You slip the knife out of your sleeve as Ell sends his hand for your throat. He pins you to the ground and though he could crush your windpipe with a shift of his weight, he keeps you alive and breathing. Your blood isn't as good if you're dead.
However, that need to drain you costs him time and his disregard for your free and mobile limbs gives you a chance to strike. You swing the knife up and slash him across his cheek. Then his free hand snags your wrist and with a tightening of his fingers, crushes your bones into powder.
Tears stream as you cry out in pain. He lets your mangled hand fall lifeless to the ground before exerting his displeasure upon your throat. With you sputtering and writhing, he swoops down and bites your neck hard. You try to scream, but only blood gurgles in your throat. You feel fire spreading across your skin, the terrible sensation accompanied by the impression of a thousand needles stabbing each nerve in your body with merciless precision.
Fortunately, the pain doesn't last long. Your vision drains of color and your limbs release all the tension that had so recently seized them. Your consciousness slips back, distancing itself from the world as if to watch a play from the balcony seats. When you eventually rise up from the ground it is not because you willed it, but because Ell commanded you to. When you give him a bow and follow his orders to go wait in the drone carriage, you do so without asking further instruction. You simply know what must be done and your body acts on it.
From that night forward, you continue to serve Ell's wishes amongst the other drone staff at his castle. You clean rooms, serve tea, and even, on occasion, play music in the parlor. All of it you do without command from your own heart or mind. You sit as a prisoner, strapped to your theater chair, watching your life unfold. And so it will continue for eternity.
***
You've found one of the unsuccessful endings for this branch of the story... Why not go back and discover which was the best tool to use against Ell?
YOU ARE READING
The Vampire's Harvest
FantasyIn your town, humans are born and raised for the Harvest Ball, an annual event where adult townsfolk dress in their finest clothes in hopes of earning themselves a vampire's mask. With it, you are claimed by the vampire and promised a life of luxur...
