Emmerson & The Guardian

Mary saunters down the street distraught and teary eyed. Every step she had to will forward. She wipes the tears away with the back of her hand before opening her phone to dial her mother. Two rings later her mother answers with worry in her voice. “Hellllo?” “MOM!” Mart rasps out. “Oh Mary! I’ve been so worried! Police came looking for you... they said you...OH Mary ?!” Her mother begins to sob uncontrollably. Once she collects herself she asks “Baby, are you ok?” “I...I... killed him, mom.” Tears begin to sting Mary’s already raw eye lids as they threaten to spill over. “I’ve never hurt anyone before mom. I don’t know what came over me. I was so scared! He threatened me, threatened us all and had I known he already told the reporter. Mom what have I done?” Mary falls to her knees in the middle of the alley way and sobs silently into the phone. “Mary, you have to pull yourself together. You have to stay strong. Your father and I are going to figure something out. We love you.” And with these last words from her mother Mary stands to her feet and begins to trudge forward again. “I love you, too.” ‘Click’ Mary hangs up the prepaid telephone. She knew she needed to get a different phone to attempt to avoid being tracked by the police. After the incident Mary ran to her apartment only to collect a few necessities, and has been held up in her hotel ever since. She’s only left to purchase the cell phone. The Motel 8 isn’t a classy establishment, but she knew she wouldn’t draw any attention to herself here. As she skulks back to the hotel- careful to only take back alleyways- something drags her from her thoughts. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as her keen senses sharpen to identify the potential threat. “WHO’S THERE?” She screams. The fear in her voice is tangible. She glances over her shoulder and a cry in fear escapes her throat. She whirls back around in attempt to run when she hears a whistle that makes her look frantically for its source. She’s having a difficult time making out anything distinct due to the darkness and the tears, but something grabs her from behind. Their hands is firm and unrelenting. “Don’t try to run my precious. All hope is lost for you. I’m going to enjoy this more than you know!” He whispers seductively in her ear, and she can feel his hot breath on her neck. He strikes her hard across the face with the blunt end of what? A pistol? Mary can’t figure it out but before the abyss takes her under she can conclude that her attacker is a man. He throws her on the ground and the hazy figure that is standing over her is aroused at the sight of her discomfort. Mary awakens to the taste of blood in her mouth- from the blow she received the night before no doubt. The taste causes her fangs to extend as her head flies backward and her back arches. She’s met with an excruciating pain from her ankles and wrists. Before sourcing the pain she retracts her fangs and shuts her mouth as quickly as possible, but knows by the sound of it there are at least 75 people in front of her. Mary hoped her attacker were a r****t or a serial killer- because these are both situations she may be able to get out of, but upon opening her eyes she realizes she is faced with a much more sadistic foe. Before her stands a crowd of people all watching with horror struck expressions. They obviously saw her fangs, but on the small chance they didn’t they will still be mortified at Mary’s trussed up state. Mary’s arms and legs have been bound to a large wooden pole in the middle of town square. It’s brittle wood splinters her flesh as she attempts to break loose, but her wrists and ankles are bound to the pole by barbed wire. Every inch she moves from distress causes the blades to dig deeper into her ivory skin. The pain is agonizing. Every one of her senses is heightened. She can hear each distinct drip of blood as it bounces off the pavement and back into its own pool. She can feel each blade from the barbed wire digging into her flesh, and the clock from town hall feels as if it’s reverberating through her bones. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock... every second feels like an eternity. “Please! Someone! Anyone.... please help!” Mary cries out to the crowd. Her cries make her flinch in pain from the barbs biting deeper into her skin. “This is it...” Mary thinks to herself. Mary was only 22, strikingly beautiful, and just beginning life. She knows she has more to do in this life, that her time on earth shouldn’t be over. One drunken night of sorrow turned tragic epic mistake couldn’t be the end. “Please, I’m begging you...help me.” Her voice is almost a whisper at this point. She glances around the crowd, but no one was moving- they all stood still as statues. A man dressed in a black trench coat, black shirt, and black jeans emerges from the back of the crowd and comes to stand to her left side. Her head pounding with pain from the contusion she suffered the night before, but she can still conclude he’s the attacker. Then he speaks. “As I’ve told you all...they are monsters. Blood thirsty and sent here from the depths of hell to disease our world.” He pauses for effect and rubs his hands together in villainous delight. “She should pay for her depravity! She can’t get away with killing a human! What should we do to this soulless creature?” “Burn her at the stake!” “Drown her in holy water!” “Burn the b***h with garlic!” Each outcry from the crowd made Mary almost want to laugh. These people are morons, though it is not really their fault. They believe whatever they see on T.V. But after looking at the man in black Mary realizes she is not making it out of this mess... her knight in shining armor wasn’t going to swoop in and whisk her away to safety. Mary decided that knowing she was in a flight or fight situation she would give them the show the man in black wanted. Mary let out a low hiss from the back of her throat, allowed her eyes to turn completely black, and allowed her fangs to extend as far as they could. She would give him and this crowd the monster of their nightmares. Mary thrashed against the barbed wire and the pole causing it to crack. She was using every ounce of force she had left in her body to put on a show that may cause enough panic for everyone to run in fear. This only caused her already broken flesh to become more like hamburger meat than skin. Blood pooled around her feet so much that she could see her reflection. “Dear God...who am I?” Mary let’s out a sigh in defeat. The man in black allowed his lips to curl into the most devilish grin Mary has ever seen a human do, and then he reached into his pocket and revealed a steak about eight inches long. A dull reddish sheen glints off its blunt end. Mary realizes this is what he used to strike her with in the street. She squints and notices Latin inscriptions etched all over the stake. “This will bring justice for the Creatures actions.” He holds the stake up for everyone to see- swaying back and fourth like it’s an artifact from a museum. As he turns to Mary he leans in close to her ear and whispers- “In hac vita mortem, et sequenti.” Mary allows herself to slump down on the pole as she is too exhausted to hold herself up anymore- she is almost unrecognizable due to all the blood and swelling from her injuries. As a soft sigh escapes her lips the man in black raises the stake over his head and thrusts it downward into Mary’s heart. Without another word Mary disintegrates into ash. All that is left is the barbed wire tainted with Mary’s blood, and ash. The crowd recoils in shock at first, then erupt with roars of joy. The man kisses the stake, places it back into his pocket, and throws his head back in pleasure as he allows the wind to blow Mary’s ash all over him. He disappeared into the crowd without another word.