As he continued cautiously down the hall, he tightly clutched the torch in his hand. The security of the light did not stop the feeling that the darkness that surrounded him was trying to consume him. Frightened, he could feel his body shake as he began to run aimlessly as he searched for an escape. Holding the torch high, he tried to get a better look at where he was and
to find which path of the maze would lead him to his freedom. Standing
in the silence of the cavernous dwelling, he desperately tried to look
in every direction. The quiet was broken as he brought the torch's light
down to see several rats scurrying by his feet. Repulsed, he stepped aside,
and felt his sandaled feet becoming warm and wet.
Again moving the torch in the direction of the ground, he gasped. Blood was covering the ground; it was as high as his ankles and was becoming higher rapidly. Placing one hand against the wall, he tried to remove a foot from the disgusting fluid, but slipped. The walls were dripping with blood. Blood poured out from every mortared seam and crack. Falling hard, he splashed into several inches of blood as he dropped the lit torch and it became extinguished. The slippery blood made it difficult for him to stand in the darkness, but he regained his balance and began to run. He had to get out before the blood reached a level high enough to drown him. Groping his way through the wet darkness, he again saw a distant light and raced towards it. The faster he ran the further the light seemed to be. His running ceased as he abruptly came to a dead end, and he violently pounded against the slimy wet stones.
Panic gripped him as he felt the blood slosh around his knees. There had to be a way out. How had he arrived there? Frustrated, he slammed his fists against the wall and called for help. A luring voice beckoned him, and he quickly twisted around to view a beautiful dark-haired woman holding out a candle to him. As he reached for the candle she seductively asked, "How badly do you want me?" A firm hand grasped his shoulder from behind, and he slowly turned around
into the direct view of LaCroix's burning red eyes. LaCroix's laughter
filled the halls as he displayed his fangs and tightly pinned Nicholas
to the bloody wall. "Hello Nicholas, we are going to be friends for a very... long.... time."
Sitting straight up in bed, he wiped the blood from his forehead and shuddered. This dream was no doubt a result of his earlier discussion with Natalie. How he wished he had never heard of this time travel idea, but this had to be pursued now, for whoever these scientists were, they were a threat to the entire vampire community. If they were mortal, they had no idea how much danger they were in from his kind.
What a predicament he was in, yet there was no turning back now. Knowing all that he knew, he would have to follow this one through. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to clear the disturbing images of the dream from his mind. Down one / Back one / Top / Bottom Pressing the play button, he immediately recognized Nat's voice. She sounded upset. When she had arrived at the lab, she had discovered that several items were misplaced. It looked as if someone was contaminating important evidence, and was not careful about how they had returned things.
If an unauthorized person was in the lab, that could mean trouble. Not only for the whole department, but of more concern was the secrecy of Nick's true identity. A complete inventory would have to be done, but most distressing was that Nick's personal data had been disturbed. She was certain that some of his samples were missing, and she needed him to get down to the Morgue as soon as possible. She had not mentioned this break-in to anyone else yet. Down one / Back one / Top / Bottom For now, he would give Tracy a call at the Precinct and let her
know that he might be a few minutes late. If there was any evidence that
the break-in was related to the latest homicide investigation, then he
would allow Tracy to become more active.
As a gift to himself, he walked over to the remote and pushed the button that allowed the blinds to open fully. Only ten more minutes until sunset, and the skies were streaked with pinks and reds. Well, he may not be able to tolerate sunrise, but this amount of light was possible and it was a wonderful sight, this small amount of fading light. Down one, and bottom / Back one / Top He slowly sipped at his exclusive diet of blood while standing in the shadows by his window and gazing at the sun's final descent of the day being replaced by the darker shades of dusk. Main page / Prologue / Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Written by Gwenn Musicante. Edited 2/1/2003
Down one / Bottom
There had to be way out. But where was he, and what was he escaping from? A fearsome chill traveled up his spine as he tried to remember, but could not. Each new dark corridor that he ran down seemed to be filled with evil; the evil force so strong that he believed that he could touch it if he dared. The rapid pounding of his heart seemed to be resounding off the stone walls that imprisoned him.
Down one / Top / Bottom
Terror seized him as he pushed past her, and ran into the darkened halls. Voices laughed and called out after him as he waded through the now waist high blood. The voices seemed to reach out to him and surround him. Covering his ears, he unsuccessfully tried to block out their invasion of his mind. His incessant running brought him to another dead end--another solid wall, as he cried out in fear and frustration.
Down one / Back one / Top / Bottom
For a brief moment, he thought about lying back down and getting some more rest. However, he could feel that it was close to sundown so he decided to get ready for work. After showering and dressing, he went down the stairs and noticed that the message light on his answering machine was flashing.
Resetting the answering machine, he suddenly felt paranoid. Why would someone break into the lab at this time? Were they looking for information on him, or was it only a coincidence that some of his samples were gone? Trying not to jump to conclusions, he calmed himself. It should not be
too hard to figure out this act of trespassing. After all he was a detective--he was trained to solve the most confusing of puzzles. After a search of the lab, he was sure that he would discover that there was no reason for concern.
Walking to the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of cow's blood for breakfast, his thoughts turned to the unimaginable idea of time travel, and his powerful desire to once again walk in the sun.
Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen
