[Worm]

The way that candle light hit Elizabeth’s face made her hooked nose appear even more daunting. It was a feature of hers that clearly gave away her eastern European bloodline. Her skin radiated against the warm glow of candlelight, snake like eyes watched as William took bite after bite of Mrs. Thomas’ brain. It seemed that the mind control was still in effect. When a human is surrounded by vampires long enough, a euphoric state eventually becomes a lens over their reality.

”Wow! This is – amazing!” William took another bite before looking over to his vampire captor. Her eyes dug into him like knives. He gulped, swallowing the grey and slimy spoonful. ”The texture… Is almost familiar.” He sighed, realizing how awkward he felt now. ”Are you going to have any?” He lifted his spoon to Elizabeth, who in response lifted a hand and shook her head.

”No thank you. I am quenched.” Her voice quiet and calm as William took another bite.

It was in that bite that he blinked away that little bit of haze over his vision. Like a dream, or a hallucination, he watched the lens slip away. For a brief moment, he saw the disgusting mass of brain matter in front of him. His spoon was coated in slime and blood. His face became white like a sheet. He dropped his spoon. The silver clicked against the wooden floor and before it had time to rest, William vomited. He tucked his body to the side of the beautiful, hand carved dinner table. He didn’t want to look up, because sobriety was kicking in now.

”William.” Elizabeth didn’t move. It was the brood mother’s duty to create a cohesive hive, not to do any heavy lifting. ”What did you see?” Her voice hummed across the table, under the cream colored table cloth and into William’s mind.


”Emily. Emily…” Drool splattered from his mouth as he spoke. Along with some little bits of chewed up brain. ”She was – there was a man with her. A few of them.” He choked, trying to process his experience as a marionette.

”Yes. They are watching her.” Elizabeth sighed, standing up. Her long legs were surrounded by the black veil of her gown. ”Smarter than I thought they were.” She strummed slender fingers against a pointed chin.

”Can I – Can I go back?” He hesitated. His eyes didn’t blink, he stared straight into the bubbling pile of bile and cerebral cortex. Elizabeth chuckled, looking over the mess. Before she could return a glance to the unsavory spot, her girls were scrubbing at William’s feet.

”Go back? Ridiculous!” She chuckled again.

”No! I-I won’t tell anyone about you! I can – I can go back to Emily. Tell her I got kidnapped by a band of gypsies! Or I could tell her – I had to get away after you- … Your grandmother’s death. Right. I could say I didn’t want to be a suspect.” He shook his head up and down, nearly convincing himself, snot bubbling from his barely sane face.

Elizabeth sighed, almost seeming to breathe through every wooden object in the house, them too sighing and creaking. ”No William. I need you.” With the mess on the floor now clean, Rose and Lillian hovered behind William. ”Because I need Emily. MY ISABEL.” Her eyes erupted with a passion rarely seen, the candles around the room raised in unison. Elizabeth snapped her fingers and her entourage of attractive fangs began to escort William back to their dream chambers. There he would return to his rose-colored lenses and forget all about his fiancé once again. William kicked and pushed the girls, only to be swarmed onto. Straight for the throat, Lillian held onto him like a chew toy until they could reach his prison.

Elizabeth plopped back down into her dining chair, a throne in its own right. She had plans for William. However, she admired his courage. The strumming of her nails against the dining table repeated in time with the ticking of her standing clock.