Max walked into his store to find David sweeping the front area, looking quite exhausted. "Busy day?" he asked lightheartedly. David stopped his chore to look through weary eyes back at his employer.
"We had a rush this afternoon that lasted until closing time. And I can't seem to shake this exhaustion." David caught himself. He never revealed weakness to anyone. If he learned anything in the orphanage it was that the strong who survived, who did not get picked on incessantly. Why did he tell Max about this? Looking at Max he had another thought: why did Max not look surprised?
"I've got something to show you," he said, and suddenly gave an air of utmost seriousness. His face was calm, and he took his spectacles off to clean them with a white handkerchief. David watched, and noticed a small red speck on the cloth. "You've seen it before. But you need to understand it. You need to know. Follow me."
David stared as Max turned and walked out the door. What on Earth? He leaned the broom against a nearby shelf and followed into the cool night air. He was fully awake; his senses seemed to peak the moment he stepped into the clear, dark night, and he saw Max's shadow sliding down the sidewalk, and he disappeared into a nearby alley. David jogged to catch up and stopped before he turned the corner. He smelled something, and recognized it from a previous night. His stomach turned in hunger when he realized he hadn't eaten all day, and that bittersweet smell was only making the sensation stronger. "David," he heard Max say from the alley. "You need to know."
The hunger was now tugging at his heart, and he felt a small surge of anger come from nowhere. "Know what?" he said with a tinge of irritation as he rounded the corner. His feet carried him before his mind could catch up, and realization struck him like the brick wall he grasped as he saw the sight before him.
Max stood over two bodies in the dark alley. One was horribly mutilated, the other barely holding onto his life. "What is this!" David yelled as he saw the mess. His eyes darted from the two bodies, to Max, and back to the meal---
Meal? What am I thinking? David was breathing hard. His mind was swimming as his heart kept attempting to escape through his throat, and what seemed like the entire Olympic gymnastics team performed stunts in his stomach. He didn't know whether to scream, or run, or stay put, or attack Max, or drink the blood---
"NOOO!" he tried to yell out, but he found Max's hand over his mouth before he realized he'd moved.
"You need to know," Max said in the calm voice again. "You are changed. You are like me now. You will never grow old, but you must live off the lives of others." David's wide eyes focused on Max's face as someone did a triple-back flip-somersault-half-twist flawlessly just to the left of his pancreas. "These two men tried to mug me as I walked to the store this evening," he explained. "They are evil men. We – you and I – are not evil. We are simply different. We are the strong, and we survive. We never die. But to keep this life, this immortal life, you must kill." With his free hand he gestured to the man on the ground. He was just conscious enough to stare at them blearily. David guessed he could not even comprehend what Max was saying. But the more David looked at him, the worse his body began to pull him in every direction.
A small voice came in the back of his mind. You'll never die. "David," Max said and removed his hand from David's mouth. "Embrace your new life."
"No…" David said quietly, his voice wavering. "I can't. I will not kill."
"Take his life," Max replied, his voice sharper.
"I won't," David said again, his voice stronger though a tear fell from his eye.
"You must kill him or you will die. TAKE HIS LIFE." Max seemed to loom over David now, and the space around him filled with shadows. David felt his heart give an angry lurch at this sudden threat.
"I WON'T!" he yelled back, and found himself lying on the ground, a cut below his cheek. Max had just struck him and sliced open his face. "TAKE HIS LIFE," he repeated again.
"NO!" David screamed, though the anger he felt in his chest was rising quickly to his head, becoming an uncontrolled rage. Max kicked him in the side, his face now fierce. This tipped David over the edge and he leapt up, charging at Max. Max dodged to the side, and shoved David toward the body lying on the ground behind them. The force of the push was enough to send David reeling, and he landed face-first into the dead man's pool of blood. His senses were flooded with the feeling of it, the smell and the taste engulfed his mind as some made its way into his mouth. As he pushed himself up and opened his eyes, the first thing to greet him was the conscious man lying on the ground before him.
Rage surged through his body, amplified by the sensation of the blood now covering the right side of his face. He had no other thought in his mind than to destroy. He met the blank stare of his first victim with red eyes and a toothy, hungry grin, and lunged.