Blood Mother. A Vampire Tale

Ch. 8: Calina

Calina crawled back into her temporary home. The den of silence. She thought back to the time she had a family. Not the nest, not being a bottom feeder with those like her. Before that. When she felt her own heart beat in her chest. When she held and sang songs to her children while overtaxing schedules and juggling life reigned with a husband and kids. It brought good memories but also intense hunger.

She lay upon the damp concrete slab in the basement of the bank building and waited. Without the need for sleep, it was her idea of purgatory. Nothing but darkness and silence and time. Until her stirring skin told her of the moving hour.

Calina lived in a modest home back then. She didn't work. Her husband was a banker, and his genius for loans always provided more than enough income for her and the children.

Their oldest, Samuel was a quiet studious boy who seldom required tending. He was independent from a young age and insisted on doing things correctly never straying from perfection.

Ashley, the middle child and only girl was a free spirit. She loved bows and dresses and dreamed of being a doctor, a mother, and a vet with a husband that raised horses and cooked. Her humor went a long way toward keeping her from punishment as she was always swindling out of chores.

Joshua, the baby was a quiet old soul. He loved nothing more than being held and coddled at all times. As frustrating as it was at times, Calina couldn't resist those big brown eyes and that curly mop head whenever he reached for her.

Ashley was given a weekly allowance to hold and care for Joshua so Calina could get things done around the house, but Joshua was usually worn papoose style and was content to go about Calina's day as long as he felt her there.

Calina remembered these days with an angry longing. So much stolen from her that day. So much she wanted back. Was it any wonder she couldn't accept this new life. Was it really shocking to Luka and the group that she couldn't conform to a life of giving people the anger and sadness she felt every moment. Calina found it insane that the others in the nest had adjusted and flourished. Had they lost their humanity and memories instantly with the change? She couldn't, wouldn't, turn her back on her past. It was fading quickly, but not gone yet. And as long as she could remember, she would avenge.

She forces her thoughts back to the day her life changed. They sat at the table eating a meal of lamb and rice. The baby, still tied to Calina's chest, slept. Ashley was arguing with Samuel about why animals shouldn't be left outdoors at night and Calina had an ear out for the sound of her husband. He had called to say he would be late at work and to start dinner without him.

Dinner was ready at its usual time and Calina had hoped he would arrive in time to eat it while it was warm. Eating later meant re-warming and dishes after the dishes were done and she was hoping for a bath free of children and work before bed.

The door opened and Calina smiled. Looking up from her plate. She was startled to find a man in the doorway who was not her husband. Thinking it a robbery, she told the children to stay seated. She pleaded with the man to take whatever he wanted and leave. His companion entered from the back.

Before Calina could even comprehend movement, Samuel lay on the floor in a pool of blood. Calina started screaming and was thrown over the table without realizing she had been touched.

When she sat up, Joshua was sprawled beneath her, limbs askew. There was no crying, no noise, nothing one would expect from the situation. Her brain settled in a fog of numbness. Unable to decide if it should focus on what was happening or scramble for what to do about it.

She clutched the still baby and frantically looked around the room for Ashley who stood facing the man in black. His handsome young face was smiling gently as he told her to climb upon the chair and sit on his lap. She did so without a look of fear or a glance toward her mother. Calina screamed at her and ran toward the man, clawing at Ashley.

But her daughter acted as if she had no knowledge of Calina at all. She was in a trance like state and Calina stood frozen in a state of shock and horror. She saw a spinning light as the man lifted Ashley's chestnut curls and leaned toward her neck.

As the room began to spin Calina saw teeth dripping with spit grow from the mouth of the stranger. His form shook, and his skin transformed to an image Calina would never forget. Black eyes like a pool of void. Surrounded by skin that sagged and flaked. The hands caressing her daughter were long and misshapen and the nails were claw like, long and black. Sharpened like razors.

She awoke some time later in a pit of bodies cold and damp. The smell of urine filled the room and it was mixed with the heavy undetectable scent of roses. Bodies around her were all shapes and a mass of tangled limbs that were both clothed and naked. She tried to inventory her mind, but was distracted by the immediate knowledge of her stillness. Her senses were intact, her body moved as commanded, but she was not the same. She placed her hand upon her chest and confirmed her suspicion. She was dead, and this was Hell.

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Please comment or vote. I know this was a tough chapter. It's hard to hate Calina when her story is so traumatic. Is redemption possible for the undead?