Chapter 15: Memories
It was night, he was being held prisoner by a clan of vampires, one of whose power was blocking his own, but he wasn't afraid. He knew his family would come for him, he knew this vampire couldn't stay by his side forever to block him. He had to be patient. They ran, carrying him fist and ankle bound to a long branch, for hours, until they came through a thick forest and into a clearing. There were other men in this clearing, he could feel them, a dozen or so. As soon as they emerged from the trees, Jasper was surrounded by heat. Sheaves of fire flew around him, striking at the vampires who had abducted him. With fire the only way to destroy a vampire forever, fear took possession of him, even though he was never touched by the flames. He didn't know who the attackers were, but his instinct was to flee. But no matter how hard he pulled on the ropes, they wouldn't give way; he didn't understand, no rope could resist the vampiric force. He decided to throw a wave of terror around him, hoping to scare the strangers away. Strange noises sounded, then a laugh, a laugh that filled the clearing, then his head. The laugh resonating inside him terrified him, but not as much as when it turned into hissing. It was as if a drill was working its way through his head, leaving behind a pain more intense than that of his transformation and his ability to think upside down. The online vampire roared in pain and took control of his body, which was shaking with spasms. He arched his back to the point of breaking several bones, but was unable to detach himself or stop the pain. After what seemed like an eternity, even though he knew it had only lasted twelve minutes and thirty-five seconds, the hissing faded and the ropes holding him in place loosened. He tried to stand up, but his whole body was shaking, and he only managed to get to his knees. His gaze swept over the ashes of his fellows on the ground, the hooded forms surrounding him, the silhouette of the man pointing a piece of wood in his direction, that of a giant snake behind him, before following the movement of the flames ravaging the castle in front of him, up to the sky. It was black and cloud-laden, but lit up by a skull and crossbones of green light through which a snake passed. A shiver ran through his body, his intuition screaming at him not to stay near these men. He sent them a wave of despair, stood up and ran. He thought he'd escaped, but a cadaverous laugh echoed in his head and the hissing started up again.
The pain was so great that he fell.
It was so great that he prayed to die.
It was so great that his vampire considered throwing himself into the flames.
It was so great that he lost all sense of his surroundings and didn't realize it until it stopped.
It took him a good minute to regain contact with his surroundings and realize that the nightmare had only just begun. He was in a cell with a paved floor and no windows. Three stone walls surrounded him, and a grid of rusty old bars which, despite their rustic appearance, resisted all his attempts to break them. Weeks went by during which he thought he was going mad: he saw no one, had nothing to eat, nothing to do, felt no presence, until the snakes resounded again in his head, accompanied by pain and followed by an intrusion into his cell. Each time he regained control, a body drained of blood lay at his feet, and he himself was covered in red. He sensed that the man he was once, was finding it increasingly difficult to return to the surface, and that his vampire was gaining power over him. He also knew it was a survival reaction.
This routine continued for several months until the snakes' hissing changed. Neither Jasper nor the Major, his vampire, tried to resist the pain created by their intrusion; it was more tolerable if he didn't fight it, but this time there was no pain when they arrived. He let them enter his head, hoping it would be short, but nothing came except the sensation that they were entering even further into his brain. It was only when he realized that ideas that weren't his were taking hold that he tried to oppose them, without succeeding. The snakes seemed to control his mind and body, and it was as if they were building a nest inside his head, a nest surrounded by walls. They never left.
Never.
From that day on, hooded men dragged him out of his cell, and no matter how much he wanted to kill them, to flee, the hissing sound rose in his head and he followed them without protest. He was horrified when he realized that the snakes were forcing him to obey their orders, but it was even worse when they led him onto what seemed to him to be a battlefield. As soon as his eyes fell on the opposing camp, an irrepressible desire to annihilate all those not covered in black cloak arose within him, fueled by the hissing. It was like a hurricane that ravaged his heart and came out in the form of a wave of despair that drowned the opposing camp, giving his captors a clear advantage. The battle unfolded in a fog of hatred for Jasper, who was unable to regain control over his vampire or his actions; he was a spectator and his vision was blurred.
The wall, the snakes, the key to his reactions was hidden there. The master legilimens approached, circled around, observed, until he spotted a small crack in the wall. He put his hand on the crack and was pushed back by a green cloud in the shape of a skull and crossbones. Snakes emerged from the wall and followed the smoke burning the intruder, chasing him again and again, biting him every chance they got. Intense pain surrounded Kangae and mingled within him, making him taste the suffering he had caused. It only intensified, soon accompanied by the inhuman cries of a tortured soul and deep despair. The soul wanted both to die and to live, more than anything else, it wanted the pain to end and the master to leave. He had no choice, and the connection was cut off abruptly. He looked around and discovered a scene that made him shudder with fear and guilt.