Untitled

Dislcaimer: Not mine, oh come on, you knew that.

Chapter 4: Monitio

Bright colors flicked back and forth across Tommy's face in the otherwise consuming darkness. The young werewolf was alone except for the foreign voices coming from the TV. They made hollow echoes in the heavy silence of the night. The small box seemed more alive than its viewer did. Tommy had returned home after going to Merton's. He had not moved from his position in front of the TV since he had found his way there. His hands lay unmoving, still clenching the shirt and so Tommy had been for nearly three hours.

When Tommy had first returned, his parents had been waiting for him. Neither had yell at him for his late return or for not calling. Both, with clam eyes, tried to comfort him unsure of what to say. They both knew that nothing they could say would make their son feel better. They wore the faces of soldiers who knew they wouldn't win.

His parent's fought their battle well, but after thirty minutes of clichés and self-help sayings, the jock insisted his parents go to bed. There was nothing they could do and nothing that he wanted to say. Exhausted, they agreed easily and left faster than Tommy thought they would. The werewolf wasn't sure if he was please with the solitude or disturbed. He felt abandoned and yet comforted by his own company. His long lost tears started to flow after his parent's departure. Part of him wanted his mother to make better; the other didn't want her to see him cry. The silent sobs had given away to his current cationic state, watching TV with no real thoughts, just numbness of body and mind. Tommy never thought he would enjoy feeling nothing.

There was no change as the infomercials gave way to the early morning news. It had to be around five A.M. At this time of year, it was still dark this early in the morning. Farm reports and local news passed without regard. Tommy felt himself starting to fall asleep when a woman on the screen appeared before the morgue.

"Tonight, at Saint Mercy Hospital, the most unfortunate occurrence has taken place. Two night security guards were killed while on duty. It seems that both were brutally murdered, beaten before hand with the killing blow being dealt by a sharp object. The two victims were badly bruised and had several fractions in a struggle with their murder. It does not appear that any weapons were used during the initial fight, but when the victims were killed it was done with what the police describe as an object two sharp points.

"Oddly, both victims were found with little to no blood left in their bodies and not enough found on the scene to account for the loss. This has leaded the police to believe that a satanic ritual might be the motive behind these murders. The police also believe that the location of the morgue might have had special meanings to the killers. No further details had been released. The identity of the victims will be released to the press tomorrow at noon. This is truly a grim day here in the quiet town Pleasantville. Back to you, Sally."

The only light in the room was extinguished with a buzz as Tommy ran out the door. Bats, morgues, people being killed with two pronged sharp objects; it didn't take Merton to figure out what was going on. Ideas of revenge and justice ran through Tommy's mind. The jock grabbed his jacket as he ran out the back door. By the time he was on his back step he was wolfed out. He began to run he a flash appeared in his way. The werewolf reacted immediately trying to avoid colliding with the blur. Tommy was knocked off his feet from stopping so fast. He looked up to see a tall blond woman looking down at him. She must have been the blur.

"You're Tommy Dawkins?" Her voice had a cool tone. Her pale face looked the same as her voice, lacking emotion. Her skin was as white as the white-beater she wore. She held a staff taller than herself. The werewolf raised to his feet prepared for a fight. "What if I am?" She was unaffected by the challenge. She stood tall with one hand behind her back the other gripping her staff steady. The woman looked completely in control; Tommy quickly decided intimidation was not the way to go here.

"I am Atrea. I have no wish to fight you, but if we ever do face each other in battle, I assure you, I would win," Tommy was too tired to be insulted. He looked to each side of her and wondered if there was a way out. Atrea gave him a look of teacher who had a student who wasn't paying attention. The werewolf conceded. This would go faster if he just listened.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Your friend died today, yes?"

"Yes," Tommy felt his throat choke. Afraid he was revealing too much, the werewolf looked over the girl who remained unnoticing or unmoved by his pain.

"He is a vampire now. From what I am told, you have fought other like us before. I fear this will lead you into believing you know what you are fighting. You have no idea. We are far stronger than the other breeds of vampire you have fought before. We are known as Nahasi-Cantan. We are a breed that is almost impossible to kill. We possess many skills without developing them. Our creators pass them down. Your friend will be far stronger than you remember, stronger than you perhaps. His soul will not be as you remember it; he will merely be an imprint of his former self," Tommy looked at her. It wasn't normal for the bad guy to come to you a let you what's going on.

"Why are you telling me all this?" "He will come looking for you first. That which was most important in the moral life carries on to the immortal life," Tommy couldn't hide the confusion on his face. What did she mean most important?

"You will find out the meaning of my words later," Tommy jumped. "You can read my mind?"

"Yes, but I only needed to see your face, Tommy blushed he didn't think he had been that obvious, but he wasn't himself. I will assist you all I can when you go face him, but if what I am told is true we will not be enough to kill him if that is want we must do" "If Merton is still alive, I'm not going off with you to kill him," Tommy started pass the woman, and, to his surprise, she let him pass.

"I doubt you would be so lenient if you had seen what he did to those men," Tommy stopped in his tracks. Vampires had occurred to him back in the house. Merton becoming one and killing those men did not. He spun back around to see the woman facing him. Her expression changed to one a little softer than the grimace she held before. "You have heard of their death," it should have been a question, but mind readers don't need to ask them.

"You're lying."

"For a time after the transformation one is a beast, an uncaring animal. They are given a chance to be like me or remain as they are. That is why I came to you; we believe you can convince him to our side."

"Then why were you talking about killing him?"

"If he does not join us, I fear that killing him would be the only moral action. He now controls the powers of my master Lee. He is like a child holding gun. He can kill others and himself with it," the wolf's eyes caught a like pink pushing up over the horizon. "I fear not even my breed can survive the sun. Good-bye wolf," with that she was gone.

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Merton looked over the room once more. It was nothing more than a spacious warehouse on the industrial side of town; it had been long since abandon. He remembered reading something about it back when he was living. A tycoon of the little town still owned them but with such few big businesses in town they served little purpose. The mayor wanted to tare them down, but the owner wouldn't allow it. With nothing valuable inside there would be no really security and the man would not see them destroyed anytime soon. It was a good logical place to build a home away from the sun, but Merton found his new self climbing the walls.

Merton had followed the man here hours ago. Once they had arrived the other had simply left him to sit and wait for his return. Merton had remained more patient than your average vampire, but two hours in a room with only a table, two chairs, a couch, and no form of entertainment was enough to drive any modern man crazy. The vampire released a low growl as he stood and started to pace. He should have found Tommy by now; the only reason he came with this vampire in the first place was to learn about the limitations of his condition. Merton began to mutter to himself as a door slammed shut echoing against the high walls.

"You're the impatient one," the blond had returned. He wore a smirk on his face for the younger.

"You left me here for two hours!" Merton yelled at the other. He immediately regretted showing his lack of control. The other was still paying power games. Merton didn't like the idea he losing. The other seemed to give no notice to Merton's anger.

"You will live forever. Soon hours will pass like seconds. You want to learn about what you are; you will have to be patient," Merton wasn't really into this mind reading thing. The young vampire knew that was what the other was doing. Every once in a while someone else's stray thought would pass through his mind. It was like hearing voices, except they didn't tell you to kill; they just read you their shopping list. With a power like this, he doubted that he was able to hide his displeasure from the other. Merton felt like a child again, wearing his heart on his sleeve.

"There's no reason to be upset. You'll learn how to protect your thoughts soon enough," he was smiling again; Merton really didn't like that. "You are a vampire. You drink blood, I think you already know this," the man started to walk a circle around the other.

"You are very powerful my childe. Man or demon will not easily stop you. What is it you will do with your great power? Take this great Tommy Dawkins for yourself perhaps?