Feral Hearts Read online

  Paul shook Barry. “Get it together, man. We got to get the fuck out of Dodge.”

  The two men fled into the night with hell right on their heels.

  * * *

  Paul ran to the window, shoving Lucy and Jenna aside. “What the fuck is Jamie doing down there? Why aren’t they killing him?” He looked at Jenna. “You look nice.”

  “Thank you,” said Jenna blushing. Then she saw the bite marks on his neck.

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “Great. Can we please put our sex glands on-hold and figure out how we’re going to get out of here?”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” said Barry. “If we go out there, they’ll get us.”

  “You mean they’ll get you,” corrected Lucy.

  Barry stabbed a finger in the air. “Hey, we’re in this together.”

  There was a knock at the door. Jenna grabbed Lucy’s arm and Barry and Paul jumped out of their skin.

  “Oh shit! They’re here!” cried Paul.

  ‘What’s going on in there?’ a voice asked from the other side of the door.

  “It’s Angela, you moron,” said Lucy. She walked across the room and opened the door. Angela was standing there.

  “What’s the racket?”

  “Don’t let her in!” said Barry pointing an accusatory finger at Angela. “We don’t know if she’s one of them!”

  “You let me and Jenna in, you idiot,” said Lucy, pulling Angela into the room and locking the door behind her.

  Angela looked at Barry and then Paul. “What the hell happened to you guys?”

  “We got attacked by fucking vampires, that’s what happened,” said Barry running his hands through his hair.

  “What?”

  “Come look outside and see,” said Jenna still standing by the window.

  “You’ve gotta be shitting me,” said Angela.

  “Look out the window,” said Lucy. “Something weird is going on.”

  “We’re going to die, that’s what’s going on!” shouted Barry.

  Lucy slapped him so hard that she sent blood spattering from his face. He stood there stunned in silence.

  Angela walked over to the window and looked out. “Oh my God. What the fuck is going on? Why is Jamie out there?”

  “He’s talking to them,” said Jenna, hugging herself. “I can’t imagine about what?”

  Suddenly Barry’s wound began to throb.

  “Jesus, Barry, are you all right?” asked Lucy, noticing his two puncture wounds on his neck pulsating and oozing blood.

  “What a stupid question, Lucy. Of course, I’m not all right. One of those bitches bit me on the neck. I probably have a fucking disease now.”

  “Here, let me see.” Lucy walked over to him and inspected the wound on his neck, careful not to touch it. “Holy shit, two puncture marks.”

  “No kidding,” said Barry. “Is that your official diagnosis as a phony doctor?”

  “I’m sorry, Barry.”

  “Still think I’m on drugs now?”

  “I don’t know what to think.”

  “We should be thinking on what we need to do about those…people outside,” insisted Angela.

  “They don’t look like they’re coming in so far,” said Jenna looking over Angela’s shoulder and out the window.

  “What assistance do you need from me?” asked Jamie. “I already led you to Barry and Paul.”

  Viktoriya’s mouth yawned open, exposing her fangs, and she grabbed Jamie by the throat. She turned his head sideways, exposing his neck, and she sunk her teeth into his neck.

  Jamie convulsed in her grip as she drew blood from his body. He sprouted an erection in his pants as he fell limp in her grip, the helpless mouse in the mouth of the cat. After a moment, she released him, licking her teeth as thick red syrup dripped from her chin. She then slipped her left breast out into the night air and made a small incision with her fingernail right under her nipple. More red syrup leaked out. “Drink, my child.”

  Jamie didn’t want to, but he did as he was told. He couldn’t resist her eyes. He reached up and suckled the blood from her breast. After a moment, Viktoriya gently lifted his head away.

  Weakened, Jamie dropped to one knee. “I-I thought you said you’d set me free.”

  “I did,” said Viktoriya. “Free from illness, old age, and death.”

  “It’s not what I wanted.”

  “Isn’t it? Isn’t it exactly what you wanted? To live in the shadows in anonymity. To take love as you saw fit without having to return it, like you did with Nico.”

  Jamie rose to his feet. “You leave him out of this. He was a sick person.”

  “Which is why I…took care of him for you,” cackled Viktoriya picking her teeth with a long fingernail. “You deserve better. Another one of my gifts to you.”

  Jamies eyes went wide. “Wh-wh—”

  “Yes. I told you from the beginning that you belong to me.”

  “You fucking bitch!”

  “Your fucking master!” Her eyes burned in her head, stifling his outrage, stamping it out. “And don’t you forget it!”

  Jamie bowed his head to avoid the spurn of her gaze. “What do you ask of me…my Master?”

  “Go inside. Bring them to me. The rest of you, surround the hotel! No one gets out!”

  “Oh my God!” cried Jenna. “That woman bit Jamie!”

  “Let me see,” said Lucy, shoving her way to the window. “They’re talking again. Why would Jamie just let her do that?”

  “Maybe he didn’t have much of a choice,” said Angela.

  “She’s right,” said Paul. “When I was at Feral Hearts, that woman down there got me to go back into the champagne room with her. She got me to answer questions I didn’t want to answer. I told her where we were staying.”

  “You what?” asked Lucy, outraged. She ran over to Paul and slapped him hard in the face. He stood there and took it, a tear streaming down his face. She slapped him a second time. She raised her hand a third time, but Angela caught it. “Lucy, don’t.”

  Jenna looked down and gasped as she saw Jamie sucking the woman’s breast. She put her hand over her mouth, riddled with jealousy and disappointment.

  Lucy pointed an accusatory finger at Paul. “This asshole led them here because he was thinking with his dick!”

  “If they’re what we think they are, he probably didn’t have a choice,” said Angela.

  Lucy lowered her hand. Angela walked back over to the window. “Those hunched over things…they spread out. They’ve surrounded the hotel. Holy shit.”

  “What? What is it?” asked Paul.

  “It’s Jamie,” said Angela. “He’s looking right up at our window. I think he sees me.”

  Lucy and Paul crowded by the window while Barry, growing dizzy, sat down on the bed to rest a moment and collect himself.

  “Let me in,” said Jamie. He was all the way down there, yet they each heard him clear as a bell, even Barry.

  “Why is he asking to let us in? Can’t he just walk in through the door?” asked Angela.

  “Because if he’s a…vampire, then he can’t come in unless…”

  “…unless he’s invited,” said Paul, finishing Lucy’s thought. “Vampire 101.”

  “Well, we sure as shit ain’t letting him in,” said Barry from the bed. “We ain’t letting any of those fucking monsters in.”

  Lucy looked around the room. The small hairs stood up on the back of her neck.

  “Where’s Jenna?”

  * * *

  They all looked at each other.

  “Shit, she must’ve gone downstairs,” said Angela.

  “Dammit, she was hot for Jamie,” said Lucy. “I hope she didn’t go to let him in.”

  “Let’s go!” said Angela.

  She and Lucy were running out of the room.

  “Stay here!” Lucy commanded Barry. He held up a compliant hand.

  Angela and Lucy ran out into the hallway and made a dash for the staircase. Paul was rig
ht behind them.

  “Stay back with your friend, Paul!” shouted Lucy.

  “I want to help!”

  “Haven’t you done enough?”

  “Lucy, stop it,” panted Angela.

  They made it to the top of the stairs, and they saw Jenna walking slowly across the lobby to the front door, as if she was in a trance. Jamie was waiting just outside the front doors.

  “Stop her!” Lucy cried out to the concierge, who ducked through a door behind the front desk, closing and locking it behind him.

  She, Angela, and Paul raced down the stairs and ran across the lobby. Jenna was reaching out in front of her, reaching for her Jamie.

  Paul was there first. He grabbed Jenna by the shoulders, but Jenna squirmed out of his grip. Angela and Lucy caught up and placed her in an awkward bear hug.

  “No, Sweetite,” Lucy whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. We’ve got you.”

  Jenna ignored them and struggled to free herself.

  Suddenly, the front doors flew open, and Jamie was standing there just outside the threshold. “Let me in, Jenna.” The cool night air crept into the lobby, probing with chilled fingers. Behind Jamie a thick fog covered the grounds, and they heard the howling of lunatics from within the soup.

  Jenna opened her mouth to speak, but Paul quickly clamped his free hand over her mouth.

  “Careful not to block her breathing!” said Lucy.

  Paul shot her a you gotta be kidding me look. “I’m trying not to let her invite the vampires in.”

  “Jenna, invite me in,” said Jamie. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s not so bad. It didn’t even hurt.”

  “Fuck you, buddy!” said Angela. “Get lost!”

  “You get to be special,” continued Jamie ignoring Angela’s remarks. “You’ve always wanted to be special. I know you have.”

  Jenna struggled to talk under Paul’s hand clamped over her mouth.

  “Don’t listen to him, Jenna,” said Lucy. “You already are special.”

  “Viktoriya doesn’t want to hurt you,” said Jamie. “She wants Barry and Paul. They killed a member of her family. Just let me in and no harm will come to you. I promise.”

  “And I promise that you’ll never get in here,” said Angela. “So screw you and your whores.”

  Jamie tore his gaze away from Jenna and looked at Angela. His eyes were unnerving. He grinned, revealing the tips of fangs. “Would you like to screw me and my whores, Angela? Would you like that? It wouldn’t be the first time for you.”

  “Shut up,” demanded Angela. “You shut the fuck up. You don’t know me.”

  “Ignore him,” said Lucy. “He’s trying to get inside your head.”

  Jamie cocked his head sideways. His eyes were black hypnotic swirls, like quicksand drawing Angela in. The more she struggled, the deeper she sank. “Or perhaps you want to die, Angela. Then you could see your parents again.”

  A tear rolled down Angela’s cheek. “Damn you.” It was the first chink in her well-constructed armor that she’d shown since the tour began.

  “Ignore him,” said Lucy. “Let’s go back upstairs. We’ll be safe there.”

  They all began to walk backwards, pulling Jenna across the carpet with them.

  “You’ll only be safe with us,” implored Jamie. “We can protect you. I wouldn’t stay in there if I were you.”

  “He’s full of shit,” said Angela, her mascara running. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They turned Jenna around and made it to the bottom of the staircase. “I’ll get her arms, you get her legs,” said Paul. “We’ll carry her up.” However, as they began to grab her, Jenna cried out. “Jamie!” Paul quickly clamped his hand back over her mouth. Jenna began to thrash about.

  “We’re not getting her up these stairs,” said Angela.

  “Let’s get her in the elevator,” said Lucy.

  They restrained Jenna and dragged her to the elevator as Jamie looked on, grinning like a predator watching the runt of the litter from afar. Angela mashed the button with her palm, and the elevator doors opened slowly with a ding. They dragged Jenna into the elevator and waited for the doors to close. Jamie never took his feral eyes off of them. The doors closed slowly, cutting off his view of them.

  “What was he grinning about?” asked Angela.

  “Let’s just regroup in the room,” said Lucy.

  “What about the concierge?” asked Paul.

  “I don’t think we have to worry about him,” said Lucy. “The chicken shit ran and hid. He doesn’t want those things in here with us any more than we do.”

  The elevator slowed to a halt, and the doors slowly opened with another ding. Paul released his hand from Jenna’s mouth, and she began to scream and struggle. Barry’s room door was open.

  “Barry! Get your ass out here! Help us get Jenna back in the room!” ordered Lucy as they tried to restrain Jenna. She didn’t seem to want to leave the elevator.

  Barry came staggering out into the hallway with his head down. He looked drained.

  “Barry! Shake a leg!” yelled Paul.

  Barry looked up. His face was contorted, his eyes flashing like a cat’s in the dark, and he bore fangs. Saliva dripped from his jowls, and he growled at them like an animal.

  “Oh shit,” gasped Paul.

  A hapless tourist stuck his head out of his hotel room, right next to Barry. Barry grabbed his head and pulled him all the way out of his room, sinking his fangs into the poor bastard’s neck. A woman, still inside the room, screamed.

  “Back in the elevator!” shouted Lucy as she and Angela shoved Jenna and Paul back into the elevator. Barry began to stalk down the hall towards them, the tourist’s blood dripping down his chin, picking up speed with each step.

  Angela mashed the lobby button and the door close button repeatedly with her hand. There was a ding and the doors began to close slowly.

  Barry was barreling down the long hallway like a freight train with hungry eyes and bared fangs. He reached out with long claws for them.

  The doors shut as he collided with a heavy thud against the metal doors. The elevator began its slow descent to the lobby as they heard claws scratching at the metal on the other side.

  “That was too close,” said Paul.

  They all looked at each other in terror at how close they’d come to death. Even Jenna appeared subdued. After a moment, the elevator slowed to a stop. There was a ding and the doors slowly began to open.

  “Paul…”

  But it was too late.

  “Jamie, come in!” Jenna shouted.

  “Shit!”

  They grabbed Jenna and dragged her out of the elevator.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” said Jamie smiling, his eyes demonic. He now looked more monster than man.

  “To the dining area!” Lucy shouted.

  They began to drag a struggling Jenna around to the dining room when Paul tripped and fell over Jenna’s kicking legs. Jamie stepped into the lobby as several Russian vampire whores spilled in through the front doors with bared fangs.

  Paul reached out in front of him as he saw the three girls disappear through the doors to the dining room. He began to push himself up, but the vampire whores glided across the carpet and were upon him in seconds, sinking their teeth into his flesh.

  He yelped like a wounded puppy. Then he relaxed in their grip as they drained his blood and pumped their disease into his veins. They flipped him over on his back, and he saw Barry glide down the staircase.

  A beautiful, porcelain skinned woman drifted into the lobby, the apparent leader of this ghastly group. “He’s mine!”

  The other vampires released Paul from their lethal kisses and backed away in deference to Viktoriya. Viktoriya hissed at them, asserting her dominance. Paul was trembling as he bled on the carpet.

  “Let me have him,” snarled Barry.

  Viktoriya glared at him with wild eyes. “You are in no position to make demands.”

  Paul lay frozen
in terror on the floor of the lobby, unsure of his fate. He didn’t want either fiend to have him, but either way he knew he was dead. Or worse.

  “You killed Anya,” said Viktoriya pointing an accusatory claw at Barry.

  Barry laughed, baring his fangs. “C’mon, Baby, I was a stupid human. I’m one of you now. Right?”

  “You are nothing,” replied Viktoriya, “and very soon you’ll be less than nothing.”

  Barry’s arrogance began to wane. It was replaced with panic. “No, really, I’m with you. You are my Master. I obey the Master.”

  “If you obey your Master, then you will submit to my justice.”

  Barry began to back away from Viktoriya. “I’ll do whatever you want. Please, don’t kill me.”

  She began to step forward towards him. “You cannot kill what isn’t alive.”

  Barry backed into two vampires, who grabbed each of his arms, holding him fast in their grip. “Don’t hurt me. Please.” He looked pathetic, a repentant demon groveling before his unholy master. Paul knew he was dead, and he knew Barry was dead. He looked away from what was about to happen.

  Viktoriya stepped in close, tracing Barry’s jawline with her long claw. “I made you. I can end you. Anya was one of my best.”

  She flipped her hand around, slicing Barry across the neck in one deft move, severing his head from his body. It dropped to the ground with the rest of his body, blood spurting from his neck. The other vampires crept in and began to lap it up, like alley cats lapping up milk placed out for them by a benefactor.

  Paul felt claws close around his right wrist, and he was lifted to a standing position. Viktoriya placed her face in front of his, her sickly sweet breath brushing his face. “Are you friends with him?”

  * * *

  Lucy and Angela dashed through the dining room, dragging Jenna behind them.

  “Hold on a second,” said Angela. She grabbed Jenna’s shoulders, steadying her as she struggled in Lucy’s grip. She slapped Jenna so hard that she left a red hand print on Jenna’s right cheek. Jenna stopped fighting and fell silent.

  “Jesus, Angela,” said Lucy.

  Angela snatched a knife off one of the tables. “It worked, didn’t it?”