The Outbreak

It is a dark night in Buffalo N.Y., back in spring 1985. The city is unusually quiet for a Saturday night, there have been a number of strange disappearances as the city is plagued by a blood sucking creature. There have been a number of bodies showing up with strange wounds on their necks, but the police have no idea what is causing such a tragedy. Meanwhile, beneath the streets, the Count hung from the top of the subterranean, in a section of pipe, the flies were atrocious from all the rotting remains, though the counts eyes continued to glow a bright red which twinkled in the darkness.

The Count is hungry for blood, as it has been weeks since its last meal, it can only survive for so long without living off of human blood. It was simply too hard to resist the urge to feed off of the living. The count resided deep within the sewer system Beneath the Buffalo General Medical Centre where the Count would feed off of the hospitals disposal unit where the human remains from surgeries were burnt. It will do for now, but without the taste of fresh blood the Count finds it hard to keep up with his human appearance, for after a feeding he is able to integrate into society without being noticed by the Humans, but after a while without feeding on blood he loses his human form.

It is difficult enough to live an ordinary life, after a thousand years of assuming a new identity every 40 to 80 years or so, the Count must feed in order to keep up with his appearances so he does not become assumed missing and lose his identity. The Count is a master carpenter and assumes an ordinary life as a framer for mostly suburban communities within a hundred mile radius of Buffalo. The Carpenter is a perfect alias for a single male vampire, for he is able to fake injuries to accommodate his absences when he needs to feed. Every now and again if someone is killed on the job by accident, the vampire is able to scrape up a free meal. High rise condos are going up like crazy and most tradesmen work without harnesses anyway, though he tries not to crap where he eats, and lately has gotten sloppy leaving wounds on the neck to be exposed. The Count is learning to be more careful in fears of being hunted by the humans, as he plans to feed off of his next victim from the achilles heel instead of the neck, as he plans to make it look like an accident, in fact the victim does not have to necessarily die if they can sustain the blood loss, as the Count only needs to consume between 8-16 pints of blood, though it has to be fresh.

The city is a dangerous place, there are fatalities every day and the hospital is adding to its waste 24/7, but all the fresh hearts and organs are mostly donated leaving the count to pick through most of the diseased and mutilated meat. Getting into the hospitals waste system is risky, as he only does this when he has left his human form, for not to attract attention to his human alias. The Count has drawn enough attention, as the news of his last victim’s strange neck wounds are all over the news, which left most of the city at home in fear of leaving their houses. The Count has robbed the graveyard in the past, digging up the dead from time to time for a feeding, but it’s mostly rich older people who are buried now a days, as more of the younger people are becoming cremated.

It is difficult getting into the hospitals waste system, however the staff at this hospital are not all squeaky clean as some of the staff are stealing medication and selling it on the street anyway. The Count is able to get by undetected by human if it has been weeks since his last feeding. The Count’s automatic cloaking defense system kicks in as his flesh deteriorates it releases a powerful pheromone that creates a hallucinogenic property that stuns any nearby humans whom are subjected to this particular pheromone.

The Count is ready to strike the waste system again, hoping to prey on any recent fetuses or other human organs. This will not bring the Count back to his human form, though however it will keep him alive for another few days or so. The Count is contemplating his next strike as he is clawed to the top of the sewer system, he releases himself as he does a spinning back flip to his feet. The Count reaches for his robes as he wraps himself up with as much of clean attire as he can compensate for, as living in the sewer system in a city like Buffalo can make it hard to keep clothing clean and tidy for the Count.

They rarely check the security footage from the hospital unless there is an incident. The Count was now dressed in a hooded attire as he was passing through the sewer system. It was pitch black though vampires can see in the dark. The top of the pipe would drip to the surface below as an exit to the streets. The Count’s Flesh was pale with a greenish tint, as his purple veins were beginning to appear. The Count pushes circular sewer cap to the side as he rises to the streets of Buffalo undetected as he strides for Buffalo General Medical Centre. It was best to come out at night because as people would pass by the Count they would appear to be drunken’d from the Count’s pheromones. It would make people hallucinate as if they were on LSD, that way if they seen the Count’s face, they would just think it’s an acid trip.

The Count enters the medical centre, as the general waiting area begins to trip out, the Count makes his way down through the isles In order to pass through to the hospitals waste area. There was a particular patient roaming the hallway as the Count was passing through as there was a girl there who began to rabble; “The Rabbit, watch out for the rabbit.”

As the Count passed through the hallways, he did not want to cause any alarm, he casually waited as he was expecting the nurses to be at the elevator any minute to dispose of some organs from a recent surgery. The two female nurses were beginning to show the symptoms of LSD exposure, as they approached the elevator. The Count escorted them as they laughed and giggled; “Did you see the blinking lights, they look like stars.” On nurse uttered as the Count led them to the elevator where they descended to the basement.

“He looks like a sweaty old boot man.” Said one of the nurses as she could not stop stroking his arms.

“He’s so green.” Said the other nurse as they both giggled on the floor.

The Count fled the scene to the disposal area where the remains were being kept. His eyes beginning to submerge from his orbital bones as he approached a large furnace which they light once a week. Luckily it was still full as the Count began to feed on some fresh fetuses. Fetuses were like veal for the Count, there were a number of severed ears and digits which were like bacon and sausages for the Count. The Count gorges as he has temporarily restored his appetite.

The Count than dashes to the elevator as the nurses were lying there laughing their heads off, the Count quickly dials in for the first floor as the elevator began to ascend to the main level where the Count exited the elevator and through the door. The Count needed a vehicle, as he was planning his next attack at New York City, he has his own car but doesn’t want to lead the police back to him. In order for him to reach New York City he would need to steal a vehicle, as the Count headed to a nearby tavern where the medical staff often tended to.

The Count loitered outside the tavern as nearby people would pass by and become drunken’d by the counts pheromones, one couple fell to the sidewalk upon entering their grey car parked out front of the sidewalk as they gazed endlessly into the stars as they laid on their backs; “The stars are so bright tonight, look at the colours twinkling.” Said the female.

The Count was able to snatch the keys without anyone watching as he unlocked the door and sat in the driver’s seat, he quickly puts the keys in the ignition and drives off.

The Count drives down the 380 towards New York City, where he is hoping to find his next victim. The Count is grinding his teeth in hopes of splurging on his next human meal as he drives all night until morning when he reaches New York. There is a section of high rise being assembled in New Ark where the Count pulls up and heads toward the construction site. The Counts pheromones leaves the workers disoriented as the crane lifts a crew of 8 iron workers to the top of a steel sky scraper. The Count remains undetected as he is waiting at the bottom of the building, as the fumes continue to rise from his deteriorating flesh, the workers above are not all wearing their harnesses, as he is cautioned by another worker; “Are you okay?” Asked one worker as his partner fell fourteen stories.

The work was striking the iron beams as he bounced back and forth like a pinball to the bottom of the steel erection. There is a large splat at the bottom as the Count begins feeding off of the flesh.

It is not long before the Count returns to his human form, as he draws as much blood as he could from the ankle of the worker. There is a group of electricians working in the basement who notices the Count, as the Count now has the appearance of a 26 year old man. The workers are puzzled as they begin to interrogate the Count; “Who are you, what are you doing here?” Asked one of the electricians.

“I’m just here looking for a job, I’m a carpenter, thought you guys might need a good framer.” Answered the Count.

“No I’m not looking for anyone right now.” Said the electrician as he remained temporarily stunned from the effects of the Count’s pheromones.

The Count knew it was only a matter of time before the effects of his pheromones wore off, as he ruffled through the workers clothing he rid the wallets of all the cash, one worker had $60, another had $100 and the foreman had $200, he had enough to take the bus and return to Buffalo where he could return to his ordinary life. The Count exited the scene of the “accident” as the remainder of the nearby workers huddled around the dismembered corpse.

The Count knew it was only a matter of time before the police arrived, but he didn’t have anything to worry about as the general consensus of the situation appeared to be that it was an accident. Falling from 14 stories, no one will think anything of the two fang marks which were left on the victim’s ankle. The Count was able to make his way to the New Ark transit system, where he boarded a bus and took it to a larger bus terminal where he would purchase a ticket to Buffalo and remain undetected as he waited for his bus. The Count had purchased a pack of cigarettes, not that he was big into smoking, he just did it to integrate.

The Count was approached by female who appeared to be some sort of high end escort; “Hey sailor wanna party? She asked.

“No thanks I’m just looking to get back to Buffalo.” Answered the Count.

“I’ll treat you real nice.” Stated the escort.

“No that’s alright, I’m just going to make my way back.” Answered the Count as his bus was now approaching.

The Count stepped away from the escort and got in line behind the ten or so passengers whom were boarding the bus. Once aboard the Count headed straight for the back of the bus, where he perched himself on the driver’s side of the isle. The Count watched the roadsides as the bus headed back to Buffalo. The Count lost track of time as the signs buzzed by, he gazed off into the Southern Sky as the morning passed into the afternoon, the bus had finally reached Buffalo where the Count got off at the terminal downtown and headed to another transit bus which brought him to his apartment in downtown Buffalo. The count passed through the hallways of his apartment building, the air smelled like fresh laundry.

As the count approached his door he greeted his neighbor; “Gooday Mrs. Riverson.” Said the Count.

“Goodday Darius, where have you been for the past two weeks?”

“Oh I just decided to go hunting up in Canada.” Answered Darius.

“Oh my it must have been cold, were you hit with all that snow?” Asked Mrs. Riverson.

“No unfortunately not” Replied Darius.

“Did you bring back anything?” Asked Mrs. Riverson.

“No not this time, maybe next time.” Answered Darius.

“I’ll see you later, I’ve got to get eggs and milk from the store, I’ll see you later Darius.” Said Mrs. Riverson.

“Have a good day Mrs. Riverson.” Said Darius as he scrambled for his keys to enter his apartment. Darius enters his apartment and proceeds to latch himself to the top of his corridor where he planned to spend the remainder of the night, for he did not sleep.

The night passed into morning as Darius clung to the ceiling in his apartment. When morning came Darius gathered his power tools and placed them in his tool bag and brought them to his truck outside his apartment building. Darius placed his tool bag in the back of the truck and head out to leave the city to the nearby suburbs where he had hoped to find employment.

Darius drove about an hour or so till he reached a construction site in Batavia where he noticed new houses being erected. It was approximately six a.m. in the morning, and some of the bricklayers were preparing their scaffolding for the day. Darius noticed there was a set of newly set foundations at the back of the subdivision which had yet to be framed. Darius noticed a blue van parked outside where there was a crew of three or so carpenters preparing for the day’s work. Darius parked his truck behind the van and proceeded to the driver’s side of the van where he knocked on the window; “Hello my name is Darius, I was wondering if you guys could use an extra guy.” Asked Darius.

“Hey how’s it going I’m Tobey, do you got tools?” Asked the foreman.

“Yes I’ve got my pouch and nail gun and tool bag in the back of my truck.” Answered Darius.

“Okay we’re a guy short, if you want to wait around to see if our guy shows up or not we can try you out for today, do you have experience? Asked Tobey

“Yes five years of framing.” Answered Darius.

“Okay why don’t you go park your truck over there.” Said Tobey as he pointed to a set of housed that had not been built yet.

Darius waited for an hour and then tried back again, as he proceeded to talk to Tobey again; “I noticed your guy didn’t show up.” Said Darius.

“Okay why don’t you get started framing in the basement and when you’re done you can help hang the joists.” Said Tobey.

“No problem I’ll get started right away.” Said Darius as climbed down a latter into the basement, to which only the concrete basement had been poured.

Darius read the blueprint as he proceeded to plug in his hammer drill and button down the boarders for his basement wall with the concrete lags. He dropped in his first two joists on either end then nailed down the top with his nail gun, as he proceeded to hang the joists and block them in. After the wall was completed he proceeded to the next wall and the one after that, as the remainder of the crew were working on the house next door.

Darius proceeded to read the blue prints as he cut the headers for the floor with his skill saw and proceeded to drop in the joists for the sub floor. By the time it was done it was lunch time as Darius proceeded to the coffee truck, where he purchased a coffee and sandwich for lunch, not that he enjoyed bacon and eggs he just wanted to try and blend in unnoticed. The foreman approached Darius as he was forcing down his lunch; “You’re doing good today, I’ll have to put you on piecework if you keep that up.” Said Tobey.

“Yeah I know a thing or two I guess.” Said Darius.

“If you’re not doing anything after work me and the boys are going to a tavern to shoot some pool if you’re interested.” Said Tobey.

“Sure, that sounds like fun.” Answered Darius.

Darius would usually reject such an offer but he knew if he was to integrate he would have to go out from time to time. Darius was beginning to become more and more immune to the aging process as he traveled from Jerusalem in the eleventh century. Darius finished up the afternoon as the second story of the building was completed, the afternoon was coming to an end as the boys hurdled into the blue van, Darius proceeded to his truck as he followed Tobey and the crew to the nearby tavern.

They entered a bar in town as Tobey ordered a round of drinks for everyone. Darius was enjoying his beverage as the State troopers had arrived at the bar and headed straight for him; “Are you Darius?” Asked one of the troopers.

“Yes I am, what seems to be the problem?” Asked Darius.

“We think your finger prints might be found on a car in New York do you know anything about that?” Asked one of the troopers.

“No I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” Answered Darius.

“Why don’t you come with me?” Demanded one of the troopers as the handcuffed Darius.

Darius was brought to the trooper’s cruiser and placed in the backseat as the trooper pushed Darius’s head into the back. He was brought back to the station and finger printed as the removed his belt and shoe laces before placing him in a holding cell. It wasn’t long before his finger prints were a match and was forced to stand trial for grand theft auto. The judge sentenced him to two years in the Eerie County Correctional Facility the following day. Darius was added to a chain gang of four other inmates as he was transported to the jail. Upon arrival he was unshackled and placed in a holding cell where they check everyone for Hep C.

Before long Darius was brought to his cell where he entered with his mattress and sheets. He was greeted by a large male; “Word up, I’m Terrance, why you in here?” Asked Terrance.

“Grand Theft Auto, two years, by the way I’m Darius, How long are you in for?” Asked Darius

“I’m out of here at the end of the month, but Yo, you aint shit playa, you aint never gonna survive in here, I bet you aint gonna last two weeks little own two years.” Answered Terrance.

“Yeah we’ll see about that.” Answered Darius.

“Why don’t you come here let me show you what I’m all about?” Asked Terrance as began to corner Darius in the eight by twelve foot cell.

“You aint touching shit get away from me.” Said Darius as he guarded himself.

Terrance began to force Darius in the corner as Terrance began cornering Darius, Darius tried to push Terrance away, but Terrance rips Darius’s jump suit. Darius was in no mood as he struck Terrance in the face sending him into a blind rage as Terrance grabbed Darius by the neck and began pounding his head against the cinder block wall.

“You gonna die boy, and I’m a teach you a lesson.” Said Terrance as he attempted to mount Darius.

“Why don’t you come here let me give you a kiss.” Said Darius as his fangs protruded from the top of his jaw, he lunged his teeth into Terrance’s neck and began feeding as Terrance cried.

“Ahh Stop!” Cried Terrance as he fainted.

The prison guards soon arrived before Darius could finish his feeding. Terrance was still breathing but had lost a lot of blood. This was the first time one of Darius’s victims had survived such an attack, Terrance was lucky the guards had showed up just in time.

Darius was thrown in the hole overnight as he was set to stand video trial the next day. Darius stood shackled at the video conference as the trial was thrown out, given that Darius only acted in self-defense. Terrance however spent the remainder of his time in the hospital until he was he recovered at the end of the month and was set free.