Mara the Wicked (A "Dead Seed" story)

One: The Monster Comes

Mara — "The cause of nightmares in children."

The night was dark as Mara prowled around the white and grey house with its perfectly manicured lawn, which was wet from the sprinklers earlier. She knew exactly where to go, which bedroom was hers.

Mara had watched this family for a little over a week, learning their routines, what time they typically went to sleep (around nine o'clock). The lights in the house had shut off twenty minutes ago; no one had stirred in almost ten.

Sneaking around to the bedroom window she had looked through every night this week, Mara peeked in. There she lay sleeping, looking like a peaceful little angel. She had been put to bed earlier — an hour ago — as always. She must have been about six years old. Hair the color of the sun; skin as white as the snow. She slept beneath a unicorn blanket and cuddled a stuffed mermaid with pink hair. Chest rising with every breath she took; up and down, up and down.

Mara licked her lips.

Creeping closer to the window, Mara used her fingernail to quietly cut through the glass. A silver light seeped through her fingertip to aid her nail; Mara had always had supernatural powers, even when she was alive. Slipping her hand through the neatly cut hole in the glass, she unlocked the window and slid it open. A gentle summer breeze fluttered the sheer curtains, billowing them about the bedroom. Mara snuck through the window with the grace of a long-legged spider, careful not to knock over the dollhouse that sat beneath.

She knelt beside the bed and watched the little girl breathe. In and out. Up and down. Mara inhaled the delicious scent of such young blood and sweet breath.

After watching her sleep for a moment, Mara slid a finger along the girl's jaw. The child stirred, turned her head, exposing her neck to the monster beside her.

Mara leaned over and sniffed the girl's throat, salivating at the scent. The girl stirred again, this time opening her eyes. She was startled. Afraid. Her eyes widened and she jolted up in bed, her tiny mouth opening to scream. Mara put a finger to the child's mouth and coo'd "hush."

The child went into a trance-like state. Mara sat next to her on the bed. She pulled the child closer and lowered her mouth to the soft warm flesh of the girl's neck. The monster sank her fangs into the child, who didn't make a sound.

The girl still held her stuffed mermaid. A few moments later, the doll fell from the child's lifeless arms to the floor at Mara's feet.

The mother's intuition must have told her something was wrong because the child's bedroom door opened then, cracked at first, and then flew the rest of the way accompanied by the mother's screams. Her child was dead and in the arms of a monster.

The father soon came running and Mara dropped the body and ran back out the window. She laughed, blood dripping down her chin as fled through the peaceful neighborhood. She ran until she reached the gate of the community and then hopped over it with ease. Continuing to run, she didn't stop until she made it to the park. She collapsed at the edge of a pond, still laughing; high off the blood of the innocent.

Sprawled in the grass, Mara closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of the pure blood making its way through her body. Her throat was still warm. The blood coursed all through her like a delicious warm wave. She used a finger to wipe her chin of the dribble and then licked it, savoring the taste of that angel once more.

A few minutes later, she heard police sirens heading in the direction she had just come from.

Her high was wavering. She stood and contemplated her next move. The night was still young; it was too early to go back to her mausoleum.

Before she could decide what she wanted to do next, something was slipped over head. Her hands were yanked from her side and crossed behind her, bound with what felt like zip ties. Two pairs of strong hands grabbed her and she was tossed into a vehicle. The tires screeched off down the road.

If she had wanted to, she could have broke free from her bounds with ease. But, that wasn't her style. She was curious as to where she was being taken. Beneath the cover over her face, she grinned.