Unbound Red

Thursday, December 24th. The city streets were swarming with smiles and drunks. They were out having the time of their lives. A true jolly time, even under the light dusting of snow.

Amongst the crowd, I am there, passing by, hidden from all the joy they were having. My pain, my suffering—it has all come to this. I have almost forgotten how long it has been. The monsters lurking in the shadows have turned me into one of them. They don’t greet me like a curious neighbor. No, they shun me away with disdain.

It’s not that they fear me or see me as a threat. But they should.

Such a vast city ensures its darkness would swallow me, but there’s no chance. I’m a part of the bowls that linger about. One with the darkness. The monsters are nightmares too many. Should they cross my path, I’ll remind them they too should have fears. That they too can experience pain.

Perhaps a different path existed, but now that door is closed.

With anger as my tool, revenge was the only thought that lingered in my mind. And I shall wield it as a blade to carve through everyone that stands in my way.

***

The evening was growing long, and some employees took a leisurely smoke break. Despite the weather, they stayed warm from the drinks in hand, each other’s company, and a bit of respite from the busy shifts inside.

One man, ditching a smoke and preparing himself to head back, noticed down the alley one of his colleagues staggering from the shadows. He was shaking from the heavy downpour that drenched them from head to toe.

“Are you alright, mate?” one asked. Another hurried inside to find something warm to dry off their friend.

“What kind of walk did you go on?”

“How are you get soaked?”

None of them received an answer from their disheveled friend as he stumbled into the light. The exit sign’s light glowed over his head, and they could see his face was overwhelmed by an overbearing crimson hue.

“What the?”

Blood poured from their lips as their mouths opened to reveal an absence of a tongue and rows of teeth. Their eyes were vacant as they drifted forward only to stumble and trip over themselves.

One raced over to help, only to sniff the air.

“Rwalllghlwwhw…” the individual blurted. The damage to their mouth began to heal enough for coherent words to form. “RUHHHHNNNN!”

Then, a small glow from the darkness flickered—a light that seemed to hover there to defy gravity.

From a lightly tossed lighter, a small flame flickered. It dropped onto the soft crystal snow, only to catch quickly and light up the trail left by one who was now halfway inside.

***

The front door of the main lobby was wide open, so many rushed to the side entrance. The doormen gaped when they noticed a woman with short raven-dark hair and crimson eyes strolling past the scarlet red carpet to the front desk.

Ping went the bell that sat on the front desk, calling for the receptionist. Their jaws dropped to utter disbelief as they stood petrified in fear of what stood there.

“Call him downstairs,” the young woman asked. Her brow furrowed, her gaze sharp. “Call him, or I burn the whole bloody place down.”

The individual behind the desk hesitated, reaching for the phone before another halted their hand.

“You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t even be alive.”

“Call him,” the young woman parroted. Her tone was incisive as it shot to the one who dared to give her lip.

“Do you know where you are?” The receptionist scoffed. “This is the Velvet Royal Heights. You dare walk in here like this?”

Taking the bell, the individual tapped it. The sound radiated further to all corners of the lobby, reaching even the ears of those who were not present.

Employees of all shapes and sizes trickled forth, ceasing their shifts and the responsibilities that came with them to stare at the one before the front desk.

No matter how they all looked, where they came from, they all worked under the same roof for the same creature. Their crimson eyes heavy, casting a red wave to swallow the one who stood against them.

Unfazed, the young lady reached down to retrieve a soaking brown bag for all to see.

“Call him downstairs,” she said. Her words were no longer a warning but a command.

None moved an inch as silence filled the Velvet Height’s lobby.

Checking her clock, Sirius noted the time. A heavy sigh eluded her lips as the building rattled and shook. The lights fluttered before the fire alarm went off and the sprinklers turned on. Old and new guests flooded from the elevators and stairs as quickly as possible to every conceivable exit. They scurried like rats in the sewer.

Amid the swarm, a pair of eyes seemed to glow. Anger that could not be extinguished had reached its boiling point.

“Move!”

“What’s going on!”

“Out of my way!”

Chaos quickly followed various shouted words. It didn’t matter what family you came from, your name, how much money you had, or whether you were well-spoken or well-dressed. Those who see and experience danger reveal their true colors at that moment.

Slipping and falling. Many tumbled as the smooth, tiled floor became a puddle.

Moving against the crowd, Sirius kept her axe by her side. She crept, using the escaping people as a buffer to reach the main elevator, as it had been called.

As she halted at the doors to step inside, she found herself with company joining her. With the doors closing, the elevator rose to the 24th floor—the floor containing the illustrative restaurant that many believed was to die for. Seven individuals had walked in, and only one came out.

Witnesses standing in the hall screamed in horror at what they saw. A woman caked and drenched in red from head to toe. Suddenly, the building rocked again, darkness enveloping everything in sight.

People heard snarling and hissing as screams soon became whispers. With no power and a hall filled with half-satisfied, hungry vampires, Sirius had but one choice.

Sparks flashed as the axe scratched against the walls, lighting up the hall amid the slaughterhouse chaos that ensued. She beat, broke, cut down, and hacked away at everything in her path. The more troublesome prey left her fighting dirty, biting, and drinking their blood in order to stay at the top of her game.

They used the glass from various broken champagne bottles as a weapon. Stabbing, more slashing, as some were not fortunate for such pleasures. Others found their mouths filled with glass, chewing not of choice as the bar was now closed until further notice.

Sirius did not stop at just butchering; she ensured nothing was left as she made her way to the back of the five-star restaurant.

One fortunate soulless creature avoided capture briefly before revealing the passcode that bypassed the rest of the levels, while a freight elevator ascended to the sweet penthouse.

She rolled her head and took to the ding with an elated sigh.

But once at the top, the doors opened, and standing there was an individual. A woman who looked straight out of a glamour magazine. Frozen in time like some black and white movie star. She eyed Sirius up and down before stepping to the side. The doors to the three-floor prime suite at the top were already open. Many of the important members of the hotel staff had already fled because of the alarms, but one remained. The one who would always remain stood in the darkness at the far end. A tall figure cloaked in black, its gaze ever transfixed on the beauty of the cityscape.

“Look at you. Still alive.”

“Vlad…” Sirius’s tone was harsh and cold as the words of his name scraped out and off her lips.

“Oh, what’s this? You know my name? And to say it with such impudence. Truly a lost child.”

“…I ain’t your kid to be worried about.”

“Hmm… but you are. You see, every vampire in this city comes from me. Whether that be directly or not. My blood runs deep through this very city’s veins. It is I who they fear.”

“Tough luck for you then.”

“Hold your tongue, fledgling. Yes, it may have been some time since I last tasted the blood of battle, but I do not fear it. They once hailed me as the Impaler. Oh, how the rivers once ran red at my heels.”

Raising his hand upward, Vladimir flicked the air. A hole was carved out through Sirius’s side before she knew it.

“I wished not to make a mess, but you need to learn a lesson for being so bold.”

Humoring himself, he carried out a similar attack again and again, leaving an unrecognizable lump of flesh lying there. Unfortunately, Sirius’s wounds healed with remarkable speed to allow her to pry back to her heels.

“To heal that quickly, hmm, someone’s been eating.”

Cracking her neck, Sirius took to throwing her axe, severing the connection tubes that transferred fresh blood to Vladimir’s body. A humorous gaze grew cold. Then the hotel lurched. An explosion bellowed from its bowels.

“Are you insane, child?”

The smell of smoke funneled in as the walls grew warm.

“Yeah,” Sirius smiled. “Pretty sure I am.”