Page 2 of Thirst

We weave through groups of people, dodging waitresses and patrons until we reach the middle of the casino and step in front of gray elevator doors. An eye scanner to the left flashes a red light into my eye as I lean forward and stare into it, and turns green when it recognizes me. The doors slide open, and Yvette and I step inside. I turn around and press the button to take us up, and smirk as I stare out at the bustling casino floor, my mouth filling with saliva just as the doors hiss and slide closed, sealing the two of us inside. Now there's no escape. Yvette is a fly caught in a web, and I am the spider coming to feed.

Two

The lore isn't always factual. There have been too many stories written by people who've never seen the truth. They fear what they don't understand, and they hate what they fear. They invent rules to make us worse than what we really are, so that they can justify their hatred. While some of it is true, most of the stories are filled to the brim with lies.

According to them, I shouldn't be able to see myself in the reflection of the mirrored walls of the elevator. Yet, here I am, looking at myself in black pants and a white blazer with no undershirt, red ruby earrings glistening to match my nose ring. My mini fro is styled and lined up, just like my goatee and mustache, and my chocolate brown skin is moisturized just as much as the woman standing next to me. I look the part of someone perfectly normal. Someone calm. Someone inviting. Someone you could bring home to meet your mama. Hell, I’d even say Yvette and I look good standing next to each other. But the mirrors don't show what’s on the inside. In that respect, I guess the lore about mirrors is true, because if mirrors could truly reflect the soul, I’d be invisible.

Yvette looks phenomenal in her black dress. The way it hugs her body is enough to make anyone weak at the knees, man or woman. But I'm different. I look at her reflection in front of me, and take in all of her beauty from bottom to top, but my eyes linger where they're most interested. Her neck. Fully exposed because of her braided bun, her flesh calls to me like a siren in the sea. Even in the reflection, I see the details in her skin: pores, blemishes, her marred perfection. I crave it.

When my hand whips out to press the emergency stop button, Yvette barely even notices. I'm sure she's lost in her thoughts because she has been Influenced, but Influence doesn't make people mindless. It simply persuades them to do what I command without them knowing what’s truly happening. To her, this is just an elevator ride to a place she doesn't even realize she never agreed to go. She wanted me the moment she saw me standing in the corner, but now she wants me to a degree she hasn't stopped to comprehend. Once her mind catches on to the fact that I've stopped the elevator, she looks at me like she's expecting me to pounce on her—to kiss her and pull her dress up right here, suspended between floors. She looks ready for whatever, but the truth is more sinister than she knows.

I turn away from her reflection and make direct eye contact. Now, there is no smile. I'm not here for pleasantries, and now that we’re alone, there's no need to fake the funk.

“Yvette,” I begin, looking her in the eye. “Something is about to happen to you.”

Her lustful gaze shifts into a confused frown. “Huh?”

“You heard me. Something’s about to happen, and when it does, you will not be afraid. In fact, you aren't afraid now. The quickening of your heart means nothing, because you trust me like family even though we just met.”

Yvette nods slowly, her eyes glossing over as my Influence takes hold again.

I take one of her hands in mind. “You have nothing to fear. You will submit to me here in this elevator, giving yourself over to me completely, and the pain you’ll feel won't cause you to act out. You can take it. You will take it. For me. And once it’s over, you'll forget it ever happened. You’ll forget all about me—my name, what I look like, my voice, and the fact that we stood next to each other in this elevator. You’ll let go of it all, and walk out of here as if you're simply coming back from the bathroom. You’ll return to the exact same slot machine you were at before. It’s waiting for you, and you'll think going back to it after your bathroom break might increase your chances of winning. That slot machine will consume your thoughts for the rest of the night.”

Yvette nods. “I am gonna win. The last time I had a hunch like this, I won a thousand dollars at the blackjack table. My girls were so hype for me. I bet they’ll come running as soon as I hit the slot jackpot tonight.”

Shit. She’s not alone. I need to hurry.

“I bet they will,” I say as I pull her by the hand until we’re chest to chest.

As my hunger ignites like dynamite in my veins, I open my mouth and let my true self step to the forefront. I feel my canines elongate, pushing through my gums until they hang below the rest of my teeth, and my skin tightens around my bones, putting tight, striated muscles and all my veins on display. I grip Yvette by the wrist, hugging her body to mine, then I bite down on her supple neck. I feel my fangs break the skin and the sudden gush of blood shoot down my throat. Finally. Sweet relief.

One gulp revives my strength. Two gulps placates the hunger. Three gulps sends my brain into a blissful fog like an addict getting a fix. As Yvette’s body quivers, mine straightens as I stand up taller. Power returns to my limbs and I know that I could burst through the doors of the elevator right now and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting crowd on the other side. No one could stand a chance against me now. I could kill them all before any of them had a chance to escape if I really put my mind to it. I feel like a god, and I have the desire to show myself to the unworthy humans. I want to hurt them simply because I can, but I know those are the thoughts of my maker, and I fight them away as I continue drinking. When I look in the mirror again, I see my veiny, demonic reflection clamped onto Yvette’s helpless body, my eyes as red as a car’s brake lights while I feed—a predator devouring its prey.

When I finally pull away, I make sure to keep a firm grip on Yvette’s shoulders. I don't want her falling down from having lost too much blood in a short amount of time. I can tell she's woozy, but I let my body return to its publicly acceptable state before I say anything to her. I watch the reflection again and see my veins burrow themselves beneath the skin. My eyes go from a bright red glow, to dark red, before returning to their usual brown. I wipe a small drop of blood away from the side of my mouth, and feel my fangs push back up into my gums until they look like normal teeth that are maybe a bit too sharp. I'm back to the Amari Goddard the world knows, but before I let Yvette go, I lift my index finger to my mouth and bite the pad until I draw blood. The dark red, almost purple liquid oozes out of the wound slowly, and I rub it on the two wounds on Yvette’s neck. I massage her skin with small circles until the holes close completely.

“Hey, you okay?” I say as I finally shake Yvette back into reality. She blinks a hundred times, her eyelids like butterfly wings as she manages to focus on me.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

I chuckle to myself. “I’m good. How do you feel?”

“A little whoozy, but I'm not really sure why.”

“Yeah, I don't know. What even just happened?” I ask, shrugging for effect.

“What happened with what? What do you mean? Do we know each other?”

I press the button on the elevator to send us back down to the casino. “Nah, we don’t.”

When the doors slide open, Yvette doesn't even turn to me. She walks out, going straight until she reaches a corner, then turns and nearly slams into two women in similar dresses as hers but with different colors. They face her and explode into drunken happiness.

“There you are!” one of them yells, hugging Yvette like she’s been gone for years instead of minutes. “We were looking for you? I thought you said you were going to the slots.”

“I did, but I needed a quick bathroom break. I'm back now, and I gotta jump back on the one I was playing. I’ve got a good feeling about this one. It’s gonna hit, girl, I’m telling you. It’s over here. Come on.”

“Yeah, here we go. Big money, baby!”

The three girls round the corner together and the sound of their voices fades away. Once they're gone, I nod to the man standing next to the elevator in an all-black suit. He nods back, and we smirk at each other as I step back on and let the doors close in front of me. As I begin my ascent, I notice a thick drop of blood on my chest. I use my finger to wipe it away, then suck the remnants into my mouth, with my smiling reflection staring back at me.