Bloodfall

[Published in The Bloody Quill]


The misty coldness hits me as soon as I step out into the shadows of nightfall. Wrapping my cloak tight around me, I venture into that twilight realm they call the city. Immediately I am greeted by a wild cacophony of noise. Traffic jams spread east and west, north and south, violent honking and frenzied shouting echoing all around. My breath-cloud mingles with the evil-smelling night smoke. All of this I attempt to ignore. I am devilishly hungry.
Crossing the street between two stationary vehicles, I notice the usual flocking crowds that occupy the darkened evening. Flamboyant Goths of both sexes, blood-red clothing beneath shaven skulls, skin jewellery glittering upon pale flesh. I watch fireworks exploding in the moonlit sky, as black crows flit in the foreground of these flaming blasts. Nothing seems to change, and this includes my insatiable appetite. I have to get one of those disks.
As I make my way along the causeway, I cannot help but notice the array of females that litter the shop-fronts. They are dressed only in underwear and high heels, and sport a plethora of exotic hair-styles, all differing in colour. They are all lingerie, lipstick, and little else. Their exposed flesh is covered in goosebumps. They smile and show me their teeth, and I know - I just know - that they are not one of us.
I observe a dead male lying face down by the roadside. This is not uncommon, and indeed, the corpse is rudely and disturbingly ignored by passers-by. I believe the killing could only have occurred in the last hour, judging by the pool of fresh blood beside the split head. I am tempted, but am aware of the dangers. The cops have this shoot-on-sight policy to clean up the streets. Maybe this is a result of one of them, but I doubt it. It looks like a random murder to me, one disgruntled youth crossing another. And so I ignore the red spillage - reluctantly. The pure stuff is hard to come by these days.

I am beginning to visibly twitch as I approach the store. It must happen soon, or I think I'll go crazy. I'm still half asleep, but my needs are vital. This is the place. I blink as I try to focus on the brightness of the window display. The doors slide apart and I enter. The place is filled with youths mainly, insignificant smooth-skinned disk-heads. The odour is of various shades of cologne and exotic scent, drifting into the air from the flesh of two sexes. Again, I disregard all of this. I know what I want.
I learnt about this new disk via the local website. That over-abundant superhighway can be most useful after all. My palm is slick with sweat, and I lift it from the confines of my pocket and begin to flick through the software on offer. It doesn't take me long to find it. It's almost as though I can smell the thing, this precious object that I desire so much. I slide into the queue, and am immediately appalled at its length. It is too long by far. However, I must be patient. Patience is a virtue. Didn't someone say that once?
Time passes slowly in this line, but eventually I come face to face with a gum-chewing twentysomething with skin of an unusual shade. Cross-breeding is rife in the city nowadays, these freaks you see everywhere. I hand him the merchandise, and he doesn't make eye contact as he swipes my plastic. Twenty Euro dollars isn't much to pay, considering what I'm purchasing. I pocket my prize, and leave the store, the awful coldness hitting me once again. I hardly feel it this time.
The dead youth is still there, surrounded by a small army of pecking night-birds. I'm amazed the cops don't shoot them. A junkie with glazed eyes and slurred words approaches me with menace, and I push him into the arms of a spaced-out teenager in black corsetry. I cannot make out what sex he or she is. The females wearing next to nothing smile at me as I pass, but I don't smile back. That would merely encourage them. Those girls can be like leeches once you get sucked into their world. I have my own games I like to play.

An eternity passes before I reach home. Still clutching the disk, the auto doors hiss open, and I succumb to the welcome warmth of my homely interior. I discard my cloak, and dash straight to my computer. I can still hear the incessant night-noise from outside as I activate the system and insert the disk. I click on, and hear a soft whirring sound as it gathers the information. My fingertips are drumming on the edge of the keyboard. I'll never get used to this patience thing.
I think of the dreadful stuff they provide in the underground bars, that vile liquid they reckon is the real thing. It tastes disgusting, filled with chemicals and other shit. I am desperate for some decent sustenance. This might help. I survey the screen intently, as an image forms. Teeth, and claws, and crimson eyes. I've seen all that before. Don't tell me I've been ripped off. But wait...
A moving picture of horror is playing before me. A nubile female appears, all silky flesh and sweetness. She can't be more than seventeen. She doesn't see the creature, as it leaps upon her, biting and nipping into that young skin, piercing the flowing veins with a thirsty relish. That blood - I want it! It looks so pure and refreshing. Without realising, my mouth is already open, my fangs anticipating that crimson fix. If only I were inside that monitor.
Suddenly, I am amazed. I shrink back in fright, as that young blood streams from within the girl's innocent body. The stream turns to a river, which itself transforms into an ocean, a huge sea of deep red. In seconds it fills the whole of the screen. I can't even see her now, nor the creature. It's just - red! I don't even realise how hungry I really am, until I see that blood begin to seep through the edges of the screen. What? How can this be? Yet I don't care, as I lean forward and start to lick that stuff from off the monitor, as more and more appears, a veritable blood-feast. And the taste - it is as if the stuff has appeared from the veins of the purest virgin! Like an animal, I suck away every trace that appears. Until I am no longer thirsty, and there is no more.

My information was correct. Bloodfall - the interactive experience for vampires. Now breakfast is over, I click on to hard drive for a copy.