Night-Walker

Night-Walker

Normal, that is what I longed for. I spent long dark nights wishing for the normality of my old life. Tonight, I wandered the cemeteries. The moonlight glowed on my pale face and hands. I wandered around gravestones, sulking. Eventually, I left the cemetery and ended up where it all began. Somehow, I ended up here every night. It called to me, as it had that first horrible night. There was a forest of tightly grouped trees and on the outer edge, a stone bridge. Under the bridge trickled a large creek. It was here, so many years ago, that it all started.

Leander walked down the street, heading towards Hunter Avenue. As he got closer, a forest loomed out of the darkness, throwing grotesque shadows on the ground. As he crossed the gray stone bridge that led to his home, he stopped to watch the creek flow quietly under it. He blew into his cold hands and saw his breath rise in a white fog. Shivering, he stared into his reflection in the water ripples. The leaves whispered their tales quietly in his ear. He leaned on the edge of the bridge and looked up into the line of trees that marked the entrance to the forest.
Suddenly, a shadow passed from behind a large oak and moved deeper into the forest. Blinking, Leander stared hard to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. After seeing nothing mysterious for several moments, he decided they were and averted his eyes to watch other parts of the forest. Minutes passed, and again, he saw the shadow moving from one tree to another. The figure was tall and seemed to be wearing a long cloak. Leander noted the odd way the moonlight reflected off its face and hands and the ease with which it moved around obstacles. Seconds later, it vanished from sight. The disappearance was followed shortly by a bright red flash of light. Fascinated, Leander made his way closer to the edge of the forest. Then, a high-pitched screech echoed over the treetops and reached his ears. A long howl followed the screech and Leander’s blood ran cold. His searching eyes sought for the source of the noise, but found nothing. Cautiously, he entered the forest and began a late night hike.
Soon, Leander reached the heart of the forest. He had seen nothing out to the ordinary save for a few rodents. As he neared a clearing, he saw a fire glowing bright at its center. It was small and newly made, but there was no one near it. Leander waited and watched, his curiosity mounting, until he heard the sound of flapping wings overhead. He stared into the sky as four bats came into view. As they neared the ground, each of the bats flashed a different color and transformed. Four vampires floated to the ground and stood before the fire. A woman and man and two children, twin boys, stood with the firelight reflecting off their pale skin. The woman and man had flashed green and yellow, respectively, and the twins had turned brilliant shades of blue and purple. Leander noticed the absence of the red flash. There must be another one somewhere, he thought frantically. As though it had heard his thoughts, the last vampire sprang from behind a large beech tree and knocked him over. His face hit the ground and all he saw was dark soil. Then, he felt cold hands on his neck shortly followed by two plunging daggers. He could hear rapid breathing in his ear and felt the hot breath on his cheek. The last thing he saw was the orange glow of the fire before he passed out on the forest floor.

Where am I? I could feel sharp, pointed teeth hanging down over my bottom lip and knew immediately. The thirst for blood had not yet begun, but I knew it would come. I lay there on the ground with my eyes closed, willing this lifeless, emptiness to go away. I could hear the wind climbing up trees, making the leaves dance but I could no longer feel the chilly breeze. Slowly, I cracked on eye open to see two boys, sporting fangs and pale skin staring into my face. The man, their father, I supposed, stepped up beside them and I shut my eyes tightly once again. I willed the horrific scene to disappear.
“You should not be here.” The man spoke bitterly, his British accent, clipped. “What is your name?” I was afraid to speak. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut even tighter. “Speak, fool. What is your name?” I tilted my head up and gazed into his angered golden eyes.
“L-Leander. My name is Leander.” As I spoke, I could feel the points of my new fangs scrape across my lip. I loathed the feeling.
“Oswyn, Blain.” he now spoke to the twins who were still watching me with eyes as empty as their father’s. “Go and retrieve your brother.” he said. They hurried over to their mother and he turned his lamp-like gaze back to me. “Why did you come here tonight?” he asked.
“I-I was curious.” I stammered. “I saw a flash of red light and wondered. When I reached this clearing, I saw you all -- except your other son -- the one that --” I trailed off as the reality hit me. I reached my hand up to my neck, fearing what I would find. When my fingers brushed against the two small indentations, I whipped my hand back down to my side and clamped my eyes shut tightly once more. I gasped for breath and a solitary tear rolled off my cheek, seeping into the dark soil.
For a moment, I laid there, unwilling to face him. Soon, the twins returned with their mother and sibling in tow. Their brother’s hands were tied with a copper chain to keep him from transforming. His mother held the chain, gently pulling him along.
“Windel, my dear,” the mother said to her husband, “This is the man? But he looks so young!” the woman gazed back at me intently, her bright eyes sparkling. She had long hair the shade of chestnut and a soft, round face. Her clothing, an old Victorian style, was darkly colored but looked majestic. I turned my attention from her to the twins as she looked away to converse with Windel. Both of the twins had black hair like their father and the same facial features as their mother. One had luminescent purple eyes while the other had brilliant blue ones. The one with purple eyes had a slightly crooked left fang, but that was the only difference I could see between the two who seemed to be about nine or ten years old. They watched me for awhile, but soon grew bored, smiled at me, and went to play near the fire. Last, I turned my attention to the third son. He frightened me the most -- perhaps because of his appearance or perhaps because he had bitten me, I did not know. He, too, had dark black hair and his mother’s facial features. However, his eyes were not the shade of yellow or green. They were the rusty red shade of dried blood. As he gazed at me, I noticed an odd spark behind his eyes -- but even deeper, I saw fear and hatred. He did not smile at me as the others had and his face wore no expression. I knew not whether he was happy with himself or if he felt ashamed for turning me into another remember of the undead, a walker of the night.
The conversation the parents were having was growing louder. They seemed to be disagreeing. I only heard a few snatches of what they were saying.
“He cannot be trusted Nessapheera,” the father said, “He is not one of us.”
“But he is one of us. Vohn bit him. We must watch out for him or he will succumb to the blood-thirst. If he does, he will be lost.”
“He cannot help us. End of story.” Windel looked at me with disgust, but Nessapheera was adamant.
“I will not send him out into the world alone. He does not know the ways. If he does not die within the first few days, he will cause trouble out of ignorance. No, Windel, he stays.” Nessapheera offered a hand to me. I was disinclined to take it, but she seemed kind and had saved me from being thrust into the unknown. I wrapped my long pale fingers around her soft ones and she pulled me up from the forest floor. Standing before the fire, I dug my hands deep into my pockets. I hated to see the sickly color of my pale skin, so white in the moonlight.
“Get him something more suitable to wear.” Nessapheera said to her husband. Begrudgingly, Windel took me by the shoulder and propelled me towards a large wooden shack I had not noticed before on the outskirts of the clearing. He pulled an old Victorian outfit and cloak from a wooden crate. When he left, I shed my old clothing and dressed in the dusty outfit.
At last, when I stepped out of the shack, the moonlight greeted me brightly, but I felt no desire to look at it. I strode over to the fire and sat on a large tree stump. For a while, I sat and just stared into the flames as they licked the burning wood.
A while later, the twins walked over to the fire and stood before me. They said nothing, but just stood there, staring at me intently once again.
“Yes?” I said. They glanced at each other and then back at me. The purple-eyed boy with the crooked fang spoke.
“Who are you?” he asked. He was silent for a moment and then his brother nudged him. “And -- are you like us now? I mean a vampire?” Another nudge followed this question and Purple-Eyes continued. “Oh, and -- er -- how old are you?” I waited for a moment to see if he would speak again. When he didn’t, I answered their questions.
“I am Leander. I am twenty-two years old and yes, now I am a vampire -- like you.” the words “I am a vampire” were foreign on my tongue. “Anything else?” I asked. Again they glanced at each other and then back at me.
“Did Vohn bite you?” Purple-Eyes asked. For a moment, I only looked at them. Both seemed to hold pity behind their brilliant shaded eyes. Slowly, I nodded and a fearful glance passed between them. Deciding to change the subject, I asked their names and age.
“I’m Blaine and we’re nine,” Purple-Eyes said. “And that’s Oswyn. He doesn’t talk -- he can, but he doesn’t.” Oswyn waved a hand at me and they both smile. Then, Nessapheera came over and herded them towards the shack.
“Time for sleep now boys.” she said. Blaine looked back at me and nodded a goodbye. “Goodnight Leander. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Oswyn also looked back and nodded.
“Goodnight,” I said. Then they disappeared behind the wooden door. A thought, then, occurred to me -- where would I sleep? I decided to ask Nessapheera when she returned. While I waited, Windel strode over to me and sat down on another stump. Slightly frightened, I said nothing.
“You will begin training tomorrow,” he said. “You must learn how to fight the blood-thirst and how to transform, as well as a few other things. I shall teach you how to accomplish these things on one condition. You must not teach the twins anything. They are too young. They will learn when the time comes. For now, they will only know how to transform into bats.” for awhile, he said nothing. Then, “I do not dislike you. As Nessa so often tells me, I am simply intolerant of new people. I think we shall get along fine. I was twenty-eight when I was bitten. That was many, many years ago.” He looked away from me and stared wistfully into the orange flames, remembering. Just then, Nessapheera came back out of the shack and beckoned to Windel and me. Reluctantly, I tapped his shoulder, pulling him from the memory. He slowly turned his now soft golden eyes back to me and stood. The emotion I could see in his eyes was overpowering. They seemed to hold pools of sunlight and there was a far away look on his face. As he strolled, in this state, over to Nessapheera, I rose and followed them. Upon reaching the shack, I turned and looked up longingly, to see the pale gray that always took hole of the sky in the early morning. As the edges began to give way to pink, my eyes began to itch in a way I had never felt before. Nessapheera laid a hand on my shoulder, and I turned sadly to enter the shack.
Once inside, Nessapheera closed the door and knelt to the floor. There was a small rope pull lying in the dirt. She took hold of this and pulled. A trap-door opened outward and flipped over to land upside down on the ground, the metal hinges creaking. A set of stone stairs lit with torches ran far down under the ground. I descended these, following Nessapheera and Windel.
Upon arriving at the bottom, there was a series of tunnels winding around numerous corners. However, Nessapheera chose one on the left and followed it for what seemed like miles. Eventually, we reached a large, round, chamber, carved from stone. Hanging from the ceiling were the twins and their brother in the form of bats.
“I’ll transform you for tonight,” Windel said, “But you’ll have to learn by tomorrow morning.” Clapping his hands together and pulling them slightly apart, he waited until his fingertips glowed bright yellow. Then, he placed two fingers on each of my temples and hummed a low, reverberating note. I felt my body painlessly shrink, my arms stretch into wings, and my ears lengthen. I barely had time to account for all the changes before Windel whispered, “Now, Leander, sleep.” And I did.

I woke the next night to the screeching and restlessness of the others. It would take awhile to get used to these hours.
“Come, Leander. We must begin now.” I opened my eyes and realized I was hanging from the ceiling. I started at the height and fell from my upside-down perch. I landed with a squeal on the stone floor in a crumple heap. I stood up, still in bat form.
“This is your first lesson. Now, your eyes are a bright orange, so picture that color in your mind. Close your eyes and take deep breaths.” I obeyed and imagined all shades of orange ricocheting off the boundaries of my mind. “Next, see yourself in human form, glowing orange. Last, see yourself transforming back into human. You must force all of your will and magic into re-forming you body.” He waited patiently while I tried. The room glowed orange and while my shape changed from bat to human, my size stayed the same. I was still only about seven inches tall.
“Try again.” Windel urged. “Think larger.” He snapped his fingers and I returned to bat form. I tried again. I repeated every step and thought large. This time, I grew as I changed shape and was soon normal again -- well, as normal as could be expected. I looked around and noticed everyone had already woken.
“What’s next,” I asked.
“Well,” Windel replied, “First, I must teach you how to transform into other animal forms. Then, I’ll teach you some of our rules and how to use your other basic powers. Are you ready?” he asked. I nodded and we headed upstairs and out into the dark night.

Every night, I learned. Most of my new tasks were not too difficult, but they all took patience and practice. A month later, I could transform easily and I knew all the basic rules to follow. Another month and I could use most of my powers quite well. There were some harder things I could learn later if I so chose, but I decided not to rush the matter, as I had plenty of time.
For about two years, I lived with Windel’s family in peace. Then, around the second anniversary of my transformation, I was out walking through the forest. For once, I had told the twins that they could not come with me -- something I did not do often -- and I was enjoying the quiet. Around midnight, I was leaning against a tree and just watching the rest of the forest when I heard an engine start. As I was so far into the forest, this was highly unusual. That meant that the vehicle was in the forest. I listened for another moment and then assumed bat form. I flew quickly back to the clearing to warn my new family.
Upon my return, the twins waited only until I changed back before pouncing on me, ready to play. Almost as soon as the game started, I stopped it. I had to find Windel.
“Where is your father?” I asked. They pointed to the shack with sulky faces and I went over. I opened the door to find Windel sitting in a chair, staring intently out the window.
“There are humans in the forest,” I said, gasping for breath after my hurried flight. Immediately, he stood up and went outside, without a word to me.
“Children,” he said, trying to sound calm. “Go inside now and tell your mother that we went out.” the twins nodded and ran inside. Then he turned to me.
“Have you seen Vohn?” he asked. Realizing the importance of this question, I shook my head, no. I had not seen him all night. I offered to help Windel find him and he readily agreed. With that, we transformed and left.
We searched for hours with no sign of Vohn. Then, around three o’clock in the morning, I saw a small owl with red eyes sitting on a low branch of a tree. We transformed and stood on the ground in front of the tree. The branch was at eye level and we looked at the disgruntled Vohn.
“My son,” Windel said, “Have you seen the humans?” Slowly, Vohn nodded. There was a great fear behind his eyes and he did not try to hide it. “Vohn, did you bite them?” Windel asked. Much to my surprise, Vohn’s eyes grew larger, even in owl form, and he shook his head, no. Vohn morphed back to normal and landed softly on the ground.
“I didn’t bite them, Father.” he said. As though he didn’t believe him, Windel asked, “Why not?”
“They’re vampire hunters; I couldn’t. They chased me all over the forest and I only just escaped because they didn’t know I could transform into anything other than a bat.”
“How many of them are there?” Windel asked.
“Only two.”
“We must go now. We will leave this forest the night after tomorrow.” he transformed and flew off towards the clearing where we had lived so peacefully. Vohn and I assumed owl form to be safe and followed Windel.
“When we returned, Windel was already explaining to Nessapheera. Deciding not to interfere, as it was almost dawn, I went downstairs to sleep. The twins were already sleeping, and I did the same.

The next night I woke and went upstairs. As I went outside, I found a glowing message inscribed with green magic on the ground. It read, “Twins missing; Please help.”
Almost immediately, I was in owl shape, sipping through the forest. Again and again, I shot bursts of orange sparks down to the ground in hopes the twins would see it. Now purple or blue flashes were ever returned to me. Then, as I flew over the lake, I noticed two small bodies on the bank, one holding the other. I shot one last burst of orange light down to them. Oswyn looked up, but Blaine did not. I landed, fearful of what I would find. Before transforming, I called out to Windel and Nessa so they would know where we were. Then, I turned to the boys.
Oswyn’s eyes were watery and his face had blotchy red patches. I stepped nearer, staring at Blaine’s chest. A long wooden stake protruded from the small boy’s chest. His face was paler than usual and his breathing ragged, but he fought to stay alive. His face was much paler than usual, but there was a fire behind his eyes. He looked at me one last time and smiled weakly. Then, the spark of fire went out, and his eyes closed for the last time. I fell to my knees and let out an agonized cry. I had loved these boys as if they were my own brothers. Now Blaine was gone. Oswyn stared at his twin’s face and cried silently. Since I had met him, I had never heard him say a single word, not even now. He simply laid his head upon his brother, his tears falling in radiant blue drops onto the other boy’s shirt.
We sat like that for a moment until Windel and Nessa arrived with Vohn right behind them. As they transformed, Nessa caught sight of her sons on the bank. She collapsed as I had and Windel fought to keep her from falling as she broke into tormented sobs. Vohn just stood and stared at his brothers, his face stricken. I wondered whether he regretted not biting the hunters.
Later that night, we buried Blain in the clearing under an unmarked grave so the hunters would not disturb him. Then we transformed and took flight. Oswyn traveled close to me the entire night.
Near dawn, we landed on an island and returned to normal form. He took my hand and we walked to the shore, standing knee-deep in the rushing waves. Looking up at me, Oswyn spoke for the first time.
“I’ll miss him,” he said. A tear rolled down his already tear-stained cheek, this time with a slight hint of purple on the edges of the blue. For a moment, I said nothing and stared at the horizon, just now starting to turn gray at the edges.
“He won’t really be gone though,” I said, looking down into his blue eyes, brimming with tears. “You can visit him, and he’ll always be here, in your heart.” I put a finger, tipped with a slight bit of orange, over his heart. He smiled at me and looked back at the beautiful horizon.
Looking at the horizon just about to burst into color for the new day, I thought about my new life just beginning. There would be new memories, and new adventures with my new family.

Every night now, as I wander the old forest that was my home, I think of my old life. I think of the things that I miss and will never get to do again. I also think of people -- people who meant a great deal to me. And after I have mourned the forgotten and the things lost to me, I think of the new things to come. The new things I will get to try and do -- the new people I have met -- and this new life seems bearable. Maybe even enjoyable.