Realm of Vampires

REALM OF VAMPIRES

Working in a government science facility was always my dream job; it had plenty of perks and flexible working hours. That was until the indescribable happened. One of the other scientists in the facility thought they had found a cure for all diseases known to mankind. They said it was a scientific breakthrough. According to them, they had found an invisible nucleus that could change a person’s cell structure within the human body. I wondered at the time what chemicals were used to make it such a potent drug. The facility itself was a humongous testing area with the latest high-tech equipment that was built to last a lifetime. The Government built the compound in the 1940s in the eventuality that nuclear war would break out. A safe hold, they called it.

Volunteers from the army were the first to be tested on. Soldiers were told they would be immune and would receive a thousand dollars for their co-operation. They didn’t know what was to happen. When they first started with the trial runs, the effects of the drugs were so potent that they killed off the red blood cells in the body, hence the soldiers died. The government then turned to the public, looking for people that didn’t matter. They took people off the streets and enticed them with the offer of a warm bed and a good meal. Little did they know what was to happen?

Remembering the first time was terrible; as I read it in the notes in the years that followed. They took it upon themselves to test the new wonder drug on a young man. One of the head scientists tied him to a bed; they must have sedated him, as he was way too cooperative. The assistants were told to keep him under close observation, but within hours, the transition had taken effect. Instead of drug working, it changed him. The young man shook like his body was on fire. He became aggressive, his muscles increased and his facial features changed. Skin peeled off his face and fresh skin grew back in a matter of seconds. Fangs grew in place of normal teeth. After he transitioned, he was no longer human. He was a creature. The creature broke free from its restraints and started to attack the scientists within hours. He had spread the virus from one man to the next. He bit into their necks, drinking their blood like a wild animal, satisfying himself with each victim before moving on to the next. The creatures left a sickening smell of death in the air.

The facility’s security tried to use smoke bombs and firearms to control the infected, but nothing had any effect on them. They still came; the creatures roamed the compound, taking full control. On the day this tragic incident happened, I was working in the lab on a theory of how human hormones could interact with the cells of a plant when I heard a tremendous explosion from a distinct part of the facility. I went to look even though I had a bad feeling, a sense of foreboding raised within me. Shaking like a leaf, I opened the doors to the lab, peering down the long, dark, narrow corridor. My eyes widened, focusing on the bloody handprints that were smeared on the walls.

The feelings within me and the evidence I saw made it very obvious that indeed something awful had taken place. I froze. Feeling a deep sense of a presence, of something behind me, I whirled around with the fear of God in me, and immediately I saw its sharp teeth, with fangs that dripped with blood. The thing stared at me with red piercing eyes before attacking me. The pain was horrendous as it sank its teeth into my neck. And then I noticed Mark Speller’s walking cane with the best cherry wood handle, with a silver tip. Mark was an extraordinary gentleman. He was in his late 60s but full of so many stories. He had visited places for their monumental history, the temples of India, The Egyptian Tombs, including the Great Wall of China.

Grabbing the cane, I plunged it into the creature’s chest cavity. He fell backward in shock. Clutching its chest, he landed on a nearby table. Whilst he was lying there, I took my chance and made my escape. I was clutching at my neck wound. Dying with no one there scared the shit out of me. I didn’t want to be alone in what may have been my last moments. I had to leave the facility before the creature came at me again. Run, my mind said. Run. My face was wet with sweat, blood was streaming down my neck, mixing with my necklace and my sweat, and I knew then I was going to pass out. I had to see how bad it was. I wept. I was dying alone. I felt dizzy and sick. It was like a scene from a horror show, but this time I was the main character. I rushed into the bathroom nearest the stairs. I looked in the long curved-shaped mirror. My ebony hair was in a mangled mess. Sweat dripped down my face from the adrenaline that was pulsating through my veins. My black eyeliner had turned into a small pool of darkness. I lifted my hand to see two gaping holes and a lot of dark blood on my neck.

Making my way out of the bathroom, I went down the stairs; I didn’t give myself a chance to look back, and all I could do was sob. I left the screams behind me.

Marching through the dense woodland of tall trees, where the smell of cherry wood and old oak trees heightened my senses with delight. As I drifted through the forest, I could feel the veined olive roughness of the branches whipping at my face. Most of the forest had been flooded from the intense rain we had in the last few weeks. The ground was a moistened, mucky bog. Carrying on, running through the woods, the crescent moon lit my way as it shined like a silvery glow, and the stars stretched on forever. I remembered my 18th birthday. I had spent it in this forest with John Horncastle; I surrendered my virginity to him that night and even then I felt I was being watched. I thought he loved me. I remembered we carved our names into old oak trees. We wanted it to last forever. The following day, he was found dead. Someone had ripped him apart. They said it was a wild animal in the papers, but now I think otherwise.

Feeling better, I felt like nothing could hurt me. The warmth of the wind brushed my soft pale skin, and the ground felt like I was running on soft fluffy clouds of candyfloss, and then everything went black. Waking up, I lay on a thick, crisp blanket of soggy leaves. I raised myself against an old tree stump; it must have been a cherry wood in its day as it still left a lingering odor. I noticed a few things about myself. I felt almost invincible and the pain from a bad back was gone. I felt amazing. Touching my body, I realized my skin felt ice cold, like a frozen pond in winter. I was glad to still be wearing my necklace though, for some reason, I couldn’t bear losing it.

Sniffing the air, I smelt a mixture of smells, from the old dead trees to the sweet smell of flesh. That got me thinking even more. What was I? What had I become? I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. Touching my neck, you would think I would feel intense pain, but nothing, yet it felt smooth and cold. Feeling suspicious, I opened my mouth and touched my teeth; sharp and pointy, come to mind, like that of a vicious bloodhound. I couldn’t help but remember the last television show that I had watched. My mind was telling me I resembled the creatures that were in it. The creatures were sparkling like glitter and there were a lot of young people having sex. I knew it then. Fuck, I was a goddamn vampire!