The Legend Of The Christian Zombie Vampires

Chapter 8

The Cross/The Chains

The  Woman walked with her head uncloaked through the fires of Hell.  She walked through the melange of disparity. Her vibe, walking was perfunctory.  She held her head high and seemed to glide right through flames that bit at her heels and whipped up around her shins at each step taken. The mood was as somber as one could imagine; after all, it was Hell.

Her mind raced away through her letter to Mina. Her feet led the way and her heart beat fast inside her chest. People, lost souls, demons and tortured bodies booed her as she passed through. She heard nothing but her own thoughts.

She came to a lake of fire and looked up to the red and yellow lit, smoke-filled sky. There, is when and where it happened. She looked around and saw nothing. She heard nothing but her  own breathing. She saw the flames and they lowered as the moon rose. In all of its majesty, it rose to the sky quickly. It’s beams and soft light were alone in the sky. Inside of it, she saw a rose.

The rose bloomed quickly. It stood straight up.  The pedals blossomed down. They fell over and out of the fires . The thorns grew in defense of its stem. They looked sharp and the tips were tinged in a stain of the color that blood leaks from a wound.  The Woman stood mesmerized at the beauty of the vision.

The stem was the only piece remaining. The Woman opened her hands. She reached her hands out like a cup. The stem began to fall towards her. As it left the Moon’s immediate light, it transformed itself in a crow’s feather and fell directly into The Woman’s hand. It was soft and the tip dripped a pure black ink that fell to the ground.

The woman positioned the feather like the quill and wrote in the fire on the ground, from her knees…

She wrote, “Are you Mine? “

The Woman looked up. The moon turned angry in its color. It was red as it had ever shown and began to leak blood drops that fell like piano notes upon the woman’s face.

Blood splattered and maybe even blood bathed, The Woman put her left thumb up to the bridge of her nose. She made a line of blood going up to her hairline. Then, just beneath her brow, she made a horizontal cross.

The moon seemed to have peace. All who inhabited Hell saw this. The moon followed her step as her own as she began her journey back to Earth. Guided by the heartache that Mina had suffered through eternity, The Woman saw her idol in every step she took. At every beat of her heel to the terrain, the flames of Hell lowered.

Hell began to cool off. The billions who were stuck there felt it and rejoiced. At first they rejoiced in deep breaths that they had not taken for the duration of their stay. A lot of the demons,  damned and forsaken looked up and dropped their hurt for a moment and walked out into the streets to see the blood stained moon lead the path for The Woman. They flooded the streets which were silent. Her confidence in stride took no delay for her to notice what was happening. In her mind, it was a destination to the gates of Hell and back to Earth where she would lead her part of the war  to give justice to Hell, and all that came with it. War, as always would mean loss as well as fate of victory or defeat. The backing of the soul of Mina and the crusader king, Dracula, meant power in hope for Evil.

As the crowds had now breathed a cooler air, they began now to line the streets that had now become so sense with bodies that The Woman stopped and looked at them all. She threw her arms to the air and waved her fingers. The crowd roared with approval. She pulled her hands down by her side and the crowd went silent. She took a few steps and the crowd blocked her path. She lifted her arms again to an even greater roar. She fell back into the arms of the many who cheered wildly as they carried her to the gates. It marked the 1st time in all of eternity that Hell was in celebration. The celebration of Hell for The Woman…

*****

The cheers from the crowd rang in The Woman’s ears. Her legs and arms were bruised from being carried and passed like a Queen out of Hell. She took a few steps on the desert ground in Juarez Mexico and stopped. She was alone. She heard a piano off in the distance. She thought of the letter she had written and the moment of weakness that she had near the end of writing it. The thought she wouldn’t let pass at the moment was now being brought back by the elegance of the piano notes that had no clear distance or place of origin. Her mind flooded by emotions, she closed her eyes and let three tears fall. They were warm as the sun beams that heated her skin. Her knees shook at the vivid memory she was experiencing alone here after her heroic sending off. She felt weak and nauseous.

A breeze swept by her. It pushed cool air over her face. Her eyes, still closed, let out 3 more drops of sorrow that fell flat onto the dirt near her feet. The breeze carried the smell of her past. The scent of cologne opened her nostrils. She reminisced deeply about him. She could hear his smooth off tone voice. She could see his goatee. She remembered how soft his silver hair was and how his eyes could always call truth to her emotions.

As a young woman, about… nineteen years of age, he was her teacher. He was kind and gentle while she was still awkward and becoming. She always had a nervous laugh and a sparkle in her eye when she was soon to see him. He never seemed to be out of his element no matter what the situation was. He was gentle and kind and when he hugged her, his arms and torso engulfed her petite frame in a way that made her feel safe.

She thought of the notes playing in the distance. She remembered the way her feet seemed to pick up a step when she would arrive to his home. She remembered how his home had aromas of vastly intricate concoctions of the most delicious foods she would even know. She could still see his signature in her mind and sometimes in the lightning that came just before a storm. The notes she heard were the first song he had ever played for her in a history so far back that she no longer recognized herself as a Woman, but as The Girl,  who fell in love with The Man.

She remembered entering his home and seeing how clean and organized it was. All clean except for his work space which had messes of papers and an array of writing utensils and used notebooks scattered in a very deliberate way. She knocked but never hesitated to walk in without answer. She would try to sneak up on him for a surprise but he always was waiting for her. Waiting for her with a calm confidence that she wished so badly to one day portray.  Though she, in this future, had attained a similar aura, she still felt weak like a child at the thought of how it was. Her first love… Her first kiss… Her first of many failed attempts at being a part of what she had always craved, and that was a team. 

For just a few months in this time of maturing, she spent every moment either with him, learning, or thinking of him. She was saddened at the memory of the time they played a song to perfection on the piano. She remembered how his fingers and hers were in sync. She locked eyes with him as they played. As they hit their last notes with gusto, she leaned to kiss him. He turned his cheek to her lips and gave a shifty eyed smile back. He stood and walked to the hall where there was a mirror hanging freely. He firmly grabbed her shoulders and positioned her in front of him. She looked at his eyes from the mirror view and he looked deeply back into hers. He placed his left hand onto her abdomen and caressed her cheek with his right hand. Then he spoke…

She remembered very clearly, the words he used. He told her that she was not ready for a love that was what he deserved. Though she was not in fact ready, she was willing and forced it so blindly as she professed her love. He moved his hand to her throat and squeezed gently and without harm. She leaned back and they kissed with a purity. They kissed with passion. From him, on that day, three tears fell. They fell onto her. She did not move them from her skin but took in the pain she did not understand. She kissed him with excitement.

Time and again this happened between them.  Time and again, as she grew, she realized that she was not ready. She saw the pain she bestowed upon his soul as he aged with loneliness and she grew into a world of which he was unwelcome.

She remembered the last time she went to see him. She took from him a cross. She made the wooden cut into an ashtray. As she left, he could not look at her. He looked down to the ground and begged her to not make the mistake, for he and he alone could protect her from a life full with pain. He begged her to understand that the stability of the love he had grown for her was that of which grew once he saw the pain of his denial to her that first kiss.

As she left, she whispered his name one last time. Gregorio… then she took the cross and walked away and never looked back. She heard the last notes of that old song being played. She smelled him and saw his face and knew that at some point during her walk away, he died of heartache. She felt responsible but not responsible enough to ever speak it or claim it out loud.

As the future came on and came about over and over again, she played that song. She sat next to a thousand men and played that song and though they all fell for her, there was one in her mind and heart that she was playing for.

The woman stood and dusted herself off. She picked her chin up and pulled her shoulders back. She began to walk through Juarez Mexico in search of Gregorio, who would most certainly be waiting somewhere for her as well… In some shape or form, he was through all of time, with her, waiting for her and around every corner.

*****

Shiloh awoke in a small dark brick cell.  There were no windows only a large red wooden door.  The room was lit by only a few candles, as Shiloh struggled to move his legs which were chained to a large hinge in the middle of the dirt floor. His hands were cuffed and attached to a large ball and chain. Shiloh let out a loud scream which fell on deaf ears. He yelled again

“I’m gonna kill all you motherfuckers, you better not ever let me out!”

His eyes grew red and his fangs began to sharpen, he gathered all of the strength he could muster and once again tried to break free from his restraints. Shiloh unleashed a primal growl, and then began breathing heavily, hoping, wishing for any kind of contact. He had been in this cell for six days by his calculations, but he had no way of really knowing. His body was changing, growing physically stronger despite not having any food or water. As a matter of fact he couldn’t remember the last time he was hungry or thirsty. His senses had also intensified.

Rage filled his mind and he was determined to dismember the first person to walk through that red door. He locked his eyes on the door as if he was willing it to open, but like countless times before the door remained shut. Shiloh collapsed to the floor in despair. He thought back to Noferati biting down on his neck, then being surrounded by all of those sharp toothed women, and the cold stare of the  man with the black slicked back hair.

Suddenly Shiloh heard the faint sound of footsteps, and quickly jumped to his feet. He could feel all of his muscles tense up as he clenched his fists in anticipation. As the sound increased the beads of nervous sweat dripped slowly down his forehead. He heard the sound of  keys jingling, entering the lock, and the turning of the gears. The door slowly opened and Shiloh reared back like a cat preparing to lunge at its prey.

In walked the man dressed in a purple suit with a matching top hat. His monocle glimmered in the candlelight as he walked through the door, he stared deadpan at the chained, struggling person in the middle of the floor, and took a step toward him.

Shiloh lunged, but the man raised his hand pointing his index finger in the air, stopping Shiloh dead in his tracks. The man then pointed down to the floor, and Shiloh sat down with the obedience of a well-trained dog. The man snapped his fingers and nine women walked into the room. They wore long red cloaks with hoods over their heads, and they made a semi-circle behind the man facing Shiloh.

The man began to speak

“ dear boy believe me I understand the rage you must be feeling right now. I can see it on your face.You without  a doubt want to kill me and you will without a doubt get that chance one day. But today is not that day. Can’t you feel it? That you are becoming something special…something unstoppable?  I’ve been watching you for a long time and the one thing I love about you is your ability to detach. You don’t need anyone or anything to be happy. Your indifference makes you strong, but your emotions make you weak.”

The man snapped his fingers and one of the women stepped forward from the semi-circle and removed her hood. It was Nosferati, she knelt down in front of Shiloh and began to caress the side of his face, stopping at his chin then grabbing it firmly forcing him to look up at her.

“Don’t you want to be together baby, don’t you love me?.”

She pushed Shiloh’s face back, stood up and walked back over beside the man  in the purple suit. The man looked down at Shiloh and smirked

“Look at yourself even now I can see the love spewing from your eyes, it’s quite vile if you ask me. But I digress. I did not come to lecture you on the finer points of human emotion, I came here to offer you a deal. Do you wish to wield unlimited power…the kind of power you are going to need to kill me one day?”

Shiloh nodded as the man continued to speak

“Good. So then it’s settled you will be my apprentice. I will teach you how to maximize your new-found abilities,and to harness your urges. You will be trained in all the ancient forms of holy combat, and become a being of great power that this world has never seen. All I ask is that you do one small favor in return, and if when it’s all said and done, you still desire your vengeance and choose to kill me, then so be it.”

The man held out his right hand with his palm facing up and motioned for Shiloh to stand. He snapped his fingers. Nosferati grabbed a big set of keys from the man’s waist, walked over to Shiloh, and removed his restraints. Shiloh looked down at his freshly unchained wrists. Nosferati wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him on the cheek repeatedly.

“Look baby now we can be together!”

Shiloh stood still, his eyes still focused on the man. The man let out a slight smile and said

“Now rest up my son we start tomorrow, you too will soon know this power.”

The man snapped his fingers and the women  removed their cloaks. They all stood nude and formed a circle around Shiloh. The man turned his back to Shiloh and began to walk out the door.  

“Tomorrow we train, but tonight enjoy yourself.”

The Father of Nothing walked out of the room with a sinister grin on his face.

*****

It was a beautiful spring afternoon in Las Cruces. Shiloh walked through the desert not quite sure what he was looking for. The world had been a haze ever since he returned from the quarters of the Father of Nothing. He had been sent on a mission to kill the angel known as Azrael, and steal his blade. Shiloh was confused, his mind wandered. How did he get here? How was he supposed to find this Father Rahm? His first instincts were to find some kind of comfort, the kind only his good friend Diane could provide. Shiloh continued to wander through the desert, making his way across I-25 to a two-story apartment building. He was standing in the parking lot for about five minutes when a white Toyota Corolla pulled in and parked right beside him. It was his old friend Darius who opened his door, sprung out, and yelled

“Loskie! Damn man where the hell have you been? The county?”

Darius laughed his distinguishable maniacal laugh, gave Shiloh dap, and a hug and said

“Come on up I know you’re trying to smoke.”

They walked up the stairs and turned right towards apartment 46. Darius took out his keys,opened the door,and they walked in. The apartment was empty Darius looked around and said

“Oh shit G must be at work or something.”

He plopped down on the couch,grabbed the remote control, and turned on the TV. Shiloh made his way through the small living room, to the kitchen. He went to the refrigerator and opened the door. He looked inside and felt suddenly at peace,like home, but his thoughts remained fuzzy and unclear. Shiloh closed the door , looked over at Darius breaking up weed on the table, then took a seat beside him on the couch and said

“ When was the last time  we spoke? I feel like it’s been years.”

Darius grabbed a cigar  hanging from the side of his Chicago Cubs baseball cap. He split it down the center with his fingernail, and emptied it in an old wooden ashtray shaped like a cross.

Shiloh looked at the ashtray and began to feel a burning sensation in his blood. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Darius replied

“Shit it hasn’t been that long. I think the last time I saw you was Halloween. Kathy and Diane had gotten into it, I walked Diane to her house…and I think you showed up a little bit later. Come to think of it I haven’t seen Diane since Halloween either. Ain’t that about a bitch.”

Darius rolled up some weed into the freshly emptied cigar, licked the edges carefully, and rolled a perfect blunt. He lit it, took a puff, and handed it to Shiloh.

“Here you go. So what’s been up with you?”

Shiloh took  a long drag, then exhaled a large smoke cloud.  He didn’t quite know how to answer that question. He stared blankly at the television there was a baseball game on,  but all Shiloh could see was the monocle man staring back at him on the screen with those cold, soulless, eyes. Shiloh began to panic. He leapt off of the couch and suddenly said

“Yo D I’m sorry I gotta go”

He dropped the blunt in the ashtray and bolted out of the door. He ran down the stairs, then he turned around and ran to Diane’s apartment. Shiloh knocked on the door three times and then turned the doorknob.It was locked. Shiloh looked puzzled and began banging on the door more loudly this time. Shiloh called out

“Diane!”

He banged even louder his voice booming

“Diane!”

Shiloh’s eyes began to grow red and his fangs began to grow. He could feel the thirst for blood growing within him. Shiloh heard the door open back at apartment 46,and could smell the skunk aroma of Darius’s blunt. Shiloh didn’t want his friend to see him in this condition. He ran  to the street, jumped over the fence, and started running towards the desert.

Darius walked down the stairs and looked both ways to see if he could find Shiloh. He was worried about his friend and wanted to make sure he was alright, only Shiloh was nowhere to be found. Darius walked to apartment 23. He made his way past the door to knock on the small window that sat directly to the right. It was Kathy’s apartment and she was laying on her bed watching one of those TV courtroom shows.

Kathy got up and opened the door. Darius was standing outside with a blunt in his hand looking perplexed. She noticed his distress and told him to come inside and join her. Kathy sat on the bed. Darius sat beside her and handed Kathy the blunt. He sat silently watching the TV judge berate some poor guy over God knows what until suddenly saying

“Did you see Shiloh? He was acting real funny. He was asking about your friend Diane”

Kathy shot Darius an angry look. Darius laughed and said

“I’m just bullshitting, but in all seriousness I haven’t seen Diane since Halloween either.”

Kathy took a puff of the blunt and then passed it back to Darius.

“Mijo I don’t know how to tell you this but your friend Shiloh is dead.”

Darius hit the blunt.

“Baby what are you talking about? I just saw him right now. He was smoking at our pad, then he got up and ran downstairs yelling about Diane.”

Kathy put her hand on Darius’s shoulder and said

“Mijo I need you to listen to me your friend is dead…cursed. You know how I’m always telling you guys about the heavenly hood pass?  Well he needs to earn his. But I sense a great darkness following him. Mijo promise me you will stay away from him…promise me!”

Darius took another drag from the cigar.

“Alright madre I promise”

They finished the blunt and watched more random television shows. It was getting late and Darius finally got up, said goodbye, and showed himself out of the apartment. Kathy opened a drawer on her brown  wooden nightstand. She pulled out a small black case, opened the top, moved the red tissue paper to the side, and pulled out a silver cross. She placed the item on the table, stood up, and lit an incense on the window sill.

Kathy closed her eyes and began to pray “en el nombre del padre, el hijo y el espíritu santo

(in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit)

Look over my boys, and protect them from the evil yet to come”

(to be continued)

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