As far as teenage guys from the early middle ages go, Cameron Cromwell was pretty normal, and so was his family. That was to say, they were peasants, hardworking and poor and unnoticed. But Cameron was okay with that. It had been a good year for his family in 719 AD. They were prospering and Cameron had his best friend Melody Mason to hang out with when he had a free moment at home, and that was all that really mattered to him. The two had been pals for as long as he could remember. He couldn't imagine a life without her.
The only thing particularly unique about Cameron was his skill with a sword. His father had once been a traveling swordsman, and had taught him everything he knew. Cameron took to the art like a fish to water. Of course, being a peasant, he could never be a knight, but he didn't really want to be, either. Every knight he'd ever met had been exceptionally arrogant, and a few had even abused their power to take things from his family. He had no desire to be associated with THEM. He just thought it could come in handy to have skill with a weapon if he was ever in danger.
If only he'd known!
Then one night, everything changed. It all started that morning, when one of the front wheels for the Cromwell family's horse-drawn cart broke. It would be totally useless until the wheel was replaced. Naturally, it was Cameron who was given the task of finding a carpenter in nearby Georgetown who could make a new one to replace it.
"Good luck," said Melody, even giving Cameron a peck on the cheek before he left. "Try not to get lost!" There was a mischievous glitter in her blue eyes. Cameron smiled slightly.
"I think I'll be fine. After all, it's not THAT far. What could possibly happen?" Cameron would later regret saying that.
"Just be careful okay?" she added after a moment, "All sorts of weird stuff has been happening around there. People have been disappearing all over the place! I don't want you to vanish too." She grinned. "I'd hate to worry my parents by running off to hunt you down!" Cameron couldn't help a chuckle at that. That was how Melody was. She'd never been a very obedient girl, preferring to have "adventures" in the countryside, hating dresses, occasionally even wearing boy clothes when it was just the two of them, and often running off with him to play (without permission) when they were little. She was crazy, energetic, adventurous, and independent, and that was exactly why he liked her so much. Maybe even loved her.
Cameron departed for the town that morning, perhaps around 8, and arrived about noon, bringing nothing but a bag with food, water, measurements of the wheel, and money to pay for one to be made. It took a few hours, but finally he found a shop that would be willing to build a new wheel to his specifications for an acceptable price, and the haggling involved on GETTING that price took a while, too. By the time he was on the road back home with the news that the wheel would be done in about a week, it was almost sunset.
Then it happened. When he was on the road, in the dark, something came out of nowhere, something strange and humanoid and horribly, unnaturally strong. He caught a glimpse of a pale, handsome face, then it had hold of him, he tasted blood… And everything went black.
Cameron woke slowly. He felt awful, aching everywhere, and everything was dark and cramped. He had no idea where he was. All he knew was he was trapped, and he wanted OUT. He clawed at the ceiling, desperate. It tore away under his fingers, first fabric, then wood. Then dirt. He didn't stop to think about the fact that it shouldn't have been possible for him to rip apart wood with his bare hands, he just dug.
He didn't stop until he reached the surface, and crawled from his grave. Wait, grave? Cameron had no idea what was going on, and he couldn't think straight, something was wrong, different… He needed something, but it wasn't air. He felt like he was suffocating, but breathing didn't help. What was happening to him?!
"…Cameron?" He recognized the voice instantly. Melody. Even in the dark he could see her, standing there beside him, looking at him with an expression of surprise and confusion and worry and mild fear. "How..?! A-are you-" She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't get the chance. Before Cameron knew what he was doing, he was on her, pinning Melody against something hard and flat sticking up from the ground, his fangs in her throat. Everything seemed to fade away, everything but the blood, the liquid life flowing into him…
Then suddenly he snapped out of it. His front was blood-soaked, and Melody was limp in his arms. At first, he couldn't figure out what had happened. It was all a blur in his mind. Then he noticed his fangs. And saw that the thing he had pinned her against was his tombstone. And it all clicked.
"Melody..?" his voice was weak, shaking. "Melody..!" Horror gripped him. He felt at her torn throat. No pulse. "Melody!"
Melody was dead. And it was all his fault.
Cameron lightly set her down on the grass, though he was trembling. He had done this. What kind of person killed their best friend?! He was a monster. A total monster. A murderer and a monster.
He crawled away and cried. For Melody. For himself. And for his family.
Finally he made himself stop, stumbling off into the night. He had to go, to get away from here, to go somewhere, anywhere but this awful place. It didn't matter where, so long as it was somewhere else. He was still shaking, but the tears had stopped, though the mix of blood and tears still left faint reddish lines on his face. He was a mess, but he didn't care. After all, monsters weren't supposed to look nice.
Then he saw the sky starting to lighten in the east. Something about the sight filled him with dread. Suddenly someone else was there, a pale, lovely girl who seemed about his age, maybe a little older.
"You had best get inside," she said, glancing at the start of the sunrise. "You can stay at my home for the day." Cameron started to object, but something inside him, something purely instinctual, told him that she was right. He followed her to an old, ragged house. She led him inside and closed the door. All the windows had the curtains pulled, so it was quite dark, but somehow he could still see.
"I'm Elizabeth," the girl said, looking back to him. "But you can call me Liz. What's your name?"
"Cameron." He frowned. "Do… Do you know… What's happened to me?"
"You're a vampire." She grinned, and a pair of fangs, long and thin and white like bone needles, snapped out. Cameron flinched. "Like me."
"… A vampire?"
"Yes. A vampire. And…" Elizabeth gestured at the door. "You have to stay inside during the day. Sunlight burns our kind." Cameron felt as if his heart was made of lead. He could never go outside in the daytime again? Never feel the warm sunlight on his skin? Never watch another gorgeous red-orange sunrise without fear?
"Don't worry," the vampire girl said after a moment, as if reading his thoughts. "You'll get used to it." She glanced at a couple of old beds. "You'd better get some rest. You should get used to sleeping during the day. I know I'm going to bed." She flopped on one of the old beds. "Good day."
Cameron paused, then went to the other bed, curling up in it. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing at all. He drifted off into an uncomfortable, dreamless sleep.
