Thirst
of Youth
Preston
J. Sexton
Excerpt
Heat Level: Violent
Book
Heat Level: 4
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at: www.roguephoenixpress.com
Elena
stood in the doorway of the store and stared out. She took a
deep breath, apologized one last time to the cashier, and stepped outside. She turned first to her left and then to her right. Elena was relieved to see the women were gone. Unless she took a shortcut through a long alley,
about another half mile lay between the convenience store and her apartment. The alley trailed behind a group of apartments two
blocks from the convenience store. Again, she felt the
cold rush of fear cramping her joints as she attempted to speed up her pace. Elena refused to turn around. She knew her pursuers stalked closely. If she looked over her shoulder, Elena would have
known the two women were within an arms reach. They moved
with the wind, silent and with little effort. At any
moment, the devious strangers could have snatched her. Their instincts made them patient for the exact second
when Elena’s body was at its ripest. The point in time
when her heart pumped erratically and her life’s energy was so full of horror
that when they bit into her flesh her vital fluid would spill into their mouths
as uninhibited as water from an overflowing dam. It was all
part of the game to them, a strategic element of the hunter. They consumed the fear radiating from Elena’s body.
Once
she reached the alley, it was a straight shot to her front door. Elena forced herself to believe she had reached a semi-safe
point in her journey. If anything were too happen,
she presumed her screams would echo amongst the walls, encouraging one of the
tenants in the apartments above to call the police. Turning the corner into the alley, she glanced over
her shoulder to determine the distance separating her and the two menacing
women. The two anomalous strangers had disappeared into the
darkness once again. Elena saw the small light from
the front porch of her apartment. A quarter of the
way into the alley, she began to hear a sound similar to whispers all around
her. She marched through the darkness observing everything
that hid in the shadows. Her eyes filled
with terrifying illusions. Every box, garbage
can, or heap of trash became a threat. There was no
one there. She turned toward her apartment and gazed intently
into the beacon of light. She sauntered steadily,
nearly running.
Elena’s ears filled with the unnerving
ring of whispers.
The whispering grew louder, sounding
more and more like hissing, or the unmistakable rattle of someone shivering. She looked over her shoulder again. This time two shadows appeared behind her at the
corner where she entered the alley. She heard their
laughter as they moved closer and closer. A powerful
gust blew by. Suddenly a blackened figure appeared next to Elena
shoving her to the ground. As she rolled on
the cool pavement kicking and screaming, the two women grabbed her legs,
reeling her in like a hooked salmon. The women’s eyes
were darker than the darkest night, resembling black shiny marble. They bore into Elena’s soul. Both hissed--exposing
there jagged demonic fangs. When Elena felt the
icy fire of pain arch through her body, she knew she was going to die. The
monsters moaned as they cut into Elena’s limbs, ripping away the firm flesh. She closed her eyes as the demons sucked blood from
her wounds. She tried to scream. Her muscles
cramped from the lack of blood flow. She grew weaker and
weaker. The two ferocious women continued to pull tissue away
from her legs.
Cars
drove by on the narrow street in front of Elena’s apartment. No one heard her screams. Suddenly the two beasts relinquished their
bloodletting. Both ran off giggling playfully as a man approached. Elena’s tears blurred her vision. She silently thanked the mysterious man for arriving
before the two demons had eaten her completely. She lay
paralyzed. Droplets of blood escaped from her mutilated legs--pooling underneath shredded tears at the back of her
arms. She whispered for the man to help her. Elena could not see him clearly. As he moved cunningly toward her, she realized his
soothing eyes hypnotized her. Something about him
made her feel relaxed even after all that had happen only seconds before. He kneeled close to her. Softly
grabbing her hair, he yanked her head back exposing her neck. She could feel the warmth of his sharp fangs as they
pierced her skin.
Elena struggled to breathe as the man
sucked harder and harder. Slipping in and out
of consciousness, she tried to reach up to pull the man away from her neck. His thirst drained the little strength Elena had left. She heard him purring as her eyes closed. When she opened them again, the man had disappeared. In the humid heat of the summer night, the chill of
death coursed through Elena’s young body. She took two
slow gasping breaths and then she breathed no more. Elena lay lifeless--eyes wide
open, fixated on the small light on the front porch of her apartment.
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