Daughters of Twilight - Character background
Good evening, no please; please don't be scared of me, fear me or scorn me, I am quite friendly, most
of the time.
So you're probably wondering why a six-foot furry thing stands before you with such a
human voice. Well that's my story.
You wanna hear it? Okay it all starts on a crisp sunny morning on a summers day, the mist
was gently floating in a farm valley where a young boy sat on top of a soft green hill watching the
morning sun raise. It's a shame that I didn't have quite the same upbringing. I was born in
downtown New York on the 5th of August 1973. I was deserted by my real parents when I was five
years old, my adopted parents tried their best to keep me under some sort of control, they managed to
do so until I was ten years old. When you're in those circumstances you grow up fast and hard. So I
was ten years old and out on the streets, what can I say but life's a bitch and then you die.
Unfortunately I was not so lucky this "kind and caring" doctor found me freezing my butt off
on the street, he wrenched me from the murky cold depths and into his car. His name was Peterson
and he was an okay guy for about the first three minutes. Doctor Peterson was not only a total geek
but he was also very evil and clever. The authorities let him adopt me and take me into his house
despite my objections this guy had saved my life that is something I must now hate him for.
Like I said the Doc was evil, he would have said that he was "expanding the frontiers of science."
Crap but good crap. The Doc took repayment for his kindness by testing out his newest project it was
called physiological transferral it's end result was a coat of fine fur and paws instead of feet, my hands
also started to change into paws but somehow my body resisted the change. The change took what
seemed like years, in reality it couldn't have been more then a few months, a month of constant pain,
a month of everyday becoming something that I hated more and more, a month of being prodded and
tested upon by the Doc. Everyday my skin, feet and hands burned with an intense pain, it was like
fire but there was no heat, just a slow agonising burning away of the flesh. I hated him so much in
that month that I think he's the only reason I managed to get through the transformation, the burning
desire to get revenge on Doc Peterson.
On the 8th of July 1987 I waited for the Doc to come and do his regular tests on me; three injections
and a quick examination of how well the fur was growing and how well my paws were developing. I
decided a few hours before hand that tonight Doc Peterson was going to go to sleep and never wake
up.
Carefully I placed myself in the inspection device, placing my paws inside the restraining bolts so that
I could extend my claws and free myself from the device. Whilst the Doc was getting the injections
ready I extended the claws in my feet, the pain was unbearable but I resist the urge to scream out
knowing that this could be my only chance to ever escape from the Doc. Smiling as usual the Doc
turned to face me before screaming in agony as I slashed across his chest with my claws. The Doc lay
there screaming in agony as I strained to pick at the restraining bolts on the inspection device. The
Doc looked up at me and continued to cry in agony. He slowly recovered from my blow and
apologised for what he had made me, he offered to let me go if I didn't hurt him any more, the
snivelling wimp. I agreed of course, he quickly undid the restraining belts on the device and backed
off in fear and terror.
"So what are you going to do now?" He asked with a quivering voice as I stood by the door cleaning
the blood from my paws.
"Oh I dunno, it's been a while since I've seen the outside, I'm sure it's changed a little so I'll have to
go explore and stuff." I sneered back at him.
Doc Peterson sighed loudly "Well you proven that you could quite easily kill me and you probably still
intend to do so." he said shuffling backwards, "But you forget one thing." he finished
"What's that then.?" I said, Not really caring and preparing myself to finish him off, a quick blow to
the neck should do it, quick and painful.
"I am the master," the Doc said holding a small gun shaped object towards me.
"Only the master of evil Doc." I said jokingly as a small dart flew into my fur. I yelped in pain
slightly and flung out at the Doc slashing him at least twice before everything started to blur badly, I
struggled to fight against the paralysing effect of the dart.
"I will fight you all the way," I said beginning to feel my legs giving way.
"Good, I enjoy a fight." The Doc said gutturally.
The blur in front of my eyes faded slowly to blackness and I felt the ground clawing up to reach me,
slowly there was nothing but myself and my heart beat resounding silently in the night before it too
was cut out by my brain.
I awoke. That was enough for me at the time, soon vision started to creep back in to my numbed
brain.
The Doc was standing there with some heavy bandages around his neck and over his chest he also had
a small black box in his left hand.
Slowly feelings returned to more or less all my body, there was a strangely tight constriction around
my neck but not my arms or legs.
I glanced up from the floor at the Doc.
"Awake at last I see." the Doc said ironically.
I found it hard to speak or even make a noise so I just nodded.
"Splendid, as you can probably feel about now I've added a little something to your personage." The
Doc said obviously noticing my discomfort. He held up the black box and pressed a button on it, the
constriction around my neck buzzed slightly and a wave of power hit my brain, almost like someone
had just decided to give me a large dose of raw caffeine.
"What the hell was that?" I managed to scream at the Doctor as the wave soared over me.
"Just a little reconditioning, now you can kill me if you want." The Doc said with an evil smirk.
I raised an eyebrow at this before going for his throat, as I reached for it with my claws I felt another
strange wave embrace me. I stopped approaching the Doc and fought the mental battle in my head.
"Good boy." The Doc said evilly, "The reconditioning has worked perfectly, as long as you wear the
collar you won't attack me."
"True but that doesn't stop me doing this." I smirked as I leapt for the door, bolting just out of it and
slamming it shut on the Doc.
I was out of the Doc's lab for the first time in what seemed years; quickly I searched the rest of his
house for the one thing I needed, a mirror. Eventually I found one in the Doc's bedroom and braced
myself as I turned and looked directly at what I had become.
Removing the shards of broken mirror was not an easy task, not when you think about my hands and
how badly they function now. It was night-time when I had finished repairing as much damage to
my paws as I could and now I was hungry. Normally the Doc had given me a bowl of some slop; I'm
pretty sure it was dog food; at least three times a day, now he was gone I'd have to go back to the old
days when I was younger and forage for food. I left via a window, smashing it to pieces like I had
done with the mirror, this time I used a nearby chair to save damaging my paws again.
Leaping out into the street I witnessed something that would change my life forever, five men being
pinned down by a single guy. I spied from my position and watched the ensuring struggle; quickly
the five became three, then one. The single guy who I could now see was wearing a brand new tuxedo
and had his hair gelled back. He had managed to beat up all five of these punks in a matter of
seconds. Then he bent down and bit into the one of the punk's neck. Reactively I backed off into a
garbage can and made an awful clattering sound, the man in the tuxedo glared over to me and with
incredible speed ran over beside me ready to kill me.
He raised his fist and then stopped and stared at me and my fur.
"What the hell are you?" He asked as calmly as he could.
"I should be asking the same thing, you a vampire or something?" I retorted
The man looked at me and glanced around before whispering into my ear "Why yes I am actually."
I let my jaw drop and stood there staring at him blank faced.
"Well I can kill you or make you a ghoul, your choice." He offered.
"Kill me." I said bluntly remembering what had stared back from the mirror.
"So be it," The man said dramatically raising his fist again to come down on my head.
I smiled as best as I could, waiting for the end of my rotting existence and in an ironic way glad that it
had come to a close. There was nothing left for me here on this world maybe in the next I could be
something rather then an abomination in the eyes of God.
The blow never came; another man came along and shouted to my "friend"
"What are you doing?"
"Stay out of this Vaclav." My friend replied to the newcomer, "It wants to die so I'm only giving it
what it wants."
"Now Peter, this is no way to treat our new friend here." Vaclav said to Peter, my friend the tuxedo
man.
"He's a friend of yours?" Peter asked both Vaclav and I.
"Remember your traditions Peter, Hospitality." Vaclav replied enigmatically before I could answer.
"Yeah and you remember the masquerade." Peter shot back.
"Our friend here won't tell anyone, do you think he could without being placed in a biological testing
ground for the rest of his life? No I don't think he's going to tell anyone about our little society so we
should just welcome him in." Vaclav concluded.
Peter nodded and pulled me to my paws before properly introducing himself, "I am Peter De Carre
and this is Vaclav Petronof we are both of the family Ravnos and we are both kindred."
"Vampires." I said, mostly in shock but also in recognition of what Peter and Vaclav were.
"Yes that is what we are." Vaclav said solemnly "Now who and what are you?"
"My name is .. Is.." I started, searching around my brain for what I was called, strangely there
was just a fog there. My name was obscured by fog. Peter then examined the collar around my neck.
"Tag here says your called Runt" Peter commented.
"Runt? Is that a name??!" I asked rhetorically.
"It'll do for now." Replied Vaclav.
"As for what I am well I guess somewhere in here." I said thumping myself hard in the chest "I am
human, what I have become on the outside God only knows."
"Very well Runt, come with us." Peter said leading me towards a black transit.
Vaclav tore down the back alleys and sub streets of New York until he pulled up outside a largish
warehouse.
"Stick right next to me Runt and you should be okay, but be ready to run in case anyone tries
something.." Vaclav warned me as we walked towards the warehouse.
Peter followed at a short distance behind.
Pulling open the large metal doors Vaclav walked casually into the warehouse with me following him
as closely as possible, I could feel eyes watching my everyone, tracking me, hating me.
Peter closed the warehouse doors and everything went dark.
It took about five seconds before I could see again, my improved night vision another "benefit" from
the Doc's experiment. The warehouse was pretty simple inside, a few crates of various contents
towered above me, A small forklift truck over in one corner and a little office for the night watchman.
I looked around to where Peter was and saw him pointing a gun at Vaclav's head.
Looking at him in shock for a whole nanosecond I suddenly leapt towards Peter screaming in agony
as my claws extended from both my "feet" and "hands".
I swiped at Peter as the gun cracked loudly in the warehouse, a mist of heat fell from the barrel of the
gun, clawing at Peter's arm I dislodge the gun and turned to see what damage it had done to Vaclav.
He was standing there smiling totally unhurt.
The voices from the eyes murmured their approval of me.
I stood there claws still extended and ready to swipe at anything that cam near me. A slight groaning
from behind reminded me of Peter that I had just clawed the gun from.
Spinning around to face Peter I saw him also totally unscathed.
"What's going on?" I asked Vaclav directly.
"A little test of your courage and resolve." Vaclav replied briefly. "And also a little proof." Vaclav
concluded.
"Proof? Proof of what? What are you talking about?" I asked anxiously.
"Proof of yourself. Proof of your willingness to risk yourself to save a stranger." Vaclav answered
I snorted loudly, "I was hoping the bullet would hit me instead." I said honestly.
"Well whatever, but you risked yourself to save another." Peter told me.
Several figures appeared from their hiding places in the warehouse and stood in a large circle around
Peter, Vaclav and myself.
"What are you going to do with me?" I asked slightly worried now.
"Accept you, you've proved your worth." Peter announced to all of us.
"If you wish to accept me then please destroy me, look at what I have become." I begged them.
"Why would we wish to end the life of one so brave?" Vaclav questioned me.
"Because I am a monster, an abomination in the eyes of God, look at what I have become." I told
Vaclav.
"Then you are just like us, we have learned that it's not what is outside but what is inside that matters,
you are fortunate for you still have some humanity, you are still mortal." Peter said honestly.
"I can not accept what I have become, not so soon." I continued.
"You are not expected too. It will take some time before you can truly accept what you have become,
unfortunately I will not be here I will have to leave soon, there is trouble in my home land but you can
stay here with Peter and the rest for as long as you need." Vaclav replied to me.
That was almost eight years ago and I've kept in touch with Vaclav using e-mail, letters even carrier
pigeon at one stage. I've been hiding with Peter and his friends in the shadows of the night all these
years, being a powerful ally as when I could almost disguise myself as a normal human and arrange
meetings, supplies and anything that was needed. In return for my services they taught me about
myself, how I had changed and how I was still the same inside and that's the only placed it really
mattered.
I've never forgotten what the Doc did to me, his gruesome image haunts my dreams all the time,
normally I don't escape and he turns me into his slave at which point I wake up screaming covered in
sweat. There's a lot of things I've learned from Peter and his friends, they taught me how to put my
"new" body to its best use. I can hear a pin drop from further away then any normal person and could
smell some much more then ever before. The wounds that the Doc inflicted on me, trying to
transform my hands into paws have made it very hard for me to use any tools or items. I never
noticed until recently the Doc stole away the most important thing from me, my sense of colour he's
left me totally colour blind.
After earning up quite a lot of "brownie points" with Peter and his friends I asked them for a favour.
I wanted them to help me kill the Doc.
It took me several minutes to convince them of my intentions and reasons, this being that had tortured
my existence for so long deserved to die.
I wanted to go ahead and kill him that night but was convinced by Peter that some observation would
be required before hand, make sure that they could get the kill.
The very next night Peter led me to the transit van and started to drive down the back streets returning
to the place where I was "born." Physically bursting into the door Peter gestured me inside handing
me a small pistol as he did, the gun was strangely elongated with the trigger at a bizarre angle. It
fitted my pawed hands perfectly.
Smiling to Peter he gestured again saying to me "Your monster, your kill."
Walking towards the Doc's lab I felt the collar around my next begin to buzz slightly before actually
beginning to hurt me. I raised my paws to it and was consumed by a fierce shocking energy from it.
I screamed in pain as the blast hit my brain. Peter ran up to me and similar tried to remove the
offending item and was blasted across the room as a similar wave of energy hit him also.
From the lab emerged Doc Peterson himself with a shocking hairstyle; it was bright green.
"Who is that??" The Doc started before suddenly realising what was going on.
"Runt?! Is that really you?? I would have thought you'd be dead by now.." He started before
noticing Peter lying across the opposing wall.
"You've even made friends!!" The Doc laughed loudly before suddenly stopping and staring at Peter.
The Doc's jaw suddenly dropped visibly "Kindred." he mouthed silently before returning to look at
me, "You have an excellent or terrible choice in friends Runt, I'll give you that." The Doc said in a
sombre and serious voice.
Raising my gun towards the Doc I smiled for the first time in years and quickly fired off three rounds
hitting the Doc square in the chest.
The Doc looked down as blood started to trickle from the wounds, "My god, you shot me!" he said in
disbelief before he started to grin sinisterly, "Now I'll have to get a new shirt."
To my amazement the blood stopped trickling from the Doc, even though I had seen Peter and some
other vampires do this once or twice it still always amazed me.
"What are you???" I asked the Doc as much gob-smacked by the Doc's fantastic healing abilities as
his new shoulder length hair.
"Your friends probably already know, I am quite simply a will worker." The Doc said smiling evilly
towards the stirring Peter
"Will worker??" I asked Peter.
"He's a mage Runt, he can bend reality to his will. He's very much more powerful then us." Peter
groaned with a tone of desperation in his voice.
I raised an eyebrow at this and stared at the Doc, "A mage. So that's how you made me grow fur." I
started realising what the Doc could do to Peter and myself. Anything he wanted.
"Yes" The Doc began, "You were going to be like a familiar for me, I was finding a way to transfer
paradox onto you, almost came up with the solution but then you ran away." He finished looking
towards me.
"My collar, how does it fit in?" I asked following his glances towards me.
"It is the object that was going to control you and the paradoxes, it is an incredibly powerful talisman
of magick. If you know how to use it." The Doc said grinning at me.
I looked at the Doc, stared at him and tried to imagine him bursting into flames or being swallowed
up by the earth itself but nothing happened.
The Doc began to laugh "Did you think that you could use it?!" he said laughing madly "You weak
pathetic fool, only I know how to control such power!!" Suddenly the Doc changed, his manner and
voice shifted towards something more malevolent "Now come here slave before I crush the life out of
you." he said in a deep voice like some demon from a horror movie.
I stood there, feeling something inside me wanting to go towards him, quickly I overcame that instinct
and looked to Peter for some advice, he looked up at me and whispered "Monster."
I looked down at myself and saw the fur, the paws that the Doc had given me before slowly I started to
walk towards the Doc.
"There's a good boy." The Doc said evilly.
When I was only a few feet away from him I forced myself to unsheathe my claws, the full agony of
which was worse then I could ever remember, I could see my claws extending in my mind as I shut
my eyes with pain. In my mind they where longer and sharper then normal, it took me a short while
to realise they were also made of metal.
The pain subsided as quickly as it had arrived, unsheathing my claws only took a few seconds but it
always felt like several minutes passed, several minutes of intense pain.
Pouncing towards the Doc I suddenly realised, what I had seen in my mind had become real. My
claws dug into the Doc ripping deeply into his skin as he recoiled in pain I struck again not giving
him the chance I had last time.
The Doc fumbled inside his pocket and took out the remote control device that he had used in the lab
on the night I met Vaclav and Peter before pointing it at me.
"I will fight you to the end." the Doc said pressing one of the buttons on the device.
"I enjoy a fight." I retorted tearing into the hand that the Doc was holding the device in.
Sparks flew from the device as my claws dug into the plastic coating and into the flesh of the Doc.
I saw the length and metal of my claws shrink but I didn't care now, the Doc was unconscious, now
he would be mine.
"NO!" Peter shouted as my paw began to swipe down on the Doc for the final time.
I jolted backwards at this, scuffing the Doc with my claws.
"What??" I demanded. "He's my monster now I shall kill him." I said turning back to the Doc.
"You can't." said Peter.
"Why not?!" I shouted directly at Peter afraid that I would lose my chance for revenge.
"When you kill a will worker there powers go mental, If you don't mind I shall retreat to a safe
distance before you strike the killing blow, just in case." Peter replied before running off down the
passage way at incredible speed.
Waiting a few minutes I examined the Doc carefully and in a strange way he reminded me of myself
when I was younger. Ready and willing to die.
When I thought that Peter would be clear of any side effects from killing the Doc I slung into him
with my full force, knocking chunks of twisted flesh and internal organs out of the Doc with every
swipe. Suddenly the room was filled with a blinding light and I was knocked to the floor by an
unseen force.
When my vision gradually returned there was the twisted body of the Doc with two large men dressed
in black suits and wearing sunglasses.
I smiled wryly and waited for them to kill me or at least knock me senseless. Instead they moved
backwards a step and a youngish looking woman stepped out from nowhere and smiled at me.
"Did you do this??" She asked politely.
I looked around the blood stained room and just nodded.
"In that case I have to thank you, My name is Helen and I am a mage like Peterson, but I work for the
other side. Where Peterson used science and technology to achieve his magick I use nature and sheer
force of will."
"Can you make me human again?" I asked her with a pleading look in my eyes.
"No I can not." She replied with an honest sounding tone, "You were created by very vulgar
paradoxes which have now altered your very being to the core, I'm afraid that you are permanently
changed."
For some reason that did hurt me or even make me angry, I had finally accepted who and what I was.
"But I can give you some things." Helen said with a smile.
"Yes?" I enquired eagerly.
"Well firstly I can make it a little less painfully for you to unsheathe your claws, it will still hurt, just
not as much." She said laying her hands on my paws and humming gently, a strange feeling passed
into my paws it felt like warm water cascading down them.
"I can also enable you to use that collar a little." She started.
"I'd rather not, if it involves magic that is." I interrupted.
Helen looked at me a little bewildered and was about to say something else as Peter came around the
corner.
"KINDRED SCUM!!" Helen shouted at Peter "BY WHAT RIGHT ARE YOU HERE?!" She
demanded.
"Peter's my friend." I pleaded with Helen.
Helen shot round and glared at me.
"This THING is your friend??" She said in disbelief.
I nodded dumbly up at Helen
"I can see why you do not wish to learn how to use the collar now, it would make them very jumpy."
Helen said sagely. "But none the less I shall have to tell you how to control the magick in the collar
as it is very potent indeed, you saw what it did to Peterson." She said pointing to the bloody mass on
the floor.
"But I destroyed the control box, it won't work any more." I started.
Helen sighed and shook her head, "This is why Mortals will never accept magick." she began before
suddenly turning her attention to me again, "Anyway yes your collar, never ever remove it from your
neck and everything will be fine." She explained simply, "Oh and I wouldn't let any of your friends
touch it either, will probably throw them across the room and severely hurt them." Helen said
Peter and I smiled at each other "Yes that sounds about right." Peter said to me with a grin.
"Anything else I should know?" I said turning back to where Helen was. Well where she was about
five seconds ago.
"Magi, they do that." Peter said with a scowl, "Best off without them."
"Shame they'd make powerfully allies." I started.
"Yes but like the lupines they have there own agenda, you can normally trust them about as far as you
can spit." Peter said distastefully.
I took this as my cue to not say any more on the subject.
Despite destroying the Doc the nightmares are still with me, they still haunt me wherever I go, as does
the legacy of the Doc's magick on me. I still where the collar and it does still throw people across the
room when they try and touch it, maybe I'll be able to find another mage to remove the infernal thing
from me one day.
Vaclav wrote me a letter today, it says he's planning something big over in Scotland of all places,
always wanted to visit there.
Today is the 19th of April the year is 1998 and disguising myself as well as possible I leave Peter
behind and return to the one who first saved me.
Charles "Runt-Abu" Brown
Good evening, no please; please don't be scared of me, fear me or scorn me, I am quite friendly, most
of the time.
So you're probably wondering why a six-foot furry thing stands before you with such a
human voice. Well that's my story.
You wanna hear it? Okay it all starts on a crisp sunny morning on a summers day, the mist
was gently floating in a farm valley where a young boy sat on top of a soft green hill watching the
morning sun raise. It's a shame that I didn't have quite the same upbringing. I was born in
downtown New York on the 5th of August 1973. I was deserted by my real parents when I was five
years old, my adopted parents tried their best to keep me under some sort of control, they managed to
do so until I was ten years old. When you're in those circumstances you grow up fast and hard. So I
was ten years old and out on the streets, what can I say but life's a bitch and then you die.
Unfortunately I was not so lucky this "kind and caring" doctor found me freezing my butt off
on the street, he wrenched me from the murky cold depths and into his car. His name was Peterson
and he was an okay guy for about the first three minutes. Doctor Peterson was not only a total geek
but he was also very evil and clever. The authorities let him adopt me and take me into his house
despite my objections this guy had saved my life that is something I must now hate him for.
Like I said the Doc was evil, he would have said that he was "expanding the frontiers of science."
Crap but good crap. The Doc took repayment for his kindness by testing out his newest project it was
called physiological transferral it's end result was a coat of fine fur and paws instead of feet, my hands
also started to change into paws but somehow my body resisted the change. The change took what
seemed like years, in reality it couldn't have been more then a few months, a month of constant pain,
a month of everyday becoming something that I hated more and more, a month of being prodded and
tested upon by the Doc. Everyday my skin, feet and hands burned with an intense pain, it was like
fire but there was no heat, just a slow agonising burning away of the flesh. I hated him so much in
that month that I think he's the only reason I managed to get through the transformation, the burning
desire to get revenge on Doc Peterson.
On the 8th of July 1987 I waited for the Doc to come and do his regular tests on me; three injections
and a quick examination of how well the fur was growing and how well my paws were developing. I
decided a few hours before hand that tonight Doc Peterson was going to go to sleep and never wake
up.
Carefully I placed myself in the inspection device, placing my paws inside the restraining bolts so that
I could extend my claws and free myself from the device. Whilst the Doc was getting the injections
ready I extended the claws in my feet, the pain was unbearable but I resist the urge to scream out
knowing that this could be my only chance to ever escape from the Doc. Smiling as usual the Doc
turned to face me before screaming in agony as I slashed across his chest with my claws. The Doc lay
there screaming in agony as I strained to pick at the restraining bolts on the inspection device. The
Doc looked up at me and continued to cry in agony. He slowly recovered from my blow and
apologised for what he had made me, he offered to let me go if I didn't hurt him any more, the
snivelling wimp. I agreed of course, he quickly undid the restraining belts on the device and backed
off in fear and terror.
"So what are you going to do now?" He asked with a quivering voice as I stood by the door cleaning
the blood from my paws.
"Oh I dunno, it's been a while since I've seen the outside, I'm sure it's changed a little so I'll have to
go explore and stuff." I sneered back at him.
Doc Peterson sighed loudly "Well you proven that you could quite easily kill me and you probably still
intend to do so." he said shuffling backwards, "But you forget one thing." he finished
"What's that then.?" I said, Not really caring and preparing myself to finish him off, a quick blow to
the neck should do it, quick and painful.
"I am the master," the Doc said holding a small gun shaped object towards me.
"Only the master of evil Doc." I said jokingly as a small dart flew into my fur. I yelped in pain
slightly and flung out at the Doc slashing him at least twice before everything started to blur badly, I
struggled to fight against the paralysing effect of the dart.
"I will fight you all the way," I said beginning to feel my legs giving way.
"Good, I enjoy a fight." The Doc said gutturally.
The blur in front of my eyes faded slowly to blackness and I felt the ground clawing up to reach me,
slowly there was nothing but myself and my heart beat resounding silently in the night before it too
was cut out by my brain.
I awoke. That was enough for me at the time, soon vision started to creep back in to my numbed
brain.
The Doc was standing there with some heavy bandages around his neck and over his chest he also had
a small black box in his left hand.
Slowly feelings returned to more or less all my body, there was a strangely tight constriction around
my neck but not my arms or legs.
I glanced up from the floor at the Doc.
"Awake at last I see." the Doc said ironically.
I found it hard to speak or even make a noise so I just nodded.
"Splendid, as you can probably feel about now I've added a little something to your personage." The
Doc said obviously noticing my discomfort. He held up the black box and pressed a button on it, the
constriction around my neck buzzed slightly and a wave of power hit my brain, almost like someone
had just decided to give me a large dose of raw caffeine.
"What the hell was that?" I managed to scream at the Doctor as the wave soared over me.
"Just a little reconditioning, now you can kill me if you want." The Doc said with an evil smirk.
I raised an eyebrow at this before going for his throat, as I reached for it with my claws I felt another
strange wave embrace me. I stopped approaching the Doc and fought the mental battle in my head.
"Good boy." The Doc said evilly, "The reconditioning has worked perfectly, as long as you wear the
collar you won't attack me."
"True but that doesn't stop me doing this." I smirked as I leapt for the door, bolting just out of it and
slamming it shut on the Doc.
I was out of the Doc's lab for the first time in what seemed years; quickly I searched the rest of his
house for the one thing I needed, a mirror. Eventually I found one in the Doc's bedroom and braced
myself as I turned and looked directly at what I had become.
Removing the shards of broken mirror was not an easy task, not when you think about my hands and
how badly they function now. It was night-time when I had finished repairing as much damage to
my paws as I could and now I was hungry. Normally the Doc had given me a bowl of some slop; I'm
pretty sure it was dog food; at least three times a day, now he was gone I'd have to go back to the old
days when I was younger and forage for food. I left via a window, smashing it to pieces like I had
done with the mirror, this time I used a nearby chair to save damaging my paws again.
Leaping out into the street I witnessed something that would change my life forever, five men being
pinned down by a single guy. I spied from my position and watched the ensuring struggle; quickly
the five became three, then one. The single guy who I could now see was wearing a brand new tuxedo
and had his hair gelled back. He had managed to beat up all five of these punks in a matter of
seconds. Then he bent down and bit into the one of the punk's neck. Reactively I backed off into a
garbage can and made an awful clattering sound, the man in the tuxedo glared over to me and with
incredible speed ran over beside me ready to kill me.
He raised his fist and then stopped and stared at me and my fur.
"What the hell are you?" He asked as calmly as he could.
"I should be asking the same thing, you a vampire or something?" I retorted
The man looked at me and glanced around before whispering into my ear "Why yes I am actually."
I let my jaw drop and stood there staring at him blank faced.
"Well I can kill you or make you a ghoul, your choice." He offered.
"Kill me." I said bluntly remembering what had stared back from the mirror.
"So be it," The man said dramatically raising his fist again to come down on my head.
I smiled as best as I could, waiting for the end of my rotting existence and in an ironic way glad that it
had come to a close. There was nothing left for me here on this world maybe in the next I could be
something rather then an abomination in the eyes of God.
The blow never came; another man came along and shouted to my "friend"
"What are you doing?"
"Stay out of this Vaclav." My friend replied to the newcomer, "It wants to die so I'm only giving it
what it wants."
"Now Peter, this is no way to treat our new friend here." Vaclav said to Peter, my friend the tuxedo
man.
"He's a friend of yours?" Peter asked both Vaclav and I.
"Remember your traditions Peter, Hospitality." Vaclav replied enigmatically before I could answer.
"Yeah and you remember the masquerade." Peter shot back.
"Our friend here won't tell anyone, do you think he could without being placed in a biological testing
ground for the rest of his life? No I don't think he's going to tell anyone about our little society so we
should just welcome him in." Vaclav concluded.
Peter nodded and pulled me to my paws before properly introducing himself, "I am Peter De Carre
and this is Vaclav Petronof we are both of the family Ravnos and we are both kindred."
"Vampires." I said, mostly in shock but also in recognition of what Peter and Vaclav were.
"Yes that is what we are." Vaclav said solemnly "Now who and what are you?"
"My name is .. Is.." I started, searching around my brain for what I was called, strangely there
was just a fog there. My name was obscured by fog. Peter then examined the collar around my neck.
"Tag here says your called Runt" Peter commented.
"Runt? Is that a name??!" I asked rhetorically.
"It'll do for now." Replied Vaclav.
"As for what I am well I guess somewhere in here." I said thumping myself hard in the chest "I am
human, what I have become on the outside God only knows."
"Very well Runt, come with us." Peter said leading me towards a black transit.
Vaclav tore down the back alleys and sub streets of New York until he pulled up outside a largish
warehouse.
"Stick right next to me Runt and you should be okay, but be ready to run in case anyone tries
something.." Vaclav warned me as we walked towards the warehouse.
Peter followed at a short distance behind.
Pulling open the large metal doors Vaclav walked casually into the warehouse with me following him
as closely as possible, I could feel eyes watching my everyone, tracking me, hating me.
Peter closed the warehouse doors and everything went dark.
It took about five seconds before I could see again, my improved night vision another "benefit" from
the Doc's experiment. The warehouse was pretty simple inside, a few crates of various contents
towered above me, A small forklift truck over in one corner and a little office for the night watchman.
I looked around to where Peter was and saw him pointing a gun at Vaclav's head.
Looking at him in shock for a whole nanosecond I suddenly leapt towards Peter screaming in agony
as my claws extended from both my "feet" and "hands".
I swiped at Peter as the gun cracked loudly in the warehouse, a mist of heat fell from the barrel of the
gun, clawing at Peter's arm I dislodge the gun and turned to see what damage it had done to Vaclav.
He was standing there smiling totally unhurt.
The voices from the eyes murmured their approval of me.
I stood there claws still extended and ready to swipe at anything that cam near me. A slight groaning
from behind reminded me of Peter that I had just clawed the gun from.
Spinning around to face Peter I saw him also totally unscathed.
"What's going on?" I asked Vaclav directly.
"A little test of your courage and resolve." Vaclav replied briefly. "And also a little proof." Vaclav
concluded.
"Proof? Proof of what? What are you talking about?" I asked anxiously.
"Proof of yourself. Proof of your willingness to risk yourself to save a stranger." Vaclav answered
I snorted loudly, "I was hoping the bullet would hit me instead." I said honestly.
"Well whatever, but you risked yourself to save another." Peter told me.
Several figures appeared from their hiding places in the warehouse and stood in a large circle around
Peter, Vaclav and myself.
"What are you going to do with me?" I asked slightly worried now.
"Accept you, you've proved your worth." Peter announced to all of us.
"If you wish to accept me then please destroy me, look at what I have become." I begged them.
"Why would we wish to end the life of one so brave?" Vaclav questioned me.
"Because I am a monster, an abomination in the eyes of God, look at what I have become." I told
Vaclav.
"Then you are just like us, we have learned that it's not what is outside but what is inside that matters,
you are fortunate for you still have some humanity, you are still mortal." Peter said honestly.
"I can not accept what I have become, not so soon." I continued.
"You are not expected too. It will take some time before you can truly accept what you have become,
unfortunately I will not be here I will have to leave soon, there is trouble in my home land but you can
stay here with Peter and the rest for as long as you need." Vaclav replied to me.
That was almost eight years ago and I've kept in touch with Vaclav using e-mail, letters even carrier
pigeon at one stage. I've been hiding with Peter and his friends in the shadows of the night all these
years, being a powerful ally as when I could almost disguise myself as a normal human and arrange
meetings, supplies and anything that was needed. In return for my services they taught me about
myself, how I had changed and how I was still the same inside and that's the only placed it really
mattered.
I've never forgotten what the Doc did to me, his gruesome image haunts my dreams all the time,
normally I don't escape and he turns me into his slave at which point I wake up screaming covered in
sweat. There's a lot of things I've learned from Peter and his friends, they taught me how to put my
"new" body to its best use. I can hear a pin drop from further away then any normal person and could
smell some much more then ever before. The wounds that the Doc inflicted on me, trying to
transform my hands into paws have made it very hard for me to use any tools or items. I never
noticed until recently the Doc stole away the most important thing from me, my sense of colour he's
left me totally colour blind.
After earning up quite a lot of "brownie points" with Peter and his friends I asked them for a favour.
I wanted them to help me kill the Doc.
It took me several minutes to convince them of my intentions and reasons, this being that had tortured
my existence for so long deserved to die.
I wanted to go ahead and kill him that night but was convinced by Peter that some observation would
be required before hand, make sure that they could get the kill.
The very next night Peter led me to the transit van and started to drive down the back streets returning
to the place where I was "born." Physically bursting into the door Peter gestured me inside handing
me a small pistol as he did, the gun was strangely elongated with the trigger at a bizarre angle. It
fitted my pawed hands perfectly.
Smiling to Peter he gestured again saying to me "Your monster, your kill."
Walking towards the Doc's lab I felt the collar around my next begin to buzz slightly before actually
beginning to hurt me. I raised my paws to it and was consumed by a fierce shocking energy from it.
I screamed in pain as the blast hit my brain. Peter ran up to me and similar tried to remove the
offending item and was blasted across the room as a similar wave of energy hit him also.
From the lab emerged Doc Peterson himself with a shocking hairstyle; it was bright green.
"Who is that??" The Doc started before suddenly realising what was going on.
"Runt?! Is that really you?? I would have thought you'd be dead by now.." He started before
noticing Peter lying across the opposing wall.
"You've even made friends!!" The Doc laughed loudly before suddenly stopping and staring at Peter.
The Doc's jaw suddenly dropped visibly "Kindred." he mouthed silently before returning to look at
me, "You have an excellent or terrible choice in friends Runt, I'll give you that." The Doc said in a
sombre and serious voice.
Raising my gun towards the Doc I smiled for the first time in years and quickly fired off three rounds
hitting the Doc square in the chest.
The Doc looked down as blood started to trickle from the wounds, "My god, you shot me!" he said in
disbelief before he started to grin sinisterly, "Now I'll have to get a new shirt."
To my amazement the blood stopped trickling from the Doc, even though I had seen Peter and some
other vampires do this once or twice it still always amazed me.
"What are you???" I asked the Doc as much gob-smacked by the Doc's fantastic healing abilities as
his new shoulder length hair.
"Your friends probably already know, I am quite simply a will worker." The Doc said smiling evilly
towards the stirring Peter
"Will worker??" I asked Peter.
"He's a mage Runt, he can bend reality to his will. He's very much more powerful then us." Peter
groaned with a tone of desperation in his voice.
I raised an eyebrow at this and stared at the Doc, "A mage. So that's how you made me grow fur." I
started realising what the Doc could do to Peter and myself. Anything he wanted.
"Yes" The Doc began, "You were going to be like a familiar for me, I was finding a way to transfer
paradox onto you, almost came up with the solution but then you ran away." He finished looking
towards me.
"My collar, how does it fit in?" I asked following his glances towards me.
"It is the object that was going to control you and the paradoxes, it is an incredibly powerful talisman
of magick. If you know how to use it." The Doc said grinning at me.
I looked at the Doc, stared at him and tried to imagine him bursting into flames or being swallowed
up by the earth itself but nothing happened.
The Doc began to laugh "Did you think that you could use it?!" he said laughing madly "You weak
pathetic fool, only I know how to control such power!!" Suddenly the Doc changed, his manner and
voice shifted towards something more malevolent "Now come here slave before I crush the life out of
you." he said in a deep voice like some demon from a horror movie.
I stood there, feeling something inside me wanting to go towards him, quickly I overcame that instinct
and looked to Peter for some advice, he looked up at me and whispered "Monster."
I looked down at myself and saw the fur, the paws that the Doc had given me before slowly I started to
walk towards the Doc.
"There's a good boy." The Doc said evilly.
When I was only a few feet away from him I forced myself to unsheathe my claws, the full agony of
which was worse then I could ever remember, I could see my claws extending in my mind as I shut
my eyes with pain. In my mind they where longer and sharper then normal, it took me a short while
to realise they were also made of metal.
The pain subsided as quickly as it had arrived, unsheathing my claws only took a few seconds but it
always felt like several minutes passed, several minutes of intense pain.
Pouncing towards the Doc I suddenly realised, what I had seen in my mind had become real. My
claws dug into the Doc ripping deeply into his skin as he recoiled in pain I struck again not giving
him the chance I had last time.
The Doc fumbled inside his pocket and took out the remote control device that he had used in the lab
on the night I met Vaclav and Peter before pointing it at me.
"I will fight you to the end." the Doc said pressing one of the buttons on the device.
"I enjoy a fight." I retorted tearing into the hand that the Doc was holding the device in.
Sparks flew from the device as my claws dug into the plastic coating and into the flesh of the Doc.
I saw the length and metal of my claws shrink but I didn't care now, the Doc was unconscious, now
he would be mine.
"NO!" Peter shouted as my paw began to swipe down on the Doc for the final time.
I jolted backwards at this, scuffing the Doc with my claws.
"What??" I demanded. "He's my monster now I shall kill him." I said turning back to the Doc.
"You can't." said Peter.
"Why not?!" I shouted directly at Peter afraid that I would lose my chance for revenge.
"When you kill a will worker there powers go mental, If you don't mind I shall retreat to a safe
distance before you strike the killing blow, just in case." Peter replied before running off down the
passage way at incredible speed.
Waiting a few minutes I examined the Doc carefully and in a strange way he reminded me of myself
when I was younger. Ready and willing to die.
When I thought that Peter would be clear of any side effects from killing the Doc I slung into him
with my full force, knocking chunks of twisted flesh and internal organs out of the Doc with every
swipe. Suddenly the room was filled with a blinding light and I was knocked to the floor by an
unseen force.
When my vision gradually returned there was the twisted body of the Doc with two large men dressed
in black suits and wearing sunglasses.
I smiled wryly and waited for them to kill me or at least knock me senseless. Instead they moved
backwards a step and a youngish looking woman stepped out from nowhere and smiled at me.
"Did you do this??" She asked politely.
I looked around the blood stained room and just nodded.
"In that case I have to thank you, My name is Helen and I am a mage like Peterson, but I work for the
other side. Where Peterson used science and technology to achieve his magick I use nature and sheer
force of will."
"Can you make me human again?" I asked her with a pleading look in my eyes.
"No I can not." She replied with an honest sounding tone, "You were created by very vulgar
paradoxes which have now altered your very being to the core, I'm afraid that you are permanently
changed."
For some reason that did hurt me or even make me angry, I had finally accepted who and what I was.
"But I can give you some things." Helen said with a smile.
"Yes?" I enquired eagerly.
"Well firstly I can make it a little less painfully for you to unsheathe your claws, it will still hurt, just
not as much." She said laying her hands on my paws and humming gently, a strange feeling passed
into my paws it felt like warm water cascading down them.
"I can also enable you to use that collar a little." She started.
"I'd rather not, if it involves magic that is." I interrupted.
Helen looked at me a little bewildered and was about to say something else as Peter came around the
corner.
"KINDRED SCUM!!" Helen shouted at Peter "BY WHAT RIGHT ARE YOU HERE?!" She
demanded.
"Peter's my friend." I pleaded with Helen.
Helen shot round and glared at me.
"This THING is your friend??" She said in disbelief.
I nodded dumbly up at Helen
"I can see why you do not wish to learn how to use the collar now, it would make them very jumpy."
Helen said sagely. "But none the less I shall have to tell you how to control the magick in the collar
as it is very potent indeed, you saw what it did to Peterson." She said pointing to the bloody mass on
the floor.
"But I destroyed the control box, it won't work any more." I started.
Helen sighed and shook her head, "This is why Mortals will never accept magick." she began before
suddenly turning her attention to me again, "Anyway yes your collar, never ever remove it from your
neck and everything will be fine." She explained simply, "Oh and I wouldn't let any of your friends
touch it either, will probably throw them across the room and severely hurt them." Helen said
Peter and I smiled at each other "Yes that sounds about right." Peter said to me with a grin.
"Anything else I should know?" I said turning back to where Helen was. Well where she was about
five seconds ago.
"Magi, they do that." Peter said with a scowl, "Best off without them."
"Shame they'd make powerfully allies." I started.
"Yes but like the lupines they have there own agenda, you can normally trust them about as far as you
can spit." Peter said distastefully.
I took this as my cue to not say any more on the subject.
Despite destroying the Doc the nightmares are still with me, they still haunt me wherever I go, as does
the legacy of the Doc's magick on me. I still where the collar and it does still throw people across the
room when they try and touch it, maybe I'll be able to find another mage to remove the infernal thing
from me one day.
Vaclav wrote me a letter today, it says he's planning something big over in Scotland of all places,
always wanted to visit there.
Today is the 19th of April the year is 1998 and disguising myself as well as possible I leave Peter
behind and return to the one who first saved me.
Charles "Runt-Abu" Brown