THE CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE THE WORKS OF AN ORIGINAL FICTION.
Immortality: Tales of the Undead- The Darkling
At 16 years old, Justin had major issues with his father. In fact, he never thought that staying with him, would make things worse. Father comes home, and then drinks a lot. Most men like Mr. Crockner, wouldn't turn out this way. But that's when he stopped caring about his son, since his wife had left him for another man.
As usual, Mr. Crockner kept drinking until he was fallen asleep. Justin had noticed his behavior everyday, and there were times that he wanted to get out of here. But to where?
One night, Justin was doing his homework when Mr. Crockner arrived back home. He called out the boy's name. "Justin! Justin! Come down here!" But the boy didn't listen to him. He hid himself inside the closet, holding a baseball bat. He remembered the good, old days of spending time with his dear father. He even cried at the thought of it.
As Mr. Crockner walked upstairs, someone knocked the door twice. The drunkard looked back, and said, "Who is it?" Mr. Crockner was mad alright. He didn't think someone else would arrive at this time of night, since he left the bar a couple of hours ago. He went downstairs and opened it. A dark figure stood in the front entrance of his house. Mr. Crockner blinked his eyes, and stared at the unknown visitor.
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The boy could hear the painful screams, coming from his own father. He didn't know what it was all about. But he still stayed in the closet, and waited...
There was a sound of footsteps... Then someone said, "Come out, Justin. It's over."
"Who..." Justin began to tremble when he heard that deep, strange voice. "Who are you?"
"Just come out of there, and I'll tell you. Don't worry. You'll be safe with me."
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Five years later, Justin was now 21 years old. He had been working for his master all day and night long. But he never got the chance to venture out in an independent way of adult life. He looked out the window, and sighed... Five years had been too long for him. But at what cost?
As he went back to bed, he noticed the door was slightly opened. His master watched him. Five years ago, this man had saved Justin's life. But Justin didn't think that way because...
Because he's much worse than my father, Justin thought. I saw him do things that no human... He paused and got up from the bed. "What is it, master?"
The master stared at him with that sharp look in his eyes. He smiled. "I want you to prepare for dinner. We have a guest tonight. Do not fail me."
"Have I ever failed you?" Justin said. The master still smiled. "No... You haven't. But you know what happens if you do fail." Justin nodded and then prepared for the dinner.
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At the kitchen, Justin Crockner was the only cook in his master's castle. He never realized that he could cook entirely his own. That's because my master taught me well. Of course, Justin always thought that he was the slave here. Without his help, he would be nothing.
He cooked a special dish for the new visitor. Often times, he could see their ghastly appearance... He shivered at the thought of it. At first, he felt like he was drawn into their world of darkness, and that it was purely a nightmare. Were there others like him? Lost souls being brought into this castle of madness? Justin had seen it all.
Justin thought, Christ! What the hell am I doing here? Dad... He paused for a while, and then said it to himself, "Dad..." He couldn't say anything else other than that. If his father wasn't drunk at that time...
"Justin! Is the dinner ready?" The young man came back to his senses and cried out, "Almost!" He quickly got the dish ready, and at the same time, felt the pressure of bringing it slowly toward the dining table.
"AH! There you are!" Justin's master looked at him. "Meet our new guest. This is Van Hein Olsen. You know him?" Justin looked at the visitor, and nodded slowly.
"You're a fine, young man," Van smiled. "My... you will certainly do well enough for me. HA!" Justin's master laughed along with him.
"The dish is ready," Justin said, feeling uncomfortable. He placed the round-silver object carefully on the table, and stood up waiting for further instructions. The master looked at him annoyingly. "Where's the drink?" Justin looked sort of confused and then said, "Oh... I'll get it." He went back to the kitchen.
"Where did you find him, Belruth?" Van said, wanting to laugh at the young man's clumsiness. "You know I have others like him. They're useful enough to provide you anything that you wanted. Take your pick, and you will be pleased."
Belruth said, "Thanks for the offer. But I have what I needed."
"I see..." The visitor said thoughtfully. "But why choose him? That's what I wanted to know." He stopped talking when Justin arrived back from the kitchen. The young man showed the bottle to the new visitor. Van said, "Ah... The Blood of Versailles! Surely, you must know that I often visited the place for my favorite drink. Now, I've really missed it."
"Then you shall come here, and enjoy it while you still can." Belruth smiled at his dear friend.
"Yes... Yes... I will do that." Justin poured the drink for both Van and Belruth. Van looked at Justin for a while and then said, "Tell me, young man. Do you like this drink? Have you ever tasted it?" Justin gulped and stared at his master. Belruth said firmly, "Answer the question."
Justin looked back at the new visitor. "No."
"No? It's too bad that you're still human. Five years! HA! Let me ask you another question. Do you want to become like us?" This time, Justin didn't look at his master. There was a moment of silence.
"Well..." Van said. "What do you have to say?" Belruth sighed, tapping his fingers on the table. He said, "I'm sure he can't answer that question. But one day he will answer it. Isn't that right?" He looked at his young servant for clarification. Justin nodded.
"Alright!" Van said excitingly. "What's for dinner?" Justin opened the tray.
"Ah! How nice of you to cook for me." Justin sliced the meat off, which then poured blood. He placed it on the visitor's plate. Van grabbed the fork, and stabbed at the delicious food. He closed his eyes, feeling the juices on his mouth. "Mm... Delicious. Rat meat. I love it!" He took another bite.
Belruth also took the bite, and looked at Justin for a while.
"So..." Van said as he burped out loud. "Excuse me, my dear friends. I have something to say on the matter at hand. It is important you should know that we have an enemy. He will not rest until we're stopped."
Justin looked at him, and wondered what the visitor was talking about. But Van had noticed his confusion. "Ah, you didn't know? Well then... There's a hunter on the loose, and he's out to get us."
"Hmm..." Belruth grumbled as he chewed the meat, and then spit it out. "Damn that hunter! Yes, I can see he won't give up that easily."
"True! There had been reports about him. I asked one of the informants in town. Do you know what he said? The hunter was... asking questions."
"I see..." Belruth said slowly. "Then we must do something about it." He looked at Justin. "How about we send him?"
"Him?" Van said surprisingly. "But why?"
"Think about it. Justin can seek help. After all, he's human." He smiled and looked at Justin for any reply. But there was none.
"Hmm..." Van said thoughtfully. "That sounds like a good plan. I like it."
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Justin drove across the town in Holland. He still didn't know any of these people, since he came here the last time. He had been out to get some groceries, and that was it. But now the vampires have said the hunter arrived in town. Justin figured that he could be the ticket for freedom.
He was able to speak the Dutch language. After all, Belruth had taught him. But Justin wanted to be free from his nightmare. He was angry of what happened to his father. If he wasn't drunk...
Damn it. Justin shook his head. It's no time to speak of the past. I must be free. Yes, Justin will have to do something about it.
He arrived at the bar where men and women hanged out, and enjoyed themselves. Justin asked for a drink in Dutch. The bartender replied, "Coming right up." Justin looked around the bar and noticed a man, staring at him. The man wore a brown coat and a black shirt from within. He walked closer and spoke in English, "Is this seat taken?" Justin shook his head. The man sat on it and smiled. "My name is Juan Crosaire. Nice to meet you." He held a drink in his hand.
"The name's Justin..." Justin said slowly. The bartender gave him the drink, and Juan said, "I know."
"You know?"
"I know the fact you're English. You're not from around here. Are you?" Justin didn't say a word. He just drank.
"I can see the fear in your eyes, young man. It seems to me that you're looking for help. I've been meaning to ask you." He looked around, and then whispered closer to him. "Who do you serve for?"
Justin gulped and almost spilled the drink. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would know that."
"I had several contacts," Juan said seriously. "This is a serious matter, of course. I'm willing to help you if you can help me. A fair in exchange. Don't you think?"
"Yes..." Justin thought about it, and stared at the drink.
"Look, Justin... Help me and I'll help you. I can tell you've suffered enough at the hands of your master."
"You can tell that from me?"
"Sure. It's an intuition. A gift of telling one from another, I suppose..." He finished his drink. "AH! Nothing better than to drink this one."
"Is this your... first time coming here?"
"I guess you could say that. But I have been watching you closely."
"Hmm," Justin said thoughtfully. "Okay then."
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The hunter went along with Justin toward the castle. Juan whistled. "Is this where you live?" Justin looked at him and said, "Yes."
"You should be lucky," Juan said. "However, your master is still alive and dangerous. I have heard stories about him." Justin didn't say anything about that. He just drove the car towards the castle, and then stopped. Juan got out, and still stared at the magnificent view.
Justin slowly opened the door. It creaked, and a few bats flew out. Juan took a step further, taking out a silver dagger from his hilt. He had been hunting these things down, ever since he was a young man. But now, he had to face the most dangerous enemy of all... Belruth.
But Belruth had a visitor. Van Hein Olsen could hear their footsteps and whispered, "They're coming." Juan stopped, and thought he had just heard a sound. He looked around the interior of the castle. There were paintings and statues from a long time ago. And the carpets were freshly woven. It was as if they had been caught in a fairy tale.
But this is no fairy tale, Juan thought. As he walked slowly, he heard some footsteps. Looking around, he held his weapon ready when something hit him on the back. He stopped and turned his head slowly.
"Justin?" The young man already held his knife and said, "You think I'm stupid? I've killed so many people for my master. He needed fresh blood!"
Of course, Juan knew the vampire had a human accomplice. He would do anything to save Justin from the cruelty of justice. But it was still against the law, and Juan couldn't forget it.
The hunter spilled the blood from his mouth. He tried to say something to the young man, but couldn't. Then he closed his eyes.
The vampires arrived from their hiding places, and looked at the hunter's body. Belruth smiled at his young servant. "You have done well, Justin. Now... let's get rid of his body."
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Justin was fully awake from his bed. It was morning, and he figured it was the time to end this nightmare. He waited too long for this, since he had lured so many innocent victims toward his master's castle, just by dabbing their mouths with chloroform. And the fact of getting caught was too unbearable for him. When he had gone out to get the groceries, he heard someone said, "It's true. The so-called vampire has a human accomplice. But we don't know who." It turned out to be the voice of the hunter. Juan Crosaire had been living in town, doing the investigation alright. Justin couldn't leave just yet. He had to do something.
And that's when he got the idea. He still stayed with his master, until they got rid of the hunter themselves. He went along with the plan, and planned his own game. Justin played well. He grabbed a wooden stake, and went to his master's crypt. Downstairs, he could heard the sounds of rats, scurrying off against each other and the bats flew everywhere.
Truth be told, Justin was far worse than his father. He couldn't imagine himself being a killer. Yes, he may have not killed those innocent lives, physically speaking, but he was still a killer nonetheless. No matter what. He walked closer toward the crypt and slowly opened the coffin. Master Belruth was still sleeping inside. Justin raised the stake, and stabbed his heart.
The vampire screamed as he stared at his young servant. Blood spilled from his mouth, and then the ashes formed. Justin looked away. He had to get out of the castle as soon as possible. Soon, Van Hein Olsen and the others would know that he killed his master. Not to mention, the hunters would also find Justin for killing Juan.
Oh well, Justin thought tiredly. That's what you get. He sighed and left the castle.
Next story- Forever Young.
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