Final Night

It began at three in the morning.

Carmilla woke in a cold sweat. Excruciating pain courses through her body. She could hear her blood pulsing through her veins, her heart pounding in her chest and she gasped for breath. An overwhelming feeling of nausea swept over her. She stood up. Only to realise the world was spinning, stepping clumsily she barged through her bedroom door and practically fell into the bathroom.

She just managed to vomit into the toilet, after a minute and a half of wretching she lifted her shaking body to the sink. Raising her head up felt like lifting a hundred tons. She saw her reflection and screamed. In the mirror she saw her face was covered in blood. What she thought was tears falling down her cheeks was really blood dripping from her eyes and nose. Red stained her lips and leaked out her mouth, her hair was matted with the blood dripping from her ears. The entire of her upper body was covered in blood.

As she screamed and backed away she slipped, landing awkwardly in the doorway of the bathroom and the hall. The quick pain made her head ring and caused another wave of nausea. Unable to move from the white hot pain coursing though her, she vomited on herself.

The screaming and general noise caused Louisa  to burst from her room. Following was a half dressed Justin.

"Oh my god! Justin call an ambulance!"

"L..o..u.." Carmilla tried to speak her sisters name, but gargled on her own blood instead. Her insides felt like fire.

Louisa fell to her knees and hauled her sister up. More blood mixed with saliva trickled down her chin.

Louisa screamed words back and fourth. Asking Carmilla what happened in between shouting different symptoms to Justin so he could tell the operator.

"Jesus Christ Justin help! I think her lungs have been punctured or something! My god it looks like she's bleeding from her eyes!"

Turning round she saw that Justin hadn't moved from his spot. A wave of pain caused Carmilla to groan and scream, thrashing her body from side to side.

"FUCKING HELL JUSTIN GET THE PHONE I THINK SHE'S DYING!"

Justin just stared, his eyes were wide with shock but his brows were knotted, he seemed at odds with himself.

"She's not dying Lou"

Anger clouded his face

"She's cursed!"

He moved as quick as lighting, grabbing Carmilla's arm he violently flung her behind him. Sliding toward the end of the hallway Carmilla could barely register what was happening. Until her shoulder caught on the corner wall of the stairs and her bloody body crashed down stairs. Landing harshly she awkwardly front rolled and was placed into the middle of the living room. There was a small moment of silence as everyone waited with fated breath.

A groan was their answer.

Louisa screamed and rushed past Justin, snapping him from his enraged trance to follow her down.

"Louisa stay away from her!"

His quick pace allowed him to grab her before she could reach Carmilla.

"Get the hell away from me!"

She shouted in his face. But he didn't let go.

"What the hell is going on?! Carmilla? Louisa?"

John and Ali smith cautiously entered from their downstairs bedroom, at the same time Adam burst from his room upstairs carrying a cricket bat.

"Oh my god! Carmilla!"

Ali revived the screaming again as Adam jumped from the balcony and John turned towards Justin.

"What the hell have you done to my daughter you fucking cretin!"

Adam held his father back and he made for Justin. Louisa had begun to cry while their mother ran into the kitchen, scrambling for the phone.

"I didn't do anything. Your daughter's cursed!"

John pushed past his stunned son who had lowered his weapon in shock. He landed a right hook to the side of Justin's face, who staggered back. Louisa loudly protested. The situation was escalating until another wave of pain struck Carmillas battered body, causing her to groan, writhe and finally wretch again.

Everyone was silent and staring.

"H-h-elp... me" was all she force from her lips, body shaking and becoming increasingly more covered in blood.

Louisa started towards her but was stopped by Justin.

"Don't you see?!" He exclaimed

"It's her, she's the cursed one"

The rest stayed silent. He continued. changing his tone a more calm and logical one.

"Look it makes sense, we knew it was gonna be in her generation and everyone else her age turned years ago. She's the last one, no change and no mate. I'm sorry but it's her you have to accept that. This only goes one way.

Carmilla took in some of his words but couldn't register any of them from the wave of pain that sent her howling.

Ali smith returned, phone to ear and heading towards her daughter. Before she could utter a word she was stopped by her husband.

"Alison put down the phone"

"JOHN ARE YOU CRAZY?" she said shattering the level head she was keeping for her daughter.

"Alison put down the phone and come over here. That's not our daughter anymore!"

Alison smith stared at her husband and then the body on the floor. She appeared to be sweating blood now, getting paler by the minute. Her denial was broken by Carmilla moaning for her mother.

"Mum please...help"

Alison shook her head and began to cry and she fought the urge to approach the thing that was once her daughter. John pulled her into a tight hold. Tears now rolling down his cheeks.

It was only now that Carmilla could look past the pain and focus on the situation at hand. She pulled herself up so she was half kneeling, half balancing on her arms.

"Someone help me, mum is the ambulance on it's way?" She was shaking and barely managed not to stutter on her words.

Adam was turned away from her now and her parents stood crying and cuddled together. Louisa looked just as confused as her Carmilla was. Tears rolling down her cheeks as she struggled to escape Justin's grip. Justin, who was now viciously glaring at Carmilla.

"No ones going to help you! You vile creature!"

He growled

"What?" She and Louisa uttered at the time.

At this moment Adam interrupted by throwing his cricket bat at the wall. It broke in half.

"No! No Justin! She's not that yet!"

All his rage and emotion was poured into those words with enough force. It actually managed to make Justin silent.

Regaining somewhat of his composure, Adam continued in a much calmer tone.

"No. Look let me explain at least some of this to her, she's my sister and... Jesus Christ she deserves to know".

With that he turned and faced his sister.

"Carmilla...Mills... no one's going to help you"

Panic set-in.

"Wha-I..I don't understand wha-"

"No one's going to help you because you are becoming a... you're turning into a monster."

She searched his face, looking for a twitch or a smirk, something to tell her it was a joke.

"I don't...I don't" she failed to find words, but before she could ramble on Adam spoke.

"A monster that we have to hunt down... and kill".

Again there's was silence, apart from a small whimper from their mother.

Justin started towards her but was again, stopped by her brother.

"Now, because you're family we're going to give you a five minute head start. But you have to run"

His tone was calm and collected, as if he were a history teacher explaining the fuses for World War One for the five hundredth time.

"But-"

"I'm serious. this is real"

Carmilla could feel her heart beat getting faster she looked to her parents who were purposefully looking away.

"Mum?, Dad?"

They didn't respond, her heart skipped a beat.

"Please" she said quietly.

They stood frozen as if they couldn't even see or hear her.

"PLEASE" her voice broke and she could feel herself beginning to cry.

"Carmilla NO ONE is going to help you"

The hope in the back her mind was dimming

"People are going to hunt you down and kill you!"

She faced her parents again

"MUM PLEASE!"

A muffled sob came from Alison. Louise was struggling to escape from Justin's grip while shouting at their brother that he was insane.

He ignored her.

"No one in this whole town will help you. You need to run"

Realising he was serious she began to cry, a part of her still unable to process it.

"PLEASE!"

"Carmilla"

Her brother growled her name, turning she saw that his eyes were glowing. His teeth were getting longer and sharper, his body seemed to be popping and cracking. He turned to look at her one last time, he face dead-pan and his voice hollow.

"Run"

Looking back once more at her family. Alison finally lifted her head and made eye contact. Her expression was half misery half pure hatred.

"RUN!"

She screamed.

And with that. A sobbing broken Carmilla made for the door and hobbled down the street.

She heard glass shatter and the once lonely howl, she'd  heard the nights before, was answered by a symphony of others.

From the author

If you enjoyed this or have any helpful criticism feel free to say.

Thanks