Undead: Vampire Rising (Lust for Blood) Read online

Undead: Vampire Rising

  Lust for Blood

  By Ken Rander

  Copyright 2013 Ken Rander

  All Rights Reserved

  Version 1.004

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase another copy for each person with whom you wish to share it. Thank you for honoring the copyright laws and for respecting the author’s hard work.

  Warning: This book contains Adult Themes and Explicit Scenes. All characters in this book are over 18.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Awakening

  Chapter 2: Blood Lust

  Chapter 3: New Friends

  Chapter 4: New Discoveries

  Chapter 5: Old Friends

  Chapter 6: Confrontation

  Chapter 7: Decisions

  Authors Notes

  Chapter 1: Awakening

  Christopher opened his eyes to total darkness, absolute silence, and a ravenous, painful hunger.

  Confused, he attempted to raise a hand to his eyes and bumped against a barrier inches above. Fighting panic, he traced the barrier with his hands. He quickly determined he was in a box of some kind, little bigger than his body. It was almost like … a coffin.

  Terrified, he began beating upon the box lid and shouting for help. If he had been inside the box for very long, he knew the good air would be very limited. He had no idea who put him inside the box, or why. He did not know how long he had been there. He must have been asleep for while to become as ravenously hungry as he felt. So hungry that it HURT.

  Fighting his terror, a growing claustrophobia, and fear of the total darkness, Christopher forced himself to stop and take a breath. Rational thought, not panic was called for if he were to save himself.

  He closed his eyes, ignoring the fact that it made no difference in the stygian blackness of his box, and tried to calm himself. He began taking slow shallow breaths to conserve whatever good air remained. Ignoring the gnawing pain of hunger within, he searched his memory for any clue to let him understand how he got here and what had happened.

  The last thing he remembered …

  He awoke to the frightened clamor of his livestock outside the cabin. He leaped up and grabbed the lantern off the bedside table. Grabbing his rifle he had checked to ensure it was ready, slung his bullet bag over his shoulder and ran out to see what was going on. The animals were still going berserk from fear when he found his prize heifer lying in the yard, her throat torn out.

  Fearing wolves, he backed towards his cabin, senses alert. He wanted to put his back to a wall so they could not ambush him from behind. Wolves hunted in packs. If he were not careful, one would get him from behind while another attracted his attention from the front. He had been stupid to rush out without thinking and getting better prepared.

  He was almost to the cabin when he heard a low growl behind him. Turning, he saw a shadowy shape with a pair of unblinking red EYES. They were shining in the darkness almost as if floating in the air. The beast was at most 15 paces away.

  Christopher froze, meeting the creatures gaze. He was uncertain whether he could bring up his rifle and fire before it jumped him. If he turned to run, it would be on him in a heartbeat. He listened for another beast behind him. He had forgotten to grab his knife and tomahawk. He hoped he survived to avoid that mistake in the future.

  It was a damn big wolf, the eyes almost level with his own.

  He did not know how long they stood frozen like that before the creature leaped toward him. He slung the lantern at it as he brought his rifle to bear and pulled the trigger. It batted the lantern aside and came on never slowing. Christopher saw the hole created as his bullet hit the creature dead center.

  He froze for an instant in astonishment. A shiver went down his spine when it kept coming, seemingly unharmed. Even the largest beast should react with a 50-caliber musket ball through the heart. Too late, he tried to bring up his rifle and club the creature. It jerked the rifle from his hands and slung it away.

  In the instant before he went down beneath the creature, he realized it was not a wolf at all but some nightmarish man-beast. It was upright on two feet and moving far too fast for anything natural.

  He went down with the creature straddling his chest. The creatures wound bled profusely, falling on his chest and face, and getting into his mouth. He could not understand how it could still be moving with such a wound. He saw huge canines in an inhumanly feral, bloody face. The creature’s breath was hot upon his face. It reeked of death and decay.

  He felt horrible pain and heard himself scream. Then he knew only darkness.

  Returning to the present, he remembered the creature had mauled him horribly, but now he felt no pain. Nor could he feel any signs of the damage it had done when he felt his chest and face. He could not understand it. Had they thought him dead and buried him? Had he somehow remained asleep long enough to heal of his terrible wounds? That made no sense. The air would have turned bad long before he could have healed.

  As he lay motionless, he became aware of the absence of sound. It was not just the silence of his surroundings, but also a silence within himself. With dawning horror, he realized he could not hear himself breathing. It had been several minutes since he had last taken a breath.

  The most terrifying thing of all was when he realized he could hear no heartbeat, feel no pulse. What had the creature done to him? Was he dead? He could not be dead and still feel the agony of the hunger, could he? It was almost unbearable. He had to get out and find food.

  With single-minded determination, Christopher fought to twist himself into position so he could push against the top. He had no idea how long he fought to gain the slightest advantage. When he finally achieved sufficient advantage to push upward against the lid, his hand punched through the wooden boards and he felt dirt begin falling through the hole. Lying in darkness, afraid he would suffocate, Christopher fought frantically to enlarge the hole and dig his way out. Someone really had buried him alive.

  In nearly mindless terror, he fought the dirt and the darkness to dig out. At last, he pulled himself up through the dirt and saw moonlight. He was so relieved to be free of the darkness that he almost cried. With renewed determination, he pulled himself free.

  As he lay atop the mound, he saw headstones everywhere. He was in a graveyard. He turned and saw a headstone marked his grave. He gasped when he read it...

  Here lies

  Christopher Grossly

  October 12, 1796

  To

  April 15, 1821

  Killed by wolves

  R.I.P.

  Moaning in mindless terror, he leaped up and ran. He ran for miles before he realized that he was not the least bit winded. To become winded, one had to breathe he supposed. The hunger seemed to get progressively worse. His whole body ached with the need for food. He had to find food, and very soon.

  Chapter 2: Blood Lust

  As he ran, he became aware of other creatures large and small in the forest. Things he would never have noticed normally in the darkness: an owl sitting silently in a tree, field mice hiding in the tall grass beside the trail, a jackrabbit watching him from a stand of bushes. Five deer, a buck and four does were grazing a few mi
les upwind. He stopped, surprised. Was he actually able to smell them? No, the deer were too far away for that. It was more like an awareness of their blood and vitality.

  His mouth felt strange. He slid his tongue around his mouth. His incisors had lengthened and sharpened. It almost felt like they had grown and turned into two fangs as soon as he sensed the deer. He was not sure, when they had changed. He had not noticed them before.

  The hunger suddenly became an overwhelming need, his mouth watering. He found himself racing toward the deer at an unbelievable pace. Despite his speed, he was making little sound. It was almost as if he were floating over the ground instead of running on it.

  What HAD the creature done to him? He wondered for the thousandth time. If anyone else reported what was happening, Christopher would have declared the culprit insane, the tale unbelievable. He still thought it unbelievable, despite it happening to him, especially since it was happening to him.

  He ‘felt’ the deer long before he saw them. He was not sure how, or what he was seeing. Then they were before him, a buck and four does, just as he sensed earlier. Without thinking, he launched himself at the nearest doe, growling and aiming for its throat.

  The doe became aware of him and raised its head just as he tackled it and knocked it down. He sank his teeth into its jugular and felt its hot blood fill his mouth. He sucked it down greedily. He was aware of blood flowing through his newfound fangs as well. It was intensely pleasurable, and helped his hunger immensely. It helped even more than swallowing the blood. Almost immediately, the doe’s blood began to slake the hunger and ease the agony he had been feeling.

  With the hunger reduced to a more manageable level, he realized what he had done. Panicking, he scrambled backwards away from the scene of bloody carnage. Covered in blood, he felt sick at what he had done. What was he becoming? He was acting more like a beast than a man.

  Although reduced in intensity, the hunger was still a huge part of him. He still needed more sustenance.

  He considered making a fire and cooking the deer meat but the thought made him nauseous. Only the thought of drinking its blood seemed palatable.

  He licked the blood off his lips and hands, sucking it off his fingers. A part of him cringed in horror, even as he exalted in the taste.

  He found himself watching the doe’s pulsing jugular with almost sexual need. Time had slowed down to his senses. Each of the doe’s heartbeats seemed to take minutes, but he knew it was only seconds.

  Although it frightened and repulsed him, he found himself compelled to kneel back down and sink his teeth into the doe’s neck. He sucked the blood as it spurted out with each heartbeat. By the time the doe’s heart stilled, his hunger was completely gone. The aches that had been so agonizing moments before had disappeared entirely.

  For the first time since he awakened, he felt able to think clearly without the agony of the hunger. He felt he would be able to control himself now, but he had no idea how long it would be until the hunger returned.

  He decided that the only thing to do right now was to take things one day at a time. He would start with the basics.

  First, he needed to get himself cleaned up. He looked and felt terrible covered in the doe’s blood. Anyone who saw him would be appalled. Moreover, the smell was a big distraction.

  He located a stream and washed himself and his clothes. He stayed in the rapidly moving water for a long time, letting its cold waters wash him clean. He just wished there was a way to wash his soul clean as well.

  He tried not to think about the last few hours. Perversely, the harder he tried to avoid thinking about it, the harder it was NOT to. He had no idea what he was going to do about the future. He did not want to live like a beast, nor did he want to die.

  His friends and family thought him dead. That was probably for the best. Unless he could learn to control and restrain the beast inside, he could not go back. He did not want to do to a friend what had happened to the doe a short while ago.

  It was best he remained dead to them for now. He needed to put distance between himself and the scene of his death. There were lands to the west devoid of people for hundreds of miles in any direction. He could head out that way and be free of hurting anyone.

  First, he needed to find out more about what had happened to him. That was a major priority. Only when he knew more would he be able to make rational decisions about the future. He had never heard of such things but he was certain there were others who had. He would have to be careful about making inquiries, though, lest he reveal himself.

  Dawn was approaching. He laid his clothes out on some rocks and sat back to watch the sunrise. He looked forward to feeling the warm sun on his skin. It was one of his guilty pleasures. To his surprise, he started to feel ill at ease as the sun began to rise above the horizon. Instead of pleasure at the suns warmth, he felt anxious. Instead of pleasant warmth, he began to feel feverish. The closer sunrise came, the more feverish he became.

  When the first predawn rays of the sun touched him, his skin started to turn red and smolder. With inhuman speed, he grabbed his clothes and ducked into the shadows of the forest trees. Once in the shadows, his fever disappeared.

  Had the creature somehow made him allergic to the sun? How would it do that? It was another mystery to be resolved.

  His anxious feeling remained. He did not think that the shadow of a tree would protect him once the sun rose. He grabbed his clothes and ran back into the trees. His senses helped him find a small cavern almost hidden by the roots of a large oak tree. He did not know how he found it, just that it was dark and cold and safe. It was deep enough to shield him from the sun. To be safe, he would spend the day there, alone in the darkness.

  Chapter 3: New Friends

  Christopher awakened instantly, uncertain when he had gone to sleep. It must have been shortly after sunrise because he remembered nothing after that. He looked out of the cave and noted the sun had set.

  He was feeling the first stirrings of hunger, but it was manageable for now. He wondered if he would have more control if he slaked his thirst earlier, before the hunger became too agonizing to think rationally.

  He walked down to the river and drank some of the cold clear water. It helped with the thirst, but not the hunger.

  Without knowing how, he sensed the presence of two people further down the riverbank. He approached closer and discovered a young couple. They were naked, standing in the water kissing. They looked familiar. As he approached closer, he saw they were Derry and Edna Daniels. Edna was the schoolteacher for the area and Derry was a farmer.

  He was turning to go when Edna screamed and Derry started wading toward him shouting, “Hey you. What the hell are you doing spying on us?”

  Christopher paused, torn between blood lust and the urge to vanish into the forest. He was about to run away with a burst of inhuman speed when Derry grabbed him by the arm and swung a punch that hit Christopher below his left eye.

  Christopher shrugged off Derry’s hand and shoved him back. Both were astonished when Derry flew back ten paces and landed in the water with a splash. Edna screamed.

  Derry recovered and started forward again.

  “Stop!” Christopher said. “I wasn’t spying on you. I was …”

  At that moment, he realized Derry had stopped moving and stood immobile.

  “What did you do to him?” Edna picked up a rock and threw it. “Leave him alone!”

  “You stop, too!” Christopher commanded. Edna stopped moving and stood immobile.

  “This is amazing.” He said. “Edna, come here.” Edna walked over and stood before him in all her naked glory. This must be another of the weird powers he had inherited from the creature.

  He could sense the intoxicating ‘feel’ of the blood flowing throughout her body. It was too sweet to resist. He took her in his arms and held her tightly, savoring the feel of her warm vibrant body. He was aware of the throbbing of her heart and the rich red blood pulsating through her. Holding h
er naked body against his chest, he was very much aware of her as a woman too.

  Christopher brushed his lips lightly against Edna’s, knowing it was wrong to kiss another man’s wife. Her lips were soft and pliant. He nibbled his way from her lips to the pulse point in her neck. She began to respond to him as a man, moaning softly. His heightened senses detected the scent of a woman fully aroused.

  He felt himself developing another need beyond the blood lust. He felt a strong desire to possess her and make her wholly his, both as a man and as a … creature. Fighting his instincts, he almost let her go, but the blood lust was too strong.

  When he could stand it no longer, he began kissing and nibbling her jugular, letting the hunger rise. His fangs extended and he penetrated her jugular.

  The blood flowing into him through his fangs was almost orgasmic in nature. Strangely, Edna seemed to derive an equal amount of pleasure from him sucking her blood. She put her arms around him and her scent of arousal became sharper. It made it harder to think about wanting to stop, given the pleasure they both seemed to feel.

  As hunger faded into the background, he could tell when her blood loss reached a danger point. It took an effort of great will, but Christopher stopped drawing blood and withdrew his fangs. He watched with incredibility as the puncture marks on her neck closed up and faded to near invisibility.

  He was not fully satisfied but her blood had blunted the hunger to a dull ache. Still, he was happy that he had sufficient control that so he would not tear anyone’s throat out.

  His blood lust slaked, Christopher released her and assisted her to sit down upon a fallen log. He turned away and started to beckon Derry over for some additional blood. He paused, as he became aware of a strange feeling. Turning back to Edna, he studied her a moment and suddenly realized what it was.

  There was a second spark of life within her. She was with child. It was new life, barely a week old. Somehow, taking her blood had given him that insight.

  Christopher commanded Derry over. While Derry stood immobile, he and took some of his blood. Although he felt the same sense of blood and vitality within Derry, he felt none of the sexual attraction he felt for Edna.