Black Dawn

It was a shame, she was a beautiful girl, however the fact remained. She had seen him. He was lost in the moment with one of his latest playthings, and she absentmindedly taking out the trash at the dive bar she scratched out a living at. She saw him, and he saw her. There was an unspoken agreement between them that she wouldn't tell. But in this town, secrets were power. And as he was the premier agent in these parts his secrets could make her a golden goddess. He mulled over it for a few weeks, as he watched her. Watched as she attended countless auditions, trying like so many young beautiful children in this city to become a star. He could have made her the star that she was dying to be. But unfortunately, she had seen him. Now the only place she'd be a star was on the coroner's slab, then on the mortician's table as he made her beautiful one last time.

He decided that it was her time on a beautiful winter night. There was an unnatural chill on the air as though god, Satan, or some other thing unnamed by mortal lips knew of the bloody business that would soon be afoot. He drove the now memorized rout to her flat. They had talked a few days ago, he had acquired her resume from one of her numerous auditions. Admittedly he was impressed, she was classically trained, and a charisma about her, though it was noted that she seemed predatory in her demeanor. And most that she auditioned for found her to be intimidating. He shook his head sadly; the fools were intimidated by power it seemed. As he turned the last corner to her flat, he wondered to himself, how different their paths would have been had they met in another place at another time. He put it to bed it was killing time and he had to be ready.

Marcus knocked at her door, and all of his lies died on his lips. She had a preternatural beauty about her, in fact looking at her in the flesh was so jarring that her pictures were lies. They did her no justice. How had he not seen all of this before? How could he have been so blind? He stood there, dumbfounded. Then he made the mistake of staring into her eyes, God those eyes, they were the deepest midnight blue. As he stared in them he felt he would go mad, they offered him a thousand promises of unimaginable pleasure if only he never looked away. A faraway voice spoke to him, it was of honeyed velvet.

"Sir? I'm sorry, Sir? Are you alright? Do you need me to call an ambulance?" She spoke with a deep concern, had he not spent so much time with actors he would have been convinced that she actually cared about a wretch like him.

"I'm sorry, you must think I'm some sort of lunatic. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm..." Marcus began

"Marcus Alexander, there's not an aspiring actor in this town that doesn't know of you, that doesn't pray for your call. I'm honored that you think me worthy of your time. Still, coming to my apartment in the middle of the night seems unorthodox." The young woman said suspiciously

"I know how it seems, but your résumé required my immediate attention. I needed to meet you now Miss?” Marcus said lying quickly

"Pierce, Dominque Pierce. It's an honor to formally make your acquaintance." Said Dominique curtly

"Odd, such a plain name for such a remarkable woman. What a mundane coincidence." Marcus said still mesmerized by this woman

"If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were insulting me. You wouldn’t be insulting me, would you Marcus?” Dominique asked icily

“No of course not.” Marcus said thickly

“Hm, fair enough, why don’t you come in? You did say we had business do discuss after all.” Dominique said silkily

“Yes, I think I will come in.” said Marcus in a stupor

“Good, good. Right this way.” Dominique said in a velvety voice

Marcus didn’t feel himself; his mind was foggy and his limbs felt heavy. If he didn’t know any better, he would say he was in some sort of trance. But that was impossible. Pushing the thought to the recesses of his mind he followed the beautiful creature into her apartment. The first thing he noticed was the extremely low lighting, everywhere he looked there were candles. He smelled something on the air, but he couldn’t focus on anything. For her part Dominique simply watched Marcus, she watched as he tried to focus on anything. He was a disappointment; she thought his mind would be stronger than this. But for now, she would play along with him. She noticed his pupils dilating as he focused on one of her many candles. This would be her rope; this was how Marcus would hang himself

"Don't mind the candles Mr. Alexander, I just despise harsh lighting. It just feels so unnatural." Dominique said seductively

"I um, yes. I’ve never been one for candles myself but I love the vibe of your place. It feels…" Marcus trailed off

"Mmm, yes Marcus. Tell me how it feels, tell me everything." Dominique said hungrily. She quickly composed herself, she couldn’t give up the game yet

"When we met that night in the alley, I was afraid. I couldn’t let anybody know my secrets. So, I came here tonight to…” Marcus began

"No, no, Marcus. Don’t stop now, finish. Why did you come here tonight?” Dominique asked aggressively

“I came here to kill you.” Marcus said, his voice breaking

“And why is that Marcus? Why kill me? I’m nobody.” Dominique asked threateningly

“Because, mommy doesn’t like when I leave messes.” Said Marcus in a high-pitched voice

“What was it you said earlier Marcus? Mundane? You know what’s truly mundane? That for all your bravado, for the legend of Marcus Alexander, all you are is a pathetic little boy who’s terrified of his mommy. Oh, this is absolutely delicious.” Dominique said mockingly

“Don’t make fun of me!” said Marcus in a shaky voice

“And if I don’t stop what will you do, mama’s boy?” Dominique said in a singsong voice

Marcus never gave her an answer, he immediately went for her throat. He had done this countless times. He had this down to a science. He would kill this awful woman and then mommy would be happy, if mommy was happy, she wouldn’t hurt him anymore. He though about this as he continued to squeeze, he then felt a warmth in his pants as he ejaculated. He was so lost in the moment he didn’t notice how cold Dominique’s skin already was. Or that she was staring at him

“Oh, now would you look at that, mommy’s little man made a mess of his pants. I don’t think she’s gonna like that, no siree!” Said Dominique effortlessly removing his hands from her throat.

“What, what are you? Why are you so strong?” Marcus asked in bewilderment

“Oh Marcus, I’m a hunter of sorts. Tonight, I’m hunting a predator that moves from state to state like a virus attacking young women as he goes. I’ve been tracking you for months. You were careful at first, but you got to California and you got sloppy. I guess there was just so much flesh on the market you just couldn’t help yourself. Such a greedy little boy.” Dominique said dismissively

Marcus was terrified. He didn’t know what he was dealing with, and he had to get out of here. This didn’t make sense; he was Marcus Alexander. He was supposed to be in control, he was always in control. So, what if this bitch was a little strong. He would kill her just like all the others. Then he would be free of this hellhole. Thinking quickly, Marcus grabbed one of the candles and threw it on Dominique. Then he sprinted for the door. He was almost there when he heard something that turned his blood into ice.

“Come on now, Marcus. Surely you can do better than this.” Came Dominique’s voice

Marcus’ eyes widened in horror as he turned around. There stood this woman covered in flames and laughing at him. It was tan impossibility. At least that’s what he kept trying to tell himself as the last vestiges of his sanity shattered like glass. Before long, Marcus was curled up in a ball on the ground and sucking his thumb. Everything that Marcus was, or at least pretended to be was gone. All there was, was a little boy that was afraid of being beaten by his mother. He was lost in these thoughts, so lost he didn’t hear the approaching footsteps, he didn’t, notice how effortlessly he was being lifted up, he didn’t feel the fangs as they pierced his neck. No, Marcus felt nothing as his eyes rolled in the back of his head and the deep black took him.

As Dominique drained Marcus, she felt something that she hadn’t in centuries. Dominique remembered her earlier years when she first became a vampire, the hunting, the blood of living creatures, It tasted of the sweetest ecstasy. Back then, she had lived as a beautiful savage. She killed who she wanted, she loved who she wanted. For a time, she was truly free. But as with all things there came a time when she had to put childish things aside. Dominique had had watched as her kind had slowly been either hunted or began hiding in the shadows.

Dominique had chosen to hide herself away, and over the long centuries her senses had dulled and she began to live a mundane life. But tonight, after killing Marcus, Dominique knew that she wouldn’t be able to go back to living in the shadows and drinking from blood banks. More of her kind had decided it was time to leave the shadows as well. For the past month, the number of disappearances had risen drastically and if Dominique looked in the right places, she could see signs of her people all around. A rare event was at hand, something that Dominique thought she would experience. A powerful vampire had awoken, and like most of her kind Dominque was drawn to them. Deep down Dominique hoped that this ancient would be the one to unite her people. The fire in her apartment raged around her. Dominique latest life fell to ashes around her, in truth she wouldn’t miss it. Dominique strode out of the apartment with nothing but the clothes on her back, stole Marcus’ car, and tore off into the night. She hoped that wherever she drove, there was a brighter future for vampire kind.