Blood Martyr
by Horns

Mar-tyr (mar`ter) n. A person who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.


Tires flung gravel and chunks of earth into the corn field as the truck veered around the turn in the road. “Damn` it Thomas, your going to get us killed, if you don’t slow down !” Paul grumbled, as he grabbed a hold on the outside of the passenger door with his arm. The sound of his voice didn’t hide the seriousness in his words, and that was unusual for Paul Deemson. Thomas regained control of the steering-wheel and glanced over at Paul with a smirk. After a few seconds of silence, the young unshaven driver exploded with laughter. Paul stared at him for a moment or two, then joined him in the merriment. They had been friends for a very long time. The closest kind of friends was how Thomas liked to describe it. And he knew that most of the time when other people heard him saying it that they thought he was talking in a sexual manner, but that wasn’t at all what he meant. The closest kind of friends-killed together, and of course without having to say it, kept that a secret together. Thomas liked to be in control of situations and Paul liked Thomas in control.

“Yeah….Whoa !”, Thomas howled out his window into the night air. In dysfunctional harmony Paul beat on the outside of the truck door with an open hand. The outside air was cool and Paul’s hand got cold quickly because of the trucks movement. He pulled his arm back inside the truck and pressed the electric window switch up. As the window closed he looked out at the blur of corn stalks that seemed to encase both sides of the road without any end. At the edge, along both sides of the road, was a five foot bank of overgrown grass and weeds. He remembered the many nights that he and Thomas had hidden out in the fields from the police. Usually after having had one too many beers and a violent fight with some fat-bellied biker that didn’t like it when they had pissed on his Harley Davidson bike, grabbed his girlfriend’s tits, or for some other god only knows what reason. Paul admitted to himself that he liked to see others in pain. He not only liked it, but he got off on it. “We need some action tonight.”, he whined at Thomas. “Yes we do my friend, yes we do” Thomas replied, as the vehicle bounced on the uneven road. Paul reached forward and unlocked the glove compartment with his right hand. A small light came on inside the compartment and he shuffled a few items around. Finding what he was looking for he removed it and closed the small door. “Turn on the light”, he told his friend. Thomas switched on the interior light and looked over to see what Paul was doing. He was holding a cassette case in his hand and Thomas could see that it was a, Van Halen : For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, tape. “Good idea, make sure you grab two of those bad boys while your in there”, Thomas instructed. Paul opened the cassette case on his lap and took out a plastic bag that had been tucked down in-between the cassette sleeve and tape. After unfolding the bag he reached inside with two fingers and pulled out a rolled joint. Then he reached back inside and took out another. The sharp jerking movements of the truck, caused by the rough roadway, almost caused him to drop everything onto the floor. He swiftly snatched the objects together with both hands and cursed. Keeping the joints out, he then put the other things back the way they were and closed the compartment door. Next, taking a black-colored lighter out of his pants pocket he lit both marijuana cigarettes. He handed one to Thomas, then they both began to smoke.

Thomas kept driving on the old road until they came up on familiar train tracks. He put the Ford Ranger into park and looked out at the tracks. The headlights blared ahead making visible the surrounding corn fields and the continuing twisty road. Looking over to Paul, he said “You want to go see it?” Paul took in a deep hit from the joint and didn’t say anything. “Well, do you?”, Thomas asked a second time. Paul spoke, “I don’t know. I mean it’s just a dead chic.” “I’m in the mood for something warm and alive tonight. Not to mention wet. Dead, will come later.”, having said that he chuckled. Thomas argued, “Hey the night’s still young and we’ll find some pussy tonight man. Don’t you want to see what our art work looks like? Besides she really liked you man.” Thomas giggled at what he had just said. “Who knows, maybe some coyote or stray dog has added his artistic two-cents worth to her by now.” Thomas said, jokingly. Just as he began to say something else Paul interrupted him, saying “Look at that, holy shit man!” Following the direction of his buddy’s out stretched arm, Thomas looked at the road on the other side of the train tracks, and was taken by surprise at what he saw walking in their direction on the left side of the road.

It was a woman. An extremely attractive woman. A female as physically pleasing to their eyes as any of the babes they gawked at in porn magazines. She was walking in the grass with her head held down. Both men could see that she was carrying a shoulder strap purse and was clutching it against her stomach with both hands. She was tall, thin, and moved as if she were wearing high heels. A tight red-leather mini-skirt exposed her long lovely legs. She wore a two sizes, too small black colored T-shirt that accentuated her breasts and a metallic object that gleamed from around her neck in the light beams. Her hair was a dark-red color and waist length. Stymied by the unexpected, Thomas blindly patted his friend on the chest and spoke without taking eye-contact off the woman. “Can you believe what I see?” he said. Paul sat silent with a shocked expression on his face that was evolving into a malicious smile with each passing second. She began to cross the train rails slowly, obviously taking careful steps because of the shoes she was wearing. Not once did she look in their direction. Talking from the side of his mouth, Thomas told Paul “She’s scared. I bet her boyfriend kicked her slut butt out of his car or something like that. What do you think, Paul?” Paul replied, “Beats the devil out of me.” The two of them looked at each other and said with a smile, “Let’s give her a ride”

Thomas tossed the joint onto the road and leaned outside his window. The mystery lady walked closer to the truck, now within only a few feet and just out of the headlight’s illumination. Thomas spoke to her as Paul sat excitedly by, “Hey there beauty, you need a ride?” He waited for her to look at him and speak, but instead she distanced herself a few more steps away from the truck and walked by with her head kept down. He turned to Paul and in anger growled out the word “Bitch!” Without haste he shifted the truck into reverse and rolled back to her, moving along with her. “Listen it’s awful chilly out here and I can see that you’re afraid.” “You can get a ride with us to the nearest phone if you’d like.” He paused for a reaction then said, “Don’t worry honey we won’t bite you hard.” He laughed. “Please- just leave me alone.”, she said in a trembling soft voice. After her words Paul noticed the lines of rage form on his best friend’s face. Paul liked that.

“It’s show time!” Thomas exclaimed, as he turned the truck off the road as to block her passage. The Ford’s tires squealed and ate up grass and dirt. The woman screamed and started to take steps backward. Thomas caught a clear view of her face and knew that she was a looker. “Damn we have a live one!” “Don’t let her get away man!”, he encouraged his buddy. Paul opened the passenger door and leapt out onto the road. His hard boots crunched into the gravel. He took off after her and by that time she had started to run back toward the tracks. Thomas put the truck in drive and pulled forward back onto the road moving in their direction. Paul’s door stayed open as the vehicle followed them. Thomas let out a sort of victory yell, just as his partner tackled the foxy victim. Paul wrapped both his arms around her and slammed her with great force onto the ground, a few feet from the rail road crossing. She screamed and struggled against his weight. As her head hit against the wild grass and hard earth, an inner voice spoke to her saying:

You must become the slain sheep…..the victims.

Pinned down by the brutal man’s strength she could only let out shrilling cries. Thomas brought the truck up next to them and thought to himself, ‘Shut that whore up Paul!’ ‘Shut her up fast!’ He then looked into his mirrors to check to see if any cars where around. Grabbing her by the hair with one hand Paul pounded her face into the tall grass. He repeated the action a few times, each time feeling her face hit the ground below. “Now stop that screaming or I’ll kill you right here on the road!”, he hissed at her. She stopped fighting him with her body and he lifted her head up by pulling her thick hair. He forced her head to turn so he could look at her face. Blades of grass, weeds, and strands of her hair were matted against her face. Some of her hair was stuck between her black-painted lips. He didn’t see any blood and he quickly looked for some, because he badly wanted to see her bleed. She wasn’t bleeding yet but at least she wasn’t making all that noise, he thought to himself. “Come on, come on!”, he heard Thomas beckoning from the truck. He brought himself up into a crouching position and put his other hand around her throat. In doing so he thought, Shit, her skin is like sticking your hand into a bag of crushed ice. She’s been walking for along time. With one hand pulling her hair and his other around her throat he lifted her up onto her knees. Then removing the hand from her neck he made a fist with it and punched her in her left eye. Her head flailed back from the impact and he jerked her by her hair. Thomas was immensely excited and started laughing.

“Get up, get up!”, Paul demanded. He tugged her up into a full right position and led her to the truck. She had lost one of her heels in the grass during the attack. With both hands he forced her into the passenger side of the Ford Ranger. Thomas grabbed her arm closest to him and instantaneously said, “She’s freezing.” Paul hopped inside and
slammed the door. Thomas released the woman and started to drive the truck forward when he noticed her purse laying on the road. “Man, you forgot her purse!”, he moaned aloud. “It’s laying out there on the road.” “Go get the damn thing.”, he firmly insisted. Paul got out and retrieved the item with a quickness. Thomas drove the truck onto the
rail road tracks and turned right. Staying on the train tracks he drove forward. The vehicle and everyone inside of it bounced around violently as they road the railway. The captive woman let her head rest downward. Ignited by the turbulent motion, her mind produced long forgotten images- visions from her childhood.

She’s standing on the deck of a warship her father has been assigned to while serving in the U.S.NAVY as a Naval Officer. Her father is standing next to her and all around them are seamen carrying crates of equipment and rations . She can see herself smiling as she is looking at what her father is showing to her. She is nine or ten years old. He’s holding a new pistol in his cradled hands that as a shinny silver plate attached to one side of it. On the plate are inscribed the words; Officer DeLancy U.S.NAVY. This event took place five days before a massive naval battle.

Her eyes opened and the images faded to black. Paul’s eyes were fixated on her smooth slender legs. He placed his hand on her thigh closet to him and started rubbing her leg. As he began to move his hand toward her skirt she questioned in a shaky whispering voice, “What did I do to deserve this?” “Please let me go.”, she begged. He lifted his hand off her leg and used it to pinch both sides of her chin. Twisting her face to his, he saw that she was crying. Tear stains ran down her face. It was two hard to see for certain in the dark of the cab if the stains were mixed with mascara or blood But the tears were dark. “No. Tramp. You’re our date for tonight whether you like it or not.”, he coldly told her. “What’s the matter sweet thing…don’t you like our hospitality?”, Thomas added. Both men snickered at her and an inner voice instructed her:

You must embrace their fear… their dread… their despair. You must experience their great misfortune… the atrocious sins brought forth against God’s murdered children!

As he fought to drive the truck over the rugged tracks he asked the stranger what her name was. She didn’t answer him so Paul pushed her head abusively to the side. He studied the gold chain necklace suspended around her neck. On a small cross pendant were tiny letters that spelled out Tera. “Her name is Tera.”, Paul stated. And in a sarcastic manner added, “Tera the Whore, is her full name. But I guess they couldn’t fit that on here.” Twisting the cross between his fingers he laughed and then Thomas laughed with him. Paul remembered the purse and reached down at the floorboard to get it. He lifted it up and unzipped the bag. Inside it he discovered a mixture of make-up products and dollar bills. He searched for personal identification cards but didn’t find any. There was a large heavy item that he pulled out. “Look at this shit!” he said, as he turned an antiquated gun from side to side in open view, for his friend to see. “Man that’s an old sucker” Thomas said, with amazement. “What kind of gun is this?”, Paul asked. “It’s what’s called a clubbed pistol… I think, my grandfather showed me one he had saved for many years. He said it was from the seventeenth or eighteenth century. ”, Thomas said. Paul held the gun close to his face so he could inspect it in better detail. He asked his friend to turn on the interior light, so Thomas did. “Check this out, it says; Officer DeLancy U.S.NAVY on the side of It.”, Paul said. “It’s probably worth some big money.”, Thomas speculated. He turned the light off and Paul placed the gun under the seat in between his legs. A dark and powerful force thrashed inside her body, as the criminal handled her possession, similar to that of a chained down guard dog that smells an intruder. In this case however the restraints were the chains of her own will.

The driver whirled the truck off of the train tracks and onto a dirt trail, that led into the surrounding dark-creeping woods. Headlights revealed the thick woodland terrain that enclosed them and stirred up swarms of tiny flying insects. “There’s the boards.”, Paul told his comrade. The driver looked ahead just to the right side and nodded in agreement. The boards were abandoned side panels from some old disintegrated house, that now lay near a large tree out in nowhere. Thomas stopped the truck and told Paul, “Get the flashlights and I’ll get the lovely lady.” Paul opened the door and slid out, closing it immediately behind him to be sure the woman didn’t try to run. Thomas clutched her arm for the same reason. Both men had experienced the chase before and tonight they simply didn’t feel like hunting. After seeing that Paul had gotten the flashlights from the truck-bed he opened the drivers-door and pulled on her arm, saying “ Come on you cold girl, we’re going to warm you up real good.” He forced her over expecting her to try and grab the wheel, but she didn’t. She was trembling and pleading with him. “Please let me go!” “I’ve done nothing to you….Please!” She implored him to not hurt her. He succeeded in dragging her out of the truck and closed the door. Paul handed him a flashlight. “Honey….honey…shhh….we just want to show you something. Okay?”, he asked her. The other man snickered and shook his head. They walked her past the old boards and down an incline. Undergrowth, large
rocks and trees, made the trek slow. Both men had a hold on her and Paul noticed as he shinned light on her face for a brief moment, that she didn’t have a mark on her. Also the dried lines on her face that ran down from her eyes, resembled dry blood. That was something he had seen on many occasions…dried blood. Maybe I caused some internal bleeding in her head – he thought to himself, as they pressed onward. And that was good enough for him.

An inner voice commanded her;

You must feel the sting of their death. You must die with them.

After a few minutes they stopped and Thomas released his hold on her to look for something ahead of them. He directed his light into a large hole, looked around in it and then walked back over to where the two were standing. They stood there holding the flashlights at an angle to create clear vision between them. The woman stood limply with her head down. Her dark-red hairs hanging like a veil over her head, shoulders and breasts. The men exchanged looks and evil intention. Then…. Paul grabbed the back of her neck and thrust her body downward. She let out a shriek of terror and began crying out , “No!” She struggled to break free but couldn’t. They wrestled her on to her back and Thomas tore off the leather skirt she was wearing. Like a crazed savage he ripped off her panties. Using all of his strength to keep her subdued, Paul watched his friend’s actions in the light provided by the flashlights, that lay on the ground close by. Thomas began the rape. As he entered her she fought. Her mind held the images of the other girls rape. She had watched them from the shadows… had seen their crime… and now felt the girls pain. “Goddamnit`!” Thomas yelled, as he pulled quickly out of her. “I can’t do it!” “This whore is too cold and dry!”, he concluded in disgust. Paul looked at him in bewilderment. “You want me to try?”, Paul asked. “No it’s no good. She’s a freak. Just kill her and let’s get the hell out of here!”, Thomas answered. In his mind he couldn’t shake the thought of how cold she was and he didn’t like it. He picked up the flashlight and said, “Do it. Get it over with!” Paul placed a hand on her forehead and pressed down hard. With his other hand he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and removed a folded knife. The woman’s dead-cold hands seized his forearm and she murmured a plea for him to spare her life. With the flick of his wrist the knife opened and he stabbed three times into her thin neck. It took a few seconds before he could see her bleed from the wounds. Her blood seeped slowly out of the cuts, not at all what he had expected. She stopped moving and Paul stood up. An inner voice within her proclaimed;

It is done.

He stood over her body for a few minutes and his buddy shined the light over her. “Come on let’s go, she’s history.”, Thomas said to Paul. Paul put the knife away and fetched up his flashlight. Both of them grabbed her body and dragged her over to the hole. They let her fall into it, then the two men started to jog back toward the vehicle.
She landed next to human female remains. Animals had torn most of the flesh off of the body. The voice inside of her was now her father’s voice and it counseled her with these words;

My child, though the curse of Satan himself be upon your mortal body, your precious soul is saved through the blood of our savior! Take this abomination that torments you and use it for Good. Till the day when your soul shall be delivered unto righteousness.

She let go of her will and allowed the curse to manifest. Her eyes opened but they had changed. They were demonic in appearance, nothing like her human eyes. Red circles with tiny black dot pupils. And on her hands claws had grown from her fingertips. Threatening fangs shown as her lips parted to release a frightening scream. A frenzied blood lust controlled her completely now, has it had for many…many years past. The curse craved blood and always got it.

The men, surprised by a screaming sound from the direction they had come, stopped and flashed light into the dark woods. Their lights danced around the foreboding area, into the blackness of its shadows. “Paul, she’s not dead!”, Thomas said in a panic. “That just can’t be…it can’t be!” Paul said, as his eyes wildly followed the lights. Then, a sudden movement overhead caused Paul to shine his light into the treetops. “Did you see that?”, Paul questioned Thomas. Fear had overtaken both of them. “See what?…You have to go back and finish her off man!”, Thomas demanded. Without warning something descended on Paul. It grasped his left shoulder and ripped the flashlight away from him. In doing so, it tore off the hand that held the flashlight, at the wrist. Warm blood sprayed onto the ground in front of him from the severe wound. Thomas dropped his flashlight and sprinted madly for the truck. He had seen her….it was her…but what the hell was she! The monster that had been nothing more than a woman before, held the light vertically in between the two of them, creating a spotlight around her face. The wounded killer grimaced and groaned as he held his mangled arm upward against his chest. His wide-opened eyes reflected the intense horror that possessed him. She turned her head to the side allowing him to see her neck and to notice that the skin was unharmed. Then in a wet-crackling almost electric sounding voice she said to him, “You cannot kill me, you fool!” With her deadly claws still piercing his left shoulder she lunged at his neck with her mouth. Long fangs stripped the flesh from his throat and shred vital veins. He screamed as she gorged the flow of his life fluid. His brain died and his heart stopped…he became cold.

Thomas fell onto the ground numerous times before reaching his truck. He dashed chaotically to get inside of it. Once inside, he slammed the door and began to turn the truck around so he could take the trail back out. He slammed it into reverse, then into drive, then into reverse again. After putting it into drive the second time he jammed on the brakes because of what he saw through his windshield. Standing ahead on the trail as if attempting to block his way, was a nightmarish creature. He knew it was the woman but his mind was to numb to structure thought. It stood there with its arms down at its sides. Blood and gore covering its face, neck, and torso. Thin streams of his friends blood trickled down from its chin and soaked T-shirt… rolling down the bare flesh of its stomach and thighs. His only reaction was to drive into it… to try and crush it with his truck. Pressing the pedal to the floor he raced forward, squealing the tires. It happened so fast and he lost control of the vehicle. The front end of the Ford Ranger hit a tree and his head hit the window. Dazed by the impact he sat up and looked at the situation. The headlights beamed at a crooked angle into the dark. He felt wetness on his forehead and touched it. He was cut and bleeding. Then he thought: I hit her! I’m sure of it. I felt it. He cautiously opened the door and slid out. Darkness surrounded
him with a silence, broken only by the trucks running engine.

Crunch…..Crunch….snap!
The sounds came from undetermined directions. He backed up against the side of the truck-bed and reached into the bed searching for a baseball bat he remembered was there…somewhere. Suddenly two clawed hands grabbed his arm. Terrorized he pulled away with all his strength. In doing so, the razor sharp nails tore deep agonizing gashes in his biceps and forearm. With a backward momentum he fell onto the ground. He fought to position himself up right, but before he could complete the action she pounced on top of him, from out of the truck-bed. She indulged herself in the feast of blood.

Tera DeLancy slowly gained the awareness of her situation. She did what must be done. The curse had been a struggle for her since the night she died, in the Summer of the year 1800. Her father died the same night that she had, but he didn’t suffer the infernal re-birth. She thought about these things as she pulled the dead mans pants off his body. She slipped into the pants, having to hold them from falling off, because of the size. Next, she removed his shirt and began wiping some of the blood from off her face, neck, and hands. She remembered… how much her father loved her. She remembered… how he had sustained a crippling wound to his right leg during a battle at sea, when he had served as a Naval Officer. After that part of his life was over, he became a prominent  voice in the Federalist Political Party, of that time period. His work in government lasted for only a brief period and was abandoned altogether when he discovered his true calling. This calling he claimed came from God. Benford DeLancy became a man of God and dedicated his life’s work to preaching from the Good Book. He showered his daughter with biblical knowledge and took care of all her needs.

She took off the blood soaked T-shirt and put on an old shirt she found in the back of the truck. Then she climbed into the drivers seat and closed the door. She remembered as she sat there… There was a man, an evil man that her father had made an enemy of during political debates and legal wars in his past. Unknown to anyone was that the man was not what he appeared to be. The man was something dark and unnatural. The man was an abomination of life! He was called a word she later learned to be….. Nosferatu. This man had broken into their home one still summer’s night and murdered her father. He did something far worse than death to her. He made her like unto himself. She would walk forever upon the world condemned to break God’s law.

Driving now she would go until the curse could no longer be ignored…until the hunger for blood became too strong for her. She would find someone who murdered, raped, or tortured the innocent. They would always be around. It was certain that the devil ruled the earth, for it was populated with those who did not care about life. She reached over and under the passenger seat and removed her father’s pistol. While placing the pistol back inside her purse she thought about how she wished she could take her own life with it, but that wasn’t a reality. The curse would never let her do that. And she had been taught that her life was God’s to take…not hers. She would not commit that blasphemous sin.

…No, until God delivered her she would use the devil’s power for Good.

© Horns

January 2000 HofP