Chapter 54: Fill Er’ Up

As sure as Tau was 8 years of age during his mother vampiress’ Zuri’s demise, at the hands of Udo, who poisoned her with rottened blood, from a deceased deer’s carcass, slipped into Zuri’s tea, Medea was but a teenager who witnessed the aftermath of such a spectacle. That very same night, Medea, at the ripe age of 16, crept into Zuri’s home, to see her corpse, or so she thought, laid upon the floor, with black matter spewed around her mouth, her eyes were closed. Medea was fearless, being a child of the forest, and she couldn’t resist the temptation to study death, as it so enthralled her. She opened Zuri’s closed sealed eyes, and was taken aback when she saw they were blood shot red, with a glimmer of life. She never saw red eyes before and thought it’d make for a great addition to her growing collection of exotic finds. As she looked around for a knife to pry Zuri’s eyes out, she soon discovered Zuri was not indeed dead at all, -at least not completely.

Upon finding a knife she hurried back to the corpse to cut out the beautiful red eyes she discovered, but as she reopened the left eye of Zuri, it was suddenly green and lifeless… Zuri’s body had been teetering between life and death, kind of like candlelight that flickers in the wind, -just when you think it’d blow out, it somehow survives… Her fight should have been over, but the poisoned blood was slow to disperse throughout her body to absorb her last breath, so indeed she still had some life in her.

Medea was quite puzzled and astonished, she opened the other eye to see it was blood red, and as she was just about to stick the knife in to carve it out, Zuri’s hand caught her wrist and held it like a steel bolted shackle that Medea could not resolve to get herself out of, as Zuri was more powerful a woman, even in fighting death, than the death stunned teenager before her. Medea screamed and dropped the knife and tried to get away, but couldn’t… Zuri held tightly to her, not only for her own personal protection in order to keep her peepers, but because Medea would be Zuri’s last hope of survival…somehow.

Medea finally gave up on fighting and trying to flee, as if to plea for her life, “Please let go, I’m sorry… please,” she begged fearfully. Zuri could barely talk, faintly whisper, but she so tried… she longed to tell her that she would not hurt her, but needed her help… As her breathing grew heavier, Medea put her ear near Zuri’s mouth to hear what she was trying to say…

“Help you… how?” Medea asked. Zuri could only use her mind, she had the ability of telekinesis, and would have to use it. The knife moved swiftly in front of Medea, who looked keenly and questionably at Zuri, as if to ask what purpose would it have… But Zuri figured if this cadaver loving teen could cut out her eyes, what else would she be willing to do with a knife… Zuri needed her to cut out the poison where it festered, -to slit her throat….

Medea picked it up hesitantly and as she did, Zuri moved her knife enveloped hand towards her throat… “You want me to show you mercy? You want me to kill you?” She asked as her hand and knife was set upon her neck… Medea closed her eyes, and Zuri guided Medea’s hand deep enough -not to kill her but to drain the poison where it swelled the most… Medea opened her eyes to see black fluid thicker than blood slowly ooze from the non-corpse’s neck. Zuri unleashed her wrist and the knife from her hand, and as Medea got up and ran for the door, the door slammed in front of her and could not be opened… Medea paused and looked back, “What else do you want from me? Why won’t you let me go?” She asked as for the first time ever butterflies emerged in the pit of her stomach… as the forest has many secrets, but none unearthed like this… She never saw death bordering on life… this was a force she had never come across and not being able to control it scared her… for she was being controlled by it…

She sat down, back to the door, knees folded up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, trembling, and she waited. She waited until darkness turned to dawn, without a blinking eye. Finally, Zuri slid a chair across the floor near her using telekinesis. Medea stood up slowly approaching Zuri, and aided her into getting in the chair. With enough of the bad blood expunged, Zuri was able to heal herself. A giant black mass covered the floor. Zuri opened her eyes which were now green with speckles of red, and looked upon Medea. She whispered in a faint roar “Who are you?”

“I am Medea.”

“What are you?” asked Zuri in her raspy, coarse voice.

This was a question Medea never got wind of before, nor did she ever think in terms of what she was. All Zuri knew was, that she had to make sure none of her kind lingered, to survive, as she was weak. She had to flee by any means necessary.

“I don’t quite follow,” replied Medea.

Zuri laughed though it hurt to, as she realized she was out of harm’s way with Medea’s answer. Zuri slid another chair out via her mind next to hers and gestured with a head nod for Medea to sit. Medea sat next to her right away, unenthused and confused by her laughter.

“No worries love, you will soon follow.” Zuri used her mind once more as she was gaining momentum and slid the knife she used on her neck across the floor by her feet and summoned her to pick it up. As Medea did, her hand was guided with the knife towards her own wrist, where Zuri made her cut herself and guided her cut, bleeding wrist over an empty wooden cup on the table, into which Medea bled, as Zuri was starving and needed fresh, available blood to heal. Medea did after all serve useful in more than one way, -a helpful assistant, and food.

“Fill ‘er up girl,” Zuri said faintly.

Medea trembled, and a tear ran from her eye down her cheek. This was perhaps the first time ever, Medea felt the helplessness and despair of fear.