Guardian - Chapter One

Chapter One: Awake

I hung there for countless hours, noose about my neck, the strain of the rope taught with my weight. I stared down at the stone floor below me by mere inches and felt so distant from it. Like I should never have stepped foot in this place. I wasn’t welcome here and I was the only one who knew it.
How could I remain in such an unforgiving nightmare?
I refute that. I wish this was a nightmare. One of the many gifts I had lost. How I longed to dream in my sleep. To not feel like I was always adrift in an endless slumber. I knew it was stupid of me. I didn’t require breathing nor sleep but I attempted both. I remained still in this pose for hours or even days, hoping beyond hope my immortality would dry up and the noose would suddenly take hold.
I looked sidelong to the window, the sun just rising. I stared at the purple sky and longed to jump so high I would float into the sun. Surely that would be enough to destroy me. Fire hurt as far as I could tell but I had long since forgotten pain. I was nothing. An empty shell feeding from the essence of other living beings. A leech.
I tore the rope from my neck and landed silently on my feet. I would’ve been a great neighbor if I hadn’t already cleared out the nearest apartments with my hissing and growling in frustration. My personality, my soul, was split. One half my human remains, like how to speak and use daily items. But the other more powerful half, the vampire in me, kept me more animalistic. If I wanted something I got it. If I needed something, I had it before I knew it was necessary.
Thankfully few ever came to me of their own will. Despite being beautiful I knew I projected an aura to stay away. And I was glad of it. Humans, as my food, not as people, held no interest to me as I had seen generations come and go. However, I had seen great strides in humanity in the last century and recognize them as the ruling class. Just not mine.
I left them to themselves and they left me alone in kind. I hadn’t spoken a word in over seven months and I had no intention of breaking it. But life as it seems, enjoys all too much breaking a man, or former man, to his limits.
At that moment, a chill wind blew down an alley and through my nostrils flared a cold, dark scent. The wavering smell of death lingering. A vampire. I knew it; there was no other smell like it. Another creature of the night with the prowess and knowledge of what I was. I stopped and looked down the alley.
It was empty, the usual brick walls on each side with the assortment of trash cans, a dumpster covered in graffiti, random detritus and newspapers. I breathed in more deeply. The scent was gone. I’d lost it so soon, maybe it was never there. My imagination after so many years was more powerful than any human brain on subject of their liking. One of the perks of being alive for hundreds of years I supposed.
I shrugged and walked down the sidewalk ahead of me. It was only a short trip to the supermarket where I would find some food. Maybe a nice worker or full course meal of a couple. Anything would suffice. Anything but a—
“Hello, mister.” A young child said, not even old enough to have lost all its teeth. He had shaggy brown hair flowing this way and that, and very pale skin. He looked sick. I looked down on him and tried to read his expression. His soft features seemed frozen, too angular. His eyes were very light with a dark ring around the iris and pupil. His lips were thin and translucent, no red in his cheeks.
It was then I saw his expression, scared, no, frightened. But brave. He was trying to show no fear yet ask for help in the same moment. I held humans with little interest other than my meals. They still fought wars despite all the evolution, and had grown no stronger physically nor mentally. All in all, humans were a very slow developing species. Slow learning and taking long to learn from mistakes. But this boy, he had something within I could not see, but understood.
He stared up at me, unafraid, questioning. His curious eyes stared into mine with a burning for something. But what? He opened his mouth again to speak.
“Mister?”
I stared at him a few seconds longer then cleared my throat, trying to remember the words of this language.
“Yes?”
“I was wondering. Well, I uh. I need some help.”
I contemplated the request I knew was coming and answered almost immediately.
“That is something for your parents to do. Are they here?” I looked past him feigning a search.
He looked side to side and dropped his gaze.
“No. They’re not anywhere anymore.”
“I see. Then, young orphan,” He winced at the name, “what is it you require from me?”
“I know what you are.” He said shortly, eyes boring into my chest. He was no more than four feet tall yet here he spoke openly to me, of nearly twice his size and dangerous, with no one to protect him. I was no more stunned by his words than by his actions.
“And what is that?”
“A Vampire.”
I smiled amusedly and patted him on the head. It was cold. I stepped back and looked into his face another time.
“As are you.”
He nodded.
“My mother and father both were, and when they had me, they left me in the church orphanage. That’s where they found me.”
He frowned and clenched a tiny fist I knew could crush steel.
“Who? Who found you?”
He looked up at me slowly, eyes meeting my piercing gaze steadily.
“The Hunters.”
I raised an eyebrow and implored further of the boy.
“The ones they called ‘Bears of the Cross.’”
I froze like a statue and looked down on him. Anyone on the street would have thought I really was a statue with my pale unmoving body as hard as diamond.
“Bearers of the Cross, you mean.” I contemplated this and noted it for later. “What do you mean they found you?”
“They took me from the orphanage, and put me in a car. They strapped all these things on my arms and legs, but I broke out of them. They said something about me being fresh and young. But I was too scared to hear more. I kicked and screamed and fought but they pulled out a gun and told me to keep quiet. I did.”
“Young man, do you not understand we are impervious to such things?”
“No. But they stopped anyway, brought me back and left me alone.”
Why would they bring him back? The Bearers of the Cross were an old league of vampire hunters, created by Van Helsing himself to destroy what his great grandfather had become and created. But then, we were both in numbers, great armies colliding in flashes of thunder and fire. Terrible weapons and powers were found within us all to further the other’s demise. But eventually, it was for naught. Too many were lost to the other, and after a while the collateral damage was too much. And the armies dissipated into the night and began only fending for themselves, protecting individual towns and the like. But I had not seen them in numerous decades.
“Young man,” I began but he stopped me.
“My name is Angel.”
“Angel,” I continued. “How is it you have come to find me?”
“I smelled you. I have never smelled something as similar as them. I thought maybe you were one of them come to find me. So I followed you.”
The boy is strong, but not strong enough. They will find him and destroy him like the spawn we are. I would not get involved. This was not my fight and not my time. My time was long ago just after my birthday..
“I’m sorry, Angel. But I would be of no assistance to you. I know not of their plans nor their desires and I wish not to become a target. Forgive me.”I stepped past him mercilessly and continued, not looking back to see him standing exactly where I knew he would be. I would leave, forget all about him, and return to my self-loathing days of suicide attempts and murder.
Yet, I could not shake from my mind’s eye, his face. His fallen angel’s face like the tears of a newborn, tore through me like nothing I had ever felt. His torn expression was excruciating and burned in me like the hellfire I was doomed to remain in.
I turned around to look where I knew he would be, but nothing remained, only a small impression the size of two small shoes in the sidewalk. His scent was gone, the smell already fading from mind, and I was free again. But was this really what I wanted?
My trip to the store went by slowly, gazing blindly at row after row of frozen meals and other foods I had forgotten the names of. I watched them pass as I followed my prey outside: a rather fat man who had I seen stealing. Once in the parking lot, I swept him up, too quickly for the cameras or anyone to see, and broke him upon the roof. My hunger appeased, I began the walk home, my mind in another world remembering a better time.
But each time I pressed my brain for more information, it instead presented the screenshots of Angel’s despair; testament of my soulless demeanor. Every moment I saw the boy’s young eyes staring back at me, I felt what little human left in me cry out. But that part of me was easily subdued to just a buzzing in the back of my mind.
It’s not as if I really had a choice in the matter. He was already in too deep, I would have sunk too if I had dived in after him. So I let him drown..
I stopped and stared up into the sky, hearing the inaudible drone of the onslaught fast approaching. I lingered there a moment longer, waiting. Then just as my patience was waning, the rain began to fall.
It thrummed against everything like the very world itself was shaking; the little pools its beading sweat from the effort. The sky became the same gray as my skin beneath it, and cried for our loss, shedding tears for the next four days. I remained outside to mourn as well. To mourn the loss of the young one I had condemned to die. I would have wept with the world if I had the ability. My tangible remorse coated my tongue in a bitter taste like ash. A reminder of what I would be and probably already was on the inside.
I hung in silence, starting over my vow, and listened to the thunder collide outside like the very heavens were falling. Maybe now I’ll actually get to see them.