Internal Conflict

The needle pierced into the dark skin, snaking its way into a pronounced vein at the crease of the elbow.The clear contents of the syringe were dispensed as the makeshift turnicate was removed.The blood stream quickly consumed the liquid and dispersed it to the entirety of the body.

The woman, though thoroughly restrained at the wrists and ankles, squirmed violently in a silent protest of the drug that was being introduced into her system.She chewed on the cloth that was pulled across her mouth as muted tears streamed down her cheeks.When the chemicals hit, her pupils instantly dilated making the colors brighter and more vivid.Her body grew taut then slowly went limp.It was as if she could feel everything, even the course fabric of the cheap cotton t-shirt that was covered in sweat.Her skin tingled and her mind raced, a frightful yet soothing feeling that provided an ephemeral escape.Nothing about the moment seemed real anymore, not even the man’s face that stared into her eyes.

William Hart studied her glossed over gaze.He was thoroughly amused with the effects of the cocaine laced with heroin, more infamously known as a speedball.The combination of the stimulant and depressant was recognized for its dangerous and unpredictable effects, which is exactly why William liked to use it.

Extending a three-inch claw from his left pointer finger, he touched her lips and grinned when the sharp edge caused the thin flesh of the bottom lip to split.A few drops of blood popped to the surface.She did not even move.

William leaned in close enough to see the pores on her face.His crazy dark blue orbs scanned her flesh curiously.His tongue darted out long enough to lick away the red liquid on her lip.Savoring the taste, a wicked grin crawled at the corners of his mouth.“Perfect.”

William tossed a glance behind him to the serious looking man who sat with his arms folded across his chest.“She’s ready,” he stated.“Ya want a taste?”

“No.”Anthony shook his head and rolled his blue eyes, not wishing to be under the influence of any mind-altering chemicals for the time being.He couldn’t help but silently question the twisted man that would inject humans with drugs in order to get a quick high.

“Are you sure?Ya know what they say?The darker the chocolate, the sweeter the taste.”He was, of course, referring to his victim’s skin color.

“She’s all yours, William.”

The man with the wild eyes beckoned his fangs to emerge from the upper gum line, between the canines and first bicuspids.The unique teeth glimmered with a coating of saliva and hovered almost an inch past the other teeth.Snatching the thin woman’s legs, he spread them apart and pushed up the skirt to expose her upper thighs.He rubbed her dark skin with his thumb, dangerously close her cotton underwear.She didn’t respond.“I only wish she could feel what I’m about to do to her.I like smelling their fear.It’s such a turn-on.”

William laughed then licked the inside of her leg.“Naughty girl.You should fear me.” He plunged his sharp teeth into her skin, seeking out the deep femoral artery.Upon piercing into the major vessel, William felt a surge of warm blood pour into his mouth then allowed his fangs to suction out the fluid. By allowing her body to metabolize the heroin into morphine, he was able to acquire the immediate effects of the speedball plus the surge of energy brought on by a fresh batch of oxygen rich blood with nutrients.

After a few moments, William pulled away and collapsed onto his back, staring at the ceiling.The combined effects of the drugs and her blood was beyond intoxicating.He felt liberated and alive.Every sensation was powerful and pronounced.If he could spend every day under this influence, he would.

If the woman noticed her body being assaulted, she did not react.She merely sat there, staring at nothing, under the complete command of the drugs.The wound continued to gush forth fluid in controlled spurts, the anticoagulant found in his bite preventing the blood from clotting at the entry site.After another minute, she had lost enough blood to cause her to slip into an unconscious state.It wasn’t long after that unconsciousness that she was cold and dead.

Anthony stared at the man on the floor in disgust.He had heard that William was unstable and quite reckless in behavior, though it had only been stories.Anthony was now convinced that the stories did not do the man justice.Insanity was an understatement.William was eccentric and unpredictable, and so was the crew that followed his lead.He supposedly collected humans and used them for his own pleasure, which often times included torture.Right or wrong, William was deadly and epitomized the mythical monster.

“Are you finished?”

William rolled onto his stomach and glanced at the young man that looked nothing like him.The tall, broad-chested exsanguis with the air of arrogance was a physical contradiction to William’s stocky 5’10 stature, goatee and knotted brown dred locks.He rolled his eyes and pushed off the ground.“You sure can ruin an awesome high.”Sagging onto a dilapidated couch, he sighed heavily, wishing he had consumed more of the human’s blood before she had died.

“So, what do you think?”

“Well, Tony…”

“Anthony,” he corrected him.

William snorted.“If that hybrid can really do what you claim, then I’d be stupid not to want her.”

“I’m not making any of it up.I saw her with my own eyes.She is as real as they come.”

“Are you sure the counsel wants her dead?”

“Yes.They killed my father just for activating her.”Since his father’s death, Anthony had risen to the head of the group.Intense bickering and betrayal had erupted between the hybrids and pures within the clan.The counsel had even sent guards to watch over their every move.No one was to leave or enter the hive without the counsel’s approval.Very little communication had occurred with the outside world.Until the situation with the hybrid was dealt with, the entire clan was under suspicion of treason.

Anthony had used one of the many secret tunnels within the hive to get himself out.It took him over one month to arrange a meeting with the man who stayed off the exsanguis radar.Though reckless, William was no fool and would not succumb to a trap.And now that they were face-to-face, Anthony was beginning to wonder if he had made the correct decision in seeking this lunatic out.

“I heard about your dad.Bad way to go.”William had been informed that Anthony’s father had been killed by the counsel via sunlight, a horrific and painful death for the exsanguis.When one of his exsanguis lovers had cheated on him with a human, William had caused her death in a similar manner.On occasion he could still recall the scream she produced as the deadly rays introduced massive internal hemorrhaging. He got goose bumps just thinking about it.“Philip and his stupid counsel are fuckin’ idiots.I bet Philip wants the girl for himself.”

“I don’t know.The counsel has done a wonderful job convincing all of us that the female hybrid wasn’t even possible.And now that we find out that such a unique being does exist, it perplexes me that they would keep her abilities a secret.”

“There’s nothing perplexing about it.They want her, trust me.”Williams dark blue eyes became somewhat backlit as his anger enhanced.“He wants to not only rule the exsanguis but conquer the humans.That selfish ass.He can’t have it all.”

“But, it is forbidden by the exsanguis code to expose ourselves to the humans much less attempt to overthrow the humans.I don’t think Philip would dare attempt such a thing.He would not defy the code.”

William tossed his legs up on the couch and leaned back.“Fuck the code. That code is outdated and useless.It’s a different time, Tony.Things change.We change.The code must change.It is time for the exsanguis to be on the rise.We shouldn’t have to hide.That code forces us to hide.And that stupid counsel is the reason that we are not a recognized force.To that I say fuck the code and fuck the counsel.And Philip knows this.”

William paused and tossed a quick glimpse toward the dead woman, considering what it might be like to have absolute, undeniable power over the humans.The idea to be the most powerful individual alive would tempt even the humblest person.He was beginning to see why the possibility of a female hybrid was kept secret.“Yes, Philip will take her for himself.”

“But to do that he must defy the code which also defies the counsel.The counsel is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Philip is the ayil.If he wills it, the counsel will follow.Most of those morons are ‘yes’ men anyways.”William pondered this.If he was right, then it would be a race to determine who would lead them all.

“Nathaniel’s crew showed a great amount of interest in her.My source on the inside informed me that she is not with his crew anymore.Supposedly she ran away and has kept a low profile.”

“Really?”William allowed this thought to pour through his head then snapped his fingers.“Anyone can be found.Even our cute little hybrid.But, it is interesting that Nathaniel’s crew got a hold of her so quickly.Of course.”He bolted upright.

“Of course what?”

“It’s gotta be his.”

“What’s gotta be his?”

William threw up his hands in defeat.“The girl,” he said.

“No way.”

“She’s gotta belong to someone.I bet you anything that the hybrid is Nathaniel’s daughter.”

A silence wedged between them as they both took a moment to consider the possibility.“You could be right.If we told the counsel…”

“We’re not telling the counsel shit,” William interrupted.

“If she really is our ticket, we will have to deal with the counsel at some point.However, if we can redirect the counsel’s energy it will be a lot easier for us…”

“…to overthrow them,” William finished.“Ha!”William forced his claws out and thrashed the air violently.“Those bastards. Philip and his counsel can go to hell.Let me see that document again.”

Anthony pulled out a silver cylinder from a breast pocket and opened it carefully.He removed a worn parchment and handed it to William.

“How did your father come across this information?”

“He never did say.I can only assume that most of the exsanguis are not aware of her abilities.If they knew the truth, none of them would want her dead.”

“We fear what we don’t understand,” William added.“Why do you think they want me dead?”He tossed the paper back to Anthony.He leaned back onto the hard cushions and propped the back of his head on his hands.“They just don’t understand me.”

Anthony did not want to tell him that the counsel wanted him dead because he was careless with his actions and continually broke the exsanguis’s laws.“You are a perplexing man.”

“According to that piece of paper, female hybrids are to be killed at birth.”

Anthony nodded in agreement.“Until I actually saw Alena, I had never even heard of a female hybrid being born.It must be some sort of medical wonder or a miracle.”

“Miracle my ass,” William scoffed.“She just lucked out.”

“How so?”

For being the lead of such a powerful clan, William was disappointed with how naive Anthony was.“There might be some sort of medical issue or genetic shit involving the rarity of the female hybrid, but surviving the birth was the easy thing for her.It’s obvious that some of the female hybrids have survived in the past otherwise the counsel wouldn’t have written it within the laws to forbid the survival and activation of them.I would love to know the story behind the female hybrid that brought the counsel to their knees in fear.”

Both of them were left to their imaginations.“I suppose we will never know,” Anthony said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about, Tony.There are ways of uncovering the truth.”William was already putting together a plan to find out the information he desired.“I hope you’re right about this hybrid.The ability to activate humans is one thing, but what she can do for pures seems almost too good to be true.”

Anthony nodded.“Even if it is only partially true, that is an amazing power.”

“Mhm.Does she know what she can do?”

“I don’t think so.And honestly, even if she did know, I highly doubt she would use her gifts.She seemed, well, kinda innocent.”

“Sure.Innocent.What about that bioweapons company, the um, GWO?”

“GAO,” Anthony stated.

“Yeh, them. Do they have any idea about her abilities?”

“I’m pretty sure they know about her ability to turn humans.”

“Shit.”William could feel his anger rising again.“She is the perfect weapon for those fuckin’ humans.”

“I know.”

“But she is an even better weapon for us.If we could just get our hands on her…”William grabbed a fistful of air in defeat.“I’d be unstoppable.”

Anthony cleared his throat.

“We’d be unstoppable.It’s not gonna be easy, ya know.”

“I know.”

“If she is Nathaniel’s kid, we’ve got to cut that off at the pass.”

“Agreed.The GAO and the counsel will be troublesome.”

“Maybe, but we’ll deal with them when the time comes..”William raised a brow, sending the obvious hint.“To get the ball rolling we will need some money.”

“Money is not a problem.”

“She will provide for the both of us.”

“Of course.We will have to free and relocate my clan to an alternate location.They’ve got my entire hive under the counsel’s supervision.”

“Easy to fix.We’ll get them out and you can relocate your group to one of my many hideouts.No hybrids.Kill ‘em or leave ‘em behind.I don’t care.Just don’t bring them.I don’t trust those shady bastards.Too much human in them.”

“Not a problem.”Anthony nodded, the malicious betrayal of a once loyal hybrid, Kaiser, still fresh on his mind.

“We don’t want to tip our cards to Philp just yet.So, we’ll have to be creative in the manner in which we get your crew out.But I think I have an idea that just might work.”William reached his arm down and plucked the black and white image of a stunning young woman off the ground.He stared at her with a sense of admiration and desire.“Alena Graham.Aleeeeeeena.”He tossed his blue gaze to Anthony.“She’s hot.”

“I know.”

William licked his lips, quite distastefully.“She will provide for me in more than one way.”He chuckled.

“I have one more favor to ask of you,” Anthony said, interrupting the man’s filthy thoughts.

“What else?”

“My sister, Eva.I want her brought to me, dead or alive.Preferably alive so that I may deal with the traitorous bitch.”

William quirked a brow toward Anthony, tickled by the request.“Consider it done.”Already within his twisted mind, he was formulating a horribly convoluted plan that would surely cost the lives of many.