My heart sank, I felt as if our hopes for escaping this death-trap alive were crushed. I could still see the knife tucked away in Herman’s pocket, so an attempted attack would have been futile. Martha and Victor had both stood back, they knew it was I Herman wanted to deal with.
“Serene, did I not give you enough time to do the right thing? I must have over estimated you. I would have thought that you were clever than this. But you know what, my sweet stupid guest? I shall give you one last chance...right here, right now. You know where the knife is, kill the girl.”
Martha had ceased the celebration, she had now returned to her terrified state. I looked at her, and then at the knife which was still wedged in the table, and thought a horrible thought. One quick slice and this could all be over…Martha would die in a more humane manner than she would at Herman’s hands. And there may be some hope for Victor, for the first time in his life. Martha seemed to notice what I was thinking.
“Serene…you wouldn’t? You wouldn’t?” her voice quavered “please, don’t...please”
Herman smiled slightly; he too could sense what I was thinking. His sick little plot was all unfolding. I walked over to the table, swiftly pulled the cleaver out of the wooden table. Martha continued to plead and held her arms up over her face.
“Please...please, don’t listen to him…please don’t hurt me”
What could I do, I couldn’t save her, and the knowledge that I sent her to a slow suffering death would haunt me just as much as having her blood on my hands. Martha began to tremble; Victor appeared to be speechless with shock. Herman was taking great pleasure in this all.
“I am so glad you are seeing sense now, you know it won’t be as hard as you think. It’s in your nature, who knows, you may even enjoy it.”
I did not respond to him, my hand which gripped the knife began to quiver almost as much as Martha; tears welled up in my eyes.
“Do it Serene, spare her from me. You vampires are nothing but killers anyway.”
And with that comment, I marched over to the old wooden table and firmly wedged the cleaver back into place. I couldn’t do it.
“No...no...no...we are not all killers! I WONT DO IT! I WONT KILL HER!”
Herman looked at me and sighed.
“So now you are righteous again, that’s lovely Serene but you are not doing your friend any favours.”
“I am not killing her! And I am not carrying out your plan!”
“Well that is your choice; it’s rather unfortunate for poor Martha.”
I did not know whether I was doing the right thing. Neither choice seemed right. As every second passed I hoped for Prudence to return with help, and save us all. Yet help did not come.
“Well, once again I bid you farewell for now my undead friend. And I advise you do bid for Martha goodbye too. For I do not think you will be seeing her again.”
Martha fell to her knees in desperation, she pleaded for mercy. Victor regained his speech and yelled at his father… “You b*****d!”
“Victor, have you forgotten your manners. That kind of language is inappropriate. Oh and remember, the next time I return. It will be you I leave with if you do not convince your friend…to (laughs)...kill you! My! This plan just gets sweeter and sweeter.”
Herman snagged Martha’s arm, she screamed and tried to break free but he pulled out his pocket knife, and viciously hit the crown of her head with the handle. She stopped struggling and simply collapsed helplessly in his arms.
And all Victor and I could do is stand back and watch, as Herman dragged her out of the room. I still remember that moment, watching the kitchens door slam shut, through blurred teary eyes.
I did not know what to say, I did not wish to think of what Herman would do to poor Martha. Not only did I feel the guilt of dragging her into a problem nothing to do with her, but I felt remorse at the loss of a friend. For however annoying and freakish she is, Martha was one of the few people who did not run away from me. I could not look at Victor; I wondered what he must think of me now. I was so close to killing Martha myself, in his eyes I must no longer be the sweet kind girl he sat next to in class.
“I am sorry. I don’t know what I should have done.”
“I don’t think I’d know either.”
“What happens now” I said, trying not to break down “She’s basically dead! I-don’t want her to die!”
Victor simply put his arm around me an attempt to comfort me. He spoke kindly.
“You know, this may not be as bad as you think.”
This was confusing.
“What? How could it possibly be worse! He is going to torture and kill Martha! Slowly, and it’s my fault!”
“Slowly…exactly, and that might just save her life. You see I am quite sure that dad doesn’t know where Prudence is, and…a slow killing would take some time. Perhaps Prudence will return before dad can finish the job?”
Victor was right; I really had made the right choice after all. Martha was going to be hurt, that was inevitable. But at least, she may survive an injury; she would not have survived a quick slice to the neck. I wonder if the ability to think things through so well is an Anderson family trait, although Victor used his talent for good. He continued.
“We can get out of here Serene. All of us, now that we have help. One day this will all be nothing but a memory.”
And I hoped this was true. I wanted to close my eyes and this all become part if history. Our hopes lay with that crazy fanatical woman.
Meanwhile, outside of our little trap, across the other side of Strangetown, Persephone had taken Prudence back to her home so she could gather supplies.
“Ooooh I cannot believe I have lowered myself to this, I am making alliances with savage fiends! And now I must enter a demons ungodly place of dwelling! Oh the horrors that may lie within!”
Prudence paused, this house was not as she expected. Rather than a gothic crypt type of home, Persephone had decorated her place in a rather un-vampirish style, right down to the pink lined coffin. It is something ironic about her, she may share the name with the “wife of Hades”, yet nothing about her seemed dark or hellish.
“Oh my, but it is…girly?”
“Well, what did you expect? A crypt? An S&M club? Geez I hate these stereotypes.”
Persephone reached down and pulled out an old knife from under the coffin, looked at it and smiled sadly. Throughout her time as a vampire, Persephone needed to protect herself despite hating to use such a weapon.
“I didn’t think I would need this again.”
“What! You are going to sacrifice me aren’t you! I knew this was a bad idea! I knew it! Heretic!”
“No Mrs Peel I am not trying to sacrifice you, nor was I trying to kill you when I accidentally tripped on your foot, and I was not “willing” that driver to swerve like that and nearly hit you either! Oh man you people don’t understand what people like us have to go though, can’t you get it into your thick heads that most vampires are not actually trying to kill you! We are just trying to survive in this world, like you.”
Prudence attempted to respond, but could not think of anything intelligent to say. Persephone sensed this was the first time she had been left speechless in a while, which was quite an achievement.
“Now, if you want to do something useful, shut up, take one of these knives, keep it hidden and for gods sake don’t use it unless you really have to. Now let’s go.”
She watched Prudence obey, reluctantly. And prepared to walk out. She was almost excited to see another vampire, yet the Herman problem would get in the way first.
Martha opened her eyes. This was the third time she had awoken in a strange place this night, and it was most likely that if she ever got out of this place, she’d need to get her head checked out. There were no grimy tiles, yet this room was equally unsanitary. A tap dripped loudly, and Martha could not see where it was coming from. This was the only sound to penetrate the eerie silence. Without Victor and me, she grew more frightened as now she was faced with Herman on her own.
Then Martha began to wonder where Mr Anderson was, was he lurking in the shadows? Was this a game to frighten her? Or was he waiting for her to wake before inflicting any torture, as sleeping victims don’t squirm, plead or cry as much. And where is the fun in that? If it was a game, it was certainly working. Her hands were bound to the strange chair she was seated in. Yelling would be of no use, for it would just alert Herman that she was awake. The curled up corpse of another unfortunate woman lay in the corner behind her chair. Martha began to shake uncontrollably. For unlike Me, and Victor, she had never seen a dead body before.
Martha heard the slow heavy pace of Herman’s footsteps. He was back. She tried to quieten her panicked breathing yet the gasps were impossible to silence. Through the darkness, Herman’s form emerged.
“I see you have finally awakened from your slumber Miss Peel, what a pleasure. Stupid girl, don’t you wish you had stayed out of the vampire’s business?”
“I-I-I am not listening to you.”
“She can’t save you now you know. Nobody knows where you are. And now, you shall meet your maker. I hope you are seated comfortably Martha, for you are going to be here for a while before your ending.”
Amongst the clouds of terror, a glimmer of hope flickered across her mind. She thanked me in her mind for possibly saving her life, and prepared to endure any pain if it meant she had the slightest chance to escape.
