The great crusade by zman007playr

The vampire race had lived among the shadows of the mortals for as long as I could remember. Our war with the Lycans, our strongholds, our covens had always been kept away from the prying eyes of humans, lest they become too fearful and seek to destroy us. But now the world as I knew it was changing right in front of me and, little did I know, I would be playing a pivotal role in the way things would end up for us.

The year is 1937, and human kind has grown exponentially through the last century. The last shadows are slowly being gobbled up by their voracious appetite for expansion. Soon there will be nowhere left for us to hide, no shadow large enough to escape scrutiny. Thus, we are faced with a choice, integrate or die. Now our covens all around the world have formed integration squads, vampires sent out to blend in to human society. They get jobs, go to school, and live life like an ordinary human, though that is not their only role. Our elders have "convinced" the larger industries to provide a haven for our covens, under the guise of upper class neighborhoods. Walled off, and away from scrutiny from any prying eyes we might be able to endure in this ever-changing world. My name is Matthew Thompson, a fledgling vampire in the New York coven, getting ready for one of the most important days of my life.

I remember waking up in a sudden panic, beads of sweat dipping slowly off my forehead. I chalked up to nerves getting the better of me, terrified that I might have over slept and missed the ceremony. My fear and panic were lessened slightly when I head a light and cheery chuckle coming from the other side of my room. Groaning heavily, I drowsily reached over and flicked on the desk lamp I had on the nightstand beside my bed, wincing as the bright light suddenly filled up my room.

"It's about damn time you woke up Matt," a voice from the opposite side of the room chuckled out. "Do you even realize what time it is? Or were you just convinced that you could sleep in and the elders would forget about you?"

As my eyes began to adjust to the light I could finally make out who was insistent on berating me so early. Sitting across the bed from me, in a large, black, leather reading chair, was my childhood friend James. He sat slouched down in the chair, dressed in a casual black suit white shirt. His shoes were polished to a mirror shine, a fact he made even more apparent as he tried his hardest to flash the lamp's reflection off them into my eyes. His short black hair was slicked back with a fine layer of gel, and he sat casually sipping a glass of fresh blood. It had been a few days since I last fed, and I could smell the blood from my bed.

"Ugh if you're going to come in and torment me so damned early the least you could have done is brought me a drink" I chided as I sat up and rubbed my eyes to fully wake up.

"If I was truly here to torment you," James said with a quiet laugh, "I would have brought more for myself and let you suffer." He stood up quickly, grabbing a glass he had purposely hidden behind him and placed it on the night stand. "Only two days old, still pretty fresh though, good enough for you to keep your strength for the day." His words were sincere in heart, and he gave me a half smile as he turned away. "Which faction are you hoping for anyways, if you could have it your way?"

I looked over at the glass and shook my head slight before taking a rather large sip. The chilled blood tasted like pure heaven, and I began to feel my own strength slowly returning. I set the glass back on the nightstand, wiping the blood that was left off with my arm. "If I could" I replied, smirking slightly, "I'd be a part of Deathwatch."

James did nothing but laugh, near doubling over in the process. "Seriously Matt what is your massive obsession with Deathwatch? The wars have been over for centuries now, and we certainly won't fight the humans." He shook his head at me, leaning against the doorframe as he looked down at me. He smiled slightly as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering me one as he stuck another in his own mouth. I gave a small chuckle as I took it from his fingers. As I rolled out of bed he had already lit his own and held the lighter in front of me, still grinning like an idiot.

"You know me James," I said as I took the first drag, giving a long and slow exhale. "I've always been a dreamer."

James took a long drag himself, looking up at the ceiling as if he was mulling my statement over in his own mind before exhaling the smoke into the air. "Well I hope you get what you want Matt but remember not to go too crazy when you get thrown somewhere else." He took another drag and smiled at me. "Now hurry and get dressed, the girls are waiting for us outside. I told them it would only take you thirty minutes to get ready today and your time is almost up."

I looked over at the clock and checked the time, spurting and coughing as I noticed how late it had gotten. "What the hell James?! Why didn't you start off with what time it was?" I took another quick drag of my own cigarette before hurriedly throwing it in the ashtray by my bedside. "Go on outside I'll meet you all there" I murmured as I gave him a gentle shove out the door.

James did nothing but laugh waving me away. "You've got ten minutes before we decide to leave you behind Matt, ten minutes!" He took one last drag of his cigarette as he left, I could hear him laughing the entire way out of the house.

Hastily I ran over to the wardrobe, throwing on the first things I could find. Throwing on a plain white long sleeve shirt and black trousers, I knew I wouldn't impress anyone at the assignment ceremony today. I slipped into a pair of black socks and put on my best oxfords and sharpest tie, hoping at least the neatness of my attire would count for something. As I tied my shoes I couldn't help but continue to glance at the clock, mentally punching myself for sleeping in so late. On the way out, I quickly ran a comb through my hair, just enough to tidy up any sort of bed head I may have gotten. As I reached the front door I grabbed my coat from the rack, a beautifully tailored brown trench coat and headed out to meet James and the girls.