23
Titanic: Band from Hell
By Amanda Long
Prologue
I sat in the movie theatre, watching this love story, taking place on the Titanic. I sat, slumped in my seat, a thumb beneath my chin, an index finger lined with my cheek, and my eyes pinned forward. I saw women crying, I saw men watching intently, and I saw young girls drooling over this man they called Jack.
I was the only one in the theatre that looked immensely bored. Only when did the main female character lay on a couch naked did I slip a slight smile onto my face.
Many questions ran through my mind. Number 1: How do they think they knew everything about the Titanic? Number 2: Why do this guy have my name? Number 3: Why does this guy that has stolen my name, looks like me as well?
When "Jack" died from the freezing waters, everyone was crying…mostly the girls. Unexpectedly, I laughed out loud. I knew I was laughing in my head, but I didn't mean for it to slip between my lips. Everyone's glares turned toward me, pinning me down. I stared back at the ones in front of me on my left; no expression in my face what-so-ever. With one teasing look, I laughed again. Words echoed through the theatre but I didn't listen to any of them.
One caught my attention though.
"Prick," it echoed beside me.
I flipped my foot off my knee and sat forward, glancing down my aisle. I saw a man sitting there, his hair fairly going gray, but he was at least in his late thirties. His dark eyes made a chill run down my side. Once then did I notice who it was.
I glanced at the screen to see the last image of Mr. Andrews, the man that drew the sketches for the Titanic. I turned back to the man that stared me down.
Mr. Thomas Andrews, the artist of Titanic.
The real man and the actor did have a resemblance. Lights began to come on before I could look back at the screen. Mr. Andrews stood up, heading out of the door. I almost trampled over many people just to get near him, but once I got to the end of my aisle, he was gone. I let out a sigh, heading out toward the doors. I heard a couch, so I let my eyes shoot a glance ahead of me.
Mr. Andrews stood before me, waiting just inside of the doors, motioning me to come over. I stepped by his side and we walked out together.
"Mr. Andrews," I began, but he stopped me by telling me shut up.
I saw his eyes glance around and I saw that people were staring at us. I nodded at him. It would be awkward for people to just come out of a movie where a man has the same name as a main character.
"My name is now Arthur Finney," he said.
I laughed, loudly. "You got to be kidding me. I can't seriously call you by that name."
"Well, call me Andy," he winked. "It's close to both names."
I rolled my eyes. "No way in hell am I going to call you either."
Mr. Andrews looked grave. "Don't bring hell into this."
I chuckled louder. "What the hell do you know about hell? I haven't been there and I'm worse than you, so what makes you think you've been there?"
"I've only been through hell."
"Like driving through Texas? That was my hell."
Mr. Andrews glared at me. "Let's get some lunch."
I nodded, following him out of the lobby and onto the streets of New York. As we began down the street, Mr. Andrews glanced back at me.
"You don't think this is hell?" he chuckled.
"Not for my circumstances."
Mr. Andrews grinned as we walked into a fancy French restaurant. People tended to stare at us as we walked in. I suppose it's because we were so angel-like.
"Angel-like my ass," Mr. Andrews said.
I glared at him as we walked into a booth to eat. He sat and spoke first.
"Don't you think angel-like is a contradiction for us?" he asked.
I stopped in the middle of my drink, lowering my glass. "What do you mean?"
"We are made by the devil, hell's children. How in fuck can we be called angel-like when we are the complete opposite?" he wondered, his eyes going off in the distance.
"Because we are made to be perfect as angels, so we can kill our prey," I answered.
He stared at me, studying me. "I suppose you're right."
We ordered our food, and Mr. Andrews began to stare out of the window. A question popped into my head.
"What did you mean earlier by 'I've been through hell'?"
Mr. Andrews put down his glass, bowing his head down. "The night Titanic sank. I proved to everyone that my skills would make it unsinkable. I was out-beaten when the vote about the lifeboats came about, but still. I should have built it in a better way. It's my fault all those people are lost."
"Make it better? How? We didn't have the technology to make it better in that time. I don't believe it was your fault. It was everybody else's," I concluded.
Mr. Andrews nodded in agreement, but I saw his eyes water.
"You know how it's bad luck to say Macbeth on a stage?" I asked.
"Yeah?" Mr. Andrews peered at me in confusion.
"Never, ever say Titanic on a ship."
I saw a smile spread on Mr. Andrews' lips, but it wasn't enough. So another question sprouted in my brain.
"Why did you call me a prick in the theatre?" I asked.
"Because you laughed when the boat was sinking and the man was dying. Just because you survived doesn't mean you should laugh when the others did."
"Hey," I thought out loud. "Did you notice that the main character had my name and looks?"
Mr. Andrews shrugged. "I thought he was better looking."
I pushed his shoulders hard, laughing all in good time as well. As we were eating, we heard screams and shouts outside in the streets. Everyone began to run out of the restaurant to see what the commotion was. Mr. Andrews and I ran out onto Broadway as well, and saw the big problem.
A large ship was sailing on the land, coming straight toward us. I felt Mr. Andrews gasp, but I felt a tiny grin beginning to come upon my mouth. The ship began to pound right beside us, destroying everything in sight. As the front of the ship passed us, I read the name.
Titanic.
As it broke down Broadway, it disappeared into thin air. Mr. Andrews was shaking, but he turned toward me.
"Our times are colliding. Time travel is beginning to exist."
I nodded, and Mr. Andrews' hands pushed out from his sides. The world paused and Mr. Andrews then pushed his hands together. Everything that the Titanic broke was being put together before us. After it was all fixed, did Mr. Andrews press play on the world.
"How the hell did you do that?" I called, giddy with excitement.
"How old are you again, boy?"
"Physically or mentally?" I asked.
"Both."
"Well," I began, calculating. "I'm physically nineteen, but mentally I'm over two hundred years old."
"Well," he winked. "You'll learn all in good time."
With that, he disappeared into thin air as well. I laughed as well, but my phone rang at the same time. I glanced at the ID.
Emily.
I answered it without a whim. "Hello, darling."
"Hi sweetheart," she said. "Is everything alright? What was all the screaming about?"
I often forgot we had better hearing than anyone. "Oh, just different times colliding."
"I see. Who were you with earlier?" she asked, as if it was normal.
"An old friend," I grinned.
"That seems alright. I'll see you tonight then?"
"As always."
We both hung up and I began to walk back down Broadway. I could already smell and feel the cool ocean breeze that whip against my face as we sailed over the Atlantic. I smiled, brighter than I have in years.
As I strolled down the street a few days later, I saw a piece of the news on the TVs in a store. About ten TVs stared at me, showing the same information. I began to move along, then something caught my attention.
"A group of archaeologists find the blue prints of the Titanic," the TVs said.
I stopped dead in my tracks. Blue prints? Of the Titanic? Those were long gone with the ship. Tom surely couldn't have saved them. I stared at the TV as a couple of the men spoke about their finding. These people really thought they found a special artifact. What idiots. That wasn't my choice of words.
My biggest pet peeve was when people thought they knew everything about a certain subject when they actually had false information. These people irked me. I felt like they needed a slap in the face. Deserves them right.
With my witty attitude and temper, I memorized the address that was on the news and stormed down the streets until I reached their headquarters. The sign made me growl.
Titanic Journalists.
Knowing me, I would probably barge in there and make an idiot of myself. So, I took a deep breath and began to climb the steps. Slipping my hands in my pockets, head titled a bit forward, I looked like I stepped off the Titanic (I still dressed a hint like that time).
I knocked repeatedly, but no answer ever came. With my instincts, I slowly creaked the door open, and beckoned inside. I heard voices in the far back room of the building (sonic hearing) and tip-toed down there. My eyes caught the sight of a mirror in the room where the investigators were, so I only stared into that. They would never think to look in a mirror.
There were four men and two women. Three of the men looked older than thirty, the other one only being twenty. Both the women were in their mid-twenties. I couldn't help but smile. These were the so-matter-of-factly people who thought they knew everything about the Titanic? More like snobs.
They had no idea.
"Should we sell these to the Museum of Natural History?" one of the men asked.
"In D.C.?" the youngest women said.
"I agree with Mark, here. We should sell it. It would be in better use there."
I stepped in right there. No way in hell they were going to give up false artifacts. "I don't think you should sell something that isn't real."
All of them jumped, and stared at me.
"How did you get in here?" the man named Mark asked.
"I have my ways," I answered, humbly.
"Who are you?" a woman asked.
"Jack Litman," I asked. "And you all?"
Mark introduced them all. The other two older men were Charlie and Spade (what the hell kind of name is that?). The youngest guy was Toby. The older woman was Melanie and the younger one was Angelica. They looked like a nice group. Maybe not so much snobbish.
"So, why are you here again?" Spade asked. "What did you say when you first came in? Something about not real?"
I cracked a smile. "The 'artifact' that you say you have, it's a fake."
The others looked at each other and broke into laughter. "We found it back where the Titanic was built. It's real."
I shook my head, sitting down in a chair across from the group. "It's a fake. The real ones were with Thomas Andrews, and he died on the ship."
"How the hell would you know?" Toby snapped.
I glanced up and stared him in the eyes, until I saw fear in his eyes. Then did I look away, sighing. "You guys would think I was crazy, no matter how truthful I'm being."
"What can be crazier than the world?" Toby asked, spiritually.
I nodded, agreeing with his statement. "I was on the Titanic."
They only stared, in silence, waiting for me to continue.
"I'm not exactly human."
"So, you are like an alien?" Charlie asked.
"No, nothing like that. I'm immortal."
"You mean," Angelica began, thinking. "You are like a vampire?"
"Yes, my wife and I are vampires. I was a vampire arriving on the Titanic. I fell in love with her, but she was dying when the ship was sinking, so I changed her. She doesn't remember anything when it sank because she was unconscious and changing at that time. I saw it happen underwater."
Silence. Dead silence.
Boom. Whistling, cheering, and laughter exploded.
"This is so cool!" Toby exclaimed.
"We have an actual survivor, well sort of, right in front of us!" Mark whooped.
"Could we hear the whole story?" Spade asked, curious.
"My story?"
They nodded, anxious.
I chuckled. "Alright. It all began we I climbed aboard ship in New York on April 2, 1912…"
Chapter 1A rich, large booming ship loomed over me. The shadows cast a strange aura to the ship. I felt some strange feeling ever since I stepped on that boat, as if bad luck was attached to it, but I only brushed it off. Only do I wish I could have known then.
A group of us vampires had traveled onto the ship only to feed off of humans. We were running out of places to hunt, only small places that the disappearance of people would easily be recorded. So, when we heard about the huge success coming of the Titanic, did we buy tickets to survive.
One third took on the first class. Another third took the second class. And the last third, the one I was part of, took the third class. I was the first person to join the third class part, since no one wanted to go to the lowest class. Most people followed me in that time, so I was followed around five other people. The third class had the most group of vampires, the second class being the smallest. There were around six people in third class, around five in first class, and three in second class. It was a small group of vampires compared to the ones back at home. More than half of the vampires back at home stayed there, thinking feeding on a ship was too risky. But we devised a plan; only feed a little bit off of different people, so there wouldn't be any deaths.
I stood on the main deck, the lost deck shared by anyone. I held luggage in each hand and searched around, in awe. Tom wasn't lying about the enormous affects of this ship. I glanced over toward the other passengers arriving and caught a glimpse of one of my comrades. Kyle Joseph nodded at me, showing I should continue on toward my room. I was stuck in the lowest class, he was in second. I found it quite funny that I was one of the richest men around in New York, and I was on third class of a fancy ship. I began to understand why everyone died into laughter when I agreed to go into third class.
I headed down the stairs into the third class "rooms". More like small lodges. I stepped into my room and saw there was two beds, one for me and the other for my roommate. I threw my bags onto my bed, resting my hands on my hips, beginning to relax. I had to come up with a way of not slipping into vampirism in front of my roommate.
"Well, well, well, looks like we are roommates as well," a voice whistled behind me.
I swung around to see one of my comrades, Robbie Ventura. His last name may sound Hispanic, but he was half-British, half American. Robbie was actually my best friend from the League. Once I agreed to be in third class, Robbie ran up next to me. He was the calmest of the group. He was told to be the best vampire around, but no one had ever seen him hunt. We often ran in packs or partners, but he always ventured alone. No one dared to stop him. But, he was a vampire.
Thank god.
"Ready to hunt tonight?" Robbie asked, starting to pile his clothes onto his bed.
"We are going to feed. We aren't actually hunting the passengers."
Robbie grinned, jokingly. "Whoever told you that?"
I chuckled along with him, but I was surprised that he wanted to hunt with me. Would I be the first to make history? I laughed. Vampires never make history, they only make their prey history.
"Shall we go take a walk around so we can find tasty newcomers?" I asked.
Robbie stood straight and stared down on his clothes, as if he was thinking of something tragic. Then he glanced at me, quickly.
"We shall."
We threw the rest of our clothes on the bed, practically skipping down the halls. Once we reached the end of the hall, we stopped. Casually, we walked onto the deck, watching the people as they walked by.
"We should stick with the lowest class," Robbie whispered in my ear. "They always have better blood since they eat more things."
I nodded, considering whether I should feel offended. I shook my thoughts. I only drink blood, how could I be offended?
I stared down every person that strolled by, but I did it in a way that no human would ever notice. I searched every inch of their mind within seconds. I had a few choices, but otherwise, not very good results.
It became close to dinner time before we got any good prey. I felt ridiculous, and maybe this plan was a failure. I glanced at Robbie and he had the same expression on his face.
"Let's go to dinner. We don't want to look like freaks who never eat," I almost growled with disappointment.
Us vampires could eat human food, but the food is destroyed by the acid less than a second. We could eat any food, but it won't do any good for our hunger.
I sighed with relief when we entered the dinning area. It was beautiful and classy, chandeliers every where, silverware and beautiful glasses filling the room. I stared, star struck, not believing in any of this. I have never seen anything so pretty. It was one of the most beautiful rooms ever. I glanced around at the people, and sucked in my breath. They were in glorious clothes. I ran my eyes over the menu and found my message. 1st Class Menu. I gulped. We were so dead.
Robbie caught sight of everything only a few seconds after me and he started to panic. I saw his eyes flutter and heard his vampire blood pound. Terror was reaching his breaking point.
I shot a glance down the room, seeing if any waiters were coming to excuse us. I spotted Tom sitting by himself. He heard my terror and shot a look up to see why anyone was sounding like a vampire's heart. His face relaxed when he saw Robbie and I. He motioned us for to come sit down with him.
As we walked toward him, waiters grabbed my arms, pulling me back. I heard a pound beside me and I flinched.
Robbie punched one.
Tom flitted over to us with incredible speed that I heard many people gasp. Tom closed his eyes, facing his palms down. I felt time slowing down until it came to a complete stop.
"What are you two doing here?" Tom gasped for breath, since his powers took too much energy.
"We couldn't find any prey, so we decided to seem civilized like humans and pretend to feed. We unfortunately walked straight into the first class dining area," I answered, trying to push away from the waiter's grip, but since time was frozen around us, their grips were even stronger than ours.
Tom huffed, almost in disappointment. "You shall eat with me and watch over tasteful prey. If you don't find anyone good in here, then good luck elsewhere."
The thing about us vampires, we loved each other like family, but if you couldn't feed yourself, no one would help you. It was your job to find your own food.
"Another thing," Tom began. "The man over by the window with the little girl is my donor for the night."
I almost growled, thinking of my little Ashlynn. "Don't touch the little girls."
Tom glanced at me, appalled. "I would never."
I cocked my head, teeth clenching. "Vampires can get out of hand within one extra drop."
"I know what I am doing, Jack. No you should as well."
Tom snapped his fingers and suddenly, the world became faster and faster. Then, Robbie and I were being held back again. I slammed an elbow into one of my waiters, and I heard him gasp. I knocked the wind right of him. I would certainly leave a bruise. The funny thing was, I wasn't even using my strength.
"Please, men, they are to see me," Tom said calmly, his eyes flashing back to blue.
I never noticed that his eyes were red when he was speaking to us.
"Why?" one of the waiters that had Robbie asked.
"Long business. They have helped me with things. Now go."
The waiters' grips loosened at the same time and I flung my arms away from them. I turned back around to face the one that I bruised in the ribs. I recognized his name tag said Joey.
"I'll get you later," I growled.
I saw Joey's eyes grow wide with fear and I saw my reflection. I was growling like an animal and my eyes went red. I quickly stopped and everything returned to normal. The waiters quickly stormed off. I clicked a grin. He deserved to be scared.
Dinner was slow, but somehow quick. We ate regular food, feeling out of place, but I was still starving. I read minds of every person in the room and I didn't find anyone good. I thought of using Joey, but I disagreed. I would go to far with that one.
As a disappointment, I was the only one with no one to hunt. Robbie found his, second class young man. The man just walked in quickly to ask for directions. I felt upset that I couldn't find anyone good. As we headed back down the deck, Robbie spotted the man he was planning on using to feed. I looked up at him and his wife.
A bell rang.
I smiled.
I found my donor.
The wife was pretty, and only a few years older than me. She would be perfect to feed on.
This may be hard to explain, but vampires search over every person they see to use as a donor. If you hear the bell in your mind, almost like you have this connection, then you know they are the perfect donor. But for just purposely killing to feed, it doesn't matter what you hear as long as you are fed.
Robbie watched me. "Found the donor?"
"Looks like it. Guess we are going to the same room tonight."
"Let's hope all they are doing is sleeping," Robbie muttered.
I laughed. "If not, we could join."
We both broke into laughter as we headed back to our room. We decided to wait until midnight, where very few people would be out, to go onto our hunt.
Lounging in our room was boring as it was, so I began conversation.
"What is your family like?" I asked, staring at the ceiling.
"When I was alive? None of them are vampires."
"Sure."
"My father was a fisher, my mother working back at home. We were the poorest of poor. I only had a little brother, who was only eleven when I was changed. I miss them more than anything in the world," Robbie spoke, his tone changing the more he talked.
"When were you changed?"
"Only six years ago. Sometimes I go back and peer through the window. Apparently, my little brother is engaged," Robbie smiled, only a couple of tears dripping onto his bed.
"What happened?"
"I was to be murdered. Men on this street stabbed me multiple times on my way home. I was dying in the street, where this loan vampire (he was a deserter from his clan) found me and took me to the nearest hospital. He reported everything to my family, but later that night, he heard that the doctors were saying that I was going to die, so he snuck in and changed me. He explained to me that I had to pretend to be dead or everyone would kill me. I stopped my heartbeat and the doctors told my family I was dead. My vampire father, Leo, told me I would never be able to return to my family as a vampire."
I was mortified. A loan vampire? That must mean he did something horrible, more horrible than anyone could have done.
Robbie turned to me. "What about you?"
I had to think for a minute. It was so long ago. "My father was a Lord back in England. My mother was a Countess from Austria, but she fell in love with my father, so they got married. I had one older brother and a little sister. Jim was twenty-one and Ashlynn was only thirteen. I hated leaving them. I died over five hundred years ago. I was attacked by a vampire, a loan one, so I knew I could never speak to my family again. So, I made it seem like I committed suicide. It was the hardest thing I have ever done."
Robbie looked as if he smelled something horrible. "That's morbid. It's even worse than my story."
I shrugged. "I miss them everyday of my living death, but I have gotten over it."
Robbie went quiet, only because he knew I was no longer in a good mood.
It was feeding time.
We decided to keep on the side of the ship until we reached the rear, then jump onto the second deck. I jumped off the side of the ship, finally ramming my fingers into the ship, clinging to it. Robbie did the same, but not as elegant. We climbed over toward the rear, then flipped over the railing. I landed on the deck, one knee on the floor with both hands landing on either side. I searched the area. When it was clear, I became one with the shadows, Robbie behind me. We found the porthole that went into the couples' room. I broke the porthole and climbed inside.
The couple slept in one bed, one of each side. Robbie stalked over to the man and I headed toward the women. My eyes went red and my fangs spurted out. I pierced through the thin skin in her neck, and silently drank down a medium size amount of blood.
The blood was so warm and luscious. I had a hard time controlling myself, but I did it. I had to slap Robbie to stop, but he did. We escaped back through the porthole, and I put it back together. We ran through the darkness back to our room, where we rested for the rest of the night.