Vampire World

Vampire World:

My name is Jay Walker. Something is plaguing our lands since the last few dozen centuries. It leaves its victims drained of blood and hidden somewhere throughout the village. Sometimes, it disappears for decades and returns with some other victims. We can't find it. Now, the land has been ruled over by a wise king, Richard, his queen, Lilith, their prince, Kai, and the fair princess, Nya. I like Nya. She's a very nice princess. She also likes to build and invent things, alike me. Oh, sorry, let me tell you a little about myself. I live as a commoner in the village of the palace. Whenever I get the chance, I sneak up to the palace and look in through the windows at Nya and her brother. I live with my parents in an old cabin-house towards the river. Several of our neighbors have died due to the plague. But we refuse to leave. I have this special talent for finding things. I once found an old coffin of the Fourth King of Asric. We live in a world named by the creator of all worlds: Ninjago. We are taught to speak and write about the lives we lead for the records in the palace walls. Our people wish to be rid of this devilish work. And I'm going to catch it!

"Jay! Jay, sweetie!" Edna called from downstairs. "Yeah, mother?" Jay called back. "There's going to be a meeting at the town hall tonight! Your father and I are going. Do you want to come since you're now eighteen and all?" Edna, Jay's mother, asked. "No. I'll be fine, mother. You and dad go and listen to the boring old conferences in that old town hall!" Jay called, a thin smile forming on his lips as he slipped the notebook into his desk drawer. "Alright then, see you later sonnie!" Ed, Jay's father, called in his creaky voice. "Bye!" Jay called back again, heading for the window for a peek outside. Several dozen people lined the streets, holding torches against the darkness of the night. "Oh, well. All by myself now. Guess, I'm going monster hunting!" Jay smirked, grabbing his old coat and slipping it over his shoulders and neck. He grabbed his torch and older notebook labeled "Discoveries". "I'm going to catch that thing and bring it to the palace and show it to the king and queen and the prince and princess. They'll give my family gold and Nya will want to marry me, oh, I can see it now. Okay, what do we have in here now?" Jay asked himself aloud as he opened the old notebook and read the most recent entry:

The boardroom at the end of the old Cashman's Drive had a body underneath the deck. More bodies were found under other things as if the killer was growing more and more hungry for their blood. These victims were found drained of blood and their arms and legs tied together with a white string. No fingerprints were found. Other evidence points to an ancestor of the Royal Family who was never found dead. Also, this creature has refrained from killing the townsfolk who will be missed. It takes great care in its kills but somehow is able to slip away at the sound of footsteps. This creature seems to respect the people's thoughts of its capture because it has not mutilated the bodies, yet. I have found a pattern in the kills. The locations spell out the message of a person in danger each time. A list of these kills, locations, personal information and other things is listed below:

Summer

Found: Under Old Cabin Shell (September 3, 1622)

Eye Color: Brown

Abbey

Found: On Town Hall Walkway (February 13, 1623)

Eye Color: Teal

Victor

Found: In Home, sitting in chair (March 17, 1623)

Eye Color: Green

Elijah

Found: In Woods (April 14, 1623)

10 YEAR BREAK:

CREATURE HAS NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE 10 YEARS AGO

Micheal

Found: In Inn, collapsed on floor (August 12, 1633)

Eye Color: Brown

Ellie

Found: On Old Playground Swingset (September 19, 1633)

Eye Color: Green

By allowing yourself to line up the letters of the names of the victims, you can clearly spell the words: "SAVE ME." over and over again. Suggesting that this creature is asking for help in some way, you must try to encounter it on your own time. Check out the old Cabin Lodge for support and clues.

"Okay, so that's where I'm headed; the old Cabin Lodge. Nothing scary about that." Jay said as a shiver ran up his spine. He turned around for a split second in time to see a tall, white-haired teenager coming towards him. "Oh, hello. Where are you headed?" Jay asked as the teen walked past him with an icy glare. "Okay, then." Jay said, scribbling down a description of the teen before continuing towards the old Lodge. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, a black blur raced in front of a tree, bearing white fangs. Jay ignored the figure and raced up to the old Lodge, slamming the broken door behind him. "I can't believe I just saw the monster. I have to get home and tell my folks. But, maybe after I investigate." Jay said to himself as a small gasp silenced him. He turned to the old Lodge's dining room, following the gasps as they became less and less soundly. "Hello?" Jay called throughout the house. "Please…." a voice whispered beside his head. "Where are you?" Jay called again, listening for the faint scratching of metal on metal. "He's coming back, soon. Please, hurry." the voice said again, fainter this time. He rounded a corner and spotted a teen draped over a rotting bed-frame. "Oh, god!" Jay harshly whispered, latching onto the teen's arm and rolling him onto his back. "You're here. Please, help me get home before he comes back." the teen whispered, his eyes fluttering open and closed over and over again. "I'll get you out of here. What do you mean by he? Who's he?" Jay asked as the teen lost consciousness. For the next hour, Jay spent his time getting the teen to the nearest populated house, his own home. "Don't worry, we're almost there. I'm going to put you down here and get my parents." Jay said as he gently lay the teen down on the grass. "Mother! Father! Help!" Jay cried, racing into the house. "What's wrong, sweetie?" Edna asked. "I just found a boy! He's weakened and hurt. Can you help him?" Jay asked as his mother jumped out of bed and made for the medical kit. Ed jumped up, too, and made for the door downstairs. He rushed outside and picked up the teen, lying him down on the couch in the living room. "Was he bitten?" Ed asked as soon as Edna came downstairs. "I don't know. He blacked out before he could tell me anything." Jay said as he started removing the teen's shirt. "He has at least a few broken ribs, maybe a broken arm and a lot of blood is gone. We will patch him up for now and let him rest throughout the night. Edna will do the rest." Ed said, heading for the door. "Go to bed, sweetie. I can handle this." Edna said sweetly, turning to wrap a tight bandage around the teen's chest. "Okay, mom. Goodnight." Jay said, heading upstairs to his bedroom. All through the night he listened to the soft breathing of the teen downstairs through the window of his bedroom. In the morning, he went downstairs and saw the teen trying to get up from the couch. "Whoa! No, no, no. You're staying here until you get better." Jay said, taking hold of the teen's arm and pulling him back down onto the couch. "My-my father will be worried about me. I-I need to tell him where I was last night." the teen said. "I'll do it! What's your name?" Jay asked the teen as he settled down. "Cole. Cole Hence. Where is it? Where is that monster?" Cole asked, beginning to shake his head. "It's not here, wherever it is. Can you tell me what it looked like? Or he?" Jay asked as he pulled out his notebook and a pen. "He was tall, white, really white. His skin was like fresh snow colored. And his eyes, icy-blue ones, were big and his pupil was small, like a pin, and purple. It pulsed in and out as he gulped me down. He had long fangs, pearly fangs, as if he brushed them. His hair, spiked, and blonde, a bright blonde, was slightly dusty. He smelled too, like decaying matter. He was polite, though. He was sincere when he meant that I might not wake up from his feeding period. I was in a trance, like he was controlling me with his eyes. Once I looked into them, I was hooked, I couldn't move. And-and he just-just drank….." Cole fell silent then, staring up at Jay with his round brown eyes. That's when Jay registered what this young man looked like. Round brown eyes, black hair that fell around his ears and curled in front of his eye, broad shoulders, stony chest, black pants, tanned skin, ground-down teeth, but well brushed. "What happened to your body? Did he do this?" Jay asked. "Yes, he did this to me. I was walking along the Northern Path to get back home when I saw this blur of black come across my path and stop in front of me. It was a young man, no more than twenty, but he was skinny so I guessed that he was just another teen in this village. But he stared at me for a long time, like trying to get me to do something. Then, he spoke something, I couldn't hear it, but my body reacted to it as if my mind wasn't in control of it. It was scary as he led me to the old Cabin Lodge and lay me down on a bed in a room. He told me to do something, like relax or something, but I didn't. And guess what? He told me to relax because it hurt more when you're tensed up and the blood doesn't flow enough for him to consume it. I wanted to get out of there, but I couldn't feel my body. I don't remember him beating me up, though. So, when he left, I got my mind to feel pain by biting my lip. I woke up and I made for the exit but I couldn't get there. Then, you came by. Thanks for being there, by the way." Cole said with a small smile. "Cole?! Cole?! Where is my boy?!" a voice called outside the door. "He's in here, sir. But try to not get him excited too much. He's in a lot of pain." Jay said after going to the door and speaking to the frantic man outside. "Oh, boy. Here we go." Cole groaned as the man flew next to the couch and grabbed his hand hurriedly. "Cole! Why didn't you come home last night? What happened to you? How did you get so hurt? You scared me so much, my boy!" the man cried, pressing his cheek to Cole's hand. "It's okay, dad. I'm just a little bruised, that's all. Okay, maybe I broke something, but I'm fine. The thing attacked me. I'm glad to be alive thanks to um...what's your name again?" Cole asked, looking up at Jay for support. "I'm Jay. Jay Walker and happy to be at your service, Mr. Hence." Jay said with a short bow. "His family helped me. I would like to go home, now, if you don't mind helping me, dad?" Cole asked, looking towards his father. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your name, Mr. Hence?" Jay asked. "Thomas. And my wife's name was Carol, before she passed away when Cole was four." Thomas said with a faint smile. "I can get you a pair of crutches if you'd like them." Jay said, Cole nodding his approval. "Oh, and while you're going home, write down anything that seems out of place, like a man, a dog sniffing where it usually wouldn't, a signpost disabled slightly. I'll come by later today to check on you, Cole." Jay said as he reached for a pair of wooden crutches. Jay saw them the way out and waved goodbye, heading to the kitchen to get some water. He looked out the kitchen window and saw a black blur swoop in beyond the gate of the next house, stopping to stare at him intensely. The skin on the man's neck seemed to blister slightly, and the skin covering his face darkened as if he was threatening Jay. Jay spit out his water and gasped, grabbing his notebook from the table and a pen from an old book. He quickly scribbled down the young man's body, sketching out his face. Later that day (around noon), Jay set out to find the creature that had attacked Cole. Holding his notebook in one hand, his took a flashlight, thinking it would take a long time to search the woods around the old properties. He was out until around five when he heard a soft whistle to his right. He turned to see a figure walking away, covered in a black cloak. Whoever it was was whistling softly, as if trying to attract something from within the woods. A young doe came forth and nuzzled the cloaked figure's arm, the figure patting it gently. "Um, hello?" Jay asked, the figure whipping around and gasping. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to know why you're out so late." Jay said as the figure removed its hood. It was princess Nya under the cloak, her golden dress concealed beneath the cloak. Jay dropped to his knees and apologized. "I'm so sorry, your highness. I didn't notice your clothing or face. Forgive me, your highness." Jay said as the blur appeared beside Nya. "Um, princess? I think we should start running now." Jay said, grabbing Nya's arm and sprinting off into the bushes. "Where are we going? Let go of me!" Nya cried, looking back at the blur as it continued to follow them. "What is that? Is that the thing? The creature?" Nya called back as the blur stopped to reveal a young man once again. "Stop!" a voice called out inside Jay's head. "Why would I want to stop? I have to protect you, Nya!" Jay called back aloud. "What? I didn't say anything! What do you mean by you have to protect me? I can do that myself!" Nya called back. Jay came to a sudden stop and turned around. "That wasn't you?" Jay asked as the blur stopped in front of them. "No." Nya said, a little confused. When they looked up, the young man was standing there, staring at them awkwardly. "Stay back!" Jay shouted, pushing Nya behind him. "Please, I don't wish to harm either of you. I just wish to have something explained to me. Will you allow that, Princess?" the young man asked, his voice broken and monotonous. Nya shook her head rapidly, the young man sighing in some sort of moment. "Remember when we were young, Princess? Remember when your brother was born? Do you remember that little slave that was still locked in that closet after sixteen years? Remember when you found him at my age? Do you remember his name, Princess?" the figure asked, holding out his white-skinned bare hand. "No. I don't. What does that have to do with this?" Nya asked snappily back. "You do not remember? You do not remember that time when you left your clothes on your bed when you went to bathe and you went back and found that your closet was open and your bed was vibrating from his fear? His fear of being rejected and beaten and slashed and abused? You do not remember him?" the figure asked again, Nya's face turning slightly pale. "You mean Zane? The little boy who was stuck under my bed when I was six?" she asked back, the young man nodding slowly. "He died after a few months, didn't he, from starving to death?" the figure asked. "Yes! He did die! He was such a nice friend! I miss him! We buried him in the garden, his favorite place in the world." Nya cried, tears dripping down her face. "He is still alive, Princess. He is waiting for you to put him to death, at this very moment." the figure said with a slight smile. "Where is he? Where is Zane?" Nya cried again. "He is standing right in front of you, at this very moment. I am Zane." Zane said, face turning even more pale than a few seconds prior. "Zane? Zane, how are you Zane? He died! He was starved when he was seven!" Nya cried, pressing her face into Jay's jacket, soaking it with her tears. "Nya! Nya, can you hear me?" a voice called in the distance. "Kai. The one who always didn't want me to be around you. I must leave now, Princess. But I cannot stop my killing spree. It is something that will not stop until I am killed." Zane said, his voice small and scared. "Nya!" Kai's voice called again, just over the hill. Zane turned to Jay and looked even sadder. "Do not speak of this to anyone, or I will find you and hunt you down." Zane said, once again turning into the black blur and racing off into the bushes. Kai came over the top of the hill and looked down at Jay and Nya standing together under the shade of the trees. "Nya!" he shouted, running down the hill to her. Jay took a couple of steps back, looking down at his feet. "Who is this?" the Prince asked, his spiked brown hair flipping around his head as he spoke. "Kai, he's alive. Zane is alive." Nya whispered into her brother's ear. "What? He's dead. He's been dead for a long time. How do you know if he's still alive?" Kai asked, his voice full of confusion. "We need to talk. You come with me, and that boy from the village is coming, too. We need to tell our parents. They need to know what they're dealing with." Nya said, walking up the hill towards the castle. "I'll have the boy called to the palace steps in the morning. For now, you need to go to bed, Nya. And you, we can give you a guest room in the lower floor, close to the exit. Go home now, we'll have you called up to the palace tomorrow." Kai said, following his sister up the hill and out of sight. Jay looked up at the night sky and smiled. He ran home and up to his room, whipping out his notebook and pencil:

I found out what the creature was. It is Zane, an adopted boy from the Royal Line turned undead somehow. Upon further investigation, I will ask around to find out more about this young man and the powers of the undead. The name "vampire" insults him. Be aware of his abilities and inform the Royal Line as fast as you find anything.

Jay wrote, slipping his pencil into his desk and settling into his bed. "I need to go to the library tomorrow morning. Just to read about vampires." Jay said to himself as he drifted into a deep sleep. The next day was up and at 'em. He jumped out of bed and made for the door, his parents waving him out. He ran to the library door, knocked and entered. He went as fast as he could to the fictional section, grabbed all the books on the undead and sat down at a table. He made a list of all the notes possibly collected in the books, also marking down the book's title. After the first ten books, he stopped and put them away. He ran up the palace doors, the guard stopping him from continuing. "I was supposed to come here this morning, sir, to see the prince and princess. Go ask them and see, that'll prove it." Jay growled, holding out his notes. Prince Kai came to the gates and waved him in, smiling as Cole followed him in. They were settled into a little area with four couches, reminding Jay of an old palace he once climbed the walls of. Kai, Nya, Kaytake and Lilith came and sat on the other couches next to each other, their faces in full confusion. "I made some notes about vampires. He relates mostly to a vampire, Zane does." Jay said, placing his notes on a small table between the couches. Kaytake picked them up and glanced through them, seeming to note the weaknesses and proof of a vampire's existence. "I do not think we have told you about the full story of Zane. Kaytake?" Lilith offered, looking over at her husband. He nodded, frowning. "What is it, mom?" Kai asked, his face full of strength. Cole looked over at Jay, shuddering slightly with his broken arm and ribs. Cole looked better since the attack: his bruises had healed and his cuts were gluing themselves together, he had taken a bath or two, his hair was neatly combed back into a style he seemed to like and his face was strong and bold. Jay turned his attention back to the Queen as she cleared her throat. "Zane was a very young servant. He was always being mistreated by the olden King, Garmadon as we called him, and was locked away for years on end. When we found him in your room, Nya, he was already starved to death. His body wasn't there. He wasn't truly alive. I noticed the mark on his neck a few seconds after he crawled into my arms. Two small hole, bite marks, on his neck. He died due to the disease caused by the bite, not starvation. We buried him to keep him at rest, hopefully. But his soul was full of grief, pain, longing, other things that made him rise and feed like an animal at night. We tried to keep him a secret, but he got out one night and he grew up. He grew careful, hateful, and patient. He changed. But somehow, he still remembers you and the Royal Line." Lilith said, looking down at her feet. "He's been alive this whole time?" Nya gasped, holding her stomach. Cole shrugged, gently feeling the two marks on his neck. "We need to catch him and put his soul to rest, properly. We need to kill him, somehow. Do you have any notes on their weaknesses, Jay?" Kai asked, grabbing the notes from his father. "Yes, I have a whole page on it." Jay said, pointing to the fourth page on the table. Kai picked it up and skimmed through it, locating the main sources of pain for the vampires. "Holy water, garlic, crosses, sunlight, fire, stakes. And what draws them in is blood. Human blood they like better." Kai said aloud, reading the page further. "We need a plan to address this, Kai. We need to use blood to draw him in and capture him using some kind of ambush. Young man, Cole is it? Tell us about your experience." Kaytake ordered, making Cole sit up a little straighter. "Well, he rushed in front of me as the form of a blackened blur, stopping to reveal his form, then hypnotizing me until I followed his commands. He was calm and polite about his words. But he was out of control when he started beating on me, like he had so much anger against me. His feeding was out of control, too. But when he finished and left, he was all calm again. I don't understand it, but I think he let me live for a reason." Cole said, looking as sad as ever. "There is a pattern in the names of the people he kills when he feeds. They always spell the words "SAVE ME", telling me that he needs help to control himself when he is without blood. I read that vampires have some sort of "bloodlust" that gives them the strength to feed and overpower their enemies. It drives them crazy, kind of." Jay said, looking up at Kai and Nya's faces. He clenched at the sight of their horror. "We have a pattern. He likes the Royal Line, feeds on blood, is angry against his victims, and is asking for help when he can't control himself. Good, now we can formulate a plan. We could use a person as bait. Then, we use an ambush of crosses and fired torches to surround him. Then, we pin him down and put a stake through his heart. Done." Kaytake said, smiling proudly at his plan. "He can smell who it is by the smell of their clothes. If Kai were to give me his clothes, I could go out and cut one of my stitches open and let a little blood leak out. I'm just about Kai's size, just a little bit more muscular. That way, Zane would think that I'm Kai and approach me. Then as he goes for the blood, we catch him in a circle of holy water. Then, line the path of his escape with torches and crosses. After that, we pin him down and then put a stake through his heart. That's better, right?" Cole asked, Kaytake's mouth dropping open in surprise. "You are very good at this." Lilith said, her voice slow and calm. "Let's do it. I'll take you with me to get some clothes. I even have an old cloak to cover your face and hair." Kai said, leading Cole into another room. Lilith looked over at Jay who was frantically searching his notes for something. "What is it, young man?" she asked. "I read something a while ago, as a kid, about vampires. I think it was about how they live. They live in groups of four or more, traveling around the world together for around three years. But the thing that I just don't understand is why he didn't come with a friend. He isn't very confident, but he seems to have complete control of himself during the day. I just think that he has some kind of disease that keeps him from moving around quickly enough. I think that he has multiple sclerosis. He walks with a limp as if he has stiff muscles and a broken bone from long ago. And the thing that Cole said about the tinge of purple in his eyes connects to daylight blindness. If we were to bring him out in the sunlight, it might burn him into incineration. But we should go with Cole's plan first." Jay said, setting the notes down on the table. Kai and Cole returned, Cole looking very much like Kai, except with a cloak over his face. "Well, how do I look?" Cole asked in his deep voice. "You look like Kai." Nya said, smiling at Kai when he frowned. "So, at six, we'll go out into the forest and hide in the strawberry plants, masking your smell. Ready?" Cole asked, the others nodding. "You can hang out here, Jay and Cole, with Kai. We'll tell you when it is time for you to go outside." Lilith said, shoeing Nya and Kaytake out of the room. The boys each grabbed a book from the shelves and began to read, taking their time for each sentence.

NINE HOURS LATER:

"Boys! It's time!" Nya called from the doorframe. The boys put away their books and stood up, walking in a line to the door and out into the forest behind the palace. Kaytake had a few dozen guards placed in a circle around the place where Cole would be cutting his stitches open, all armed with torches and crosses, also with small bottles of holy water strapped to their backs. Kaytake had also given the soldiers stakes and mallets, whoever got the chance to put Zane down for good. Cole walked right out and into the forest, holding a small dagger to cut the stitches on his arm, and paused to look around. He slowly bent down to grab the dagger, running the sharp blade down his arm across the string that held his skin together. A small amount of blood seeped out, dripping down onto the leaves below Cole's feet. Cole paused again and listened, only to hear a faint whistling coming from the left of him. Zane's face appeared out of the corner of his eye, allowing him to show himself for a slight amount of time before shooting behind another tree. The blood began to flow slightly faster, drawing Zane closer. Zane finally came out from behind the trees and stepped into the opening, revealing his form. "Kai, I always wanted to protect Nya, the way you always did. You loved me just as much, but I fell away from you. I fell so far down that I have become this: a monster. I am here, now, Kai. Do you still miss me? My body is still in here, but I am just the spirit of myself. I am a manifestation of my own fear. I run, I hide, I fear. You are giving your own blood up for me? Is that all you want to do to keep me alive? Kai, I-I am scared." Zane said, tears falling down his face. "Do you not have anything to say to me?" Zane shouted, his eyes returning to Cole's arm. "Zane, just-just drink. I want to keep you alive with me. I want you both alive. I will not abandon one for the other. I love both of you. Please, just take my blood and go. I can't always do this for you, but I will try, for the sake of both of you." Cole said, his face growing grim under the hood. Zane stepped forward and gently took Cole's arm in his hands, lifting it to his mouth. He showed his fangs and slowly sank them into Cole's skin. Cole went down onto his knees, pulling down Zane with him onto his own knees. Zane started getting out of control, gulping down the blood crazily, barely coming up for a breath. Cole slowly began to lean forward under the pressure, knocking into Zane and sending him rolling backwards. Suddenly, the area around the circle lit up with flames all around, sending Zane into a panic mode. He frantically clawed for an exit, writhing back and forth as the soldiers placed their crosses onto Zane's body. He screamed in pain, allowing the soldiers to grab their stakes and mallets, slamming them down onto Zane's chest. "No! No, no, no! Kai, how could you do this to me?!" Zane screamed, watching as Cole removed his hood and looked down at him. "No, you're not Kai, you're Cole. That Cole that refused to die when I tried to kill him! I'll kill you, too!" Zane cried, tear falling down his cheeks as much as a river could hold. The others joined in to hold him down, placing a stake above his heart. "Zane, don't fight it. Just let it go. Let all of us go." Nya said, gently patting his face free of blood and sweat. "Nya, just please, keep yourself safe. Let Kai help you." Zane cried, latching onto her arm in panic. Kai came up beside him, his face riddled with guilt. "Zane, I can't keep doing this with you. You need to rest in peace. You need to close your eyes and sleep, just sleep. Okay?" Kai asked, Zane shaking his head. "Please, just end me quickly. I just want to tell you that you were one of the only people I cared about. Thank you for being there for me." Zane said as the soldiers plunged the stake deep into Zane's heart. Blood spattered everywhere, on everyone, soaking their faces and clothes. Zane was gone, just a memory. Not even a body lay there for the Royal Line to bury. Not even did any feeling of a presence linger in the air. Zane was gone, Gone, GONE. "Goodbye, Zane. Rest in peace for as long as you sleep." Lilith said, resting her forehead on her arm. NO MORE KILLINGS. NO MORE DEATHS. NO MORE ZANE.

THE END…