Hello Hedgehog

Hello Hedgehog

"Well, hello there little fellow," Craig said, crouching down next to the small animal. The hedgehog turned his head towards the strange sound, sniffling disinterestedly. The man did not smell edible. In fact, he did not even smell alive. For a second the animal debated whether to curl up or simply ignore the dead man. Finally it settled for ignoring, not knowing that it had just given Craig an idea.

Craig cocked his head, smiling a humourless smile that never reached his eyes as he watched the animal disappear between the moonlit shadows of the foreboding trees. It was more than just small, probably would not even survive the winter. Craig grinned maliciously. It was exactly the right size for his plans.
"Stupid hedgehog," he whispered, licking his teeth hungrily. His fangs shimmered in the muted moonlight. "Very stupid little hedgehog."
With a barely audible cackle Craig dashed after the hedgehog, following the trail the animal's body warmth had left behind. The hedgehog was the perfect for his plan. Exactly what he needed.


~***~


Mark closed his eyes, breathing in the damp night air around him. It was a perfect night for hunting. Autumn had just started and the many red-golden leaves shimmered eerily in the silvery light of the moon. The nights were still warm, which meant that many stupid humans used the old cemetary as a shortcut. even though they all knew the stories. Stupid humans. Hardly better than animals.

But at least they stilled his hunger. A red haze clouded his eyes as he laughed, staring into the starlit sky with hugry eyes. Tonight would be good. Mark made no sound as he lept into the darkness, straining his hearing for the sound of footsteps. He was ready. The only thing that was still missing was a suitable prey.


~***~


The hedgehog was starting to get on his nerves, Craig decided. He had simply stuffed the animal into a bag and tied it to his belt, but the little beast had been making a hell of a racket since it had uncurled, having obviously decided that it was sort of safe with Craig after all.
"It has to be quiet," Craig whispered angrily, his eyes reflecting the little light the night offered. "I need it later."
The plastic bag rustled stramgely as he hid it, causing the hedgehog to curl up again. "That's better little monster," he told the animal. "We're going to punish him. And punished he has to be. For he is evil, is the one who made me."

Laughter bubbled up inside of Craig, making it difficult for him to keep his balance. He was sitting on the head of an angel statue, staring into the direction on the cemetary gates. His black clothes melted perfectly into the shadows of the night, leaving only his deathly white face exposed. An owl hooted nearby. For a moment Craig listened to the mice, who were running for their lives. He knew only too well how they felt.
Scattered leaves smothered the few autumn flowers, killing their scent with their rotten odour. The waning moon hid behind dark clouds and the chirch's shadow seemed to strange the main path. The cemetary gates creaked. Wings fluttered frantically amongst the trees.

Craig's red-rimmed eyes glittered in the darkness. "The hunt has begun," he informed the hedgehog, "Vengeance will be upon him soon."


~***~


Craig would not even have needed his heightened senses and hunting experience to find the one he was looking for. All he had to do was follow the screams. He sneaked down the aisle of gravestones, gliding from shadow to shadow, all his attention focused on locating the source of the anguished screams that tormented his ears.


~***~


"It will hurt less if you stop resisting, beautiful," Mark whispered into the woman's ear.

"Let me go!" The redheaqd demanded breathlessly, struggling against him.

"Go?" Mark laughed, twisting the woman's wrist till it snapped. Playing with his prey was always even better than hunting it down. He had thrown the woman to the ground after running her down and was now sitting on her back, keeping her arms twisted behind her with his left hand. He shuddered with pleasure as he let her shoulder-long hair run through his fingers. Just like spun silk. So beautiful. And so alive. So alive it hurt.

Alive and ready to be plucked and destroyed. Grabbing her hair. he yanked back her head and leaned forward, till his lips were almost touching her ear. "What is your name, beautiful?" he asked, feeling the first stirrings of arousal as her sweet scent filled his nostrils."Tell me!"
He waited for another minute, slowly twisting her broken wrist further and further. "So..." he hissed, "Not talking to me, are you?"
The woman was only whimpering quietly.
"Disobeying me will only make it worse," Mark whispered, rapping into her ear. Her scream was balm on his ears. He could feel his teeth tear through the tender flesh of her earlobe, could hear the ripping sound as the soft flesh filled his mouth and blood gushed forth. Within seconds he had swallowed the ear and latched himself to the wound, sucking her blood into him. The warmth flowing down his throat was heavenly. And it was but a sample of what was yet to come. Mark let go, leaned towards her remaining ear. He could not help laughing as she screamed in terror, pleading with him not to kill her.

"Well?" Mark asked again. "You owe me an answer."

"Miranda," the woman sobbed, "My name's Miranda." Tears were running down her cheeks, glittering like broken diamonds in the colourless night. "Please don't kill me."

"Sorry, beautiful," Mark's eyes were completely red now. "Your fate was sealed the moment you set foot onto this cemetary. But don't worry," he laughed again, eyes shimmering with delight, "I'm going to have some fun with you first."

Agony and terror twisted her scream into something not even recognizable as a human sound.


~***~


Craig's muscles were so tense it almost hurt as he watched the disgusting scene in front of him unfold. He did not even notice his fingernails breaking his skin, pressing deep enough into the palm of his hands to actually draw blood. His whole attention was focused on Mark and his victim.
He only wanted the screams to end, but he knew that he couldn't do anything for the woman, knew that his only chance for revenge was lost if he intervened now. He bit his lip, forced himself to remain silent as he watched Mark rape and maim the woman. He knew exactly what she was going through; had been there himself five years ago.

"This will be the last time he does this," he told the hedgehog, as Mark pounded into the woman's limp body while drinking her blood, "You'll help me to make sure of that."

The groans and whimpers and the suckling sound finally ebbed away as Mark collapsed on his victim, obviously spent and sated.
"Almost time for us," Craig whispered to the animal in his bag, "Now we only have to get him."


~***~


Mark pulled out of the now-dead body beneath him, breathing heavily and grinning happily. Moments like these were the only ones which made him feel alive. Life as a vampire got very boring very quickly and playing with mortals was the only thing that offered at least a bit of distraction. And they all screamed so prettily.

"Who?" Mark growled, trying to get up as something suddenly landed on him, but he was still too weakened from feeding. Handcuffs snapped closed around his wrist and something grabbed his shoulders. He barely noticed that he had been yanked off Miranda's dead body before he already hit the ground. Air escaped his lungs in a pained cough.

Dazed he opened his eyes, staring directly into two burning blue pools of anger and hatred. Craig had come back.

"Hello handsome," Mark tried to grin, "Came back to play with me?"

"I did indeed," Craig hissed, driving a knife into Mark's stomach, grinning as the vampire screamed. "And this will be a game you'll never forget for the rest of your life."

"A knife?" Mark hissed, snarling at Craig. "You'll have to do better if you want to kill me, handsome."

"Just wait." Craig's eyes had an unholy glow. "Just wait and see." The last thing Mark saw was Craig's fist.


~***~


Mark groaned as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. He could sense that the wound in his stomach had already closed, but killing Miranda and healing the wound had weakened his body considerably. Craig. Mark's eyes flew open. Craig had attacked him.

Frowning he stared at he bedsheets beneath him. Why was he lying on a soft mattress. A growl escaped his lips as he finally noticed the heavy ropes around his wrists and ankles. He was lying spread-eagled on his stomach, tied to the headposts with no chance of escape.

"He is awake again," Craig's voice suddenly said somewhere nearby. "What do you think, little fellow? Shall we get started?"

Frowning Mark turned his head into the direction of the voice. Craig was sitting cross-legged on a chair, holding up a plastic bag.

"I think we should start," the young vampire told the bag, "We do not want the night to grow too old."

Mark's breath caught as he stared at Craig. The other vampire seemed to have lost his mind. He had to be crazy if he was talking to a plastic bag.

"How do you like the room?" Craig asked, gently setting the bag down on a nearby table and patting it once before turning towards him. "I decorated it just for you."

"Nice," Mark growled, tugging at the ropes holding him, "Now untie me. At once. I may even let you live if you do."

"He really thinks I'm stupid enough to untie him." Craig was talking to the bag again. "But we can't show him what we felt if we do that."

Mark's eyes widened. Something was moving within the bag! What the fuck was Craig planning?

"You are right," Craig told the bag, turning back to Mark, "We really should get started."

"You know you'll die if you do whatever it is that you are planning." The ropes chafed Mark's skin, which was already red and almost bleeding from his unsuccessful attempts to free himself.

"Don't bother," Craig's voice was positively malicious, "I charmed and warded the whole place. After all, I had five years to grow stronger and explore my new powers. You're not going to get out of this." Craig slowly unbuttoned his shirt, letting it drop to the floor. He grinned at Mark, stepping towards the bed.

Mark groaned as soft, cold fingers ghosted over his shoulders, drew circles on the small of his back. "I know you like what you see," Craig purred, his hot breath teasing Mark's ear, "Last time you had me. But this time," Craig chuckled, "You'll see what it's like."

"You'll pay for this." Mark snarled, trying to throw Craig from his back.

"I don't think I like the way he talks," Craig was addressing the bag again, "Do you agree that I should make him shut up?"

"What the fuck is in that bag?" Mark yelled, snapping at Craig as the younger vampire stuffed a pair of socks into his mouth.

"There," Craig secured the socks with a belt, admiring his handywork. "That's better I think. Even though it's a pity that I won't be able to hear you scream."
Mark's eyes widened as Craig laughed. What was the other man planning?


~***~


Craig smiled happily at the sight in front of him. He had waited years to see Mark like this. Tied up, helpless and forced to remain silent. One thing was still missing, though. Mark was uninjured. Craig's smile widened. Time to change that.
With a determined flick of his hand he opened the drawer, cautiously grabbing hold of the necklace in it, without actually touching the pendant.
He hesitated for a moment. No, it was still too early after all. He would come back to this later. Grinning he placed the necklace next to the bag with the hedgehog and turned his attention back to Mark. He wanted his maker to suffer as much as possible and the best way to achieve that would be making him enjoy the whole thing before plunging him into pain.


~***~


Mark eyeed his captor wearily as Craig refocused his attention on him. Something about the younger vampire had changed, though he could not quite pin it down. He seemed more threatening, but that would not really make sense. He stiffened as Craig came to a stop beside him. All he could see were the other man's jeans-clad legs.

"Don't worry," Craig whispered, his voice soft, "I've decided that this isn't going to hurt after all." He paused. "At least not at once."

Mark froze instantly as Craig's fingers touched him again, teased his skin once again with light, feathery touches. Craig's fingers circled the muscles on his shoulder and then continued downwards, till they were resting on Mark's buttocks, cupping both cheeks with the tiniest hint of a squeeze.

"Do you have any idea what it is like?" Craig whispered directly into Mark's ear, causing him to shiver. "Do you have any idea what it feels like if someone," he stroked Mark's back again, "Cuts the skin of your back?" Mark moaned as fingernails pressed into his skin, clawing over his back. "If he takes a shard of glass and hits you. Again. And again. And again." His moan became a groan as Craig applied more and more pressure with every word. He knew that there would already be marks on his back, even though vampires did not bruise easily.

"But of course my fingernails are nothign when compared to something that actually cuts," Craig's voice continued right in his ear, "Which is why I brought my knife along.... I think you already know it."

Mark tried to scream a protest, but the gag swallowed every sound he tried to utter. A foul taste filled his mouth. His tongue felt like an alien intruder in his mouth. He could feel warm blood trickle down his back as Craig rammed the knife into him. This time he screamed loud enough to be hear in spite of the gag.

"And then he continues cutting you," Craig explained, his voice completely bored. "And he doesn't stop if you beg him to." A second burning path of pain appeared on Mark's back. He tried to roll away, tried to get away from the knife but the ropes held him mercilessly in place, finally tearing the skin of his wrists. He stared in horror as blood started to run over his hands. He could not afford losing any more blood, or he would be seriously weakened. He had to make Craig stop somehow.

"Well?" Craig made a third and a fourth cut across Mark's back. He let the tip of the blade scrape over the unblemished skin of Mark's shoulders, causing another red line to appear. "Do you want me to stop?"

Mark nodded, closing his eyes.

""I don't think I feel like stopping," Craig whispered, playfully nibbling at Mark's ear, "But maybe I want to find out what an ear tastes like." Mark whimpered as Craig's tongue flicked over the tip of his ear. He shook his head, feeling his eyes burn with tears of shame. He hated being this helpless. Hated being at the mercy of someone else. "You know," Craig continued, "I never had ear before. I bet Sniffles would like to hear what ear tastes like."

Sniffles? Mark twisted his neck, trying to see what Craig was doing. Who the fuck was Sniffles?

"Oh, that's right," Craig giggled, "You have no idea who Sniffles is, don't you? Maybe I should introduce the two of you to each other." Mark choked on the gag, the scream trapped in his mouth as Craig drove the knife into his left shoulder. "You have lost a lot of blood," Craig remarked interestedly, "Your wounds aren't healing anymore." Mark sagged into the mattress, trying to blend out the hot, burning pain that once was his shoulder. Some part of him registered that Craig had not even pulled out the knife yet.

"But the cutting and the pain aren't even the worst things...." Mark whimpered helplessly as Craig's fingers pulled the deepest cut even further apart. Fingernails dug into the raw, bleeding flesh, making the bleeding even worse. "The worst thing is knowing that there is nothing in the world that can actually make him stop, knowing that what you already endured is bit the beginning of the pain."

Mark's eyes flew open again. "Ah," Craig was staring directly into his eyes now. "I see you understand me." Smiling Craig walked towards the table. Mark could see him pick up something, but he could not make out what it was. "I have another surprise planned for you." Craig announced.


~***~


Craig barely resisted the urge to laugh again as he carried the necklace over to Mark, taking extra care to touch only the chain holding the penchant. "You have lost quite a lot of blood there," he observed. "We have to do something against that." He smiled again, enjyoing the panik in Mark's eyes. "I don't want you to die or pass out before I am finished with you."

A sizzling sound filled the air, as Craig let the cross pendant drop onto Mark's wounds. He inhaled deeply, cocking his head at the tendrils of smoke rising from Mark's burnt flesh. They were almost interesting enough to distract him from his plan. He quickly sealed all four cuts by dragging the cross through the wounds, laughing as Mark made matters worse by trying to escape.

Craig threw the necklace over his shoulder, frowning as it hit the wall with a metallic clang. Mark looked as though he was almost passing out. "Oh no you don't," Craig slapped the other vampire, glaring at him. "I have something else for you. There is one thing you do not now about what you did to me. One thing you have yet to experience."
He lowered his voice, kneeling down in front of the bed. He smiled as Mark's and his face were at the same level. "You have no idea what it is like to be taken against your will," Craig's index finger traced Mark's jawline in a mocking carress. "You have no idea what it feels like of someone pounds into you, uses all his power to drive himself into your body. You have no idea." He let his hands drop. "Unfortunately I don't take delight in raping people." Craig smiled as a spark of hope appeared in Mark's eyes. "But that's why I brought Sniffles along."


~***~


Mark watched helplessly as Craig picked up the bag and talked soothingly to it while he carried it to the bed, putting it down on the mattress where he could not see it. All he wanted was for Craig to finally stop, but he knew that he had no chance. He was too weakened by blood-loss and pain.

"Time for the preparation." Craig announced, climbing onto the bed and sitting down on Mark's legs. "This might actually be interesting," the younger vampire told him, "I have never done something like this before."

Another tortured scream choked Mark as Craig suddenly inserteda finger into him without any warning. "See Mark?" Craig asked. "This is the worst of it all," a second finger joined the first, stretching and tearing Mark without any lubrication to ease the way."And there is even more to come."

Tears fell from Mark's eyes for the first time in decades as Craig continued to stretch him.


~***~


"Tell me Mark," Craig said, fascinatedly watching his hand, which was still halfway in the other man, "Do you think you can take..." he smiled, preparing himself for pushing in, "My whole fist?"

Mark bucked up beneath him as he pushed his hands down with all his might, till it was actually inside the other vampire. It felt strange, but there was something interesting about the experience too, Craig decided. He frowned. Mark was almost passing out again. "Oh no you don't." Craig pulled out again, till only his fingertips were still inside the other man, keeping Mark's hole open.

"Time for your grand entrance on the stage," Craig said breathlessly as he reached for the hedgehog with his free hand. Laughing loudly he shoved the animal into Mark, watching in fascination as the hedgehog curled up, his spikes ripping Mark's insides even further apart. Blood rushed from the injuries and Craig greedily drank it all up. Not caring that his whole upper body was covered in blood. This was the best meal he had had as a vampire. Ever.

After what seemed like an eternity the flow of blood slowed and Craig raised his head, fangs protruding even more than normally, and his head swimming with blood. Mark was not moving anymore.


~***~


Craig was standing on the edge of a small clearing, looking at Mark. He had dragged the other vampire into a nearby forest. He knew that Mark was too weakened to escape when the sun rose. He would never see another sunset, would never hurt another human.

He knew that he should feel satisfaction, but all Craig could feel was emptyness. At least he had a new companion. Smiling sadly he looked down at the spiky ball in his arms. Sniffles seemed to have drunk some of Mark's blood when he had been in the man.
Craig looked up at the sky. The sun would rise soon. Sighing again he left, walking towards the cemetary. He needed a safe place to hide in. The world would be different tomorrow.

He frowned as he jumped effortlessly over a fallen tree. What the hell did one use to feed a vampire hedgehog?


~Finis~