To celebrate our upcoming release, “Blood Relations”, we are starting an interactive story where YOU, the reader, will get a say in what happens next!
Here is Part I of the story!
You have until Sunday July 21st, at midnight EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), to post, in the comments section, your answers to the questions at the end of the story! After that, we will choose one that we find particularly inspiring, and Part II will be posted.
Enjoy! 🙂
Mariana turned into the alley shortcut, just like she always did, but that night, there was what looked like a street gang gathered there. She had never come across that kind of situation; certainly not here. She tried to back away, but the group spotted her, and one of them rushed behind her to cut her off, moving unnaturally fast.
“Well, what do you know – lunch has arrived.”
Without giving her time to think about that, he lunged at her, mouth open in a snarl, hands outstretched in such a way that she wasn’t sure whether he wanted to grab her or claw at her.
Mariana didn’t intend to go down easy, though. She had taken some karate classes, and could hold her own in a fight. Swinging her leg in a kick, she landed it on his chest, stopping his motion and sending him stumbling back. She frowned. The strength of her kick should have been enough to send him further back, possibly on his ass.
Before she knew it, he sneered and was back at her at full speed, unhurt and unfazed. She managed to block him, just barely, but one of the other guys joined in and grabbed her from behind, restraining her. He was way too strong for her to break free, even while using her best karate techniques.
“Hey Craig!” the guy behind her called out. “Wait!”
Craig stopped and frowned at him.
“Don’t you think that, with skills like these, she’d make a great addition to the group?”
Craig blinked, then smiled slowly.
“Yes… yes, you’re quite right, Tim.”
Turning to Mariana, he said, “Change of plans. You’re no longer for lunch, but invited to lunch. Just think of it as your lucky day.”
The next moment, he walked toward her, smiling triumphantly, opening his mouth. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he leaned his head back, and bit her on the neck. Mariana cried out – that freaking hurt. As she felt her blood leave her veins, though, she lost the energy to scream, and started to feel woozy.
After some time, Craig let go of her, and looked at her, almost tenderly, like a father would look at a child, but more condescending-like.
“There, there, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Now, you’ll need some of this too, before I finish.”
Horrified, but too weak to do anything about it, Mariana watched as the guy – or thing – bit his own wrist, pried her mouth open, and pressed his bleeding wound into it. She tried not to swallow the vile blood pouring into her mouth, but she was still being restrained by Tim, not to mention Craig’s iron grip on her jaw, which seemed way too strong. Besides, there was just too much of it; soon her reflexes kicked in and she was forced to start swallowing. After a while, Craig pulled away.
“That should be enough. Now, I’ll just finish off here, and you’ll fall asleep. But don’t worry my dear – I shall be there when you wake up.”
He bent back toward her neck and resumed his feeding. Soon after, everything went dark.
But when she woke up, no one was there…
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QUESTIONS:
– Why was Mariana alone after all when she woke up? What happened to Craig,
Tim, and the others with them?
– What does she do next? What would you do in the same situation?
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Presses Renaissance Press 