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A.N Hmmm. I think I shall put up the rating. After all, Steve's more of an adult than Darren is, so his writing style and the things that happen to him will be more adult too. Oh goody. .Thanks for reading again! Mwuahaha!
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Stake-outs. Ironic word, but still, I hated them. You had to sit for hours on end in the same position, not even able to walk off and take a piss in case you missed something important. You were stuck there, in the freezing cold night, watching and waiting for someone or something that may not even appear. It was handy if you had friends who you could change shifts with.
Sadly, being the lone wolf that I was, I had to sit in the same cramped little alcove for the whole time, shivering as I futilely attempted to keep warm and watch the entrance to the old, derelict church on the street opposite. Not to mention stay awake the whole time.
This time, I was smart – I had bought myself a thermos and filled it up with as much coffee as I could. Caffeine works wonders, even on a mind that hadn't had any sleep for the last three days. Yes, it was true: the last time I had slept was the day before the vampire attack on Kenny Brookes. Trust me, you never want to do that.
I was in an old, abandoned apartment, sitting in a boarded-up window on the second floor and looking at the building opposite – a church, also boarded-up. It was in this little church in this dirty, forgotten street that I believed the vampire had decided to hole himself up in. Now, all I had to do was sit and see if my assumptions were correct. That is, if the bloody thing decided to show up.
To pass the time, I had found myself a random piece of wood and began carving away at it with my pocketknife, making something I hadn't made since woodworks class – a stake. After all, the hunter had said to bring a weapon of some sort, and I figured the little knife I bought myself a few years ago wouldn't do any real damage.
I was halfway finished when a flash of movement caught my attention. Excited, I looked up – only to see that a cat had jumped up onto a cardboard box outside. Grumbling, I went back to my stake, trying not to feel too disappointed.
As soon as I finished the stake, a loud clattering brought my head snapping up – but again, it was nothing. Just that stupid cat again, falling out of some rubbish bins. I sat back again, growling and mentally coming up with ways of catching that animal and skinning it alive.
It was just as I was about to wonder what would happen if the vampire had in actual fact decided to take this apartment as his home when I heard a rough bout of coughing. Springing from my ledge as quietly as I could, I peered out through the boarded windows. Down below, the shadow of a man stood, coughing into his hand. He paused, as if in pain, bringing his hand to his other shoulder. Then he glanced around and climbed into the church. I watched for several more minutes, in case he walked back up again – but he didn't.
Grinning, I stood up and shook off all the wood shavings I had collected. Then I sat back down on my little ledge, tried to make myself as comfortable as possible, and went to sleep.
I had my vampire. It could only be him – after all, Perri had shot him in the shoulder those few nights ago.
I woke again, several hours later, just after sunrise. It only took me a few minutes to pack my things into my backpack and leave my building. The next thing I knew, I was standing outside the church, stake in hand, hoping my lucky stars were still lucky.
I stepped through the door - okay, well, 'step' is a relative term, it was more like 'squeezed in through the old, splintered wooden door trying my hardest not to get stabbed by splinters or make a sound at all'. Meh. Either way, I got inside.
The interior was mostly dark, lit only by a thin shaft of light pouring in through one of the large, dirty windows to the side of the room. It, and the rest of the windows around the chapel, was covered in a heavy moth-eaten curtain, leaving the rest of the room in darkness. The few remaining pews in the room were all overturned and broken. At the front was an altar, a statue of some sort standing over it and rows of candles before it. One candle was lit.
I took one cautious step forward, looking around alertly. Another step. My foot crunched slightly over what seemed like broken glass. I cringed, pausing, not breathing, waiting for the vampire to come jumping out at me…
But nothing stirred.
Breathing a slight sigh of relief, I stepped forward again, passed the first broken pew.
Another step. Then another step.
And then I saw him.
Behind the statue, lying on the altar, was the vampire, one fist lying on his chest, the other by his side. His chest rose and fell steadily, looking like he was sleeping peacefully.
As quietly and as quickly as I could, I picked my way up to the altar, careful not to trip over anything. When I reached him, I noticed there was something very… strange about him.
Even in the darkness, I could tell there was something different about his skin. It wasn't pale, it wasn't dark, it was as if it were a completely different colour all together, almost purple in colour. His nails were long and stained blood-red, his dark clothes dirty and splattered with blood, his strangely coloured hair longer and messier than mine – something I never would have thought possible. He held something in his clenched fist, but I couldn't tell what it was.
I don't know how long I spent looking down at the vampire's sleeping face. It hit me, then, just how young he looked. He looked like just another teenaged boy, albeit the purple skin. He looked so calm, so peaceful, that you could never have guessed he were a blood-thirsty monster…
Shaking my head, I reminded myself who this person was – he was just like Shan, most likely betraying his friends, hurting his family, all in exchange for some measly power. He was a monster, a dirty, child-killing monster, who deserved every imaginable death there was.
I took a step closer so that I was directly above him, and poised my stake just above the region his heart should have been in – hopefully, all those times I spent staring at the anatomy in science classes should have helped somewhat. I paused for a second, closing my eyes, as if to focus. And then, with as much force as I could muster, I drove the sharpened tip down, thrusting it through skin and muscle until it hit the heart.
The next few seconds were a blur of crimson red. I stumbled back as blood sprayed everywhere, all over me and the altar. The vampire sprang upright, a long, terrible scream of pain bursting from his throat, his hands clawing at the air. He rolled off the stone, and I took another hurried step back, but not enough – he fell onto my legs, causing me to fall flat on my back, winding me. My bag dug deep into my back. I could feel his hands clinging to me, as he weakly climbed/crawled forward. Terrified, I tried to scramble back, but his weight was too heavy. His hands clutched at my jumper, and he brought his blood-stained face close to mine. Tears streamed down his face. His scream had wound off, and he was reduced to loud, pain-filled sobs.
"I-I-I'm sorry," he was saying, over and over again. "Te..tell them, I-I-I'm sorry…"
I could feel his heavy, sticky blood sticking to my jumper, soaking through it, soaking through my two layers of shirts. I could smell the hot, metallic smell. All I could hear were his sobs and apologies, over and over again.
And then it stopped. His voice became softer and softer until there was nothing as all, and he slumped down on top of me, still, quiet – dead. Whatever he had clenched in his hand fell to the ground, and unconsciously, I picked it up. It was a crucifix on a fine chain.
I don't know how long I sat there for, breathing heavily and staring at the dead body lying on top of me. My mind wouldn't register the fact that I had just killed somebody.
Close by, someone began to clap – slowly, deliberately. I turned my head slightly to see Peregrine Walters step out of the shadows, wearing a tight black outfit of some sort, the tattoo on the side of her face visible in the light from the single shaft of light. She was grinning.
"Nicely done, mate. I guess this means you're my apprentice now," she said, stepping forward and pulling me to my feet. I didn't see it, but I heard a thump as the body of the vampire hit the ground. Perri left me swaying on my feet and she stepped forward and rolled the body over with her boot.
"How did you –" I began, but she flashed me a grin over her shoulder.
"What, get here? Please. I knew where this guy was hiding out. I was just giving you a chance, that's all." She stopped, going back to her examination of the vampire.
"Hmm. Yep. You did this vampaneze nicely, all right," she said with a nod. I blinked, frowning at her back.
"Vampaneze?"
She turned slowly, an amused smile on her face.
"What, you don't know about the vampaneze? Ah, don't worry about it – most people who have the arrogance to call themselves hunters don't know about them." She paused, looking me up and down. "Huh. Looks like I've got a lot to teach you." Perri wrinkled her nose, and I swayed again, feeling a wave of dizziness come over me. My stomach was rolling, as if I had just stepped off a particularly wild roller coaster. "But first, you're going to have a shower. Tell me, Steve – when was the last time you slept?"
But I didn't get a chance to tell her – I was too busy meeting the cold stone floor, which had decided it wanted to knock me unconscious.
