Hope is slipping from my hands, I only wish to die
I've given up on everything and ceased to try
All but bitterness has been stripped from the heart
My soul has turned black and the world has gone dark
Tremors and fears felt at every sight seen,
Scared of what will come and those that once had been,
I'm deep in this tunnel, and I've lost sight of the light
My day has disappeared, swallowed by the night.
What more is left in this world but deceit and failure?
Disappointments and pains I have long endured?
My soul is black and the world is now dimming.
Just when the light has entered, the darkness finally lifting.
-Black Soul, Dark World
Prologue 1
Visions of Mercy
As the day faded away to the darkness of the night, the streets began swarming with hookers and pimps, addicts and thieves, and the like, who had all crawled out of the wormholes where they had hidden in during the daytime. The usual hustle of these night creatures went on, all of them oblivious to the presence standing by the corners, hidden in the shadows.
With steely ice-cold eyes, he looked at all of them. The wheels in his mind began turning yet all thoughts remained concealed and his silence was continually drowned out by the traffic and noise. He took a long drag from his cigarette before letting it fall to the dirty asphalt floor, his foot barely lifting as he crushed it underneath the heel of his heavy boot. And with that, he sauntered away.
Leaving the busy streets as quietly as he had stood there watching, the dark seemed to have swallowed him as he made his way to the back streets. With an imposing stride and clad in an expensive suit, he stuck out like a sore thumb, he clearly didn't belong; yet, such was his air of authority that the bums and drunkards of the alleys could only stare as he passed by them and walked on their turf.
He went on walking and soon came across a huge broken-down building, positively a brothel. His piercing gaze fell on the door, just as it slammed open and a girl stepped out. She was around twenty, dressed in scanty clothes that showed much of her fair skin and slim figure. A hooker...? He raised an eyebrow; she seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the place. She had only gotten a few feet in front of him when the brawny guy standing by the corner violently seized her arm.
"Where d'you think yer going!"
"Away from here! " There was not a hint of fear in her eyes, only anger, as she struggled to free herself from his vise-like grip. Her reactioncaused her captor, the bar bouncer, to frown and tighten his hold on her. "Let go! Tell Yohan I want out!"
"No way, this is yer first night! Yer coming back in there wit' me!" Though he appeared calm, he clearly wouldn't hesitate nor think twice to drag her inside, the stranger observed.
As if knowing what the big man was thinking, the girl fought back more. "N… No! Let go! Just let me go!"
The bystander watched all these under brooding eyes and took a step forward. Since he managed to get behind the girl's assailant without being noticed, he decided to do what he normally wouldn't: help a weakling. "You heard the lady."
The bouncer angrily turned to give him a scowl. "Stay out of this, punk!"
"Can you not hear? Certainly, anyone would have heard what she said."
"I dun know what stupid moron ye are to stick yer nose here!" The mysterious man very well knew that his comment irked the stocky fellow. "An' the boss tole me I kin do anything I want if she won't obey." Raising his hand as if to prove that, he slapped her hard across the face and she quickly crumpled to the ground.
The yet unknown man shook his head, displeased with the action. "Only a coward would strike a girl."
"Who're you callin' a coward!" the big fellow was furious now and began charging at the stranger, but he paid the bouncer no heed, nor did he care about the other man's sudden outburst.
"A fool would be a better word then." He smirked at the fast approaching man before baring his sharp fangs at him. The alley was dark, and anger can truly be blinding. The poor man didn't perceive the horror that was to fall upon him, so it seems, as he prepared to launch a punch at the outsider.
In a matter of seconds, the aggressor was now pleading for pity. The stranger had dodged the clumsy blow and had one hand fisted around the bigger man's neck. It was a ridiculous sight, someone so big and supposedly strong cowering and seeking mercy in the clutches of a smaller, yet stronger figure... Too bad for the fallen man, but mercy was one word unfamiliar to this stranger. As his prey continued wheezing for breath, he sank his teeth into his attacker's neck.
The still of the night was interrupted by the shrill screams of the man as the stranger fed on his blood. Ironically, as he had shown the girl no compassion, the same fate befell him. His cries gradually died down, as did his life as it faded, claimed by death. The victor of the fight slowly stood up and wiped his lips clean with the back of his gloved hand, having a conscience free of guilt that no one would have thought he had just done the gruesome crime this foreordained night.
His head snapped up as his ears picked up sounds of footsteps definitely coming from inside the building and just a few yards from where he was. Looking around for an escape route, he remembered the unconscious girl and something deep within him stirred. He didn't have the heart to leave her behind; that is, if he had a heart at all. Before he knew it, he had swept her up in his arms and leapt over the tallest building, once again disappearing, engulfed by the dark...
Prologue 2
The Charmer's Scheme at Work
Stupid.
The night before, he had foolishly gotten himself entangled with the underground business of women trafficking, something that he had known of yet barely even cared about. Apparently, his dinner was one of the most trusted men of a very influential pimp. Not that he minded the troubles he had caused, nor did he fear being hunted down. He knew he could take all of them down, that is, if he'd wanted to waste his precious time on these low lives... It simply bothered him, why he risked the chances of being hounded or maybe even discovered all for the expense of helping a girl. And what of her?
He had taken her with him to his abode after the incident and even at this very moment, she was lying on his black silken bed, still unconscious. Despite the poor lighting, he could clearly see her from the bay windows where he was standing. He had without doubt underestimated the girl then, in the alleys when he first laid his eyes on her, for even with the meagre brilliance of the candlesticks, he found the lady quite enticing. Presumably dissatisfied with looking through such a long distance, he travelled the length separating them and sat himself on the bed.
He raised a hand to brush away strands of hair from her forehead, his gaze lingering on her face for a few moments before trailing down to her white neck. The candlelight casted a wicked glow on her, and for some reason, this made her appear more bewitching. She was right in front of him, deep in sleep, helpless... His fingers twitched, longing to feel her soft skin as he pictured himself tasting even a droplet of her blood. Although he had already fed the previous night, he was hungry again, this time, for her... Spellbound, he brought up one hand to touch her. And at that same moment, she stirred awake. Finally being able to break the trance, he stood his ground and waited for her to open her eyes. And when she did, he detected fear in her, and his eyes met hers.
"Welcome to my humble dwelling."
Act One
A Room, A Guy and A Girl
:Present Day:
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
The girl to whom the question had been aimed at continued to stare at the man who had spoken to her. "Is this an interrogation?"
He chuckled softly while she impassively looked on, waiting for his answer. "Maybe." Her eyes narrowed and her jaw visibly clenched. "Maybe not." She seemed to relax slightly and he watched her closely, seeking her reaction for something that might give anything away.
"It doesn't matter." She looked up and he found his gaze locked with hers. The temptation to look away was strong, yet he didn't turn away from those soulful pits. "You're staring."
"Do you know these men?" He pulled a couple of photographs from his suit pocket and threw them on the wooden table as if that explained why he had been gawking at her. An emotion he could not read passed through her eyes as they scanned one particular photo, making him smile.
Once again, her eyes met his, defiant as ever. "Where did you get these pictures?"
"You know them."
She did not reply.
He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and offered her one. She declined. He shrugged, lighted the cigarette and took in a long drag, keeping eye contact with her the whole time. "Are you one of them?"
"One of what?"
"Them," He eyed her, all-too-familiar with the mock innocent expression. "You know very well what I'm talking about. Now, are you?"
"If I tell you I am," she leaned forward, wicked-looking shadows settling on her features. "Would you believe me?"
He smiled and blew a cloud of smoke on her face. She didn't flinch one bit. "Heh. You're just a girl."
"To you, maybe I am." She rested her back on the chair and it creaked loudly in protest. "But I know more than you'll ever know in your lifetime."
That's it. She said so herself. His grin widened. "Then tell me about them." Realizing that she went back to being her quiet self and that she wouldn't answer him lest he used force, he decided to push her a little. "You know I could keep you down here for as long as I want if you won't give me any useful facts."
"Do what you want. They'll come after you anyway."
He raised an eyebrow. "They?"
"You know who I'm talking about." Her lips pressed together in a determined line. She stared at him and it barely registered in his mind that she had just used his words from earlier against him and that she was taunting him. "Or don't you?"
"Then talk some more." He prodded her to reveal to him anything about the beings that strike fear into the hearts of every normal man, the same creatures that everyone knew about yet these immortals seemed to exist only in the tales and myths that were meant to scare anyone.
"What's there to say?"
"Recount how you first encountered their kind... Give me a glimpse of what they were like, how they interacted with you. What they eat, how they feed..." He stopped himself before he went on and on. She should have gotten what he had been trying to say, right?
"You're asking me to remember and tell you everything?" He nodded. She shut her eyes, giving him a moment to admire her features. Parts of her face were silhouetted by the shadows casted by the lamp that hung from the ceiling; nevertheless, he can't help notice how white her skin was, not to the extent that it turned into a sickly pale color but the shade came quite close to that... It made her appear almost ghostlike yet it was that air of mystery that made her more beautiful. Her eyes snapped open and he found himself sinking into those dark chasms. "For what price?"
"Your freedom?" He shrugged.
She took a deep breath, looking very tired and broken at that moment. "Very well..."
Act Two
A Living Corpse
What an enigma. He wasn't a man born in perpetual darkness, yet the night could easily claim him as her child. He seemed satisfied to walk the lifeless darkened streets, still he claimed he once loved the feeling of warmth daylight brings. He could take away another's life in a natural way that could only be his, however his over protectiveness over a certain girl –a girl he barely knew, no less!– just proved that he cared for the living far more than he would ever admit to himself and others of his kind.
No words were exchanged between him and the now-conscious girl. She could feel every ounce of strength and authority in his average built just as he could sense her fear and worry. Ah, so much was the panic that he could smell it in the air... It could have been fate that two very different people encountered each other the previous night... or their meeting could have been a punishment that was meant to plague them both. The deafening silence was interrupted by the audible knock on the door. He stepped away from her to answer it, he knew she won't be able to go anywhere even if she wanted to.
He held the door ajar, shielding the interior of his room with his body from whoever's prying eyes. A man whose looks resembled his greeted him with a wide grin. For a moment there, it was as if he was looking at his reflection in the mirror, only that it was everything he wasn't...
"What is it?"
"Ah." The smile on the other man's face widened as if taunting him. "The Great One wishes to see you."
He frowned. "Why is that?"
"I do not know." The other man tried to peer over his shoulder, but he was quick to hide it, closing the door slightly so that only his face was visible through the opening. "Hmm, what is there to hide? We've been friends for as long as I remember."
What was said made him smirk. "Then apparently, you don't remember much of your life." With that, he shut the door on his intruder's face. He focused his attention back on his guest. The girl had been staring at him and she most probably heard all that they had talked about. He knew she had questions but he wasn't in the mood to answer even a single one of them.
"I-" she opened her mouth to speak but he interrupted her, wanting to hear nothing about her inquiries.
"Look, girl." He began tersely, pinning her with his icy gaze. "If you have any queries, I'd like it if you save them for later."
"Hey, I just wanted to thank you." She met his look head on, jutting her chin out and showing him how brave she was when he already thinks otherwise.
He chuckled, his laugh sounding hollow and lacking the humour. It was certainly odd for him to hear her say those grateful words when she still didn't know just what kind of hell he had brought her to. "Thank me? For what?" he moved closer to her that his face was mere inches from hers. "For saving you from that man, is that what you are so grateful of?"
She frowned at him, puzzled by his reaction. "You helped me escape, isn't that good enough?"
Suddenly infuriated at her ignorance, he spun around and scowled so hard that his next words came out as a growl. "Yes, I helped you escape but you have no idea just how much more difficult it would be to find freedom from this hellish prison."
"This is a prison?" she put a hand on his shoulder but recoiled from her touch. "Hey, you're cold."
"You don't know just how cold I am," he said through gritted teeth. "And yes, this is what you said this is." His frown deepened as his mind travelled back to the memories he thought he had thrown away. "I have been imprisoned here since the moment I allowed myself to be betrayed."
She suddenly looked frightened, just as she had been when she first saw him. "I... I don't understand what you're saying."
He seemed pleased for her lack of knowledge. "It's best that way."
fin chapter one
Author's Notes: I wrote this late last year (2001-2002) after I got really bored listening to my physics teacher's lectures. Took me a lot of time to convince myself to post it and all... Oh yeah, I know the poem at the beginning of the fic seems unrelated to the whole story BUT it did serve as my inspiration for the story. Oh, I forgot to mention that the characters would only be revealed in Act Four. Sorry!
Additional Author's notes, upon editing: It has been a while since I last posted anything (I have forgotten how to edit chapters, would you believe?). The past few years had been really vexing, and as I went through those times, I had to fight off depression, school problems and conflict from my own family. I have thankfully overcome those moments, so, yeah, I'M BACK!
Since I still can recall everything I have in line for this story, I shall continue it. It might be a bit slow, considering that I only have 6 more months left before I my on-the-job-training (therefore, my studies would have to coincide with my writing), nonetheless, I would still be updating. So, if anyone is still reading this, well, no worries, I shall finish this! )