Your Cold Heart

Part 1: The End

It was a sunny day when things went to hell in a hand basket. The birds were singing their songs, the breeze was gentle and serene. Hell, even his brother was happily singing an old song they had heard as children as they walked through the woods near the only place they called home, in search of prey.

Daryl wasn't falling for any of it though. He always could sense when things were about to turn bad. And right now, every instinct inside him was telling him to turn around and high tail it back to where they came from. Or go a different direction. Either was fine with him!

"Ey, Merle? Let's head back, yeah?"

"What for, baby brother? S'not like we hadn't done this before. What you so scared of, Daryl?"

Daryl scratched the back of his neck as he wondered the same thing. Why was he feeling nervous? "Don't know. Just got this feeling is all. Like we're walking to our deaths.."

Merle laughed loudly and shook his head in amusement. "Well, if you're too scared to hunt Peter cottontail, I suggest ya turn round and head home. But ol' Merle's gonna get us some rabbit for supper!"

~~~~~~~

They trekked on for another thirty minutes before Daryl heard a growl coming from a nearby thicket of thorn bushes. He halted his movements while holding his hand up to Merle in a signal of silence. Merle stopped his walking immediately and his ears seemed to perk to attention.

The rustling became louder as they both stood frozen in place. Daryl knew no wild animal sounded like that and the hairs on the back of his neck prickled in anticipation of what was to come.

What finally emerged from the tangled brush caught both brothers by surprise but both sighed in relief, lowering their weapons.

A woman who looked fairly young stood confidently in front of them, seeming to size them up. Merle grinned flirtatiously, of course and the woman started to grin widely in response.

"Well hey there, boys. What are you handsome fellas doing out here all by yourselves?" She asked with a sultry lilt to her voice.

Daryl wasn't quite sure what to make of this lady. Something wasn't right about her, that was for sure but he couldn't help that he was instantly fascinated with her voice. And how there seemed to be a glow around her. And her eyes... they looked so hypnotizing. Like she could control him with just one look...

"Now that you're here sweet cheeks, I don't rightly recollect the reason but I'm sure ya can give ol' Merle an idea of some activities you and I can get into!"

The woman's eyes lit up excitedly and her grin became wider, it seemed. It was then that Daryl noticed a weird sparkle in her black eyes, almost like a lone star that glimmered in the dark pupils. He nudged Merle roughly and gestured behind them, "Let's just get outta here Merle, this woman don't seem right."

But as Daryl turned to walk away, he noticed that Merle seemed to be enamored with the woman and had no intentions of leaving.

"What the hell you doin' to my brother, huh?" he spoke directly to her and her dark eyes shifted to him for a millisecond.

"He'll be a tasty snack but you're going to be the real prize. Far too valuable for what I have planned for your simple brother." She advanced on Merle quicker than Daryl could blink and they were on the ground in seconds, the woman completely towering over Merle, her rosy lips attached Merle's neck. All Daryl could hear were greedy gulps, as if she were sucking something out of him. Daryl wasn't strong or quick enough because as he pulled and prodded at the woman to let his brother go, she seemed to latch on even tighter.

He felt useless and traitorous tears started rolling down his face as he watched the life being sucked from the only relative he had left on this god for saken earth. And here was a.... he couldn't call her a woman; no, she was a 'thing.'

When she finally pulled back from Merle, it sent Daryl tumbling backwards onto the ground in shock. He wasn't sure what he had just seen and in a way, he wished he could un-see it almost immediately.

The woman wiped her crimson stained lips with the sleeve of her sweater and grinned once again only this time, Daryl was the reciever this time.

"Now it's your turn, hunny.... Only this time, I won't kill you unlike your dumb brother. I have a feeling you're going to be very useful to me..."

And then he happened so quickly that he had no chance to fight back. He soon found himself in the same position his brother had been in. Laid out on the forest floor with a demon-woman latched onto his neck. As much as he tried, he couldn't push her off and before he knew it, she pulled back and looked at him, as if waiting for something to happen.

Standing to her full height, she took the underside of her arm to her mouth and seemed to bite down. Black liquid started dripping immediately and through Daryl's dazed state, he knew it wasn't regular blood. Couldn't be.

"Drink, my son." She purred, holding her wrist to his closed mouth. He shook his head no and she sighed, obviously not amused.

Seeming to solve the problem, she gripped the back of his neck with the other arm and forced his lips to wrap around the wound. When he wouldn't drink the offending liquid like she requested, she then plugged his nose forcing his mouth open. The thick nectar oozed into his mouth, making him want to gag visciously but she wouldn't allow that. Instead, she held his body tighter to her, forcing every drop into his mouth. When finally finished, she let him go roughly and he fell once again to the ground, dry-heaving on nothing.

"Maybe next time you'll do as I say, human."