His name was Sean. He could remember at least that much.
He couldn't remember much else, however. He remembered waking to see the vision of a woman before him. Before that, Sean could only remember flashes of nightmares and darkness. His memory was filled with anger and hatred. He saw flashes of blood and pain but couldn't pull a coherent image or place to form. It was all too vague and seemed like so long ago.
This is why he had responded upon seeing the beautiful image of the woman floating serenely before him. She looked to have been just as interested in him as he was in her and her innocent curiosity seemed so foreign. Then the blood rage had come, and he lost all control. He remembered a bit of what happened after he had awoken. He had killed several people and for that he was regretful. The blood rage had been too strong and had caught him off-guard. He felt that the need for blood had been an eternal struggle for him and that he should have been used to repressing the desire. However, the sudden need had struck him so hard that he succumbed to it and lost control. Hours later, in the cool of the night air, Sean had finally calmed down. The line of destruction behind him had been long a brutal and now he had no idea where he was.
Sean had found himself naked and in a foreign world. Nothing seemed real and he often wondered if he was still trapped in his nightmares. The concept of the buildings and streets had been familiar to him, but the reality of their shape and function was beyond what he had ever seen. They seemed so manufactured. As if they had all been produced by the same hand and that the art of variation was too burdensome for the creator. The streets ran black with some type of mud and the moving vehicles of steal claimed them for their own.
Soon after calming, Sean had begun to hear the thoughts of others again. They started as whispers but soon rose to a deafening clattering in his mind. Quickly, Sean had to relearn a familiar skill of forcing the voices of those around him to a murmur. Enough, at least, for him to think.
With the return of this ability, Sean remembered another.
Encountering a couple walking together late in the night. Sean approached the couple silently. He came up from behind them and walked with them a while. They talked merrily, though Sean couldn't understand the words the uttered. He could catch the glimpses of their feelings and the meanings behind their words from their minds, but the language they used was completed unknown to him. He walked behind them for a time. Every so often they would turn in his direction and Sean would instinctually blank the image of himself from their thoughts. Though they looked straight at him, they could not see him. As he watched them, the blood rage ebbed at his strength. For a moment, he contemplated taking the two of them for his pleasure. The thought of their blood was intoxicating. The idea was quickly suppressed with honed efficiency and Sean almost didn't notice the desire as it flittered though his mind. Sean did, however, touch them.
Reaching forward from behind, Sean lightly touched the fingers of his hand on the man's exposed neck.
A flood of imagery rushing in from the ethereal connection Sean created. The young man's entire life played by before Sean's mind and Sean gathered all the information he could from the experience. He had learned a lot. The man's notion of the current "year" has surprised him. In fact, the world's current concept of measuring time seemed odd to him. The idea of segmenting the world into different areas of time was confusing. Sean couldn't think of a better way, however, even though he was certain that he should. The idea of keeping track of the world's revolutions about the sun was not foreign. However, the man's belief of only 2002 of those revolutions having happened since people started to count seemed vastly skewed. Sean couldn't fathom what the correct number should be, but he knew that it should be well more than what the world currently followed. The idea of machine's and locomotion was not completed odd, but he knew that he had never seen it utilized to such a degree. Even though he now understood that those vehicles he had seen on the roads were merely transportation, Sean would never have fathomed the amount of dependence that people laid upon their machines. It seemed very cold and restricting.
Things were a bit clearer, though. Sean now understood their "English" and found it expansive enough to express almost any idea he could come up with. If he concentrated, though, Sean could hear other voices far off speaking different languages. There were many of them.
For the next several hours, after acquiring clothes from suddenly generous pedestrians, Sean roamed the streets of this city gathering in the sites of this new world. He borrowed the knowledge from many different people and learned a wondrous many things. His first concept of this new world's dependence on the machines of their creation was only the tip of the truth. Sean soon discovered that most people in this land were relying on the continued function of these machines for their daily lives. In fact, most people were unaware at how much trust they placed in these fabricated servants. It was insane to Sean how helpless these people would be if their machines all broke and they were left to their own abilities.
One other thing Sean noticed started like a buzzing in the back of his head. He felt there was something off about these people. When he reached forward to grasp the knowledge from their minds, Sean found it more difficult then he remembered. As he poured his effort into the task of extracting the information, Sean felt something pulling at this power. It was a dark abyss surrounding their being that drew the effort of his searching away. Sean had to only pour even more of his power into the act to accomplish the task, but he had a feeling that this should not be so. Something was different.
Everyone also seemed very contained. Sean was not sure what that idea meant, but he felt that there should be more than just conversation flowing from these people. It seemed to him that part of them all was being restrained.
After several moments of contemplation, Sean brushed the idea out of his mind. He was obviously suffering some type of memory loss and this idea was most likely part of it. In fact, the notion of him missing so much of his memory was painful.
Sean had been walking the streets of this city, a city Sean had finally discovered was named Langley, and after several hours of exploring he began to catch a distinct scent in the air. The scent was scarcely familiar. The scent brought feelings of pain and annoyance to his mind. He didn't like the scent and its presence. It felt like some force that had been chasing him for as long as he could remember but couldn't harm him when it finally found him. Still, though, it tried and gave Sean unceasing discomfort.
It was then that Sean noticed the lightening of the sky. The change was only minute and Sean knew that though others roam the streets, only he could see it. The lightening was increasing, however.
"Of course," Sean spoke to himself upon making the connection between the coming dawn and the scent in the air, "the Sun."
Sean smelled the rise of the new day's Sun.
He remembered that he used to fear the sun, that its rays were at one time harmful to him. After a while, a long while, Sean remembered that the suns rays gradually became less dangerous. There was still pain and discomfort, but no longer a fear of being destroyed.
Sean suddenly questioned why it was that the sun would be harmful to him. Looking about, Sean knew that those around him were in no danger. Yet he, for some reason, was. It could obviously be attributed to the other difference he had taken for granted. Sean instinctively knew he was magnitudes stronger and faster to any of these "humans." He also knew that he possessed powers beyond them that they would consider magical. He never suspected, however, that he may also have increased weaknesses.
The blood thirst instantly came to mind. Even as mild as it was now that he had it under control, Sean knew that normal people did not suffer from this horrendous thirst. He also knew that they did not fear the sun the same way he did.
Why, though. Sean thought to himself.
It had always been this way, as far as Sean could remember. He couldn't even imagine himself being different than how he was.
He had yet to meet another like himself. Perhaps there was none.
Sean began scanning though the thoughts of those around him on the street. If he was just browsing though their thoughts, Sean found he could listen in at a distance. Though this method, Sean could only read their immediate thoughts and feelings but there was no need to make physical contact. In fact, with some practice, Sean discovered that he could still read the thoughts of those out of his sight if he concentrated.
As fascinating as this was, however, Sean could find nothing that could help him discover the reason for his differences. Sean decided that he would need to make contact to find the answers he was looking for.
Sean began lightly touching those who walked passed him. With a little persuasive influence, Sean was able to force them to ignore his touch. As Sean walked unheeded through the minds of those he came in contact with, he learned a great deal more about their religious beliefs and legends. Everyone he ran into believed in a higher power which controlled their destiny. The word "God" became common to his findings and Sean soon began to grasp the magnitude this figure played to these people. Even among those who believe in different religions, the existence of this higher power was a certainty. It was obvious to Sean that the simultaneous existence of some many beings, each supposedly the ultimate power in the universe, was contradictory. He also noticed that these people also realized this, however, they just assumed that they were correct and that every other religion was false. It also shocked Sean how little evidence each religion had to prove that theirs was the one, true religion. The presence of any real proof was virtually nonexistent. Yet some religions used this lack of evidence as further proof that blind trust, or "faith" as it was called, must be present for one to be a true believer. It was a self supporting delusion in which much of the world was caught.
Even as Sean boggled over this oddity of religion, he probed deeper into their superstitions. After swimming several times though ideas of ghosts, goblins, and witches, Sean was confronted by a startling figure.
The vampire.
It was envisioned as an undead creature of evil that haunted the living for blood. Described as a creature of darkness, a vampire was immune to all forms of pain and injury yet could be destroyed in the light of the sun. They were inhumanly fast, strong, and could live forever.
The resemblance to himself and his abilities was shocking. Sean did not consider himself "evil" though he realized that the blood thirst was directed at humans particularly. The abilities of extreme strength, speed, and immunity to suffering were quite correct. The idea of longevity was almost and after thought to Sean. He hadn't even pondered the idea of worrying about time as it passed. He felt little reservation about acting as he pleased since he always knew that any consequences he derived could not harm him.
One thing he learned about the idea of vampires was their alternate form of destruction. Anyone he searched through agreed with this idea, though Sean couldn't understand the reasoning behind its effectiveness. The idea that a stake of wood thrust through his heart would kill him just as surely as the sun would was preposterous. It seemed like another fanciful notion that many humans believe on faith and of which they had no definite proof.
Though not a perfect match for himself, Sean supposed that the description was closer than coincidence could explain.
So, Sean thought, I am a vampire. Sounds overly dramatic.
Sean continued to walk the streets in the coming Dawn, scanning the minds of the quickly thickening crowds of people. Searching for more on this idea of a vampire, which apparently was a superstition and associated with fiction, Sean found little else.
More than an hour had passed since he had discovered what these people would call his kind and the sky had lightened to a dreary grey. Sean knew the brilliant visage of the sun was only moments behind the horizon. Nearing the end of his search, Sean flashed across the mind of a young gentleman. Instead of the fragmented visions of the minds imagination, Sean found clear memories. Most were of this young man in dark surroundings. He would most often be with a young female in these locations. She was usually running and frightened. Eventually catching up to her after playing with her fears, the young man would bare fangs and cut into is victims flesh. As Sean watched the memory of this young man feasting on the blood of his prey, his own blood thirst tried to rear its head. With minimal effort, Sean forced it away.
This is not an idea he's had, these are images from his memory.
Sean realized that the young man was a vampire.
Sean turned and began to follow the gentleman. He was wearing a large dark trench coat pulled tightly around him and seemed to be walking with great urgency. Often, the young man would turn his head toward the dawn as he waded through the crowds of people. He would stare toward the coming sun then pull the coat closed even tighter. He was obviously concerned about the sun.
He must be young. Sean deduced.
Still curious, Sean continued to follow. After a few minutes of walking, the sun began to peak over the far horizon. It struck the tops of the tall buildings around them and slowly began to creep down their sides. Sean watched as the young man began to panic and broke out in a full run. With great speed, Sean watched the young man bolt down the sidewalk. Without little effort he pushed people left and right out of his way and created a bit of commotion. Not wanting anything to interrupt his pursuit, Sean filtered across the minds of those who had witnessed the young man's passage and calmed them. Sean then followed the young gentleman as he bolted into an alleyway.
The alley was currently dark but would not remain so if the sun was given only a few more minutes to rise. Upon entering the alley, Sean found the young man at a doorway which lead into one of the adjacent buildings. He began knocking anxiously at the wood until a small eye-level port in the door opened. Sean could only see a pair of eyes staring out of the small hole in the door. The young man exchanged a few words with the person on the opposite side of the door in a language Sean did not understand. The young man seemed to the pleading, however. After a few moments of conversation, the portal closed and Sean heard a heavy lock release. The door then swung open and the young man scurried inside. Then, a brutish man only a bit shorter than Sean leaned out of the door and looked about the alley. On impulse, Sean wiped the image of himself standing in the hallway from the mind of the door guard. The guard's eyes passed over him unseeing. He then retreated into the building and closed the door, securing the door's lock.
Sean silently approached the door. It was made of thick wood and Sean could smell the metal of the large brace on the other side. Studying the door, Sean knew that it would take little effort to force his way through. In fact, as Sean stood staring at the door and concentrating on forcing his way through, he could see the wood bending away from where is eyes focus. The door began to contort inward. Splinters snapped and shattered from the wood and the frame began to creak. Releasing his focus, the door ceased moving. Surprised, Sean looked down at his hands which hung as his side and had never moved.
Suddenly, Sean heard a small latch in the door release and the portal in the door flew open. Looking up, Sean saw the eyes of the door guards staring out at him.
The guard spoke a few angered words out at him in a gruff voice. Sean could not understand the language, but he could infer that the guard was not happy to see him. He didn't need powers to deduce that.
"What is this place?" Sean asked in English.
The guard's eyes peered up at him before responding.
"It's a club house, but I don't think you're a member."
He was lying, obviously. Feeling forward with his mind, Sean tried to read his thoughts but the guard seemed to be somehow hiding them.
"Let me enter." Sean ordered.
"Sorry, members only." The guard then closed the portal and secured the latched.
Absently, Sean gestured at the portal and the latch released and the door flew open.
"Let me in, please. I would like to enter." Sean spoke into open portal.
A moment later the guard's eyes returned to the portal and stared out at him.
"Look, bud. I don't know what you want but your kind isn't allowed in here. If it wasn't day out, I might have to hurt you. Now, piss off!"
With that, he again slammed the portal closed and locked it.
Anger flared inside Sean and he reached down, grasped the doors handle, and pulled outward. The door tore from its hinges and fragments of the wood frame shattered in all directions. Sean tossed the door to the side and entered the now open doorway. Once inside, he was met by the door guard with a weapon in his hand. Sean recognized it from many of the minds he had leafed though this morning. It was called a shotgun. The guard lifted the weapon to point towards him. Suddenly, the open end of his weapon exploded with flame and sound. Sean watched as a dozen small pellets burst from the weapon's end and scattered towards him. Sean reached forward with one hand and scooped them out of the air. He then reached up and tossed them at the guard's head. Flying from Sean's hand, the pellets struck the guard's grizzled head before he knew what was happening. The pellets quickly tore through the flesh and bone, shredding the man's head into pieces. Sean watched the dead man's form fall to the ground then shockingly burst into a cloud of dust. The dust evaporated and there was no trace of the corpse. The man's clothes had also evaporated, which seemed even odder to Sean.
Looking about, Sean found himself in a small room. In the center of the room sat a round table with several chairs surrounding it. On the table were several bags of some type of snack food. Hung on the adjacent wall was a small television. Sean had discovered television via his wanderings this morning, but this was the first he had seen. Next to the television sitting on the wall was a large refrigerator.
About to examine the food spread across the table, Sean heard movement. Looking up, Sean discovered that the sound of movement seemed to be coming from inside the refrigerator. Confused, Sean sent his thoughts out over the large appliance. He felt nothing from the device. Sending his thoughts farther back and beyond the wall, Sean discovered the thoughts of several more vampires. At first, Sean believed that they were in the room beyond the wall. Then Sean caught the glimpse of himself standing in this room staring at the fridge from the minds of the vampires. They were watching him.
Sean stepped around the table and walked up to the refrigerator. Grasping it by the sides, Sean pulled away from the wall. Half the wall came free as he pulled the fridge away pulling plaster, wood and wire from the wall. Sparks exploded from behind the fridge. Rolling the fridge to the side and away from him, he heard it skitter across the floor then crash into the far wall.
Within the now large opening in the broken wall, Sean found the entrance into a hallway. The hallway floor was covered in a thick red carpet and the walls were covered in red wallpaper with intricate black knot work scrolling across its surface. At the far end of the hallway is what looked like a large steel door. Standing in the middle of the hallway were two men dressed in black suits. The look of surprise had blanked their faces.
One of the men stepped forward.
"This is a private club," he shouted at Sean, "Back off. We won't hesitate to kill you!"
Their confidence seemed to rise and both stepped forward to block the entrance into the hallway.
"I just want to see what is within. Let me pass." Sean's voice was calm but commanding.
"I don't think so." Responded the first and he reached under his suit jacket and drew out a long curved dagger. He then raised the dagger and snarled at Sean. As he did so, Sean watched the shape of the man's brow change as it clenched inward into a vicious looking grimace. The look was very primitive and Sean expected that it was meant to frighten. Sean also noticed that the man's fangs had grown longer and his eyes took on a yellowish sheen. The second guard's face also warped into the same sickly mask as he drew a long dagger from within his suit.
Both men snarled at Sean before leaping at him, brandishing their daggers out before them. Sean watched them sail through the air at him. The leap had been quite a distance and nothing a normal human could have jumped. Just before they reached him, Sean stepped to the side out of their path. Upon landing, both men were startled to see Sean standing to their left. Sean reached up and grabbed the first by his neck and tossed him to the side. He then grabbed the second by the side of his head which he threw forward and into the wall. Sean movements had been a blur to the vampires and they were being tossed before the realized what was happening. The first flew across the room and landed on the table with a loud crash. The wooden table collapsed under the force. The second crashed into the wall in front of Sean. The wall's outside layer of sheet rock gave way under the weight and the vampire fell inward. Both men landed at virtually the same moment. As the first scrambled to stand up, Sean stepped up to the second vampire as he tried to climb out of the wall. Sean reached in and grabbed the man by his neck and yanked him out. Sean saw the dagger leave the man's hand under the force of Sean's sudden pull and fly across the room. Holding the vampire up by his neck, Sean threw him to the side and toward the broken frame of the outside door. Sailing across the room and out the door, the vampire landed outside the building in the now brightly lit alleyway. The vampire screamed as he gazed up and saw the sun blazing in the sky above him. Raising his arms up before him to shield himself from the deadly light, the vampire's skin sudden burst into flames. He screamed in pain and tried to roll over and claw his way toward the safety of the building. He only got a short distance before his head began to dissolve and melt away. Soon there was nothing left but his burning clothes.
Now standing, the first vampire stared out the door at the ashes of his comrade. Sean watched him pause for a moment. With a sudden scream in anger, the vampire turned toward Sean and ran. He held his dagger up before him and made a swipe at Sean's neck when he came within reach. The blade struck Sean at the base of his neck above his left collar bone and stopped. The vampire stood before Sean, staring at the spot where his dagger met Sean's skin. The skin was unbroken, unblemished.
With a quick gesture and a sudden burst of will, Sean saw the vampire fly backward away from him. He flew backward toward the wreckage of the table. As he landed on the broken table, Sean saw a large broken splinter of wood burst outward from the man's chest. With a violent jolt the vampire suddenly burst into dust, clothes and all.
"Interesting," Sean whispered.
Still staring at the spot over the table where the vampire had just been, Sean heard the deep thunk of metal from behind him. Turning to face the sound, he saw the steel door at the end of the hallway begin swinging outwards. Through the opening doorway, Sean saw a room with lush furniture and decorations. Directly across from the steel doorway was what looked like a guard's desk. Sitting behind the desk was another vampire of whom Sean could only see his head.
Slowly, Sean made his way down the short hallway to the large steel door. Approaching the doorway, Sean noticed that the door had to be at least as thick as the length of his hand. Looking through the doorway and inside toward the vampire behind the desk. Sean found the man smiling at him in a warm and welcome manner.
About to reach the large steel doorway, Sean heard the gears attached to the door suddenly screech and rumble. The door began a quick swing inward, trying to close off Sean's entrance. Sean casually reached forward and stuck his right hand in the open doorway before the door was able to slam shut. The door struck Sean's hand and came to a halt. The door stood open only a crack; Sean's hand was jammed between the door and the doorframe stopping it from closing.
A moment later, Sean suddenly felt a rush of air around him and the hairs on his skin began to stand on end. There was electricity in the air which quickly rose in strength and finally discharged around him. Sean felt a soft warmth settle on his skin and he suddenly found that he could not move. Now aware of an unearthly shield binding him to his current stance, Sean tried to press forward with all his strength. It was no use; the shield didn't deny him his strength, just his mobility.
Sean then felt the presence of another standing behind him. Over his shoulder, he heard a smooth and confident female voice.
She laughed.
"You're a good fighter, my friend. But the bindings of magic extend beyond the physical."
Slightly annoyed, Sean felt his thoughts escape his mind and run abruptly into the shield encasing him. Slowly they expanded and began to probe into the barrier that restrained him. Sean could feel small breaks in the magic that held him in. It seemed a very sloppy and inexperienced way to create a barrier but, when he thought about it, Sean couldn't come up with a better way. He was certain there was a way, but the how escaped him.
Continuing to probe the inside of the barrier with his thoughts, Sean ignored the female behind him as she continued to talk.
"You're a very interesting person, my friend. I haven't seen someone dispatch our guards as quickly as you did. I can't be sure, but I believe you are a vampire. You don't feel right, but the blood lust is there. It's hidden well though I can tell you're starving. Why would you do this to yourself?"
Her voice was condescending, but Sean hardly noticed. His mind had finished searching the entire length of the field and he had found what he had been looking for, the connection back to the field's source. He traveled the length of the connection back to the woman behind him. She had been the source of the magic's casting. Sean expected to find protection setup back long the path to her mind, but she didn't seem to have any. This was odd and foolish to Sean but, again, he couldn't remember what precedent made him think this.
Arriving at the doorway into her mind, Sean broke the connection. The act was instant and almost effortless. He felt the warmth vanish from around his skin and his limbs were free. With his right hand still extended before him and wedged between the large metal door and its frame, Sean reach forward with his left hand and slipped his fingers in the small gap. Behind him, he heard the woman gasp as she realized that Sean was now free and able to move. Grasping the edge of the door with his hands, Sean swiftly pulled back and away from the doorway. The thick metal of the door tore instantly from the frame with a jarring sound of twisting metal. The huge steel door hung from his fingers like a toy. In a fluid motion, Sean swung the large door around behind him. Sean saw the woman for only a moment before the metal door slammed into her. She was older, as her eyes and mouth showed wrinkles and lines of age. Her hair was black as night with a single silver streak running down the length of her hair from her brow. Her eyes were grey and open in a look of surprise. An instant later, the door struck her. Sean released the metal and both the door and the crushed form of the woman disappeared in the wall behind her. There was a loud crash and a large cloud of dust as the door broke through the wood of the fragile wall.
Staring though the hole in the wall for a moment, Sean then turned to face through the now empty metal door frame. The vampire behind the lavish wooden desk was now standing and staring toward him. A look of fear washed over his face and the vampire began to tremble slightly.
Some how, the idea of creatures fearing him seemed familiar to Sean.
He couldn't remember much else, however. He remembered waking to see the vision of a woman before him. Before that, Sean could only remember flashes of nightmares and darkness. His memory was filled with anger and hatred. He saw flashes of blood and pain but couldn't pull a coherent image or place to form. It was all too vague and seemed like so long ago.
This is why he had responded upon seeing the beautiful image of the woman floating serenely before him. She looked to have been just as interested in him as he was in her and her innocent curiosity seemed so foreign. Then the blood rage had come, and he lost all control. He remembered a bit of what happened after he had awoken. He had killed several people and for that he was regretful. The blood rage had been too strong and had caught him off-guard. He felt that the need for blood had been an eternal struggle for him and that he should have been used to repressing the desire. However, the sudden need had struck him so hard that he succumbed to it and lost control. Hours later, in the cool of the night air, Sean had finally calmed down. The line of destruction behind him had been long a brutal and now he had no idea where he was.
Sean had found himself naked and in a foreign world. Nothing seemed real and he often wondered if he was still trapped in his nightmares. The concept of the buildings and streets had been familiar to him, but the reality of their shape and function was beyond what he had ever seen. They seemed so manufactured. As if they had all been produced by the same hand and that the art of variation was too burdensome for the creator. The streets ran black with some type of mud and the moving vehicles of steal claimed them for their own.
Soon after calming, Sean had begun to hear the thoughts of others again. They started as whispers but soon rose to a deafening clattering in his mind. Quickly, Sean had to relearn a familiar skill of forcing the voices of those around him to a murmur. Enough, at least, for him to think.
With the return of this ability, Sean remembered another.
Encountering a couple walking together late in the night. Sean approached the couple silently. He came up from behind them and walked with them a while. They talked merrily, though Sean couldn't understand the words the uttered. He could catch the glimpses of their feelings and the meanings behind their words from their minds, but the language they used was completed unknown to him. He walked behind them for a time. Every so often they would turn in his direction and Sean would instinctually blank the image of himself from their thoughts. Though they looked straight at him, they could not see him. As he watched them, the blood rage ebbed at his strength. For a moment, he contemplated taking the two of them for his pleasure. The thought of their blood was intoxicating. The idea was quickly suppressed with honed efficiency and Sean almost didn't notice the desire as it flittered though his mind. Sean did, however, touch them.
Reaching forward from behind, Sean lightly touched the fingers of his hand on the man's exposed neck.
A flood of imagery rushing in from the ethereal connection Sean created. The young man's entire life played by before Sean's mind and Sean gathered all the information he could from the experience. He had learned a lot. The man's notion of the current "year" has surprised him. In fact, the world's current concept of measuring time seemed odd to him. The idea of segmenting the world into different areas of time was confusing. Sean couldn't think of a better way, however, even though he was certain that he should. The idea of keeping track of the world's revolutions about the sun was not foreign. However, the man's belief of only 2002 of those revolutions having happened since people started to count seemed vastly skewed. Sean couldn't fathom what the correct number should be, but he knew that it should be well more than what the world currently followed. The idea of machine's and locomotion was not completed odd, but he knew that he had never seen it utilized to such a degree. Even though he now understood that those vehicles he had seen on the roads were merely transportation, Sean would never have fathomed the amount of dependence that people laid upon their machines. It seemed very cold and restricting.
Things were a bit clearer, though. Sean now understood their "English" and found it expansive enough to express almost any idea he could come up with. If he concentrated, though, Sean could hear other voices far off speaking different languages. There were many of them.
For the next several hours, after acquiring clothes from suddenly generous pedestrians, Sean roamed the streets of this city gathering in the sites of this new world. He borrowed the knowledge from many different people and learned a wondrous many things. His first concept of this new world's dependence on the machines of their creation was only the tip of the truth. Sean soon discovered that most people in this land were relying on the continued function of these machines for their daily lives. In fact, most people were unaware at how much trust they placed in these fabricated servants. It was insane to Sean how helpless these people would be if their machines all broke and they were left to their own abilities.
One other thing Sean noticed started like a buzzing in the back of his head. He felt there was something off about these people. When he reached forward to grasp the knowledge from their minds, Sean found it more difficult then he remembered. As he poured his effort into the task of extracting the information, Sean felt something pulling at this power. It was a dark abyss surrounding their being that drew the effort of his searching away. Sean had to only pour even more of his power into the act to accomplish the task, but he had a feeling that this should not be so. Something was different.
Everyone also seemed very contained. Sean was not sure what that idea meant, but he felt that there should be more than just conversation flowing from these people. It seemed to him that part of them all was being restrained.
After several moments of contemplation, Sean brushed the idea out of his mind. He was obviously suffering some type of memory loss and this idea was most likely part of it. In fact, the notion of him missing so much of his memory was painful.
Sean had been walking the streets of this city, a city Sean had finally discovered was named Langley, and after several hours of exploring he began to catch a distinct scent in the air. The scent was scarcely familiar. The scent brought feelings of pain and annoyance to his mind. He didn't like the scent and its presence. It felt like some force that had been chasing him for as long as he could remember but couldn't harm him when it finally found him. Still, though, it tried and gave Sean unceasing discomfort.
It was then that Sean noticed the lightening of the sky. The change was only minute and Sean knew that though others roam the streets, only he could see it. The lightening was increasing, however.
"Of course," Sean spoke to himself upon making the connection between the coming dawn and the scent in the air, "the Sun."
Sean smelled the rise of the new day's Sun.
He remembered that he used to fear the sun, that its rays were at one time harmful to him. After a while, a long while, Sean remembered that the suns rays gradually became less dangerous. There was still pain and discomfort, but no longer a fear of being destroyed.
Sean suddenly questioned why it was that the sun would be harmful to him. Looking about, Sean knew that those around him were in no danger. Yet he, for some reason, was. It could obviously be attributed to the other difference he had taken for granted. Sean instinctively knew he was magnitudes stronger and faster to any of these "humans." He also knew that he possessed powers beyond them that they would consider magical. He never suspected, however, that he may also have increased weaknesses.
The blood thirst instantly came to mind. Even as mild as it was now that he had it under control, Sean knew that normal people did not suffer from this horrendous thirst. He also knew that they did not fear the sun the same way he did.
Why, though. Sean thought to himself.
It had always been this way, as far as Sean could remember. He couldn't even imagine himself being different than how he was.
He had yet to meet another like himself. Perhaps there was none.
Sean began scanning though the thoughts of those around him on the street. If he was just browsing though their thoughts, Sean found he could listen in at a distance. Though this method, Sean could only read their immediate thoughts and feelings but there was no need to make physical contact. In fact, with some practice, Sean discovered that he could still read the thoughts of those out of his sight if he concentrated.
As fascinating as this was, however, Sean could find nothing that could help him discover the reason for his differences. Sean decided that he would need to make contact to find the answers he was looking for.
Sean began lightly touching those who walked passed him. With a little persuasive influence, Sean was able to force them to ignore his touch. As Sean walked unheeded through the minds of those he came in contact with, he learned a great deal more about their religious beliefs and legends. Everyone he ran into believed in a higher power which controlled their destiny. The word "God" became common to his findings and Sean soon began to grasp the magnitude this figure played to these people. Even among those who believe in different religions, the existence of this higher power was a certainty. It was obvious to Sean that the simultaneous existence of some many beings, each supposedly the ultimate power in the universe, was contradictory. He also noticed that these people also realized this, however, they just assumed that they were correct and that every other religion was false. It also shocked Sean how little evidence each religion had to prove that theirs was the one, true religion. The presence of any real proof was virtually nonexistent. Yet some religions used this lack of evidence as further proof that blind trust, or "faith" as it was called, must be present for one to be a true believer. It was a self supporting delusion in which much of the world was caught.
Even as Sean boggled over this oddity of religion, he probed deeper into their superstitions. After swimming several times though ideas of ghosts, goblins, and witches, Sean was confronted by a startling figure.
The vampire.
It was envisioned as an undead creature of evil that haunted the living for blood. Described as a creature of darkness, a vampire was immune to all forms of pain and injury yet could be destroyed in the light of the sun. They were inhumanly fast, strong, and could live forever.
The resemblance to himself and his abilities was shocking. Sean did not consider himself "evil" though he realized that the blood thirst was directed at humans particularly. The abilities of extreme strength, speed, and immunity to suffering were quite correct. The idea of longevity was almost and after thought to Sean. He hadn't even pondered the idea of worrying about time as it passed. He felt little reservation about acting as he pleased since he always knew that any consequences he derived could not harm him.
One thing he learned about the idea of vampires was their alternate form of destruction. Anyone he searched through agreed with this idea, though Sean couldn't understand the reasoning behind its effectiveness. The idea that a stake of wood thrust through his heart would kill him just as surely as the sun would was preposterous. It seemed like another fanciful notion that many humans believe on faith and of which they had no definite proof.
Though not a perfect match for himself, Sean supposed that the description was closer than coincidence could explain.
So, Sean thought, I am a vampire. Sounds overly dramatic.
Sean continued to walk the streets in the coming Dawn, scanning the minds of the quickly thickening crowds of people. Searching for more on this idea of a vampire, which apparently was a superstition and associated with fiction, Sean found little else.
More than an hour had passed since he had discovered what these people would call his kind and the sky had lightened to a dreary grey. Sean knew the brilliant visage of the sun was only moments behind the horizon. Nearing the end of his search, Sean flashed across the mind of a young gentleman. Instead of the fragmented visions of the minds imagination, Sean found clear memories. Most were of this young man in dark surroundings. He would most often be with a young female in these locations. She was usually running and frightened. Eventually catching up to her after playing with her fears, the young man would bare fangs and cut into is victims flesh. As Sean watched the memory of this young man feasting on the blood of his prey, his own blood thirst tried to rear its head. With minimal effort, Sean forced it away.
This is not an idea he's had, these are images from his memory.
Sean realized that the young man was a vampire.
Sean turned and began to follow the gentleman. He was wearing a large dark trench coat pulled tightly around him and seemed to be walking with great urgency. Often, the young man would turn his head toward the dawn as he waded through the crowds of people. He would stare toward the coming sun then pull the coat closed even tighter. He was obviously concerned about the sun.
He must be young. Sean deduced.
Still curious, Sean continued to follow. After a few minutes of walking, the sun began to peak over the far horizon. It struck the tops of the tall buildings around them and slowly began to creep down their sides. Sean watched as the young man began to panic and broke out in a full run. With great speed, Sean watched the young man bolt down the sidewalk. Without little effort he pushed people left and right out of his way and created a bit of commotion. Not wanting anything to interrupt his pursuit, Sean filtered across the minds of those who had witnessed the young man's passage and calmed them. Sean then followed the young gentleman as he bolted into an alleyway.
The alley was currently dark but would not remain so if the sun was given only a few more minutes to rise. Upon entering the alley, Sean found the young man at a doorway which lead into one of the adjacent buildings. He began knocking anxiously at the wood until a small eye-level port in the door opened. Sean could only see a pair of eyes staring out of the small hole in the door. The young man exchanged a few words with the person on the opposite side of the door in a language Sean did not understand. The young man seemed to the pleading, however. After a few moments of conversation, the portal closed and Sean heard a heavy lock release. The door then swung open and the young man scurried inside. Then, a brutish man only a bit shorter than Sean leaned out of the door and looked about the alley. On impulse, Sean wiped the image of himself standing in the hallway from the mind of the door guard. The guard's eyes passed over him unseeing. He then retreated into the building and closed the door, securing the door's lock.
Sean silently approached the door. It was made of thick wood and Sean could smell the metal of the large brace on the other side. Studying the door, Sean knew that it would take little effort to force his way through. In fact, as Sean stood staring at the door and concentrating on forcing his way through, he could see the wood bending away from where is eyes focus. The door began to contort inward. Splinters snapped and shattered from the wood and the frame began to creak. Releasing his focus, the door ceased moving. Surprised, Sean looked down at his hands which hung as his side and had never moved.
Suddenly, Sean heard a small latch in the door release and the portal in the door flew open. Looking up, Sean saw the eyes of the door guards staring out at him.
The guard spoke a few angered words out at him in a gruff voice. Sean could not understand the language, but he could infer that the guard was not happy to see him. He didn't need powers to deduce that.
"What is this place?" Sean asked in English.
The guard's eyes peered up at him before responding.
"It's a club house, but I don't think you're a member."
He was lying, obviously. Feeling forward with his mind, Sean tried to read his thoughts but the guard seemed to be somehow hiding them.
"Let me enter." Sean ordered.
"Sorry, members only." The guard then closed the portal and secured the latched.
Absently, Sean gestured at the portal and the latch released and the door flew open.
"Let me in, please. I would like to enter." Sean spoke into open portal.
A moment later the guard's eyes returned to the portal and stared out at him.
"Look, bud. I don't know what you want but your kind isn't allowed in here. If it wasn't day out, I might have to hurt you. Now, piss off!"
With that, he again slammed the portal closed and locked it.
Anger flared inside Sean and he reached down, grasped the doors handle, and pulled outward. The door tore from its hinges and fragments of the wood frame shattered in all directions. Sean tossed the door to the side and entered the now open doorway. Once inside, he was met by the door guard with a weapon in his hand. Sean recognized it from many of the minds he had leafed though this morning. It was called a shotgun. The guard lifted the weapon to point towards him. Suddenly, the open end of his weapon exploded with flame and sound. Sean watched as a dozen small pellets burst from the weapon's end and scattered towards him. Sean reached forward with one hand and scooped them out of the air. He then reached up and tossed them at the guard's head. Flying from Sean's hand, the pellets struck the guard's grizzled head before he knew what was happening. The pellets quickly tore through the flesh and bone, shredding the man's head into pieces. Sean watched the dead man's form fall to the ground then shockingly burst into a cloud of dust. The dust evaporated and there was no trace of the corpse. The man's clothes had also evaporated, which seemed even odder to Sean.
Looking about, Sean found himself in a small room. In the center of the room sat a round table with several chairs surrounding it. On the table were several bags of some type of snack food. Hung on the adjacent wall was a small television. Sean had discovered television via his wanderings this morning, but this was the first he had seen. Next to the television sitting on the wall was a large refrigerator.
About to examine the food spread across the table, Sean heard movement. Looking up, Sean discovered that the sound of movement seemed to be coming from inside the refrigerator. Confused, Sean sent his thoughts out over the large appliance. He felt nothing from the device. Sending his thoughts farther back and beyond the wall, Sean discovered the thoughts of several more vampires. At first, Sean believed that they were in the room beyond the wall. Then Sean caught the glimpse of himself standing in this room staring at the fridge from the minds of the vampires. They were watching him.
Sean stepped around the table and walked up to the refrigerator. Grasping it by the sides, Sean pulled away from the wall. Half the wall came free as he pulled the fridge away pulling plaster, wood and wire from the wall. Sparks exploded from behind the fridge. Rolling the fridge to the side and away from him, he heard it skitter across the floor then crash into the far wall.
Within the now large opening in the broken wall, Sean found the entrance into a hallway. The hallway floor was covered in a thick red carpet and the walls were covered in red wallpaper with intricate black knot work scrolling across its surface. At the far end of the hallway is what looked like a large steel door. Standing in the middle of the hallway were two men dressed in black suits. The look of surprise had blanked their faces.
One of the men stepped forward.
"This is a private club," he shouted at Sean, "Back off. We won't hesitate to kill you!"
Their confidence seemed to rise and both stepped forward to block the entrance into the hallway.
"I just want to see what is within. Let me pass." Sean's voice was calm but commanding.
"I don't think so." Responded the first and he reached under his suit jacket and drew out a long curved dagger. He then raised the dagger and snarled at Sean. As he did so, Sean watched the shape of the man's brow change as it clenched inward into a vicious looking grimace. The look was very primitive and Sean expected that it was meant to frighten. Sean also noticed that the man's fangs had grown longer and his eyes took on a yellowish sheen. The second guard's face also warped into the same sickly mask as he drew a long dagger from within his suit.
Both men snarled at Sean before leaping at him, brandishing their daggers out before them. Sean watched them sail through the air at him. The leap had been quite a distance and nothing a normal human could have jumped. Just before they reached him, Sean stepped to the side out of their path. Upon landing, both men were startled to see Sean standing to their left. Sean reached up and grabbed the first by his neck and tossed him to the side. He then grabbed the second by the side of his head which he threw forward and into the wall. Sean movements had been a blur to the vampires and they were being tossed before the realized what was happening. The first flew across the room and landed on the table with a loud crash. The wooden table collapsed under the force. The second crashed into the wall in front of Sean. The wall's outside layer of sheet rock gave way under the weight and the vampire fell inward. Both men landed at virtually the same moment. As the first scrambled to stand up, Sean stepped up to the second vampire as he tried to climb out of the wall. Sean reached in and grabbed the man by his neck and yanked him out. Sean saw the dagger leave the man's hand under the force of Sean's sudden pull and fly across the room. Holding the vampire up by his neck, Sean threw him to the side and toward the broken frame of the outside door. Sailing across the room and out the door, the vampire landed outside the building in the now brightly lit alleyway. The vampire screamed as he gazed up and saw the sun blazing in the sky above him. Raising his arms up before him to shield himself from the deadly light, the vampire's skin sudden burst into flames. He screamed in pain and tried to roll over and claw his way toward the safety of the building. He only got a short distance before his head began to dissolve and melt away. Soon there was nothing left but his burning clothes.
Now standing, the first vampire stared out the door at the ashes of his comrade. Sean watched him pause for a moment. With a sudden scream in anger, the vampire turned toward Sean and ran. He held his dagger up before him and made a swipe at Sean's neck when he came within reach. The blade struck Sean at the base of his neck above his left collar bone and stopped. The vampire stood before Sean, staring at the spot where his dagger met Sean's skin. The skin was unbroken, unblemished.
With a quick gesture and a sudden burst of will, Sean saw the vampire fly backward away from him. He flew backward toward the wreckage of the table. As he landed on the broken table, Sean saw a large broken splinter of wood burst outward from the man's chest. With a violent jolt the vampire suddenly burst into dust, clothes and all.
"Interesting," Sean whispered.
Still staring at the spot over the table where the vampire had just been, Sean heard the deep thunk of metal from behind him. Turning to face the sound, he saw the steel door at the end of the hallway begin swinging outwards. Through the opening doorway, Sean saw a room with lush furniture and decorations. Directly across from the steel doorway was what looked like a guard's desk. Sitting behind the desk was another vampire of whom Sean could only see his head.
Slowly, Sean made his way down the short hallway to the large steel door. Approaching the doorway, Sean noticed that the door had to be at least as thick as the length of his hand. Looking through the doorway and inside toward the vampire behind the desk. Sean found the man smiling at him in a warm and welcome manner.
About to reach the large steel doorway, Sean heard the gears attached to the door suddenly screech and rumble. The door began a quick swing inward, trying to close off Sean's entrance. Sean casually reached forward and stuck his right hand in the open doorway before the door was able to slam shut. The door struck Sean's hand and came to a halt. The door stood open only a crack; Sean's hand was jammed between the door and the doorframe stopping it from closing.
A moment later, Sean suddenly felt a rush of air around him and the hairs on his skin began to stand on end. There was electricity in the air which quickly rose in strength and finally discharged around him. Sean felt a soft warmth settle on his skin and he suddenly found that he could not move. Now aware of an unearthly shield binding him to his current stance, Sean tried to press forward with all his strength. It was no use; the shield didn't deny him his strength, just his mobility.
Sean then felt the presence of another standing behind him. Over his shoulder, he heard a smooth and confident female voice.
She laughed.
"You're a good fighter, my friend. But the bindings of magic extend beyond the physical."
Slightly annoyed, Sean felt his thoughts escape his mind and run abruptly into the shield encasing him. Slowly they expanded and began to probe into the barrier that restrained him. Sean could feel small breaks in the magic that held him in. It seemed a very sloppy and inexperienced way to create a barrier but, when he thought about it, Sean couldn't come up with a better way. He was certain there was a way, but the how escaped him.
Continuing to probe the inside of the barrier with his thoughts, Sean ignored the female behind him as she continued to talk.
"You're a very interesting person, my friend. I haven't seen someone dispatch our guards as quickly as you did. I can't be sure, but I believe you are a vampire. You don't feel right, but the blood lust is there. It's hidden well though I can tell you're starving. Why would you do this to yourself?"
Her voice was condescending, but Sean hardly noticed. His mind had finished searching the entire length of the field and he had found what he had been looking for, the connection back to the field's source. He traveled the length of the connection back to the woman behind him. She had been the source of the magic's casting. Sean expected to find protection setup back long the path to her mind, but she didn't seem to have any. This was odd and foolish to Sean but, again, he couldn't remember what precedent made him think this.
Arriving at the doorway into her mind, Sean broke the connection. The act was instant and almost effortless. He felt the warmth vanish from around his skin and his limbs were free. With his right hand still extended before him and wedged between the large metal door and its frame, Sean reach forward with his left hand and slipped his fingers in the small gap. Behind him, he heard the woman gasp as she realized that Sean was now free and able to move. Grasping the edge of the door with his hands, Sean swiftly pulled back and away from the doorway. The thick metal of the door tore instantly from the frame with a jarring sound of twisting metal. The huge steel door hung from his fingers like a toy. In a fluid motion, Sean swung the large door around behind him. Sean saw the woman for only a moment before the metal door slammed into her. She was older, as her eyes and mouth showed wrinkles and lines of age. Her hair was black as night with a single silver streak running down the length of her hair from her brow. Her eyes were grey and open in a look of surprise. An instant later, the door struck her. Sean released the metal and both the door and the crushed form of the woman disappeared in the wall behind her. There was a loud crash and a large cloud of dust as the door broke through the wood of the fragile wall.
Staring though the hole in the wall for a moment, Sean then turned to face through the now empty metal door frame. The vampire behind the lavish wooden desk was now standing and staring toward him. A look of fear washed over his face and the vampire began to tremble slightly.
Some how, the idea of creatures fearing him seemed familiar to Sean.