Born of the Night.

To begin this nighmare, I was Goth, & very into vampires. I moved to a small U.S. town, name unknown with Mom earlier that year (No Dad, don’t know why) & made a gaggle of new gothic friends (two of them being actors Kett Turton & Sarah Polley). One night they & four others I only knew in passing picked me up for “The Ultimate Vampire Experience”. They drove to the outskirts of town; to what I had always thought was an abandoned two-story plantation house. From the road you could see there were candles burning in every room of the house, & cars were scattered everywhere. Kett lead me inside with the promise of a night I’ll never forget, while I remember Sarah lagging behind, whispering to the others, who were watching me almost in awe. I kept asking to see their leader, whom he told me would be here tonight. I had heard stories from Sarah, describing him & his ways, talking feverishly like she was having an orgasm (so I knew he must be hot, or hold great power over his followers). We stopped just inside the front door & my jaw hit the floor in delight: There were literally hundreds of Goths in this room, fancily dressed (corset-bound evening gowns & tuxes, top hats, canes & tails – I felt very out of place in my tight jeans & home-made corset) & feasting on traditional absinthe & exotic-looking foods. Haunting melodies played over their voices, & I asked Kett if Cradle of Filth had a new album out I never knew about. He laughed heartily & explained that this was no band I’d heard of, but songs by the leader himself. So I closed my eyes & swayed for a few moments, lost in the song, almost hypnotized. Then Kett suggested we go upstairs & he’d help me get properly dressed, so off we went. I saw him look over his shoulder at Sarah, who nodded & left the room as the others we brought began to melt into the crowd.1

Kett lead me to the master bedroom, opening the double doors. I walked in & stood in awe – the room was lit with candles and the soft glow of a fire, but even in the low light I could see the evergreen canopy bed, the bearskin rug, the massive wardrobe in the corner, old-time dressing table with mirror & ancient wash basin, and of course hear the soft crackle of the hearth flames, feeling their warmth as they tickled my skin. Soon that tickle of heat became the tickle of hands as Kett ran his fingers up & down my arm, nuzzling my neck ever so slightly. I turned, reminding him of the party we should be attending, & he simply met my gaze, firelight dancing in the grey shadow of his eyes, & purred, “We’ll be fashionably late.”, as he placed his hands on either side of my face, & kissed me hard, tongues doing their usual dance. One second we were by the fire, the next we were naked on the bed, I had no idea how, nor did I care too much. So it was your basic sex scene – simple caresses, silk sheets, & noises that I never knew I could make... Very romantic & yet animalistic in many ways. Afterwards, he nearly had me going again as he laced up my gown, & I got some noises from him as I ran my fingers over his chest, “adjusting his jacket”. Anyways we head back downstairs via giant “Gone with the Wind” staircase, & as he twirled me around & kissed my hand, I spotted Sarah in my peripheral vision & I could have sworn I saw a hint of jealousy in her eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came.2

They led me through the crowd, & this time I clearly heard the whispers, felt the stares. The led me to a basement room, decorated in blood red velvet... wall to wall. Leather future, & a cast iron fireplace (with fire), and candle-lit as always. In the room were three other girls: one looking very “don’t touch me” was laying down on one of the couches, one frail blonde was hugging her knees on the love seat, and a very pregnant Kat, an acquaintance from when I lived in Canada, sat caressing her belly in an armchair. Sarah led me in & asked me to sit, get comfy, and passed me a glass of absinthe & a plate of some Godiva-covered strawberries. Kett gave me a very deep kiss & said he’ll be back soon, but in the meantime, I should get acquainted with the others. With that, they both left.3

I immediately launched in on Kat, cooing with congrats & dying to know when the baby happened, due date & whose it was. All she would tell me was “Sudden & soon.” No mention of the father. The blonde was a little apprehensive but very excited to be here. It was her first gathering & “the master” as she called him, chose her himself. I had no idea what that that meant, but shrugged it off. After around an hour of waiting, the silent, “don’t touch me” girl bolted straight up & ran for the door. Throwing it open, she mumbled to us an “Alice in Wonderland” style message, before she ran from the room:4

“Bloody stars reflect the time, playing with vampires in my mind. Watch in fear, the moon grows nigh – then fangs will meet to say goodbye.”5

We barely had time to react when Kett reappeared, dressed in a black velvet cape with blood red & gold trim, alongside a very big guy, but no sign of Sarah. He greeted me coldly, like he had completely changed, but treated Kat like she was the missing piece of his life, caressing her, kissing her, stealing my strawberries to feed her like she was a goddess. He then took her hand & passed her off to another man who had just arrived. Then he turned to me, and I thought he’d apologize for his behaviour but instead simply said “Time to go, Poppet... Your hour has come.” & taking my hand began pulling me from the room. I looked behind me & saw a woman leading the blonde out as well, but as we turned a corner, she was lead down the other way, still grinning & excited. Farther down the corridor, I heard the strange girl. She was screaming & screaming protests, & as we rounded another corner, I saw her. She was in the arms of & fighting against two other very big men as they were dragging her down the corridor, the way the blonde went. We locked eyes for a second and she looked at me with such fear & sorrow that I felt sick. Then Kett appeared in front of me as I stared after her, & again, somehow we stood in front of a large, cast-iron door with brass knockers. He whispered in my ear, strange words in a language I had never heard before, & the last thing I remember was his face as he stood over me, a twisted grin. Sinister laughter led me into the darkness.6

I awoke, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I grew fearful. I was sitting in a corner, strapped to a throne. My legs, arms & head were pinned in place with spiked straps. In the center of the room, was another throne where Kat was seated. Her throne was on a concrete circle, surrounded by what looked to be an empty ring, moat-like. It was then I noticed that the room was filled with everyone I saw from the party earlier, all dressed in the same black velvet capes. I scanned the crowd & began to scream, for behind them on both sides of the room, were two huge roulette wheels, each spinning slowly & each holding a dead girl... The blonde and the crazy one from earlier. Every major artery in their bodies had been slit; writs, throat, chest, & as the wheels spun, they were collecting the blood in tubs placed below them. Then mysteriously, the room went completely dark & the chanting began, in the same unknown language that Kett spoke earlier. Their voices grew louder and louder, then all at once, the candles re-lit & standing directly in front of Kat was, unmistakably, their leader, “The Master”. He looked like Scott Speedman in Underworld, & began speaking of heavens aligning & how they have waited centuries for this night, the re-birth of their nation, gesturing to Kat’s swollen belly. He leant down & kissed her, pulling away, he revealed her to be in a trance-like state. Then in a blink, he was next to me, as was Kett. Both kissed me in turn, though I was disgusted & fought against the straps. Suddenly I felt light-headed & found I could not move. I too, was tranced. I could hear everything but could not move at all. The master stood over me & began speaking in that strange language again. Kett pulled a knife from his cloak & handed it to the master. I felt liquid on my head and heard a slightly squishy sound. Then the master handed Kett a strange-looking bowl with liquid inside, & he proceeded to force-feed me this drink. All at once, a light went on in the back of the room, & I saw my mother, screaming & crying as she was held in place by another two men. I felt a light breeze & realized that the bowl I just drank from was the top of my own head, & the drink was a mixture of unknown origin & drops of the master’s blood!! Again he speaks in the unknown tongue & as I watch horrified, the entire crowd throws back their hoods & I see eyes I do not recognize & everyone has fangs. The master is over in front of a tranced Kat, the same blade still in his hand. He closes his eyes & recites a verse, then out of nowhere Sarah appears, a similar blade in her hand, & as the master raises his hand, so does Sarah. The last sound I hear is an unholy baby’s cry as Kat sits there, completely gutted, yet still alive.7

The last thing I see is Sarah’s evil fangy grin as she slices into my stomach, & I die.