Empire of Vampires ✔️

Chapter Eleven

The crater was shrouded in mist that night. The lights from the mountains sparkled in the distance, but the world was silent and dark down in the crater. No crickets chirped and no children laughed. The only sound to be heard was the ripple of the lake. 

A simple bridge stood over the lake's widest breadth. It was made practically and was sturdy; though it might have lacked beauty. It matched in aesthetic to all the crater housing, spare and few between. Their somber walls stood in average heights, making plain, rectangular shelters; mostly one-story high, with a rare two-story structure appearing now and then.

A small gondola was making its way across the crater, delivering goods to the base of the mountain. It was not a habitual occurrence, for the gondola was mainly reserved for scenic tours for the mountain folk. The route it normally traversed was around the mountain base, gliding through rich foliage and occasionally being sprayed by natural waterfalls. Ornamental marble arches stood over the lake in those areas, roses cascading from them and concealing the plain view of the crater from the mountainside.

The weekly cargo shipment still being a few days away, the gondola carried a large package for an impatient order. A stocky middle-aged man stood at its helm, rowing slowly and deliberately to ration his stamina for the long journey ahead. His sandy hair lay sparsely beneath a cloth cap which didn't do much to protect him from the cold night air. His worn jacket and patched up jeans tried their best to wrap around him snugly and a thin faded red scarf wound across his neck. He thought gladly of the generous payment he was promised for today's order, as he shifted in his never fully dry boots. He would finally be able to pay off the large mortgage he owed to PENCO, the faceless island corporation that controlled all amenities and sucked the crater people dry.

PENCO's latest construction site stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of the crater, reaching high above the modest accommodations. Their rules and regulations made it almost impossible for the crater folk to own their own lands. They slapped payments on everything and offered to buy their homes from beneath their feet at an insultingly low price.

PENCO owned the rights to all the land that lay under the crater homes, which meant their tried their best to drive away the people by messing up their powerlines and cutting off their water supply. Tonight was one such night, where the lights wouldn't turn on, but more importantly neither did the heating. The rower wondered grimly whether PENCO didn't realize that no matter how difficult they made life, the crater people would never leave, for they had nowhere else to run to.

As the gondola passed under the bridge, a figure jumped down from where it had been crouching and lying in wait. He fell so gracefully that it made not the slightest sound. The gondola barely dipped beneath his lightness, and he twirled to face the back of the rower's head with the poise of a ballerina. His lips were inches away from the other man's neck and his throat tightened in remorse as his pointed fangs sank easily through the thin scarf and into the fleshy neck. The rower breathed a sigh of relief as his pain was sucked out first before the final moments of his life. His drained-out corpse fell into the killer's arms and he was laid gently down, a look of serenity adorning his peaceful face for the first time in years.

The killer cracked open the wooden crates holding the precious cargo and hundreds of white lilies poured out, rolling themselves to surround the dead man's face. Their petals gently caressed his lips and glowed with new life as they stole his last breath. They were not the killing things themselves, but like vultures they waited; waited for death so that they may live.

The killer bent over his victim and picked up the brightest lily, his eyes glowing in hatred at the flower as he crushed it in his hand. The lily bounced back to life as he loosened his grip; unkillable now.