Tori and Carla, Ch. 2

[Tori's POV, Seattle, 2029. The first days of the Vampire Revolution.]

Lily struggles on the bed, pulling on her bindings, her eyes screaming HELP! at Tori. But Tori is paralyzed. Shock, fear, confusion, all of the above.

"Tori, the most wonderful gift has been given to me" Carla says sweetly. "Why don't you come sit on the bed, and see?".

Tori doesn't understand why she follows her mother's instructions. She wants to run but feels compelled to obey. Now that she's closer, it's unmistakable. Tori's mother looks twenty years younger, the fine lines of age smoothed away. She's beautiful... Tori thinks. Tori looks over her naked mother's body. Her breasts seem to have grown, her waist narrowed. Her hair is long and thick, her skin pale and flawless. Tori finds herself lingering on her mother's breasts, before forcing herself to look away.

Carla wipes the blood from her mouth, and smiles at Tori. Tori has so many things to say but can only manage one feeble word.

Carla

"Mom..." Tori whispers, tears welling in her eyes. The word is pregnant with meaning. What are your doing? What are you? Carla reaches out and squeezes Tori's hand, and Tori flinches. Her mother's hand is so cold, her fingers capped with sharp nails.

"Something big is happening. Soon. And we will be part of it. Something amazing..." Carla says, starry eyed.

"Mom.... Why is Lily tied to the bed? Why are you biting her?" Tori pleads as Lily screams into the gag. Carla smiles at her daughter, this time with a bit more edge.

"You're a smart girl. You've seen the news reports. You know what this is. You know what I've become" Carla says, her fangs proudly on display. Tori can't say it out loud. She's a vampire... But that's crazy!

"I know, honey. You think it's impossible. Vampires aren't real" Carla laughs. "We are very real. And our time is coming soon." Abruptly, Carla bites back down into Lily's thigh, and Lily jerks on the bed. Tori wants to run, but she feels glued to the mattress.

"Mom.....stop... Please..." Tori begs between sobs. Carla quickly withdraws her fangs and gasps. She licks Lily's thigh, and Tori watches in amazement as the bite wound begins to heal.

"I can't describe how incredible the blood tastes. It's like drinking life itself" Carla gushes, but Tori is barely listening, lost in her own stormy thoughts. Monsters are real. My mom is a monster. MY MOM IS A MONSTER.

Tori is snapped back into the present moment when her mother crawls next to her on the bed, pulling her into a hug. Carla kisses her daughter softly on the cheek, leaving a faint hint of blood behind.

"I know this is a lot to process. I can hardly believe it myself" Carla says, hugging her daughter closer. Tori, struggling in vain to deny it, feels comforted by her mother's tight (if cool) embrace. "Don't worry, I've made sure that there will be a place for you in the new world we are creating." Carla breaks the hug, and turns to the restrained Lily.

"Calm down. You will forget all about our encounter here, little bloodbag. You are going to go home and go to sleep. When you wake up, you'll feel nice and refreshed" Carla commands Lily. Tori is shocked by the callousness of her words. Bloodbag? Tori thinks. Carla undoes Lily's restraints, and tosses the girl's clothes at her. "Get out before I get hungry again" Carla says cruelly, and Lily stumbles out of the room in a daze.

"Thank you" Tori whispers, grateful that her mother didn't kill Lily.

"Can't have human bodies piling up at home" Carla jokes, shocking Tori with her casualness about killing. Carla wipes a streak of blood from her breast and licks her finger. Her eyes close, a look of pure rapture on her face. Tori frowns. Standing up, Carla gets a robe from the closet and wraps herself in it.

"Come lay with me" Carla says/commands, climbing back onto the bed and leaning back against the headboard.