Seeing Red

I’m not a good person.

I used to believe good and evil were relative, because it suited me at the time. It made what I did a little bit easier to swallow.

But I have seen true evil. I’m living it.

When you dance with the devil, she leaves a mark. Mine happens to be in the shape of a dragon tattoo.

If I had known what I know now, I would have never sold my soul. You think it would be a given, but I had an insatiable hunger for power. Power and greed blinds people.

When I heard that I could have all the power and fortune I wanted, I didn’t bother to read the fine print. I should have read the bottom line before I signed in blood.

It cost me everything.

It cost me my Elena.

I would give anything to go back and change what happened, but this is the curse I bear. This serpent curse requires a blood sacrifice every month. I wish I could be the one to give that, but when the beast takes control, I don’t have a choice. I start to transform into a coiling, serpent-like beast with claws, fangs and wings. When I wake up, I have no recollection of the three days prior, and one hell of a stomach ache.

It wasn’t until I discovered my one weakness: Iron. So every month, on the day, I make my way to the old slaughterhouse on Miller road where I built myself a nice, cozy iron jail cell.

As the sun begins to set in my rearview mirror, the long stretch down Miller leads me to the only place where I can control the beast inside.

It’s a race against the clock, but I’m forced to make my last stop at the nearest gas station. Poor planning on my part, but as long as I gun it, I should make it in time to lock myself inside, iron shackles aside.

I’m leaning against my old impala, the tank not quite guzzling the gas fast enough when I notice a shady character pretending not to eye me. I casually glance back in his direction, seeing the tattoos peeking out from under his jacket and crawling up the back of his neck. I almost recognize him when the gas pump stops abruptly with a loud metallic--clink.

It’s nearly sundown as I get back in my impala and race off, forgetting completely about the stranger.

I’m on the last mile, closing in on the slaughterhouse and feeling the hunger start to overtake me. It always starts with hunger, and then anger and violent thoughts, until the next thing I know, I’m growing claws and a tail. After that, it’s just brief glimpses into my surroundings, but mostly just darkness.

You never learn to live with darkness. I just try my damnedest to stop it from spreading.

There’s a low buzzing in my right hand and the sun is now just barely peeking over the tree-line.

I’m not going to make it.

Just as that thought rings in my head, a loud popping sound breaks me out of my focus and the car starts to veer off the road. Through gritted teeth, I manage to get control just long enough before I crash into a pole and instead run into bushes and down a slope. It only takes me a split second to realize that my tire had not popped, but was shot out by the headlights that had been following me ever since-

The gas station.

That stranger...

I heard the crunching of gravel and looked in the rear view mirror, seeing the stranger stalking me with a rifle in tow.

I reached for the handle and slowly opened the door, “I think we might have a misunderstanding!”

I heard the barrel reload as he cocked it back, “Oh there ain’t no misunderstanding. I could never forget your face. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

The buzzing in my hand grew louder, shaking it out as I started to exit the car, “I don’t doubt that. But you’re about to make a big mistake. For you, and everyone around here.”

“No. My only mistake was letting you get away in the first place. What you did to my brother and his crew… We couldn’t even identify his body.”

“That wasn’t me-”

“Like hell, that wasn’t you?! I know it was you! You’re the only one who left that building alive-”

“Then you should know…” I breathed, not being able to stave off the hunger and anger any longer, “I did it, but it wasn’t me.”

The buzzing in my hand spread to my whole body until I felt the bones underneath my skin shift and crack. My fingers grew longer into razor sharp claws and my vision changed to various shades of blue and purple, the man in front of me glowing bright white as he began to stumble back. I lost consciousness just as I heard the sound of his rifle firing and a scream.

I quickly lost track of time in the void, losing a piece of myself every time I transformed too. Sounds were muffled and the air stunk of blood and fear. I caught a glimpse of red and blue lights and the sound of a distorted siren. Shouting over a megaphone, gunshots and screams coming to an abrupt end.

The beast must have known to move away from the slaughterhouse, the air now smelling of dirt and manure. I heard the bleat of a goat and a woman screaming. The next glimpse I saw was of a woman in jeans and a red plaid shirt, her red hair tangled and blowing in the wind.

It was my Elena.

How is this possible?

My vision started to change back and forth, now getting more and more glimpses as I followed her behind the house and towards an old red barn. For the first time in a long time, I fought the beast’s hold on me. I couldn’t let myself hurt my Elena. Not again.

The beast stalked her through the shadows in the barn, but I mustered every bit of strength I could to do anything. To turn back, to run, or just to stay still.

The beast sniffed the air and slithered over to a corner and behind a bale of hay. There she was, cowering in the corner with her hands behind her back as the creature let out a low grumble and raised its ugly head.

Finally, I was able to gain control as my vision returned to normal, Elena’s hair seeming more fierce than ever, even in the dark. Our eyes locked as I froze in place, the look in her eyes quickly turning from fearful to venomous.

In one swing, she buried a hay hook into the creature’s neck and pulled, tearing it open and sizzling as the iron made contact with it’s scaly skin.

My body quickly turned back to its original form, stumbling back into a pile of hay as hot and sticky crimson began to stream from the gaping wound.

My hand went to my neck instinctively, looking down to see I was completely covered in blood, and not just my own. The world began to spin around me as the woman started to cry, dropping to her knees beside me.

“Oh my god, I- I had no idea you were… Let me get help-”

“No!” I cried.

She turned back to me as I reached for her, “Stay with me. Please.”

I felt the blood pool in the back of my throat, coughing some of it up when she came closer and put her hand over my neck as tears started to fall from her flushed cheeks.

“I’m so sorry. I- I didn’t mean to…”

“Shh… It’s okay.”

I looked up at her, studying her face as her red hair hung to one side and the moon illuminated her face, with one tear hanging on the tip of her nose.

“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice now barely a hoarse whisper.

She sniffled, making sure to hold pressure on my neck, “Belinda.”

The corner of my mouth raised into a slight smile, feeling the very life drain out of me.

“Belinda… Thank you…”