Baptism in Blood

I’m naked. I can feel someone cleaning my body. I can’t see anything. I’m blindfolded, but I can talk. “What’s going on?” My voice sounded cracked. My throat felt dry. 

The hands pause for a moment, then they back away. I hear water pouring into a small container. A hand comes up to my face, I flinch slightly from surprise. But the hand is smooth and soft as I turn into it and a cup meets my lips. I drink and feel water slide down my throat. When the cup is empty, the hands move away. “Who are you?” I ask.

Silence. The hands go back to scrubbing. The soap smells like eucalyptus and mint. I shift against the cloth as it brushes against my side. Their body leans up near mine to clean my arms, and I can tell that they are shorter than me. They are unsteady on their feet as they reach up, I can feel them trying to balance.

“Sixteen!” a cold voice barks. I feel their body jump at the voice. “Are you finished yet?” They back away, but they must have given a non-verbal response because I don’t hear them speak despite the voice’s reply. “Well, hurry up. I’m tired of waiting.” Sixteen wrings out the cloth and it goes back to scrubbing, this time to clean off the soap. 

“Who is she?” I ask. The cloth rubs roughly against my skin as Sixteen rushes to finish their task. Soon, I hear the cloth plop into a bucket and a towel gets wrapped around my body. They dry me off hastily and I can still feel water in places like my back and the bottoms of my feet, and my hair is also dripping wet as they messily towel dry it. I feel their hands around my ankles as they slip a cloth around my legs and up to my waist. Shorts, or no, boxers. I hear the bucket’s sloshing fade away and I can tell that I’ve been left alone.

It’s cold against the wall. My arms have long since fallen asleep as they are chained above my head. The tingly feeling is driving me crazy, and the restraints are digging into my wrist so I can’t relax. It feels as if a long time has passed since Sixteen was here. Every part of me is tense and I am just wishing for anything to happen. My mind is spinning. Any more of this and I’ll start talking to myself. 

I hear a door squeak open. I didn’t know that it was possible, but I tense further at the sound. I hear something heavy being wheeled in. I shift at the noise. “Hello, sweety.” It’s that voice again. She sounds colder than before. Despite her greeting there is malice in her voice.

“Who…!”
“Silence!” She roared. Her hand grips my throat. My wrists rub against the chains as I gasp against her bony embrace. “There is no room here for the words of fools.” She lets go. I’m panting. I’m … terrified.

I hear a crack and then I feel it. I dig my back into the wall as I absorb the hit from what could only be a whip.

“Sixteen, turn him.”

 I flinch at the touch. Their hands are cold on my skin. “Perfect.” The voice growled. Crack! Crack!! Crack!!!

Again. Again and again. 

With every hit I bury myself further into the wall. My voice has grown hoarse from crying and screaming and by the end of it, I was barely whimpering. 

The handle of the whip hits the cart and I feel more hands against my body, only these hands aren’t soft or kind. The angry woman is pressing me against the wall when something truly horrific happens. I feel her tongue dig into my cuts. I can hear her lapping at the blood as she giggles with delight, and possibly hunger. 

Vampires! I now realize what is going on.

Her hands leave my body.“Sixteen, I’m tired. Get him ready for tomorrow.” The voice ordered. Calmer now, after having her fun. 

Sixteen presses their body against mine as they lean up and unlock my arms from the wall. I didn’t mean to, but I fall into their arms. I gasp as my cuts meet their embrace. I can feel myself shaking. “I’m sorry,” I croak out. They lift me like a baby into their arms and again I shudder.

They walk a little ways before laying me on a bed. I can hear them rummaging for something.

I feel weak. If I could see, I bet the room would be spinning. “I–think something’s–wrong.” The hands come back to my face and lift my blindfold around my forehead. Her brown eyes stare into mine full of concern. The back of her hand meets my forehead like my mother checking for my temperature. She looks around briefly before saying her first words to me, “You’re pale. You need to eat. I’ll be right back.” Indeed I felt hungry, but I was more worried about the blood loss. She pushes the fold back down over my eyes. Again, I am swallowed by pain and darkness.

After some time, the door opens again and I can hear that the person is out of breath. Their body plops on the bed makes the mattress hop so that the pain comes back, and judging by the weight, it’s Sixteen again. Her hands cup my face, same as when she let me drink before. Her right index finger sits perfectly in the spot between my jaw and my ear, her thumb resting on my cheek. “Open,” she says softly, sliding her hand to rest under my chin. Probably due to the softness of her voice, I open slowly, waiting for the food to reach my lips. 

I taste bread. It’s warm. Hmmmm. I let the taste sink into my mouth and fill my senses. “Are you a vampire too?” I ask.

Sixteen quickly averts her eyes to look at her lap. “I’m not going to bite you.”

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“What’s there to explain?” Her voice is colder now, not caring like before. “She’s a sadist; end of story.”

A truly terrifying thought raced through my mind, “Am I going to die here?”

“Probably.” She’s soft again. “I know that some leave alive, but I don’t know what happens after they leave.

“Please, don’t let me die here.” 

I lean forward to bury my head in her chest and reach my hand around her back. It’s like I’ve known her for years instead of hours. “Help me find a way out.”

“I don’t know.” Her voice sounds dejected now.

“It has to be possible. Think!” I lift my head to meet her eyes.

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Think harder!” I say, flinching.

“I will drain your body of blood so that you appear to have lost your pulse. When I go to dump your body I will return your blood to you and you’ll be able to run.”

“You’re insane! Besides, what about you?” I don’t know if I even heard her right, but she seems serious. But before I can protest further I feel her teeth sink in my shoulder blade. “Ahh!” I can feel her sucking my blood from the wound. “Six-teen, wait.” My vision becomes blurry and my fingers and toes start to tingle. Then my vision fades, so does my mind.

———————————

It’s cold, I feel snow soaking into my clothes. My shoulder is sore and I remember all of the details of what happened. I sit up quickly and my head spins. Despite how delirious I feel, I can see that I’m alone. 

I know that Sixteen is still there. Inside. I can’t leave her alone, but I can’t do anything today. I swear I will come back for her.

Someday.