The Awakening – Story Starter

I banged desperately at the door with tears in my eyes!

PLEASE open up! Please!

This was our last hope. Our very last chance at finding sanctuary. As the sun began to slowly brighten the horizon around us, I felt my temperature rise. A fever began to heat me up until my skin began to blister, and small wisps of smoke rose up from my slim shoulders. If the other vampires in this particular sanctuary had already gone to sleep....if they had no human guards to tend the entrance while they slumbered during the day...then no one would be here to open the door. And me...and my chosen mate, Glenn...were done for.

I took one last desperate knock at the door to the old wax museum on the edge of town. I had been told by a friend in darkness that they were willing to help vampires like us. I was told that they had plenty of space, if a wandering traveler ever came seeking shelter. So where are they? Why won't they let me in?

Glenn was getting so heavy on my shoulders. He was still unconscious. Still suffering through the second week of his crossover, not yet finished with the changes going on in his body. When I met him, wandering around an old boy scout camp ground in the suburbs, looking for a warm place to sleep...I knew that I was attracted to him. I knew that I wanted him. But I never once expected to fall in love. I certainly didn't expect him to feel the same way, much less offer me his life in exchange for an eternity spent in darkness. Looking at him now, his sandy blond hair cut so perfect, his light green eyes hidden behind the veil of a comatose sleep, his ruby lips parted slightly with no breath passing through them, quivering gently as his body tried to adapt to the transformation he was going through...I see why I was so enchanted by his beauty. His humanity. His sweet persona. In all my 23 years in darkness as a 17 year old boy...I had never known such a beautiful soul. That's why our eternity bands worked....to act as a display of our true love...to bond us together forever as one spirit in the flesh. He loved me. He trusted me. How could I let him burn to death in the dawn's merciless rays without him ever knowing the beauty of the night. Please! PLEASE!!! OPEN THIS DOOR!!!

Finally, as my desperation was beginning to turn to panic, I heard locks being undone at the door. My excitement reached a full fevered pitch as I sawa craxk in the door, and the eye of a young man peek out through the slit in the door. "Yes?" It said sleepily.

"PLEASE, you have to help us! We need sanctuary!" I pleaded. "My name is Julian, this is my boyfriend, Glenn. He's still in his crossover, we had nowhere else to go."

The boy looked us over a bit, his eye squinting as he tried to analyze our intentions. I knew that sanctuaries had to be secure, that arriving unannounced was likely to get you turned away as quickly as they could slam the door...but I was running out of ideas. And if this boy decided that we weren't welcome...then we would BOTH be left to burn.

"Hold on a sec." He said, then moved away from the door. "DAD!" He shouted, calling out to an older man who eventually came to the entrance rubbing his eyes.

"Yes? How can I help you?" He said. His voice was gruff and hazy, and he had stubble on his face that looked like it had begun to grow on him before his own crossover made it a permanent feature on his square jawed appearance.

"We...we need help. It's almost dawn, and we just need a place to stay for a while." I said, hoisting Glenn up higher on my shoulder. He was getting so heavy. So heavy. "Please? I'm begging you! We're gonna die out here if we don't find shelter soon."

"How did you find this place?" He asked.

"I don't have TIME to answer questions! PLEASE! Let us in, and I'll answer all the questions you have tomorrow! I promise!" I felt the sun's rays bring up the temperature in my blood, my flesh beginning to sizzle as I fought hard to hold on to my consciousness. My eyes were beginning to roll back, and the big sleep was beginning to cut off my air. My limbs were getting stiff, my body heat escaping in huge waves, my mouth going dry. "PLEASE???" I asked again.

"This is not a sanctuary. It's a museum. There's a legal shelter for runaway teens about 9 blocks from here. They'll take care of you. And they won't ask questions." The man said.

"NO!!! We can't MAKE IT 9 blocks!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry. There's no refuge here."

"Don't leave us out here to DIE like this!!! PLEASE!!! JESUS...just let us stay until TOMORROW night and we'll go!!! I swear!!!" I began to cry, but my tears were cut off as the sun began to rise over the horizon and my body's functions began to shut down. I got nauseous, and my eyes dried out, as my flesh began to burn and flakes of ash began to float peacefully down towards the concrete beneath my feet. Unable to stand, I dropped Glenn to the ground, and didn't even have a chance to break his fall before I too was being weighed down to the ground. My knees bucckled, and my lips burned as I fell back, my head slamming down hard onto the concrete! The last thing I saw, as a small flame emerged from my outstretched hand, my fingers turning red, and then black with the sunburn...was the museum door....

...Opening wide.

My eyes shot open the following evening, and I found myself covered with a blanket on top of an old mattress. My very first thought was to check the room around me and see if Glenn was still sleeping peacefully by my side. Funny thing...wanting to check for your lover's well being before figuring out if you're dead or alive. I just remember that mental struggle coming second.

Glenn wasn't in the room with me, and I instantly hopped up off of the mattress to hurry towards the door of the small room I was in. I reached out for the handle, and was taken aback by the appearance of my hand. It was slightly scarred, a few blisters and a some charred spots on my knuckles and fingers. It wasn't horribly disfigured...but it was different. It didn't look like my hand at all. I had....'ruined' it. From what I hear, sunburns never heal. Never. Which means...if it's true, that is...that this charred flesh was mine now. For all eternity. And it would never be the same again. A small sacrifice, as long as Glen is safe. As long as Glenn is safe.

I pulled on the door, but it was locked. I pulled harder and harder, knocking at the door, and then pounding it lightly with my fist to get some attention. "Hello???" I said. "Is anybody out there? Let me out! It's locked!"

I kicked and banged away at the door for a few more minutes before actually hearing some movement on the other side. There were keys, and a few locks were opened. "Stand away from the door." Came a male voice from the other side.

"I am."

"No. Stand all the way against the back wall, fold your arms behind your back, and call to us from there." He said.

"What?!?!"

"Do it! Now!" The voice was angry. Demanding. And I really had no choice. So I did as I was told, and waited at the back of the room.

"O-o-ok..." I said. And the door opened. In walked a small, angry looking man. No more than 4 feet tall, if even that. A dwarf that looked to be in his forties, with steel blue eyes and a short mop of dark brown hair with streaks of gray in it.

"What are you doing here? Huh? Speak up!" He grumbled.

"I...I came here for shelter...I just..."

"WHY??? Who the fuck told you about this place? Huh? Who told you this was a shelter? Huh? HUH???" He moved forward, patting me down and checking for...I dunno...a weapon, I guess?

"A f-f-friend of mine told me about you guys. His name was Kazuhiko...he stayed here with you once. Years ago. He said...."

"I don't KNOW any Kazuhiko, boy!" He said still checking my pockets.

"I swear, he was here! He told me about this place, and said that it might be a good place to find shelter if I ever got caught out at dawn."

"I'm warning you...if I find a single heart piercing weapon on you, we're tossing you and your boyfriend out on the street! Daylight or NO daylight! Got it?"

"I don't HAVE any weapons! Look....our habitat was destroyed last night. We were staying in the basement of an old building, not that far South from here. The apartment next door had some kind of gas explosion in the middle of the night and the flames bled over onto our building. It's still standing, but the place is going to be crawling with cops and firemen for the next couple of days. We couldn't just stay there. If they found us sleeping there during the day and exposed us to sunlight, we'd be toast in a matter of seconds. We had nowhere else to go....so we came here." I said.

The little man looked at me with a scowl for a moment, and then backed up a few steps. "Ok...he's clean. Don't know if I buy his story though." He said. But not to me. It was directed towards the door. And a dark figure appeared in the doorway. It was the man from last night. Tall and slim, about 35 years old from the looks of him. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark expression on his face. He approached me with caution, as if waiting for me to suddenly go wild and attack him without warning. I had no way to set his paranoia at ease.

"You said that your name was Julian. Julian what?" The man asked me.

It took me a second to remember my last name. After 23 years in darkness, things like last names, addresses, social security numbers, and all that government created identity tracking bullshit...they all seem to fade away into nothingness. Hell, I think Reagan was still President the last time anyone had asked me. "Lomax. Julian Lomax." I answered, not really remembering the importance of such things.

The man turned to the dwarf and said, "Run that name through the system and see what you come up with. And be thorough. I want names, pics, date of crossover, whether or not he's still supposed to be alive, last known location...everything. If our boy here isn't who he says he is, I want to be aware of it. Pronto."

"Got it, boss." The little man said, and walked off to complete his task.

He stared at me in silence, as though the intimidation would somehow cause me to give up another identity altogether. I didn't have one to give him. I was telling the truth afterall. "Um...sir? Where is Glenn?"

"Glenn?" He asked.

"The boy I came in with. He's in a very vulnerable part of his crossover...I...I just wanna make sure he's alright."

The man paused for a second, then leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. His suspicion still lingering, even if his hard stare had softened a bit. "He's resting in one of our other compartments. I wrapped him in blankets, and left him in a room with no lights. Away from the noise. The boy will be very sensitive to all outside influences during the crossover phase. It won't be painless, but it should bring him some comfort for the time being." He looked over me as I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that my baby was safe. Then he said, "Is it real?"

"Is what real?"

"The eternity band on your arm. Is it real?"

I looked down, viewing the intricate pattern with a little smile. "Yeah. It's real. We're in love." I said, blushing slightly.

"Yours is the first I've ever seen since I crossed over myself. It's a special thing to have. Very rare these days. Don't take it for granted." He told me.

"I don't." I said.

"My name is Jeremiah. This private sanctuary is my work in progress. We are still building on it little by little, my son and I. But we hope that it will do some good in the near future. For...lost travelers, such as yourself."

"Your son? Was he the one at the door last night?"

"Yes. That is my son, Jason. Still human, and he's going to stay that way. Do you understand?" He said, and I nodded. "I look forward to the day when the boy grows even older than me, and can no longer race me around the block at night. Hehehe, a boy of 12 knows nothing of growing old." He grinned to himself. And for the first time, I saw him let his guard down a little. "You have to understand that a place like this is highly forbidden to outsiders and strangers. Harboring renegade vampires can be a dangerous business. We have to keep ourselves alert for any kind of...infiltration."

"Yeah....I understand." I told him.

"This facility is small, but we pride ourselves on being very safe here. We house over 45 vampires in this place, and newcomers can be a highly stressful situation for us all."

"Have they done anything....wicked....or..."

"I make it my policy not to ask questions. Not if they were sent here, as most of them were. They were often recommended by close personal friends and contacts, and we were given proper notice of their arrival. You and your friend, on the other hand, could be a security risk. So you are both on lockdown until we can get some more information from our files. I don't mean to be rude, of course. But this is necessary in order to protect the majority of our guests here. You understand?" Jeremiah asked.

"Sure."

"Good. In that case, I'll leave you to your thoughts. When you and your friend have both been cleared and debriefed on the house rules, we'll allow you to join the general population. Until then, there is a small stack of books in the corner over there if you get bored. Pen and paper if you get creative. But I should let you know right now that any attempts to leave this room will be seen as a hostile act by the staff employed at this sanctuary. Attempt to escape...and you will be slayed, no questions asked. Guaranteed. Do I make myself clear?"

He was dead serious. I could see it in his eyes. So I slowly nodded my head in agreement, and he left me in the room alone. And the waiting game began.

It wasn't a few minutes. It wasn't even a few hours. In fact, the dawn had come and gone twice since I had been locked up in that one room. I went days without seeing or hearing from anybody, and was beginning to go a little stir crazy when I finally heard a sound on the other side of the door. Little clicks and scratches at the lock. And then, it opened, and the young boy from last night was standing there in the doorway. "HI!" He said with a smile. He was undoubtedly human. Undoubtedly twelve. Just happy to be wandering around in the dark, from the looks of it. "I picked the lock. I thought you might be bored. I'd be bored if I had to stay in here this long all by myself."

"You have no idea." I told him, sitting up on my mattress. "Does this mean I can go?"

"Nah, not yet. If I let you out now, they'll think you tried to get away. That's when they get really mean." He said.

"They didn't send you here?"

"Nope! I picked the lock!" He grinned proudly. "I practice on all the locks in the place. I know how to get into almost every single one. Some are hard though."

"Oh. Well...thanks for the company. I was going nuts in here by myself." I said.

"I'm Jason, by the way. My dad's gonna teach me to run this place in the daytime. It's gonna be so cool!" His light blue eyes glistened with excitement just talking about it, and his blond mop swayed with his every movement. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was that age. "So who was that you came in here with? Is he your friend?"

"He's my boyfriend, yes."

The boy got a hint of a sour look on his face. "Ohh...so, you're one of those guys that's into kissing other guys, huh?"

I have to admit, the honesty in his facial expressions was funny, not to mention refreshing. "Hehehe, yeah, I guess you could put it that way." I told him, and then got an idea. "Listen...you wouldn't happen to know where they're keeping him, would you? He's still in his crossover, but he's gonna wake up any day now. It can be a very painful and confusing adjustment...I just....I wanna be there with him when he wakes up."

"Hmmm...I don't know where he is. But I bet ya I can find out. What's his name?"

"Glenn. Your father said he put him in a room with no lights, and away from the noise. It should be some place pretty quiet."

"I can check! I'll see what I can find, and then I'll..." But before he could finish his sentence, the door was opened wide to my 'prison', and the boys father was standing there with a stern look on his face.

"Jason...go to bed."

"Dad, I was just..."

"Now!" He said louder, and the boy immediately hurried to the door, giving me a shy wave to say goodbye on his way out. Then, his hardened eyes turned themselves on me. "I'm only going to say this one time, so I suggest you pay attention. You are not to have any further contact with my son until you have been cleared for release within this facility. Is that understood?"

"I wasn't trying to..."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Mr. Lomax, the mystery surrounding your sudden appearance here worries me. Out of the 6 sources we've reached out to in order to get information on who you really are...four of them have never even heard of you. And the other two...can't be found." He said, with a dark tone creeping into his voice. He pulled up a chair, spun it around and sat in it backwards, spreading his legs out and staring at me face to face. "I find these events to be more disturbing than encouraging."

"Listen, I don't know who you talked to, but I AM who I say I am! I'm just a halflife from the street looking for a place to stay! I don't know who you talked to, but I swear to you, I haven't come to hurt anybody! Just please....let me out of here! I wanna see my boyfriend!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"You CAN'T just fucking hold me hostage!!!" I shouted.

"Considering your current position, Mr. Lomax...I'd say that we can." He replied calmly.

"What the hell do you want from me???"

"I want the truth. And I want a variety of sources to back up that truth with personal witnessed accounts that tell me you're not fudging any of the facts."

"Well how long is that gonna take?"

"As long as necessary. Until then, you'll just have to wait until further notice." He said, and stood up again, pushing the chair back into the corner.

"Please....PLEASE....just let me see my boyfriend. Just, let me look at him and see how he's doing."

"No. That is not possible."

"I can't even look at him for five minutes?"

"No. I'm afraid not." He said plainly.

"What the fuck is your PROBLEM??? I've been locked in this damn room for three DAYS! I came to you for help, and all you do is trap me in here against my will, threaten to hurt me if I try to leave, and split me up from the boy I love? What kinda fucked up place is this?"

"Please don't flatter yourself into believing that I care one bit how you view me or this establishment. Don't think that raising your voice is going to open that locked door any faster. The situation is as follows...you came knocking on our door. No identification, no warning, no reccommendation from any other vampire that we know. Our sources from the surrounding area, the ones who know everything about the inhabitants of this region, have either never heard of you, or they're missing. We checked out your story about the fire and your previous residence, and it seems that you were telling the truth about that. But police reports have listed it as an attempted 'arson'. Which could mean one of two things...either you and your boyfriend were the unfortunate victims of someone elses bad karma...or you yourself set that fire deliberatelyto set the stage for your little play here."

"Oh for God's sake, do you honestly think that I have the time to set up some elaborate plot to get in here? Honestly, that's just fucking ridiculous! You're wasting your time."

"Perhaps I am, Mr. Lomax. But until we're sure, I suggest you make yourself very comfortable where you are. You might be here for a while." He said, and headed towards the door.

"So that's it? You're just gonna turn your back on me and lock me in here for another few days?"

"That's exactly what I intend to do, Mr. Lomax. You can scream about it, you can cry aout it...you can throw a full blowntantrum if you think it'll help you to pass the time. But make no mistake...as of right now, I don't believe a word coming out of your mouth, and I can't find a single vampire to give me a reason to. So you'll sit right here in this room until the stars burn out if that's what it takes. You don't have an alternative. There will be no negotiations. You'll sit here whether you like it or not. And that goes for your boyfriend too."

"This is insane!"

"Believe me, there isn't a single part of this process that was created with your 'comfort' in mind. We are thorough because we have to be. It is the only way to keep our patrons safe."

"I'm telling you that this is a MISTAKE you heartless son of a bitch!!!"

"If it is...then you'll get my most humble apologies later. Let's just hope that your story checks out." He stepped outside the door, and began to close it back. "If you'd like, I can bring you another selection of books to read."

"Screw your books!" I yelled.

"Suit yourself." And he locked the door behind him. I was stuck...with no way out. Nothing to do but read, and pace the floor, and sleep. Where was Glenn? Where was my lovely Glenn? Is he awake yet? Is he scared? Is he alone? The thought of it made me rush the door and pound on it with my fists.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!!! PLEASE!!! I'M NOT HERE TO HURT ANYBODY!!!" But there was no answer except for my own echo, bouncing off of those lonely walls aligning that dark hallway. I doubt I was anywhere near the other inhabitants. Probably too far to be noticed at all. After my charred fists got sore, a tear fell from my eye, and I slid down to the floor. What choice did I have, but to await my release? I just hope it will be soon.

Three more days pass.

The quiet was killing me, and I had taken to humming soft melodies to myself just to keep from being surrounded by such a deafening silence. It's hard to believe that this was even happening to me at this point, but my mind had become numb to thoughts of trying to get anybody's attention. After a few hours of banging and screaming, I gave up entirely. Not even little Jason came to rescue me from the stillness of that room. And so, my soft humming continued, as I watched the door with impatient eyes, counting my breaths to pass the time. Then...I heard footsteps, and was instantly broken out of my trance. I sat up immediately, and felt my heart jump as a key was inserted into the lock outside my door.

In walked the angry dwarf, Jeremiah, and another tall man that I had never seen before. They all gave me a look of concern, and my first thought was that they had finally found out that I wasn't some plotting terrorist, and were now going to have to beg for forgiveness. My pride would want to punish them for it, but I'd forgive anything if only they let me out of here to see my Glenn safe and sound.

This time, Jeremiah didn't sit down, he stood in front of the other two and asked me, "Your friend that you brought in here...how much longer does he have in his crossover?"

The mere mention of him caused my nerves to tighten with fear. "What do you mean? WHY??? What's wrong???"

"Please, just answer the question." The tall man said.

"I dunno. I've been here a week. Maybe a couple of days. I'm not really sure. He's my first turn. I've never actually done one before." I told them. They looked at one another, and then back at me. "Would you mind telling me what's going on???"

Jeremiah looked almost sympathetic. It was a look that I had never seen in his eyes. "There may have been some...complications in your boyfriends crossover."

My eyes widened and my mouth went dry. What was he saying? What was he telling me? "WHAT HAPPENED??? WHAT WENT WRONG???" I stood up from the mattress and was prepared to bite and claw my way through all three of them to get out of this room if I had to.

But this time, he didn't try to stop me. He simply said, "You may want to come with us, Mr. Lomax." He stood up, and the other two moved aside to give me an opening. I was shaking, worried to the point of tears, but I hurried forward to follow them before they changed their mind.

Jeremiah led me around a few dark corners and downstairs into a basement network of rooms. We walked in silence all the way to the back, where he used another key to open the lock and guide me inside. At the far end of the room, I saw a body covered up with a blanket, turned away from me and facing the wall. Without thinking, I instantly burst forward to be at his side again, and the others had no time to stop me. I hurried over to the bed and gave the lump a hug, warm tears pouring out of my eyes as I finally reconnected with my light in the darkness. But then, as I took hold of his shoulder to turn him over...what I saw caused me to gasp in horror!

His hair was falling out, even his eyebrows. His skin had become extremely pale, riddled with dark purple, red, and blue veins and arteries. The teeth had become twisted and sharp. The eyes, half open while he slept, were deep crimson, bloodshot, cursed with a demonic stare. What was this? Why was Glen changing like this? In anger, I turned around to look at my three 'wardens'. "What did you DO to him?!?!?! WHY does he look like this????"

"We haven't done anything, Mr. Lomax. I'm afraid that this is your doing?" He answered.

"What the fuck are you TALKING about?!!?"

The tall man stepped forward and said, "Julian...do you know what a 'Nosferatu' is?"

I wiped some tears away with a sniffle, and looked back at him. "It's a....it's a movie or something, right?"

"I'm afraid it's much more than that. It's a condition that sometimes occurs during a vampire's crossover. You said that this was your first sire, correct?"

"Yeah...." I couldn't take my eyes off of Glenn, his face twisted into such a monsterous image. He was getting worse by the second.

"Sometimes...and it's rare...but sometimes, when a vampire bites their donor, the emotional attachment is so great that the chemical transfer that takes place between sire and host is delivered in an overabundunce. The toxins flood the system like a venom, and it's too much for the body to handle." He told me. "Did you two share a long courtship before your decision to turn him?"

"Um...yeah. Two years." I sniffled. "He was 15 when we met, but he was graduating early. He wanted to be the same age as me...grow a little more...he wanted to be the same age when his body became permanently locked into that form." I said, still trying to keep from bawling helplessly at the image in front of me. His eyes used to be so green. His hair, so perfect, and so blond. How could my baby change so much in such a short amount of time?

"That might be why the attachment was so strong. I'm afraid there's no way to reverse the process. I'm sorry."

Just then, I heard a scuffle outside the door, and shouting. I looked back as a man came bursting through the door in a panic. "That's it! That's the fucking beast right there! It's right THERE!!!" He screamed. Two guards rushed in to twist his arms behind his back and hold him still. "Leave me alone!!! I've seen it! I've seen what these things can do!!! You don't understand...it'll kill us all!!! It'll kill us all!!! IT'LL KILL US ALL!!!!"

They dragged the man out of the room, as his frenzied babbling continued all the way down the hall. And it was then that Jeremiah approached me again. "Julian...we are going to have to make some very difficult decisions here. And we're going to have to do it quickly. Time is of the essence."

"What? What do you mean?"

The tall man added, "Your boyfriend here....he is definitely going to be a Nosferatu when he awakens. There is no question of that. And Nosferatus can be a very dangerous breed of vampire indeed." He said. "Their thirst is instantaneous upon being born into darkness, and it is insatiable. The mind becomes lost in the haze of bloodlust...permanently. They not only drink all the blood that they can find, whether it be human or vampire, but they have been known to cannibalize their victims as well."

"What are you telling me?" I cried.

"There's no easy way to put this, Mr. Lomax, so I'm just gonna say it." Jeremiah said. "What we have here is a time bomb. A destructive force that is a danger to every living thing in this sanctuary and beyond. Including you. When that thing opens its eyes, the first thing it's gonna do is feed until it's belly is full. And a few hours later, it'll do it again. And again. And again...until there's no one left. We can't have that."

I turned to shoot daggers in their direction with my eyes. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!!"

"I'm sorry, Julian. I understand that this is an extremely hard experience for any vampire to go through. But understand....we cannot allow him to live. We cannot allow him to fully crossover and begin ripping into us one at a time. Nosferatus are strong, we don't have any locks that will hold him for very long. We are all at risk here."

"You're asking me to murder my boyfriend in his sleep? Is that what you're asking me?"

There was a silence in the room. But Jeremiah, always the straight shooter, no matter what the consequence, told me flat out, "There is no doubt that this creature is going to be born any day now, and it is going to cause a lot of damage before it leaves. We have no choice." He took a long 17 inch metal spear out of his belt and tossed it down on the floor at my feet. "We're going to allow you to stay here with your boyfriend for the rest of tonight and tomorrow. But that's all the time we're giving you. He'll be awake soon, and we can't allow that. Tomorrow night, we're going to bleed him in his sleep and put him out for the daylight to take care of the remains." He stopped for a moment as I sobbed softly on Glenn's shoulder, running my fingertips over the eternity band symbol on his arm. Jeremiah was sorry, I could tell...but there's no way that it was gonna stop him from doing what he had to do in order to protect his sanctuary. "I'm sorry. I wish we could give you more time.

"GET OUT!!!!" I suddenly shouted at the top of my lungs! "GO GET THE FUCK OUT!!! I DON'T WANT ANYBODY IN HERE!!! YOU'RE NOT GONNA TOUCH HIM!!! NOT MY BOYFRIEND!!!" I screamed until my throat began to burn, and they all bowed out gracefully to walk out of the door.

But before closing it and locking it behind them, Jeremiah told me..."You have until midnight tomorrow. And not a minute longer. Again....I am sorry." And he left me alone with my beauty. My Glenn. His body shaking and shivering slightly, turning from cold to feverish and back to cold, as his poor helples teenage frame went through the monsterous changes I was seeing in him. I heard the door lock behind me, and I ran my fingers through his hair...as clumps of it fell to the mattress, or got wrapped up in my fingertips. Oh God....not my love. Not him.

As the minutes ticked by...I laid at my lover's side, and held him tight to my chest. Hoping that somehow, my love could bring him back. That somehow, our promise to be together forever would reverse the damage I've done. He didn't ask for this. It's my fault! ALL of it! I should have been careful! I should have learned more before I bit him! I should've....

But there was nothing I could do. At least, not at the moment. One thing I did know, was that those bastards weren't going to lay a hand on him. Not if I have anything to say about it.

WHERE WILL THE STORY GO FROM HERE???

That will depend on YOU!!! The stage has been set, and I know you guys have some ideas (and aren't too damn CHICKEN to try your hand at finishing the story your way! Hehehe!) So, how does it all turn out?

Will Julian fight for the love of his life? Will he fight to stay? Will he fight to escape? Will he sneak out with Glenn on his shoulders before they try to do him some harm? Can the Nosferatu defect be cured somehow? Or will Glenn wake up and turn on his boyfriend, beginning a horrible massacre with his own sire? Will julian be forced to slay his one true love? And if so, will he do it before he wakes up? And are Julian and Glenn really who they say they are? Or are they hiding something from everyone else? There are endless possibilities, and the only limit is your imagination! So give us an ending...and do it your way!

All submissions will be proudly displayed right here on the "GFD: Blood Bank", and all authors will be given full credit for their work and ideas! I know how I plan to end it...but let's see what you come up with first!  Seezya then!