“I can taste the warrior in you,” he intensely stated.
“AGGGHHHH…for fuck’s sake…” Andrew said, disgusted. He began coughing.
He shifted in and out of consciousness and mildly began to hallucinate. Master stared at Andrew and smiled in approval. His smile was bright and his teeth were as white as the snow falling upon them. His lips were moist from the thought of tasting the blood of a fearless soldier.
The cross between the worlds of dying and reality was falling upon Andrew and confusion began to kick in. He gazed at Master trying desperately to make sense of the situation. He compellingly reached for his tan hand and held on tightly. His body was now cold, and he could no longer feel any movement in his legs. Paralysis had set on from the waist down. Andrew could no longer feel the burning sensation of his opened wound or the dryness of his parched throat. His lips cracked with every short breath he took to keep himself alive. He was inches away from going into shock; however, he still managed to fight through the turmoil in his body to speak.
Andrew peered at Master forcefully with his pale blue eyes and willed his mental state to remain in reality and not illusions.
“Did the Gods send you to take me to the darkness? Or are you here to deliver me from my sins and listen to my confession?” he asked quietly.
Master looked up into the deep blue snowy sky then focused his attention back on the dying Andrew.
“I’m afraid I got here before the Gods did, my good man. I’m here to offer you more than they ever could. I’m here to offer you time and things that no king could grant you but what every ruler wants―power and eternity. All you have to do is fight by my side and state your loyalty to me, and I will deliver you from your pain. But, if you like to confess before I end your human life, my ears are open.”
Andrew held on to his stomach and breathed heavily. “Confessions, I have plenty,” he whispered through gritted teeth. “I confess to adultery. I love my wife Margarete; but when a man has the opportunity to lay with Queen Victoria, he does it.
“Well, my friend, we have something in common. I’ve also had the Queen, and there is nothing sweeter than the blood of royalty.” Master smiled, the thought of the sexual encounter, of pleasing and sucking Queen Victoria, excited him. It produced enough adrenaline to force his fangs to stretch down to his lower lip.
Andrew stared in shock, never seeing anything like that.
“You’re the devil!” he yelled frightened for the first time in his life.
“The devil, oh no. Not at all, I am what they call a blood-thirsty walker, my friend.”
“Blood Thirsty?” whispered Andrew, not knowing what that was.
“Yes, the giver of eternal life and a dead being that walks half of the day but mainly at night. Serve me and you will understand it all.”
Andrew took in every word, every syllable, and hung on the idea of being dead yet alive. He wanted to protect his family, especially his young daughter. He didn’t understand what he would become, and he didn’t care; he only wanted to see his family one last time. He grew faint as he made his decision. However, he was sure to be conscious as he muttered his next words. “Young boy, my daughter Elizabeth. I need to protect her.”
“And you will. Just agree to serve me.”
Andrew did not hesitate as he declared his next words holding on to each breath. “I renounce my loyalty to Emperor Franz Joseph I. I, Commander Andrew Johan of the Austrian régime, no longer serve him upon my death. I now serve you…” his voice trailed off as he waited for Master to give his formal name.
“Master Anu Du’Shun,” he confidently stated.
“I now serve you Master Anu Du’Shun from Solferino. I will serve you through life and the afterlife.” Still holding Anu’s hand, Andrew drew Anu closer to touch foreheads, his symbol of a dying warrior pledging loyalty to his next king.
“You will never regret this, my friend,” said Anu with pure gratitude. He leaned in and bit down on Andrew’s neck. Sucking every last bit of human existence he had left. Before the last heartbeat, he made Andrew drink from his wrist, giving him the life of eternal transformation. That was the moment Andrew was turned and stripped of any humanity he had left. He served Master Anu loyally ever since. He was his commander and chief of all the guards, his trusted soldier, and most importantly, his best friend. Anu kept his word to allow Andrew to be there for his family. Andrew protected them as much as he could, but he could not shield them from the human disease that swept across England. Watching the death of his family was the hardest thing he ever had to face. No matter how much death he forced on people or experienced, nothing compared to the death of his wife and children. He lost his beloved daughter Elizabeth to what is now known as syphilis when she was just 24. Andrew felt it was the gods cursing him for making the choice he did to live forever. The death of his daughter changed Andrew. He refused to shower after hugging his daughter one last time. He fought mercilessly during battles for Anu and accumulated the smell of blood, sweat, and tears over the years. He wanted the stench to stay on him to remind him that he was cursed. It was his punishment to himself.
“You should really learn how to give people a try, Keiko. I mean seriously, what does pilot Gregory Jones have that Andrew the Guard doesn’t?” Sammy asked. Before Keiko could speak, Sammy cut her off. “Nothing. For one, Gregory the pilot is human, which makes him boring. He is at the disposal of the Master. The only thing he may have going for him is that he is an extremely handsome black man with great fashion sense; and if the myth is true about his kind, he probably has a big wilkins. I mean, seriously now, he will age and eventually die. You haven’t aged in 100 years and will probably live forever like me.”
Keiko rolled her eyes and shrugged. Sammy was right in many aspects. Gregory is human and would eventually die one day unless he gets turned into some kind of supernatural. He was at the disposal of the Master. He was also extremely irresistible. The thought of the wilkins joke made her grin, even blush a bit. However, she didn’t care about any of that; she knew that Greg was her heart and until her last breath, she was going to continue to love him.
“I understand your concern, but I don’t care. He is a nice guy, and he treats me like a queen. Don’t be jealous,” she remarked.
Sammy laughed and began to get comfortable in his seat. Before he shut his eyes he said, “Your heart, not mine. Mine stopped beating centuries ago.”
Keiko pulled two blankets from under her seat. She laid one across Angel, who remained sleeping and the other over herself. Pilot Gregory Jones announced that the plane was taking off, and within minutes they were up in the air.
Two hours into the flight Angel began to wake up; but before she could open her eyes, she injected with another dose of sedative. Maggie and Jesse were occupied on the upper level with video games and entertainment, and they never attempted to sneak to the main level. After 5 hours and 45 minutes the plane landed on a remote island, an island so small it was undetectable on a map. The weather was nice and warm, and the sun was setting. Even though the dead could walk in the daylight, too much sunlight was not good. It would weaken and fry their senses, making them immobile for weeks at a time; depending on their age, the sun could kill them. Older Vs were able to tolerate sunlight longer than the younger, fresher ones. Sammy was relieved to see the sun was setting and was soon going to be dark. Even though he could tolerate the sun, he couldn’t stand it for too long as it made him delusional. The plane circled above the tiny runway for 30 minutes before coming down for a smooth landing. Once the pilot gave clearance, everyone was free to disembark. The flight attendants escorted Jesse and Maggie out of the rear exit, making sure they would not see Angel. Once on the ground, they were all whisked away in black SUVs. Keiko and Sammy waited patiently inside the plane for the Master to arrive. It didn’t take long before Andrew the Guard rushed up the stairs of the plane to retrieve them.
“You two, the Master is outside, let’s move,” said Andrew hurriedly. The pilots wer
e the first to exit the plane. Gregory took one last look at Keiko and smiled brightly. Keiko smiled back then quickly put on a straight face.
Master Anu was waiting patiently for his guest outside on the runway, a few feet away from the exit stairs of the plane. He was dressed in white linen pants and a short-sleeved white button-down shirt. His shirt highlighted the glow of his hazelnut skin. Anu had a distinct bone structure with clear Native American ancestry. He wore a full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm starting at his shoulder, down to his wrist. The tattoos were of symbols and ancient lettering unknown to modern man. Anu stood 6’0 feet tall, slim, with broad shoulders, a muscular frame, and bright brown eyes. There was only one problem with Anu; he was a young man of just 23 years of age. Even with his beautiful features and build, it wasn’t enough to mask his youth. His face was smooth, without facial hair, and no appearance of advancing old age; his skin was flawless. His eyebrows were aligned perfectly, and his lips were full and wide. Even though Anu looked young, mentally he was mature. He was considered to be ancient. He believed his line of Vs was the first created, although this theory had not been proven. Anu had been alive since before Jesus spread the word of God and before the Romans built their Empire. He traveled the world, lived through millennia of rulers, kings, queens, voodoo priests, dictators, presidents, and prime ministers. He had seen thousands of humans consumed by the plague and other deadly diseases that scientists could not identify. He had seen his own kind hunted like dogs and had also seen them destroy villages and human empires. He had seen supernatural beings other than his own share the earth with him. Seeing other creatures walk in secrecy, as he must, is what sparked his curiosity and hunger. Anu’s interests led to centuries of researching and studying other species. He learned their survival skills, history, their strengths, and their weaknesses, which Anu used to his advantage to conquer the species or make them an offer to align with his army. He relished in knowledge but craved power.
Master Anu stood with his arms crossed―excited and anxious. He had four guards standing behind him, two on each side; and each of them wearing all black. Gregory and his co-pilot approached the Master and both knelt down in unison to greet him. “Master Anu,” the pilots said together.
“I take it all went as planned,” the Master stated in a cool voice.
“Yes, Master,” replied the pilots, still kneeling with bowed heads.
“Excellent!” He snapped his fingers; and before anyone could move, two beautiful women wearing all-black shirts with sheer sleeves, black spandex pants, and thigh-high boots appeared out of thin air and stood next to him.
“Please rise, gentleman,” said the Master.
Gregory and his co-pilot rose and stared at the beautiful women.
“The ladies will take you to your quarters,” he stated.
He turned to the beautiful women. “Please see to it that these men are taken care of and paid for their services, and by paid, I mean with money, ladies. Also, they are not on the menu, Celia.” Anu faced a beautiful woman named Celia and grabbed her chin. “Make sure you do not eat either of them. If that happens again, I will nail you to the cross during the day and watch you fry. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Master Anu,” Celia replied, worried that she may become weak.
“Good! Gentlemen please follow the ladies,” said Anu. He watched as they all climbed into a waiting black SUV and sped off.
Keiko and Sammy were the last to exit the plane. Sammy carried an unconscious Angel over his shoulder. Keiko approached Anu and hugged him tightly. Anu slipped his hand on Keiko’s face and kissed her forehead.
“Father, Master Anu, we bring you The Queen Angel, the Protector of Life.”
“You did an excellent job, my child,” responded Anu. He grinned from ear to ear and walked behind Sammy. He held Angel’s head between his strong hands and looked at her with great triumph.
“Yeeesssss,” he said excitedly. “After searching the world for years, I finally have you,” he commented to an unconscious Angel.
Master Anu walked back around to Sammy and Keiko. “You two did marvelously. I knew I could count on you. Let’s head back to the house; we need to contain her. When she comes around, bring her to my chambers.”
They walked over to a waiting black SUV. Sammy and Keiko placed Angel in the backseat and got in along with Master Anu. The four guards, plus Andrew, took a similar vehicle.
As Keiko climbed in and shut the door, she turned to Anu. “Father, what will happen to the children?” she said, worriedly.
“Don’t worry about them. They will be fine. There is much research to be done on them, especially young Maggie.”
“Father, Can I assist with the little girl?”
“I don’t see why not. You two share similar gifts. It will be good for the child to have some sort of guidance.” Keiko leaned into the leather seat and exhaled with ease.
6
Angel
Angel awoke in a small, brightly-lit room in a bed with soft hotel pillows and a cream-colored, cozy blanket. The room was warm yet comfortable and was equipped with a bookcase, a toilet in the corner, and a sink and vanity mirror attached to the wall. The beige walls matched the sandy-brown rug perfectly. There were no windows from what Angel could see. Her vision was a bit blurry, but she was fighting to focus. She blinked a couple of times and felt a sharp pain slicing into her head. It felt as if someone was bashing her head with a hammer. Agghhhh, a migraine. Where am I? The last thing I remember is leaving work and talking to some strange man with an English accent. Then Everything went black, thought Angel. She raised herself up and blinked a few more times, her vision clearing. The pain in her head was so excruciating, she wanted to scream in agony. Angel glanced around the room holding her head and noticed there was a metal gate locking her inside the room. Wait, what?…she thought.
Angel attempted to get out of bed to inspect the gate, only to collapse and fall straight to the floor. She was crippled. Her legs did not make the slightest effort to hold her up and she nearly face-planted on the rug. She was able to break her fall by instantly extending her arms before she landed. That almost ended really badly, she thought. Angel used her upper body strength to drag herself back and reached for the side panel of the bed. She was able to pull her body off the floor and onto the bed using all her muscles. What the fuck? she panicked.
Angel laid on the bed examining her surroundings. She stared at the gate standing between her and a dark hallway that looked as if it could lead to a possible way out. This isn’t a room, it’s a cell, she thought. With the lack of clocks and windows, it made it difficult to determine the time of day. Angel noticed that whomever held her captive had ditched her clothes, leaving her attired only in a green, non-sexy, cotton bra and matching bloomer panty. A bra and panty that she knew didn’t belong to her. She was unnerved and every fiber of her being wanted to rip off the undergarments and run barefoot and naked for her life. Tears began welling in her eyes as fear rose from her spine. Angel did the only thing she could think of, she screamed at the top of her lungs until her throat went raw.
Minutes went by which felt like hours. Angel finally stopped screaming and closed her eyes to listen for any slightest noise she could hear. But, she heard nothing. It was deadly silent with the exception of the echo of her pounding heart that thumped in the room. Angel laid still in her bed, not being able to wiggle her toes or bend her knees. She slapped her forehead and covered her eyes with her forearm. She sobbed, realizing that she was defeated. This has to be a bad dream. Yes! This is a dream. Any moment now, someone will come running down the hallway and get me out or break through the walls and save me. Better yet, I should be breaking through the walls and saving myself. No, a fire will start, then a window will magically appear and I’ll jump out, Angel thought, trying to calm her dramatic weeping. I’ll just have to wait; that’s all I can do. I’ll wait. As Angel waited, she sniffled a bit longer, with many thoughts running through her head. She wondered if an
yone was out looking for her and if her children were safe. If she was ever going to make it out alive, and if/when her captives came for her, was she prepared to fight even though she lacked the use of her legs? All these thoughts exhausted her into a deep slumber.
Several hours later Angel heard the sound of a woman’s shoe click-clacking in the distance. At first, she thought her mind was toying with her; but the noise got closer and louder. She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly toward the direction of the gate. As the sound of high heels came to a halt, she watched as a beautiful Japanese woman with a high ponytail, wearing an all-black shirt with sheer sleeves; black spandex and thigh-high boots stepped into view and glared at her.
In seeing the woman, Angel’s mind quickly flashed back to when she was taken. She saw herself fighting a very pale man, then witnessed her own attack. She was struck from behind by a fierce-looking Japanese woman and thrown in the back seat of a car. The woman who socked her was standing on the other side of the cell, staring at her sternly. Angel snapped back to reality and, without thinking, quickly shot up off the bed, forgetting about the pain in her head and her weak legs. She came crashing down to the floor, followed by an eye roll from the Asian woman who then proceeded to huff in irritation under her breath. Angel was in so much pain that she couldn’t bring herself to think about grabbing the woman’s tongue and pulling it out of her mouth until it ripped out. She felt a warm metallic substance trickle into her mouth. During her second encounter with the floor, she didn’t save herself and landed face-first on the rug. She busted her lip open during the crash. Angel rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes tightly as tears began to stream down the far corners of her eyes. The light above her was so bright it added to the pain in her head. At this point, Angel realized she was not dreaming. The pain and the blood were too real to be a dream; this was reality.
Trapped Inside Humanity Page 7