The Decision

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The only building within viewing distance to the abandoned cabin was a house not much larger, home to a middle-aged couple. Upon seeing the light in their neighbor’s window, the man called out to his wife, Alandra, from the kitchen. “I believe someone has finally purchased the old Barlett cabin.” After a few moments, he heard her shuffling feet and the rhythmic tap, tap, tap of her cane connecting with the hardwood floors. She took her usual place next to him looking out the window above the large double sink. They stared in silence, memories settling over them like an oppressive winter fog. Khai suppressed a shudder at the scene that haunted his deepest nightmares, one of torn flesh and blood. Thankfully, his wife pulled him from the memory with a light touch on his arm, he placed his hand over hers in grateful appreciation. He looked over at her in alarm as her hand was ice cold even though it was in the middle of a warm spring night. Taking her cold hands in his, he tried to massage his warmth into her. Meeting her light amber eyes, he caught glimpses of several emotions passing over her face too quick to discern their meaning but finally landing on quiet interest.

He took in his beautiful wife, her hair which was once a rich black now had streaks of gray and lacked the luster of her youth. Despite the wrinkles and the imperfections in Alandra’s skin, she was still the most wondrous creature he had ever laid eyes on. Gently, he guided her to a chair and prepared her nightly tea, and thought miserably of the day his wife’s illness would claim her life. In the beginning, she fought the illness that wreaked havoc on her body leaving her powerful body frail and thin. The medicine she took for a few years helped keep her mostly healthy, allowing him to blindly hope that he could keep her alive and thus with him for longer. As fate would have it, the medicine stopped working and extinguished any hope of them growing old together. Day by day she started to fade, now she was no more than a wisp of what she used to be, and the pain was only added to the knowledge that she had given up. Despair gripped his insides in a way that made him want to scream, cry, and tear a fissure in the world it would swallow him whole.

The days that followed the first sighting of the candle in the window were much like all the rest. They went about their day and watched a new young couple move into the cabin. The only variation was found in Alandra’s eyes which seemed to light up when she saw the new couple. Khai hoped that perhaps the new friendship would be as wonderful as with the last cabin owners, before the fatal incident.

Just as Khai was getting his hopes up about the new situation with their neighbors, Alandra sat him down, taking his still strong hands in her bony ones. “I need to tell you something,” she began, “something I never thought I would ever have to burden you with, but I know a way I can get better. But first I must tell you the truth about what I am and convince you to help me.” Instantly his eyes lit up, his whole body leaning forward in baited anticipation. She waited for any indication that her husband showed hesitation before continuing, “I am not human, the name of the creature I am have been lost for hundreds of years, and I doubt that there are more than a handful left. Because of this, my training in what I am and everything I need to do to keep myself alive has been slim. The one thing I do know is that I need blood to survive.” He looked puzzled and opened his mouth to reply that everyone needed blood to survive before the truth dawned on him. Then he replied, “What kind of blood?”

“Human.” He sucked in a small breath, looking down at their clasped hands.

“Use mine.”

“No,” she pronounced with a finality that left little left to argue.

“Why not?”

“I mixed a drop of my blood into your drink when we first got together, to keep any creature, including myself from drinking your blood.”

“Then whose blood are you planning on taking?”

“The new couples’ in the cabin. I just need you to knock them unconscious so I can take their blood, then I can wipe their memories of the events and we can go back to our lives.”

He pulled his hands from hers and she let him go willingly, allowing his mind time to wrap around all the new revelations she had just dropped on him. For several tense minutes, he paced back and forth across the kitchen in front of the window facing the cabin. Occasionally Khai stopped and stared at it for a few seconds before shaking his head and resuming wearing a track in the floor. Just when Alandra thought he was going to refuse he stopped and asked, “All I have to do is knock them unconscious, you will take some blood, wipe their memories, and you will be back to normal? You won’t be sick anymore?”

“Yes dear, I won’t be sick anymore.”

Cursing under his breath he ran a hand through his hair, continuing his pacing. Eventually, his pacing slowed, until he stopped and turned to her, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Two nights later Khai and Alandra walked through the woods lit only by the full moon to the cabin, a bottle of wine and berry pie in hand. The first part of the evening went according to plan. The young couple greeted them warmly and invited them into the cabin. Together they shared the wine and berry pie, and with each passing minute, the young couple was eased in their conversation, while the opposite was true for Khai. Sensing her husband's nervous energy Alandra feigned a yawn, the designated cue of stage two of the plan. Khai made a show of glancing at his wristwatch and saying in a teasing tone that once you get to their age staying up, late is nothing but a distant memory. Whereupon the young couple rose and took up all the plates and cups. Once their backs were turned, he took Alandra’s cane and whacked them hard on the head. They fell with two hard thumps on the floor. With alarming speed, Alandra pounced upon the couple turning them onto their backs pulling blades out from within hidden pockets in her coat, along with two vials that held dark viscous liquid. Uncorking them with some effort she tipped the contents into the couple's mouths.

Then she pulled the sleeve back from the woman’s wrist and sliced her wrist, blood immediately surfacing at the deep gash. Taking up the now-empty wine bottle she filled it with the woman’s and then the man’s blood repeating the same motion. Khai did not know whether the knot in his stomach was from repulsion or apprehension, as she pressed her mouth on the bleeding wrist and began to drink. Whatever response to the blood he had prepared himself for, was nothing in comparison. She transformed before his very eyes, the change starting with her gray hair returning to the glossy black of her youth. Yet when she turned smiling to look at him he staggered back a step. Her eyes which were a light amber a moment before had turned black as if her pupils had engulfed the irises in a fathomless void. Every tooth had sharpened to points, her mouth coated in bright red blood that dripped off her chin. But it wasn’t the predatory teeth or blood that terrified him, it was her fingers. Each one had elongated and the nail had formed into a deadly talon. In a casual motion, she wiped at some of the blood on her face with the back of her sleeve, smearing the blood further across her pale face. With the same nonchalance she sliced open the woman's clothing revealing her naked flesh, then she used her talon like a scalpel and plunged her finger into the woman’s chest at the collar bone and viciously tore through the flesh with a rip down to the navel. She plunged both hands into the cut and cracked open the ribs exposing the chest cavity as easily as someone would open a bag of chips. Then she grabbed the heart and sunk in her teeth, ripping a chunk with force. Alandra’s eyes closed in contented pleasure as she chewed. The room was full of horrific chewing and sucking sounds as she devoured the heart. Before Khai had time to recover from the shock she repeated the act on the man and ate his heart as well. Despite the gore, he stood riveted to the spot his eyes glued on every movement.

Realization dawned on him slowly, further incapacitating him to do anything, as the memories of how the Bartlett couple were found. Identical markings to what she had done here, discovering that the creature that had killed their friends years ago, was not a monster in the woods, but the woman he loved.

Unable to speak or move until after she was finished with her meal, he saw with betraying relief that she was no longer ill, the hollow look on her face was filled in and her body seemed lithe and powerful.

“What have you done?” he finally croaked out.

The smile she gave him was sad and knowing, “there was no way I could have told you and have you still help me. I saw a chance where I could heal myself and I wouldn’t have to leave you.”

She saw the words land on him hard, as the idea of losing her had him almost out of his mind for the past few months. And yet, it was so hard to overlook the scene of blood and gore before him, along with the similar memories of their friends from years ago. His mind and heart were at war with each other trying to decide what was a forgivable sin. Khai’s heart which for so long had loved her deeply wanted to forget any harm she had or would do. While his mind screamed that murder was an unforgivable sin, no matter who the person was.

“I never lied to you,” she said softly, breaking the silence.

His head snapped up, “No, no, of course not. You just omitted the fact that you eat people’s hearts!”

Despite his fanatic raised voice, her gaze was even and calm and continued as if he hadn’t interrupted, “I told you that I needed blood to survive, and that is true. If I stop taking daily doses of blood my body shuts down and I start to die. The only thing to revitalize me is eating hearts. Lastly, I told you I can change people’s memories, which is true. I can make you forget all of this, everything you saw, and learn about what I am.” During the length of the conversation, her features had returned to normal, and she held out her bloody hand, her light amber eyes filled with longing. “I can make it all go away my love, you don’t have to be burdened with these memories, we can all go back to the way things were before. You could always keep your memories. Or can you not live with what I am, and what you have seen? I’ll make it painless if that’s what you want. I will love you no matter what you choose even if you don’t believe I can love or no longer love me anymore.”

Khai looked from her hand to her eyes, trying to decide whether she was telling the truth, and then whether he could live with himself if he chose to have his memories altered. He closed his eyes for what seemed like no time and eternity at once, and when he opened his eyes and their gazes met, he made his decision.