Thanks to everyone for their comments! Sorry it took a while and is still quite short :) thanks for reading!
When I first awoke to see Herrick smiling down at me, when I took in that first breath of the new air and felt the potent energy of my body, of the 'gift' he'd given me, I felt nothing but joyous gratitude. For who could witness the terrible truth of death and not be glad of an escape? All around me lay the bodies of my fallen comrades, many of whom had been murdered by the very man who was now embracing me like a son, and I realised I felt nothing for them. Actually, I wished it had been me who'd killed them, felt the blood flow through my lips, drip down my chin. I wanted to kill everyone I'd ever known, anyone who crossed my path. I wanted to drink them dry and dance in their blood. Herrick held me at arms length, and I realised I'd been gripping, digging my nails into his arms as he held me. He looked me in the eye, grinning - oh, that smile that nearly a century later I would hate so much - like a proud father. 'Getting hungry, are we? Let's find you something to eat.'
That first time I fed I thought I'd never stop, finished three in one sitting. Herrick picked them out for me. German soldiers, not that I cared one bit about the promise he'd made to my former, human self just hours before about sparing my troops. I'd have killed my whole battalion given the chance, that's just how it is when a new vampire is born. I still thank God I was nowhere near my family when I was changed, or I would have massacred them all, and I don't think I could have lived long with that. The whole time I was feeding, I could sense Herrick watching me. Not joining in, not even taking a drop from my prey, just watching, a look of near elation on his face. He had created something almost as ferocious as himself, he told me later.
I became his model student. I followed him everywhere - for where else did I have to go? A vampire is tied to his sire, and the sire has a responsibility to his creation, for a newly-turned vampire left unwatched is a dangerous thing. We need to be taught how to control our impulses, our cravings. And of course we need to be taught how to go about our business undetected. But why do we make a person a vampire? And how do we choose who to change? I think for Herrick, like for all of us, the main reason is loneliness. Yes, he was by no means alone, high up in the pecking order of our kind he had many waiting to do his bidding, for a place at his right hand was highly sought after. But, conceited as he was, he felt no one could match him for intellect. He needed someone he could really talk to, someone he could plan with. For what use is an ingenious plan without someone to share it with, someone to appreciate it and put it into action? These were the reasons that I was turned into a monster - Herrick needed an ego boost, a disciple and, if you can call it that, a friend. And for over eighty years, that's exactly what I was.