Perdition

Condemned

Perdition: A state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and impenitent person passes after death.

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"All things truly wicked start from innocence."
-Ernest Hemingway

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It was all like a bad dream, you know. I couldn't take this anymore. I was starving, dirty and scared. I was like a trapped mouse desperately clawing at a way to escape this never-ending nightmare. I knew that other people may have felt the same way, but I was just an eighteen-year-old kid.

I was still a child.

"Everyone, please make your way towards the designated exit routes! Please, if you are using any sort of vehicle, please take only what you need and vacate. The highways have been cut off for your safety. Please make your way towards the nearest exit routes! I repeat..."

The man shouting through the loudspeaker had been on repeat for the past few hours. His voice was cracking and everyone noticed the slight tremor that took over his vocal cords in the end. I tried to drown him out as I followed my family through the crowd of people. Cops prodded us like marching cattle from all directions as we made a slow trek towards the city exits. We weren't human beings anymore—we were just numbers now.

"This is bad," I heard my dad mutter under his breath.

My little sister nuzzled into his side, softly whimpering, "Dad, where are we going?"

Dad didn't answer her. He just kept marching with the thousands of other people who surrounded us. My mother had her arm wrapped around my shoulders in a way that seemed like she was consoling me. The way she trembled next to me, I think she was the one who needed the consoling.

While my father walked ahead of us protecting my ten-year-old sister, my mother walked with me, while my grandmother was to my left, clutching at my hand. I told myself that if anyone tried to separate us they would have to get the Jaws of Life, because I swore I'd never let go.

We were evacuating the city, trying desperately to get to a safer place just like everyone else. We heard on the news that those things were picking us off like livestock. The military went in but they just wouldn't die. At first, it was like one of those zombie horror movies – but these creatures weren't as dumb as we had first thought. They were smart, fast and dangerous.

They called themselves Thaerr, but we knew them as vampires. At first, it was like a big, stupid joke. People laughed, called those that came out crazy and paid little to no attention to their threats. Even the news station that covered the story laughed.

Then the killing began.

Bodies were showing up just about everywhere, their blood drained or mauled beyond recognition. Soon, it wasn't just vampires coming out of the woodwork—creatures with wings that glittered and skin that shined were suddenly flying around. At this point, the governments Special Operation's Unit were only focused on taking out the bloodsuckers, but these new creatures didn't seem to be harmful or threatening. Until midnight, at least.

They were called Fae – fairies – and every little girl and boy squealed as if their fantasies were coming true—until midnight, every night. Something would happen when the clock struck twelve and those beautiful creatures would turn into monstrous savages. Anything in their path was fair game, and they were fast, too. They would rip you apart as soon as their holes could smell you out. I guess their noses retreated as well, because in its place were two little holes. It was terrifying. The glowing of their skin would fade and turn a sickly purple – like they had blue and purple bruises all over their bodies.