Family Ties

Chapter One: Unheard Cries For Mercy

The frigid winter air cut through Maxine's jacket. She was on her way home after yet another doctor's appointment. Not just any appointment, a shrink appointment. In which she spent the entire hour seeing if she could scare Dr. Anderson out of the room and unlike her previous shrink he is a professional through and through. It didn't take long for her to get the last one to quit.

All it took was a few tall tales. And an over-exaggeration of a recount of the last time she was in church.

She threw her chin over her shoulder looking for the ever-looming presence. Not seeing the dark figure just ten feet behind her. The son of Darkness silently watched her pondering whether or not if he can make something out of her. Currently, he is being shunned by every child of Darkness, and Darkness himself. All because he failed to capture a vampire stronghold in the open-lands.

Maxine felt his presence the entire way home. She thought that she was hallucinating, it makes sense, of course, she is crazy, why else would she be seeing a shrink?

Nine years ago, her mother had a near-death experience, which, pushed her closer to God. That very afternoon she took her six-year-old daughter to church for the first and last time. They entered the grand cathedral to find the priest eating an apple with a knife.

Young Maxine was enthralled by its beauty, but somehow it seemed forbidden to her, unreachable. The priest was startled by their presence, or so it seemed.

Maxine was the one he stared at wildly. It blew his mind that she was even able to step a foot into a house of God. In his mind, such a monster shouldn't be able to even see the glory of God, especially one that wears a girl's skin. Little did he know, she's only half of what he thinks she is.

"Get out! You don't belong here, you monster," he snarled out as he pointed the knife at her. "What do you mean father? She is just a child." Loraine couldn't fathom why God would reject her only daughter, her miracle child at that. The priest angrily pointed at Maxine with the knife and in doing so, it slipped out of his grasp. A body fell to the floor with a thud.

Which was too loud to be the child's body, Loraine had jumped in front of Maxine in the nick of time. Maxine stood there tear-less and fearless allowing her mother's wide empty eyes etch themselves onto her mind. She deserved it. After all, she's the reason her amazing, self-sacrificing mother died. So, she did the only thing she can do, pulled the knife from her mother's chest and went to the priest who was crying for forgiveness from God for he had sinned.

But, not as bad as she's about to, she played with the knife right at his throat stopping his pathetic cries. "You don't deserve forgiveness, in your desperation you killed an innocent woman, and yes, I might be a monster but, I wasn't the one who released her. Also, another thing you saw what I am in an instant, who's to say you're not a monster too?" She smeared the blood on the knife across his neck being careful to not cut him yet. With a maniacal smile, Maxine throws her face up and mockingly whisper yells, "forgive me for I'm about to sin O' art thou in heaven!" Then she slit the priest's throat ending his cries for mercy.

She stayed crying over her mother until some of the church members came to help set up for Wednesday's service. Afterward, she bounced around mental institutions until she learned how to keep her darker side hidden from prying eyes.