Chapter 2

I woke, and the only thing that existed in the entirety of my world, was the granular taste of sand, and a heavy weight pressed against me with cold unrelenting force. I spat it out, then feeling my way around, found the extent to which I could move.

It’s definitely a coffin. I felt around a little more, and unable to sigh, mentally shook my head. Whelp. Now I have to carry a stupid coffin out of Earth’s basement.

It was alarming that vampirism was so complicated.

And she said I’d have to do this on my own for three hundred years, was it?

If I was able to pinch the bridge of my nose, I would have done it.

the painstaking ascent out of Mother Earth happened again, but this time, I made as much space as I possibly could. I didn’t want to see that damned cemetery ever again, so I needed to take the coffin with me.

As I worked on getting my coffin out, my brain wandered. I know I fell asleep in my bed, yet here I am, in the same crumpled clothes, repeating a horrible thing, in a terrible place. How did I end up here? Sleep walking? Some form of magical ‘coffin teleportation?’ A sliver of anger slipped out of me. It's that freaking Vampire lady’s fault! I was livid and had no one to take the anger out on. It was an almost murderous rage.

Finally finished, I decided I didn't care about the mess. Last time I come to this slump. They could clean it up for all I cared. I was heading over to my apartment, and then, I needed to practise, in the hopes of getting this mind control thing to work, so I could get some blood. The run home was not as quick. I realized that though I was weightless, I still had to face air resistance, and running in excess of two hundred kilometres an hour with a less-than-aerodynamic box made the air become like water—very hard to move through.

I Perched in the woods and sighed. Staying in that house is dangerous. Risky. I have to find a better place to stay soon.

I took a good look at the coffin, marvelling at its beauty. There was such detailed carving and shapes made of hypnotic filigree. The raised parts of the wood were tinted in a golden finish, causing the filigree to stand out, and create a warping effect, around where my head would have been had I been inside it. Like it was made by someone who understood the terror of hunger.

I sat there for a while, and just paused. The silence receded, giving way to the sounds in the woods. The wind blowing against the grass, The soft creaking of the trees as they sway in a subtle dance, the little rodents scurrying about, the soft flapping of owls, even bats, with their echolocation. I could hear it all. The world transformed into a symphony.

I’m so sick of this woman.

I need to get out of here. I heard. It was a loud thought. Effervescent with greyness. Tiredness. Sadness.

It was thick.

It took a firm amount of mental power to get the thought out of my brain.

After the first one, the voices kept coming in, louder and louder than before.

I need to stop it. I need to do something to stop this. It’s getting too much. I thought. The panic was setting in. Creeping into the clear white space, and causing it to go grey. I yearned for the quiet I’d experienced prior. For the stillness to return.

It did.

There, in that mental space, existed a wall, made of obsidian. It extended around me, and...protected my consciousness. Protected my sense of self. The quiet was back.

These utilization changes happen every time I visualize what I want my ‘gift’ to do. I thought to myself. I visualized a dome around me, made of industrial-grade diamond, and I watched as the mental construct changed. It became—More... Different... It felt nigh impenetrable now. Encasing me safely behind the shield. What if, I kept it the same, but made it transparent, so I could visualize other people’s thoughts? The shapes began to change again, the diamond surface becoming clearer than water, and finally, I could see thoughts. They were everywhere. I could even see feelings. The things that angered them, that made them happy, and even the things that scared them.

There was finally some form of control over this...ability of mine.

Time to test this baby out.

I took off, exiting the fairly large forestry, and headed to the outskirts of the city.

Best to start in a place that might take the cops a little longer to get to.

The run was exhilarating. Wind flew through my hair, and over my skin. It made whistling noises and sang in a way it never had before. For the first time since my change, I found myself thinking, that it may not have been that terrible that I had become a vampire. I could feel a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. It was a moment of actual joy.

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I felt a warmth start generating in my upper jaw. Right about the same place my fangs most likely dropped from. I knew immediately what it meant. I was hungry, and I had only moments before I could no longer resist, and...wait. This is an opportunity for me to see how well my ability works. The thought stopped me dead in my tracks.

I immediately turned to the section of the city that the homeless lived in.

As I ran and jumped from building to building, I had my ability to start passively scanning for Minds that were still vibrant. I caught a ping, and landed on Top of the building adjacent to it.

It was a man in his forties. His heart beat strong, steadily, and firmly. As my eyes tracked him, I felt the heat in my upper gum grow. I could feel my body asking for control. I denied it.

I'll do it. I’ll do it the right way.

I then focused on that mental construct, and formed a string, that connected me to this Man, and I felt him in his entirety. Suddenly his mind was a place I could freely walk through. He was a kind man. One that sacrificed his comfort for profit—more money to send back home, to his family. Instead of living in Salt Lake's basic income households, he relinquished that and carried the weight of living without a roof over his head. This honour made me respect him.

I won't let you die, Jacoby, if you make it through this, I'll make sure you bring your family home—make a better life for them here in Salt Lake.

I then planted a yearning for a short walk. One just around the corner. A little deeper into the alley, to find out what that scratching sound was. A sound that, ironically, his ‘friends’ didn't seem capable of hearing.

My body tingled with anticipation. Nerve endings were firing at full capacity. I was fully ‘on’. Like my existence found a way to jump outside time itself.

As soon as Jacoby was enveloped by shadows, I dropped off the four-story building, and landed right in front of him with a single command.

SILENT.

I could see the fear in his eyes, and all it did was make my body shudder with joy. I could taste the sweet venom, as my fangs poked through behind my canines, and I clamped onto his neck.

then, I was gone. The bliss had taken my mind.

Every single shard of moonlight became heavy with fulfillment. I was complete. There wasn’t a thing on the planet I wanted more than to be stuck in this place of satiation. I felt every inch of my existence, and more. I felt his life. I felt every positive emotion he had ever experienced. His loving wife, the kids, so beautiful and sweet. So filled with vitality, that their wonder spilt into him. Every time he looked up at the sun, and held her warmth. Every walk he took, every view he saw, even the pictures he kept in his right pocket. The ones of the clouds from an aeroplane. I could even taste his dream, of a big beautiful house that was covered with his little boys painted messes, and his Wife, in the kitchen of her dreams, the wonder—”

“—please” a soft voice pulled me out of the trance I was in. I pulled away, and a small sigh left me.

Jacoby was pale. Ghost white. I was saddened at the realisation that I felt no guilt.

“You can move Jac, but don’t scream. I can just as easily freeze you up again. Make you a puppet. You don’t want that do you?” I tried driving home his current predicament.

“ just... cold..” he managed to get out, before slumping against me, winded.

I remembered the vampire books I'd read when I was younger and thought. maybe if I give him

some of my blood, he’ll heal?

So I did just that.

To my suprise, my fangs slid right out, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them to do, and I made the signature dual puncture at what I assumed to be my veins, then poured the material in his mouth.

“I hope this makes you better.” I said. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”

I said before a quick leap took me back up to the top of the building I was in.

With a body full of blood, I took off, feeling sharper and stronger than ever. I Had to adjust the amount of force I put into my movements.

It was this moment that had decided everything for me. I wanted to have that blood ready and available to me at all times, and I didn’t want to hunt for it. I wanted it to come to me. I was set on making myself irresistible to humans, and taking all the blood I wanted—without being caught by the Hunters of course. A fate with them was one I wanted no part in.

First, I needed a den. Something that didn't scream vampire. Then I needed a pawn. Someone that would run my daily errands for me. Someone unsuspecting, but that still had the confidence to be in places where they were under heavy scrutiny. Finally, but most importantly, a good supply of blood. Fresh, vibrant, blood.

It was time to look for a rich person, that I could leech off of.

Club VIP’s

I immediately thought to myself.

I need to find a lair. Unfortunately its going to be very vampiric in nature to anyone that’s in the know. Ill have to dig myself a deep cave in the rock, that has enough corners that bounce the sunlight so its ray’s wont reach me.

I made my way back to the woods, to try figuring out what to do next.

let’s go into the mountains then. I said to myself, Taking my new coff—”bed, I went much further into the mountains—much much further. As far as I could, until I got to a rocky area. One that seemed so perfectly isolated, I could see the kaliedoscope of light that made up the city. It was perfect. The view was beautiful.

This would be my new home.

Jakoby.

The cold was different. Deeper. It had been three months now that I was in line at the homeless shelter, without a chance to get in, and I had felt cold before but this new cold? It was violent. Invasive. Nigh-permanent. It seeped right into my bones, stole all my warmth, then replaced it with emptiness. I looked around, hoping to find some blood to explain the encounter I just had, yet only the puncture wounds on my neck that seemed to be rapidly fading, remained as a reminder of the deep shift my reality just took.

He was in my brain. Walked in, like he owned the place, and took the best memories I had. The only wealth remaining of mine, then left.

It was supposed to be infuriating, but for some reason, I couldn’t get mad at him. Whoever he was. He knew. He knew the deepest and most hidden parts of me. My mind was a field in which he could just waltz in, unimpeded.

having been party to the violence and invasions humans are capable of, I had believed nothing could truly shock me. Yet here I was, visibly stunned and rendered mute by shock.

The marks were gone now. But with their disappearance, came a new strength and focus. It was as though the world was greeting me for the first time.

Goodness I stink... the thought came as soon as I took a deep breath.

It was time to get my life in order.

First thing, finding decent clothing. Then, figure out how to contact him. the ability he had, would make it so easy for me to work my way up the ranks in the company. It was a Friday night, and I had the whole weekend to figure this out, before work on Monday.

I’m gonna get my life on track.