry grin exposed the fangs that protruded from her gums.
***
That image still burned within him ten years later. He’d spent the last decade learning how to track and kill those like the one that took her. Jake amassed much knowledge on how his adversary’s survived in the world of man. Jake became obsessed in an endless search to find him, the one that took her away.
The long nights he’d spend in crypts searching, Jake journeyed into the deepest recesses of darkness, layers devoid of all light to dispense those like the one who lay in wait for the night. He took great joy in destroying the undead fostered by the One. His retribution laid waste to many of his legions. With modern weapons, he thrust his vengeance upon all those who caused him so much pain. Jake over time had gained a lethal reputation among those he hunted.
The sounds of traffic filtered in through the open window. Jake sat in front of a small table. Its surface covered with the tools of the hunt. Silver bullets littered the table top as he inserted them one at a time into his favorite weapon.
As each projectile slid into its appropriate slot, he recalled his most recent kill.
The vampire’s red eyes filled with shock just as a set of perfectly placed bullet holes appeared in his forehead.
Jake smiled as he spun the chamber to the next open slot.
He saw Daria’s face from ten years ago. The woman he loved, her smile now filled with the long fangs of a predator. Her eyes changed forever crimson by the One.
Another silver slug found a home.
Daria and Jake alone in the house knew nothing of the danger that stalked them. They celebrated their wedding anniversary. He’d been happy then.
Another bullet found a home.
The chamber spun to the last open receptacle.
The One appeared from the shadows. Jake tried to move. His powerful hand hit Jake as he fell to the ground. He lay there witnessing the One’s damnation of his wife. He saw her look upon him with the hungry eyes of the dead. As they vanished together, the One’s laughter rung in his ears as the night air grew cold.
The last silver messenger found a home.
Jake spun the bullet in the chamber gun. The silver slugs blurred from rotating then slowly came into focus as the chamber stopped. He closed the gun locking the chamber into place. Jake held the barrel of the weapon against the side of his face with one hand. A silent prayer came from his lips as the night air filled the room.
The room suddenly felt cold, the sounds from outside fell silent. Jake now on his guard, knew he had company. He scanned the small room, nothing but an old bunk bed and an old dresser. A light hung from the ceiling by a withered cord.
The experience he’d gained in hunting them these past ten years served him well. His senses tuned to a fine pitch due to his training. Jake could feel undead as they drew near. And he had modern technology at his fingertips. Jake’s free hand slid along the table until he found the infrared glasses. Slipping them quickly over his eyes changed the prospective of the room. The dimness fell away, revealing the One standing near the dresser.
Jake’s eyes recognized the One, the monster from his past. He stood there silhouetted in crimson and smiled at Jake. Jake cocked the hammer back on his weapon, its gunsight falling into perfect alignment with the crimson shadow. The Vampire’s laughter filled the room.
“I would think after all this time we would have had proper introductions.” The One offered standing in the darkness.
“Let me introduce you to the silver bullets in my gun.” Jake answered.
The One chuckled as he drew closer.
“You know I’m faster than you.”
“I’ve gotten quicker since.” Jake answered focusing on squeezing the trigger.
“But I’ve come on love’s errand.” The Vampire insisted. “Surely that will warm your heart.”
“My heart’s dead thanks to you.” Jake began to squeeze the trigger. The chamber swapped a bullet into lethal position.
“I’ve come to make amends, see.” The Vampire slowly gestured toward the door of the tiny apartment.
With no physical cue from him, the door of the room opened of its own accord. Jake’s horror nearly unraveled him as he saw Daria standing in the open doorway. She looked just as she did on their last night together; except for her eyes.
“Jake I’ve missed you. I want to come home.” Daria spoke seductively through scarlet lips.
“Ah-,” The One lamented. “She still shares the bond with you even after spending immortality with me. Even the gift cannot break what has been between you.”
The Vampire turned his attention back to Jake. His thin lips parted slightly revealing the lethal teeth within. Ivory shafts sharpened like a spear, the One’s mouth a pointed arsenal of death.
“My heart knows only what we’ve shared my darling Jake. I have waited all this time so I could return to you once more.” Daria’s words slid seductively from her lips.
“Even after all I’ve given her; she only desires to be with you.” The One’s hand gestured from Daria then toward Jake.
The hammer of the gun clicked all the way back now. Jake held his weapon firmly fixed on the One. Sweat poured down his face. His eyes darted constantly between that which he once loved, and the object of his revenge.
“I give her back to you. I have no hold on her.” The One pronounced.
“Jake it’s true; I’ve come back for you.” Daria begged.
Daria smiled, her fangs exposed, her smile identical to the One’s. Jake felt the rush of his revenge flow through him. He leered at the One, his heart filled with hatred. Then it all happened at once.
The One moved toward him. Jake unloaded his weapon. Daria burst into the room toward Jake. Jake rose from his seat as the One fell to the floor holes from the silver bullet spread out over his chest. His lethal grin forever locked on his face. Daria leaped on Jake, his weapon falling to the floor. Her arms wrapped around him. Jake turned his head just as Daria’s head leaned back, fangs exposed. Her crimson eyes fastened on his neck as she plunged down. Jake felt the darkness encompass him.
***
He awoke in her arms. Her hands held his face. She gazed down upon him with a mix of love and passion. They would be together again. His eyes opened, his crimson orbs reflecting back into hers. Daria’s fangs mixed with an angelic smirk. She leaned in close and whispered in his ear.
“Happy Anniversary-”
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Deadman’s Tome Book of Horrors Anthology
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Deadman’s Tome is a growing horror zine that publishes short stories and flash fiction whether it’s ghost stories, zombie invasions, bigfoot sightings, slasher sprees, bizarre fiction, classic horror literature or erotica. The darker the tale the better. If you enjoyed the story, or even if you didn’t, leave a comment below as it helps the authors.
