Heaven or Hell?

I gaze out over the congregation sat before me, hanging on to my every word. Fools, the lot of them. If only they could see.

If only they knew my preachings were false. If only they knew what I know to be true. If only they were less blind. As I stand before these people, they see nothing strange about me. I am like any other of my profession, clothed in a long white robe. A decorated scarf hangs around my neck, the ends nearly brushing the carpeted floor where I stand. An intricate pattern graces the material that depicts a beautiful day. In it are carefully embroidered animals and trees, bushes and ponds, even some scattered acorns across the emerald of the grass.

One creature in particular had received special attention from whoever had crafted this scarf: a small child in delicate robes. He stood amongst the wildlife, unafraid of the tiger and stroking the fur of the skittish deer. He was Jesus, the son of God. Or so they believed.

My sermon ends, and the people rise and begin to sing. Their voices ring loud throughout the chapel, faith being proclaimed through this versed music. As their voices shout to the heavens I walk between them, down the aisle and towards the entrance. With a final prayer all rise and gather their possessions.

One by one they pass me, many fervently shaking my hand as they go by. I smile like always, telling them how wonderful it was to see them there and how I’d see them next week. Lying right through my teeth. When the church had finally cleared I began arranging the books, piling them in neat stacks at each pew. My lengthy raven hair has made a curtain over my face as I work to clear away the mess. A voice sounds from behind me.

“F-father Waycott.” It says, a tremble poorly disguised in the young intonation. It’s more of a question than a statement. I let another fake smile form on my lips, turning to the speaker.

“Father Gerard, please.” The boy can’t be more than fifteen. His height makes him appear almost stunted, hands shoved in the pocket of his hoodie. He shifts from foot to foot, glancing up every few seconds. “Come on now. I don’t bite.” Ha. If that’s not a lie, nothing is. “Tell me your name.”

“Frank…” The boy mutters, allowing his shaggy fringe to conceal his face.

“Short for?”

“Francis.”

“I see.” I nod to him, pushing the hair from my eyes. I still can’t understand why people don’t notice the contrast of my deathly pale skin and dark ebony locks. I would think it would be a tip off as to who, or what, I was. “Well, Francis, what can I do for you?”

“…I know what you are.” The boy murmurs, flicking his hair out of his eyes with a quick shake of his head.

“Well I should think so.” I laugh, playing it off as a joke. “I mean, I’m fairly certain anyone who attends this church knows by now that I’m the priest.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Dark hazel eyes look up at me, making eye contact for the first time.

“Oh?” I tightened my grip slightly on a prayer book I was holding.

“I know your secret.”

“My secret. And that would be?” I gave him a sickly sweet smile, my eyes glinting.

“Don’t play dumb. I’ve noticed. The way you avoid sunlight, make sure you never touch the holy water. The tilted crosses.”

I admit that last comment threw me off a bit. I thought no one would notice. All the crosses in the chapel were tilted a few tenths of a degree to the left. This made them poorly formed ‘x’s.

“Your point?” I ask, pretending as though I have no idea what he’s leading up to. I do though. Oh, I do.

“You’re no priest. Everything you do makes that obvious.”

Acting as though I were playing along, I answer, “Then what am I, Francis?”

The boy stands like a statue for a moment before locking eyes with me, his initial nerves replaced by grim determination.

“You’re a vampire.”

My eyes go black, my fangs extending. No point in hiding now. Why hide from the one who can see through all the careful, calculated
deceit? Grinning wickedly, I turn towards him. Releasing a dark chuckle, I’m by his side in an instant.

“You’re going to wish you’d never said that.”

------------------------

The boy awoke hours later, now chained to the walls of my stone cavern. He pulled at the restraints, trying to escape in vain. I watched silently from the shadows of the chamber, waiting to see when he would notice my presence; or when he would give up this pointless struggle. Whichever came first.

It happened that the boy had a keen eye, discovering my silent form long before giving up his struggle.

“Hey! You! Let me go, now!” The boy, Frank, shouted, eyes burning with fierce determination. I smirked, thinking about how in such a short time his spirit would be broken.

“Mm, no, I’m good here, thanks.” I smirked, leaning against the rough-hewn walls.

“Get over here! I demand to be set free!”

“Hmm…” I raised an eyebrow at the boy. “Not to be rude, but I don’t think you’re in a position to make demands.”

The boy rolled his eyes, a grimace stuck on his face. “Thanks for the update, captain obvious. I believe that if you cared in the slightest about being rude that I would NOT BE TIED UP!” He shouted, struggling once again.

“That won’t help.” I yawned, pushing a hand through my hair lazily.

“No, really? I thought a human could break chains easily.” He muttered in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “Next you’ll be telling me the earth revolves around the sun.”

“I don’t care for scientific trivia.” I shrugged. “I do know some things though.”

“Pfft. Like what? How to tie a knot?” He glared at me irritably.

“I am wounded!” I put a hand over my heart, feigning hurt. The boy chose not to answer, instead simply glaring.

“No sense of humour, eh? Such a shame. Laughing makes death seem all the better.” I grinned wickedly, allowing my fangs to glint in the dull lighting.

“At least when I die I’ll go to heaven!” The boy spat. “Your only home is hell.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “My boy, are you truly so ignorant?”

Frank’s nose scrunched up in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I chuckled. “My dear boy, let me make this simple for you. There is no heaven. It doesn’t exist. The only place to go when you die is straight down to hell. But- you can get out, you know. There’s only one way though. Can you guess?”

The boy remained silent and watchful, hatred radiating off of him.

“Tsk tsk, it’s no fun when you don’t guess! Fine, I’ll tell you.” I walked towards him, going around behind the boy and then leaning close to his right ear.

“Become one of us.” I whispered, the smirk never leaving my face. “That’s right, Frankie boy. The only way out of hell is to become a vampire.”

“N-no.” Frank muttered, trying to remain calm. “You’re lying. God is real, and he is my salvation.”

My laughter bellowed throughout the cavern, and I found myself wiping away tears of amusement. “You can’t seriously believe that rubbish! There is no ‘God’. There is only the devil, made of evil itself. We’re all sinners, Francis! And we all go to hell!” I grinned rather maniacally as the boy stared at me with horror.

“Y-you’re wrong!” Frank shouted, his voice cracking. His voice dropped to a whisper. “You have to be wrong…”

“But the thing is, I’m not wrong.” I smirked, running my finger teasingly under his chin. “You see, I used to be like you. I was pious, a devout catholic. I did everything right. Went to church whenever it was open, prayed, never sinned. I praised God constantly. And what did I get? Nothing.” I spat the last word a twisted frown growing on my face. “There is no heaven. Not even Purgatory.” I muttered, glaring at the ground with fierce resentment. “I wasted my entire life on the lie of God. I worshipped him only to be tossed to the fires of hell, incinerated. So I took the offer. Become a vampire; live the life I had imagined living. I can be anything. You… you’re merely mortal. You will die like everything else on this decaying planet. Eventually it’ll all be just one big rock with nothing left. But until then… I intend to have my fun.”

With a hiss I pounced on him, ripping open his throat and devouring the sweet red liquid that ran through his veins. At first he was loud, but with time he quieted, realizing there was no one to save him. Finally realizing there will be no godly salvation. He knows now that he is damned- and that nothing he does can or will stop it. This was his end.

*********************************************

Weeks later I finished another morning of Sunday lies, watching the last of the predestined walk out the door. As always, I went about cleaning the pews. Stacked books were at the end of every row. I was nearly finished when I heard the creak of the door opening. I hissed softly under my breath, turning to see whomever dared disturb me. I was greeted by a familiar face staring grimly back at me. A grin made it’s way onto my face as I looked at him, not bothering to hide my fangs. I had only two words to say to him.

“Welcome back.”

Notes

So. Yeah. There it is...

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