Torment by Jeremy Seals

greying and
pulling tight against the bones. His eyes bulged out, the teeth in his mouth
pulled back in a grimace, creating an almost comical appearance; some low rent
funhouse mummy unwrapped.
    Basil roared in triumph and ecstasy. His belly was
round, full of sustenance. It’d been years since he felt this wonderful! Life
itself ran through him, galloping through his dead veins like a derby horse.
Maybe he would make the switch back to humans.
    Time for the last. His nostrils flared, easily picking
up the woman’s scent of sweat, enhanced by terror. Less than two miles away.
Draining the fool with the gun had taken longer than he’d thought. The sun was
still far enough off, which was a blessing. 
    Another item in his favor were options. Yes, there was
a certain appeal to the chase. There was a lot to clean up here, though. Basil
clicked his tongue, shaking his head as he rejected potential plans. No, there
was only one option.
    He bent, digging in the pockets of his victims. After
a time he came up with his desired item. Carefully using one clawed finger,
Basil tapped out a number on a cellular phone. It rang several times before a
man picked up on the other end.
    “Remember the favor you owe me?” Basil rasped. “Time
to call in my marker, dear boy.”
    ******
    Kate Marsted’s lungs were on fire. Her legs felt like
lead. Never before had she run so hard, not even during the track meets that
earned her a college scholarship. This was supposed to have gone smoothly, no
hitches.
    They’d grossly underestimated the creature. Even after
studying hours of video footage collected via drone, the team hadn’t accounted
for the sheer brutality the…well, vampire, exhibited. Good God, the bastard had
torn two of them apart like they were paper dolls.
    Gary, the team’s leader, had stumbled across the
vampire while researching deer populations in the area. During a drone sweep,
while he was counting a particularly large herd, he’d witnessed the grotesque
figure sprint right through the middle of the animals, wrestle a deep chested
eight point buck to the ground, and feed.
    Immediately their minds moved into action. Keeping the
discovery to themselves, the young people began to speculate the potential for
science to finally prove a mythical creature as fact. Not to mention there were
possible medical benefits to be had from the monster’s blood. They would be
famous. More importantly, they would be wealthy.
    Now, after witnessing the wholesale slaughter of three
people, Kate wanted nothing more than to be studying the migratory patterns of
swampland birds. This was too big a job for a handful of college kids, even if
Gary was in the Army Reserve. Fuck, none of them had even considered if the guns
and wooden stakes would even damage the creature. What had they been thinking?
    The traffic sounds from the adjoining country road
were music to her ears. She pushed herself to go harder, overjoyed at the thought
of getting away. Kate burst from the flattened underbrush that marked the
beginning of the old manor house’s driveway, panting like a dog in the middle
of summer.
    To her delighted surprise, a county police car rolled
to a stop moments later. Behind the wheel sat Sheriff Moorland. He immediately
got out. “What’s going on here? You know you’re not supposed to be out here,
right?”
    “Yes…” Kate struggled to catch a breath, bent over
with exertion and trembling with the dregs of adrenaline. “Please….help….he…killed…”
    “Who killed what?” Moorland asked sharply. His hand
dropped the butt of his gun. “Take it easy, now, you’re safe.”
    “No…we…need…to…go…now…”
    “All right,” Moorland helped her over to his cruiser.
“Let’s get into the car. We can talk at the station, okay?”
    Kate nodded gratefully, allowing the officer to load
her into the back seat. She flopped over, allowing exhaustion to overtake her.
The big engine started and the car pulled away from the gravelly