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Love to Die His skin was stained red with blood. Jake was full, he’d never felt so content. This was the start of a new chapter in his life. Jake was now a young man and could no longer rely on his parents to feed him, it was taking a toll on them. He had plans on going back to the old country, where it had all started. Jake was a budding historian and wanted to walk in the steps of his ancestors. He wanted to breathe the same air and find the abandoned burnt remains of his family’s castle. He wanted to go back to Hunedoara in Romania, a city in the region of Transylvania.&nbsp; Jake had just made his first kill, a twelve month old lamb. His parents were extremely protective of him and always provided bottled blood for him to devour. He only recently began asking his parents where this blood had come from but they always avoided the question.&nbsp; Jake was one of nine children, however they were all older and had fled the nest to live their own lives. He was a popular lad, but missed out on a lot of the social events due to his parents protective nature. He was handsome, with short brown hair and had just had his seventeenth birthday. He was on the Eve of adulthood and was more than ready to become a man.&nbsp; <img class="img-responsive" src="https://api.novelo.com/uploads/IMG_0243_3fc022712d.jpeg"> He lived in Loxwood, just on the outskirts of Horsham where Jake lived with his parents on a small holding. It was a beautiful place with a couple of acres of land, which was enough for a vegetable garden and some livestock. Mainly chickens and lambs with a couple of pigs. His parents kept themselves to themselves and rarely had contact with too many locals.&nbsp; Jake was told that he and his father were called moroi and his mother was a moroaica. Some say that in Romanian folklore they are type of phantom, but to Jake they were just a normal family, because that was all he really knew. His family had a saying,&nbsp;“The less you know, the better you sleep”.&nbsp; As Jake got older he began craving for something other than animal blood, it was enough to keep him alive but didn’t fulfil his wants and desires. It was like drinking a healthy smoothie every day, but really craving a huge double cheeseburger.&nbsp; Before Jake left the fold, his parents wanted to train him in the art of killing. This sounds awful but to them it was normal and in their DNA. He had to learn first and foremost, how to fly. A peculiar concept considering they didn’t have wings, but quite normal for his parents. They could fly with the power of their mind, a belief in their own abilities had to be strong for their supernatural powers to work. Jake was taught how to meditate,&nbsp;a belief in the existence of a core or true self was critical. Once flying was accomplished, he had to learn how to become invisible. This was a short term solution, so he was taught how to stay in the shadows, how to remain silent and only use invisibility as a last precaution, as it would drain his strength.&nbsp; Learning how to kill and dispose of a body was less complicated. A cut to the wrist to make it look like suicide and not to be greedy was key. Picking victims had to be researched in a gruesome way. Choosing loners, depressants and the mentally handicapped was in someways a huge battle of morality, but to become immortal the consumption of human blood was a necessity.&nbsp; After being bottle fed and then killing livestock, Jake had to take a human. He was nervous and scared, he had done his homework on his victim but was worried about being seen by a witness. When the big day was just 24 hours away, he was briefed for the last time by his parents.&nbsp; The day came and Jake got ready, his first victim was a teacher from his old school. He didn’t like her, she was mean to the students and was rude to other staff members. Her name was Ms Miles, she lived alone and was childless, she didn’t even own a pet. A very bitter person who was just angry all of the time.&nbsp; Jake went for a walk near to her house&nbsp;around 9pm, he then used his invisibility to avoid any cameras or Ring doorbells. He watched Ms Miles through her back window until she went upstairs to bed. He gained entry with the help of some locksmith tools his father lent him and he crept upstairs. Silently he entered her bedroom, Ms Miles was asleep, Jake used a cloth with chloroform on and just held it still near her nose. Ms Miles breathed the sweet smelling chemicals and was knocked unconscious within minutes. A small prod confirmed it in her lifeless body.&nbsp; Jake pulled out a silver coloured razor blade, held Ms Miles’ arm up and made a&nbsp;two inch incision. Straight away the blood flowed effortlessly like a leak in a dam and Jake drank the metallic nectar like he was downing a pint on a sunny day. His father taught him that he could only drink for one minute, that would be enough for him and leave the body with enough blood so it doesn’t look suspicious.&nbsp; Jake enjoyed every drop, he then lay her arm down on the bed and placed the razor blade in her other hand, a perfect suicide scene for some poor sod to find. Jake left and made his way back home carefully. He was greeted by his parents when he arrived like he had just graduated from Oxford, they were proud as punch.&nbsp; In the morning, Jake contemplated on what he’d done, he’d basically murdered someone for his dinner.&nbsp;His father tried to reassure him by explaining that it’s who they are and that a despicable person is now deceased. After Jake’s English breakfast, including black pudding he had come to terms with last night’s events and went and met some friends. One kill a week was allowed for Jake, otherwise the police would get suspicious. He also had to move around different areas otherwise it would look like the suicide pact in Bridgend in 2007 when 23 men died in one year. They didn’t want the media to get involved.&nbsp; As time went on, Jake perfected his new skills and at the age of twenty he was given the opportunity to travel around Europe. He spent time in Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Prague and then Budapest.&nbsp;He fed from over one hundred people and felt amazing. He was stronger and quicker than he’d ever been and had turned into a man that caught the eye of the ladies.&nbsp; After two years of travelling, Jake finally made it to Romania, his ancestral homeland. Straight away he felt like he belonged there, people were friendly and the country was beautiful. He made his way to the Transylvanian region and started his search for his family’s castle.&nbsp; Whilst in the local library he noticed an elderly man staring at him. He didn’t know or recognise him but the man just nodded at him in acknowledgment. Later that day whilst ordering some food he met a young woman. Her name was Mina, she was beautiful, she had long dark hair and a kind pretty smile.&nbsp; Jake fell in love instantly. He’d never felt this way and it scared him. Mina was a student in Brasov at the University of Transylvania, she was in her last year. After weeks of trying, he eventually got her to agree on a date. They went to Ograda, a restaurant in the town square, it had a folk-style charm and played melodious tunes in the background.&nbsp; They ate the traditional homemade sausages, drank wine and talked for hours. It was an incredible night and Jake knew he would never find another like her. That night he decided Mina was the woman he was going to marry. After that night they were inseparable, and after a few months they moved to a small farm together. During this period Mina knew nothing about Jake’s lifestyle, he kept it well hidden and Mina was none the wiser. Jake would make up reasons to disappear in the evenings, and visiting the gym or going for a run seemed to work. Mina was a big reader so would often lose track of time reading a novel, she was planning to write her own one day. It took Jake a long time but he eventually found the location of his ancestral castle. There wasn’t much left other than a few outbuildings and ruins that were fire damaged. It was overgrown and looked as though it had been deserted for centuries. Something touched him though and he felt a spiritual presence. With Mina pregnant now, Jake had a choice, to fulfil his legacy or to spend a mortal life with Mina.&nbsp; Jake didn’t want to make that decision straight away so continued to live a double life, a murdering blood sucker and a husband and father of now three children. Killing became second nature but the taste of human blood was becoming boring, but to maintain immortality he had to do it. Meanwhile his relationship with Mina was just getting better and better, she was a wonderful mother and a fantastic wife.&nbsp; On Jake’s 50th birthday he made a decision. To live forever and outlive everyone he knew and loved or to be mortal and die when the time was right. He didn’t want to live without Mina and he certainly didn’t want to see his children grow old and die. He also made a decision not to tell his children about his gift or curse, however you&nbsp;view it. He thought that as they were only half his they may not have the same desires as he did. So, that night he made a vow to himself that the killings and the blood consumption would stop.&nbsp; For the love of his wife and his children, he decided to give up living forever and to be a mortal man. This was like a drug addict going cold turkey, it hurt his body, he felt his body was changing and he lost a lot of weight. It was noticeable to his wife and she was incredibly worried about him. Mina almost took him to hospital, but he talked her out of it, he was so close to going back to his blood sport.&nbsp; He eventually confessed his gruesome life to Mina,&nbsp;he told her everything. Poor Mina, such a beautiful lady, she didn’t say anything, she just stared into the sky. Jake was heartbroken, he thought his news had destroyed her. Jake picked a knife up from the table, said sorry to Mina and was going to plunge the knife into his own heart. Mina, saw what he was doing and rushed to him to wrestle the knife away, but in the scuffle the knife entered Mina’s stomach. Mina fell to the floor and bled heavily from her terminal wound. Jake was going to lose his wife, the mother of his children, he was in pieces. He held onto Mina’s stomach and attempted to stop the bleeding. It wouldn’t stop, she was dying. Jake looked into her eyes, he told her he loved her and that he couldn’t lose her.&nbsp; Jake with tears in his eyes held Mina up, and for the first time in his life and without knowing if it would work, he bite into Mina’s neck. She squealed as his teeth sank into her mortal flesh and he fed, but just for a few seconds. With blood dripping from his mouth he kissed Mina and said, “Please trust me”. With the little strength Mina had she looked at Jake as he brought his wrist close to her mouth. Mina paused, looked at Jake and said, “I knew, I always knew, you fool“.&nbsp;She then bit into his wrist and fed off her husband’s blood, she drank until Jake couldn’t take anymore.&nbsp; Jake fell to the floor in a heap, Mina lay still, like a stone. Jake eventually pulled himself up, and moved over to his beloved. “Mina, Mina”, he said. Mina’s eyes were closed she had his blood smudged on her face, he held her head up, “Mina, please. Please wake up “, he screamed.&nbsp;Mina’s eyes opened, they glowed back at Jake.&nbsp;He smiled at her, and apologised for everything. Mina had survived, but it came at a price. To live, Mina had to accept her new life, her life as a vampiress. The Queen of Darkness. In the distance there was the sound of thunder and then a bolt of lightning shot down. &nbsp;It was all about to start again………..

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The Book of Tragic Short Stories

Gargini10.

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Kevin GARGINI

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