Facing the darkness
As Xaentrick looked down towards the streets of the small village that was starved of food infested with vermin and was slowly loosing its people to insanity. This village was like so many others around the world after the end of times had happened. People no longer cared what race or religion anyone was anymore as people were to scared to care. Demons were everywhere after dark along with vampires and on the night of a full moon you could hear the werewolves howl. People locked there doors and windows, surrounded themselves in every sacred object to be found. Only a few people dared to walk outdoors after night had set in and even went alone.
This particular village was in a wasteland that was once a lush green forest that had been home to many furries and ferals. Now all that inhabited it was reptiles of every species and a few humans and furries. Xaentrick watched as a snake was forced into an ally by a gang of humans. The snake was female and it looked as if the gang had tried to strip her already as she only had a bra and panties on. She looked to be a rattle snake with the pattern of the diamond back colored into her scales and a rattle on the end of her tail. Xaentrick just sat there and watched as the gang backed her into a corner and covered all possible escape routes.
The humans began to close in on the snake who was now crying out for help in a world were no one cared. Xaentrick looked around and found some loose bricks that were going to come in handy. He picked two up and raised them over his head as he prepared to throw them. Quickly bringing them down he released them and the went strait down towards two of the seven men. The two bricks struck two of the men and when they made contact two loud cracks could be heard. Looking around the other five men tried to see were the bricks came from. When they could not find the source they focused on the snake once again.
As they began to close in once more four more bricks came crashing down with the same result. The last human took a few steps back and ran towards the shadows of the ally. Running at full speed he looked back to see if anyone was following him, he ran into a figure. Xaentrick looked down at the rude person with glowing red eyes that could peer into a persons soul. The man slowly backed up until Xaentrick picked him up by his coat collar.
The man shivered in fear as he looked at xaentrick wondering what he was going to do. Xaentrick smiled showing his teeth that his prisoner saw lengthen. Upon seeing the fangs the human kicked Xaentrick in the crotch hoping that it would set him free. Unfortunately that little kick only managed to make him even more angry. Not wanting to play with his food anymore Xaentrick dug his fangs deep into the mans throat and drank the crimson fluid that provided life for all creatures.
When he was finished he threw the corpse off to the side and went to check on the snake. He found her in the same spot that she was in most likely fearing that someone else would find her. Xaentrick closed his eyes concentrated for a few seconds before opening them again to reveal green eyes. Walking slowly his long black trench coat slowly flowing behind him as he approached her.When he was close enough he put his left hand that was in a finger less leather glove on her shoulder causing her to flinch.
He took off his trench coat an draped it over her so she would not feel so exposed with just her undergarments on. She looked up at him with beautiful golden eyes that had slits for pupils. Slowly she stood and closed the coat so she was not as exposed to everyone that saw her. Out of the two of them Xaentrick was the one to speak up first between them. "I guess it was pretty lucky I came along when I did or else you might not have been so lucky." She looked over at him but she seemed to have a look of disgust in her eyes.
He shut up for the rest of the walk when he saw the look in her eyes. When they reached her home she had lightened up a bit so that she was actively talking to him."My name is Ashley but my friend call me Fang because of my smile, would you want to go and eat lunch with me tomorrow afternoon?" It was that question that caught Xaentrick off guard and left him without an answer. He never thought she would ask him but she did and he had to admit that he did like her. "Mine is Xaentrick and yes I would, but could I choose the place that we go and eat at?" She looked at him and then nodded in acceptance with the request. Xaentrick watched as she walked up the steps and disappeared behind her door and when she was gone he turned and almost jumped for joy.
Before he got to far he turned around and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. He wrote a name and address on it before slipping it under her door for her to find. Now he turned and walked away before disappearing into the darkness of the night. A man was sitting on top of a building watching Xaentrick walk away and quietly spoke to himself. "Vile Demon I will hunt you and your kind down until this land belongs only to the ones who belong on it."
The next day when Ashley awoke and found the note by her door she almost could not contain herself. She got her suit on and went out the door and strait to work wondering what the place he picked out was like. When the time finally came around she left work and began to search for the restraunt.What she found was what looked to be a closed night club but she tried the door anyway.
The door swung open like any normal place would but inside it was dimly lit. "Ahh you must be the one that Master Xaentrick spoke of please follow me." Ashley turned around quickly as she had not been expecting someone to sneak up on her. The figure that had snuck up on her was fox who with the fading orange in his fur and the black that formed the almost glove like appearances had some grey through it. When she finally spoke, she confirmed what he had said earlier. He turned and said one word "follow" and she did.
The old fox lead her down a spiral staircase that ended at a room that looked as if it was an ancient church converted into a lunch room. Two stained glass windows were on two walls so that they lit some of the room but not all of it. There was a large amount of people that was a mix of furrie and human. Some sat at tables that looked as if they were made for royalty. Others sat in the shadows of the room, it was as if the shadows themselves were wrapped around them.
Ashley gazed around for a few minutes before she spotted Xaentrick sitting at a table with a glass. She casually strolled over to him so she could sit down but as she did a feeling came over her that she could not describe. It was as if everyone was watching her and only her. When she sat down he looked up and had a smile on his face which indicated that he was glad she made it. "So this is an odd place to put a restraunt, especially since it looks closed." She continued to look at one of the windows that pictured two people one was a snake like her and the other was a human. The snake had the human in its arms but the human had blood on his neck while the snake had blood on her lips.
The next one was of the same two but there was a third figure who had a sharp piece of wood and had it impaled through the snakes chest. Xaentrick noticed her looking at the windows and hoped that she did not notice that the light which was coming through all four windows was not the actual sun. "So Ashley how have you been doing since last nights incident?" Ashley was surprised by the sudden question and was a little nervous about answering him. Xaentrick noticed this and quickly changed the subject to ask about her and why she came to this village.
The two talked for a while before she asked about his past and how he got such an odd name. He looked at her for a few seconds before answering her. "I was from a farming family, back then I was a small boy who did not have a care in the world. As I grew my parents began to wonder what I wanted to do with my life. What I told them was a bit of a shock since we lived in the middle of nowhere.
I told them that wanted to be a club owner or a military soldier. However I did not now that was the last I would see them alive or even in one piece. That night I heard my mother scream so I came running to what the problem was. What I found was so horrifying that I froze for a few seconds. My father was in the doorway dead with his limbs ripped off of his body. My mother was being attacked by a large snake anthro who was slowly breaking the fingers on her left hand while holding her down.
I ran from the doorway out of the house and into the wasteland we lived in. When someone found me I was almost dead and I had lost my memories because of shear fear. The woman who found me gave me a new name until my old one was remembered. After years I did remember but I chose to keep my new one instead." Ashley sat there amazed at his story she did not know whether to feel pity towards him or not.
When he had finished his story Ashley realized that she was going to be late getting back to work. She quickly ran up he stairs and out the door before Xaentrick could stop her. He sat there waiting until he could go out and meet her again somewhere on the streets by accident. Unfortunately he would need to feed before he found her or else he might end up with his fangs in her throat. Maybe he would take her to the city that used to be famous for gambling before the world was thrown into despair, "Yes that is where we will be reunited my love in the once famous Sin City."
When Ashley got off work her and a few friends went to an girl bar so the could start the
weekend with a buzz. She was glad that she was not going to be alone like the last time she went out. The bar itself served little to no alcohol because of how hard it was to ship what little was made out this way. So instead it served mainly sparkling water that was put into taps. It was not as strong as actual alcoholic beverages but with enough in your system this drink was enough to impair your thinking.
The bar that they went to was called The Red Moon, it was popular for two reasons. One was that it had a special drawing that had a secret prize for whoever won it. The second was that a female demon was rumored to own it and look after all those within its walls. The second rumor no one believed but everyone who won the drawing always moved out of town. As they entered each one was given a blue ticket with a number on it.
As the night went on the slowly consumed their drinks while listening to an old jukebox. The music slowly died as the lights dimmed and a set of curtains opened up with a large basket full of tickets. "Okay people are you ready for the nightly raffle," the host said. Everyone in the bar pulled out there tickets and pre paired for the drawing. The host reached her hand into the basket and searched for some ones ticket. She pulled her hand out just as slow as she had placed it in at.
Looking at the ticket she read the numbers "2329723," a silence settled in as people checked there numbers. As Ashley checked her ticket, her eyes slowly widened as her numbers matched what was said by the announcer. She leapt out of her seat and ran up to stage and presented her ticket. The announcer checked the ticket and motioned for Ashley to head back stage to receive her prize. Ashley would not know that tonight was going to be the worst night of her life.
After she went back stage two men grabbed her and held a hand over her mouth. Both men were a type of lizard one was green while the other was more grey than anything. They dragged her up a set of stairs and through a set of double doors into a dimly lit room. Then they set her in a chair and strapped her arms to the chair and left. The lights turned on suddenly causing Ashley to wince till her sensitive eyes adapted.
In the room was a large desk with a few filing cabinets and a large chair behind the desk. The chair slowly turned around revealing its occupants to her. It was a woman who look to be human except for she had a set of horns jutting from her head."So you are the one who was lucky enough to win my little contest tonight. You look decent enough for me to sell to my clients, though do tell what species of snake are you?"
Ashley did not know what to say other than to answer the question that was thrown at her. " I am a diamond back rattle snake, and what are you going to do with me?" The owner looked up and down Ashley a few times before she spoke again. " You my sweet scalie friend are going to be loaded into a truck and sent to some friends in the Mexican wastelands. There you will be sold as what they call a living feed bag, to a vampire who will then do what ever he/she wants to."
Ashley watched as the owner pressed a button on her desk and not a second later a small human walked into the room. He looked like he could blow away in the wind he was so skinny and he wore stretch pants and a black tee. After Ashley looked him over a few times she began to think she could just walk out of here. "He is the one who is going to forcefully put me into truck to be sold, yeah right I am outa here." She turned to face the frail human that stood in her way to freedom. What she saw made her stop in her tracks and stare at the human.
The man began to slowly grow in muscle mass and in height before her very eyes. His shirt ripped revealing hair that began to spread over his entire body. A ripping sound could be heard as his shirt finally gave in to the tension. The mans face began to push out to form a canine muzzle as his ears moved to the top of his head and became pointed. His spine lengthened as a tail was formed inside the stretch pants. Cracking noises could be heard as his legs went from there normal shape to a digigraded one.
What stood in front of Ashley now was an eight foot tall werewolf that was well muscled but not overly. Now she was convinced that he would be able to take her against her will to the truck. He grabbed her and took her out the door and into a moving truck that had been padded for some protection. She felt the floor shift under her as the truck drove off towards a warehouse were she would be processed.
Xaentrick was walking down the street when a truck stopped next to him and he heard something. It sounded like someone pounding their fists on a pillow against a wall. Then as the truck drove off he heard someone yelling "help." He quickly turned to follow the truck but all he could find was the tire tracks. So he began to follow the tracks down the road to hopefully save someone.
The truck that Ashley was in stopped in a warehouse where the werewolf opened the back of the truck and grabbed her. He took her and threw her into a large cage with about five other women. Two were human, one was a lizard and the other two looked to be aviens of some kind. None of them stood or even looked towards Ashley's direction. They all looked under fed and noticed their cloths were torn and dirty.
Xaentrick had followed the tracks to a warehouse that seemed empty. Since it looked empty the owners would not mind if he looked around the place. The rooms on the first floor were all clear but when he went to check the basement storage he found that it would not budge. He looked around before kicking the door down. There was just a large open room with another entrance on the other side of the room.
The only light came from a lantern positioned above a cage that held six people. As he drew closer to the cage he noticed that one of the occupants was Ashley. He needed to get her out of the cage and fast because he felt uneasy about the situation. Xaentrick focused a bit before his eyes began to glow an unnatural red. All the women in the cage but Ashley just began to stare into the d ark there eyes a somewhat red color.
She looked around but saw nothing beyond the light provided by the lantern. Until a figure stepped into the ring of light, a figure she recognized. He came to the door and noticed that it was a combination lock and he loved them. The lock itself would have been easy enough to break but he did not want to startle Ashley.So he placed his ear next to the lock and turned it till he heard a click which meant the first tumbler had fallen into place. He continued on like this until the second an third tumblers fell into place and was able to open the door. Ashley was happy to be out of the cage and even happier to have a friend with her.They made there way to the door that Xaentrick had used to find her. Upon exiting the basement they ran into the werewolf that had thrown Ashley into the cage.
Xaentrick knew he could not fight the wolf without revealing his secret. So he did the same to Ashley as he did to the other five women in the cage. He put her in a sort of trance so she would not be able to watch the fight. With that done he faced the wolf who only smiled at the chance to fight. Xaentrick was not as eager as the wolf but it had to be done in order to escape.
The wolf was the first to charge, he managed to cover the distance rather quickly which caught Xaentrick off gaurd. Dodging the wolfs claws at the last second Xaentrick pulled out a small knife with a strange pattern on it. The pattern looked like an eye with tendrils reaching from the whites of the eye to the iris. When the wolf saw the small blade it backed up a step to put some distance between them. It was Xaentricks turn to charge the wolf. He did not run strait towards the wolf but stayed in the darker parts of the warehouse.
The wolf laughed as he pressed a button on the floor causing rows of lights to activate destroying the shadows. With nothing to conceal him Xaentrick was going to have a difficult time winning the fight. The wolf charged again but instead of simply dodging Xaenrick side stepped and slashed at him with the knife. Blood flew from the wolf in the place the knife made contact with on the wolf's back. Xaentrick jumped into the air in order to get good blow on the wolf. However the wolf jumped towards him when he was about a foot away from the wolf.
Xaentrick's eye's widened when he felt the wolfs claw's enter his chest. As the pain rocketed through him he lost the concentration that was keep Ashley in her trance. He did manage to bring the knife down into the back of the wolf head. Ashley began to look around until she spotted Xaentrick pulling the dead wolf's claws out of his chest. She ran over to him but what she saw caused her to run off.
What she saw was the black blood of vampire gushing out of the wounds that were
already starting to heal. Because he was loosing so much blood he was beginning to experience a blood lust. It was bad news as this meant he was going to attack anyone who crossed him like a feral. He would regain control after he had attained enough blood.
Ashley was scarred that a person she trusted had turned out to be an evil creature. What puzzled her the most was that when she met him for lunch they were in a well sunlit room. She paused for a moment as she remembered the strange fox that had taken to Xaentricks table. Sunlight was flooding in through all five of the windows that were in the room. That is why she thought he was human and could trust him.
Xaentrick was slowly making his way back towards the more populated areas of the city. His fangs were at full length and his eyes were glowing red. He had little control over his body, he needed fresh blood and soon. A shadow caught his eye as it slowly disappeared behind a corner into an ally. When the shadow completely disappeared into the ally he followed in the shadows.
As Ashley walked through the dark alley the only thing on her mind was going home. She would never notice the thing that she wanted to forget was catching up with her. It was not until he was upon her did she know he was there. When what little fraction of his rational mind was left noticed that it was Ashley. However he was not strong enough to stop himself from digging his fangs into her neck.
He could not stop himself from enjoying the sensation of fresh blood rushing down his throat. The life was fading from her with every gulp he took.She gasped when he released her throat causing some blood to splash onto the ground from her wound. He looked down into her eyes as she looked into his. Her eyes had started to glaze over as she was on the brink of death.
Xaentrick was remorseful at what he had done to her and what was worse he enjoyed the taste of her blood. Ashley lay on the ground gasping for air when she realized that she was afraid of dieing alone. As there eyes were locked tears began to flow from her. Xaentrick picked her up never breaking eye contact with her. As the life continued to flow from her body he took his knife and cut his own wrist causing his black blood to drip freely.
He opened her mouth and placed his bleeding wrist to her lips so the blood would drip into her mouth. She did not swallow it on her own so he took his other hand and rubbed her throat causing her to swallow. Xaentrick knew what to expect when she awakened, he knew she would be in denial and try and fight the change just as he did. A twitch of her palm was the first movement she made before she sat up gasping for air. She looked around for a minute before she spotted him.
Her head felt foggy as she tried to remember what happened but all she got was a pair of red eyes. Turning her head she looked at Xaentrick before her eyes went wide as she remembered the sight of him for what he was. She got up and ran off hoping to forget that she ever met him. When she reached her house she went strait for her bed where she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
The next morning she awoke to the light of the sun shining in through her window. When she opened her eyes she quickly shut them again as it was far to bright for her. She turned away before getting up to close the curtains to block the sunlight. Getting dressed as she usually did before heading for her work. Before she stepped outside she grabbed a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Her walk to work seemed to take more out of her than it usually did because she was out of breath when she reached her destination.
All through out the day she felt weaker than she thought she should have. Her throat felt dry and scratchy so she got a bottle of water to quench her thirst. However it was not long before it returned even stronger. This time one bottle could not do to stop it from irritating her through the day. When it came time for lunch she could not stand it anymore as her throat was so dry it hurt.
When her shift was over she began her walk home, she had one hand clutching her throat as it was still dry. The sound of someone crying caught her attention as she rounded a corner.She followed it down the street till she came to a small cub who was on the ground crying. Something was in the air that caused her to inhale more of its intoxicating aroma. She walked up to the cub and asked what was wrong as she put a hand on its shoulder. The cub turned around exposing a scraped knee that was still bleeding.
When Ashley saw the blood she could do nothing but stare at it as the dryness in her throat increased. Her grip tightened on the cub until she was pulling it closer to her. She sank her fangs that once served the purpose of injecting venom now had another purpose and that was the consumption of blood. While she was drinking her senses returned to her slowly returned to her. She tore herself away from the child disgusted at what she had done to the child.
Her toung slowly traced around her mouth before she spat out what little blood was in her mouth. She liked the taste and she hated herself for it. The smell of blood was stronger now but her throat was no longer dry and scratchy. A male human came walking down the street when he spotted her and the child. When he noticed her he stopped to shout, "help someone there is a vampire in the city."
Upon hearing him yell this Ashley got up and ran but to where she did not know. When she stopped she was in front of the building that she met Xaentrick at that one afternoon. The door was not locked so she went inside and like last time the fox was waiting for her.Only this time he did not follow her down the stairs and into the dinning area. She found a table and sat down wondering if and how she should kill herself. After about ten minutes of thinking the sound of a chair pulled her back to reality.
It was Xaentrick who moved the chair that startled her from her train of thought. She looked at him with sad eyes that had a hint of confusion in them. "What have you done to me and why?" Her voice was sad and did not have its usual peppiness. Xaentrick looked at the table before he spoke up. "Ok so you are probably wondering what is happening to you and why. Well last night when we escaped from the cage the werewolf who was guarding it attacked. I did defeat it but it dealt a critical blow that caused me to loose alot of blood which caused me to go into a bloodlust in order to gain the blood needed to regenerate. Unfortunately it was you who I found first, so I drained you but when I was done I cut my wrist and let you drink some of my blood so you would change and continue to live."
She didn't know what to say to his explanation. They continued to sit in silence until the fox walked up to Xaentrick and wispered something in his ear. The fox then turned to Ashley and spoke the few words that confirmed her fears. "I had some people clean up the body you left in the streets." Those few words caused her to break into to tears, because it meant that child was actually dead. Xaentrick took a cloth out of his jacket and wiped the tears away.
"Ashley there is a few more things that you should probably know. It was not by accident that I saved you that night, I was following you to protect you. You see these windows around us they tell a story about me and of your great grandmother." This caused Ashley to focus in on his words as he spoke to her. She looked at one of the windows closer than the last time and noticed the human in them did look like him.
"The story I told you was correct in parts the lady who found me was a vampire who was growing lonely watching her family grow old and multiply. When she found me I was still young compared to her that night. She turned me and gave me a new name and a new family that she said would never leave. So for years we watched her family to protect them, but one night a man and his son found us. They were slayers bent on killing all vampires that they could find. They killed her that night but as she turned to dust in my arms she beckoned me to continue watching her family as there protector."
She was speechless he had been watching her and her family without there knowledge. What could she say to that without insulting him or her grandmother. One thing did pop into her mind though, "how long till I become a full vampire?" This question surprised him quite a bit actually. "Well the curse really only takes hold when two things have happened. One you have already done which is consume the blood of another. The second is you have to accept the gift before it drives you insane and causes you to change into a mindless ghoul whos only reason for living is to feed."
The more she listened the more she wanted all of it to end so she would not have to kill people. However if she resisted it she would change into something much much worse. Whatever she did she was going to have to give up her old life and friends. Looking back up at him and gave a weak smile, then continued to look at the table.
"Look it may seem horrible at first but you may come to love the long life it offers. Come I had Walter pre pair a room for you so you could relax without freaking out and loosing control." They got up and Ashley followed him through a series of doors before they entered a room that looked as if it belonged to a king. The room was huge, it looked as if it could fit about twenty people in it. There was a mirror on one wall that was mounted on a silver stand that sapphires embedded in the silver. The lights had covers that had rubies in them so that when the light shone through the room was laced in a red glow.The bed was sunken into the ground and had an elegantly crafted golden headboard. The gold was shaped like intertwining spirals that had emeralds surrounded in silver to look like butterflies. The ceiling was painted to look like the night sky with a full moon. In the corner there was an elegant looking chest that had a variety of different symbols etched into the gold that made up the box.
Ashley strolled over to the box and put her hand on the box and a cold sensation went up her hand. She opened the box but it was empty but yet it was so cold. "Hey Xaentrick how is this box so cold without any Ice in it?" He looked over at her and the box and gave a small laugh as he replied. "The runes etched into the side of it use magic to cool the box and whatever is inside of it."
She lay down on the bed and sighed after Xaentrick had left the room. It did not take long before she was fast asleep and dreaming of a wonderful place. Outside the room Xaentrick walked down the and as he passed a window a figure caught his eye as it passed by. The figure stood on a roof while the sun rose on the horizon behind it. "That poor sweet girl, she fell pray to the vampires evil ways now I must kill her as well." With those words said the figure jumped down into an ally where he disappeared.