Pact with the Devil

In the cold, dark chamber in which Amelia was kept, time passed without measure. Mia tried to keep track of the minutes and the hours, but countless had passed since she had given up.

It was far before that when she'd given up trying to escape, as well. She'd need a small explosion to pry the bars apart, or she'd need to remove her head to squeeze between them. Neither one was a desirable option, even if they were remotely possible.

Counting minutes gave way to counting sheep. In her dank cell there was little to do but sleep or cry--so sleep it was. At least, until she finally began to hear the sound of footsteps approaching through the long corridor leading to her prison.

Though she knew it couldn't be anything good, the prospect of finally seeing someone, anyone, was enough to get her jumping to her feet. She'd begun to lose all hope of seeing Jerod come down the corridor saying, "April Fools!" but the very idea of not being left alone to rot gave her enough energy to rush to the bars, to see who was coming.

And it was almost a relief when it was someone she didn't recognize.

"I... I, um, hi," her dry throat croaked out as she tried to manage a smile to the man on the other side of the bars. Beyond that, she didn't have much else to say; gripping her cage and trying to smile at the man seemed like her only option; maybe if she seemed sweet and innocent enough, they'd take pity on her. (She could dream!)

"Ameeeeeleeeaaa," came the man's voice, with an accent that reminded her of the vampire that had threatened her at Eugi's bar. "It iz zo good to zee you are doing vell. It vould be zuch a shame for anyzing bad to happen to you, no?"

Amelia gulped: yeah... A real shame. But for who?

The man began to smile at her lack of response. "I should introduce myself, yes? I am Vladimir Schlick, and ziss," he waved briefly at the surrounding walls. "Iz my home."

"Very cozy," Amelia responded sarcastically.

To this, Vladimir only continued to smile. "Oh, I can make it MUCH cozier for you, if you preefer."

That didn't exactly sound like a good idea to Amelia, though. "I, uh--no, no thank you, this is just fine," she managed to say, though her voice was still cracking from dryness--and now also with fear.

"Good, good," Vladimir replied, still smiling, while picking his teeth. "Zo I zuppose you are curious vhy you are hee-aarr in the first place, mm?"

"'Cause my boyfriend's a big fat tool?" Amelia dryly spat.

This made Vladimir laugh. "Aha! I zee vhy he liked you zo much! You have zpunk!  But no, no, that iz not all."

"You zee, Amelia," Vladimir continued, pacing a little beside the cage as he spoke. "I run a very carefully oiled order, in ziss town. For my brotherz and zissterz to continue living as they do as dizcreetly as posseeble, we rely on zertain... "shipments"... of zusstenence. Plazma, blood. Our means to survive. Unfortunately, these shipments have zlowed, and often ztopped... because of your Fazzer."

"My... my dad?"

"Precizely. Hijacking shipments, raising prices, squeezing every last penny from our pockets. Zat has made it more necissary to feed on the life force of uzzers, which, combined vith your incredibly loud and obnoxious mouth, iz making it very hard for us to live... dizcreetly."

"S-s-so... So I'll t-tell my dad to stop. I'll keep my mouth shut. I'll get things back to how they used to be for you. He'll listen to me... I'll listen to you... I can even give you all of my inheritence money from my Grandmother, to help pay for all of your--" Amelia began to whimper.

Unfortunately, Vladimir declined. "No, no, ziss is no good. It iz too late. Negotiations are not an option for zee Great Jebidiah Kane, nor are zey an option for me. Besides, Jerod already made quite a large contribution to our savings... on your behalf. It was quite generous of you."

If Amelia had it in her, she would be infuriated--Jerod stole all her money?! That... That... Grr! Still, at this point, money was the least of her worries. "Th...then, then why am I here?" Amelia squeaked. "What more could you possibly want from me?"

"You zee, Amelia..." Vladmir began to speak very animatedly, now. "Your fazzer will not listen to threats or demands. Your fazzer listens to actions. And, vhat better a dizplay of how much hiz 'operation' iz hurting our vay of life than to show him vhat vee now must do to survive... And vee shall show him, wizzout mercy, what iz the price of hiz treacherous greed. It vill get what I vant, and it vill shut you up--for good."

Amelia began to feel the tremble of fear first in her fingertips. "N...N-No, you can't--"

"You are quite incorrect, Amelia. Vee zertainly can." As Vladimir drummed his fingers together, he turned his eyes to a new occupant of the room, standing in the doorway. "And, alzo, what a better way for our newest brother to prove hiz loyalty than bringing you to our feet, and doing the deed himzelf?"

In the doorway, Jerod's eyes thinned, and he nodded, slowly.

At that moment, all hope vanished from Amelia's heart. Not only had Jerod been the one to bring her here on a silver platter, he was going to be the one to take the first bite--in an unfortunately literal sense.

"Jerod..." Mia sighed into her hands. She couldn't believe this. Couldn't believe that all along, this was all he saw her as. A golden freaking ticket.

"If you wouldn't mind," Jerod began, turning his eyes to Vladimir as he walked into the room. "I'd like a few minutes alone with her, before it happens."

At this, Vladimir didn't look at all pleased. "You aren't getting zoft now, are you?"

"No... I just want to talk. No harm in that, is there?"

Vladimir scowled but, rolling his eyes, gave Jerod a curt nod. "Alright, fine--but make eet quick. Zee zeremony will be starting soon, and I do not have zee patience to vait for you."

Jerod nodded. "Don't worry. Just a minute, you have my word."

Though he still didn't look entirely happy that Jerod felt the need to speak to this lesser life form, Vladimir gave Jerod a sneer--but also a nod--and swept himself away, out of the room.

Amelia had nothing left to bargain with--if she even had anything in the first place. Her only option, now, was to plead with Jerod's conscience--but she wasn't even sure he had one of those anymore, either.

"Jerod... Jerod please. I.. I thought you loved me. I thought we had something real. Didn't... Didn't you feel anything for me at all?!"

"A little, I guess," Jerod responded thoughtfully, a bit of a smile coming to his lips. "Like, I love that cute little thing you do with your nose when you smell something funny..."

Amelia groaned. Not the answer she wanted, at all.

"But yeah, sure, we had some good times. But it was all business, in the end."

"Then... then why do this? Why lead me on like this? You could've just kidnapped me, gotten it over with, instead of..." Amelia could feel the tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "... instead of breaking my heart."

Jerod scowled. "Where's the fun in that?!" He shook his head, and raised his shoe to scuff a little against the floor. "Besides, I had to proove I was capable of seducing my victims without getting emotionally involved. Sorry, Blondie--that's just the way it had to be."

His words were so... cold. He really didn't feel anything. It was all business, just a trade agreement, to him. One defenseless girl for... For what?

Actually, that was a good question. "Why... WHY, Jerod? Why are you even doing this?"

"You really don't know, huh?" Jerod began to laugh; it resonated painfully in Amelia's ears. "After all the time we spent together? You know how much I crave new experience... With this gift they're going to give me, I'm going to have eternity to explore the world, to live every bit of life this planet has to offer."

He paused, and then laughed again. "The teeth don't look too bad, either."

"And that's worth my life? And the lives of others?" Though her throat still felt strained, it felt good to finally be able to say, to his face, "You're a monster."

"Not yet, my dear, not yet!" Jerod's cackling echoed around the room, and off down the corridor leading from it. "But after tonight... After I've taken the bite, and I come to you for my first feast, I will finally be a member of the Order... I'll finally be a monster... A monster, for all eternity! Aaaahahaha!!"

Amelia had little tears left to spare, but now--under certain death--she was willing to shed the last of them.

"Then... then go. Get it over with," she sighed, her eyes closing over to try not to betray her emotions. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of watching her completely break apart under his gaze. "I have nothing left to say to you."

"As you wish, sweet pea," Jerod offered with a wink, even dipping down in a bow as he turned to depart the room. It was cruel; now he was just mocking her dignity.

Who was she kidding--No clothes, no food, no hope... she had no dignity, now.

And now, nothing left to do but wait for the end.