Mother's Milk

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, my darling.

Blood and bile soaked through the shag carpet. Humans often puked when they were scared.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

I liked to thank them, like hunters thank the deer. Deer are more useful, though; the meat can last for months if stored properly, the hide can make clothes, you can even use the antlers and bones for tools. Human meat is scarce, their skin makes weak leather, and their bones are thin and brittle. This is the true burden of the vampire- we could, and do, drink the blood of other animals, but nothing satisfies our hunger like the blood of a human. The feeble creature I was currently feasting on twitched on the floor, choking on his saliva like a rabid dog. Ribbons of red spurted from his blue veins like confetti. It was sometimes beautiful.

“Thank you, darling.”

I used to go hunting with my dad and uncle on the weekends from 5th to 12th grade, and sometimes in college when I would visit home for the holidays. They didn’t care that I was a girl. They taught me how to hold a gun, how to aim, and even how to prepare the venison. I still liked to hunt deer, but the meat just didn’t satisfy the urge. How tragic, I thought.

My prey gasped out a final plea for help, spittle and blood pooling from his lips as the last bit of air escaped his lungs. “You didn’t say You’re Welcome,” I whispered to the fresh corpse as I ripped off a piece of his cheek. Blech. Must have been a smoker- the inside of his mouth tasted rotten. “When’s the last time you brushed your teeth, huh?” I settled on just drinking the blood from his neck traditional-style. Good tasting human flesh could be a delicacy, but it was hard to come by these days with how poorly humans took care of themselves. Even his blood was syrupy and sour.

I decided I would leave the rest of this frankly disappointing catch for Mari, still too young to hunt and perfectly capable of cleaning off my scraps. “Honeypot, it’s time for dinner!” As I said that, a little figure appeared in the doorway of the basement. I watched her as she floated down the creaky wooden stairs like a ghost, barely making a sound. What a good girl, I thought. “Eat up, Mari-bear.” Mari nodded obediently and crouched over the corpse, suckling at his exposed veins and tendons. Her little fangs poked through the tissue, and her little tongue lapped up whatever she could find. She sat up finally, and wiped the blood off of her mouth with her shirt sleeve.

“Thank you, Mama,” said a tiny voice, big brown doe-eyes affixed to the ground. My little Mari was still more human than me, but somehow also more animal. I could feel her hunger pulsating out of her, still wanting more. I had been a vampire for a third of my life, eternally 25. My daughter was a different story altogether. I didn’t know human males could sire children from vampire women, but I found myself pregnant after a night of fun, and a few weeks later I had something new growing inside of me. My hunger, my appetite, my itch, my yen, my Marisol.

‘You’re welcome, my darling little beastie. But don’t forget to thank him too, for providing you your meal. I gestured down to the pile of bones and sinew in front of us. It’s important to instill good manners into children at a young age.

Mari huffed and glared at her dinner. “Thankyou.” We’ll work on that, I figured.

“You’re growing so much, soon I’ll be taking you out hunting, wouldn’t that be fun? A little mommy-and-me excursion.” I ran my hand down her soft brown hair. She looked into my eyes, and it seemed nothing was there- a blank, feral expression, just waiting for her next instructions. She looked like her father, or at least I assumed she looked like her father, as the last time I saw her father it was dark and I had eaten him post-coitus. “How about it, hmm? I think you’ll be old enough by the spring.” I stroked her sallow cheek, looking for a hint of emotion.

“Ok, mama.” My little darling got up without a sound and skulked back into the shadows. Had I raised her too well to be seen and not heard?

It was getting late; I could see the glaring sun’s rays peeking through my velvet curtains. The house was as quiet as it usually was, the only noise being the gentle creaks of the old house settling in on itself. “Well, I’ll have to deep-clean this damned rug again!” I scoffed. A good meal always came at the expense of a clean house. Suddenly, I heard a little tap, tap, tap down the basement stairs again. I felt a mousey little presence behind me, still as a ghost. “Sweetheart, why aren’t you in bed?” The mousey little presence stood in the dark for a second before stepping forward, her pink cotton nightgown illuminated by the morning light. “Did you have a nightmare? Is it too bright in your room?”

She didn’t say anything for a second. She was always so….. Quiet. Too quiet. Her voice came out in a low rumble. “I’m hungry, mama.”

“Hungry? But we had supper rather late- I’m sorry darling, I’m afraid there aren’t many leftovers- he was really quite skinny.”

“I’m hungry.” She repeated. Her little eyes looked into mine, a mix of pleading and contempt. She really frightened me sometimes. It made me wonder-were all Vampire children like this? It was impossible to tell, as there weren’t many of them. Truth is, I was hungry too. In fact, I was starving.

To be honest, food has been scarce lately. That’s why I liked to be thankful for what I had. In rural areas, it was difficult to find people stupid enough to be out alone at night, unarmed. Cityfolk were simpler and more reckless, but Mari couldn’t stand the noise. So, we moved to the countryside, for her. How ironic, huh? A short, skinny boy is not enough to satiate a full-figured vampiress like myself, not to mention a growing child.

‘We’ll go hunting tomorrow, baby. W-we’ll get deer, birds, rabbits. It’ll hold us over.” I balled my hands up into my lap as I sat on the floor, trying to keep my hands from trembling.

“I’m hungry now, mama.”

“I know, sweet thing. I’m hungry too. We’ll really stock up so we’ll have enough food for the winter. Now, get to bed, it’s past sunrise.

Vampires have been known to feast on their peers in times of great hunger. Vampire blood is barely anything, but it’s enough to hold you over. Survival cannibalism, as humans often say. We weren’t quite there yet.

“Mama….” Mari crawled into my lap, burying her delicate head into my neck. She whined and sobbed into my shoulder, and I could feel her stomach growling. One human to share between the both of us per day was not enough for her, no matter how small she was. I could tell she needed more. Had I failed as a mother? Was she even a child?

I felt little teeth dig into my chest. “Oh, no, sweetie-” Too late. She suckled messily, like a newborn dog fighting to get it’s mother’s milk. My blood dribbled down her chin, and I watched, powerles to stop her. Mothers need to make sacrificed for their children. My head spun, my heart raced, my vision blurred.

“Thank you, mama.” The little voice murmured. “Thank you.”