Deep Under Cover

“Aaarrgh!” roared the voice as the sound of shattering glass was sent throughout the cave. Josh had just awoken to find himself in some kind of cave system, he didn’t know how deep underground he was, but that wasn’t what scared him. He found that his body had… changed… since he was last awake.

The cave was surprisingly well kept, even having various sorts of furniture as if somebody had actually chose to make this place their home! When he looked into the mirror, he had absolutely flipped out and smashed it with his fist.


Josh’s body was warped beyond all manner of recognition, his skin was a putrid mixture of yellow, brown, and mucus colored, his hair had fallen out in his sleep and he appeared to have lost nearly 54% of his previous body weight, now resembling something like an elderly man rather than a young cop. The normally white parts of his eyes had become a murky green color. He could feel his incisors had sharpened considerably, almost like needles and had grown nearly twice their original length, but thankfully the rest of his teeth had remained the same way as before. His ears were also pointed now, almost animalistic in their design and his body had purple and blue veins which could be seen through his putrid colored skin. Any normal person looking at this creature would believe he was the product of a toxic waste accident!


“What the fuck happened to me!?” he shouted in horror, looking around the room in fear. A couple of arm chairs, a queen sized bed with a muddy but still fairly impressive navy blue bedspread, a wireless laptop computer, a generator powered mini fridge, and a work desk with various drawers full of office supplies.

He walked over to the fridge as he suddenly realized he was starving, he had no idea what he was hungry for, he just knew that he wanted it and was prepared to eviscerate anybody who got in his way. As he peaked into the fridge, he was met with the sight of about two dozen blood bags hanging inside. Any normal human being would immediately close the door in disgust, but something took over Josh and before he knew it, he had dove for the fridge, ripping open bag after bag of blood and guzzling the blood down in large, sloppy gulps!

By the time he had come to his senses, he was just finishing off the 11th bag of blood from the fridge, he immediately dropped it while shrieking in terror as he looked at the shredded, bloody bags lying around his feet. And yet, despite his obvious confusion and fear, despite the fact he had just drunk more blood than the human body is normally capable of containing, he couldn’t help but derive some sort of sick pleasure from the act. The blood tasted sweet upon his tongue as he guzzled it, his hunger dissipated and he felt strength the likes of which he had never dreamed begin to fill his limbs, it was as if drinking the blood granted him power!


“Well, I see you’re awake…” said a voice, causing Josh to whip around ready for a fight as he put his arms up for his boxing style, only to see the man with the scarf standing at the entrance to the caves on the opposite side of the room.


“You!” shouted Josh as he reactively charged the man, intending to land the strongest punch he could muster, but just as he threw his arm out and it slammed right into the man’s face, his target didn’t even seem to flinch! Instead, the punch had sent a wave of pain shooting through Josh’s arm as if he had just punched a solid brick wall! Josh fell over hissing in pain as he clutched his arm while the man began to walk over to one of the chairs, totally ignoring the fact that Josh had just slugged him.


“Sit down, Josh. I have a lot to tell you and if you wish to survive, you will need to listen.” he instructed. Josh reluctantly agreed as he began walking over to the other chair and eased himself into it as the feeling began to return to his arm once more.


“Sorry about your arm.” said the man, “But that’s what about 75 years worth of blood potency can do when you use the Fortitude Discipline.” he said, “But we’ll come back to that later.” he added. Josh had no idea what the hell this man was talking about, but if he wanted any explanation at all, he was going to sit down and listen. He barely managed to suppress his gasp as the man removed his coat and scarf.


Compared to Josh, he wasn’t that particularly bad, although he was still somewhat repulsive. Josh noticed his jagged teeth which he had only glimpsed before, the man’s chest and arms had several patches of sores which looked like oversized acne, and Josh could still smell that horrid stench coming off his body in waves. But otherwise, he was passable as human.


“For starters, if you haven’t figured it out by now,” began the man, “We’re vampires. I embraced you because by our laws, normal humans are forbidden from knowing our existence. I would normally have had to kill you, but I gave you an opportunity to survive.” He explained, Josh scoffed at the idea, this was all too crazy to take in at face value.


“There are many different strains of vampirism, five major clans with a great number of smaller groups called bloodlines, we happen to be the Nosferatu clan. Our strain of vampirism makes us incapable of blending in with society, so we stick to the shadows, we use fear and secrecy as our weapons.” Josh just listened as the man prattled on about the various pros and cons about being a vampire.

How sunlight could kill them, how they were susceptible to fire, how despite the legends, ordinary weapons could still damage them, how religious items such as crosses or holy water had no effect, and of course, the beast.


“Every time you perform an evil act or indulge in your selfish instincts, the beast grows stronger. If you give into it too much, you’ll become a wild monster and permanently lose your sanity. The legends speak of us as being vicious, blood sucking demons, and that may be true for the most part. But we don’t go flaunting our powers just for the hell of it. That shit brings more chaos to us than it does to our victims.” the man said before pausing to give Josh a chance to soak all this in.


“So… vampires are real, and you made me one because I would have to die otherwise…” said Josh. The man nodded in response, “And apparently we’re part of some super secret society who hides from humanity while feeding on it.” he added, producing a nod again.


“Right… well once whatever the fuck kind of drug you doped me up with wears off, I’m taking you to jail, you’re obviously some twisted psychopath and I’m bringing you in.” said Josh, rising to his feet.


“Sit… down… Josh…” ordered the man, and before he even realized it, Josh found himself compelled to reply to the man’s request. He blinked in surprise, he didn’t know what had come over him, but the way the man had ordered him was like he was taking control over his body, he couldn’t resist.


“I have arranged for you to have a meeting with the Prince, if he deems you worthy, you will be permitted to remain within the city as my Childe, I am your Sire. If he deems you unworthy, I will immediately kill you on the spot.” said the man, “My name is Brian, but you will refer to me as either Master Brian, or simply Sire.” the man added.


Over the next few hours, Josh was forcefully trained in how the proper etiquette for behaving around the prince would go. Every time Josh tried to rebel or refuse to do something, the man would order him to do it in that same strange commanding voice and Josh felt himself compelled to obey.


“We shall leave to see the prince first thing tomorrow, it’s almost sunrise now, and we need to sleep. You are forbidden from feeding on humans until you have the approval of the prince, so those blood bags will be your breakfast, now come to bed.” said Brian as he removed his boots and belt which housed his gun, lastly removing his soaked pants, standing in only his underwear which were a worn out pair of black boxers. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers up.


“You really should climb in, the sun’s coming up in just a few seconds.” said Brian casually as he lay down. Josh just frowned at him.


“As if I would-” he began before he suddenly dropped unconscious right on the cave floor. Brian just scoffed as he too slipped unconscious, it was a reflex action that all vampires shared when the sun rose. They passed out immediately, and only those with an insanely high will power could stay conscious for more than a few minutes or so.