Spoiler
Wendy lives in the small village of Contention, one of the last existing villages in the land that was once modern-day Alaska. The setting is post-apocalyptic. Several years ago, the world was torn apart due to the rising of vampire revolutions.
This goes along with another piece. See Ashes and Teeth.
This goes along with another piece. See Ashes and Teeth.
Blood and Crosses
H. C. Smith
H. C. Smith
“I’m going to see Sirius, just so you know.” Wendy smoothed a pair of stockings over her thin legs. She laced up her combat boots by the fireplace, her hair tumbling around her face.
“Wendy, take your crucifix if you’re going out,” Her best friend, Tessa, suggested. Tessa sat in a chair by the fire with an old book lying open in her lap. Her long dirty blonde hair was tied back with a ribbon. The light of the flames danced across her slender, charming face, making her look wild. “The skies are still somewhat cloudy.”
Wendy retrieved a foot-long silver crucifix from her bedroom. She studied the decorative features and brushed her fingers over the image of Christ bearing the cross. As she looked upon such a painful image, she was reminded of her own struggle with faith. She kissed the figure.
As she turned to leave, she found her reflection within a cloudy mirror. Wendy had a pretty face, but it was dusted with small, silver scars. Her wide eyes were bright blue. She noticed her curved lips, thin nose, and round chin. Her long dark brown hair fell down her shoulders in loose curls. Upon her slender throat, her eye caught sight of the ghost of a past injury. She remembered how she had earned that wound. It had been carved by the teeth of the demon, Ethelred.
…
Wendy looked around her dark room and waited until she stopped trembling. She reached over to her bedside table. She found a match and lit a candle. When light crowded the room, she was relieved. Then something caught her eye.
Across her sheets and her pillow was a dark, shimmering crimson stain. It filled her eyes with its presence. She covered her mouth with a hand to keep from screaming. It was blood.
Wendy quickly touched the skin of her neck. Her fingers brushed over something wet and jagged. Her flesh was upturned and scarred just below her ear. Pain ripped through her nerves when she touched the wound. Wendy began to tremble again.
“Oh my God.” Wendy breathed. She knew what it was.
Bite marks.
…
She quickly turned from those thoughts.
Wendy did not know where Ethelred had gone to. After he had been warded off by Revered Sirius with a jar of holy water and Scripture, Ethelred fled into the wilderness and was unlikely to return, Wendy hoped. A small part of her thanked Ethelred, though. He had brought her to God.
She hurried to the front door and pulled her coat on over her dress. “I’ll see you later, Tessa.” Wendy glanced back for a second to catch Tessa winking at her from behind a book. Wendy opened the door and hurried outside. She was suddenly preoccupied with the cold wind clinging to her hair and clothes.
The air was unspeakably frigid. Wendy thought her breath would freeze in mid air as it escaped from her lips. The icy wind darted through her clothes. As she opened her eyes, they were assaulted by white. It had been snowing. Wendy cringed. She hated the cold.
The snow blanketed the ground. It clung to the roofs of the houses and trees, seemingly blotting out every imperfection in the world.
The sky was a flattened gray slate. An unnerving fog had settled over the area, cast like a white sheet over the distant mountains that bore down on the town of Contention with their emerald faces and snowcapped peaks.
Contention was a secluded town. It was cornered by the great mountain ranges in the east, west, and south and a massive lake pressed down upon it from the north. As if the jagged peaks were not enough to keep Contention away from the rest of world, the mountains were carpeted with thick vegetation and jungles of evergreens.
Wendy pulled her coat tightly around her, trying to keep the cold away, but no matter how hard she tried, it managed to sink into her bones.
So cold.
She progressed into the snow, stepping away from her house. Wendy knew that when she was outside on an overcast day, she must always be on guard. The monsters could not stand the sun and took every chance they could get to find prey when darkness was present.
Wendy’s disposition turned immediately to one of caution. Her eyes flickered toward the crawlspaces and the dark places between the houses. Then, her gaze darted toward the wilderness, where the brutes always seemed to wait. She clutched her cross tightly in her hand. Its weight made her feel confident, safe.
The village was completely and uneasily silent, for everyone was indoors. The crunch of snow beneath her boots was like the sound of thunder to her. She could feel the eyes of the creatures upon her from the woods. Their gaze was inescapable.
Wendy turned to face the church house on the opposite side of the village. She could see the steeple above the groups of houses. Reverend Sirius would be there. It was a long walk, and the gaps between houses and the crawlspaces made for great places to hide. Her stomach churned.
Three houses down, Wendy thought she spotted something hidden within the shadows of a crawlspace. Her blood ran cold and her grip tightened around her crucifix. Six houses down, a shadow stirred within an alleyway. Her pulse quickened.
But abruptly, light fell from the sky and swept most of the shadows away. Wendy whirled around and her eyes darted to the sky. From within a small tear in the clouds, white sunlight fell upon Contention. Wendy could feel its warmth upon her face and smiled. Her fears were cleared away with the shadows.
Then a scream ripped through the quiet and it tore through her ears. It was an earsplitting shriek of agony. Her heart skipped a beat and a vicious chill clawed down her spine. The sound was coming from beyond the borders of Contention, out in the fields.
Wendy frantically hurried across the frost and bolted toward the fence that faced the outer fields. All she could see was snow as she excitedly scanned the grounds. But then she spotted a small blemish of darkness. It looked like someone had fallen in the fields.
God, no. She recognized him by his blue coat.
It was Sirius. Beyond the borders. He was dead meat.
She had no time to get help. She had to act.
Wendy shoved her crucifix into the belt of her dress and began to swiftly climb the chain link fence. Her fingers were numb as she progressed up the side of the fence. She pushed herself up with the toes of her boots. Gritting her teeth, Wendy forced herself to move faster. If the sun was smothered by clouds again, Sirius would be dead for sure.
Wendy managed to reach the top of the fence. She panted and carefully swung her legs over the top of the fence, but her stockings and dress were snatched by the barbed wire. Wendy gave her clothes a quick tug and tore herself free.
She leapt from the fence and dropped thirty feet to the ground. Wendy landed hard on her side with a violent thud. She groaned, clutched her side and hurried to her feet.
God, keep the sun out! I’m begging you!
The distance between her and Sirius was staggering. Wendy would need to sprint to get to him in time. Once she was with him, she could defend him. With her cross, she could ward off the monsters that would be watching from the woods beyond the fields.
But her time was limited. The sun would not be out for long.
With all of her remaining strength, she began to sprint across the field in long strides. Her hair rippled behind her, her dress whirled around her knees. As she ran, her boots kicked up snow. The cold wind stung her eyes as she ran.
As the distance between her and Sirius shortened, the sun was being swept away by the cover of clouds. Wendy forced her legs to move faster, driven with the purpose of saving Sirius.
Finally, she cleared the distance between them with a few long strides. Wendy tumbled into the snow and fell upon Sirius to protect him. The sun was gone.
“Reverend.” She panted. His short dark hair was dampened with snow. His thin, bloodied face was ashen. Sirius’ coat was ripped. His shirt had been torn open, exposing his chest and neck that were mutilated with sickening bite marks. Blood was splattered everywhere and littered the white snow. “Sirius, wake up.” She patted his face with her hands, trying to wake him. “Sirius!”
His voice gurgled up from his broken throat. Blood spilled from his lips and trickled over his chin. “Wendy…” His wide eyes flickered open.
“Sirius.” Wendy breathed, comforted.
His limbs began to twitch and he tried to lift his head. “Wendy.” He croaked. His green eyes filled with horror. His hands were on Wendy’s face. They were shivering. “It’s a trick!” Blood bubbled through from his trembling lips. “I’m bait!”
Wendy’s eyes widened. It took a moment for her to make sense of his words. Her heart began to thunder in her chest. Her breathing quickened. Suddenly, she could feel dark eyes upon her. She was the prey of a predator.
Oh God… oh God… oh God…
From behind, Wendy sensed a presence. With a hammering heart, she slowly raised herself to a crouch and turned to see the stranger. Her eyes fell upon a woman. She was wearing a black dress that hugged her form, rugged leather boots, and a jacket. Wendy immediately recognized the prowler: It was Ivy.
Ivy stood alone. Her thin, willowy figure was motionless. Waist-length jet black hair flowed around her in the frigid wind. Her face was as Wendy remembered: Thin, sharp chin, slender nose, narrow eyes. Wendy could see whispers of Ivy’s past beauty across her face, but her dark eyes and sickeningly pale skin made Wendy’s stomach retch. Smeared across Ivy’s lips, chin, and cheeks was vividly red blood.
Wendy had been one of Ivy’s friends while she lived in the village. But, just months ago, disaster happened upon Ivy when she was attacked by one of the creatures. She became one of them: pale, bloodthirsty, powerful, and undead.
“Ivy.” Wendy’s voice broke around the name. Her hands began to tremble.
Ivy smiled, exposing a mouth filled with vicious fangs. “It’s so sweet to see you again, Wendy.” Her voice was coarse.
Wendy’s eyes narrowed. She gritted her teeth. “I hope you didn’t ingest any of Sirius’ blood, Ivy. You do realize what feeding from a baptized human would do to your insides, don’t you?” Wendy did not give Ivy the chance to respond. “You’ll burn.”
“Why such a cruel attitude toward me? I’m your friend, Wendy.” She growled. Ivy took a step closer to her.
Wendy stumbled backward, closer to Sirius. She was a live wire. Adrenaline coursed through her. “You’re no friend of mine. Not any more.”
Ivy shrugged and cocked her head. “It’s silly you would even consider that I consumed the blood of a priest. I’m not so reckless, Wendy, dear.”
Without another word, Wendy whipped the crucifix out from under her coat and brandished it before her, putting it between her and Ivy.
A shrill screech ripped through the air as Ivy cowered before the instrument. Her body thrashed and contorted violently upon the snowy ground, twitching like a spider under the blade of a knife.
As Wendy held the cross before her, Ivy managed to find a branch beneath the cover of snow. With superhuman strength, Ivy launched the branch through the air like a spear. It struck Wendy’s arms with a sickening crunch and the crucifix slipped from her grip, landing in the snow with a thud. Wendy gasped in pain.
Damn it!
Wendy had no other weapons. She trembled as blunt pain seared through her arms and hands. She gritted her teeth.
Ivy slowly raised herself from the ground. Her joints cracked and popped into place as she straightened. A cynical smile stretched across her face. “Is that all? I’m starving.”
“Ivy, no…” She whimpered. As Wendy backed away, Ivy’s dark irises began to swell until Wendy was staring into glimmering, solid black eyes.
Unexpectedly, Wendy was accompanied by another shadow. She studied the new arrival from the corner of her eye. She recognized him as one of the villagers, and more importantly, her partner. Her heart shuddered to a halt.
Eben.
Thank God!
He was tall and lean and his powerful limbs were graceful as they moved. His short black hair was swept back. Eben had no coat and stood barefoot in the snow. Wendy could not see his face directly, but thought something looked off about him. From her vantage point, she could see the muscles flexing in his pale face.
“I’m here, baby.” Eben breathed to Wendy.
He took her hand in his and kissed it. His lips were like ice. Eben lowered himself to a crouch as he slowly put himself between Ivy and Wendy. She placed her trembling hands upon his shoulders. She could not see a crucifix on him nor holy water. What was he planning to do?
His voice was firm as he spoke. Wendy could feel his words shake his body. “Ivy, you don’t want to do this.” Eben’s entire body shuddered with anticipation. Wendy could feel the muscles in his back tense beneath his shirt.
Ivy giggled and grinned. “Ebby, I can’t help myself. It’s impulse.” She said in a sickeningly bubbly voice. Her glossy black hair swept across her face, hiding her lifeless eyes.
Eben shook his head. Wendy heard him growl.
Ivy lowered herself into a crouch. Her black eyes glinted as the wind swept back the curtain of her hair. Ivy’s blood-smeared face twitched as she bared her fangs. “I want her.”
A wild snarl tore through Ivy’s lips and she lunged with supernatural speed. She became a blur.
With a flick of his arm, Eben smashed his hand into Wendy’s gut, knocking her off her feet and hurling her several yards backward. Wendy landed in the snow on her back.
Simultaneously, Eben had plunged his palm into Ivy’s chest, launching her meters across the field. Ivy managed to land on her feet and crouched.
Wendy scrambled to her feet, kicking up snow as she fought to stand. She staggered toward Eben. How did he do that?
To her right, Sirius was struggling to get away from Eben and Ivy. He was whimpering. Wendy hurried to Sirius and helped to his feet. His eyes were wide. “He’s been infected.” He voice was trembling so much, Wendy could barely understand him. “He’s one of them!”
Still holding onto Sirius, she turned just in time to see Ivy leap toward her across the distance of the field. Wendy saw a blur of eyes and teeth. She screamed and recoiled when a shadow streaked through the air and intercepted Ivy.
Eben.
While airborne, Eben snatched onto Ivy’s jacket with quick, sharp fingers and hurled her to the ground. They fell into the snow with a rumbling thud. Ivy had fallen on top of Eben.
“Eben!” Wendy made a step closer to him, but Sirius held her back. Her heart stopped.
Ivy whirled around to face Wendy and bared her fangs. Her dark hair rippled around her face and her black eyes gleamed with hunger. She lunged.
Sirius threw himself in front of Wendy as she gasped. In a split second, Eben snatched Ivy’s ankle as she leapt. Her fangs came within inches of Sirius before Eben swung her overhead and threw her across the field. Ivy skidded over the snow and growled. Eben let an inhuman roar shred through his lips as he darted after Ivy.
Wendy tore herself from Sirius’ grip and sprinted across the snow to where her crucifix had landed. She fell to her knees and began to comb through the snow frantically. She watched from the corner of her eyes as Eben wrestled in the snow, trying to contain the thrashing Ivy.
Wendy thought her veins would rupture from her quickening pulse. Her hands were in agony from the cold as she clawed through the snow to find her cross. She heard Ivy shriek. Wendy’s fingers grazed across something in the snow. The crucifix. She snatched it from beneath the frost and hurried to her feet.
Across the meadow, Ivy finally broke free from Eben’s grip by slamming him into the ground. His ribs crunched. Ivy grinned wickedly. She cackled as she faced Wendy. Her deathly eyes burned.
“Come get me.” Wendy barked. Her grip tightened on the cross. Ivy opened her jaws and pounced.
Wendy flourished her crucifix in front of her. It repelled Ivy with incredible force, hurling her backward across the snow where she began to twist and contort.
Eben darted across the field with unbelievable speed and fell on top of the thrashing Ivy to restrain her. Wendy stared in disbelief as Eben’s strong fingers sliced through Ivy’s throat. Her scream sounded like grinding metal.
He crammed his fingers into the wounds on her neck and with a vicious yank, tore her head from her shoulders with a sickening rip. Black blood spilled over the snow and splattered Eben’s clothes. Ivy was dead.
Wendy trembled, dropped her cross on the ground and retched, vomiting into the snow. She spat and then lifted her head to face Eben and cringed. Eben’s eyes were solidly black like Ivy’s. His grisly skin was so pale, it was gray against the white snow. She could see his fangs behind his trembling lips. His dreadful face twitched and flexed.
Suddenly, the clouds were parted and sunlight streamed down onto the field. Wendy’s eyes widened as Eben rolled away from Ivy’s corpse and cringed beneath the sun.
Eben screamed as his skin started to burn. The flesh of his legs and feet, exposed by his torn trousers, began to steam. His bare arms started to bubble under the sun as he tried to hide his face. He thrashed upon the ground, trying to escape the light.
Without a second thought, in desperation, Wendy shed her coat from her shoulders. She hurried over to Eben, fell at his side in the snow, and threw her coat over him, protecting him from the sunlight.
From behind, Sirius called after Wendy. Blood was still trickling from the wounds at his throat. Ivy’s infection would not spread into him, since he was baptized. He glanced at Wendy for a moment and then turned away. “Don’t stay long, Wendy. I won’t say a word.”
Any villager of Contention was to be put to death for associating with the outsiders. It was seen as treachery. Sirius refusing to report Wendy was a crime in itself. She had put him in a very critical position. “Thank you, Sirius.”
Sirius closed his eyes. His young face flinched as the sun was smothered then turned to leave. She watched him limp back to Contention. Once he was quite a distance away, Wendy faced Eben, still cowering beneath her coat.
Her eyes caught sight of Ivy’s remains; it had turned to embers and ashes in the sunlight. She shuddered and forced her eyes away from it.
“Eben, baby…” Wendy was speechless. Grief felt heavy in her heart. She pulled back the coat so she could face him. His skin gradually smoothed out from where the sun had scorched him. His black eyes gleamed, his sharp teeth trembled. “Are you hungry?”
Eben shook his head. “No, sweetheart.” He croaked. Wendy caressed his face with her fingers tips. His flesh was colder than the snow. Her frigid hands looked red against his revoltingly pale skin.
Wendy’s stomach lurched as she gazed upon Eben’s dreadful face. The creature did not look much different from the old Eben. She recognized his chiseled face, his prominent cheek bones, delicate lips, and sharp nose. She could see Eben within the monster.
“Eben, when were you bitten?” Her voice cracked. Tears streaked her face as she cradled him.
“Three weeks ago. Sirius told you I had gone to the other villages, as I ordered?” His voice trembled as he shivered.
Wendy nodded. Eben rested his head in her lap as she brushed her fingers through his hair. “I’m so cold.” He whispered.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Wendy cried. She cupped his face in her hands, trying to warm him.
Eben gritted his teeth as he trembled. Wendy tried not to notice his fangs. “We’re together, though. That’s all that matters.” He said and grinned weakly.
Wendy laughed halfheartedly and nodded, still weeping. She realized it did not matter how black his eyes were, how grisly his skin was, or how dreadful his teeth were. She loved him.
The snow began to melt and sink into her stockings and dress, but she did not care. She gathered Eben up and held him tightly. He looked up at her with solid black eyes.
“Baby.” He shuddered and she held him closer as he whispered. His breath was like ice. “I’m so cold.”
