Hope: Beginnings

The shadows danced upon the walls as Hope sauntered through the badly lit streets of Ireland. There weren’t many people who were awake in the huge, nestled homes. The only lights came out of the bar and from the light posts which were burning quite low.

Not many women would walk alone at night, but that didn’t stop Hope. She wasn’t a noble woman, but had enough money to live on for the rest of her life, which was coming close to an end. She lived in a small farm, with her husband and there three children. But, tonight she walked down the streets alone, and with nothing to defend herself from the gang of murderers that had been killing the locals at night except for a short dagger that she carried with her.

“Excuse me miss,” an obviously intoxicated man said, “but you might not want to walk down the street by yourself.” He had a black eye, and held a small purse of money hanging from his belt. “You might get hurt,” he said, almost falling down.

“Don’t worry about me. I welcome death with open arms,” she said. “I don’t think you want to be of company to me.”

He looked at her, and then walked away. “If you need help, don’t be afraid to yell,” he said almost tripping over his own feet.

She continued to walk down a long stretch of the road, wishing that she hadn’t have been blessed with the gift. “I won’t do it,” She said under her breath. Her mind went to the vision she had had that morning.

As she continued to walk, a man walked in front of her. “Watch where you are goin’ love,” he shouted.

She felt like she was frozen stiff. Why she didn’t talk was a mystery to her. She knew that this man had blood on his breath, yet she didn’t fear him.

“Hello?” He asked. “Are you hungry?”

She ripped her dress with a small dagger that she kept in her boot. She slit her collar, so her neck was fully exposed. “Take me… please,” She said to him. She pushed her breasts closer to the attractive stranger.

“You know what I am?” The man asked.

“Yes,” she said. The thought of her vision came back. “I don’t want to live this way anymore.” Her white dress, by now, was falling apart. She began to realize he was shocked at her for wanting to become a vampire.

The man bit into her slender neck, sucking the life from her body. He could feel her warm blood flow through her wounded neck, and go down his cool throat. Her blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as he sucked harder and harder.

“That’s… enough,” she said. Her voice was almost a whisper at first. Then she said it again, “That’s enough!” She began to realize that he wasn’t going to let up on her, so she took the dagger and slashed him in the face.

“Bloody Hell,” he shouted, putting his hand to his face.

Hope wiped her hand down his cut face and then licked the blood off of her hand. Her eyes momentarily turned yellow and then she fell to the ground.

The vampire smiled and said, “Bloody wench.” He then kicked her in the side, and said, “Don’t screw with William the Bloody!” He turned, and walked away from her motionless body.

Hours went by, and Hope just lay on the cobble stone street. Her lifeless body grew cold and pale. She was found later that morning by her husband, who had only then discovered that she had left their home just outside of town.

“What have they done to you?” He asked aloud. Tears fall from his eyes as he put his hand on her neck, looking at the blood on his hand. He held her in his arms for a moment, then picked her up and walked through town back to his home. The locals watched as their most loved member of the community was carried home by her husband.

She was a teacher in the community who ran the local school. She had gone to collage as a child to learn many different skills that would help her and her village. She had gone to the school until she met her husband, and got pregnant with her first child. He was the love of her life, and it has always been that way. They had there child the day after they were wed. Unlike most of the people who had conceived outside of marriage, they were praised for having such a loving family. They had two more children who were equally beautiful and loving, with the brains of there mother, and the compassion of there father.

“What could have done such a thing?” One lady asked the person stand next to her.

The day progressed with more of the traditions for the people of the town. For the first full day and night, the body is laid in the families home to be respected by the family and other members of the community. The preceding day, she would be laid in the family cemetery the day after she died.

People from the town came in and out to pay their respects to the woman who had been so kind to the community. Hope’s children were given looks of remorse as they watched people come in and out of there home, once full of love, now empty.

As night began to creep near, her husband went into the room that they once both shared. Inside was his wives body, which had a shear blanket covering her. The man laid down next to his wife, and fell asleep.

A few hours later, the father awoke for a vivid night mare. A moment passed, then he rolled over and noticed that Hope’s body was gone. He grabbed a candle and began to see if she had fallen off of the bed.

He heard a snap of thunder and said, “It must have started raining when I slept.” He walked by his first child’s room, to make sure that he was all right.

“Daddy,” a tiny voice sounded under the layers of sheets.

“What is the matter?” The father asked. He could tell that something was wrong.

“Can I stay with you?” his son asked.

The father shook his head yes, and the boy jumped out of bed. He ran behind his father, feeling that he would be safe. They went to the other two rooms, to check if the two girls were all right. Inside there rooms, they softly slept in there small beds.

The father took his son back to his room, and kissed him goodnight. Then, the father looked at a sword that he had left on the wall. It had been given to him by his father before he died. He then went to the kitchen to get a glass of water from the bucket he had brought in earlier that day. When he was about to enter his bedroom, he noticed that the sword was missing.

He grabbed the ax that he kept beside it, and ran to his son’s room. He looked in and saw his son in his bed. He ran to the bed and pulled back the blankets to find that his son had been gutted like an animal. The father began to walk backwards out of the room in shock. The thunder was sounding every few seconds, which meant there were only moments of light. He went to the next room, to find his daughter ripped up into pieces. As he ran out of the room, he noticed that her hand was attached to the doorknob. He screamed and began to cry and panic, then went to the next room. Like the room before, he found his little daughter ripped into pieces. Her heart was laying right by the door. The man began to scream as lightning struck.

As he walked out of the room, he saw, in the hall, his wife, standing. He walked up to her, and began shouting, “What happened to the children? What did you do?” Then he realized what was happening. He realized that his wife was standing in front of him. That alone was frightening, but then he noticed her mutated face.

“I love you honey,” She said as she plunged the sword into his soft belly. Blood began to pour from his mouth as he hit the ground. He didn’t know what was happening.

“Why?” He asked, lying on the floor.

Hope just stared at the man. His blood covered the floor around his carcass. She looked down at her husband, and wondered why she had done it. She had become a vampire so she didn’t live the vision, yet did anyways. She saw that this would happen and yet still let it happen.

The night passed on as Hope rummaged through the house looking for anything that reminded her of her old life, and then destroying it. She broke mirrors, ripped up clothes, and gashed pictures into pieces.

It was still dark when dawn approached. A man came to Hope and her husband’s home. As he entered, he saw blood on the walls, with little prints.

“My god,” he said as he covered his mouth. He continued to walk through the house, until he saw the husband in the hall. His arms were ripped from his body, and throw around the home.

He bent over to look at the body, as a shadow ran across the wall. He turned around to find Hope, with the ax her husband had had. She swung the ax across his front, just grazing his skin.

“Hope? It is a miracle. Don’t be afraid,” he said, putting his hand up. “I’ll help check to see if they are still here.”

She dropped the ax, with tears falling down her face. She ran to the man and hugged him. She had only seen him a few times in the market, yet she had wanted to hold him in her arms ever since.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. As she hugged him, she asked, “Does anyone know you are here?”

“No,” he said.

“What is your name?” She asked the man. His blood was staining her clothes as she continued to be held by him.

“Michel,” he said.

She suddenly changed into her demon vampire face, and sunk her teeth into his neck. He stood frozen in that spot, enjoying the high. Then, he realized that she was killing him. He tried to push her away, but he did not have the strength to do so. Suddenly, she pulled away, and had a flash of light. In her mind, she saw Michel sticking a wooden stake through her heart. Then, when the flash went away, a fist almost hit her face. She ducked the blow, then grabbed her ax and hit him on the back of the head with the flat side.

She grabbed his body, and bit into his neck again, and sucked down hard. She could feel the warm blood enter her mouth and go through her body. Before she finished, she took a dagger, cut her left hand, and fed Michel. He began to suck on her hand, and in the back of her mind, slowly lost what was left of Hope. All that was left is the demon, and this new vampire that she had created to spend an eternity with.