A hundred years ago people balked at the discovery of vampires, and we warned you that we could never be the worst of your fears. We tried to warn you. Instead you tried to destroy us. Humanity it was you who forced us to multiply and bolster our numbers. We saw the devastation caused by this plague once before. Our elders warned of a second Dark Age so that we would be ready for it. Humanity will fall, but not by our hand.
The plague started out as a pretty generic plague, people got sick because they got bitten. Then they died, but they didn't stay dead for long. That's how it all started. The media blamed the vamps for a while, but we knew better. Soon the media did too. The first strain was pretty standard, your basic mindless, hungry walkers. But it didn't take long for the virus to adapt. The Zeds, as we called them started getting faster, smarter, deadlier. Their flesh also stopped decaying at a rapid pace, now they maintained their human appearance for just a little longer. The eyes are what got me though, see when a zombie bites you your eyes just go dull until you resurrect and then they're just white, now, now you maintain that spark of life. There is still an illusion of humanity that is maintained within the living dead. Then they started talking and thinking. Motor function returned at an alarming pace so now they are truly a horrific force to be reckoned with. It takes months to change and the original bite heals within minutes. They bite to recruit now. They're known in this age as Reaperz, a breed of truly terrifying mindless cannibals who just don't die all that easily. The Reaperz have taken to using the Zeds to do their dirty work. We refer to them as minions sometimes because that's the function they have taken on. They are just cognoscente enough to follow orders.
Now the world is all but changed. There are Humans, Reapers, Vamps and only god knows what else. The Humans attempt to stay away from the conflict. They're just trying to survive. In this life you're one of three things: running from, being chasing after, or being bitten by one of the two factions. On the bright side if you've been bitten by a Reaper and but haven't changed there is still hope of survival. Go to the Vamps. They can "cure" you… after a fashion… you can still be turned if you haven't crossed over. Better to bathe in blood for an eternity and retain a piece of your former self than become a total cannibalistic monster. Which brings us to the fantastic tale of how I ended up in my current predicament: stuck in a cage, that's chained to the ceiling of a glorified sub basement. Well, if you were wondering, it all started out with a girl. Doesn't it always?
It had been a really long and really bad night already. I was fighting with Asa again. It has always hurt worse to fight with her than anyone else. There were just a few things that we didn't agree on, for example, boundaries, I needed them to function. It seemed that over the past two decades we've grown closer together and drifted farther apart all at the same time. I love her with all of my being, she's my maker. But recently she has become callous and demanding, she's so harsh now. I can only imagine that it has something to do with Bev, her one love. Asa will never admit it but she loves Bev in a way that surpasses all others that I've seen so far. For some reason I think she's still angry about her feelings… don't ask me why. I think it's trivial the way she pretends not to care. The bottom line is that this particular fight had been the worst argument we had ever had, which is how I ended up at Dark Dive.
Dark Dive is a club for Supernatural beings, like me. It's a neutral place where shady deals take place and nobody sees you if you don't want to be seen. It's a safe haven of sorts, no fighting is ever allowed whether it be between Vamp, Reaper, or human. It was also the easiest place to find a quick and willing meal. I have never been a violent being and I detest hunting for sport, but I will take a willing candidate any day. And today I needed a fucking drink. As I passed through the huge gothic arches that served as an entry way I began to make my way through the crowd. It wasn't exactly easy. Even though it was a safe place it wasn't a safe place to be. There were raving partiers everywhere flailing to the heavy industrial noise that shook the walls. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this place did have structural damage due to the heavy bass that constantly shook the foundations.
As I reached the "bar", a lineup of adrenaline junkies looking to take a hit of pure stupidity, I felt slightly uneasy. I shrugged it off as I scanned down the line. The music was making my head pound and I was feeling angrier by the second. This evenings fight was grating on my nerves. I couldn't believe half of what Asa had yelled at me before she threw me out, again. I was just about to give up and leave to find my best friend Natlee when I saw her. I could feel the waved of pure fear and desperation pouring off her. Even at a fair distance I could feel the sadness radiating from her. She looked like she was going to be sick. She had her head bowed and her long dark hair was all but covering her face. She looked terribly out of place here. She was wore a short red dress that perfectly accented her slight curves. It was a stark contrast to all the leather and spikes that surrounded us. There was no doubt in my mind that she was terrified. I couldn't let her suffer here, or worse let some blood thirsty killer get to her. There was something drastically different about this girl.
I walked over and gently took her hand. The second our skin met a shock ripped through me. It felt like I had been hooked up to a car battery. It was like some magnetic force was holding us together somehow. It almost stung but I couldn't let go. I gently pulled her forward and she began to cry. I quickly scooped her up into my arms as her legs gave out and headed for the roof. She needed air, so did I for that matter, well not really but, space to clear my head was in order. I was as careful as possible as I made our way to the back exits. She was shivering against me and full on sobbing now, her hair was still a tangled mess covering her face. The music seemed to get louder and the crowd pressed in around us. She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled herself closer to me as people started slamming into us. The club was all becoming too claustrophobic to handle and above all else I just needed to make her safe. I wanted her to be ok. I quickened my pace shoving through the crowd and we eventually found the exit. I pushed the door open and backed into the stairwell. As I carried her up to the roof she seemed to calm down a bit. Her sobs receded and she nestled further into me. We finally reached to top and I walked to the ledge and sat down cradling her in my lap. She was still clinging tightly to me. It was almost as if she couldn't get close enough to me. It seemed like an hour, minutes, days who knows, before she finally pulled away. As she pulled her hair out of her face I swear my heart actually started beating again for an instant. God she was perfect. Her eyes were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I wanted nothing more than to stare into them for the rest of eternity.
"I'm not going to hurt you", God knows that was the last thing I had ever wanted. She seemed to be in such a fragile state. The way she was shivering scared me. I felt that she would shatter at any moment. She must have thought I was some sort of monster abducting her and carrying her off to the roof to feed on. I started to gently stroke her arm with my fingertips, her skin was so soft. I held her closer to me. All the while I couldn't begin to understand why I was so suddenly and inexplicably comforting a Human. Why was this one so different?
Her breathing was starting to calm down and her sobs slowly receded. So I must have been doing something right. "Please don't be frightened", I reassured her. She needed to know that she was safe. She truly was safe with me. I pressed my lips to her forehead then whispered, "I would never hurt you. You'll always be safe with me, I promise." It was the truest statement I had ever made. In that instant I knew that I would never let anyone or anything ever harm her.
She looked up into my eyes and met my gaze. A silent agreement of some sort passed between us and she nodded in consent. I took her hand in mine and liked our pinkies, that electric current almost shocked me again. I smiled as I held out our linked hands "See", I wiggled our hands gently,"now it's official". I grinned sheepishly at her and she slowly gave me a small pout that turned into the cutest crooked half smile and cocked her eyebrow. "My name's Britt."
"Thank you for getting me out of there" she whispered. "I'm Santana".