A cold, chilling wind brushed my cheek. Window shudders flapped in the distance, and a dog barked in unison. My feet stomped noisly on the asphault, and my breathing was rapid. The footsteps behind me doubled, and tripled.
I quickened my pace, almost to a jog, and the footsteps behind me caught up quickly. I was breathing hysterically now, and I could hear the whispers of a man and woman behind me.
I forced my legs to go faster, to a medium jog. I kept this pace up for about a block, and was brought to an abrupt halt by 2 strong hands pulling on my coat shoulders.
"Well well, what do we have here?" the man's voice whispered, foul breath filling my lungs." Ah, yes. Allen Xairec, famed Slayer. Where are your stakes now, little man?"
With that he delivered a quick and painful punch to the small of my back. I went flying into a large pile of boxes..which were 3 feet from where I was. This was definetly a master, and I have no defense?
He and the woman seemed to glide to my position. I raised my leg and made contact with the woman's abdomen, sending her flying back.
The man siezed one of my legs and spun around. I could see the darkness of the alley surrounding me, and he finally let me go.
I went soaring into a garbage can. The pain surged through me like a volt of electricity, and it was then I realized my leg was broken.
'I cant take these guys on my own', I thought, and looked for quick means of escape. The two vampires were quickly coming, and I needed a way out, FAST.
I saw a ladder dangling 6 feet or so from the street. If I could make it up there...
I jumped up despite the pain in my leg. I crouched, and made the jump for the ladder. I managed to grab the last rung with my right hand, and pulled myself up. I made it halfway up before the vampires got to my location.
I could tell they were both newly turned..their powers had not fully developed yet. They jumped for the ladder but were not close enough to grasp it.
I climbed the ladder to the rooftop and managed to hop a few others to firmiliar territory. I found another ladder, climbed down, and made my way through another dark yet comforting alley. My leg was already starting to heal, and the pain was backing off.
After walking a few blocks, I made my way up the brick stairs to my home. The lights arent on. Parents must be out, good.
I came in and slammed the door shut. As if on impulse, Char came running up the basement stairs.
"Man, would you be more careful" he said, his hair falling in his face. Char was a skinny kid, I have known him for years. He was vital in my attempt in muffling the dark side. His weaponds made vampires wish they knew other people besides me.
"Sorry, Char...I got jumped" I managed to whisper, before falling to the floor in exhaustion.....
I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping noisly outside of the basement window. I could see that the sky was clear and blue, not a cloud, no imperfections. A perfect day. I struggled to my feet, pulling myself out of the dent I made in the Army-type cot that was kept in the basement for when I had friends over.
My eyes swept over the contents of th basement, the bikes on the wall, a moosehead, the furnace, an old couch, and a little stereo. I walked slowly towards the old, dusty moosehead, peering into its eyes..wondering how it went.
I reached up for the left antler of the moosehead, and gave it a gentle tug. An electrically pulled cord sprang to life, revolving a section of the wall, I made my way through the not too big crevice, and pushed a button on the other side.
This was the side of the basement no one knew about. Me and Char use it for making weapons..for use against things most people know little about, and do not care to know anything about; vampires.
People usually get their minds congested with this Dracula, bite your neck, romance, cross killing things that Hollywood puts out. If you are even to understand our adventure, you need to know the basics of a vampire.
Cross's and holywater will get you nowhere. A vampire see's you holding a corss, he'll snap your arm off and rip open your neck. Oh, and holy water? Vampires will drink your bottle dry. The only true things that work are wooden stakes, right through the heart, Garlic, or Silver.
The movie blade gave me and Char some great idea's. Filling hollowed silver bullet with essense of garlic is ingenious. Silver caused Vampire's to go into anapolectic shock, in other words, vaporizes them. The garlic, well, their allergic to it, just like silver.
One more thing, sunlight. Vampires have found their ways to get around it...masks, paint, and sunblock. The only way of assuring a vampire's death to the fullest is to expose him to direct sunlight, or any type of UV ray.
Our weapons consist of most of these, wooden and Silver stakes, Garlic filled Silver bullets, etc. You may be thinking, how can two teenagers afford these supplies? And you think we leave the vampire's we slay left with Rolex's, cash, etc? And yes, we have had to resort to knocking over Convienint stores, but we always manage.
This back room in the basement is our weapons stock. We keep an extra supply of all types of weapons, as a precaution. There's burners to melt the silver, molders to mold the bullets and stakes, lumber, well, boviously, and a few garlic plants.
This morning I saw Char standing by the plants, leaning over to study them.
"Char..what are you doing?" I asked, still dazed with sleepiness.
"The plants, man, their growing better then ever!" he exclaimed, jumping over an empty table and walking towards me.
"How's your leg" he asked, his hand pointing.
I wiggled it around."It's fine now" I replied, re assuring him my safety. He always was worried about me...I still dont know if its love or friendship, but he always seemed to cheer me up.
"What happened, after I came in last night?" I asked, picking up a freshly made silver stake. It felt warm in my hands.
"Well, after you passed out on the floor, I carried you down here. Look's like after I set you in that old cot you seemed to take over the rest." he replied, re assuming his task of studying the plants.
"Yeah, well, last night was a bitch" I replied. " I was jumped by two new turns, both had the strength of masters. But, they didnt persue, it seemed as if their acrobatic techniques hadnt kicked in yet. It was all so strange..I am such an idiot for going out unarmed." I explained.
"Hey, it wasnt your fault, we all do stupid things, Allen. You were just subjected to it" he joked, giving me a jab to the ribs.
"I am going to go take a shower, then its off to school. Ah, hell, I only missed first period, school wont be too pissed off"
With that I left Char to his work. He had dropped out of school some time ago, and poured his life into the hunt. I wouldnt blame him, after what happened to his family...
I showered, got dressed, and rode my bike to school. Same ole', same ole', boring knowledge which will be useless to me later. Still I made the effort and maintained a B average.
After school, I came home and took another quick shower. After that, I went to our secret place in the basement, and layed in the cot, falling asleep to the sounds of Char clanging around our little lab, and the sound of KoRn on the radio...I would need this sleep..I have alot to do tonight...
That afternoon I had a very..intriguing dream. I was at school, had alot of friends....and no vampires. I was walking home from school not looking over my shoulder, not worrying about locking my doors, nothing. Too bad this dream wasnt a reality.
I woke up to the sound of Char going off about something, he was throwing things and cursing.
"God damned son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, heaving a burner at the wall.
"Hey, HEY!" I screamed, and jumped over 2 tables and took him from behind. "What the HELL is going on here"? I demanded, holding Char's squirming body.
"They got my girlfriend, Allen! THEY GOT HER!" he yelled, letting go of the rage and collapsing to the floor.
"shhh" I said, hugging him. "We will get the sob who did this...do you know who it was?" I asked, in a soothing voice.
"It was him! The master of the masters! A few minutes ago he called..shit! She was screaming for me in the background! He asked how I wanted her to die.....then he let go of the phone and from there I was lost in rage" he cried, then mumbled on...
"Shit" I thought....this has gone too far.
After I got Char cleaned up, we both suited up for tonight's bug hunt. The combat boots, bullet-proof vest's, guns, stakes, black clothing, and 2 long leather trenchcoats.
We stepped out into the cold night air. The wind was blowing mildy, and the smell of spring could be detected.
"We are doing this for Ashley" whispered Char, as his eyes filled with tears, which soon trickled down his pale face.
I put a comforting arm around him, and we set off. We walked through alley's, looking for any sign of the master vampire..the one who rules all. We dont really have a name for him..but we know he is there.
As we walked through yet another trash filled alley, I heard cries from the rooftops above. I quickly darted my eyes in that direction and saw a woman bieng held by a man from behind.
"Char!, get your grappler ready!" I exlaimed, as I fastned my belt.
He already read my mind. He was pointing his gun up at the roof before I could get ready to jump. As I heard his gun go off, I crouched and jumped with all my strength.
The momentum carried me well above the rooftop, and I landed behind the vampire.
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk" I hissed, moving my hand towards my stakes. " You know, it's a bad thing to take young mortal's" I taunted, and jumped towards the vampire.
He was swift, and tumbled out of the way, as I rolled almost over the edge of the rooftop. I got up, and was greeted with a swift kick to the ribs. This sent me even more dangerously close to the edge. I recovered quickly, jumped up, and caught the vampires second attempt at a kick. I quickly twisted his leg, contorting it into a hard to believe position. He retaliated, and swung his other foot towards my head.
I bent back and missed his foot by inches. By now he was turned around, and I took advantage. Wrapping my forearm around his neck, I restrained him from movement.
"What do you know about the master, dickhead" I hissed, growling angrily.
"Fuck you, slayer!" he said, struggling to break free.
"Have it your way.." I said, reaching down toward my belt. I pulled a silver stake from the pouch, and shoved it through his upper back.
The sounds of a vampire dying ar inhuman. They make a terrible growling sound, and then a high pitched squeal. This one made no sound...and fell to the gravel topped roof. I watched in humor as the silver went to work. He disintegrated, starting from the stake and out.
I looked up, seeing Char comforting the woman on the other side of the roof. I walked in that direction, rubbing my sore ribs.
"How is she?", I asked, looking her over.
"I think she will be ok. What did you get outta the goon?" he asked, taking off his coat and placing it around the frightened woman.
"Nothing. His heart wasnt into it" I joked.
Char just laughed. he bent over, picked up the woman, and we headed for home. On the way, me and him told each other what we had done..how he had to pull the woman up from the edge after the vampire had thrown he over twenty feet, and how he wished he was as strong as I was.
At home, we put the woman in the old cot and let her sleep. So many people have slept in that cot...some mortals, and some recently turned.
"Allen...c'mon, I know you dont want to tell me why your so strong, but I think as your partner I deserve to know" he asked, in a boyish voice.
For some reason I took him up on this..and began to weave my life story...
My mother was a field analyist for a geographic company. She knew every type of soil, from sand to mud. She would always take me out on her excavations, and there was one time when she joined up with a digger friend of hers to assist in a dig.
This wasnt a regualr dig, Someone had uncovered an underground church outside of the city. Half of it had been uncovered, and today they were expected to reach the door.
I remember sitting there, bored, watching as they slowly pulled enough dirt away to get the doors open.
My mom was one of the first people to go into the church, and I was instructed to stay here with ms. Walking, a media reporter.
About 5 minutes after they went in, my mother came out screaming. She was followed by a man, a very tall man, who had long, black hair and the whitest face. She was running, and tripped over a piece of equipment. The man behind her took advantage, and tackled her down the rest of the way.
What I saw next, no child should ever have to go through. The man pulled my mother back by her hair, bent her head, and sunk his teeth into the flesh of her neck. He sat there, sucking on my mothers neck, then took his hand and ripped it open, exposing her major veign and arteries.
The media was all over this, their cameras running, no one trying to help my mom.
I made the decision then to help her myself. I ran over as fast as my legs could carry me, and kicked at the man.
"Leave my mommy alone!" I screamed, pulling his hair, trying anything to get him off her.
He reached around with his hand and swung at my stomach. I was thrown back twenty feet, and left with a gash in my stomach almost spilling my internal organs.
I lost alot of blood, and was taken to the hospital. I went through surgery, and woke up in the recovery room.
That is when I met Char's father, Reggie. He told me that he was left to care for me, in place of my mother, by the CPS, or child protective service. As I recovered, I seemed to get sicker and sicker.
The doctors deemed me well enough to leave, and I was taken back to his house.
He took me into his home, and put me in the guest room. Here I rested for a day or two, feeling sicker then I ever had before.
2 nights later, he came in with a tray of needles and gauz. He told me I had been infected with the vampire virus, through the master's fingernails. For a kid 8 years old, you dont believe it, but I do now..
He pulled a bluish out of a bottle with a needle. he tested it, and swabbed my arm with cotton.
"This is the cure to the vampire virus...my only dose. Some of their traits have already written themselves into you..hopefully this will stop the rest."
With that he plunged the needle deep into my arm, and I writed in pain. It felt as if hot water was rushing through my veigns. I passed out from the pain...
I woke up later that evening, feeling better then I had ever felt before. I got up, and wandered out of the guest bedroom.
Char's father was sitting on a couch in the living room, his head cocked to one side. I walked up to him, and shook him.
"mr Reggie, sir, are you seepin'?" I said, trying to wake him easily.
His head rolled the other way..and one side of his face was covered with blood.
I ran to Char's older brothers bedroom. I told him what happened...and from there it's a blank. He took care of me and Char up until he was killed, by the same man who killed my mother and his father...the master.
I guess you could say I am a vampire-human hybrid. I gained their strength, regeneration, and ability to cloud minds. Thank god I got their strengths and not their weekness's. I can resist sunligh and silver, and garlic. The move Blade couldnt relate to my situation any better...but that was just a movie....
