نفس خون آشام فصل 14

Vampire Breath - Chapter 14

The coffin lids raised up slowly. I could see pale hands pushing them up from inside. Creaking, the lids swung open, then stopped.

Cara and I huddled together, unable to move. Unable to take our eyes off the terrifying sight.

I heard low moans and groans as the vampires sat up. Bony hands gripped the sides of the coffins. I heard coughing. Dry throats being cleared.

The vampires pulled themselves up slowly. Their faces were yellow in the moonlight. Their eyes gleamed dully, a pale silver.

“Ohhhhhhh.” Groans echoed off the high walls. Bones creaked and cracked.

They looked so old. Older than the oldest people you see on the street. Their skin appeared so thin and was wrapped so tight, you could see the bones underneath.

Living skeletons, I thought. Their ancient bones snapped as they moved.

“Ohhhhhh.” They pulled themselves up. Legs, thin as spider legs, reached over the coffin sides.

Cara and I finally moved. We backed into the deep shadows against the wall.

I heard more coughing. Near the window, a white-haired vampire leaned over the edge of his coffin, making ugly choking sounds.

“So thirsty…” I heard one of them whisper.

“So thirsty… so thirsty…” others repeated.

They lowered themselves from their coffins, stretching and groaning.

“So thirsty… so thirsty…” they chanted. Their voices were dry and raspy, as if their throats were sore, as if their voices were only air.

They were all dressed in black. Formal black suits. White shirt collars stiff and high over their chins. Some of them wore long, shiny capes. They adjusted their capes with bony, white fingers, sweeping them back over bent, skinny shoulders.

“So thirsty… so thirsty…” Their silver eyes glowed brighter as they began to wake up.

And then, standing in the aisle between the two rows of coffins, they began to flap their bony arms. Slowly at first. Their arms creaked as they pulled them up, then down.

The silver eyes glowed in the pale, old faces.

Up, then down. Up, then down. They flapped their arms faster, groaning and grunting. The sound echoed off the walls and the high ceiling.

Flapping faster now. Flapping. Flapping.

And as Cara and I gaped in amazement, the sickly, groaning old men began to shrink. The flapping arms became the flutter of black wings. The red eyes glowed from rodent-like faces.

In seconds, they shrank and transformed. They all became fluttering, black bats.

And turned their red eyes to Cara and me.