Never Forget

Hey everyone! It's me, Sari-Former200! I want to say that I'm sorry for not returning with Satoko's Poor Days: I've been dealing with some heavy stuff for the past few years, and I've been working on improving my grammar and animation skills during all that time. For those who may have seen the prologue to The Infinite Doors Saga, which is my other story, I'm giving a heads up that the plot will have similar elements to this story. I'm going to continue working on Satoko's Poor Days, and have a few more stories baking in the oven for you all, so please be patient. I'm actually glad to be back. Let's have a great new year (too late?)!

~Sari-Former200

Chapter One: The Heartbreaking Path

Never in all his life did he ever think this would happen. Well, that was an understatement because he was forced- actually, voluntarily- to fake his death, leave his loved ones behind, lose the friends whom he cared about, and be subject to the callous lifestyle of a vampire's warrior life... what else was he forgetting?

Oh, yeah: his master abandoned him after he failed a damn trial, one of his "friends" attempted to help him escape and later killed his master's life-long companion only to discover said "friend" was about to lead a siege on the vampire clan in the mountain, kill the vampire clan, and restore a new species-like order that vampires and vampaneze shall unite under a single banner after ironically betraying what he was trying to protect. Very heart-wrenching indeed. Now, was he forgetting something else...?

Oh, that's right: he was praying for his life as ice cold rapids swept him away with the tide!

Darren's thoughts were simply in the moment- water is cold, need air, help, where am I, keep me safe, someone help me...!- and so on and so forth. His body was numb as his head bobbed up and down in the chilling swirl. He gasped for air whenever his head was above water, and trying not to scream when his head was under it. He wanted it to be over with, not much was worth living for after he found out his entire world was rocked. Especially when his master, Larten Crepsley, disowned him. Sure he lived a full life- what with the adventures, romance, and tear jerking moments that gave his life meaning- but death, waiting to swallow him whole and take him to the frozen side of Hell, was all Darren could witness now.

He felt a great bond toward his master- like one would with a father. Larten had taught Darren everything he needed to know so far and always had his back as much as Darren had his. But not in the last few hours was this so. Once Darren had failed the Blooded Boars trial, Larten, including the entire vampire clan, had condemned him to death. Harkat had managed to save Darren from an attack by one of the boars, and this outraged the clan. So when Darren was given another chance at a new life, one that would be safe from the vampire lifestyle, he took it. He planned to escape through the caves as Kurda led him through it, find civilization, then find the Cirque and just travel amongst them in hiding. Yeah, this could have worked out well...

That is until Gavner found the two trying to escape, and then everything went to Hell...

So now, as he was shoved mercilessly into rocks within the water, he began to notice, despite the feeling of numbness in his body, that he was moving quite slowly. He also noticed that his head was above the water this time and took the opportunity to breath in the painfully cold air. And as he lay there in the shallow part of the stream, he had noticed he was still alive. He couldn't feel, but it wasn't his primary concern as Darren started to crawl out of the stream. He observed his surroundings: snow was falling at a fast rate which meant there would be a blizzard soon, the cold was starting to stick to his bones so he may die of hypothermia soon, and he was currently lost and confused.

So Darren chose the obvious thing to do first: find someplace warm to recuperate.

And he did so. It was long and tiring, but he eventually found a cave to settle in. And how convenient it was a cave stored with vampire supplies and housed the wolves Darren had met on his way to the mountain. So, he lay there in the cave as the wolves, Streak and Rudi included, had provided him warmth, he began to contemplate what to do now- both the vampires and the vampaneze would search for him sometime sooner or later, he was defenseless, he was scared, and also had never felt so alone in his life.

And he drifted off to sleep, surrounded by his furry friends, not realizing that someone was casting a shadow and standing over him...

Sari-Former200: And here it is, I hope you like it! So, yeah, this is a story that details what happened to Darren after he ran away and what the consequences of his actions signify. I hope I can also bring it to a sort of psychological level as well, but it might mess up the general plot. Let's see what happens okay? Thanks for any of the people who have subscribed to me and waited for my return. Big hugs and kisses to you all!

Next Chapter: The aftermath of Darren's cowardice comes into play and things in the mountain get a violent wake-up call. Also, who is the mysterious man and why is he helping Darren?