Chapter 11

"Where've you been Vitellus? We've been searching the area for hours!" Skeemo was just as stunned as the other two.

Without answering Skeemo's question I got up from the ground and scraped all the cold snow from my armor. I looked around to make sure things were normal and then I pinched myself, a last attempt at making sure this wasn't a dream. It did hurt, but then I looked at my wrist, and the thought of this being a dream was swept away instantly. Just as before the mark was still present on my skin.

"I asked you a question, where…"

Skeemo stopped speaking when he saw my wrist. It was now pitch dark outside, but the light from his torch made the marking plain as day. I began feeling strange. I can't exactly explain it but I was now feeling lightheaded. I looked up into the sky and noticed the moon was shining brightly. Something very bad was about to happen.

"Your eyes….they're red! What's going on?" Skeemo yelled loudly.

The three of them back off a few feet as I began my first transformation, a painful one I might add.

First I could feel my teeth start to grow, and as they did blood was spouting outwards like a fountain. Then my head began to hurt so bad I thought my brain was about to implode. After that my vision began to change and suddenly everything started to get blurry. I felt like my insides where being ripped out and I fell to the ground from the pain. I squirmed around a few seconds, not really aware of my surroundings. Finally the pain stopped, and it was replaced with an immediate need to satisfy un unusual hunger that had suddenly overcome me.

I don't know exactly what happened after that but the next thing I knew I was chewing on something squishy. At first I wasn't aware of what was going on, but then I lifted my head and realized I had chomped down on the neck of Cyro!

A huge chunk of flesh had been ripped from his neck and as far as I could tell, Cyro was dead. The bloody piece of skin was dangling from my teeth, and I just sat there on the snowy ground for a couple seconds. I was disgusted by what I had just done, but at the same time the taste was absolutely luscious. I looked down at the eyes of Cyro. They were wide open with the look of terror and bewilderment. Then I heard the screaming coming from Jolda and out from nowhere I was hit in the back of the head by a solid object.

I was a bit dazed for a moment, but when I gained conscience I found that Skeemo had hit me with a stick. I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but fear, pure fear. I wanted to say I was sorry, that I didn't mean to kill Cyro, but the more I thought about the more I realized I was still hungry, and though the thought was disgusting, the sight of Cyro's body looked quite appetizing as well…

"Run away you two, now! Get away, I can't…control myself," I just managed to get the words out, but Skeemo wasn't going anywhere.

He unsheathed his long blade and ran towards me. The fear was still in his eyes but he was valiant until the end, and end that [iI[/i would soon bring to the Khajiit. While he charged towards me I screamed for them to run away, but still Skeemo paid no attention to my plea.

Skeemo lunged at me with his sharp blade held in front. Somehow I jumped high into the air, at least ten feet, and then landed behind the surprised Skeemo. He turned around and swung his sword but I dodged the attack with ease. I was trying my best not to attack him but I knew in the end I would not be able to help myself. My craving for blood was getting stronger by the second…

He charged at me again and this time pinned me up against a tree with his blade held close to my throat. I struggled mightily for what seemed like forever as I desperately tried to shove him away. He was much stronger than I had ever imagined, but alas his strength was draining as mine was getting stronger every moment.

Finally I shoved him to the side and he smacked into a tree. Suddenly my mouth started to water heavily and my sight was starting to change. That's when I saw something on the side of Skeemo's right cheek…..blood.

Without actual knowing I was doing so I leapt towards Skeemo and clamped down on the blood spot with my teeth. The taste was so mouthwatering I didn't wanted to let go. I ripped a large piece of skin off Skeemo's cheek and as I did he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Once the flesh was ripped off his cheek bone was visible, and blood was dripping out furiously.

He swiped at me with his sword and nicked my left shoulder. I gave out a fierce, and unnatural, cry as I bit down on his neck, ending his life for good. For a few minutes I fed on the body, unaware that Jolda was out of the area.

I don't exactly remember what happened but all of a sudden I was lying on my back, staring up at the sun. It must be morning, because I distinctly remembered seeing the moon right before I went on my horrible rampage.

I looked to my left and the mangled body of Skeemo was positioned in a messed up pile of snow. It looked like a struggle had went on there, and then I remembered everything. The visions were rather vague but I now remembered brutally and inhumanly killing both Skeemo and Cyro. I began to vomiting like mad, both disgusted and disgraced by my actions.

[i"Curse you Dalamus!"[/i I cried out loud, and then I started to cry. Yes, I, Vitellus Bentien, was crying. Before all this happened I would scowl myself for such a babyish act, but now things were different. I had killed two of my own soldiers. Such an action was treason, this I knew well. But I couldn't help myself. I was now a creature of the dead…..

I got up and looked around, noticing the body of Cyro as well. Before I could even stop myself I began vomiting all over again. The sights were absolutely sickening, but last night that were utterly satisfying. I had to get rid of this disease somehow…

I finally noticed Jolda had disappeared, but upon looking further I noticed footprints leading up the mountain trail we were traveling along. I immediately thought of the minions, and what they would do to Jolda if they found her. I knew what I had to do; I had to find Jolda before the minions did. I was still Captain of this group, even though there are only two of us left.

Thankfully the snow wasn't falling heavily today, only a light sprinkle was what I had to deal with. This made traveling and finding Jolda a lot easier, unless of course she was being held up in a cave somewhere.

I had traveled up the mountainside for a couple of hours, frantically searching for my only soldier I had left. I wanted desperately to find the Nord, if only to tell her what happened, that I didn't want to kill Cyro and Skeemo. However I was almost certain she would call me a liar. Perhaps she would even attack me just as Skeemo had done.

Finally, after crossing a rickety bridge, I could faintly hear a noise coming from the distance. I wasn't sure whether it was human or beast but I ran towards the sound as fast as possible, which was very quick to my surprise. I forgot how fast and agile vampires were, now that I was one myself I would have the same abilities as the creatures back in Cyrodiil. Even if I did loath those horrid creatures I was still happy to have their strengths and assets.

The trees blurred past me as I sprinted through a thick forest faster than I could have ever imagined. If felt different…I felt young again, although even then I wasn't able to move this fast!

I arrived at the entrance of an ancient-looking fort, where low and behold Jolda was being surrounded by two figures wearing the same robes as the two minions I had met earlier.

I unsheathed my sword and quickly slit one their throats before they even knew I was there. The other two saw me and immediately attacked. One of them pounced on me and dragged me to the ground, but my strength had been given a boost just as my speed had.

I threw the robed man off of me with ease and he went rolling across the grassy floor. Before I had a chance to get up I saw the blade of a spear coming straight towards my face! I rolled to the left and just barely missed the pointed tip. Using my sword I sliced at the attacker and cut through the foot, totally dismantling it from the leg.

He screamed in agony as blood began to pour from the wound. I raised my sword and was about to bring it down through his chest when the other minion tackled me from behind. He bit into my leg and I slashed at him with my blade, slicing through his neck, totally decapitating him.

I looked up as the other minion was staggering towards me with his weapon held tightly. I merely laughed at his attempt as I shoved my sword through his chest, finally ending the struggle.

After I made sure they were all dead I ran over to Jolda, who was lying on her side unconscious. Blood was spewing from her neck, and then after trying to wipe away the blood I saw it...two dark marks…she had been bitten.

When she finally came to I was still in shock from what I had just witnessed. Yet it appeared that Jolda knew nothing about what happened. When she saw me she began screaming loudly, hurting my ears in the process. Then, as she realized my fangs and red eyes had disappeared, she calmed down just a bit, but was still weary of my presence.

"Get away, leave me alone!"

"I'm not going to hurt you Jolda. Just let me tell you something, I promise I won't harm you."

Then she moved her hands over the wound and felt the two gaping holes. She began to scream even louder than before. That's when I realized she wasn't screaming just because of her wound, she was shrieking towards something behind me. I turned around and there was Dalamus Venim.