Blood Psalm

Written by Jake Gallo

Alexander sat in his worn chair, scribbling at the rough edged paper with his quill pen, writing his next ceremony. His eyes stared at the paper, almost into it, and his eyes twitched with fatigue. He had not slept in five days.

The church had been closed down on sight when women and children disappeared, then reappeared only to have two fang bites upon their neck. Alexander had seen the worst of it, diseased children walking amongst the town, bleeding from the neck, their eyes pale, their skin a lucent green. And he could not help but wonder, maybe this is indeed the work of vampires. And in the name of all that is holy, it was his duty to stop them.

He dipped the quill in the dark cold ink again and the words etched onto the paper, almost as if they were doing it themselves, without the pen.

Father Alexander finished the ceremony with a small scribble and then laid the quill pen to rest. And then, he grabbed his journal from under the preacher box. It was a tattered, old journal filled with numerous accounts of trips around the world, findings of irreversible evil. Odd seeings and such. And he picked up his pen from its momentary lay and began.

"August 30th, 7:54"

The noises have continued, to the point where even I cannot help but wonder what makes these ungodly sounds that terrify the night and all who walk upon the ground of this Earth. I believe it is the Unholy Vampirus, a vampire said to have destroyed Jesus' tomb long ago. And when Jesus wrote the bible, the Vampirus sliced his veins, creating a blood psalm. The psalm of forgotten souls.

I must be going now, the night calls, and I must see to this impeccable evil that lurks in the shadows of buildings, and trees.

If I never make it back, I would like to say...

"goodbye for now"

He closed it shut and then placed the quill in its holder. He pulled open the ballot box and grabbed a heavy cross. The cross had been there for a while. It had been collecting dust. Next to it, lay something a priest should never use or be seen with. An automatic 22 gauge pump action shotgun, and a box of Winchester bullets.

Alexander grabbed the cross, shotgun, and bullets and walked down the steps to the carpet. And then the noises came, they sounded, and the church doors banged.

Alexander cocked back the shotgun and put in the bullets, hastily. The door banged wildly, and then a crack pierced through.

The door's wood split through and there it stood. An Unholy Vampirus, its wings shading the night a blood red, the blood of humans. Alexander removed the cross from his side and the Vampirus covered its eyes. He walked towards it and fired. The shotgun shell blasted through its body, and blood splattered the walls behind.

Reload.

He fired again and its head blew off, hitting the wall, and landing on a pew.

Then he walked to the carcass.

"May the impure souls of this world be banned into eternal damnation, amen."

And he walked out the door.