Origins Unkown

chapter 2

Entering another door, Tess was taken aback by the size of the room. It was, at least, two times the size of the dining room and filled with books from floor to ceiling.

"Oh my! I've never seen so many books in one room."

"Yes, well, I have traveled a lot. Seen plenty of places and met a lot of people. There was a time when all I did was sit in here and read."

"Are you telling me you've actually read all these books?" Tess said with a hint of skepticism.

"Yes. Some more than once."

"But, how is that possible? There has to be at least five hundred books here."

"Actually there are two thousand eight hundred and seventy-two books."

"Wow. Somehow I can see you standing here counting them." Tess said chuckling.

"Now, down to business. Here is how this is going to work. You ask your questions and I will try to answer them. If I cannot, then I will find someone who can. So, let's get started." He sat down in a large, Victorian like chair.

"Um, okay. Who are you?" Tess asked taking a seat on an equally large couch, which was an unusual green color.

"My name is Rylan. I was born is 1787 on a small no name island off of Cuba."

"Wait. Did you say 1787? How is that possible?"

"I have an infection that has, as you can see, prolonged my life. I will never age or die."

"Right and where are we?" She asked trying to decide whether or not to believe what Rylan had just told her.

"We are on my private island. It's a little hard to explain where exactly, so I will show you." Rylan walked over to the far wall and pulled down a book. He flipped through the pages and walked back over to where Tess and Jessy were seated. Taking the book, Tess examined the pages. They were somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

"I never knew there were islands here."

"Correction, Only one island. I found it in 1839, when I was sailing across the world and never left."

"Lucky you. Okay, what's wrong with us?" She asked, flipping through the book.

"You were infected with the same virus I was. It makes you crave blood; lose all your senses except hearing and touch. You become, for lack of a better word, allergic to sunlight. If you spend too much time outside you get sick. You throw up blood and periodically break out in cold sweats. Eventually all that will stop, but you must trust me and do as I tell you."

"Is it something that can be cured?" Tess asked still skeptical.

"I have tried for over three hundred years to find a cure. I have yet to find one."

"I see. So what exactly will happen to us?"

"Until you decide which path you're going to take, I can't tell you. I have chosen to live with this. There are things I do, that I am not proud of, to survive."

"What kind of things?"

"Well, to be perfectly frank, I drink blood."

"You what? Why?"

"Blood Tess. I drink it. It curves the hunger to hunt. If you let it, the virus will take over your mind and you will kill. Taking enough blood into your body helps contain it."

"This is all so crazy. How did I get this?"

"As far as I can tell, you were born with it. Which means one of your parents carried the virus. It apparently laid dormant until now."