Newt, Texas, 1974
It was no secret what I was. I tried to keep it in for so long but it was only a matter of time before people started asking questions. The main one: 'why are your eyes red?' Well, it usually didn't come out like that. It was usually more of a, 'holy shit! Your eyes are fucking crazy!' You knew what I meant.
Though I may have seemed strange, I really didn't mean no harm. Yes, I was a viper. It was an interesting type of creature. We were almost like vampires, but then not at all. There was just one little quirk about us vipers.
We needed blood, and we needed a lot of it.
But enough about me. I was here in Texas for a very important mission. I was greeted at the airport by a yellow taxicab that took me straight to my motel. I had traveled all the way from Japan. I belonged to a top secret organisation that took care of extreme matters that nobody else could. In a way, we were like vigilantes. The organisation thought that this certain case was perfect for me. Alas, it was a little annoying. Since I resided in Japan, and this was all the way in Texas.
I was here to investigate Sally Hardesty's claims that there was the sale of human meat here. Sally was the survivor of a gruesome attack inflicted by a group of apparent cannibals. She claimed that these people killed and ate her brother and friends, while tying her up and planning to do the same to her. I didn't know how Sally managed to survive. As you could've guessed, she was quite shaken up about the horrific incident. I myself didn't know much about this situation. It was all so sudden. The organisation practically forced me out of Japan to come here. All I knew was that I had to find human meat.
I was here for days before I found what I was looking for. I went to a wide chain of restaurants, cafes, stores and markets. I even investigated the food the motel served but to no avail. After contacting the organisation about it, they fumbled for ideas. They then decided that I needed to 'flirt my way in'. I thought that that was ridiculous but even I was getting tired of finding nothing.
So one night, I squeezed into a short little dress, and went on the prowl. Being a viper, the organisation thought that I could be the seductress they thought I was. Truth was that I had never even had a boyfriend. I was a little nervous about the plan but held my head high anyway.
I set off into the night, looking for blood. I went to the same restaurants, this time taking interest in the owners. Though they seemed bashful and flirty, they still had no information. Ugh! It was so frustrating. I couldn't find this supposed human meat anywhere. I was beginning to think Sally Hardesty was just making this all up. It wasn't until one hot summer day I finally began to unveil everything.
It had been a long day. Searching and searching. The sun beamed down onto my like a fiery spotlight. I wiped the sweat off my brow and peeled my long dark hair that stuck to it off. I stood outside a restaurant that I had just finished investigating. It was a fail. I tried to seduce the owner in there into getting him to talk but still nothing. People must've thought I was some crazy prostitute or something. I grabbed the bottom of my dress and tried to squeeze it further down my thighs. The Texas heat was sweltering. I would've gone back inside to cool off but I was currently waiting for my taxicab.
I decided that perhaps there was no human meat in Newt after all. But perhaps a little bit outside of town? I had a good feeling about my theory so I went ahead and booked a taxi to get me there. The yellow cab pulled up and waved me inside. I immediately sped over to the taxi and shuffled on into the backseat.
"Where're yer headed? Y'all said outta town, right?" The cabdriver asked.
"Yes, please." I smiled politely at him through the rearview mirror.
We traveled for a little bit outside of Newt. A Last Chance gas station up ahead on the dead country road caught my eye.
"Hey, stop here, please." I blurted out.
The taxicab was old and musty on the inside. The air conditioner was busted and it reeked of cigarettes. I just needed to get out.
"Yer sure?" The cabdriver asked.
"Yeah! Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks." I replied.
The cabdriver slowed down and pulled into the gas station. It was dead, we were the only ones there. I pulled out some crumpled bills and handed them to the man. I tore the door open and pulled myself out of the lumpy seat.
"Thanks again." I smiled.
"Anytime, miss." The cabdriver waved me off and sped down the country road.
I huffed and fanned myself off the in humid weather. I turned around and looked up at the worn down gas station. It would be fine to cool off here, buy some water or something. Then I'd get back on the road and scope the town. I entered the gas station, a bell ringing to alert the owner of my presence. The air conditioned room immediately greeted me with open arms. I was so tired and so hot, I didn't care that I was in the middle of butt fuck nowhere. I didn't have much time to look around the aisles before the owner spotted me.
"Hello there, young lady."
I quirked up at the deep voice and snapped my attention to the man at the front counter. The gas station was quite small. As soon as you walked in, you could see the counter. There were a few aisles in the middle of the store, but that was it. I stared at the man at the counter for a few dumbfounded moments. He was an older man with short dark hair and a tan button down shirt.
"Hello, how are you?" I stammered unwillingly.
I approached the counter with a big grin on my face. The man smiled at me and crossed his arms.
"What can I do for ya?" He asked.
"Oh, uh... I was just making a quick pitstop, really. It is so hot out there." I said while wiping more sweat from my cold skin.
"Heh, yer not from here, ain't ya?" The older man smirked.
I shook my head. "No, I'm from Japan."
The man unfolded his arms and stared at me wide eyed.
"Really now? Wow, whatcha doing all the way out here all by yer lonesome?" He asked.
"Oh, just some work stuff." I shrugged casually.
"Huh, far way out for just some work stuff. Well anyway, the name's Drayton Sawyer." Drayton stuck his hand out for me to shake.
I lifted up my own and shook his hand firmly. I smiled innocently and told him my own name.
"Could I get ya something to eat? Something to drink? Ya sure do look mighty parched." Drayton offered.
"Oh, no—!"
"I got a mighty fine chilli. It's the best thing I got." He interrupted.
"Oh?" I said out of pure politeness.
"Yeah, ya gotta try it. I'm sure you'd like it." Drayton replied.
"Um, yeah. Okay, sure. Why not?" I laughed crudely.
"You got it, little lady." Drayton turned away from the counter and readied the chilli.
I rubbed my arm sheepishly and gazed about the old gas station. When Drayton turned back around, he placed the big bowl of chilli down onto the counter. It looked very greasy and heavy. There was something off about it but I couldn't quite tell what.
"Ooh, thanks. Looks great." I stifled a cringe and gave the older man a toothy grin with my fangs.
"Enjoy, ma'am." Drayton grinned back.
I slapped some cash onto the counter and pulled the dish closer to me. I didn't really want to eat it... but Drayton was staring at me. I decided to suck it up and try some just to humour him. He handed me a spoon and I gave a quick thanks before digging in. I scooped up some of the thick goopy chilli onto the spoon and shoved it into my mouth. My eyes widened. There was a reason the organisation put me up to this. Being a viper, I needed blood. A lot of it. Human blood... I knew the taste anywhere.
The chilli was made from human meat.
"Wow, this is really good." I squeaked.
Drayton's smile widened. "I knew you'd like it!"
I didn't force myself to eat anymore of the chilli. Yes, I needed human blood to survive. But I could find it other ways. This however, was a very vulgar way to use human remains. I swallowed my pride anyway and placed the chilli back onto the counter, pushing it to the side. I had to stick to the plan. I batted my lashes and placed my elbow on the counter. I held my head in my hand and stared lovingly at Drayton.
"So, it must take you awhile to make something that good." I smiled.
Drayton crossed his arms again, an evil grin creeping up onto his face. "Heh, not really. It's a family recipe."
"Oh, really?" I giggled. "That's so interesting. It tastes amazing." I flirted.
I traced invisible circles onto the counter with my claw. Drayton's smirk widened and he leaned onto it. I continued to flirt with the older Texan but he still didn't even hint what the chilli was made from.
I came back to the gas station almost everyday just to talk to him. Though I was meant to bring Drayton down, I took a liking to him. He had a dark charisma, being a cannibal and all. I could tell that there was something between us, so I hesitated. Like I said before, I never had a boyfriend or anything like that before.
That wasn't the only problem I was faced with. Apparently the organisation thought I was taking too long with my mission, so I... lost my job. Now I was stuck here in Texas. I had nowhere to go but my dingy motel room. I tearfully expressed this to Drayton and he actually offered me a place to stay. He told me to come stay with him and his family. Though I secretly knew that he was a cannibal, I still liked Drayton. He never even said anything about my red eyes or fangs or cold skin or nothing.
Having nowhere else to go, I agreed to come stay with my new little friend. The Sawyer family was... strange. They were especially creepy when you knew that they killed and ate people. Drayton introduced me to his two younger brothers. Chop-Top and Leatherface (as well as the rotting corpse of their brother Nubbins). I stood there dumbfounded at the three, blinking slowly in shock.
There was—there was no way I was going to survive this.
At first I was very withdrawn. Drayton seemed to be far more kind to me than the rest of his family. He took a liking to me just as I did to him. It was still eerie that I was aware of what they ate and what they did. But at the same time, I had to do the same thing. I supposed I was just more humane about how I went about it. Which was ironic, me not being human and all.
After a while, I stayed at the Sawyer house because I wanted to. I slowly began to open up to Drayton's quirky brothers and liked them both in my own way. I didn't eat the human meat like the rest of them even though it was technically good for me. I just couldn't fathom eating an innocent human in such a vulgar way like this. Instead, I would sneak out at night and hover over the streets in search of unsuspecting victims. I was a fast and agile being. I could also teleport, so it wasn't hard to leave the house unnoticed. I didn't really kill, I simply took what I needed and then left them there unharmed. Similar to a vampire, I would aim for the neck and sucked out as much blood as I could.
I was getting restless. It had been days since I last tasted blood. I sat up in bed, the pale moonlight leering in from the window. Drayton laid asleep next to me. I tried to calm my breathing. I could smell blood everywhere. My head snapped towards Drayton's sleeping form. My red eyes glistened under the moon. I stared down at his neck hungrily. It would be so easy, but so wrong. I combed my claws through my long dark hair. I couldn't take the thirst any longer. I hesitated, but then decided to bite the bullet.
I bared my fangs and thrusted them down.
Nothing seemed to change after that. Drayton knew what I did, knew what I was. He never seemed to mind. Hell, I was sure he understood the blood thing at least a little bit. The whole family knew I was a viper. I managed to keep it a secret for a little while. Alas, it was a difficult situation. It was also easy to catch on. The red eyes, the fangs, the claws... the uncontrollable blood lust. You could tell that my true colours would soon be revealed. And well, so did the family's.
So did Drayton's.
Over time, the man began to treat me differently. He was more aloof, more distant. He didn't treat me as kindly and didn't show anymore affection. Drayton later ended our relationship without explaining to me why. I later found out that he was seeing other girls behind my back. I just simply couldn't believe it. I was humiliated and heartbroken. I was still aloud to live with the Sawyer family even though Drayton and I were through. Perhaps it was because I was a malicious outcast like the rest of them. Or it was because I had absolutely nowhere else to go. I still had Drayton's brothers to bond with though which was good.
It was only then that I got an idea.
I was so hurt, felt so betrayed. I came up with a little plan to get Drayton to feel the same way. I decided to become interested in one of his brothers as revenge. So I picked my favourite: Bubba Sawyer. Though I was a bit afraid of him when I first arrived, I now grew fond of him. I expressed this to him often.
"Hey, Bubba. Whatcha doing?" I flirted.
Leatherface looked up from his chainsaw that sat on the kitchen table and tilted his head at me. He seemed so surprised when I showed him attention like this. I only brushed it off and batted my lashes playfully. My advances towards Drayton's brother didn't seem to faze the older man at all. That only hurt more. I tried not to let that bother me too much and continued on with my goal. Everyday I'd talk with Bubba and get closer and closer. I actually really liked him. I wasn't doing this just out of spite. I was also doing this because I thought Bubba was genuinely a sweetheart. I was delighted when he began to show interest in me as well. That was when Drayton started to reveal he was annoyed.
He never seemed to mind too much. The man certainly didn't approve of Bubba and I though. I didn't care about that one bit. More and more it began to slowly bother Drayton. I almost didn't even acknowledge his hurt anymore. Because I was far too interested in getting to know his sweet little brother Leatherface.
I smiled warmly at Bubba, brushing my short dress off before sitting down next to him at the table.
"How are you, Bubba?" I giggled.
The older boy stuttered out some gibberish to me before sliding an arm around my shoulder. I leaned into his touch instantly. Drayton walked into the kitchen and gave us one glance before walking away casually.
"Guess ya act just like how ya dress."
My shoulders slumped at his comment and I glanced down at the revealing dress I was wearing. Wow, that stung. I instinctively grabbed the bottom of it and tried to push it down my thighs. Bubba said something I couldn't understand and gently took my hands off the dress. He held them in his own and gave them a squeeze. His hands were so warm, while mine were so cold.
"Oh, Bubba. You're so sweet." I sighed dreamily.
I didn't know why I didn't see it sooner. Bubba gave my hand another squeeze, and I gave one back.
Drayton would often say more hurtful things to me as well as his brother. I defended Bubba more than myself, as I grew a new love for the older boy. Over a short period of time, it seemed as if Drayton almost wanted me back. I completely disregarded this and continued on with Bubba instead. Bubba would even let me have some of his blood when I got real parched. But normally I would just hover over the town and find my own victims. He seemed to be in a starstruck awe about me being a viper. Bubba had never heard of that and could listen to me all day talking about it.
Bubba and I sat across from each other on his bed. He stroked my freezing cold skin curiously and then inspected the long claws on each of my fingers. Bubba tucked a dark strand of hair behind my ear and stared at me lovingly from behind his mask made of skin. A tired smile met my young features as I placed a hand on his shoulder. He was getting a bit worried about his older brother Drayton.
The older man was growing more jealous about our relationship by the day and lord knew when he would finally snap. Bubba often expressed that he was fearful Drayton would kill and eat me, though he couldn't actually tell me that with his words. I often found myself simmering the stressed Leatherface down during the hot summer nights.
I was doubtful Drayton wanted to eat me. He seemed to still like me even after everything so I didn't think he would be able to bring himself to. Plus, I wasn't human. Viper meat certainly didn't taste too pleasant. But it didn't matter how many times Drayton asked me to take him back. I found somebody else.
I leaned into Bubba's chest, the bed groaning under my weight. He wrapped his strong arms around me and made a sound that almost sounded like a purr.
"Oh, Bubba." I cooed. "You don't need to worry about your brother, or me." I patted his chest.
"For I now love you."