Blood Shed

Chapter 2: Ancestral Power

    "When the slave owners could not figure out why some of our ancestors could not die no matter what they did to us, they would just torture us. For many years your great grandfather lived in misery, and when the day came for him to sacrifice his life for the population he was ready to relinquish his body of scars that held so much trauma"proclaimed a stern but soft voice.
    Two little kids, a boy and a girl, sat precariously in front of an old wooden rocking chair on a wide sun lit porch. An older looking lady occupied the seat moving back and forth with the flow of the chair, as her long black and gray hair swayed in the wind. Sipping on homemade lemonade the children looked up with wide eyes and hands on their jaws.
     "Grandma can we live forever if we wanted to?" asked the little girl curiously. 
     "Life is not about how long you can live, it's about why you're living. Once you have had your chance to experience all that you can, it is time to go so others can have their time. We were given immortality as vampires, but as people we are given the strength to carry each other on through...", spoke the graying woman and before she could finish her sentence the children took over.
    "Through blood, spirit, and memories" echoed both the little boy and girl in unison. 
     Pride filled the woman's heart as she was pleased to see that her grandchildren were paying attention to their ancestral lessons in school. Swaying away to the evening breeze with her eyes closed tight Evelyn McTrixter rested her eyes and breathed easily. Not even five minutes in, Evelyn's eyes sprung open to the scream of a woman who ran up to the porch.
"You have to help me, I think I am having my baby!" shrieked a young short haired brunette girl with blood running down her legs.
As Evelyn's eyes adjusted she could notice it was Bethany Hemetry.
"Children go and fill the tub up with warm water quickly!" directed Eveylyn as she ran in haste to pick up Bethany off the gravel pathway.
Struggling to climb the steep creaking steps, Bethany reached out with both her hands using them to crawl her way up to the porch. Once she had reached the top she collapsed out of exhaustion, laying there with blood surrounding her body she watched as the older lady ran into the kitchen to grab towels and other items. The children sat still in shock as they held each other tightly.
"Would you like some of our lemonade miss?", asked the little girl slowly pushing her cup in Bethany's direction.
"No, but thank you", whimpered Bethany to the little girl who's dark brown curls blew in the wind as her big brown eyes gazed up on all the blood on the floor.
"Here, I'm going to roll you over on your back. Hold this Tiger's eye stone, we need as much luck the universe can give us, this much blood isn't a good sign" spoke Evelyn as she kneeled on her knees using all her strength to put Bethany on her back.
I'm placing this carnelian crystal on your lower back to alleviate some of the pain, just breathe for me, and before I begin i'm putting some of my lavender oil in your navel to calm you.
Breathing in and out slowly Bethany could feel a rush of ease come to her body and travel up to her mind, the sweet breeze came and blew on her forehead and whistled in her ear. Drifting off into deep thoughts Bethany could feel the pulling and tugging from Evelyn.
It had been six weeks since Bethany had drunk the conception tea, a mixture of the families blood- to give the baby its vamp powers, pure cows milk- to strengthen the mother in preparation for labor, and a pinch of vitex- to prevent any harm to the baby. To top it all off a spell is said over the mother during the ceremony of conception by every member in the family for the key parts of her body: the crown of her head, the nable, the chest, the soul of the feet. The spell is chanted two times by everyone: LET THERE BE A CHILD DEAR ANCESTORS, LET YOUR LIGHT BRING US JOY, YOUR GUIDANCE BRING US AT PEACE, AND OUR OFFERINGS TO YOU GIVE THE MOTHER PROTECTION IN RETURN.  For the spell to properly work it must be done on a full moon night on the third, sixth, or ninth month of the year. 
Bethany has been longing for a baby she just didn't expect it to be so soon and the Mctrixter family could wait no longer, so they wasted no time and had a ceremony for Bethany in the month of March. Bethany was not expecting signs of her pregnancy as soon as she did, vomiting the next day after the ceremony and craving mammal blood. Most pregnant vamps did not show signs until seven days after the ceremony and it often took anywhere from 3 to 4 months for a baby vamp to be born, but this was month 2 for Bethany.
"I can't see anything!" screamed Bethany.
"It means the baby is sucking you off all your energy, it's fighting for its life. I have to work fast." responded Evelyn.
Using her thumbs Evelyn began to stretch the muscles around Bethanys vulva while telling Bethany to push as much as she could. The pain of the baby moving down her uterus snapped Bethany out of her calm trance. With every push the veins in bethanys forehead began to wrinkle more and shine bright red.
"I can see its head!" shouted Eveylin.
Pulling the baby out slowly Bethany was clenching her butt cheeks tightly and using all the strength she had to keep her legs up. Slipping out the baby fell right into Evelyn's hands, filling her palms with his feet touching the tips of her hand and his head resting on her wrist.
"He's not crying, but his eyes are wide open and he's breathing fast" , stated Evelyn.
While holding the small baby boy Evelyn looked deeply into his eyes reminiscing the time when her last son was born, it was a joyous moment even though he came out howling at the top of his lungs. Evalyn knew the moment her son began to cry that he was going to be a weaker powered vampire, but she didn't care. She knew she had to keep it a secret from the rest of the town or else he would be an easy target for abuse. Having a son meant she gained more authority in her family, and had more power over decision making, and she did not want anything getting in the way of that.
"You're going to gain so much, this baby boy is your ticket", said Evelyn to Bethany as she handed over the baby to her.
Bethany didn't even want to enquire more about what Evelyn meant by that, all she could see was her baby's soft plump face staring back at her. His dark brown skin glistening in the sun and his smooth hair laying flat against his little head. Caressing his head Bethany couldn't help but smile down at him, nothing could ruin the moment for her, not even the sharp pains of her womb healing quickly beneath her from Evelyn's spell. 
"You should be ready to go now, try standing up" uttered Evelyn as she stood up and took the baby from Bethany.
Standing up slowly Bethany could feel her legs straightening under her, but she was numb everywhere else.
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On the other side of town awoke Brookes from his slumber that took him out and down around 1 in the morning. The strong scent of Henny lifted off his breath and danced around in the air making him nauseous. Grabbing his stomach and running directly to the toilet the loud thud of his footsteps alerted Gunter. Crawling out of his bedroom that was located directly next door to Brooke's room, Gunter Hemetry stopped at a halt to watch Brookes puke out a half a bottle of Henny and chunks of green lettuce from last night's dinner.
"You drank so much last night I didn't think you would have left any for the rest of the bar" chuckled Gunter.
Handing Brookes a piece of tissue paper Gunter couldn't help but cover his nose from the smell of Brookes vomit.
"Yeah well Henny is the only sweet thing around here", sighed Brooke as he wiped his mouth.
"Sweeter than Mabel?" Questioned Gunter with a smirk.
"What?!...you talking about?", stuttered Brookes.
"You were dancing around the Blood Shack last night singing her name. You lucky me and Hunter were there to get you out of there before a fight broke out." Said Gunter.
Stretching his legs out to sit with his back to the toilet and his feet pointed towards the tub. Staring off into space Brookes couldn't stop replaying the last time he saw Mabel in his head.
"I fucked up bad" Brookes said slowly and breathy.
" And you go keep on fucking up if you don't put that bottle down" sternly spoke Gunter.
"I'm trying but when the liquor isn't in me I'm reminded everyday that i'll never be good enough for pops" Brooke's said while bowing his head down between his knees that were drawn close to his chest.
"Then you're just going to have to be good enough for yourself" Gunter said as he bent down to Brookes on the ground rubbing his back.
Tears began to roll down Brookes face from his puffy eyes. The tears were big and heavy but not like the ones that were currently running down Mabel's face across town.
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"If I ain't know I know now that you're the reason Brookes had such confidence to take his uptight ass over here to bombard our dinner the other night" scolded Joshua Finster.
"I'm sorry I thought he was different, guess I was fooled" said Mabel with her head bowed.
"There is a reason I don't like him or his bald headed daddy, they think they are the shit and they aren't shit" said Joshua leaning over the dining table putting most of his pressure on to his hands, gripping the bag of his golden metal chair.
Glancing over to stare at the family portraits on the wall Mabel couldn't help but notice how she always found the back to stand in her family. At six foot nine she was the shortest in her family by an inch and all she could see of herself was from her eyes up. Never ever usually getting any attention being the only girl her parents had, this was already enough attention Mabel could handle. This was the most embarrassing moment yet. Mabel felt sorry for herself. She thought she could get her own private spotlight with Brookes and instead she was given a stage and a audience full of her family members all because Brookes decided to be drunk and loud.
"You have embarrassed me and I don't want you seeing that boy again, anyone else but him please", said  Joshua walking off towards the front door grabbing his hat and zipping up his boots.
Slipping out the door Joshua swing the door open so wide it slammed shut behind him.
Ascending down the staircase after watching his father leave Lance Finster aprached Mabel with a grin.
"See if you had listened to me when I said to leave Brookes where that boy stayed, you wouldn't be in this situation now would you?"Lance questioned Mabel slyly.
"Oh shut up Lance, I don't need you being another parent dad already handled me" scoffed Mabel getting up from her seat to walk away.
Lunging after her Lance caught up to Mabel in the hallway pushing her back up against the wall.
"Look here little sister, I'm not going to have you embarrassing this family because you wanna be up on Brookes. If I catch y'all again it ain't just go be between me you and Brookes, I'm go tell pops and he ain't go be as nice as me"Lanced said stiffly as he held a grip of Mabel's dress collar in his hand.
Using all her strength to push him off of her, Mabel slapped Lance making him fall on to the coffee table where he hit his back. Standing over him with her hands around his throat and the heel of her black booty by his right ear, Mabel gripped tightly until she could see the veins pop a little in his forehead.
"Now you look here big brother, don't you ever threaten me like that again with your stank ass breath so close to my nostril hairs that they almost burned off. You don't ever have to worry about me and Brookes but you will have to worry about yourself if you ever grip me up like that again" said Mabel as she stepped back to stare Lance down before she walked up stairs.
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The day had grown into a pink sun set that had the sky glowing and the town glistening. The sun was poking through the window of Evelyn's living room touching the left cheek of Bethany who laid on the family's couch wrapped in the family quilt. In the corner of the living room the new born baby laid in a bassinet while Evelyn's grandchildren watched him. The howling of a kettle sprung Bethany awake and startled the baby making him cry. Walking quickly into the living room Bethany rushed over to the baby's bassinet and started singing.
"Rest your eyes child, may your dreams be mild. Sending peace to your spirit and mind" sang Eveylyn.
Drifting asleep the baby slowly stopped crying while the two children who were watching him slowly laid on to the ground falling into a deep slumber.
"I haven't heard that song spell in forever, my mom used to sing it to me and my brothers all the time until we got to the age of 10 where it no longer worked on us" said Bethany, mesmerized by how fast the children fell asleep.
Walking over to sit next to Bethany on the couch Evalyn couldn't help but wonder why Bethany had not mentioned her mother until now.
"I know I'm not the only grandmother for your baby since I wasn't the only grandmother at the blood mixing ceremony or the conception ceremony" asked Evalyn as she looked deep into Bethany's eyes.
Sitting up slowly before she could answer, Bethany cleared her throat before speaking.
"After the ceremonies my parents left on an excursion outside the realms of the town. They said there might be a threat to expose Blood Shed to the rest of America and their first hunch was in a place named Georgia located just outside the parameters of the town"  said Bethany with a long glance at her baby boy.
Sitting back in shock Evalyn couldn't help but recall the last time there was a threat to Blood shed. The last time a vamp had ran away from Blood Shed, putting the whole town on high alert. Eveyline and her husband joined Bethany's parents as well as Joshua and Mrs. Finster on the hunt for the runaway vamp. They were all able to track her down and everyone survived the treacherous search except for Bruce, Eveyline's husband.
"Oh, why didn't they tell me about the threat?" Questioned Evelyn as she sat back holding her stomach.
"They didn't want to scare the town, especially since dad said it wasn't a big threat and he and mom could handle it"said Bethany as she held Evelyn's hands.
Evelyn thought to herself that was what Mr. Hemetey said last time that he and his wife could handle it. When Evelyn's husband had to step in and help them fight because they couldn't handle it, he lost his life from an accidental poisoning. Evelyn couldn't look at the Hemetry's the same for a long time let alone believe a word they said.
Pulling Bethany in closer to her, Evalyn held her as she looked over at her grandson.
"I pray your parents return safely and I know they will" said Eveyline as she continued to hold Bethany.
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The night had grown into its darkest point yet leaving the night sky full of traffic from busy vamps. A Saturday night was a night for all vamps in town to let loose and forget about daily and weekly tasks. Flying together and alone vamps of all shapes and sizes were enjoying the wind whipping against their faces, all except one vamp who was flying in pure misery. With his eyes piercing down at the ground Lance used his precise vision to pick out every red haired female vamp he could find. Lance was on a personal hunt for a particular curvaceous vamp with long flowing copper red hair.
Spotting his target Lance locked his eye on her flying closer to the ground preparing to land. Dropping himself directly in front of her backing her into the gate that gaurded the ancestral burial grounds.
"Claudia baby, it's been a minute hasn't it?", asked Lance.
Cowering in fear Claudia placed her back against the gate gripping the bars of the gate with her hands. The moon light highlighting her high cheekbones and light brown smooth skin.
"What the hell do you want Lance" asked Claudia.
"Is that how you greet the man that saved your ass from dying?" asked Lance.
Looking around to see if anyone was around Claudia hoped someone was near.
"I'm sorry but I thought I did everything I needed, I thought I was done with you" said Claudia bucking at Lance so he could back up from her face.
Grabbing at Claudia's throat until he could see her hazel eyes tremble like the rest of her body, Lance held Her up as high as he could off of the ground with her 6"5' stature allowing only the tip of her boots to scrape against the grass.
"Rule number one if I save you, I own you. Don't ever forget that" scolded Lance.
"Okay" mumbled Claudia as she squeezed out as much sound out as she could grunting with her response.
Dropping her to the ground, Lance stood over Claudia as she collapsed to the ground coughing trying to catch her breath.
"I have a task for you. Brookes Hemetey needs a distraction, one that's not my sister. So, you're going to march your little cute ass over to where he at and do your thing" said Lance as he stood with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand pointing down at Claudia.
"So, you want me to seduce Brooke's?" questioned Claudia.
"Yes and make him fall in love with you" said Lance stroking his chin.
Looking off into the distance everything seemed blurry to Claudia as the oxygen rushed back to her head.
"Okay...and how am I supposed to do that?" Asked Claudia.
"You're a smartish woman I'm sure you'll figure it out because if you don't do what I ask, you may be the next missing female vamp" laughed Lance as he turned around and got ready to fly off.
Watching Lance fly off made Claudia audibly cringe. She regretted the day she made a deal with that man.
"I just know the devil a Saint compared to that dick" whispered Claudia to herself.
The night fog had started to set in and the coolness of the wind blowing by felt good against the bruises that were quickly healing up on Claudia's neck. Getting up slowly to stand on her feet Claudia trotted off slowly toward the Blood shack.
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Not too far from Claudia in the burial grounds sat Evalyn next to her husband's grave that was in the center of all the other circles of tombs. Sobbing over the cement rock that had Bruce Mctrixter carved into it lined by silver.
" Look, don't you worry I'm going to get the Hemetry's back for what they did to you okay" said Evelyn holding a few pieces of curly newborn hair.
Placing the hair in the center of the tomb and surrounding it with rose flowers and a piece of rum cake. Evelyn sprinkled some moon water around her husbands tomb before starting her chant:
ANCESTORS YOU HAVE HEARD MY CRIES AND WITNESSED MY SORROW. DON'T LET BRUCE'S DEATH BE IN VEIN. PLEASE SEND RATH AFTER WHO IT NEEDS TO FOLLOW.
After chanting with her eyes sealed shut for 5 minutes repeating her chant three times Evalyn opened her eyes to see a twinkle of light in the corner of her eyes.
"I know you're there Bruce, I brought you your favorite cake, and look at your grandson's hair. I wish you were here to see him" said Evalyn as she laid by the tomb sobbing.