| |
I don’t know how she did it or what it even means. So little is known about our species. Outside of a woman epidemiologist that the general public thinks is insane, no scientific research is being devoted towards what is believed to be folklore. But now, with the Hindquarters massacre and the reports of el mostro terrorizing Rego Park, that tune is going to change.
And then there’s that orderly, the one that saw me in the staircase at the hospital. Combine these all and we have way too many instances that are begging for an explanation. How long will it be before the general public catches on?
And I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be the last of it. More incidents will come. It’s inevitable. And it’s going to get harder and harder to keep sweeping them under the rug.
In her studies, Dr. Gunder suggests that our species is constantly evolving. How does something that’s dead evolve? Her explanation is that the host human vessel is dead. The disease, venom, virus or whatever-the-fuck you want to call it—that’s what’s alive. And it survives on what drives its host—in our case, human blood. This keeps our little visitors feeding, growing and evolving. Our abilities, she says, suggest that we are other-worldly, enabling us to project human or invisible appearances and control the minds of others. What this means is, if whatever lives inside of us is indeed a species with other-worldly capabilities, then who knows what other traits we might develop or inherit? At least with my genetic resistance, I’ve been able to maintain some degree of control. But what about those who aren’t genetically resistant and don’t give a shit?
As far as any of us know, Simone was the only one to control others like us. I was fully intent on destroying her back at the Hindquarters. I was ready to attack. Instead she stopped me cold right where I stood, leaving me only wanting to attack what was six inches below her navel.
Okay, so what about what happened just now?
We are dead. We don’t sleep. Even those of us with genetic resistance—we do not sleep. When I am in my coffin, there is nothing going on. I am dead. Completely dead. Not asleep. Dead. So if that’s the case, then it goes to follow that we don’t dream. If you don’t sleep, then you don’t dream.
So what was it, then?
What was this vision of me having aged, living a normal life with my family? I wasn’t sleeping. I’m not even in my coffin. I’m miles away, sitting with my back against Stefanie’s headstone in Nanuet.
It’s 11:00 p.m. I’m alone. No one or nothing is in sight—just graves. There’s only one possibility, just one that I can think of.
She’s in my head!
I don’t know how she did it but Simone is in my fucking head! Somehow in our last encounter, weak as she was, she was able to find residency in me. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.
Simone was done. As a host, that ash-withered vessel was no longer going to serve. So what did she do? She hopped on board. She got into my head and stayed there. And that vision I had? It was her. It was Simone’s way of saying, “Hello, honey, I’m home.”
Great!
Just fucking great!
Finally, after over fifty years, I manage to have Los Ruidos leave my system only to have Simone fill the vacancy. What does it mean? If what I suspect is true, and I am carrying her around, what happens now? Can she take over me when she pleases? Will she control what I do? Will I no longer have control over my own actions?
It is nearly impossible for us to self-terminate. Otherwise, I would do it right now. My existence brings nothing but destruction to those around me. Even when my intentions are good, I bring misery to those I care about. I befriend Veronica, what happens? She’s now in the hospital, pretty much a vegetable. Her kids must now face life without a mother.
My attempts to help Davey and Jesse also weren’t stellar. With his past, if a witness places Davey where I killed Darryl Briggs, he could end up in a shitload of trouble, maybe even back in jail.
Nice going, Pops!
And Jessie, even though I got that shitbag Nemeth out of her life, my appearance in front of her car left her so shaken, she might never recover.
Dominic too, was a wakeup call. When he found me, his disgust reminded me of how I don’t belong on this earth. Except for maybe his last few seconds, he never saw me as his brother-in-law. He only saw the product of Hell that I am. And in the end, I cost him his life, too.
My wife, the only love I’ve ever had, Stefanie, she’s gone. I will never be able to see her again. The dream was to grow old together, die together, and spend eternity in Paradise. Instead it will be Rippey. He was a good husband. And it is he that will share eternity with my wife and my children.
My eternity will have me walking this Earth, preying on humans that I decide the general population can do without. It won’t make me any less of a monster, but at the very least I will feel like I am doing something useful. When I was alive, no one at home ever wanted to take out the trash. It always wound up being me.
The tradition continues.
But this could only happen if I can maintain the power of my own free will. If I am unwillingly carrying a soulless guest with centuries of devastation marking her past, how could I know that any decision I ever make will be my own. Even now as I approach the door of a small cabin in the woods of Upstate New York, I am not sure if it is me or her that is doing the knocking. Who is it that is patiently watching as the door slowly creaks open? Who knows? Surely not the shocked and horrified woman that stands opposite me on the other side of the doorway. The smell of her fear is near irresistible, but I must have some degree of control because I am able to maintain my composure and patiently introduce myself. “Hello, Dr. Gunder. I’m Nicky Negrón.”
The doctor stands frozen. She has opened her door to Death. And she knows all too well from her research, that unlike the fictional stories in books, movies or on TV, this real-life vampire standing outside her door does not need an invitation to come inside.
The End
And now, here’s your chance to take an exclusive first look at the opening chapter of the much anticipated sequel to Sángre: The Color of Dying...