The Deceptive Beauty

• Alex Squadrito, Grade 9, De La Salle College
• Short Story
• 2009

Finalist in the 'Xtreme Read 2009' competition

Her jet black straight hair flew blissfully in the strong wind; her pale white face
illuminated in the moonlights glare. Her eyes were blue like radiant sapphires that pierced through the night sky and her teeth were as white as fluffy clouds. Her beauty is a seductive dictator but she is literally beauty and the beast! Her name is Beatrice Bell.
She sauntered peacefully, looking like heaven on earth, but her gown was painted with dried blood. A man ran in desperation edging closer to the road with each step; she followed. Without even lifting a finger, the deceptive beauty struck the man down, he fell heavily to the leafy ground. The lifeless man still looked very alive, his dark brown eyes stared at the smiling moon, but the silence of the forest answered the question. The man was dead. Struck by a blood red bolt of lightning, from the most ravishing looking woman alive. Or perhaps, she just seemed like a bolt of lightning. The man was drained of warm, fresh, succulent blood, while also being left with painful souvenirs to the after life.
She strode off laughing, while the man lay motionless on the ground. Beatrice continued to walk through the misty forest. Every living thing she floated past wilted in an attempt to draw its last breath. They were unsuccessful, plants shrivelled and fell. The tree leaves, turned a disturbing brown, and broke away from their feeder. A leaf tried to float miraculously in the burly wind but its brown body started to dissolve, seconds later, it was gone!
Her eyes turned to a distressing black, as she saw villagers entering the forest. Every minute that passed it seemed that her black eyes were becoming even more like charcoal.
The unnerving hush of the forest made villagers wary. They tentatively crept into the almost dead forest with pitchforks and fires. “Leave this place and go back to hell where you belong you..!”
“You what?” asked Beatrice. “Siren? Temptress? So many familiar names!” Beatrice declared.
A priest amongst the irate mob ran to Beatrice and threw holy water on Beatrice’ face, and suddenly, her face was disfigured, beyond any resemblance to a human being. Her sharp fangs stood out like a pair of scissors, and immense, bloodcurdling wings enveloped the area around her, she was a vampire. Beatrice looked in disgust and screeched, “Your tormented souls will face eternal punishment!” She forced villagers back with her devilish wings, but the priest took a spiky wooden stake out of his jacket and drove it in Beatrice Bell’s heart. Her blue eyes widened in horror but somehow managed to cheerlessly reflect the moons intense light. Her body started to turn brown and suddenly her luscious skin was now unilluminated and disintegrating to show her skeleton. Suddenly she exploded, but her body turned not into dust, nor did she combust in flames, but her remains came raining down as a crimson glitter!
Goddess
Vampire
Death

She was the deceptive beauty!