They are coming

14 0 0
                                    

CHAPTER 1

From a blackened screen, an image slowly comes into view. A single man sits calm and cross legged on an ornate sofa. He is tremendous in stature, seven feet tall and heavily muscled, dressed in a finely tailored suit and wearing glistening gem encrusted jewelry on every finger. Flanked on both sides by flowing azure banners emblazoned with a red crest depicting what appears to be a naked human bowing before a massive gaping maw. No sound can be heard beyond the low hum of a single halogen bulb hanging overhead. After a brief moment, the figure leans forward into the light.

His visage is gnarled and twisted. The skin is a sickly pale white with an interconnected string of scars up and down the sides of both cheeks from the base of the chin to just beneath the eyes. The twin bottomless pits emit a faint crimson glow. They are hollow; without emotion, without pupils. What is left of the nose is nothing more than a crooked bump and a single nostril. He opens his mouth into a wide grin, revealing several rows of elongated and jagged teeth. A mass of long white hair is tied back in a neat ponytail. After a quick glance off frame, he nods and begins to speak.

“Greetings pitiful scum of the planet earth, my name is Kagan.” He pauses for a moment to adjust his posture and look directly into the camera, “I have come before you today to address humanity, all of humanity. You see, I am the foremost member of a rival species. The word in your common parlance is vampire. We have lived along side you since the advent of your menial existence. We have been your kings, your masters; we have been your Gods. However, as of late mankind has unfortunately lost his reverence for his betters.” The smile leaves Kagan’s face and he begins to growl between sentences, “You have convinced yourselves that you are at the top of the food chain. You have grown beyond the means of this world to support you. Precious resources are wasted on an ever growing population of useless peons, drifting their way through short, meaningless lives. The oceans are poisoned, the skies are choking on the fumes of the nightmare you call progress. Your own scientists have warned you of the looming natural disasters you have created and still you sit idly by while the icecaps melt and the planet circles the proverbial drain.

There was a time when we relied on you as beasts of burden, as an easily accessible food source. There are cheaper and more efficient methods to nourish ourselves. It no longer amuses us to watch you quietly from the shadows. To put it bluntly: we’re sick of you, and it’s time for your civilization to come to an end.”

He pauses and motions off camera with his right hand. A young girl is immediately pushed into frame. She is emaciated and dirty, wrapped in tattered rags, but appears for the most part to be unhurt. Kagan leans forward to meet the girl’s gaze eye to eye. Terrified, she immediately slumps to the floor sobbing softly. Grabbing her by the hair, he lifts her off the ground and points her face toward the lens.

“Tell the nice people watching who you are and where you’re from.” Staring straight ahead and now crying uncontrollably, the girl sputters but can’t form words. Infuriated at her weakness, Kagan strikes her in the chest, and drives her face first into the floor. She hits the cold tile with a sickening thud. After a few well placed kicks to the ribs he raises her up again, bloodied and spitting teeth.

“Speak!”

Between sobs and wheezes, the girl begins, “My name is... Kaley Angelista. I’m f-from London, England.”

The smile returns to the monster’s visage as he continues, “And your father is Archibald Angelista, CEO of the multinational Angelista Corporation, correct?”

“Yes, he is.”

“For those of you watching who don’t know, Angelista is primarily an oil concern and is singularly responsible for more ecological disasters than all of its competitors combined. Isn’t that right, Kaley?” As he finishes the sentence, he turns her head so that they are face to face once again. Her eyes still gushing, a puzzled expression falls over her face.

The PurgingWhere stories live. Discover now