After The Dawn: The Awakening

Robert Rumery

2017

The nightmares had started again, every time he had them. It was more like a vivid vision into a passed life. He remembers it vividly; he’s always in some sort of ballroom. It looked like a fancy dinner inside of a Victorian castle; he is always dancing with a woman in a Victorian dress, slender and long black hair. She always called him by his name and then things always turned for the worst. A blood bath, everyone started to bleed from their necks and pools of blood would surround him and he'd look down and see blood on his own hands and he'd lick his lips. He'd taste the blood.

That is when he would wake up in his bed, drenched in his own sweat. He never knew what it meant, he doesn't remember much about his life. Where he was from or who he was before he meets The Martins. Everything about his life up until knows was a mystery. Maybe he should try to journey into his past and find out who he was. Stuff like that wasn't easy and he wasn't sure he'd like what he would find.

Diving into one's past was always dangerous, especially if it was an unknown past.

A bottle of water was on the nightstand next to his bed; he had sat up and grabbed it. He took a few sips off of it and put it back on the nightstand; he got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He turned the sink on and splashed some water on his face. When were these nightmares going to stop? He just wanted to live a normal life, he chuckled to himself. He probably was never going to live a normal life.

Newport, Rhode Island. That is where he lived; he wasn't a very social person. He kept to himself most of the time; there was really no reason why he needed to interact with people. He stared at himself in the mirror; he still looked like he was sixteen years old. He thought that was kind of strange, maybe he just aged slowly. That wasn't normal; maybe he should get that checked out. It could be something in his genetic makeup or something, he didn't know. He walked out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom; he sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at the floor.

He has felt weird lately like something was wrong with him. He didn't really know how to explain it; he lay back down and began to stare at the ceiling. There was something wrong and he could feel it, he just couldn't put his finger on what was wrong. He closed his eyes, he really hoped the nightmares wouldn't start again; he needed to get some sleep. Sleep has escaped him so much. He just wanted to be able to sleep for a little while; he sighed and drifted slowly off to sleep. For once he didn't have a nightmare, he just slept.

****
 

Desmond Martin arrived at his local Wal-Mart, reporting to work was such a pain in the ass. He had his Metallica foodie on and he had his ear buds in and was rocking out to the music on his phone as he clocked in for work. It was the usual crowd in the morning, people rushing around the store buying things and trying to get shit done. There was a shit load of single mothers with screaming children in the store. That was an annoying to him; gladly he didn't have to work in the front today. He vanished into the stock room.

There were trucks coming into to drop off more stock, there were a few people in the stock room. Desmond walked over to the bay door and opened it up, just as he did he could hear the sound of a trucking backing up. He could see the tail lights; this wasn't going to be fun. All of them had to work together to unload the stock once the truck was done backing up. Desmond watched the truck back up and then come to a full stop, they opened up the back of the truck and one of the guys went and got a pallet jack and unloaded the pallets of stock into the stock room and Desmond signed the paperwork and watched the truck drive off. He gave the paperwork to one of the other workers and the other worker took it to the supervisor. He dug a knife out of his pants pockets and cut the plastic wrap that surrounded the stock. You know, you couldn't have stock getting damaged on the way to the store.

Some of the stuff was very fragile; he could see one pallet that was just filled with glassware. If that got broken on the way to the store, the driver's ass would have probably been fired. He really wanted a smoke, but he had to put all this stuff away. It was such a pain in the ass, he started sorting stuff. He was working on the stacks of clothes in one pallet and he was putting them in an empty grocery carriage and when he got done sorting them, they would have to go out onto the floor. Yeah, he was going to have to deal with the public at some point in the day.

After the morning was over, the rest of the day went by fast for him. He punched out of work around 6:30 pm, and now it was time for him to go home. He had noticed a new woman at work, she had light brown hair and blue eyes, and she looked to be about nineteen years old, really pretty. He had walked by her while he was leaving. He caught a glimpse of her name tag, it read: Amelia Hart. It was a pretty name; he smirked and chuckled as he walked by her. She caught a glimpse of him and smiled and waved at him. Desmond blinked; no one ever smiled or waved at him. He turned red a bit and then disappeared into the parking lot.

****
 

Amelia was a rather shy girl, she played with her light brown hair as she worked and a few hours she was gone for the night too this wasn't her first job, she had worked at a pizza place in Lincoln, Nebraska. She had moved to Rhode Island with her mother, they had left Nebraska after her dad abandoned her. She hasn't had a perfect life. They lived in a small one-bedroom apartment; she usually had the couch that had a pull out bed in it. It wasn't a lot but it was enough. She dug her cell phone out of her pocket and checked it; she was waiting for a text from her mother. It never came, she must be working.

She walked a few blocks and she was home, she lived on a quiet street. Not much noise at all. Except on the weekends and that is when the other people would start and party, she wasn't like that. She sat down on the steps that lead up into the apartment and pulled out a package of menthol cigarettes, put one in her mouth and lit it up. Smoking was bad for you, sure. It was the only way she could deal with the stress in her life, she needed to get out more and meet some people locally. Going out sounded like fun. She heard about a club that was near her apartment.

It was called: The Black Cauldron, it was supposed to be some Goth Club and Bar. It might be a nice place to find some interesting people. That's it! She'd finish her cigarette and get ready for a night out by herself. She puffed the last puff off of the cigarette and put it out on the step and threw into a small garbage can that was by the step. She didn't really like people that much, this was a new place and she could be whoever she wanted to be and she did have some black clothes she could wear and she'd blend right in! She unlocked the apartment and walked in it, took off her hoodie and threw it on the couch and ran to the bathroom, showered and wrapped a towel around her body and vanished into her room and got dressed. She was going to have a goodnight, and she was going to meet someone. She could feel it; she put on some black lipstick and pulled on an old black hoodie, a pair of black jeans and a pair of black leather boots. She looked like the stereotypical Goth girl. She laughed at herself for a moment.

She walked over and grabbed her fake id and put it in her wallet. The id made her about 23 years, it didn't matter. She wasn't going to be drinking anything, she just wanted to have a good time and meet some new unique people. The people in here life were actually kinda boring and dull. That is what you get for living in Rhode Island.
 

****
 

After Desmond left work, he found himself being pulled to a night club called: The Dark Cauldron. He guessed it was meant to be for people of darker nature, he had no clue why he was going there. He walked up to the doors to the club and pushed them open and when he entered the club all he could hear was techno music. Really? This is the kind of music that people in this place listen to? He found a table in the back area of the club. It wasn't like anyone he knew was going to be in this place.

He noticed a few males dressed in long black overcoats and Victorian style clothing. He closed his eyes and shook his head; they kind of looked like some of the people from his dream. That was weird, he watched them raise a silver goblet and drink out of it. He watched one wipe off his mouth; it looked like they were drinking something that was red. What could it be? He wanted to know what it is, but at the same time, he didn't really want to know. He just sat there and lit up a cigarette and smoked, he looked around to see if anyone was coming his way or not.

He watched some women come out of the back and they were dressed the same way. They were in Victorian-styled-clothing. He just thought that it was very weird, someone approached him for a drink and he ordered something. He watched the person walk away. There was something off about the place; he just didn't know what it was. He was observing the people that were coming and going. They all seemed to act the same, maybe it was just because of the place and the culture that they were in. He shrugged as his drink was placed on the table.

“This place is almost like my dream, I feel almost at ease here,” Desmond said to himself, his eyes shifted to the door. He heard someone walk through it; his eyes went wide as he saw the person who walked through it. Why was she here? His eyes were fixed on this woman. It looked like the woman that said hi to him at work, but why would she be in a place like this? A place like this wasn't meant for her.

This place was meant to be a place of darkness, he knew that. Could this be a place where freaks come to gather? It was under the guise of a nightclub. It probably wanted to draw people in, he looked away from the woman. He couldn't stop looking over at her; he really hoped she didn't see him. He wasn't very good at small talk. The room filled gothic rock music and a few people started to dance. What was he supposed to do?

It felt like this place should be a secret society, he didn't know why it was open to the public. He kept his eyes on the woman and he could see she was talking to people and making her way over to where he was? He got up quickly and moved to another table and pretended to not notice here. He didn't really want to talk to anyone tonight.

He watched a bunch of guys circles the woman, what were they doing? He thought he saw one of the guy's eyes go black and fangs came out. What the hell? He felt his blood boil for a minute and he looked at all the other guys and they were doing the same thing. Could these people be vampires that are when it happened? His eyes went black and his fangs came out. He blacked out; he rushed over to where the guys were and started to fight with them. The woman got away.

He took his hand and shoved it through the stomachs of the guys that were trying to hurt the woman. Blood was dripping off of both of his hands, they were at his feet. They had to be dead, his eyes flashed back to a normal color and he looked down at his hands as his fangs retracted. What had he done? The blood was dripping down onto the floor and he watched the woman take a few steps back and he looked at the men that had been killed. Had he done this?

“You saved me.” The woman said in a soft voice, for a moment their eyes connected. There was a soft smile on her face.

“Did I?” Desmond asked he was still looking down at his hands. He walked away from her, vanished into a bathroom and washed off his hands. He splashed some water on his face as he looked into the mirror. What had happened to him? He had felt this sudden rage and then everything went black. What could have caused him to do such a thing? There were too many questions and not enough answers.

The only good thing was that the woman was alright, he didn't know why but he felt something from her. Like she was a part of his past that was crazy. He had just met her at work earlier today. Could it be more than that? Maybe they had met in a past life or something. Yeah, sure. That sounded nuts. He walked out of the bathroom and looked around. The dead bodies had vanished; maybe someone took them and buried them. Who knew, he looked around. The girl was still there; maybe she was waiting for him. He doubted it. The gothic rock music had died down and they were playing some heavy metal music now, the few people that didn't freak out by what happened were dancing and the girl was standing by the door. Maybe he should go and try to talk to her.

She spotted him and walked over towards him, she had her hands in her pockets and she looked at him.

“Now, what were those men?” She asked Desmond.

“I don't know.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“What's your name?” She asked.

“Desmond.” He answered. “Yours?”

“Amelia.” She answered; she looked at him and smiled.

Desmond turned and saw there was a woman behind the bar washing a glass and it seemed like she was staring at them. This place was weird and he felt like he needed to get out the club as soon as they could. He wanted answers though, where could he get those? All the people that were in this place were freaks. He was almost convinced that he was a freak too, he didn't like when he lost time. This wasn't the first time this had happened.

There had to be some sort of explanation for what had happened to him.

“You hungry?” Desmond asked Amelia.

“A little,” Amelia replied.

“There should be a little burger place down the road or something,” Desmond said.

“Alright,” Amelia said, she smiled.

Desmond escorted Amelia out of the club and they walked down the road for about a mile and a half. They were talking about work mostly and what had happened, in the pit of his stomach Desmond knew there was something wrong with him and he just didn't know what. It was odd; he could eat normal meals and such. They had to be cooked rare or be bleeding; it had to be some sort of family disorder. That is what he kept on telling himself, he didn't really know what it could be. He had heard legends of Vampires living among them. He couldn't be one of those creatures though.

They were just stories to scare kids and make crappy movies out of. That wasn't him; he couldn't explain the odd dreams though. They arrived at the burger place and walked up to the window and order two burgers, a bunch of French fries and two cokes and they both sat down at a table outside and waited for their food. Desmond got out his phone and checked his messages. Nothing. Nobody even knew he was missing, it was kind of amusing and he wondered why this woman kept on following him around. Did she like him? He wasn't going to ask her.

“So how long have you lived here?” Amelia asked.

“Long enough...” Desmond replied.

“Oh,” Amelia said, she looked down at the table and played with her thumbs.

“How about you?” Desmond asked Amelia.

“Oh... Kind of new around here...” Amelia said, she smiled shyly at him.

It didn't take that long for the food to come, the people at the burger joint were always fast with getting food and such. He's been there a few times and did like the food, he didn't know why. They both bite into their burgers at the same time. Grease dripped off the burgers and dribbled down onto their plates and they both wiped their mouths. She seemed like an interesting girl, he didn't know if he'd ever been interested in someone like that though, he's used to being alone. He wasn't going to try and date anyone right now, he didn't even know what he was. What if he was a dangerous monster or something? He wouldn't want to hurt anyone. That is the kind of person he was.

As they ate, he had this feeling that they were being watched. He pushed it out of his mind and continued to eat with the girl after they were done. He paid for everything and the waitress came and took everything away and they left. He still couldn't shake this feeling that something or someone was watching them. He shrugged it off once again and they started to walk. He knew this area pretty good and she told him where she lived. Maybe she didn't feel safe and wanted him to walk her home that sounded like a nice thing to do.

He didn't want to go to sleep tonight, he was afraid the dreams would come back and he saw Amelia turn and look at him. It looked like she had something on her mind or she was about to say something.

“You looked troubled, Desmond,” Amelia said, she looked over at him and touched his arm softly.

“Just haven't been sleeping that's all,” Desmond said he didn't mind her touch. To be honest, this female was the first female to ever touch him. It felt nice, well. He didn't know how he was really supposed to feel.

“Oh, Bad dreams?” Amelia asked.

“Yeah, something like that,” Desmond answered he nodded.

He didn't know how to explain what he was going through to this woman. He didn't really know what the nightmares meant, half of the time they felt like memories. There was a legend that said that your dreams were memories of a past life. Could that be true in his case? Could he have lived a past life and not known about? Maybe he needed to go to a shrink or something. He needed to find someone that knew about this shit. Not another word had been spoken, he found his way to Amelia's house and he dropped her off. A slight smile came over his face before she went inside Amelia gave Desmond his phone number. Just in case he needed to talk about anything. He stuffed it in his pocket and went on his way.

As he started to walk away, he started to think about her. Why would she care about him? She barely knew him and it was just luck that he was there to save her. Maybe that was it. He saved her and now she wanted to be friends, he didn't know and he continued to walk and the feeling he had before came back.

It felt like he was being stalked now, he could hear several growls coming from the shadows. What could this be? They sounded like dogs. They were not dogs, they had to be wolves. He didn't know they had those in Rhode Island, he had been here most of his life and he had never seen a wolf. He continued to walk and paid no mind to the growling, as he walked the growling got louder and he turned around. There wasn't anything near him, how could it be getting more intense? Maybe he was walking into a trap of some sort.

“Vampires aren't welcome here.” A dark voice spoke.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Desmond asked he spun around.

“Your kind needs to leave!” The dark voice spoke again.

“What are you talking about? I'm not a vampire!” Desmond yelled.

“Fool..” the dark voice said, “I saw what you did to those other bloodsuckers that tried to feed on the girl. You killed them without hesitation. Either you're a vampire or you're just in denial of being a vampire. No one carries that much strength without being something supernatural. You can deny it all you want, but I know what you are.” The Dark Voice added.

A black wolf came out of the shadows and lunged at Desmond as he turned around. Desmond grabbed the wolf by the throat and slammed it to the ground. The wolf tried biting him, all he got for his attempted biting was a kick to the stomach. He still had the wolf by the throat and he lifted it into the air and threw it into a large tree. He didn't need this shit, on the impact the wolf turned back to his human form. Desmond looked over at the now human.

“So they can shift between wolf and human forms?” Desmond asked himself as he looked at the human.

So how many people that he worked with werewolves or vampires? He had only seen creatures like this in movies. How did he know to grab that wolf by the throat and throw him into the tree? That must have been a fighter's instinct. He was just trying to protect himself and nothing more. Why would this wolf be stalking him?

“We've been watching you very close, Desmond.” The Man spoke, he walked over towards Desmond.

“Why?” Desmond asked as he turned to the man.

“We know what you are.” The Man said, his eyes connected with Desponds.

“Who are you?” Desmond asked.

“Zane Greywolf,” Zane answered.

“What happens now? Do I fight you? I kill you?” Desmond asked.

“Usually, we are mortal enemies after all. You may deny that you're a vampire, but I know better. Every bloodsucker that shows up in these parts always denies what they are and then they hurt someone or kill someone and then they realize that they are a monster and nothing can stop them from doing what they do.” Zane said, he looked at Desmond.

It was true that Vampires and werewolves had been enemies in the past. It didn't mean they had to be enemies now, what did this wolf have against Vampires? There had to be more to it than just an age-old rivalry. There had to be more to it than that. Desmond looked over at Zane, the words struck him like a ton of bricks. Did that mean they had to fight now? He wasn't a violent person. He had just meet Zane and this wolf already hated him. What had the vampires done to Zane in the past?

It didn't look like Zane was going to make any sudden movements. He wasn't either, it was one of those situations where no one knew what was going to happen and Desmond watched Zane come towards him. They were a few feet apart when Desmond threw Zane at the tree, he sustained a few injuries on his face. It just looked like Knicks and cuts, nothing too serious and he was bleeding a little bit.

Zane grabbed Desmond by the shirt and pulled him close to him.

“You say you don't know what you are, but what made you turn into a vampire and kill those other vampires back there, huh?” Zane growled.

Zane's pack had been murdered by a bunch of vampires a few years back, and yeah, he was still kind of sore and saw all of them as a threat and his enemy. Right now, he was a lone wolf. He didn't have anything or anyone to hold him back from what he had to do. He was going to avenge his family no matter what. He was going to start with killing this vampire.

He knew that Desmond was playing dumb, he had to be. No one just turns into a vampire and slaughters your own kind. There had to be something to it, their eyes connected for a moment. He didn't look like a killer, he didn't get that killer instinct vibe from him either. He was a fucking bloodsucker though and they were the enemy no matter what.

Zane let Desmond go for a moment and he turned his back on Desmond and started to walk away, he growled and sighed at the same time. This was against his better judgment, he never let a vampire go. They always ended up dead at his feet and he could feel Desmond's eyes on his back. Something in his gut told him not to let Desmond go, but he didn't seem like the type that killed his pack.

“Why do you hate vampires so much, Zane?” Desmond asked as he watched Zane walk away.

After Desmond's question was asked, Zane stopped in his tracks and turned around and walked over towards Desmond. Had that man had really asked him that question? Any other bloodsucker would have attacked him without mercy and he would probably be dead right now. What was with this one? Could he really be different?

Zane looked at Desmond and he was trying to figure him out, if he let his guard down would he get attacked? Or was Desmond just trying to get information out of him? Probably just another bloodsucker looking to kill more wolves. Maybe he would humor Zane with a response or even a story.

That had to wait for another night, the sounds of gunshots and explosions rang out down the street. That could mean only one thing: HUNTERS, they had to be out and searching for vampires or more of his brethren.

Desmond looked in the distance and saw two people that were dressed in all black and they both had guns, very big guns. Yeah, it wasn't safe here anymore, he needed to find away back to where he was living without being spotted. If word got out about what happened at the club, they would definitely think he was a vampire or a demon or some sort. He always felt like he was different, but never this different. He wasn't a menace to society and he didn't want to hurt anyone.

“Now, would they go after the woman I saved at the club?” Desmond asked.

“They might, to draw you out..” Zane said, he looked at Desmond.

“Her house is half a mile from here..” Desmond said, he looked towards Zane.

They shouldn't have been talking, they should have run away. They were surrounded by hunters and the only way out was to work together and fight the hunters off. That rage Desmond had earlier, he needed that now. He wasn't going to die here tonight. The situations that he gets himself into and it was because he wanted to talk to the wolf. If they had taken Amelia, there would be war. Was he having feelings for her? He didn't really know.

“Let's see the rage I saw back at the club,” Zane said, he looked over at Desmond.

The Hunters weren't making a move, there was enough fire power around the wolf and vampire to kill them, but their boss wanted them brought in alive. That wasn't the fun part, hunters loved to kill and take trophies. Their boss wanted to make this sort of supernatural army. All of them thought their boss was crazy, but they got paid a lot of money to do this.

“They aren't going to let us go, are they?” Desmond asked Zane.

“Nope,” Zane answered.

They both had to do something, neither of them was going to be brought in by these hunters. Desmond started fighting off the hunters on the right and Zane started fighting the hunters on the left. They fended enough of the hunters off to where they could get away. Shots were fired and they knocked both Zane and Desmond a couple times, they left a trail of blood behind them as they ran off. There was only one thing on Desmond's mind: Amelia. He really hoped that woman was alright, Zane and Desmond found a safe place to hide.

The Hunters were a ruthless band of people, they felt like all supernatural beings should be executed and sent from this world to the other. That is why they hunted these creatures, it wasn't very often that they found both a Werewolf and a Vampire in the same area. They were usually miles apart and didn't help one another, they were mortal enemies. It was a rare thing to be able to hunt both Vampire and Werewolf at the same time, it was going to be exciting for the hunters that survived the little scrap. All the other hunters had been ordered to spread out and look for the creatures.

They were going to comb every inch of the city to look for those creatures. They couldn't have gotten far, there were not many people’s that would house freaks like that. They were what seemed like an army or militia, they only had one goal in mind and they all had the same mindset within them. They would do anything to bring the freaks in alive, they were better to them alive than dead. They would perform tests on the freaks and try to find a way to cure what they were, then they could purge the world of these freaks.

****
 

Zane and Desmond had found refuge for the time being. Those motherfuckers were hunters, mortal enemies to everything that wasn't human. If you were just a little bit different, they snatched you up and did experiments on you until they found out what made you tick. They would try to 'cure' you. Most of the people they captured didn't need to be cured. They tried to 'cure' some super powered people and that didn't turn out well for them. Zane sighed as he looked over to the most unlikely ally he thought he'd never have. A fucking blood sucking vampire, from what he gathered of Desmond. He had no clue he was a vampire and probably didn't know how to control his abilities yet.

Zane wondered how long these hunters were going to stay around. They had no mercy in their bodies and would kill anything that got in the way of their mission, in many ways they were like brainwashed zombies with marching orders. He wouldn't let them get him and now he had to watch someone else back right now, he groaned.

They needed to find shelter for the night, the bullets had stopped flying. It wasn't like it was safe to move from their spot right now. Both of them had to be very smart right now, wait a few hours and maybe then it would be safe to go and look for shelter for the night. Zane closed his eyes and groaned again, he should have never attacked the vampire. That made him known and if he hadn't done that. He wouldn't be in this mess, he wasn't going to turn over the vampire right now. They needed to get away from the fuckers and soon.

The neighborhood was usually quiet and do the commotion people started to come out of their houses to see what had been going on. They had never seen that many people before. They didn't know what these people were doing here and they were curious about what was happening. They were ushered back into their houses by the hunters and told that it wasn't anything to worry about.

The pressure was on for the hunters to find the vampire and the werewolf it would all end soon. Maybe the girl was the answer to finding the vampire, she had been with him at the club.

****

 

Amelia had got home unharmed, what had happened was still fresh in her mind. She had never seen anyone gets murdered before. That man had saved her life, she was shaking a bit. She could barely hold onto the doorknob. She calmed herself down before she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. It was pitch black in the house, hopefully, her mother was asleep. She didn't want to have to explain to her mother where she had been. She silently crept up the stairs and went into her room.

She flopped down on her bed and began to stare at the ceiling. She couldn't get that man out of her head. Why? There had been a brief spark of electricity between them when he saved her. It probably was just the feeling you got after someone saved your life. There couldn't be anything between them, she barely knew that man and she was probably going to keep it that way. She was okay with this, he was kind of cute though. She smiled to herself as she reached for her cell phone that was lying on the floor beside her bed. Had anyone texted her? She flipped open the phone and shook her head. Nope. Why did she bother with people? They didn't really like her and she didn't really like them much either.

“Father, you won't even text your own daughter back?” Amelia asked herself as she stared at her cell phone.

On the cell phone was an unanswered text that she had sent her father a few hours ago and it went unanswered. That was so pathetic, she hated her father for annoying her. Sure, he had his new family. That didn't mean that he could ignore her!

She got this feeling that something or someone was watching her. There was a rustling in the bushes by her window, she rushed over to the window and looked out it. There was nothing, maybe it was just a night time animal that was looking for some food. She paid no mind to what she had felt and walked back over to her bed and laid down on it. It was just her mind playing tricks on her, this has happened to her plenty of times. That is what it was. On the way home, she had heard rumors about a wire-creature running free in the city. That had to be just stories as well.

*****

 

Zane and Desmond needed to move, it sounded like the hunters had moved to another area. Desmond was half-asleep and Zane shook him to wake him up and they moved. They ran a few blocks until they came to an abandoned factory, all the windows had been busted out and it was as black as sort. It probably had been burnt down a few times, it was still standing. A tough old building, they slipped into the factory through one of the windows.

“What is this place?” Desmond asked he started to look around the old factory.

“A place I've called home for a little while,” Zane said, he looked over to Desmond.

There was a generator a few rooms over and it wasn't on right now. Zane decided to walk through the factory to find the generator and turn it on. When the generator came on, the old factory lit up like a Christmas tree in December. There was a room that was designated for cooking and eating and then there was a small room, about the size of a closet that had a tub, a sink and a bucket in it. You didn't want to know what they did in the bucket.

The place used to be a refuge for freaks like them. It seemed like when he let a new person into the place, the hunters found them. He wasn't really sure why he was trusting Desmond. It probably was because the vampire reminded him of a lost puppy that had no clue what he was. He found Desmond in the main room, it looked like the vampire was trying to figure out what the place was. It was kind of cute, he chuckled to himself. Desmond found and old beat up couch and sat down on it, Zane followed and sat down next to him.

Desmond was usually pretty care-free and nothing really got to him. This did. What was he supposed to do? Run from the hunters for the rest of his life? He wasn't going to let them capture him, he knew that much. This was a fight he wasn't ready for, how was he supposed to fight these hunters? It felt like it was hopeless. How was he going to get through this? He just wanted to lie down and quit. He wanted to have a normal life, normal friends, and a normal love interest. He knew that wasn't happening right now.

After a little while, the generator shut off. There was nothing but darkness right now,ironically that was almost an outward manifestation of how he felt right now. This was probably going to be where he was sleeping tonight, he got comfortable. He looked over in Zane's direction. He couldn't see him, it was all dark. He heard and felt Zane move. Zane had shifted into his wolf form and looked at Desmond and gave him a little nod as Zane walked away. He was probably going to curl up somewhere and go to sleep. Desmond closed his eyes, he wanted to wake up and this all be a bad dream. That wasn't going to happen.

****
A jet black dodge charger road through the streets, it pulled into an old motel parking lot. The sign for the motel was blinking and buzzing, it looked like it needed to be repaired badly. The doors to the black dodge charger opened and two women dressed in all black got out of the car. They both had pistols strapped to their hips. They looked like something out of those old vampire movies, they looked like vampire hunters. They were sisters, Charlotte and Taylor Jericho. They were twins. Charlotte was the more aggressive one and Taylor was the laid back one.

“This was the best Motel you could find, Taylor?” Charlotte hissed.

“For the low funds, we have, yeah,” Taylor responded.

They were off on a mission, they had seen a newspaper clipping about supposed Vampire and Werewolf attacks in this city. They were crazy enough to investigate it. Both of them walked into the motel and walked up to the front desk and put the money down and then got the key, they found their room and crashed for the night. They could start searching tomorrow, there was no use trying to find that thing in the pitch black. It could be anywhere. It'd be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Their mother and father passed away when they were young and had been raised by their grandparents for most of their lives. The grandparents were strict Christians and didn't really believe in any of that paranormal shit. Both Charlotte and Taylor believed.

****
 

Amelia had to feel asleep and had been asleep for a little while, a man in black had broken into her room and put his hand over her mouth and yanked her out of bed and disappeared into the night. Amelia woke up in a cold dark room and several men dressed in black were surrounding her. What had happened? Why was so she here? She tried to move but she had been tied to a chair. This wasn't good. Why did they want her? She hasn't done anything wrong! Why did stuff follow her? Why couldn't she just have a normal life? She wasn't going to tell these guys anything, she would keep her mouth shut even if they tortured her!

“Aren't you a pretty little thing.” One of the men said, he walked over and touched the side of her face lightly.

“Bite me!” Amelia responded and spit in his face.

“Bitch!” The man replied and slapped her hard.

Amelia growled. When she got loose she would give that man a piece of her mind and fuck him up to boot. No one treats her like that! She wondered why she was here and surrounded by a bunch of men dressed in all black. Could these people be the men in black? She heard stories about a secret government agency that investigated aliens and the paranormal. She wasn't paranormal though, she was just some chick. A normal chick at that. If her mother woke up and didn't find her in her bedroom, she would freak out. Like really freak out and probably call the National Guard or something.

She needed to find a way out of the room, she noticed that there were no windows and only one sliding door that the men in black kept on going in and out of. It was almost like a jail cell, it was cold and damp and she just wanted to get out of it. How could she form a plan to get out of this place? She just needed to be left alone to form some sort of plan. She overheard a few of the men saying they were going for coffee and would be back in a little bit. She noticed the man that slapped her wasn't leaving and was hovering over her.

“So do you know of any Werewolf or Vampire sighting in the city?” The man asked as he hovered over her. He grabbed her by the bottom of the jaw and for a brief moment, their eyes meet. There was nothing but defiance in her eyes, she wasn't going to cooperate.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Amelia hissed, she looked at the man in black. All she wanted to do was tear him to shreds, being touched like that wasn't cool and she wasn't going to let it fly. She could tell that this man was frustrated with her, she watched him walk away and out of the room. She knew the way men thought, put her in solitude and maybe she would crack. She was a tough egg and she wasn't going to crack under the pressure.

She thought she could hear the men talking outside of the room. What could they be talking about? She was lying to the man, she knew the vampire. That vampire had saved her life and she wasn't going to give him up to the likes of these assholes. There had to be a way out of this room, they just had to leave. Every time she got herself into trouble it was over some boy and that was what had happened now. If she had given the vampire up she would probably be free right now.

****
 

Desmond couldn't stay asleep he felt like something was wrong. He didn't see Zane anywhere, should he escape this place and go off on his own? No, that would be stupid. He didn't want to admit it but at this point he needed Zane. He had a feeling that the woman was in trouble and he was powerless.

He hasn't had any of his visions lately, which he had found weird. He still wondered what they meant, he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. It was all dark around him, so he figured it'd be easy to fall back asleep, nope. Amelia was on his mind, what was he going to do? He knew something was wrong, very wrong. He sat there until the morning came when it did and there was a little light in the warehouse that is when he left. He found a way out and decided he needed to go look for the girl, if it wasn't for him she wouldn't be in trouble. Also if he hadn't transformed the girl would be dead, so it was a lose-lose situation anyway.

It felt like he had gotten this woman into trouble by transforming. He might be a vampire, but he was no killer. Well, he couldn't really say that right now. He killed those other vampires when he thought they were going to kill the woman. It was like he had betrayed his own kind, he needed to find more people like him. He needed to find a way to control his vampire powers. He knew Zane couldn't help him and he felt grateful that Zane had taken him in for the night. He needed to be on his own, he couldn't be partnered up with anybody.

Where was he going to start? Just wander around Rhode Island for a little while until he found some clues to that woman's whereabouts. He wondered around for a little bit, his stomach growled. He needed something to eat and by luck, he found a dinner. He walked in slapped some money down on the counter and ordered the rarest steak they could make. When the steak came it was still bleeding. He smiled and cut into it and started to eat, he felt eyes on him while he was eating. Everyone was staring at him. Guess they had never seen a guy enjoy an extra rare steak before, it was really good and very tasty. It was they're loss really, he knew at some point Zane would come looking for him. That was a given, by that time he would be long gone. He drank the soda that he ordered with the meal and threw a few dollars down on the table for a tip and he left. Back on the hunt so to say.

If he was going to kidnap a woman, where would he take her? He got an idea. Some sort of abandoned place where no one could find her. How many were abandoned warehouses in this city? Probably too many to count. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He needed to stay calm, he could get through this. He closed his eyes and leaned up against a telephone poll. That is when it happened, he got a massive headache and a vision of a large metal building and people were walking in and out of it. They were all dressed in black.

“How many large metal buildings could be in this city?” Desmond asked himself, he began to look around the area that he was in. He didn't see any buildings that matched the description of the building in his vision. He had noticed someone's moped parked by a telephone pole, stealing was bad. He knew that walking was the slowest way to travel and needed a faster way to get around. He hoped this person would forgive him in due time and this was the only way he'd be able to find her before she was in real trouble. Why did he want to protect her?

He was just pretending to be something that he knew he wasn't. He drove around the city and he had no luck finding the building he was looking for. Maybe they had taken her out of the city or maybe it was in a secluded place he couldn't really find. He ditched the moped in an alleyway and began to walk around once again, h e felt like he was being followed by somebody. He stopped walking and turned around, there was no one there. He hated having feelings like that, maybe it was his mind playing tricks with him.

It could be something else, he had pissed a few people off. They could be coming back for revenge, he looked around and kept on walking. He needed another vision to tell him if he was close to the building or not. He didn't really know his way around the town that well, he just wanted to make sure Amelia was alright. By the feelings he had, he knew she wasn't okay. She was in trouble because of him. What a way to protect somebody, he should have gone with her. He thought she'd be okay. He was kicking himself in the ass for that over and over.

He walked a few blocks and then was confronted by four large men in trench-coats. They didn't look like men in black that he saw in his vision. They had surrounded him and it looked like they wanted to fight. How did he get himself into situations like this? He just assumed that these men were more vampires from the club. Out in broad daylight, the myths and legends weren't right. Some Vampires couldn't be out in the light and others could. Hollywood has gotten it wrong so many times.

“What do you want?” Desmond hissed, he watched the other vampires circle around him.

“You killed your kind and why? To save the life of some human?” One of the vampires asked, he was a bigger vampire, stood about 6 feet tall. He looked like the meanest one there.

Things were not going to end well and Desmond could feel it in his bones, he didn't really know why he saved that girl. He guessed he just wanted to prove he wasn't ruthless like every other vampire out there. Hell, he didn't want to be a vampire. He was happy being normal, well, when he thought he was normal. All of the other vampires were looking at him like he was their next snack. He needed to think fast, he needed to survive this and save the girl. When he hulked out on vampire mode he could take other vampires. Like this, he wasn't so sure. Maybe he was in over his head, he. There was no maybe, he was in over his head.

“She was an innocent girl, she didn't know what she was getting herself into!” Desmond yelled.

He knew what was going to happen, he was going to try and fight off these guys. It wasn't going to be easy and he knew that he couldn't be a weak person. Maybe if they pissed him off he would transform again, it wasn't like he could control his vampire powers yet. It was like learning how to walk again, he wasn't going to make the first move. He never made the first move when he was involved in a fight.

The larger vampire that was talking to him made the first move, he lunged towards Desmond. Desmond stepped aside and with all of his might he shoved his hand through the larger vampire, his hand was dripping with blood as he watched the other vampire fall to his knees. He pulled his hand out of the other vampire's chest. The blood was still fresh and dripping down onto the ground, he watched the vampire's life force slowly fade away. Desmond licked the blood off of his hand and he looked at all the other vampires. They would get some too.

Maybe he would let one of them live, he needed information. He needed to find the girl, he couldn't let her be out in the world all unprotected. If she was in some sort of trouble, he was responsible. The remaining four vampires came after him, they tried to gang up on Desmond. It didn't work, he shoved his hand into the chest of three of the vampires and their bodies fell to the ground hard. The ground became stained with the vampire's blood. Desmond turned to the last remaining vampire, this one wasn't going to die yet. He needed information.

He didn't want the darkness to take over his soul, but sometimes you needed that darkness. You needed to go to that deep dark place that turned you into something and someone you didn't really want to be. He grabbed the vampire by the throat and looked into its eyes. The vampire wasn't scared nor was Desmond.

“I don't know nothing'!” The Vampire said.

“I think you’re lying'” Desmond said, his eyes narrowed at the other vampire. With all of his he might, he slammed the other vampire down on the ground hard. Never letting go of his throat. He was going to get results one way or another. If this vampire wanted to live, he would tell him where the girl was being held.

Usually, when your back is up against a wall, you spill your guys. That is the way it was supposed to be, it'd be stupid to keep all your secrets inside when someone has you by the throat. It'd be worse if they had you by the balls. For once Desmond decided to not play by the rules, he wanted answers and results. Drastic times called for drastic measures. He's already killed his kind a few times over, the world wouldn't miss one more vampire.

“It's going to get worse before it gets better,” Desmond said, he then tossed the other vampire into a tree and the tree snapped in half.

He walked over to where the snapped tree was and watched the other vampire push the remains of the tree off of him. It wasn't going to be pretty, Desmond picked up the vampire by the throat and threw him to the ground one more time and viciously started kicking the vampire and hitting him. It made him feel better slightly, was this going to get the information he needed? He wasn't really sure. It was going to go somewhere, he just didn't know where.

“So you go to tell me where she is?” Desmond asked as he knelt down next to the beaten vampire.

“You can go to hell.” The Vampire responded and spit in Desmond's face.

Things weren't going the way Desmond had thought they would go. He thought this vampire would have given him information by now. It looked like he was being stubborn and loyal to the other vampires. What could he do? He needed to draw information out of this person. He wasn't good at torturing people, what an odd situation he had gotten himself into. He looked at the vampire one more time, never asked for the vampires name and he didn't really care what the name of this beast was.

Maybe there was another way, the visions would come and go. He didn't know why he was having them and when he did have them, they were strange. The first vision he had he killed people in a ballroom. He wasn't sure if it was really him or some sort of glimpse into another time or reality. It was a lot to take in at once, he looked at the vampire and snarled at him. If the other vampires noticed this one hadn't come back, there would probably be more on the way.

“Hell? It can't be as bad as this place.” Desmond said, he looked at the vampire.

“you're a fool. There is a war coming.” The Vampire said, he looked up to Desmond and smirked evilly.

“A War, huh?” Desmond asked.

That kind of would make sense, meeting that Werewolf and The Hunters showing up. There definitely was something happening. He didn't know what and he stared at The Vampire for a minute, he wasn't getting information from this fucker and he decided to just leave The Vampire where he was.

*****

For centuries Werewolves and Vampires had been at war, one would kill another. Nothing ever got accomplished in war. They were just trying to outdo the other, so how many they could kill and see which species would be the last one standing. So much bloodshed and hate, for what? They were not really that different. They were both hunted for what they were and too many people had died for nothing. They were all misunderstood creatures and all they wanted to do was live with everybody else. Yes, they hunted for their food and sometimes they killed a human or two and it was usually in self-defense.

The Wolves had been driven deep into the woods that are where they made their homes now. There had been some of the wolves that lived among the humans peacefully, not causing any trouble and barely killing anyone. The others couldn't live such a peaceful life. There was a war coming and they wanted to be ready for it. The humans were going to fall at the hands of either faction. May it be Vampires or Werewolves. The Wolves Den was heavily guarded by the other wolves. No one came in or got out without the alpha wolf's permission.

The Den was cold and dark for the most part, there would be lit candles if someone needed to perform a ritual or someone was cooking up a plan to take out the vampires or humans. Zane was only one of the wolves that were trying to live with the humans and has been outcast because of it. That didn't stop Zane's brethren from contacting him. Also, the forest was littered with traps, if someone stepped wrong they would get caught in a fierce trap that would let them hang upside down for days. Most people stumbled upon the den by mistake and were never seen again. Some were just nosey and usually heard the wolves howling. The line between good and evil was always blurry; protect the people you love at all cost. The ways of the world were fucked up but they were all the same for all beings and races. Everyone just wanted to survive no matter what.

The world needs to be restarted, every race wiped out. That'd be the perfect world for the wolves, they could finally be the dominant race and species and they could rule everything. They wouldn't have to hide anymore and they could be themselves. That would be a utopia for them; there was no way to bring on the end of the world. The Apocalypse was just something made up by man to scare people into submission. No way for it to happen. Everything would be better in due time. The Wolves were planning something big, something that was going to change everything and make sure that they came out on top of everything. It was time to take back what was rightfully theirs. The planet would soon be overrun by werewolves and there would be no one that could stop them.

THE END