Chapter 4- A New Nightmare

Oskar’s mind awoke suddenly but he kept his eyes closed. He felt different. He’d changed. It felt strange waking up like this. Like his brain turned on as soon as soon as the sun was out of sight. His eyes remained closed, but somehow he didn’t feel blind. A barrage of smells hit him. It was overwhelming. He found that he could separate the different smells in his head. Sweat, shampoo, a dog smell, and day old blood, my blood, he thought.

Oskar lay admiring his new sense of smell, then focused on what he heard. The quick beating of a small heart; Laika. He lifted his hand that was not holding Eli’s and lay it on his chest. “Does my heart still beat”, he thought. He waited until… yes, he heard his heartbeat, and at the same time Eli’s. He waited almost twenty seconds till the next, and again his and Eli’s hearts both beat simultaneously. He could hear Laika’s breathing at his feat, but he could not hear Eli’s or… Only now that he realized he wasn’t breathing did he take his first breath. Like a phoenix, he was reborn.

“Oskar”, Eli said softly to his left.
He turned his head toward her voice, opened his eyes, and smiled. It was strange seeing Eli’s eyes like this, so cat like. He’d only caught glimpses of her elliptical shaped pupils in the past, but now he could actually look into them.
“Your eyes”, both Oskar and Eli said simultaneously
Oskar licked a finger and wiped some dried blood from Eli’s lips, then leaned forward, concentrating with all his might as he kissed her.

For a few seconds Eli saw through Oskar’s eyes. What she saw was herself, only better. Seen with love. She saw herself not as a boy or a girl or a vampire. She saw herself as a friend, a savior, a lover; an angel. A being so beautiful, and perfect, words could not describe, only thoughts would suffice.

Oskar finally released her, and smiled, searching Eli’s eyes. She looked back dumbstruck. Her mind overloaded with thoughts. The image Oskar had of her was so beautiful it was frightening. Could this really be what Oskar saw every time he looked at her? Thought of her. It was too much, she started to cry.

Oskar suddenly looked panicked, then hugged Eli as tightly as he could.

“I’m sorry Eli; I was just trying to show you what you mean to me… I don’t know if I did it right…I’m sorry”

“Do you really see me that way? I, it looked like. My mother used to tell me stories about angels when I was little…”

“Yes…you are my angel Eli”

†

“Miss…Miss, you have a package!” The short, round, bespectacled hotel manager scurried up to Anna, trying to get a glimpse of her face.

Anna turned around, emotionless, and took the envelope from the man. She said nothing.

“I was about to deliver it myself, it just came… but here you are.” He stood there admiring the woman. He’d become obsessed with her since the night she checked in. It was unusual; it felt like a high school crush. “Enjoying your stay here?” He grinned widely.

Anna managed a small smile, “Yes, thank you… I have to go now”

“Let me know if you need anything… at all”, but Anna was already walking away. He watched her till she was out of sight, his cheeriness leaving him with every step she took. He’d caught a glimpse of the ring on her finger as he handed her the envelope. “Lucky guy”, he thought before returning to his desk.

†

Out on the street Anna quickly opened the large envelope and began to read.

Azrael,

As requested, I have kept my eyes and ears open regarding one; Oskar Eriksson. You might be interested in hearing that there were several sightings of him called in just yesterday, in Gothenburg. There were enough calls made to the police for it to be considered a genuine sighting. The police are trying to keep things under wraps, as they believe it to be an abduction case and do not want to scare the kidnappers out of the area. Copies of police reports are enclosed, as well as a few photos taken from the mall security cameras where he was spotted.

I have a bit of troubling news to give you as well regarding your current mission in Sweden. I’ve heard whispers that certain entities are taking interest in the strange events that happened last November in Blackeberg. Not only government but several private companies as well. The video autopsy of the famed Ritual Killer was leaked a week ago. It showed the deceased man’s torso and arm crawling hours after his apparent death. Even the muscle tissue that had been completely separated from the body moved. Since then all hell has broken loose in the intelligence community. The soviets apparently showed interest, which means that the U.S. has involved itself as well. One can only assume what interests these parties would have in an undead corpse, but I can think of nothing good. I can also tell you that connections have already been made to the famed, “Angel of Death” incident at the Blackeberg pool. I have no clue what these things mean or how they all fit together, but I have a feeling you do. It looks like you’ve found yourself in the eye of a terrible storm, my friend. I can only hope you find your way out of this, sails still intact.
As always, my services are at the ready. My fee is the same as always, same account. Good luck.

Gabriel

Anna finished, pulled out the rest of the contents of the envelope, and started to flip through it. With every new picture, she grew more angry, more frightened. “No, no, no… ten years. If they find her, the trail is lost, I may never find HIM; put an end to all of this. I could have saved myself ten years of misery, and just ended it then”
Anna turned around, back toward her hotel, “Gothenburg…”

†

“D…7”

Eli stared Oskar in the face, trying to keep her own face expressionless, but could not completely suppress the hint of a smile in her eyes…. “Hit”

“Ha-ha, Admiral Oskar wins again! What’s my prize?”

“How do you keep winning? It’s like rock paper scissors all over again!”

“I’m psychic; I can read you like a book Eli… Now give me my prize” Oskar puckered up his lips and closed his eyes in anticipation.

Eli smiled, picked up Laika and lifted her to Oskar’s face.

“Blegh, what are you doing?” he pulled back his head, and opened his eyes to the sight of Laika a few inches from his face. “That doesn’t count, you owe me.”

Eli was already standing and ready to run, but Oskar grabbed her before she could get anywhere. They began to wrestle, careful not to make to much noise. Oskar was as strong as Eli now, even though he hadn’t yet eaten. They discovered that they could literally throw one another and they would always manage to land on all fours, completely silent. They spent hours just tossing each other about laughing uncontrollably, until finally Oskar pinned Eli to the ground for good.

“Ha, now I’ll take what’s owed!” Oskar kissed Eli on the lips, and then rolled over so that they both faced each other. Oskar’s stomach growled.

Eli’s face looked concerned, “You need to feed soon…tomorrow”

“I’m not even that hungry”, Oskar lied.

“That’s good; it’ll be easier to control it if you’re not so hungry”

“I still don’t understand all that, this other mind. Is it like Jekyll and Hyde? Will I become someone else… something else?”

“Yes… No, it’s hard to explain, it’s always with you, like a constant whisper in your ear. Most of the time I can ignore it, but when I’m really hungry, the voice gets louder. Eventually it can just take over.”

Oskar just stared at Eli thinking about what she said. “Do you think we could maybe get some blood from a hospital, or do what you did with Tommy? Do we have to kill them?”

Eli stood up, her arms flung out from her body, “Oskar! You promised me, you said you’d thought about this”

Oskar’s face reddened, “I, I did Eli… It’s just that… isn’t there some way that we can get blood other than..?”

“You don’t think I’ve tried to find another way? I don’t enjoy killing people, I don’t have a choice. When I thought I couldn’t kill anymore, I pawned the job off on some homeless tramp. You saw how well that can turn out, and they don’t do it for free you know.”

Oskar just looked up at Eli, felt ashamed. This had all been explained to him before.

“The blood has to be fresh, those blood banks or whatever they’re called are no good to us. I’ve tried. The thing with your friend, I only did that out of desperation. It’s too risky to do often, if we expose ourselves, we’ll be hunted down.” Eli kneeled and grabbed Oskar’s hand firmly, “That… I will never let happen Oskar… I would kill a million people before I put you at risk.”

Oskar felt a chill run through his body. Knew everything she said was true. Eli’s only concern in the world now was their survival… his survival. He looked into Eli’s concerned eyes,“Have to be strong”, he thought. “I can do this.” From somewhere in Oskar’s head something reassured him, “Yes, we can do this”.

†

The next night Oskar awoke to a stabbing pain coming from his stomach, but it wasn’t only hunger that he felt. It was like feeling every human desire at the same time; hunger, thirst, lust, all mixed together. Already he knew that only one thing could satisfy him; blood. He rolled his head toward Eli, whose eyes were already watching him.
“Are you ready?”

“Yes”

†

Oskar was practically being pulled by Eli as they quickly moved around an unfamiliar suburb of Gothenburg. Eli had told Oskar to focus his eyes on the ground, not to look at anyone. Oskar obeyed; he was too scared to question her, but he couldn’t help but take in all the smells; cologne, perfume, sweat, all the smells of people, the smell of food. People, food; the two were synonymous now.

They reached their destination, a small park. Eli led Oskar off the path to a small hill. It was a perfect vantage point; they could easily see a good distance in all directions. Eli kneeled down and pulled Oskar with her.

“Oskar, I’ll do all the work tonight, just be ready to come and feed. I picked this spot so that we can see anyone coming along the path… so that we can choose a person carefully. We need someone who is alone. I try to go after older people, people who have lived a full life already. Remember Oskar, you have to keep control, for their sake, and yours. Oskar, concentrate!”

Oskar’s eyes became distracted by someone walking along the path toward them. He could not see the person clearly from here as the wind was blowing snow up along the path, but he could smell her, the wind carried her scent right to him. She was bleeding, he didn’t know why, or where from, just recognized the smell of blood. It was maddening. He tried to avert his eyes, to ignore the smell, but it was impossible. A voice inside his head was screaming at him, “She’s perfect, just let go! Now!” The smells, his hunger; the voice in his head it was too much. As easy as it is to let go of consciousness and let sleep take you, that’s how easy it was for Oskar to let go of himself, to give up control. He stood up, over Eli and smiled.

†

A fourteen year old girl walked alone through the moonlit park. Her name was Yvonne Eriksson. Perhaps if she held up a giant sign saying, “My name is Yvonne Eriksson” things would have turned out differently. Something inside the creature quickly approaching her would have shifted; woken up. But as things were, neither Oskar, nor the thing controlling his body, were aware of the fact that this young girl shared the same name as Oskar’s mother.

The girl lit a cigarette, and started to smoke, it calmed her a little. Another night; another row with mom. Had to get out of the apartment. Same old argument; “He’s to old for you!... Focus on your school!… You’re going to get pregnant!”. Same responses as always, “He’s only twenty… My grades are fine… You’re crazy!”. Maybe she could ask dad if she could live with him. He was always working; a lot easier to deal with. She felt a painful cramp in her stomach.

She walked out from under an underpass when a gust of wind blew snow up all around her. She was shielding her cigarette when she heard a girl scream. “Oskar! No! Wait!”
She looked up and saw a blonde haired boy running towards her. Normally anyone running at her like this would have been cause for panic, but something about the boy transfixed her. He was smiling. From far away it looked like a beautiful smile, the kind of smile that lights up a room. As the boy got closer though she could see something was not right. Involuntarily she covered her own mouth, and mumbled, “His teeth”. They were sharp and jagged, like tiny white flint daggers. Now, flight response was in full force, everywhere but in her legs. When the boy was just two meters from her she saw his eyes, “They’re gone”, she thought at first. A few more steps and she caught the glimmer of the moon in the boy’s pupils, the entire eye was black. Looked like a shark’s eyes, like in the documentaries she was forced to sit through in science class. Every time she saw the eyes of a shark the same thought always popped into her head, “It has no soul”.

†

Eli saw the shift in Oskar’s eyes. He stood up and smiled. She could see his teeth, rows of knives in his mouth, and his eyes, pure black, nothing left of Oskar there. She turned around, to the direction he was looking. Yes someone was coming, someone young. She felt something jagged and sharp move in her hand and let go in surprise. His hands had turned to claws as he watched the person approach. Oskar started to run toward the girl. “Oskar! No! Wait!” were the only words she got out before Oskar reached her.

The girl did not scream at all, just kept muttering the same word over and over. Eli approached cautiously, knew not to disturb him now. Only when she got close did she hear the girl over the sound of Oskar feeding, “Mommy… mommy… mommy…” Oskar had literally ripped the girl apart. One of her arms lay on the ground next to them. Her neck was wide open. Eli stood a few feet from them, her eyes wide. She’d done things like this before, lost control, but seeing it from the outside, it was a whole new perspective. A terrifying one. She sat there listening to the sound of struggled, bubbly breathing, chewing and bones crunching. She was waiting, for Oskar to come back. She could not let him see what he’d just done.

†

As Oskar grew full, he started to regain consciousness. He felt better, stronger, his thirst was quenched. His face and eyes were covered in a warm liquid, he couldn’t see.
“Eli! Eli!”
“Oskar!”
He felt Eli’s embrace from behind.
“What happened? I feel better now, but what happened?”
“Oskar, don’t look, don’t look down please!”
The pleading tone in Eli’s voice frightened him, he felt panic. From somewhere directly under him came a barely audible whisper, “Mommmmy… mommmmy….. mommmmy”

“Who’s that? Eli what…?” he wiped the blood from his eyes, but felt Eli’s hand cover them before he could look down.

“Oskar trust me, please, don’t look”, Eli’s voice still pleading. She started lifting him up.

More out of reaction than anything Oskar grabbed Eli’s hand and pulled it away; a decision he would regret immediately.
“Mommy…Mommy”
He realized he was straddled on the girl’s waste. Next to one of his knees lay the girl’s severed arm. He was transfixed by her hand; it was so small, smaller than his own. Only the girl’s voice made him lift his head, and look at her face, “Mommy”. Her face alone would have unnerved Oskar. It was unscathed; just a few drops of blood stained her fair skin. She was pretty, she looked friendly, but her eyes. The pupil had dilated taking up almost the entire eye, all black. He could tell she was seeing things, the things people see before they die. Realization of what happened would not come at first, he just sat their dumbstruck, and terrified. Only when he looked down at his own hands did the painful truth flood his being. He wanted to cry, but tears would not come, he just started to shake uncontrollably.
“Oskar!” she dragged him off the girl turned him away.
Oskar just lay on his side facing some trees, still shaking. Just wanted to fall asleep.

Eli looked into the girl’s eyes. “I’m sorry”, she said before turning away and breaking the girl’s neck. “Momm…” the girl never finished. “This is all my fault”, Eli thought. She stood up, walked over to Oskar.

“Oskar, we have to go now”
A familiar voice, comfort, Eli. He turned and grabbed Eli, clung to her, like an infant child does with his mother. She picked him up, and ran all the way home with him in her arms. Didn’t care if anyone saw them, covered in blood.

†

Eli stripped Oskar of his clothes, and laid him in the tub of hot water. He wrapped his arms around his knees, his head tucked in between them. Eli carefully washed the blood off of him with a wet towel. Oskar said nothing, still in shock. He just wanted to cry, but even more than that just sleep. Sleep forever. Eli continued washing Oskar, her mind trying to decide what to do. Had to say something, give him some comfort. His first time would have been hard no matter what, but this, it shouldn’t have been like this.

“Oskar… I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I should have brought you blood, I knew you weren’t ready, I’m sorry”

Something in Oskar shifted, he looked up at Eli. Her love for him was visible in her eyes. He felt undeserving, scared that the world would take her away from him now that he’d become a monster. Only now did tears come. Eli embraced Oskar, and started to cry as well.

†

Oskar fell asleep as soon as Eli laid him down to bed. Eli’s mind was full of worry. They would have to leave this city. Tomorrow night, they would pack of their things, head north maybe. Oskar would get better, just needed time. Her first feeding had been just as horrific as his after all. She got up and started packing their things. She looked over and saw Laika nestled in the pile of bloody clothes she’d pulled off Oskar earlier. With ten minutes until sunrise she laid down next to Oskar. Moved closer, hugged, and kissed him. She sent him happy thoughts, hopeful thoughts, thoughts of love, until she fell asleep herself, just as the sun became visible on the horizon.

†

“Oskar! Oskar! ... Please, please wake up! I can’t be alone again, please” Eli pleaded with Oskar as he lay motionless next to her. She pounded on his chest. For two hours she had been trying to wake him, to no avail. Her tears completely covered his naked chest. She knew what was happening. He might sleep like this for weeks…months. Finally when she had run out of tears, she laid her head on his wet chest, and listened for his heartbeat. “I will protect you Oskar, just please, please come back to me…soon”.