He turned the seventh or eighth corner… finally, an alleyway… he stopped behind a dumpster and leaned back on the wall, breathing hard from habit. It helped him stop, focus his thoughts, and plan. How did they find out? The thought permeated his mind. He had been sure his ruse would hold up, at least for a few more days. Nights. It was time for Plan B.

He jumped the fence behind him and kept running as the silent caravan of government agents prowled the streets around him. Around the second or third block, he could not help but think of his family. His friends. His life, all the good he was going to do. His eyes clouded… clouded red. This wouldn't do. Between lanky strides, the medium-sized, more recently muscular boy tried to recall the place that man had told him about… just before he collapsed… where was it? It was a bar, he was sure of it. Surely they wouldn't let him in. He was not of age. Then again, circumstances may dictate otherwise. He had to remember, he just had to. He could barely see for the discoloration of his vision, anyway. It was time for another stop.

He squeezed into a pathway between two storefronts and hid in the middle of the block. He had to think quickly. He grabbed me, I resisted, he threw his weight around, and then molested me. Well, he might as well have. Only it was good.

Almost too good… until the pain kicked in. I screamed at the sight, he kicked me in the nuts... told me to shut up, he was doing me a favor. Then he kept at it until he cut himself and pushed my head into his arm... and then... he shuddered. It was time to stop recalling that. It… it wasn't right. But the place, the place! What was it? Something about dark. Night? Twilight? He was becoming desperate.

Click. A footstep from a well-tailored shoe. Fabric brushed against a concrete wall. He became stock-still. Maybe... maybe if I don't move... they won't see me. Maybe. The official barged into the small corridor, loaded gun in tow. He prayed. Lord, please do not forsake me... for what I have become. Let me remain as one of your children when this man shoots me. I know I am a sinner, but –

And the official left. The boy, paler than white, was shocked. His muscles, which had involuntarily tensed up, relaxed. And the place came to his mind. The Black Thorn. It was a bar he had walked by nearly every day to school… Get out! he had screamed. The tall and suddenly easy-going man gave him an arrogant grin. All right, but when you care to understand everything, just ask for me... here. He handed the boy a business card and swept by. The boy turned, and stereotypically, the man was gone. Of course. He read the card for The Black Thorn and turned the card over. Aidan. Nice mysterious name. He had tucked the card in his pocket and vowed he'd be fine. But… he had to show, especially after this episode. He had cut it way too close and things were getting far too out of hand.

Gingerly, he cracked open the door. It was… a normal bar. He checked his watch. 12:30. That seemed about right. It wasn't packed, but not empty either. He quickly scanned the room for the man. There was no one he automatically recognized. So he did the most logical act he could think of. He walked up to the bar and waited for the bartender to get around to him. Hmm... who said all bartenders have to be ugly, menacing, and… well, male? She was admittedly hot – dressed in a conspicuously tight shirt, classy black pants, average height, and currently pouring someone else a drink. She, like any self-conscious person in a seedy environment, could feel someone's eyes on her. At first opportunity, she glanced over and saw the boy. She quickly finished up her business and walked over.

"Kids aren't allowed here, hon," she stated in as friendly a voice as she could muster at 12:30 am to a teenage boy probably eyeing her in the wrong way.

"I know. But…" He lowered his voice. "Do you know if Aidan is here right now? I need to speak to him." She eyed him quizzically. "Please," he added as an afterthought.

"Sure," she said, and picked up the phone behind the bar. "Aidan? It's Kylie. There's a kid here, wants to see you. Asked for you by name. He's about… oh. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. Uh-huh, I'll show him back. Yup. Thanks." She turned around. "Okay, kiddo, let me take you back."

He nodded, said "Thanks," and followed her through the storerooms and small kitchen to a door. "Here you are, hon… the man's office." His throat suddenly went dry. He mustered another "Thanks" quickly. She nodded, turned, and started to walk away.

"Wait!" he managed, hoarsely. He lightly bit his tongue to moisten and clear his throat. She turned around impatiently. "I'm sorry for looking at you in such a crude way earlier. You've been very kind to me and you certainly don't deserve that, especially when you probably get it from so many others."

Kylie was blown away with the sincerity of his apology for such a seemingly insignificant act. She nodded. "Thank you, hon. It means more than you know." She again turned around and successfully walked away. The boy turned back to the door and reached for the knob, but it turned and the door opened before he had a chance.

"Uh-huh. I knew you'd show." Aidan smiled down at him from at least a good six-inch height difference. "Matthew… honestly, did you think you stood a chance without at least a little bit of information? Clarification? Explanation?" Aidan gestured for the boy to enter.

Matthew walked in. "Yes, but… well, there are people after me. Government people, I think! And I stood there, the guy came into a corridor, and I thought he was going to shoot me, but he didn't see me! And my family and friends have no idea what's going on, and neither do I! You bit me and now I'm a freak! I bit someone else after I woke up the other night! To be fair, I think they enjoyed it, but that's even worse! It's evil, doing shit like that! You did this to me and now I'm this evil… thing! This isn't a favor! Just kill me now, please… please!" His last words collapsed into a lengthy sob as he collapsed onto the office floor. Aidan looked down at him compassionately. Clearly, the boy is more of a basket case than I imagined. No matter.

"Child, child. This incessant ranting and weeping… I've given you a new lease on life! Clearly, you know you don't mean what you're saying. Had you, you would have done the deed yourself before ever asking me to put you out of this "misery," as you seem to be describing it. And you are not a thing. Far more. Far more than any human. You know what you are, and yet you will not say it. Come, now. What other being sustains itself on the blood of others?" At this point, his motivational speech was interrupted by a loud sob from the boy.

"Then it's true… will I really look like this the rest of my life, then? And live off of others? Can't I just find rats or something? Why me? What do I do now? Why couldn't that man see me? Aren't I evil?" Aidan held up his hand. "Lord, but if you would've tried to subsist on your own… good thing you came back. Here, Matthew, get up. You haven't a clue how pathetic you look like that, bawling your bloody eyes out." Indeed, his eyes were again bloody, though Matthew assumed the term was used figuratively. He accepted the hand and sat in a comfy chair that Aidan then offered to him. "It's Matt," the boy said listlessly, smearing his face with blood as he tried to restore his dignity. Pulling the back of his hand from his face, Matt caught a whiff of the blood. His eyes opened quite widely and he licked it off. He nearly went mad with delight, rubbing at his eyes to lick all the excess blood off of his fingers.

"Matt, then." Aidan grabbed Matt's wrists and pulled them away from his mouth. "Child, you aren't doing very well at restoring your dignity." Aidan realized what he had been doing and his cheeks went slightly red. He set his hands on his lap. "Alright then. You… you are a vampire. Yes, you will look eighteen the rest of your life. However, looking at yourself will be a challenge." Aidan held up a mirror to Matt. His image was slightly blurred. "With energy, you can make yourself look clear, but you're obviously lacking in that at the moment. Next – you can find rats and whatnot, but they'll not sustain you as humans can. Then again, knowing your nature… it might not hurt. Next – you are responsible and intelligent, a rare combination of traits. You're also relatively open-minded, but you always keep your values up there on your priority list. You have principles. These are important things and we don't have nearly enough people like you around. Next, you forge your own life. Find a job, go to night school. We can't risk you ending your education here. However, I couldn't risk you getting away… knowing where you were going."

Matthew balked. The seminary… "Am… am I evil? I can't be evil. I was thrown into this situation! I'm not going to kill people! Am I damned? Will He pass me over?" He was nearly in hysterics again.

Aidan sighed. He knew what baggage he had signed up for when doing the deed, but still didn't enjoy having to deal with it. "You see… no one really knows. Legends and ideologies say this, that and the other thing, but as no one can really prove much, many vampires simply disregard the theology issue and live as they will." Matthew opened his mouth to respond. "Yes, child, I know you just can't do that. That's fine. However, do understand your place. You are quite the monster. It's not just something you shun. Embrace it, use it."

Matt shook his head. "Sir, you know I can't do that, either."

"Yes… I know. Give it time, Matthew. Give it time." Matt stood up in an effort to leave. "You cannot just tell me I am a monster and that I can't avoid it. If I stay with you, you'll try to leave this stuff engrained in my brain. Listening to you any longer would truly make me a monster." He walked toward the door. He heard a sigh behind him and a disappointed "Wait."

And then Aidan was in front of him. "Please."

"How…"

"How did I do it, yes, yes, I know, I know. Let me explain something first. Please, do not let me mislead you. I, unlike many, am not trying to force you to do or think anything. I was forced on threat of my life to believe in certain things and act in certain ways when similar events occurred to me. It isn't right. You can believe whatever you want. Cynicism just overtakes most of us in time. I was only referring to the likelihood of your conversion to this same system… in time, because eventually, as with all of us, time becomes irrelevant and life becomes much more tedious." Matt nodded blankly, mildly shocked at this straightforward and comparatively kind answer. "Please, do sit down again." He followed Aidan back to his chair as he dropped back into it exhaustedly.

"Where were we? Ah, yes. Your question. How did you pull that trick earlier? And while we're at it, how did I perform such a spectacle just now? Well… you were lucky, frankly. You have the power to perform such things, but it must have taken some incredible amount of luck and concentration to activate it like that without training. Then again, that in particular is very much in your blood – hiding yourself from others. You, dear sir, are, by your Embrace, a member of a clan. The clan is in your blood, passed to you by yours truly. Your particular clan, Mekhet – it thrives on darkness. Thus, you can use it to conceal yourself easily.

"However, it takes time and effort to learn to use this power. That's why we refer to them as Disciplines – it is precisely what they require. The trick I used to get in front of you so quickly is that of another discipline, Celerity. The word 'celerity' is by definition, super-speed." He stopped to savor the word. "However, it has sadly become largely obsolete save our use of it. No one bothers to learn four or five-syllable words anymore – nasty waste of time, to them. Never mind the fact that they sound nasty themselves without any proper utilization of the language…"

Matt sat and listened, drinking in Aidan's voice… it sounded like a bittersweet laugh. Soft, sultry, carefree… yet with an undertone of hard as stone conviction and a resigned quality he couldn't quite place. Yet all he could manage was, "Embrace?"

"The Embrace… the creating of new childer. For instance, you." Matthew couldn't help but snicker at the thought of being called a child… this man's child, in particular. Aidan couldn't be more than ten years older than Matt. And yet, and yet… Matt caught Aidan's eye – it carried so much… "How old are you?"

Aidan grinned at Matt, childish innocence strangely intact. He'd always dreamed this would be his favorite part when he first Embraced: the revelation of age. "One hundred seventy-eight years, eight months, and seventeen days old." A sufficient look of shock crossed Matt's face. Sufficient enough for Aidan, anyway.

"You were born… in…"

"1826."

"My… God…"