by Robert Chauncey
Before
we start, I think you should know something about me. I'm a vampire. "Move
along, Pietro." That is one of the many guards that are currently
surrounding me. Oh, by the way, I'm taking that long walk. Yep, I'm about to be
executed in the electric chair for a series of murders I actually didn't
commit. Normally I get executed for murders I actually commit. And yes I've
been executed a few times, but after a hanging here and a firing squad there,
you kind of lose count. Anyway back to why I'm being executed today. I was
making my nightly rounds to feed. You know, the taste for blood kind of comes with
the territory. Anyway, I'm out feeding. Now-a-days I try not to kill anyone,
and the next thing I know, I'm surrounded by ten cops. I don't put up much of a
fight because I had nothing to hide, yet. The next thing I know is I'm being
charged with being a serial murderer. I denied it, of course, but the only
alibis I had wouldn't remember anything about those nights. That was three
years ago. The jury found me guilty and I got the chair. I found out that the
murders never stopped. They slowed down a bit, but never actually stopped. That
brings us to today. This is the first time I've been electrocuted. To my
surprise the chair is really quite comfortable, except for the hand and leg
restraints. They put that metal hat thingie around my head and lock it in
place. "Do you have any last words?" That is the Chief of Police.
He's a real asshole. I think that I could just rip out of these restraints and
tear his head off. "Would it matter?" It is the only thing I could
think of that could really piss him off. He didn't say anything to me. He just
looks at me and walks out. He personally locks the door and gives the nod to
the masked executioner. I feel the 50,000 volts surge through my body. I scream
and convulse once and then stop dead.
Three
days later I wake up. I'm lying on my back in my little, cheap coffin, or
should I say the little, cheap coffin the state so graciously paid for. I begin
to dig my way to the top. When I finally break through, it is day time. Oh
don't worry, that crap about vampires and the sun is nothing. I mean sure it
weakens me a little, but I'm not going to turn to dust or anything like that. I
climb out of that hell hole and slowly recover the grave, my grave, so that no
one will suspect. I pick up the mandatory roses, that are now dead, up from my
grave and walk out of the cemetery. I slowly make my way to my secret place,
which I hope is still there after three years. To my surprise it's still there.
I try to open the decaying door and instead of opening, it just collapses. I
carefully walk on the rotten floor, not really wanting to fall through it, and
slowly make it to an old closet and pull out my backpack. I take a quick look
inside to make sure everything's there. I pull out my shirt and jeans and
change into them. Then I take the stupid suit that the coroner gave me and burn
it. I sling my backpack over my shoulder and walk out of the condemned house. I
walk to the nearest motel, which is nothing but a slum lord's paradise. I pay
the clerk in cash and walk up to my second floor room. I close the shutters on
the room's window and climb under one of the bed's where it is completely dark.
I then close my eyes and fall asleep.
I wake
up on instinct at dusk. I yawn and stretch just like anybody first waking up. I
pick up my bag and drop the contents onto the unused bed. Let's see: spare set
of clothes, a loaded revolver, four boxes of bullets(just in case), five
thousand dollars in cash, and my pendant. Wait a minute, where's my pendant? It
has to be here someplace. I look all over the objects scattered onto the bed
and inside and out of the bag. It's not here. Where is it? My pendant is the
only true thing I cherish. It belonged to the woman who brought me over to the
darkness. She was my only true love. Her name was Christina. She gave the
pendant to me as a sign of her love for me. She's dead now. I hit the wall not
thinking. My fist punches right through it. Luckily it leads to the outside and
not another room. I remember the painful memory of her death. She died because
of me. I was fighting the vampire who made Christina and a fire started, his
name was Jonathan. He never got over Christina leaving him for me and he wanted
revenge. I was no match for him because I was still a young vampire with no
idea how to use all of my vampiric powers yet. He was about to kill me when
flames started to rip through the building. He tried to run, but part of the
ceiling collapsed, burying him. I looked all over for Christina and then I
heard her start screaming. I ran toward the screaming, but when I reached her,
it was too late. She was just a charred skeleton. I ran out of the building and
the pendant was the only thing left I have to remember her by, and now it's
gone.
Someone's
at the door. In all the turmoil, I never noticed that somebody's been knocking
at my door. I walk over to the door and open it. Standing in the doorway is a
man in a black suit. His face was pale. I knew immediately that this was a
young vampire. "Do you want it back?" I grab him by his neck and lift
him up to the ceiling. "Want what back?" "The pendant."
"Where is it?" He just smiles at me. "Where is it?" I
squeeze his neck tighter and his smile vanishes. "Put me down and I'll
give you information that will help you to find it." I put him back on the
ground, but I don't let go of his neck. "That's more like it."
"Where's the pendant, asshole?" "My master would like to see you
at Hell." "Where the hell is that?" "It's a bar on Night
Street. He wishes to see you immediately." "Who's your master?"
He just smiles at me again and this time I smile back at him as I tear his head
off his body.
I walk
down Night Street looking for Hell. I stop at a paper stand and buy the evening
edition. The headline reads, "Vampire Killer Strikes Again." I read
on: "The fourteenth murder victim was found this morning in a vacant lot
on Second Avenue. Like the other victims, the victim's blood was drained from
the body. The police have not released the name of the victim. Chief of Police,
Marty Johnson, has said, in a press conference this afternoon, that they still
have no leads or suspects." I stopped reading as I see Hell. I fold the
paper up and tuck it under my arm. I check to make sure my gun is still in
place, just in case, and I walk in. "Welcome to Hell, Mr. Hancock." I
turn to look at the doorman and I know almost immediately that he is another
young vampire. I figure that who ever's been making these vampires has known me
for awhile. I haven't used my real name, Pietro Hancock, since Christina died.
This "master" must know me from the old days and has been kindly
enough to tell these young vampires all about me. I walk around the bar, not
knowing whom I'm supposed to be looking for. Then I see someone waving me back
toward a table at the back of the room. I walk back to the table and see yet
another young vampire. "I'm tired of these games. Where's your
master?" "How do you know that I'm not their master?"
"Because you're nothing, but a pup and pups can't make other vampires.
That doesn't come until later." "Your right, of course. Unfortunately,
our master is unable to meet with you tonight." "I want my pendant
back, now!" "All in good time, Mr. Hancock." "You don't
exactly understand what I mean by NOW!!! Do you?" I reach across the table
and grab him by his throat. "Get the idea about NOW, now!" "No,
but do you get the picture?" I don't really understand what he means,
until everyone in Hell stands up. They are all young vampires. I count fifteen
of them, maybe more. "Your masters been busy." "Destroy him."
I drag him across the table and sling him across the room. The first two young
vampires attack me and I grab them ripping off both of their heads
simultaneously. Three more young vampires attack me and I easily out- maneuver
them and plunge my fist into and through their hearts. Five down, ten to go.
There has to be an easier way to do this. I rip off another young vampire's
head and see an opportunity to kill the rest of the young vampires with one
stone. I run to the bar and reach across to grab a case of whiskey. I pull it
across the bar. I throw it at them and, on impact, the bottles inside shatter
onto the young vampires. They start to laugh at me. I'm not amused. I get a
book of matches from a tray at the bar and light it. They stop laughing when I
throw the lighted match at them. They scream in agony as the whiskey ignited. I
grab the young vampire that I had thrown out of harms way and lift him off the
ground by his throat. "Who's your master?" "Screw you."
"No, screw you!" I plunge my hand into his flesh. I grab his black
heart and rip it out of his chest. He screamed in agony and then dies. I threw
his body into the burning pile of charred skeletons and walk out. I'm pissed
when I realize that I must have dropped my paper during the fight.
I walk
back toward my motel room. When I enter the filthy lobby, I suddenly feel
hungry. I think about how long it's been since I've had human blood. Ever since
I was put on death row, I'd been surviving on rat's blood from the unfortunate
rodents that scurried into my cell. I see the clerk watching TV in his office.
He is alone. I go up to the counter and ring the bell. He gets up and lays a
bag of chips on his chair. "What do you want?" I don't say anything.
I just grab him and pull him across the counter. Before he even has time to
scream I sink my pointed canine teeth into his jugular vein. Almost instantly
he drifts into a deep sleep. I drink about a pint of his blood. Then I pick him
up and place him back in his chair. When he wakes up, in a few hours, he'll
have no memory of my attack and the only side effect he'll have is a slight
headache. I walk up the flight of stairs to my room. I notice that the door to
my room is slightly ajar. I pull my gun and stand ready. I open the door and to
my amazement it slams back into my face, knocking me backwards. "What the
hell?" I know immediately that inside was another vampire and he was much
stronger than me. And that meant that means that he was older than me. I got
back up to my feet and kick the door. I easily flies off its hinges and strikes
the back wall. I run into the room and look around. The vampire is now gone.
The only other way out, besides the door, is the window. I run to the open
window and look out. I don't see him because I know the only way he could have
escaped was to fly out of here. And if that is the case, then this vampire is
considerably older than me. Even though I am about two hundred years old, I
still could not fly, yet. Jesus, I was just learning to levitate a little way
off the ground. I made sure that the vampire didn't take anything from my
stuff, and then I climb back under the bed and go back to sleep.
I wake
up to a loud knocking at my door. I struggle from underneath my bed and realize
that it is daytime. "Who is it?" "Maid service." "Go
away." I thank God that I woke up early this morning and fixed the door.
"I'm sorry, sir, but motel policy requires that I clean up each
room." "Hold on a minute." I go to the bed and peel off a crisp
one hundred dollar bill from my stash. "Is this clean enough for
you?" I slip the bill under the door. "Yes, sir, I think your room is
the cleanest one I've..." "Shut up!" "Yes sir." I hear
her scurry down the hallway to the next room. I roll back under the bed and
once again try to go to sleep, but for some reason my senses keep me on full
alert. I'm unable to fall back to sleep, so I get up and flop down on the bed.
I think back to the time when Christina made me into a vampire. I had just
returned to Paris from visiting my parents in Toulouse, France. They had thrown
me a birthday party a week ahead of my actual birthday. I was about to turn
twenty-one. My parents had gotten me a French Guardsman sword. I later donated
the sword to a museum about a year before I was sent to prison. I was walking
through the French Quarter, when I, quite literally, bumped into Christina.
Neither of us were looking where we were going and we almost knocked each other
down. "Are you OK?" She had the sweetest voice and even though I
could not yet see her face, I knew that she was beautiful. I had fallen in love
almost immediately. "I'm OK, are you?" "Yes." I knew she
was upset when she answered me. "What's wrong?" "Nothing. I must
be going now." I had to figure out some way to stop her from leaving, so I
could talk to her some more. I ran after her and finally caught up to her.
"Hey, I'm sorry for bumping into you." "It's OK, really."
"No, its not. The least I could do is buy you dinner." "No thank
you." "Please it's no trouble." "I said no." She
turned and grabbed me by my throat. For the first time I saw her face in the
light. Her eyes glistened in the light like cat's eyes. Her face was pale...very
pale. Her teeth were long and pointy. Instead of being frightened, I was even
more intrigued with her. She turned my head away and sank her teeth into my
neck. For some reason it did not hurt. In fact it felt kind of...good. The
longer she drank, the more tired I began to feel. It began to be tougher and
tougher to keep my eyes open. I tried to resist the urge to sleep, but it was
impossible. "Oh my God. What have I done?" It was the last sure thing
I remember before I drifted off to sleep. However, I think I remember her blood
trickling into my mouth, but I can't be sure. I woke up with a splitting
headache, but to my surprise I didn't wake up in my own bed. In fact I didn't
even wake up in my own house. "Where am I?" "Don't worry. You're
safe." It was the woman from the night before. "What happened?"
"I made you what I am." "What are you?" "I'm a vampire
and I'm so sorry, but now so are you." At first I thought she was crazy. I
mean back then, such things would have had you burnt at the stake. She tried to
explain it to me, but I was to stubborn to listen. Before long I began to get
real hungry. When I mentioned it to her, she took me out "hunting."
We found a couple alone in the park. She jumped at the guy and began to drink.
Before I realized what was happening I was doing the same thing to the girl.
While the girl's blood drained into my mouth, I felt part of her life surge
through my body. For the first time in my life I had felt power. A loud knock
on the door made me loose my concentration. I got off the bed and go to the
door. "Who is it?" "I want what is mine." What the hell? It
can't be. It just can't be. I know it can't be him. He's dead.
I open
the door and there, right before my eyes was... nothing. I couldn't have
imagined it...could I. No. I defiantly heard his voice, no matter how
improbable it was. I step out into the hallway and look both ways. There is no
one there. "Looking for me, Pietro." I hear the voice from behind me.
I didn't even have time to turn around. I feel a hard chop to the back of my
neck. After that everything kinda went blurry. Hell, after that everything went
black. When I came too, I found myself in a real compromising position. My arms
and legs were chained to a pure silver backboard with pure silver chains. It was
very dark in the room and since my skin was touching something pure silver, I
didn't have any of my vampiric powers, like for instance, the ability to see in
the dark. I could see a glimpse of a light that was obviously coming from
another room, but other than that there was no other light. "I've been
waiting for this for a long time." The voice came from behind me. I don't
have to see him to know who it is. "It's been a long time, Jonathan. I
didn't know you would resort to kidnapping." "You always were the
comedian, weren't you, Pietro." "I do what I can." "Shut
up." He stepped to where I could see him and then hit me. "Oh, that
hurt." "I thought I told you to shut up." He hit me again. This
time I shut my mouth. Normally, I could take the hits that he was dishing out,
but with the silver, I might as well been mortal. "Now then. Where is the
thing that belongs to me?" "First, you really need to get with the
nineties and start speaking like it. Second, what the hell are you talking
about?" "Where is my pendant?" I was totally and utterly
shocked. What does he mean, his pendant. "What do you mean, your pendant?
Christina gave it to me." "She never loved you. She was only using
you to get back at me. And you killed her because of it." "What are
you talking about? She loved me and she gave me the pendant to show her
love." "Stop your blasphemy." He hit me hard across the jaw. It
hurt. It hurt real bad. A little blood trickled down from the side of my mouth.
"OK, now I'm pissed." I made sure I said it under my breath so he
couldn't hear me. "Where is the pendant, Pietro?" "I don't know
where it is." "You lie." He hit me again. More blood trickled
from my mouth. "Why would I lie? You have me tied up, oh 'scuse me,
chained up with silver chains. You know I can't use any of my vampiric powers,
and since I'm assuming that you were the one in my room, that means you can
fly, and since you can fly, that means you can read minds, too." "You
are right, of course. I know you don't have the pendant, but you will find it
for me." "And how do you plan for me to find it?" "You'll
find it, and if you don't find it and give it to me within seventy-two hours,
then I'll rip your heart out and eat it for a late night snack." Without
so much as another breath, the chains were gone and I was free. "I'll see
you in seventy-two hours, Pietro." And just like that he was gone.
I walked
back to my motel room. I see the clerk sound asleep in his office. I resist the
urge to feed on him again. I start up the stairs. I can't do this, I have to
find the pendant. I walk back down the stairs and walk out the door. Now, where
could my pendant be. "Hey buddy, do you have any money to give?" I
turn and see what I think is a girl in the shadows. I don't say anything. I
just keep on walking. "Hey, I asked you if you have any money." I
keep on walking. I don't feel like killing anyone right now. "You should
answer the girl's question." Two boys step in front of me. Oh well, so
much for not killing anyone. He pulls out a gun. "Now how much money do
you have on you." "Oh, I've got about two thousand dollars on
me." "Hand it over." "I really don't think so."
"Well I do." He shoots me three times. I fall backwards. The bullet
wounds sting a little, but I'll live. I lay motionless, waiting to see what
they'll do. "Get his wallet, Amanda." "You told me you were just
going to take his money, but you killed him." "Yeah, so. We're
getting the money any way. Ain't we!" "I don't want the money
anymore. My God, you killed him." So the girl ain't that bad. She's got a good
heart...basically. I'll make sure that she doesn't get hurt. "I think your
a liability, Amanda." "Get away from me." Uh, oh. I see him
point the gun at Amanda and shoot. She screams and collapses to the ground.
"You asshole." I get up off the ground and grab the guy with the gun.
I throw him against the wall, knocking him unconscious. "What
the....!" I don't give the other guy a chance to finish his statement. I
back hand him, snapping his neck. I walk over to the unconscious scum bag. I lift
him off the ground and slap him. "Wake up." "What the
hell?" "I'm sure you'll find out sooner than you think." I sink
my teeth into his neck. I take all his blood in a matter of minutes. I drop his
dead body and walk over to Amanda. "Help me." "I'm sorry, I
can't." I see her eyes suddenly sadden because she now knows that there is
no hope left. She coughs up blood. I just now realize that she can't be more
than sixteen years old. "Damn." I pick her up and take her to the
motel. The clerk is still sound asleep in his office. I carefully carry Amanda
up the stairs and to my room. I place her down on my bed. "Where are
we?" She says it in almost a whisper. "Don't worry, you're going to
be OK." "Promise?" "Yes." I hope she'll forgive me for
what I'm about to do. "Close your eyes." She does as I say. I brush
her hair away from her neck. I carefully sink my teeth into her jugular vein. I
drink her blood slowly. Soon, I begin to hear her heart beat loudly in my head.
I stop drinking. I slash my right wrist. "Drink." I place my wrist
over her opened mouth. She drinks my blood slowly. Soon she lets my wrist go
and falls asleep. I drop to my knees. It has tired me out more than I thought
it would. I feel woozy. I try to get up, but I fall back down. Everything
starts to go black. The last thing I see is Amanda sound asleep on my bed.
"Uh,
Mister. Please wake up." "Uhhh..." My head is killing me. I
focus my eyes and see Amanda leaning over me. "Mister, are you OK?"
"Pietro." "What?" "My name is Pietro. Please call me
it instead of mister." "OK, Pietro, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine, but how are you? You were shot, you know."
"I'm OK, I guess, but how'd I live. I don't remember very much after I was
shot." "It's simple. I'm a vampire and I turned you into one to save
you life." So there it is. I've told her. Now to see what she says.
"Cool." Huh. Cool. No crazy jokes. No saying I'm insane. She just
sits there, shrugs and says, "Cool." "How can you just sit there
without any questions?" "When you've been on the streets as long as
I've been, you tend to believe anything, but if you want me to ask some
questions, I'll ask them." "Like what questions do you have?"
"OK, it's daytime outside. If we're vampires, shouldn't we be dust right
now." "That stuff about vampires and the sun is bullshit."
"What about crosses?" "Bullshit." "Stakes through the
heart." "I really don't know. I've never been staked through the
heart." "Fire." "Yes. Vampires are vulnerable to fire...very
vulnerable." I wanted to get off the subject of fire and vampires fast. I
didn't want to start blabbing about Christina's death. "Listen,
Amanda....it is Amanda right?" "Right." "I don't really
mean to rush things, but I have to find this certain pendant in about two days
or I'm a dead man." "Yeah, but your a vampire. How can anyone
threaten you." "The older a vampire gets, the more powerful they
become, and let's just say the vampire that wants the pendant, is a lot older
than I am." "Oh." "So if you don't mind, I'd like to go and
try to find the pendant." "Can I help?" "Are you sure you
can handle it? You'll feel very weak in the sun." "Sure, no problem.
When do we start?" "Right now." Before we left I made sure
Amanda put on my extra shirt, seeing that her shirt had a big hole in it and
blood all over it. We walked down the street, looking in every pawn shop we
pass by. By the end of the day we had searched every pawn shop in the city and
had come up with nothing. "I'm starving." I looked at her and could
see the craving in her eyes. She has only been a vampire for about a day and
she probably desperately needed blood. "Do you think that you can handle
it?" "I don't know, but I'm starving." "OK, then." I
take her to an alley next to a bar. It is getting late, so the only people
there are the really wasted drunks. I pick two drunks for us to feed on.
"There, see them two. I'll take one, you'll take the other one. Got
it." "How do I..." "Don't worry about it. Your instincts
will take over. Ready." "I guess." I pounce on one of them and
sink my teeth into his neck. He tries to let off a gurgled scream, but he is
asleep before he could. I watch as Amanda begins to feed on the other drunk.
She did well for her first time. I finish drinking and drop the unconscious
drunk to the ground, and walk over to Amanda. "You must stop,
Amanda." She stops drinking and looks up at me. "Why?"
"Because you don't want to kill him...do you?" She lets him go and he
drops to the ground. "So how'd it taste?" "It tasted funny at
first, but then, after awhile, it tasted real good." "That's good."
"So what do we do now?" "We go back to the motel room. I don't
know about you, but I'm tired." "But I didn't think vampires could
get tired." "Sorry to disappoint you. Now, are you coming?"
"OK, OK. I'm coming."
She
followed me back to the motel room reluctantly. When we got to door, I notice
that the door is slightly ajar. "Oh, no. Not again."
"What?" "Get back." I push her to the side and kick the
door open. I prepare for anything, but to my surprise there is no one there.
"So what's with the macho crap." "Nothing, I guess." I flop
down on the bed with Amanda's blood on it. Amanda flops down on the other bed.
"Hey." She jumps up and reaches around to rub her back. "What's
the matter?" "Something poked me in the back." "What?"
"This." She grabs a shiny object off her bed, and holds it up to the
light. "Oh, my God. My pendant!" I gasp in surprise as I see my
pendant. I jump off the bed and rush over to Amanda. I take the pendant in my
hand and stare at it as it lays in my palm. "How'd it get here, Pietro?"
"I don't know, but, as much as I hate it, I have to give this to Jonathan,
right away." "I'm coming with you." "I don't think so,
Amanda. Jonathan is a dangerous person. I don't want to see you get hurt or
killed." "But...." "No, but's. I want you to stay here and
wait. If I'm not back by tomorrow night, I want you to take the money in my
backpack and get out of town." "But...." "You've got to
promise me, OK?" "Alright. I promise." I walk out the door and
start to run down the stairs. I look back to make sure Amanda's not following
me, and to my surprise, she's not. I run out the motel's double doors and run,
at top speed, toward the place where Jonathan took me before. I find the
building and walk to the door. Unfortunately, the door is locked. "Oh,
well." I kick the door open and it flies off its hinges. I walk in and
look around. It is pitch black, all except the moonlight streaming in and a dim
light bulb hanging from the ceiling. "Jonathan! I'm here. I have the damn
pendant!" There is no answer, only dead silence. I walk farther inside. I
pick up the slight smell of a very poignant odor. "What the hell is that
smell?" I continue to walk inside. I stop underneath the dim light bulb
and look around again. "Hey Jonathan. I've got what you wanted, now get the
HELL out here."
No
answer. Damn, still no answer. I don't really like this. I walk forward.
"Oops." I almost trip over something on the floor. I look down and
see something I'm not exactly prepared for. "Oh, my God!" Laying on
the floor, minus a head and a heart, is the dead body of Jonathan. "Oh,
boy." Now I'm scared, because I know that no mortal could do this to such
an old vampire. In fact, I don't even think a vampire could do this to
Jonathan. "I'm out of here." I turn around and make my way slowly to
the door. Even though I'm considerably older than any mortal, I'm not in any
big hurry to die. I'm almost to the door when I here it. "Pietro, my
love." "No, it's not possible." I turn around and my love,
Christina, is floating in front of me. "No, it can't be." "I'm
here, my love, come to me." "No, it's just not possible. I saw your
body. I heard your scream." "No, my love, you saw another vampire's
body that had snuck her way in to see you and Jonathan fight." Tears swell
up in my eyes. She's alive. I can't believe it, she's alive.
"Christina...." I walk closer to her. She is still in the shadows,
but I can see that she's wearing a beautiful, black dress. I walk closer and I
can finally see her beautiful face....Oh, my God! Her face. What happened to
it? "You happened!" Oh, no. She can read minds now, too.
"Shit!" She grabs me by my throat and throws me through one of the
interior walls. "Why are you doing this?" I slowly tried to get to my
feet. "Look at my face. Look at it, you bastard." I have no choice,
but to look at her face. Her face is horribly scarred with burns. If it wasn't
for her voice, I would not recognize her. "See what you and Jonathan did
to me. While you two were fighting over me, I was caught in the fire. I only
barely survived the burns. I've been like this ever since. Neither of you even
tried to help me." "Ugh...." She grabs me by my throat and lifts
me up. Damn, she's stronger, too. "You ruined my life, Pietro."
"My God, you're mad." "Yes, and it's all your fault. I've
already taken care of Jonathan. When he and I hugged, I ripped his head off.
After he was dead, I tore his heart out. Unfortunately for you, I know I can
kill you at anytime, but don't worry. At one time I did love you, so I'll kill
you quickly." "How can you do this? I loved you. I still love you. Do
you remember when you gave me this?" I pull out the pendant, and hold it
in front of her. "My pendant." I quickly put it back into my pocket.
"You gave it to me the night of what would have been my twenty-second
birthday. You said you loved me." "I did, but you betrayed me."
She throws me hard to the ground. I'm starting to feel real woozy and my head
is starting to hurt. "You betrayed me and you will pay." I see her
walk toward me. I close my eyes and wait for the death blow.
"Aaaaahhh!!!!" The scream is not mine. I snap open my eyes. To my
shock, I see Christina in agonizing pain. The tip of a wooden stake is
pertruding from her breast. Christina continues to scream in agony and
collapses to the ground. When Christina collapses, I see who's behind staking
her. "Amanda." She steps over Christina and runs to me. "Miss
me, Pietro?" "What are you doing here?" "There was nothing
good on TV. Now let's get you out of here?" "No argument there."
She helps me hobble to the door. I don't look back at Christina, but I can hear
that the screaming has stopped. "Thanks, Amanda. I would be dead now if it
wasn't for you." She just smiles at me. I never realized how pretty she
was until this moment. "And I wasn't pretty?" We turn around. Christina
is standing right there. "I guess it doesn't work." "Shut up,
girl." Christina backhands Amanda and Amanda flies backwards. I drop to
the ground. "You're helpless, Pietro. After I take care of your little
friend, I'll be back to finish you." "Stay away from her" She
totally ignores me and walks over to Amanda. "Pietro, here." Amanda
takes out my gun from her pocket and throws it past Christina and to me.
Christina does not worry about the gun because she knows that the bullets won't
hurt her. "Get away from me." Amanda tries to scramble away from
Christina, but is too slow compared to Christina's speed. She grabs Amanda and
throws her against the wall. I have to come up with an idea. I look around for
anything I can use and then I see it. I crawl over to a metal container that is
up against the wall and pick it up. Thank God. It's gas. I take it and with my
last ounce of strength, I throw it at Christina. It splatters all over her,
covering her from head-to-toe. "You, bastard!" I guess she's forgotten
about Amanda. She walks toward me. I take the gun and quickly check the barrel.
Three bullets left. I hope I'm a better shot than I think I am. She continues
to walk toward me. I fire off one shot. It nails her in the right arm. It has
no effect on her. I fire off the second shot. It totally misses Christina and
hits the wall behind her. One shot left. She's almost to me. I carefully aim
and fire the last bullet. It hits the asphalt in front of Chistina and sends
off sparks. The sparks land on the gas soaked leg of Christina.
"Aaaahhhh...." She almost instantly bursts into flames. She takes two
steps and collapses in a burning mass. Her screams slowly fade and end. This
time she did die. "Pietro." Amanda slowly gets up and runs over to
me. I look up at her and see her pretty face. "Are you OK, Amanda?"
"I guess. My head hurts though. How are you?" "I'll live."
She helps me to my feet. We start to walk back to our motel room. When we
finally reach the room, I flop down on my bed and Amanda flops down on hers.
Luckily, both our wounds have already began to heal. "I just have one
question." "What?" "Who was that crazy lady?"
"Just someone I thought I knew a long time ago." She looks over at me
and gives me a strange look, but does not say anything else about Christina. I
begin to think over something and then reach a decision. I then reach into my
pocket. "Amanda, I want you to have this." I toss the pendant over to
her and she catches it in mid-air. "Thanks for everything." She gets
up and walks over to my bed. She bends down and kisses me on my cheek.
"Thanks." She turns around and walks back to her bed. I think to
myself, as she puts the pendant around her neck, that this is the beginning of
a very interesting relationship.
