"Alright so if you're a vampire, why did you break into the hotel room, couldn't you have just I don't know, turned into a bat or something."
"No that is stupid"
John raised an eyebrow impatiently as he followed the man down the street.
"why is it stupid?" John asked.
The man turned around and glared at him.
"Can you turn into a bat?" He asked, to which john shook his head no.
"There you go"
there was a moment of silence as they walked down the streets to god knows where, which John broke.
"Alright then, if you just wanted the map, why did you try to kill me?"
"I was not going to kill you!" he yelled, then he remembering he was in public, and lowered his voice a little.
"The fact of the matter is that I have not fed in two days and I believed that... Well as long as I was there and no one, at least I thought that there was no one, awake I could take advantage of that while 'borrowing' your map"
John decided to humor him.
"well why not feed off of Sherlock then."
"the reason is that he reeks "
"you didnt try to drink from him.. Because he... Smells? But that doesn't make any sense, Sherlock's extremely clean, he's obsessed with making sure nothing gets 'contaminated'"
The man shook his head and wrinkled his nose.
"this is not a matter of his personal hygiene, but of the astronomical amounts of nicotine in his blood. Nicotine can cause the scent of a human to become similar to one of my kind, and at that amount it could cause me to experience symptoms similar to 'food poisoning' which I cannot afford to deal with at the moment, and not only are you in nearly perfect health, but you were also the only person I saw
when I came in; Sherlock just happened to have been hiding behind something."
John was quiet for a few minutes. Despite the fact that he was playing along with the self proclaimed "vampire" he still had his doubts as to whiether or not
what was occuring was real or if whatever drug was in his system hadn't fully worn off quite yet, one question seemed to be pacing back and forth in
his head.
Eventually, despite the fact that time was really a matter of life or death, John couldn't stand it anymore.
"Alright, let's say that I believe that you are, in fact a vampire, and that you aren't just the murderer make up a story so that you can get
me somewhere secluded to slaughter me. What makes you any better than the killer? I'm assuming that you're both vampires so-"
The man whirled on him so quickly that he hardly had time to blink.
"I am nothing like him"
John knew that at this range, drug induced delusion or not, the man was fast enough to kill him before he could fire, this terrorfied John, a fact
that seemed to be reflected in the other man's eyes. His shoulder slumped a little, and started walking again.
There were a few moments of silence before the man finally spoke.
"I do not kill when I drink" he said
when John didn't say anything, he continued
"Murlough is what my kind call a Vampaneze, they believe that it is honorable to kill when they feed, and My kind believe the opposite. That it is a mark of restraint and that to kill when you
feed, except for a few dire circumstances, is wrong."
John thought for a few minutes
"So let's say that I believe that, then why aren't there more crimes like this?" John asked
"Well first of all Murlough is mad, most vampaneze are not only more careful about choosing their prey and disposing of the bodies, but they also have a tendency to feed less. In addition, they usually live either live at least 30 miles away from
where they hunt or are constantly on the move... the human phrase 'Don't shit where you eat' is a good way of discribing it. Another reason why these killings are so uncommon is that
most mad vampaneze tend to keep their distance from big cities such as these, so that they do not run the risk of accidentally running afoul of a vampire."
"So why is err 'Murlough' here now?" John said, raising an eyebrow.
"Because he is trying to get my attention. He knows, even in his madness, that he is getting old, and thus getting weaker. Soon he will be unable to hunt on his own, and when that comes to pass, he will most likely starve to death; By coming here he hopes to prevent this, as well as take me down with him."
"But why here? and Why them? There has to have been another way to get your attention" John said
The man shrugged
"Possibly, but this way was the only one that garuanteed that I would come"
This confused John even further, and the man seemed to sense this.
"200 years ago I was born here, and until the day I ran away, I grew up here. Even though these streets look different then they did in my time, it was still my first home. Somewhere in this town, my parents and sisters and brothers are buried, and quite a few of
my living realitives reside here as well... and I can not simply stand by and let them be slaughtered." The man said, sounding a little wistful.
"Alright, but what does this have to do with Sherlock?" John asked, trying to keep up as the man's pace quickened.
"Sherlock, although I do not know how, managed to follow me as I was staking out the man who Murlough intended to be his latest victim. When
I was about to make my move, he tackled me, and alerted Murlough to my prescence. It is possible that he believes that Sherlock is somehow important to me, and will try to use him to infuriate me so that I will do something stupid."
"Like what?"
They stopped, John had been too focused on what the man (err vampire) was saying that he hadn't noticed that they were walking towards a sewer entrance.
The man took a deep breath, and sighed.
"something like this."
Alright So here's the deal unfortunately I have forgotten how Murlough speaks (except for the "Clever Boy? Hmmm?) So despite the fact that I REALLY REALLY want to post more chapters, one of two things needs to happen first.
1. I have to find my copy of "Tunnels of Blood" which was either lost in the move or in one of the boxes in the back of the laundry room
2. Someone IMs me some examples
I'm sorry if it seems like I'm holding the story hostage, but I can't continue without this, Hopefully I'll find the book soon. Wish me luck!
