Short Fiction Blog

Susan wandered around the city for days after Andrew left. She had nowhere to stay, and didn’t know any of the other Stalkers well enough to hang around with. She kept replaying the conservation with Andrew in her mind.

She still didn’t believe he should be scared of the Grand Council, but had concluded they were real. Andrew was a very smart man. He wouldn’t base his assumptions on just anything. She reasoned that toning down on the killings might not be such a bad idea.

She only wished Andrew were around so she could tell him about her change of heart. She had scoured the city looking for him to no avail. Each day she became lonelier, and the loneliness enraged her.

“I don’t need a man to make me happy,” she reproached herself. “I can make it perfectly well on my own.”

It was nice having a friend though, she thought.

One night while out stalking, she came upon a disgusting sight. Two Stalkers had an elderly woman between them, playing cat and mouse with her. One would nip her neck, and then push her to the other for a taste. The woman was screaming and begging them to stop.

It’s not any of my business, Susan thought, as she turned around.

Then Andrews’s words rang through her mind. Killing without regard. It’s not right.

“Okay, Andrew, this one’s for you,” she sighed before rushing into the alley.

She got to the group the same time another woman did. The other woman was beautiful, and she looked incredibly angry to Susan. The two Stalkers stopped harassing the elderly woman and turned to the newcomers.

“Well, well, what have we here,” one of the Stalkers hissed, while he looked Susan and the other woman over.

Susan couldn’t believe they missed the menace in the other woman’s eyes. She could feel the hatred radiating off her.

“Leave the woman alone,” the stranger demanded of the Stalkers.

The Stalkers looked at the elderly woman cringing on the alley floor, then shrugged, “Young and tender is always better than old and stringy,” one of them smirked.

“Asshole,” Susan muttered.

“What did you call me?” the Stalker asked.

“You heard me. Why don’t you two just leave? Go back to the hole you crawled out of.”

The stranger turned to Susan, and stated, “Look, lady, you need to get out of here. I can’t protect everyone at once, and you can run faster than she can,” she finished, pointing at the elderly woman.

Susan smiled at her, bearing her fangs, and said, “I think you should heed your own advice. You don’t know what you’re dealing with here.”

The stranger laughed, revealing her own fangs, and quipped, “This just might be fun,” before hitting one of the Stalkers in the stomach.

His friend shouted, “You’ll pay for that, bitch,” and ran at the stranger.

He didn’t get very far, because Susan tripped him, and then hit him over the head with a trashcan lid.

Both Stalkers struggled to regain their balance. Once steady, they spat at the women, “Take her, there’s plenty more where she came from,” and limped off.

Susan and the other woman faced off. The elderly woman was still shaking, not sure what was going to happen next. The stranger reached her hand down to help the fallen woman up. She then told her to go home.

Looking at Susan, the stranger stated flatly, “She is going home. You can’t have her.”

“I don’t want her. I like my prey more challenging,” Susan informed the stranger.

The stranger nodded. Susan thought she had come to some conclusion, when she stuck her hand out.

“I’m Rissa, nice to meet you.”

Susan shook her hand, “Susan.”

“Do you live around here,” Rissa asked.

“I’m in between homes at the moment,” Susan replied with a shrug.

Rissa smiled, “Guess this is your lucky night.”

“How so?”

“You met me,” Rissa laughed. “And I can offer you a place to stay.” She stepped closer before she continued, “If you can control yourself. We don’t allow assholes into the group.”

“What group,” Susan demanded. “I only see you.”

“There are only two of us at the moment. Most people don’t measure up to our standards.”

“How do you know I do?” Susan queried.

“I don’t,” Rissa replied. “Not for sure, anyway. I’m willing to take the chance though, because you look like you could use a friend.”

Susan stared at her for a few moments. I could use a place to stay, she thought. She doesn’t have to know about the last few weeks.

“Okay, I’d like that.” Susan informed Rissa.

“Fine, let’s go,” Rissa said, and led the way out of the alley. “There’s someone you need to meet.”

The End

Over the next few weeks, Andrew came to regret that he had saved Susan. She went in search of food nightly, and no one was immune to her wrath. Andrew became increasingly worried about the authorities.

Susan scoffed at him. “What are they really going to do to us, Andrew?” she asked one night when he warned her about taking a very prominent figure in the local government. “It’s not like they can kill us.”

“No, but they can make life miserable,” Andrew intoned. “They can start patrolling, watching our every move. They can also post warnings, keeping people in their homes. Then where will you feed?”

“I guess I’ll go inside for my meals then,” Susan shrugged.

“What happened to you, Susan?” Andrew asked. “Why are you doing this?”

“You said I needed to take care of myself, remember?” Susan quipped. “Well, I am.”

Andrew shook his head and sighed, “But not like this. Killing without regard. It’s not right.”

Susan laughed in his face. “Not right?” she shouted. “Was it right that my mother got beat? Was it right that she killed herself? Was it right when you beat my father to death?” She spat on the ground, and then continued, “Don’t get self righteous on me, Andrew. It doesn’t suit you.”

“It’s not the same and you know it,” Andrew threw back. “Your mother made her choices, and your father was a worthless piece of shit.” He looked down at the fallen man at their feet, and said, “This man never did anything to you. He was a good man according to all accounts. He even helped battered women’s shelters! You should have left him alone.”

“I’ve been around, Andrew. Seen other Stalkers taking whomever they please. Why should it be any different for us?”

“You can kill with impunity if you wish to move around constantly like the others,” he replied. “Personally, I like staying in one spot for a while. There are rules, Susan. We aren’t supposed to draw undue suspicion onto ourselves.”

“Rules? What rules?” Susan asked. “You never said anything about rules before.”

“Because you weren’t breaking any,” Andrew told her. “Now you are.”

He motioned for her to follow him. He wanted to get away from the body before someone came along. He knew he needed to explain, but wasn’t sure how. He had to make her understand that she couldn’t do whatever she wanted all the time.

“There is a Grand Council that oversees all Stalkers. They have Stalkers that enforce the rules for them called Elders.”

“What happens if you break one of their precious rules?”

Andrew sighed. This was the complicated part. “I’m not sure exactly.”

“What do you mean, you’re not sure?”

“I’ve never been before the Council. I’ve just heard about those who have.”

“Let me get this straight,” Susan said. “Other Stalkers have told you about some Grand Council that decides what’s right and what’s wrong for us to do. You haven’t seen this Council yourself, but you believe in it.”

She stopped, and turned to him, “Have you talked with anyone who has been before the Council?”

“No.”

Susan looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “So you don’t even know if it’s real,” she stated. “That’s what you’re telling me?”

Andrew looked away. He knew her logic was sound, but he still believed the Grand Council and the Elders were out there. He lived by a certain code that he knew would keep them away. He could see now that Susan wasn’t prepared to do that.

“I know they’re real,” he stated.

“You don’t know, you think they’re real,” Susan fired back. “There’s a big difference.” With a shrug, she continued, “And even if they do exist, they evidently don’t strictly enforce the rules, so I’m not going to worry about them.”

“I’m afraid you’ll be sorry for that decision one day, Susan,” Andrew warned.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” she replied. “It’s my life and I’ll do what I please.”

“I see that now. I’m sorry, Susan, but I think we need to part ways,” Andrew whispered.

Susan was startled. “What?” She grabbed him by the arm, “You don’t want to be around me because I’m not afraid of some mythical Council? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Andrew sighed. “I’m not going to let you take me down with you when you crash.”

He tilted her chin up with his finger, “Be careful, Susan.” He then kissed her, and whispered, “I will miss you,” before walking into the darkness.

Susan lay in bed for a week in hopes of starving herself to death. She wanted to join her mother in the hell she had sentenced them both to. Andrew saved her from herself. In doing so, he almost lost his own life.

“You have to feed, Andrew,” Susan beseeched.

“So do you,” Andrew replied.

Susan shook her head, “I have no reason to live any longer.”

Andrew threw a disgusted look over his shoulder, and snarled, “You’re just as weak as your mother.”

Susan was on him in an instant. She clawed at his face, and pummeled his chest. Andrew sat passively, letting her get the anger and frustration out. As weak as she was, her efforts weren’t very effective anyway, so he just endured.

Spent, Susan collapsed onto the floor. Andrew tried to comfort her, but she pushed him away. He sat silently and watched her heart break.

He knew he sounded like a cold-hearted bastard, but once her emotions were under control, he asked, “Are you done now?” Scowling at her, he continued. “You need to grow a backbone, and take care of yourself. Be better than your mother.”

“Shut up, Andrew!” Susan shouted. “You know nothing of my mother.”

“I know she let a man rule her life, beat her, and force her daughter away. Then, when she could have been free, and got back in touch with her daughter, she killed herself. She was a selfish bitch.”

Susan slapped him. “That’s enough!”                            

Andrew saw the resolve return to her face. When she straightened her shoulders, he asked, “Are you ready to live again?”

“Damn you, Andrew!” Susan swore, while she headed out the door in search of food.

The next few weeks passed quickly. Andrew showed Susan all his favorite hunting grounds and she found that she was able to take people she didn’t know. She did share with Andrew that there wasn’t as much satisfaction in the takings though.

“Sometimes you just have to eat, Susan,” Andrew replied. “It really is that basic.”

“Besides,” he added. “How many enemies can one person make? You aren’t always going to be seeking revenge on someone.”

They were heading out one night when Susan received a phone call. Hearing her cell phone ring startled her so that she jumped. Andrew steadied her and asked who was calling.

She looked at the screen on the phone and stiffened, “My aunt,” she replied. “I haven’t talked to her in years. She’s probably calling to tell me about my father.”

When it rang a few more times, Andrew pressed, “You better answer it.”

“Hello,” Susan spoke into the phone.

Andrew saw her start to shake. Tears sprang to her eyes and she fell to the floor, crumbling into herself. The phone fell from her hand. Andrew tried to hold her, but Susan curled inward, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees.

“What is it,” Andrew implored. “Susan! Talk to me!”

She was unresponsive. He didn’t know what to do but try to comfort her. Lying on the floor, he took her into his arms as best he could and held on tight. Susan rocked back and forth, a low keen coming from her throat.

When the sound subsided, Andrew quietly inquired, “Susan? Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“I killed my mom,” she stated flatly, all emotion leeched from her voice.

“What are you talking about? We killed you father, not your mother. You aren’t making any sense,” Andrew replied.

“Aunt Joyce said that after Father’s death, Mom wasn’t the same. She said Mom was listless, staying home all the time with the drapes closed, not talking to anyone.” Shaking again, she continued, “She said yesterday she went to check on Mom because she hadn’t answered the phone for a few days. When she knocked, the door opened on its own. She, she…”

Her tears kept her from completing the sentence for a few moments. Composing herself, she finished, “Aunt Joyce found my mother in the kitchen. Her brains splattered all over the kitchen table.”

Andrew was shocked. He whispered, “But why?”

“In her note she said that she couldn’t live without love. She’d lost me years ago, and now Dad was gone too,” Susan told him. “I never even called. I knew she’d be devastated, and I didn’t even pick up the damn phone and call!”

“You couldn’t,” Andrew reassured. “If you had called she would have known you had something to do with it. Why didn’t she call you? I never did understand why you didn’t receive a call about his death.”

“When I left four years ago there was an awful scene. I tried to get her to come with me, but of course, she refused. I called her weak and stupid, among other things, for staying with him. She withered in front of my eyes, but I was relentless!” she yelled at Andrew. “I thought I knew everything!”

“All I knew was enough to kill her.”

Andrew looked into her eyes and saw nothing but pain. She stared at him, but he knew she wasn’t seeing him. He couldn’t imagine her pain. He did all that he could and held her.

Susan whispered against his chest, “I wanted to set her free of her bonds. I never dreamed in doing so she would unravel completely.”

Andrew rented them a room at a downtown hotel. He said it would take a few days to get a new apartment found and appropriated. Susan didn’t care where they stayed, she was just glad to be back in the city. Going home had not been a pleasant experience for her and she wanted to forget it.

“Let’s go out,” she said to Andrew after they were settled in the room.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m hungry,” she replied with a shrug. “Let’s find somewhere to feed. I’m out of bad guys at the moment. Is there anyone you want to get even with?”

Andrew laughed, “It’s been a long time since I associated with people, dear. Everyone I had grievances against is long dead.”

With a raised eyebrow, Susan asked, “Exactly how old are you?”

“Two hundred and ten years old.”

“Two hundred!” she sputtered.

Andrew smiled and shrugged. “What can I say, I’m an old fart.”

Susan laughed at such a saying coming from stuffy Andrew. He was always so prim and proper that when he came up with something like that it took her aback.

“It’s nice to hear you laugh,” he told her.

She sighed, “I know I haven’t been much fun the last few nights.”

“It’s ok. You had things that needed fixed. I’m glad I could help.”

“I do appreciate all you’ve done for me, Andrew.”

Andrew took her hand. Pulling her close, he whispered, “That’s what friends are for.” He then placed a light kiss on her forehead before he said, “Let’s go see if we can’t find something to get your mind off your troubles.”

Andrew and Susan stole a car and drove back to New York. Susan didn’t think she could handle another ride on the bus, and Andrew tended to agree. He thought she needed to learn to control her impulses more before mingling with Outsiders very often.

Andrew did most of the driving because Susan was lost in thought. He knew from the snippets of information she provided when probed that she was thinking of her mother.

“Having regrets?” he inquired when they reached the outskirts of the city.

Susan sighed, “I don’t regret killing the bastard, but I do feel bad for my mom.” Shaking her head, she continued, “I just don’t understand why she loved the asshole and stayed with him!”

“A lot of abused women stay with their abusers. Lack of self confidence, fear of the unknown, and money are often the cause,” Andrew told her. “You did say your mother couldn’t make it on her own without the life insurance money. Being unskilled, she may have thought she couldn’t take care of herself and you when you were younger,” he added.

“I’ve read all the literature too,” Susan snapped. “It still doesn’t make any sense to me. I would never stay with a man who beat me!”

“No, you killed him,” Andrew quipped.

I, and all my Stalkers, wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who reads my stories. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. Every writer loves having their stuff read, but for us new writers, it’s especially nice!

I didn’t put together a Christmas part for Susan’s story. Thought vampires on Christmas might be a little much, even for me! Susan will be back and causing more trouble soon though!

I hope you all have a wonderful day and that you get to spend time with family and friends. Don’t eat too much!

The next night, Susan and Andrew waited until the owner of the drug store next to her dad’s shop left. After his car drove out of sight, Andrew set off to pry the back door of the shop open. He made sure to make enough noise that it drew her father to investigate.

He had only pushed the door open a few inches when Susan’s father came into view, ball bat in hand.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” Susan’s father demanded as he raised the bat above his head.

“I’ve come to teach you a lesson long overdue,” Andrew replied, before he slammed the door into the man and knocked him down.

Susan’s father tried to scramble away, but Andrew put a foot in his chest and pressed until he was still. He kept pressing until the man’s face turned red.

“Hold on a minute, Andrew,” Susan whispered from the doorway.

Andrew released the pressure on her father’s chest and stepped back. Susan knelt at her father’s side, looking him over closely.

“Hello, Father,” She spat.

“Susan?” her father wheezed, disbelief clouding his eyes. “What’s going on here?”

“You are going to get your just deserts, Daddy Dearest,” Susan answered.

“I don’t understand,” her father stammered.

“You don’t? Well, let me make it clear then,” Susan told him, and then turned to Andrew and smiled. “Show him, Andrew.”

Andrew stepped forward and brought the crow bar down on Susan’s fathers arm. They heard the bone crack before he screamed.

“Remember the time you sent mom to the hospital with a fractured elbow?” Susan asked.

Andrew brought the crow bar down again on the fallen mans knee. His agonized screams swarmed the shop.

“And the time you cracked her kneecap with the golf club?” Susan asked again before she motioned for Andrew to continue. “I remember that one left her limping for almost a year,” she whispered as Andrew brought the crowbar down once more, this time on her dad’s ankle.

The pain from that blow was enough to jackknife her father into a sitting position. His screams were mixed with pleas for mercy.

“I don’t remember that ever working for Mom,” Susan quipped. “So why should it work for you?”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” her father beseeched. “Please, Susan, don’t do this! I can’t handle much more. I’ll never lay a hand on your mother again, I promise!”

“Oh, I know you won’t,” Susan informed him, and then stepped back as Andrew swung the crowbar again.

The last blow struck his kidneys and threw him onto his stomach where he writhed in agony.

Susan bent close to his ear and whispered, “Remember the Christmas we spent in the emergency room after you ruptured Mom’s kidney?”

“Are you thinking of all the other times, Dad?” she sneered. “All the pain you caused over the years.”

“How does it feel, you sorry bastard!” she yelled.

“I’m so glad your shop is on the outskirts of town with only the drugstore beside it, Dad,” Susan smirked. “I’ve dreamed of making you scream for years. Just the way Mom did.”

Her father turned onto his side and begged, “Please stop! I can’t take anymore!”

Susan retorted, “Is that right? The big bad man can’t take anymore.” She kicked him in the side before continuing, “Not as strong as you thought you were, huh?”

“Imagine how Mom felt,” she screamed.

 “I always knew she was the strong one in the family,” she sneered a few minutes later and walked to where Andrew was standing.

“I don’t want to listen to him whine anymore,” she said as she looked back at the lump on the floor. “Finish it.”

“I want you to do it,” Susan informed Andrew while they were standing outside her parent’s house later that night. 

They had been watching the place for almost an hour before she spoke. They saw her father come home from work, and, through the kitchen window, her mother crying. Susan had turned away at sight of the tears. It was a few minutes later when she made her pronouncement.

“I don’t understand,” Andrew replied, a perplexed frown on his face. He knew she liked dishing out her own revenge.

“I want him dead, but my mother can never know I had anything to do with it,” Susan stated. “For some reason she loves the son of a bitch. Even though he beats her black and blue on a regular basis,” she added, her hands balled into fists at her side.

She turned to Andrew and implored, “We have to make it look like an accident, so she gets the life insurance money.” Shaking her head, she sighed, “She doesn’t know how to take care of herself. Without the money she won’t make it.”

“We’ll do it at the store,” she continued a few moments later. “Make it look like a botched robbery or something.”

“And you don’t want to be there at all?”

“Oh, I want him to know I’m responsible. I just can’t leave any evidence behind,” she replied. “So far I haven’t seen anybody around town that I know, so we should be good on that count,” she further assured him.

“The asshole is going to know who did this to him, and he’ll regret the day he ever laid a hand on my mother,” she growled.

“I’ll just have to curb my impulses for this one,” she went on, voicing her thoughts aloud. “My fingerprints are already in the store, so that’s not a problem. I just can’t leave any blood behind.” Smiling, she added, “Or any bite marks.”

“I can’t leave any either,” Andrew stated. “I’m sure you’re pearly whites are going to be in the system any day now. We don’t want any way for the authorities to link the crime here with the deaths on campus.” He shrugged, and continued, “Just have to do this one the old fashioned way so nobody will even think of Stalkers for it.”

“What did you have in mind,” Susan asked.

“You said make it look like a robbery, so I’m thinking a crow bar might do nicely. I can use it to pry the door. We’ll stage it to look like he surprised me and I used whatever was handy.”

“Wouldn’t a gun be easier and make more sense?”

“Yes, but it wouldn’t be as much fun,” Andrew offered, a chill in his eyes that Susan had never seen before.

Andrew awoke the next night to find Susan starring through the grime of a dusty window. He watched as a myriad of emotions played across her face. It was pitch dark outside, so he knew she was looking inward, at the past.

He must have made an inadvertent movement, because she suddenly turned from the window. The gaze she leveled on him held unspeakable pain.

Andrew rose and walked to her side. Taking her in his arms, he held her while she wept. When the sobbing subsided, he released her and wiped the tears.

“You amaze me,” he whispered.

“You wonder how one person can cry so much?” Susan asked with a sigh.

Andrew smiled, and offered, “That too, but it wasn’t what I meant.” He cupped her face before he continued, “You act like a roaring bitch most of the time, but every now and then you let your soft side out.”

Susan just looked at him. She couldn’t figure out if it was a compliment or not, so remained silent. Andrew could see that she wasn’t prepared to talk about whatever was bothering her, so decided to lighten the mood.

“It’s sexy when you’re all vulnerable,” he added with a smirk, then ducked the blow aimed for his head.