Doug: Surrender

A girl stands alone in the center of a warehouse like room, illuminated by a pillar of bright sunlight. The edges of the room sit in deep shadow, the contrast between the two making the darkness impenetrable to her eyes. But she does not need to see to know that monsters lurk in the shadows.

Breathing deep, she raised her face to the sunlight, trying to somehow absorb its protective power. The warmth seemed to wash over and through her, passing but never remaining. After a minute she sighed and brought her face back down. “Of course that only works in the books.” A soft, almost resigned smile comes to her face. “I don’t suppose you’re one of those vampires that have a thing for pretty human girls that are the antithesis of everything you are?”

A dark chuckle emitted from the darkness directly in front of her.

The girl’s smile changed from resigned to slightly hopeful. “A sense of humor! That’s a good sign.”

“There’s nothing good about me, little one.” The voice was now behind her, and she twisted to look; eyes narrowed to penetrate the darkness.

“I’m sure that’s not true…” her voice wavered a little bit. He had put the fear back into her. She tried to move her arms across her chest in a defensive position, but the clanking of the shackles around her wrists reminded her that there was no defense possible. Swallowing hard, she forced her arms to stay straight at her sides, though she could not keep her hands from shaking ever so slightly.

Silence answered her. The pillar of sunlight had shifted slightly; it was no longer straight down upon her, but canted ever so slightly as the world turned. As its path continued, the light would slowly leave her body, from bare feet to the rich brown locks on her head. She would be unable to see her fate until the last second. It was both a torture and a mercy.

“Why wear that?” The monster at the edges of her vision asked, menace and irony in his voice.

She was confused for a second and then realized that the vampire was commenting on her dress. It was red little number with black lace that accentuated the plunging neckline and bare arms. The corset was ripped a little bit from where she had resisted her captors.

“I think they thought you would like it.” The girl examined it for the first time.
“This is just ridiculous.”

“Agreed. Snake owners do not dress the mice they feed to the pythons.” The voice got darker somehow, and the girl thought she could detect a hint of anger.

“You object to the entrée?” Her hand shot up to her mouth, unable to believe she’d just antagonized the vampire.

“I object to being FED.” The last word made the hairs on the back of her neck crawl. “I do not object to eating. In fact, the meal looks quite delicious.”

Despite the fear and sickening sensation that she was about to die the girl was oddly flattered. “Oh.” She looked down at her bare feet, realizing with a little start that the sun had already moved enough that they were in shadow. “Oh shit.”

“Time’s running out.” The dark chuckle again.

At that the dam broke. “Ohshitohshitohshit.” She scrambled, stepping back against her chains, attempting to get all of herself back into the sunlight. But it was too late, no matter how she move a part of her stayed in shadow.

“Stop that.” A low growl, the voice carrying over her, “It won’t help you.” There wasn’t regret in the voice, but there was softness. The monster knew how this ended; with blood and fear and death. The brown haired, dark eyed beauty could expect nothing less than death, but she through the tears and the terror that it wouldn’t be so bad.

After a few more minutes of crying, she managed to pull herself together enough to ask the most pressing thing on her mind: “Will it hurt?” She knew it was trivial, the monster couldn’t care less if it hurt her. Once it’s fangs were inside all reasonable thought would flee, and she would soon be just an empty piece of meat.

The voice did not answer for a long time. It was all the answer she needed. The sunlight continued to flee, stopping now at the girl’s knees. Her calves and feet were in darkness, yet still she lived. She held onto this fact, clutching at it like a lifeboat. Maybe he wouldn’t kill her. Maybe…

“It can hurt.” The voice finally said. “It can also be like floating off into a dream. It depends on the control involved.” There was hunger in that voice. “It depends on how long it’s been since the last one.”

The girl didn’t want to know how long it had been since the last one, but the monster answered her unspoken question. “A long time.”

“This day just gets better and better.” The sarcasm was back, clearly a coping mechanism. “I’m really glad that I’m not wearing shoes.” The girl examined her toes, squinting to see past the bright sunlight to the darkness that had now reached her midsection. “Something about shoes… so restrictive.” She squinted into the darkness, searching. “Would it kill you to share a few not dark words with the meal?”

Silence greeted her.

“Fantastic.” She wanted to sit down, but if she did she would be fully in the dark. Not that he couldn’t take her already, but the sun was like a token, albeit a fast disappearing one.

Time passed. The sunlight was almost gone, only her head was bathed in light now.

“I don’t want to die.” She whispered, more to herself. The vampire had not answered her repeated calls for talk. She had wanted to believe, initially, that she could talk herself out of this. But she knew now. “Why do I have to die?”

“Everything dies.” The voice finally appeared again, behind her. Closer. so close she was sure she could reach out and touch the owner, though she could not see. So quietly she wasn’t sure if she actually heard it: “I’ll be gentle.”

Her breath was shakey, a little ragged. She knew in that instant that she was really, for real, going to die. A steel grew inside of her, taking the fear and clamping it in restraints. If this was really going to happen then she wasn’t going to go piddling herself like a scared puppy. Se straightened up and said, “Give me until the sun is gone.”

“As you wish.” The monster didn’t say anything else, but she sensed it near her, waiting for the light to die.

She relished the warmth of the final rays of the sun, closed her eyes and felt it move over her skin. Every nerve ending was on fire with sensation, knowing it was the last time. Finally, the sun moved, and her whole body was in darkness.

“You are brave. There is something to be said about dying with honor.” The voice was tight, as though it was working hard to get the words out and remain in control. She didn’t answer it, merely raised a hand and lifted her hair back and away from her neck, tilting it for the appropriate angle.

She took a final, deep breath, relishing even the air now, and surrendered to the darkness…

-Doug