Me: Yes, I haven't posted anything in so long! My "Alice" who wrote in the other story is actually the creator (AAAHHH CREATORS! LIKE MARIA!) of this story. But I stole it...MWAHAHAH... Actually she asked me to let you read it. Give me comments and I will send them (not forward because I hate forwards!) onto her! Enjoy!

Red. That's the only way I can describe my beginning in this never ending world. Red with the blood spilt by my creator in previous centuries, red with the blood being spilt around me as I woke, and red with blood that I myself would extract from the helpless bodies of fragile humans as they begged and pleaded their god for forgiveness. I had no such god. I was damned from the moment my reclaimed soul entered Maria's domain. I knew no other way of life, and I believed myself a monster. If that was what God had chosen for me, to be distanced and never know of him, then he had succeeded. I wanted nothing to do with him. I was born amongst constant warfare, constant enemies, constant senselessness in the face of oblivion.

I thrived on the confusion, the helplessness...the fighting. It showed me that I was stronger than them, that they were weak. I fought my way through the ranks of her coven just as I would have ascended the ranks in the Confederate army I had formerly served. I proved that I was worthy of her attention, worthy of her praise. I proved that I could outsmart even the strongest army, that I could find the easiest way to achieve our timeless goal of domination. The south was filled with fear, but not as filled with fear as it was of blood.

I prized myself on my instincts, on my ability. She knew that I was different. That I was willing. I bent to fit her every need, even as she became more and more ruthless, I remained loyal. I could sense her emotion, I knew when she was most dangerous, when she was most lax with her security...even when her bloodlust became stronger or weaker. That was my one advantage, and ultimately, the one thing that saved me from complete self-destruction when the depression came.

The battles were never ending, the lives spared - none. I took that for granted. The less humans to question our less than humane existence, the better. I liked being a creature that lived in silence, always there, never noticed. They were so oblivious to their surroundings. That puzzled me. I had never encountered any other being that would distance themselves from the supernatural and obscene so willingly. They had no true sense of terror, and I reveled in the fact that i could instill some of that fear into them before they died. To complete their pathetically boring, barely livable existence.

In time, however, everything changed, just as all things do in the face of danger. Maria was still recruiting. I remained with her, though my inner sense was telling me to leave. That was one of the first terrible choices that would eventually create my downward spiral towards depression and helplessness. She was different now. Even more ruthless than she had been before. Harder on us all, not bothering to keep up a kind front. I could sense the same bitter emotion that had preempted the destruction of so many enemies, and even more allies. The same emotion that meant certain destruction for us all.

Desperate to avoid the end of this second chance I had been given, I began to work even harder. I trained almost constantly, stopping only to tend to Maria, to fight, or to feed. I gained only one sound ally, another older newborn, Peter. He was very well trained and very reliable. Yet there was something different about him. He didn't have the sense of self righteousness that most of the others had gained, increased, and retained over the many years we had fought. He had, I later realized, brought some of his moral values into our world of darkness and disregard.

I worked through the newborns, destroying those that I deemed unfit for the fight. Among those I had chosen to destroy was a woman named Charlotte. She had strange emotions, different from those I knew. Peter stepped in to save her from destruction, took her away with him. It wasn't until after he was gone that I realized what Charlotte's strange emotions were. Passion, love, and the ability to care. Charlotte and Peter had formed a bond, one of actual caring and love for one another. I had never thought it possible.

Maria was never quite as tolerant to me as she had once been. To her, letting Peter and Charlotte go was weakness on my part, and weakness could not be tolerated by her. I began to sink into myself, horrified at what I was, yet unable to stop, for fear of destruction. I knew, that even if I was able to destroy Maria, I would not be able to save myself. Thus I entered my ever-turning downward spiral into the deepest depression I had ever experienced.

5 years later - Peter's Return

"Jasper?" Her sultry, intoxicating voice didn't fool me for an instant. She was enraged, and I could tell that even I would have trouble placating her.

"Yes, Maria?" I responded, not bothering to force any false emotion into my voice.

She turned the corner and stopped a few feet from where I stood speaking to one of the most recent additions to our army. The newborn was entirely incoherent to me, but if Maria wanted me to explain it's situation, I would.

Maria's crimson eyes flashed with anger as she spoke, "You disappoint me." She hissed, pulling me away from the still babbling girl on the ground. I did not bother to resist her.

"What have I done to anger you? I have simply complied with your orders." I replied as she dragged me along.

She laughed. It was a cold, merciless sound. "No. You haven't. I asked you to kindly explain to the newborns their situation. That was four days ago. You say you have complied with my orders. Why then, is half of my army uninformed?"

Her voice had risen to a shout by the end, and I shrank back a few steps from her fury. It took everything for me to keep my voice level and calm.

"I have been doing my best, Maria, but the army has more than doubled. It is completely impossible to speak to more than five of them at a time, because if I try, they all begin to fight amongst themselves over what i say. It is taking me longer than I had anticipated, but i assure you, I will finish this task by tomorrow."

She took a step backwards, but her emotions let me know that she was still unhappy.

" You'd better. Every moment we waste is another city we lose. Work harder. I shall come back to view your progress in the morning." She spun on her heel and stalked away from me. I sighed, striding back towards the newborn I had been talking to.

She wasn't there.

Senses immediately on alert, I began to turn around. I wasn't quick enough. Before I was even fully turned, a hand was clapped over my mouth. Another arm wrapped around my chest and pulled me backwards into the shadows. Knowing that, if it was a newborn, it could probably do me a serious injury, I chose not to fight back immediately. I waited tensely until the arms surrounding me relaxed, then swung around as fast as I could, smashing my hand into my captors head. He stumbled back, but regained ground quickly.

"I never could beat you." The man said quietly, rubbing the side of his head.

I paused, staring at my attacker in shock.

"Peter?" I gaped, completely taken aback. He gave me a small smile, but that faded almost instantly.

"Jasper, I don't have much time. Maria could return at any moment, and the last thing I need is to be found." He stated quickly, moving slightly closer to me, expression still guarded, "When Charlotte and I left you five years ago, we went north. There we found more possibilities than we'd ever imagined. Jasper, please, come back with us. You can leave the fighting, leave the destruction. You need never train another newborn. You can come with Charlotte and I, Jasper. You can get away! Please, you must believe that there is a better way of existence out there waiting for you!" He said all this in one breath, then paused to see what i had to say.

I knew he was being truthful.

I stepped towards him. He moved back. I held up my hands, more than willing to give up and follow my former friend.

"Show me."

We traveled for years, free of the oppression and carnage that we had known with Maria. Yet something still felt wrong. I couldn't quite place it, but I was unhappy with this new way of existence. It was less violent than my previous lifestyle, yet it still wasn't enough. My depression worsened, descending farther still into a sea of darkness, a sea of helplessness. Peter and Charlotte did their best to keep me together, but they were struggling. I'd heard them arguing more than once over whether to stay with me or simply let me fend for myself. Charlotte wasn't as open to the idea of staying with me. She felt that I was a burden to her, hurting her relationship with Peter.

I didn't blame her.

After a final goodbye, I once again departed from my lifestyle in search of a better one. I didn't know what i would find, if anything, but something pulled me forward towards the one good thing that would turn the tables of my existence for the better.

Me: Yay!! Review please!