Make the Punishment Fit the Crime
by
Karen Fainges
Rain poured solid sheets. Lightning flashed briefly showing a woman sheltering under a shop awning.
"It's a dark and stormy night," she muttered to herself, "How wonderful." Knowing the irony was lost on the empty storm, she raised her collar and started the dash to the next awning.
"Sally."
She spun to face the voice. A man stepped out of the shadows. Dark hair and dark eyes in a pale face, he could have been her twin. Dealing with this cold-blooded thief turned her stomach, but she had to get that package. Only then could she stop an even worse evil. Resisting the urge to grab for the package, she held out the bottle. "I hope you choke on it."
"I love you too." He smiled as he passed over the plain wrapped box. And then he was gone.
Sally resisted opening the package. She must not get its precious contents wet. When she was finally safe behind a locked door and drawn curtains, she held the small notebook. Here, in a crabbed hand, was all the information she needed. Now she could put her plan into action.
The next night found her peering through binoculars at her target. He sat before a blazing fire, snug in dressing gown and slippers. Reading a heavy leather bound book, he could have posed for the portrait 'English Gentleman at Rest'. There was a pipe, a glass of port and even the faithful hound at his feet. It was hard to believe he was a foreigner. It was even harder to believe that there sat the man responsible for killing all those she loved. He would pay.
She had read his diary carefully. Each evening he took the air in Hyde Park. There, away from the protection of his house, he would be the most vulnerable. Slowly she traced his likely path, noting moments when hedges would shield him from others, statues that would offer brief moments of cover, a hill that would slow his pace. Carefully she planned when she would strike, where she would take her revenge. While she planned, the memories flooded in again.
She had been asleep. They all had. He had broken in, tearing off their covers killing one after the other, all while they were struggling to escape the binding safety of their beds. She heard their cries as he carved into their chests, slashed at their throats. He had even burnt their bodies. Only she remained.
Sometimes she wondered if she should have died with the rest. What if she hadn't fought with Harry and dragged her bed into a private corner? What if? A thousand questions screamed in her mind. Enough. She must be strong. She would have only one chance to avenge her loved ones, to kill the killer.
She waited in the dark. She could hear him. The heavy tread of his boots, the tap of his cane, his inane whistle to his dog. He could call in vain. The dog was dead. She couldn't take the chance it would attack and stop her revenge. Finally he reached the spot. It was swathed in shadows, a distance from the main path. It was perfect.
He stopped, hearing the crackle of notepaper. She knew his curiosity would not let him leave. While he was bending to pick it up she struck. The heavy cosh smacked against his head with a very satisfying thud.
*******************
She sat, arms wrapped around her knees, rocking and waiting. She had dragged him to the scene of his crime. Tying him to a chair, she waited for the final scene. She had played it out over and over again in her mind. Now it was finally time to act it out for real. A flicker and he was awake. She knew the pain in his head would be nothing to the agony in his gut. It was the perfect, perfect revenge.
"I know you are awake Dr Van Helsing." She bared her fangs. "Welcome to the world of the vampyre." She watched realisation dawn as he identified the overturned coffins, the piles of ashes, the hunger in his belly. I have thought long and hard about this," she growled. "What would be the best way to make you pay for your crime? What would be the most horrible death for a Hunter like you? To become the prey? To become one of us?" She laughed, an empty sound. "I have turned you into what you hate most. You are now one of us, a creature of the night. You will take their place. After all, a vampire alone is a vampire dead."