The Beginning of the End



It seemed all too fortunate that there was a college library, open twenty-four hours, just a few minutes away from the hotel Brian, Howie, and Kevin were staying at. Though they lacked college ID to gain admittance to the library, the clerk recognized them. She was a fan. And it was her pleasure to let them in.

Each man went in search of books about vampires. They didn’t have very long. They knew that the sun remained in the sky for only 13 hours, give or take. And they had less than that to learn as much as they could about Gray and her kind, and to find a way to save their best friends.

They had been searching for almost two hours when Kevin found exactly what they had been looking for. He ran through the aisles of the library and once he found his two companions, they all sat down and read his findings together.

“This books seems to have everything in it. This guy, Dr. Rolfe Hammel, was some sort of supernatural genius. There are like ten books under his name, all on werewolves and the undead and shit. And then there are tons of books written about him by other guys too. He seems legit. And look here... he has quite a few chapters on how to kill vampires.” Kevin spoke hurriedly, knowing they hadn’t time to casually chat. And then, all at once, they looked at the book and absorbed its information.

“Vampires are immortal beings. Only the rays of the sun and fire can kill them. And even then, they must remain in the fire or sunlight until completely consumed. However, they are as resourceful as they are difficult to kill. Once consumed, their ashes must be scattered. If their ashes are left alone, allowing thousands of years to pass, that vampire may very well grow to become whole again.

It is quite unheard of for mortals to slay a youthful vampire. And most vampires are youthful and strong. They possess strength and vigilance and power unlike any other creature. The hardest blow to the head of a vampire would only anger him. The swiftest bullet to the heart of a vampire would only amuse him. The legendary stake through the heart of a vampire has no real effect. The only way for a mortal to stop a vampire in his tracks is to decapitate him. Even then, the mortal must quickly deliver both the head and the body into the flames or the sun’s ruthless light. Not many mortals have the strength or the speed to do such a deed. Only the strong and brave of heart would dare face a vampire with intent on killing him. Vampires are bringers of death, so imagine trying to bring death to one who lives on death. ‘Tis not a simple task.”

They all looked up at each other. And they were all afraid. They knew they were dealing with vampires. But they had no idea what they were putting themselves into. It was a suicide mission. They weren’t even sure if they’d make it out alive. They were no heroes. They weren’t all that brave either. They were just three normal men who wanted to help their friends. None of them felt up to beheading vampires. Shedding blood was the farthest thing from their minds. They were afraid. Afraid of what might await them in Arius house. Afraid that if they did go through with it, decapitation wouldn’t work. Afraid that they would be ambushed. Killed. Or even worse, made into vampires and made to forget all those that they loved as Nick and AJ were made to forget.

They all looked at each other. And they were all afraid. And they knew what they had to do. One of them had to stand up and commit to saving AJ and Nick before the sun set. And the sun was now rising.

“I’ll do it,” Brian said, standing up and pounding his fist on the book.

“No, you can’t. I should be the one to do it. You both have wives to think about,” Howie chimed in. But Kevin wouldn’t hear of it.

“No, I should. No offense to either of you, but we all know that I’m the strongest of the three. I should be the one,” Kevin interjected.

“It doesn’t matter who is strongest. They will all be sleeping when we break in. Kevin, you’ll have to restrain whoever it is they have guarding them. And Howie, once he’s restrained, you’ll have to stand guard. Kevin and I will find where they sleep. And we’ll just have to kill whoever stands in our way. Like I said, they’ll be sleep. And they won’t even know we’re there until they feel the blade.”

Brian seemed the most determined, and they knew that once Brian set his heart on something, he didn’t back down. They went along with his plan. But in order to truly be successful, they had to check out Dr. Hammel’s book and read more about the lifestyles of the vampires. There was no room for error.

~*~*~*~*~*~


“What do you mean this is my baby blanket?” Nick thought Gray was going mad. Foolishness. That’s what it had to be.

“There are things about me I’ve never told you. I can see things. In my dreams. I can see things of the past. I can see the future. And I can see images of happenings right here and now. Sometimes I understand them. Sometimes I don’t. It began when I was given the Dark Trick. Arius tells me that it’s something rare that I possess. Not all vampires have this ability. Sometimes it’s a blessing, and other times it’s a curse. I don’t see everything. But what I do see, I always try to decipher it. I always try to find out why it came to me. And there was one vision that I deciphered completely. We were in London. And I was sleeping. And I heard screaming. This awful screaming. And it reminded me of how I screamed the night I was in labor with my baby. And I knew what it was. It was a woman screaming. She was having a baby as well. I opened my eyes and I saw her. Even though I was in my coffin, I saw her as plainly as if I were standing by her side. She was in such pain, and I wanted to help her. But I knew that I couldn’t. I knew that it was only another one of my visions. And I hated it. I wanted it to end. i tried closing my eyes, but she just kept screaming. I screamed back, but no sound escaped my lips. It was driving me mad. It kept reminding me of my baby. And I hated it. I hated it! I tried to call for Arius with my mind, but the screaming wouldn’t allow me to concentrate. I couldn’t stop it! I couldn’t wake up!

“And then she stopped. And the baby was born. The sight of that child calmed me. And I wanted to hold him. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to do all that I couldn’t do to my baby. They cleaned him, and they examined him, and then they gave him to her. I wanted to touch him but I knew it was impossible. He smiled at me, though no one else in the room felt my presence, he knew I was there. And he smiled. I didn’t understand why I was seeing this. And part of me wished I hadn’t. But I did know one thing. It wasn’t just some random dream or vision. This child has some real significance. And I had to find out what it was.

“The vision began to grow dark. And then I awoke. I was suffocating. I pushed open my coffin and Arius was standing there. He held me. And he kissed me. And he told me that he had heard me screaming for at least an hour. I asked him why he hadn’t save me. I wanted to know why he didn’t wake me up. And he told me that he learned a long time ago that while I was having a dream, nothing could awaken me.

“I told him about what I’d seen. And he then asked me if I could make anything of it. And all I could think to say was ‘Jamestown, New York’.”

Nick stepped back. Her words had pierced him like a razor sharp dagger, right through the solid sternum of his chest. He was still confused. Why he she imagined his birth? What was the purpose? He wanted answers, and she knew it. So she continued.

“I pleaded with Arius to move our coven to New York so that I may search for the child and find out why I saw him. And with much coaxing, he took us there. And I searched for him. But I was unsuccessful. Every child resembled him. Yet none gave me the feeling that I’d found him. Until one night, in early February, I had another dream. And I saw the mother. She was holding him in her arms. And he was cooing. She was singing him to sleep. I saw all of this through the window. I was standing outside peering in. And the very next night I found this place. And I waited until everyone inside was fast asleep.

“I had no desire to feed. I had done that before I came. All I wanted was to touch the child. And hopefully all the mystery surrounding the baby would fade and I would understand who he was and what he meant. Once inside, I found the child, and I held him, and I kissed him. He awoke, and I grew frightened. But he didn’t cry. He merely looked at me. And in that sudden moment, I was hit with another vision. The first I’d ever had while I was awake and conscious.

“I was at home again. In New Orleans. On the Toussaint plantation. But it was older. In years after Arius took me away from it. My mother no longer lived. Neither did Jean’s parents. But he dwelled there. With Caroline. And they’re two daughters. What I never knew was that Caroline had bore Jean a son. Very late in their age. And she died from the labor. I never knew of him because Jean took his son and left New Orleans after Caroline died. The house was left to his daughters and their husbands, and he never returned. I then saw years and years of Jean’s lineage. And it finally ended in that home. With you. I should have known. Your father carries Jean’s physical traits just as you do. Jean was your Great-great-great-great-grandfather. And when I discovered this, I knew why I had envisioned your birth. You belonged with me. I wanted to take you right then and there. And raise you. And love you as my own. And when the time was right, I would give you the dark gift. And nothing would tear us apart. I knew then that Jean had taken his son away from New Orleans for a reason. He may not have known it himself. But when he took his son away, he unknowingly ensured that his spirit and his love would return to me. Through you. And because of all this, I wanted so badly to take you, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. My child was taken away from me by death. And I, a form of death, would not take the child away from a another mother.

“But I vowed to find you again. And so I stole your baby blanket and kept it with me. It still holds your smell. Your tears. And that is how I knew who you were when I saw you in the club that night. What I hadn’t expected was that you’d look exactly like Jean did. I hadn’t expected that you’d speak the same way and move the same way and think the same way. And I fell in love with you in that same moment that I laid my eyes upon you. After hundreds of years of searching, you were standing there, right in front of me. And for the first time in my vampiric existence, I felt whole.”

Nick was astonished. She had known about him from the day of his birth. And now he was finding out that he was a descendent of Jean, her first love. Now he understood the resemblance. And now he understood why they felt so much for each other without even knowing each other well. But what he didn’t understand was why he could still feel anger emanating from her toward him!

“If I make you feel whole, then why do you resent me? I can feel it. I can feel your anger filling this room. What have I done wrong?” Gray began to cry again, but this time she didn’t wipe her tears away. She just allowed them to stain her face and ultimately the floor.

“Jean said once that he loved me more than anything in the world. And I believed him. But the second his mother asked him to marry Caroline, he did so. If my mother had asked this of me, I would have denied her. My love for Jean was that strong. But instead, he chose his mother’s wishes over his love for me. And it broke my heart into a million pieces. But you, you put those pieces back together. And you’ve told me both in words and in silence that you loved me, more than anything. But the second your friends come near, you think otherwise. You feel more for them than you do for me. Just moments ago when Arius informed us of our move to the east, you thought of them. You would rather stay here with them than travel the world with me. And it seems Arius was right about everything. I have been foolish. I thought you’d be different. But in being something close to the reincarnation of Jean, I should have known you’d do as he did and break my heart.” She turned away from him now and cursed him.

“That’s not true. I want to be with you and only you. My friends were from my past. You’re all that matters to me now.” He tried to comfort her, but she picked up a vase, probably as old as she, and heaved it across the room with so much force that it shattered into pieces so small they could have been mistaken for pebbles.

“No!” she cried, “I hear your thoughts, Nickolas. And I wish I did not but I do. You don’t love me, you fear me. And that’s not what I want this to be. That’s now how I want us to be. I know that you aren’t perfect, and I don’t expect you to be. But when you say that you love me, I wish you would be a man and fucking mean it!” They were both shocked by her choice of words. Not by the fact that she used crude modern profanity, but that she called him a man. Which he was not. But the fact of the matter was, he had not yet given up his mortality. His human nature was still a large part of him. And they both knew it.

“Leave me, Nickolas,” she whispered. And he did as he was told. And as he walked down the corridor, he saw the others lined up against the wall, all staring at him. He wanted to talk to AJ in private, and he told him so silently, but AJ ignored him. It was as if the dark blood changed him. He was one of them now. And he was just as angry with Nick as everyone else was. They gave him scornful looks. As if they all wanted to throw him into the approaching sun.

Nick knew that he was not welcome in Gray’s coffin, where he had grown accustomed to sleeping. So he’d have to choose a random one to rest in. One that he’d rested in before. The first time he came to that house. It was just a shame that he’d have to sleep alone. He wasn’t used to that. He was used to feeling Gray’s small body wrapped around his. Her heart beating against his. He loved her so much, he didn’t understand why she could see that. Then again, she was right. He did fear her. Many times he wanted to ask her to see Brian and the others and to explain what had happened, but he held back in fear that she’d lash out at him. But now, his view of her was different now. She was far more powerful than he. She could snap him in two if she wanted. And considering how angry she was, he was surprised that she merely broke a vase. She wasn’t violent at all. In fact, he had done more damage to her than she ever could have done to him. And it hurt him to discover this.

The sun was rising, and he felt it. The warmth in the air. The whistling of the birds. Though there were no windows, he still feared that if he didn’t lie down into the coffin, the sun would find some way to get into the cellar and burn him. Torture him for how badly he caused Gray to feel. He was just about to close himself in when he felt that something was out of place. He checked his person, the coffin, and the room... and everything seemed fine. Still, he felt like something was wrong. Like something horribly wrong had happened. Or was about to happen...

~*~*~*~*~*~


It was 10 a.m. and all three men were ready to take on Arius and his family. They had spent the whole night reading, the early part of the morning praying, and the last hour purchasing everything they would need to protect themselves and carry out their plan. Nothing stood in their way now. And as they kneeled in the bushes near Arius’ home, they prayed once more before beginning their mission.

The front of the house was clear. No on in sight. And if they didn’t know any better, they’d have thought the house was vacant and abandoned. Kevin threw their duffel bags over the gate and then gave Brian and Howie boosts. Being the tallest, he managed to climb over on his own and together they crept over to a side entrance. It was chained from the outside. But they came prepared. Howie took out of his bag a large wire cutter, large and sharp enough to cut through the chains. And they did. As Howie readied himself to open the door, Kevin and Brian readied themselves to swing at whatever flew out at them. Brian with his meat cleaver, which he’d purchased from the kitchen department of Target. And Kevin with his axe, which he had purchased from Home Depot the minute it opened for business. To someone passing by, they probably looked like three buffoons, standing in front of the door, poised to attack. But there was no one watching. And even if there were, they wouldn’t understand just why those buffoons had to act in such a manner.

Howie swung the door open and there was no one. It was the door to the kitchen. And by the looks of it, the kitchen hadn’t been in use in years. No pots. No pans. Nothing. Just a kitchen. It was clean, though. One thing they remembered reading in the book was that the majority of vampires loved cleanliness. They tiptoed through the kitchen and into the dining room. It was then that they heard footsteps. Someone was on to them. Someone was searching the house. The chosen mortal. Though the sun was bright outside, the house was dark. Because of their dark clothing, they quickly found hiding places and ducked down low.

To their surprise, the chosen mortal was a woman. She was tall, rather muscular, and beautiful despite her tough frame. She slowly entered the dining room and looked around. It was a grand room, and she wanted to make sure she looked all around it before checking somewhere else. She began to speak.

“I’ve been looking for you for weeks now. And I’m tired of it. Now come out, you filthy cat, or else you’re dead when I find you.” She was referring to an unwelcome cat. A stray. She searched under the table. In the cabinets. Behind the door. And just when she was about to look behind the drapes, Kevin jumped out and swung his duffel bag at her head. Filled with heavy tools and the vampire book, it was enough weight to give her a concussion and give them ample time to tie her up.

She came to just when they had secured her ankles to the legs of the chair. She tried to free herself, but she was tied too tightly. And she tried to call for her masters to help her, but the gag silenced her.

“We’re here to find Nick and AJ. Do you know where they are?” She only stared at Brian as he asked her these things. She would die before she helped them.

“Nickolas and Alexander are in this house. Do you know where?” Kevin pressed, but she did nothing. They should have known better. She was chosen because of her loyalty. She was apart of the family even though she wasn’t a vampire. The bite marks on her neck and wrists proved that.

“Are you sure you’re up to staying with her alone?” Brian asked Howie. He only nodded and pulled out his knife. They picked her chair up and put her into a closet. Howie went in with here, keeping the closet door cracked so as to see and hear any commotion should it occur. He then wished his friends good luck as they began to search the house.

They were just about to ascend the stairs when Kevin spotted the dark corridor. He nudged Brian, and they both agreed to try looking down there before anything else. Weapons in hand, they carefully traveled the long corridor until they reached a door. Once opened, they saw the stone stairs that went down into the cellar. It was lit only by fire. Torches mounted on the walls. And they knew that they had found the right place. The deeper the went, the colder it got. And then they saw them. The coffins. The same coffins Nick had first seen when he came down into the cellar.

“It’s like a dungeon in here. This is unreal,” Kevin whispered. And he walked over to the first coffin. Brian stood behind him. They knew what they had to do. It was now or never. Brian placed his hands on the lid and silently lifted it open. And just as Kevin was about to slice through the neck of whatever vampire he found there, he saw that it was empty.

They went to the next and did the same. It, too, was empty. The decided not to waste time opening each. They should keep searching. Little did they know that the very last coffin in the row contained their friend, Nick.

They found two other corridors. One was well lit and the other pitch black. Naturally they chose the one well lit. And they discovered that it branched off into separate little rooms. Tombs. Each one housing a different coffin. There were six rooms. Three had just one coffin each. One held three coffins. And the last two rooms looked like leisure rooms. There were chairs. Paintings. Books. It was just as macabre as it was beautiful. They kept looking into each room, wondering which to start with. So they decided to start with the last. One of the rooms with just one coffin. A large coffin it was. Black. And it was sitting on a huge stone slab to elevate it, as were all of the other coffins. There was a broken vase on the floor. A chest. A mirror. Candles. A wardrobe. Kevin enquired to look inside and he found one of his jackets. One that he’d let Nick borrow. They had found Nick’s coffin!

Brian quickly lifted the lid, but he found that Nick was not there. Both their hearts stopped. It was Gray. In all her beauty. Just as deadly as ever. She slept silently. She looked dead. As she was, in some ways. She didn’t breathe. No life. Just rest. And still, so beautiful.

“She’s the one that started it all,” Brian whispered. Kevin put his hand over Brian’s mouth to quite him down. But Brian wouldn’t quiet down. The sight of her made him so angry he could scream, and he didn’t care who would wake up from it.

“Let’s just keep looking until we find Nick and AJ...” Kevin mouthed, constantly looking out into the corridor making sure all was silent.

“Fine, keep looking. I’m going to stay right here and watch her... just in case she wakes up.” Brian whispered. But he had other intentions. Kevin went back through the corridor and looked through all of the coffins that were in the row. He was too afraid to search the coffins in the individual rooms by himself. So he figured he’d look in the ones he assumed were empty just to be sure.

He came to the last one, and to his surprise, there slept Nick. He, too, looked dead. He shook Nick and by merely touching him, Nick’s eyes opened wide and he began to strangle Kevin. There was nothing in Dr. Hammel’s book about how much rage a vampire feels when his sleep has been interrupted. But once Nick saw that it was Kevin who shook him, he loosened his grip. But Kevin was still in shock, just the sight of his friend’s fangs and fiery eyes nearly caused him to forget himself.

“Why are you here? You’ll be killed!” Nick exclaimed. Kevin could only think to put his fingers to his lips and try to keep Nick quiet. The last thing he wanted was to wake someone like Arius, and meet his death.

Nick could smell Brian nearby. He grabbed Kevin’s arm and followed Brian’s smell. And the scent led him to Gray’s tomb. And what he saw then could have killed him had it been that easy for him to die.

Brian was standing over Gray’s still body, cleaver in the air, ready to behead Nick’s true love. Nick cried out, startling Brian, but it was too late. The cleaver had dropped. Blood was shed. And the entire house was filled with the deafening tone of a vampire screaming in agony.

Upstairs, in the closet, Howie covered his ears and almost began to cry. The scream, so painful, had the ability to cause anyone who heard it despair. The chosen mortal, drowning in her own tears, knew that her mistress was in trouble. And she only hoped that Arius would correct all that had gone wrong.

Maia Sprung up from her coffin only to find Arius racing to his most precious daughter’s aide. She did the same, smelling mortal blood very near, knowing it was not Diana’s... the chosen one. It was an intruder. More than one. Two. Maybe three. And with the thought that common mortals dare contaminate their home, she grew angry and fierce. As any mother would knowing her child has been harmed. She flew to Gray’s aide as well, but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to see.

Inside Gray and Nick’s small tomb, Arius was choking Brian. Digging his fingernails into Brian's flesh. Nearly snapping Brian’s neck. Screaming in Brian’s face, “Why are you here?!?!” over and over again. Still, Gray screamed. And Nick held her. She had not been beheaded. Luckily Nick’s objection rattled Brian just enough to cause him to miss Gray’s neck and sink the blade through her ribs and into her heart. Her blood filled the coffin. And her eyes filled with blood tears. And Nick took her away from everything, removing the blade and covering her deep wound.

He had to tear the clothes from his back to cover it completely. And still blood ran from it, it ran a river. And she cried. She tried to call his name, but she had lost so much blood that she couldn’t speak. His instincts told him to put her into a coffin and to let her heal. It might take weeks. Even months. But she was strong, and she could do it. Maia stood over her and silently told Nick to make things up to her. He marched into the tomb and found Arius seconds away from breaking Brian’s spine in two. Kevin cowered in the corner, mumbling, crying, in shock and unable to think clearly. AJ, Anne, Daniella, Michael, and Jin all circled around Arius. Yelling at Brian. Feeling their sister’s pain and crying. Cursing him. Clawing at him. Nick had had enough.

“Stop!” he screamed. And Arius dropped Brian to the floor. As soon as his limp body hit the stone, he fell unconscious. Arius slowly approached Nick.

“You! You should be the one we punish! You should have made them stay away when you had the chance. If not that, then you should have killed them. Gray wanted them dead the second they found out about us, but she restrained herself because she knew that you still cared for them. And look what has happened! I will spare their lives. Because they are ignorant, I will spare them. But you, you I will not spare.” He turned to his other children. “I want you all to help Maia care for Gray. And when she is bandaged and at rest, I want you to rest. When the night falls, we will leave for Spain. As for you... you get rid of these mortals and you pray that you never come across this coven again. You are no longer a member of this family. No longer my son. And no longer will you be permitted to see, touch, talk to, or think about Gray!!!!”

~*~*~*~*~*~


Arius’ words echoed in Nick’s temples. He listened as they carried Gray, sealed in a coffin, down the other corridor to Arius and Maia’s chamber. One that could lock. And one with a bolt so heavy, no mortal could lift it alone. They all sealed themselves inside and waited for the sun to die. And even then, Nick could hear Gray’s cries. He sat in their tomb, soaked in her rich blood, and listened to her cries. He heard them talking to each other. Talking to her. Encouraging her to stay strong. Loving her. Kissing her. Bandaging her wound and trying to help her to rest. That was the only way for her to heal. She needed to go to sleep. Into a deep sleep. Much deeper than the sleep every vampire undergoes during the day. A sleep that could very well last for years.

When she finally stopped crying, Nick could hear the other vampires’ thoughts. Thoughts they wanted him to hear. Threats. They told him that if he wanted to live, he should leave with his friends and never return to them. Even AJ. He, too, had turned his back on Nick.

Nick quickly picked up Brian and started for the stairs. Kevin was already outside with Howie. He had calmed down hours before and was eager to remove himself from the house. Nick took the keys to one of the several cars there and put Brian in the back, intent on taking him to the hospital. It was only seven o’clock in the evening. The sky was still lit up. But the sun was fading. And the light didn’t burn. Nick ran back into the house to free Diana. She was still in tears. And though she loved Gray more than she loved Nick, she felt sorry for him. They parted without words, and Nick wasted no time in getting to the car to drive his friends to the hospital.

Kevin remained silent. Staring off blankly. Howie resorted to silence as well, too afraid to raise questions. Feeling like a failure for staying upstairs when he heard all the screaming. Brian was breathing. He was going to live. But the bruises around his neck, and the lacerations over his entire body said otherwise. Nick didn’t even want to image what the doctors and nurses would think once they laid eyes on Brian. Not to mention he was covered his Gray’s blood. It smelled so sweet. And it hurt him so to think of her in such pain, trying to heal, hurting both physically and emotionally. Her heart literally broken.

He felt as though he should have been there to protect her. He should have slept by her coffin. No light would have got in. Brian and Kevin opened the door and no light got in. If they had seen him lying by her coffin, maybe they would have left her alone. Maybe he could have made them leave. Maybe then his love for her would be made evident. But all was lost now. She was lost to him. He’d never again kiss her lips. Hold her in his arms. Pierce her sweet skin and drink of her. She had waited for him since the day of his birth, and searched for him even longer. And he was too much of a man and not enough of a vampire to repay all the love that she had shown him.

After leaving his friends at the hospital, then calling Kristen and Leighanne, he drove to the coast. And he stood at the dock. And he watched as Arius’ small ship sailed off. In his mind, he saw Gray standing by the rail, staring at him. And he wondered if she still loved him, even in her sleep. But she wasn’t really standing there. No one was. They were all below deck, standing over her, and cursing him. And he knew it. He began to think things over. And he hoped that whatever state Gray was in, his thoughts would reach her ears.

I’ve failed you, my love.

And because of this, I wish to die.



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