Chapter One; The Beginning

Jonathan Smarts finished feeding the fire, his eyes gazing over the shadowy glade in which he and his assistants had come to rest in. The orange flames emitted an eerie red tinge to the environment, the perfect setting for a horror story which would terrify the souls of his young charges.

Jonathan grinned at that, rubbing his hands together as he spied moving in the bushes. "Anthony? Are you still taking a piss?"

"Yeah, Jonathan," one of his charges, Anthony, mumbled, peeking out from behind the tree he stood before, "Bladder shyness should be a proper medical diagnosis."

"Whatever," Jonathan laughed, laying back and picking his teeth, "Where's the blood?"

"In Kathryn's bag," Anthony called, sighing with relief as he finally managed to coax his bladder into motion.

"Where is she?" Jonathan frowned. It had been a while since he'd last seen his youngest assistant, the female having went to bathe in a spring nearby. A gnawing feeling in his stomach bloomed and, for a brief second, he felt as though he should go look for her. However he thought better of his instincts and lay back out on a balding blanket, enjoying the heat of the fire.

Anthony emerged after a short while, the shaggy haired man sitting across from him and throwing a few more sticks on the fire, "Where's Kathy?" he asked casually, biting down his nails.

"No doubt crying," Jonathan laughed, "She didn't seem to like the novelty of killing and eating food."

"That's because she used to be a vegetarian," Anthony pointed out before quickly averting his eyes when Jonathan snarled and adding, "Sir,"

"I saved her from death. She's in my debt and thus she will do as I say," Jonathan pointed out, stretching back and scratching his toned abs.

A rustle from the clearing caused both men to sit up and stare out into the dark abyss. Anthony swore he could hear the slight ragged breathing of some animal, reminding him ever so slightly of a laboured horse. For a split second, the assistant thought he saw a hunched figure in the shadows but decided it was nothing, dismissing the 'figure' the minute he could no longer see it.

"Strange," Jonathan laughed, somewhat unnerved. Then again, it was the night and many of the woodland creatures came alive through the twilight. He, no doubt, was jumping at bluebottles. "Tomorrow, Anthony, we will head into the next city and pitch up camp there,"

"How come?" Anthony asked then added, "Sir," once more, seeing Jonathan's disapproving look.

"I love city life, particularly when there is a festival on," Jonathan grinned, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He longed for a good stiff beer. His new assistants were nothing but bother. Anthony was slow to learn and Kathy was just impossible; she nagged and had an opinion on everything and anything which Jonathan wished she would grow out of. The opinions of a woman were not as credited to that of his or Anthony's or Prince Paris or Seba Nile or Prince Mika. In this cruel, cold world a female would be forever under the authority of a male till she proved herself partaking in the most gruelling challenges like Arra Sails.

Jonathan grinned at her image, the muscular physique, the manly attitude, the bum… To think that reckless General Larten Crepsley somehow managed to tap that astounded Jonathan, particularly because he fancied himself a little bit more attractive than that Ginger haired rouge. Maybe someday Kathy might just become the Arra Sails of her generatio-

A scream unlike anything Jonathan had ever heard echoed through the forests, bloodcurdling and savage, almost feline in its high pitch. Anthony was staring out at the clearing, his eyes wide in complete and utter terror. "What's the matt-" Jonathan gasped as his eyes followed Anthony's to a hunched over woman glaring at them.

Instantly her ash-coloured locks identified her as the men's third companion; Kathryn. Her eyes blazed a bright crimson colour, lower jaw caked in the black-red blood of something she had clearly killed. Though Anthony couldn't identify the bloody smell in the clearing, Jonathan could; snake blood, the single most poisonous blood a vampire or vampaneze could intake. Its toxic properties had seen many a man turn savage after consuming that it became a rule to never drink it.

"Kathy?" Anthony smiled fearfully, taking a step towards the hunched over beastly woman, his hands outstretched to show he meant no harm. "It's okay, it's just us-"

Kathy lunged at her fellow charged, shouting and screaming at him as her jaw clamped around his throat, biting him like some demonic beast, tackling him to the floor whilst he flailed pathetically under her weight, "Jonathan!" he screamed in utter terror, "Help!"

Jonathan rushed forward, trying to pry her from his assistant only to be savaged by her blackened nails, her red eyes burning into him as her teeth ripped out his own neck.

He fell to the floor, amazed that he was not strong enough to kick her off as she ravaged him like a rabid wolf. "An-Anthony..." he wheezed, blood haemorrhaging out from his puncture wounds. His fading eyes caught sight of Anthony and terror overwhelmed him.

The boy he had blooded, had taken into his home and mentored as best he could, approached Jonathan, jaw open to reveal the blackness of his mouth, his own blood trickling over his parted lips as a set of scarlet monstrous eyes bore into him. "N-n-n-NO!" Jonathan screamed as Anthony's teeth ripped at the flesh of his face. "Argh!" he shrieked, the entire forest alive and panicking as both Anthony and Kathryn left their dead mentor and propelled through the woods, snorting and grunting as their maddened state of mind led them towards the first human settlement they could find.

So a possible new story depending how everyone feel about it xD

I always wondered what would happen if some did indeed drink the blood of one of these animals which had been named as poisonous; snakes, cats and a bunch of other ones I can't really remember :L

I kind of imagined they would become uncontrollable and savaged, not too unlike those scary bastards from 28 days/weeks later O: HATE that movie. HATE. HATE. HATE. Too jumpy for me; I hid behind my fat assed cat the entire time. Anyway, so I thought perhaps having scary assed infected vampires for a few chapters would be a fun thing to right about, particularly when the main characters are trying to survive what is a sort of apocalyptic infection thingy.

Just fancied writing something completely different and weird so, if you think I should continue for a short story –no more than ten chapters I hope!- then please PM me and say so.

If you think I shouldn't then do say too (: I'd rather hear that it's a shit idea and end now then get going and never finish it :L

Anyways, I'm still deciding which characters I want to have in this one :/ Larten and Darren for sure and probably Gavner –I love him so much :L He's such a lovely fellow. Though if there is someone, Vampire or Vampaneze, that you'd like to see munched or survive, then please tell me :D

This was just a prelude too, not an actual chapter thingy :L If you like it the next chapter will be the DS characters (:

Anyways!

I better get to Volunteering. Speak to you soon!

Preston (: