A glass of blood, please.
Karikattukuppam was a fishermen settlement located nearby the ECR. It had a population density less than 1,000 and had around 300 houses in it. It also had a primary school and a small church. Records state that the settlement was at least 150 years old. The settlement was destroyed by Tsunami in the year 2004. The people were evacuated before the Tsunami, but their homes were destroyed. The remains of the settlement remain untouched till date. Roofless houses, scattered and worn out furniture makes it look like a ghost town. No one resettled in that place thereafter.
New-year 2022.
A group of nymphomaniacs were standing under a light post in a street leading to the Karikattukuppam seashore. It was past 2 AM and most of the harlots were hired, only 3 of them were remaining. A red Audi stopped by and hired two of them, leaving one behind. Time passed by and the New Year fun started to settle down. The one woman who was left out thought that she won’t get any customers and decided to return home. She started walking towards the ECR. That particular area had only one bus stop and no buses will stop there unless someone is waiting, mostly no one waits there as there were no houses at that area. She has to spend until 5 AM in the bus stop, the time when the first local bus will arrive.
As she walked towards the bus stop, she noticed a car standing in front of the bus stop. Few vehicles passed by, but the area was quiet. She went and sat in a bench in the bus stop. She looked at the car, she was not aware what model was that, but was for sure an expensive model. The car’s windows were closed and tinted so that she could not look inside.
As she stared at the car, the car’s door opened and a man got down. He threw a dismissive look at her and lit a cigar. He was about in his late twenties, tall, thick bearded (not long, but immensely thick), fair and attractive. He stared at her, smoking. She was too tired by standing for hours together at the same time was happy that she might not return home empty handed, so she signaled him by winking her eye.
After thinking for a moment, he opened the back door of his car and signaled her to get in. She rushed and got into the car. It was so cold inside, the A/C was at its maximum. He finished his cigar and got in the car, and started the engine. He drove the car towards Mahabaliburam. After a few minutes’ drive, he started talking.
“What’s your name?”
“Reena.” She replied.
“Mmm...Is it your real name…?”
“Names doesn’t matter…does it?”
He did not say anything in response for a few minutes.
“How much more time is left for dawn?”
She looked at her watch and said “Its 3.25 AM now. We have a couple of hours hardly for dawn.”
Suddenly, he made a sharp left turn and drove towards the beach. She was startled by the sharp turn, her head hit the car’s pane.
“You scared me man, where are we going? There is nothing here, only the beach is there.”
He stopped the car at the street end. It was an unoccupied forest area. He turned off the Engine and got off the car. He then signaled her to get down.
“You missed to mention the trees.” He said with a sweet voice.
There were a stand of trees, nearby the seashore. The wind made the trees shed its leaves and the moon light lit the place up with an enchanting mood. The sound of the sea will make anyone’s heart jump in joy. It was a perfect spot, she thought.
“No one will come here by this time. We are all alone.” Saying that he walked inside the stand of trees.
All she had experienced so far in her life were dirty rooms, animals in human form who devoured her for their pleasures. No one ever had taken her to such a place. But a little bit of fear peeked in her head, what if he is a psycho or something, or what if someone else, maybe a drunk gang is already at the area.
“Are you afraid, Reena?” he called out.
“Umm…No…” her instincts said her that something terrible is gonna happen. After thinking a moment, she convinced herself that she is just being paranoid.
He walked inside the forest, it was a small forest with around some 300 trees and beside the forest was the beach. They reached amidst the trees, and he asked her whether the place is okay for her. She nodded. Moon light filtered through the leaves, lit his face. She haven’t seen a man that much handsome in her whole life. He came near her.
“Before we start, let us first discuss about the payment.”
“I am willing to pay whatever you ask. No more speaking.” Saying that he hugged her suddenly. With a little bit hesitation, she hugged him back. She was wearing a chudidhar, the shawl covering her neck. He slowly removed her shawl and threw over a distance. Then, he kissed her neck and she moaned. She was getting to the mood and started enjoying his kisses. He slightly bit her neck and she moaned louder in pleasure.
Slowly, the pleasure faded away and pain overwhelmed. She could feel his teeth inside her neck. His grip was becoming tight and she could feel wetness in her neck. She tried to push him away but her hands lacked the strength to do so. She could feel her energy draining out. After what felt as an eternity, he loosened his grip. She felt his teeth retarding from her neck. Her vision was little bit blurred and she saw his face in the dim moon light. Terror struck her and she wanted to scream but couldn’t. She saw his fangs, grown and sharp, dripping with her blood and his eyes a blood red, his face more attractive than before.
The pores in her neck made by his fangs was spitting out blood like a cascade. Mesmerized with the smell of blood, he resumed quenching his thirst for blood. She no longer resisted.
Flash News.
“Woman found dead in mysterious way, at ECR. It is rumored that the women has been drained out of blood to death. Media was not allowed by cops inside the crime scene. Cops refuse to publish the picture of the deceased as it may cause terror and panic. So, the vampire tales are actually true? Does Vampires really exist? If yes, it might be possible that a Vampire is on the run. Let us ask an eye witness of the crime scene.”
The camera turned to a middle aged man.
“Sir, please explain us what you saw.”
“I’m working in a resort nearby. I usually come to the beach for walking every morning. I sensed a foul smell and dogs barking at a distance, nearby the shore. It looked like the dogs were biting something and fighting amongst themselves. When I went near, I saw it. It was damn pale, skin was very whitish. I realized that it was a corpse. It was like there was no blood in her body, only flesh was there. I was terror struck. I was afraid to go near, so I returned to my home and called the police. After that when I went back I was not allowed inside that area.”
“How do you know that it is a corpse, Sir?”
“It was a women’s corpse. I identified by the dress. It was a chudidhar.”
The camera zoomed out to cover both the reporter and the witness. The reporter continued “Thanks for sharing, Sir.” The camera focused on the reporter. “It is clear that, something horrific had happened to the woman, yet to be identified. We have to wait to learn more about what happened to the woman. Thank you, this is Shyam signing off.”
Reporters were swarming over the crime scene. They managed to click several photos of the corpse. The corpse had been moved to government hospital. Assistant commissioner Andrew Sullivan was present at the crime scene. He denied to give any comments regarding the crime. He just mentioned that they are investigating and will let know soon.
The pictures went viral all over the country, such gothic images terrified the people. Several theories were made up by the media and made it a hot news. Two days later, police department held a press meet to answer the press people. Andrew answered for the reporters’ questions.
“Sir, have you identified the woman? What is the cause of her death?”
“We have identified the woman. The victim’s name is Reena, she was a harlot. According to reports, she moved from Mumbai to Chennai, 3 years back for pursuing her studies and eventually ended up in prostitution. She w
as an orphan, raised up in an orphanage in Mumbai. We are investigating further on her friends circle. As per the doctor’s report, cause of death is draining of blood. Something has bitten her neck and sucked out all the blood. We are investigating further on the case. We request media not to flash the gothic images, which have already went viral.”
“Do you have any leads Sir? Any suspects?”
“We have a list of suspects. But we could not say anything surely now.”
“Sir, Rumors are spreading that this may be done by a vampire, what is your opinion about this?”
“People still believe vampires? It’s ridiculous. There is no such thing known as a vampire. It’s all fiction, not true. We cannot answer for people’s imaginations.”
“What would you like to say the people? People are terrified, however it is not safe for the people to have a psychic killer roaming free in the city.”
“We assure that the case will be closed within this week. We are here to protect. Security had been tightened in the city. People do not need to worry. That’s all for now.” Andrew ignored the reporters’ further questions and moved out.
Days passed, no clue was found about the killer. The case was shifted to several police officers, but could not be solved. Eventually, the case was shifted to CBI. But the killer was never found. No traces of the killer were found. The CBI shelved the case, not able to reach a conclusion. Moreover, none of the victim’s relatives or friends came to retrieve her body. Her body was cremated later on. As years passed, people forgot about the case. Slowly, ECR started regaining its glamour.