Bloodlines: Dark Embrace

Chapter 2 - Awakening

Suddenly I was awake. I didn't have the ability to open my eyes or move around yet, but I could still feel, and that was terrible. Something was definitely wrong with my body, I could feel it changing.

My stomach was twisting itself in such ways that it felt like it was trying to pull away from my body. I could feel the bones in my feet snap and felt the skin moving around, as if forming something new. I could feel the bones in my body literally being moved around, they were becoming heavier and the pain that all of this gave me was agonizing, yet I could not scream out for help.

I tried to open my mouth and that's when more pain was caused there. Every single one of my teeth were being pushed out. Finally, I managed to cry out in agony. I squeezed my eyes even more tightly shut and tried to bear through the pain, but I found that I could not stop the screams that I was making.

I was able to open my eyes but with great strain, I opened them to see the moon and stars above me. I arched my back as the pain got more intense, my teeth were shaking themselves loose from my gums. I turned onto my stomach to see if there was anything I could crawl to, anyone I could get to for help. I felt a tear roll down my cheek at the sight of nothing but grass, mud, and empty field. The pain hightened once again and it was too intense, too much to bear, I let out one final croak before I passed out.

I awoke in a daze, my head was spinning. I felt something churn in my stomach and I rolled onto my side, just in time to vomit on the grass next to me. I laid my head down on the grass and as I took deep breaths, I thought to myself, "What the fuck happened last night?! Was it all a dream? At least that bloody pain is gone. But what on Earth could've caused that?" I sighed in relief as I no longer had to feel that pain.

"Ah! So you're up, lad!" Boomed a voice from behind me. I quickly jumped up from the spot on the grass where I was laying and spun to meet a tall man with a strong build.

"Who are you?! What're you doing here?!" I said to him, trying to make my voice intimidating when all it really was, was shaky. 

"Shouldn't I be the one asking questions, boyo? How're ya feeling?" He said cheerfully. I was trying to pinpoint his strange accent but I couldn't, I had never heard it before. I stared at him for a few seconds, noting his rugged ginger hair and big bushy beard. He was wearing a shirt that was showing his chest hairs and was loosely tucked into his hose.

"I'm In the best shape of my life, mate. If you want a fight then let's have it." I said, raising my voice and managing to lose my scared tone. I stood on week knees with my fists raised, ready to throw a punch if the man came at me and hoping that I had the strength in me to actually fight.

"Whoa! Settle down, kid. I'm not here to fight ya, I was the one that dragged your arse out here so that no one could hear or see you." I stared at him with a puzzled expression on my face.

"What kind of lunacy would make you do something so idiotic?! I could've died! I needed help!" I was shouting now, getting closer to him as I filled with anger.

"Now, now. Settle down and let me explain." He looked at me with a gentle look in his eyes which made me think I should at least hear his side of the story. "Now, I didn't see you get bitten, but I was walking past as I saw you spasm, it usually happens when you're turned. It was easy to tell that you were turned from the mark on your neck and the foul stench that emits from a new blood." As this was said, I began to sniff my clothing and rub a hand on both sides of my neck. I went to speak up, to ask what he meant by that, but he continued anyway. "The mark will have already healed and the stench has long since left. You see, you were bitten by a vampire. You may know them as demons of the night or you may not know of them at all. But the one that bit you, he must've let some of his blood flow into your system." I stood in shock, feeling a fool for believing what this man was saying. "So I carried you out here, to take you away from society and to keep you from hurting anyone". I gently sat down on the grass, taking in all of the information that this man was giving me.

"How could I harm anyone? I remember intense pain, trying to get help and then I fainted. The most I did was scream." I said, while staring at the ground.

"Hah! You think that's all ya done? Pal, once you had passed out you just went mental! As soon as your body rearranged itself to cope with the new you, you went on a rampage! See that tree over there?" He pointed over to a tree that looked like it had been attacked by wild animals. It was covered in deep scratches, thick branches were laying on the ground around it. "If I had let you go on any longer you would've torn that bugger down and then found the nearest town! You would've killed everyone in there! But naw, I couldn't let that happen, so I tackled you and held you in place, no matter how hard you struggled or how much you tried to attack, I kept you still. Hours later, you wake up." Stunned at all this news, only managing to take his words in moments later.

It was silent for a moment until I turned to him and said, "What did you mean by my body rearranging itself to cope with the new me? I Mean.. I'm a.." I swallowed hard and my stomach turned as I prepared to say the words. "I'm a vampire now, right? What... How am I different? I've never heard of these things before now, yet I'm currently one of them!"

"Yes, son. You're a vampire." He said in a low voice. He took a deep sigh and said, "Us vampires have been around for generations. As you've probably already found out, I'm one of them. We can live for hundreds of years, an old friend of mine lived till he was six hundred years old and he still looked rather young for his age when his time came. One thing that we have to do to stay alive is drink. Not your normal water, but blood." I gawped at the man. I couldn't kill someone! Not again... "Now don't worry!" He said, seeing the look of worry on my face. " You don't have to kill anyone. All we need is a little blood every month or two, no one has to die and they don't even remember it." I let out a sigh of relief even though I was still a little frightened at having to drink blood... "I'll help you pick up on that. Now, onto how you're body has changed. Do you remember how it felt? That pain?"

"It felt like my bones were moving out of place and reorganizing themselves" I said, a little wary of what was to come.

"Well that's close to what it was" he said. "What was happening was that your bones, your whole body, it was thickening. Strengthening itself at an immaculate speed. Your bones had to shift slightly so that they could realign once the process was complete."

"But what about my teeth?" I said. " It felt as if they were being pushed from my mouth." As I said this I trailed my tongue across the back of my teeth, making sure they were all still there.

"Ah yes. That's because every single one of your teeth were actually pushed out. All of this is a terribly painful process, but what happened is that once they were pushed out, new ones were grown in there place. Sharper, stronger, thicker teeth. I'm sure you felt pain in your feet and hands too. They were also changing to become more flexible, your nails were doing the same as your teeth, becoming stronger, thicker and sharper."

"Is there... Any way that I can... Go back? Be normal again?" I asked, tears appearing in the corners of my eyes.

"I'm sorry son, there isn't." I nodded at that. It was a terrible thing to lose my humanity, but this was a new start for me. I managed to blink my tears away and after a few seconds of silence, a smirk appeared on my face. "You're looking surprisingly chirpy!" The ginger man said, a smile now appearing across his face. "Now, first thing's first. We have to take you to the Vampire Council." I nodded slowly, taking in that a clan of bloodsuckers had a council, along with everything else. "We should set out in the morning, but for now, We make a fire, sit by it and rest. The name's Marcus by the way, Marcus Tor." He stuck a large, hairy hand out to shake mine. I put mine out and firmly shook his hand with a grin.

"Malek Servane. Vampire."