THE CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE THE WORKS OF AN ORIGINAL FICTION.
Immortality: Tales of the Undead- A Trick of the Light
Sir Edward Coulson was a brilliant man of his own intelligence. He had started working at the newspaper company years ago before his father died. But since then, the newspapers haven't been sold well enough, that the people in the town of England didn't care about what went on in the world. Most likely, they were in dire need of work. And the work itself had dried up in flames. Therefore, Sir Edward Coulson had quit the business and went to talk to his lawyer.
His lawyer had called him on the phone, saying that his father's will contained the name of Sir Edward Coulson, and that his entire estate and millions of pounds would be transferred to him, in case of emergency. But Edward had the notion that he would become one of those people, who had suffered poverty in this cruel world. He sighed at the thought of it, and signed the legal papers on the behalf of his father's estate. He remembered the old days of his childish youth, spending quality time with his dear friends, and the lovely Charlotte, whom he planned to marry back in 1876. Unfortunately, she had married a rich businessman whom her strict father proposed for her. In fact, Edward heard the terrible news alright, and that he had tried in vain to win her back.
Oh, Lord. Please help me, Edward cried out thoughtfully. What went wrong? He figured that he could find a way to get back to his feet. But the will had suggested otherwise. He had nowhere else to go. Other than the dreadful place that he was heading to. Due to the recent call of his father's lawyer, he didn't want to sound shameful for the likes of people to find out about his poor business. The word, "dreadful" came back to his mind because of the recent events that got transpired in his childhood days. It happened way before he even met the young Charlotte herself. He was there alone in his room, being taken care of. And the lovely maid was there for him, since his father had gone abroad on a business trip.
But the maid was not lovely at all. There was something strange about her. Her face showed true colors of her entire existence, whereupon young Edward have always noticed strange things since her first arrival. Her face was pale as if she hadn't eaten for such a long time. Sometimes he asked of her of what she ate. But she only said this,
"Thank you for asking, Master Edward. But I'm not hungry." Yes, it was strange indeed. She hadn't eaten any food since she arrived at the Coulson Estate to begin with. And not only that, she was very secretive about her life. And those who knew the true facts remained clear behind the curtains of the maid's past. Her name was Stacy Collins.
Stacy... Edward remembered her alright. As he noticed the far hills beyond the road of his long-time home, the coachman finally stopped and said, "We're here, Mr. Coulson." Edward nodded and got himself out of the coach. He took his valuable cane whenever he walked around the town, knowing that he was an important man.
I'm not important anymore, Edward thought and sighed again. The coachman brought his belongings toward Edward's old home. Edward noticed that nothing had changed ever since the first appearance of...
Stacy Collins. That name struck him with cold fear. He had this great feeling of nausea, coming from her, as if she were really there, and waiting for him. At one point, he vomited on the floor while she went back to her regular duties. Dear God, he had thought on that very fateful day. How he had remembered it!
And here he was, standing before the house that stood there like the test of time. From the top window itself, he could have sworn that he saw Stacy's face. And her face... It was still pale.
It's just a trick of the light, Edward thought. Nothing more. That time, he had gotten sick to the point that he wasn't allowed to move out of his bedroom when his friends were still about. They once came to his room, and talked with him for a while, and then they all left. But Stacy...
She's pale. Her ghastly appearance made him shiver at the very thought of it. It seemed that Edward was scared of her. Too scared, in fact. But Stacy did every task that other maids would have done in several households of rich and important businessmen. And she seemed a very smart woman at that. Edward's father had said so.
But only if his father had seen the likes of Stacy Collins. The true nature of the woman herself. Stacy had done her chores alright. But her appearance...
Edward saw the coachman left after bringing his bags to the doorstep. The door opened and out came, Mr. Jeffrey Robinson. Jeffrey had been the late Mr. Coulson's butler from the very beginning. He looked very old, and being tall made him look even scarier than Stacy Collins.
"Ah, Master Edward. How nice to see you again, even after such a long time. You're still fresh as ever. As I've remembered correctly."
"Thank you, Jeffrey. But I have changed this much." Edward entered inside the big house, and looked around, remembering the exact details of its entire interior.
The butler grabbed his bags and climbed upstairs. Then he stopped. "By the way, I have made your room ready."
"Thank you, again. How will I ever repay you?"
"You don't have to do that, sir. I'm happy that you're here." He paused for a while, and then continued, "I'm very sorry to hear about your father's death." At that moment, Edward became quiet.
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After the funeral, Edward went back home without talking to anyone else. Because he hadn't known them or recalled visiting his father's friends or even past co-workers, when he was a young boy.
It was almost night time, and Edward barely ate his meal, which had been prepared by Jeffrey himself. Of course, he wasn't really that hungry when he forced himself to quit his business. And the butler had asked him about it.
My God! Edward cried out again. Lightning flashed throughout the sky, and the windows banged loudly as ever. Jeffrey arrived at the dining room, and noticed the scene. "Oh my... The windows!" He closed them immediately and then locked it.
He looked at Edward. "I'm sorry, sir. One does not know the change of weather at certain times."
"That's alright, Jeffrey. I'll be going to bed." Edward got up from the seat, and left.
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Back in his old bedroom, he couldn't believe that it still looked the same as before. He even laughed at the thought of it. The smell and everything else that went along with the room itself, had not changed ever since he left home. And then this thought came back to him.
Stacy Collins. He recalled the dreary events of what she did to him on those eerie nights. But he couldn't remember exactly what it was. Therefore, he tried to think very hardly about what happened.
His arm was raised and something bit him. He could feel his blood draining away, slowly. But somewhere inside him, Edward knew what was really happening... It was she, who was doing it. Every single night, Stacy arrived secretly to his room, and stood there entirely naked. As if she were a different woman, who just trespassed the Coulson Estate. But it was the same woman alright. It was Stacy Collins.
Edward screamed as he had woken up from that night onward. And he looked at his arm. He noticed the bites, and couldn't understand of what had caused them. Edwards sighed. He vaguely remembered the time of when he could play with his friends and the young Charlotte herself. He wished he could have that life back. The youthful days were entirely gone in front of his eyes. He sighed again, and slept on his old bed.
What it felt like two hours or so, someone came back to his room. The familiar footsteps... It couldn't be Jeffrey for that matter. No, it was...
Stacy Collins. Edward opened his eyes, and saw her the same way as before, and he had the desired feeling of wanting to touch her, to see whether she was real or not. Because he knew that Stacy Collins was dead. She couldn't be alive at this point unless...
Unless she's some sort of creature who comes every night and then, to suck the blood out of the living. He laughed at that absurd thought. What he would give to a normal woman like that? Such a beautiful creature who kept smiling at him, and then raised his arm, sucking his blood out... Edward closed his eyes, and felt the strongest, erotic sensation of the mind, body, and soul.
He opened his eyes widely and screamed. He got up from the bed, and saw that no one else was there. But the bites... He felt something dripping from his arm. It was blood.
Christ! Edward thought wildly. She's back! It can't be! He looked everywhere around his old room, and then opened the windows. He thought he saw something, running among the bushes. Someone whose pale, naked skin could be seen throughout the night, and he was the only one who witnessed it.
He rushed downstairs and opened the front doors. Lightning flashed once again. He almost slipped on the wet ground of his footsteps. He cried out her name.
"STACY!" There was no reply. Edward became angry of the fact that she was only playing a dirty game. Nothing more than that. He carefully ran away from his house, and tried in vain. "STACY!"
He suddenly stopped when he saw her. She said, "Welcome back, Master Edward. I was waiting for you." She grinned wickedly.
Sir Edward Coulson screamed...
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The next day, Sir Edward Coulson was found dead among the bushes. The doctor couldn't identify the cause of death. What was strange to him that there were two small bites on his left arm.
Dear God... The doctor thought. Who could have done this? The police have already arrived at the bloody scene of the crime. They took his body for further examination, and the doctor hoped that he could very well find the solution to Edward's death.
And for Jeffrey Robinson, he couldn't believe that the young man was also dead after his dear father. The doctor sighed and looked up at the window. He thought he saw someone else, standing there in Edward's bedroom. He blinked a few times and thought,
It's just a trick of the light.
Next story- Blood Drive.
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