Stranger Than Fiction

Introduction- The Accident
The night was young, the world was shrouded in darkness and all had gone to their beds to sleep and dream, feel safe and warm inside their homes away from the dark, away from the world. There was a certain man, in a certain house, on a certain street who fell to a certain on this night. The Night he was supposed to die. The house said man lived in was number 26. A small, little cottage, with a fine thatched roof and small thin glass windows. A cottage built for one. Beyond those walls however, standing outside was what was more interesting. Two figures were pacing around in the gardens. Both quite slim, well hidden by the dark due to their clothing. One stood still as the other paced frantically, his hands trembling slightly.
"Did you take your medicine today Jekyll?" One of the figures asked to the pacing, trembling man. Jekyll upon closer inspection had a tortured look in his eye, that of utter fear and yet, somewhere deep within those eyes was also a look of complete confidence. The man was a walking contradiction.
"Yes Soleil...I'm sure of it. It mustn’t have been as strong as I'd have hoped this time." Jekyll replied with a slight rapidness to his counterpart. Soleil looked much more confident than Jekyll did at first glance. his hair drew down to his shoulders as black as the night itself. His eyes told stories of fire and destruction of people around him an emotionless statue of a man that has lived far longer than he had hoped.
"What time is it?" Jekyll asked, still pacing. Soleil inspected a pocket watch he had withdrawn from a long black cloak.
"Eleven. Do you think this one will be asleep by now?" Soleil asked looking over the cottage, no signs of light anywhere, but he liked to be sure.
“I’d imagine so. They don’t usually stay up too late. Especially one who lives on his own.” Jekyll explained, he had now stopped pacing, but he had begun tapping his foot impatiently. His eye began to twitch slightly and that look of fear upon his face was growing with every twitch.
“Ok, time to get in to character, the usual. Scare em’, talk about death and darkness and destruction. The whole apocalypse spiel. That usually frightens them if they’re awake. “ Soleil said in a droning manner, he had done this kind of job many times before.
“So why are we killing this guy again?” Jekyll asked as his hands continued to tremble.
“The reason we usually go out to kill. Somehow, some way this human did something to make Dubois angry and we like the loyal soldiers we are ask no questions, receive no answers and get pleasure out of the killings we perform. I found that out after the first time...its best not knowing what they do to anger Dubois.” Soleil shuddered at the thought, showing a slight sign of fear but regaining his emotionless stature as he began to pick the lock on the door. He looked back every now and then to Jekyll who showed obvious signs of suffering, the twitching was now more occasional, not just in his eyes but in his neck and arms. If Jekyll were to...fail because of his medicine not being as strong as it should be, mistakes could be made and Soleil did not like mistakes.
The two crawled up the stairs into a room where the man they were seeking lay, in a deep, deep slumber. Soleil slowly approached the man, kneeling on the floor, examining his face. His skin had colour, redness in the cheeks, life. Soleil turned the man’s head, so his neck was facing him. He opened his mouth wide and in the normal set of teeth he had, two began to sharpen as if growing from the gums. Soleil’s eyes showed a hint of red as he pierced the man’s neck with his teeth. All seemed like a normal job, as long as Soleil was not distracted the man would die. The two could return to their master and it would be another normal night for them. If it were not for the loud thump that occurred as Jekyll hit the floor, twitching and shaking wildly. Soleil with drew looking back to his companion and was now torn, help his friend, or finish a job.
“We are so dead because of you!” Soleil growled as he rushed to Jekyll’s side. Time seemed to go so slowly for Jekyll, but this was something that he had experienced so many times that for anyone watching, such as Soleil. It occurred in an instant. The eyes were a full red, no pupils. All his teeth had sharpened into that which you would expect to see in a shark. His nails lengthened and a wide smirk grew on his face as his hair turned a light grey and his skin went from pale white to dark silver. As he rose, the man in his bed rose at the same time, gasping for air, holding his neck. Soleil did, what he thought to be the only solution. He grabbed the nearest weapon, in this case a lamp and hit both Jekyll and the man with it. Throwing it to the ground after he had knocked them out.
“...Well...that was eventful.” Soleil told himself as he readied the two motionless bodies for travel.

Chapter 1- Dubois
Memories faded away from the victims head as he slept, who he was, what he had done. People he had met. Only specific things seemed to stay in his head, specific things which now made no sense. As he awoke, things were different, as if he had a different set of eyes. Everything he looked at, had its own value, everything he touched sent a sensation up his spine. Every breath he took made him feel more...aware. He looked to his surroundings, in some sort of walled of ward. Full of cobwebs and damp and decay, yet the room was comforting to him...then he saw the men who had taken him here, one was sitting beside another in restraints who was fidgeting, fighting, chuckling.
“Our little brother has awakened” Jekyll chuckled, looking to the victim with his full, blood lust eyes.
“Hello there, apologies for my friend...he’s an accident. Like you.” Soleil greeted in what would be the strangest way to greet someone, yet this victim knew exactly what he was talking about. Somehow...

“Accident? How?” The victim asked groaning, sitting himself up in his bed, grabbing at the neck wound in his neck. It should have been causing a large amount of pain, but it didn’t.
“Well...Jekyll here wasn’t an accident with what he is...it’s what came with it that was the accident.” Soleil explained, making things all the more confusing. Yet Soleil didn’t seem at all concerned that the first thing they weren’t talking about, which they should have been was what in the world happened.
“I-I don’t understand.” The victim muttered
“Split personality...had it as a human and the only way we can explain it is that personality took a physical form once he turned into a vampire. Isn’t that right, Jekyll?” Soleil smirked down at thge fidgeting monster
“Don’t call me that you incompetent fool! You know what I could do to you if it weren’t for these straps Soleil! Loosen them; just a bit...maybe we can make a game out of it!” The dark Jekyll laughed loudly, Soleil just seemed to ignore it, but it did catch the eye of the victim.
“So...about you...” Soleil began. “You are an accident, I won’t lie. You were supposed to die tonight, but because of...distractions...” He cast a gaze at Dark Jekyll “You’ve become one of us...”
“And what exactly ARE you?” The victim asked, now standing. Showing his pale skin. It had lost all colours, all signs of life. Medically speaking, the man was dead.
“Vampires with a twist I suppose, we’re accidents, all of us. In one way or another. Dubois is the one that sent us after you...our leader. He won’t be happy you’re alive.”
“So I’m just supposed to sit here, take in the fact that if I hadn’t become this...mistake. I’d be dead right now, because of some vampire I haven’t even heard of?!”
“Of course...it’s what we all do after changing, some of us were lucky to be born with it, like Alicia...I’d stay away from her though, she tends to be a bit more rabid than the average vampire woman...and the average vampire woman is pretty rabid already.” Soleil chuckled slightly to himself, the victim couldn’t believe how casual this man was, the man that was hired to kill him. He seemed more worried about what would happen to him, than the fact he’d turned someone into a vampire.
“Soleil?” A voice called out from the distance, both Soleil and Dark Jeckyll’s heads turned suddenly to the doorway. Soleil’s with wide eyes of fear, Jekyll with an evil smirk on his face. In the doorway appeared the living battlefield, Dubois.
Dubois had thick, black leather shows, on the back were white painted pentagrams, the jeans he wore. Black, torn at the bottoms. Tears all throughout as if someone had got a knife once and stabbed him all the way down his legs. The coat he wore had various scratch marks and bullet holes in it. Dubois’ neck was scarred all along and his face had a scar across his eye, down to his lip. This man looked like a man that many people had tried to kill and all had failed.
“Dubois, me and Soleil, we thought since it is the season. We’d get you a Christmas present. Merry Christmas!” Dark Jekyll cackled manically, Dubois remained silent. Looking to the victim, then to Soleil.
“Did Dark Jekyll bite him?” Dubois asked with a horse voice, probably because of the damage his throat appeared to have taken in the past.
“No sir...I did, I had almost done as you asked...and then Jekyll had turned.” Soleil tried to explained, seeming more like a young school boy now, explaining things to his headmaster.
“Did Jekyll take his medicine?” Dubois asked, interrogating Soleil, his eyes however, never left the victim.
“Yes sir, Clara gave it to him as always, it wasn’t as strong this time. He was twitching only after an hour” Soleil explained hoping that would suffice for Dubois, it seemed it did for him, but Dubois slowly wandered to the victim until they were face to face.
“What is your name, Accident?” Dubois asked bluntly, the victim would have retorted with an argument...but not against this man.
“I...don’t remember.” He mumbled under his breath
“Of course you don’t...” Dubois snapped, looking to Soleil “I will be in my quarters...with my lady, Soleil, you bit this man, and he is your responsibility.”
“But my lord!” Soleil tried to interrupt, to no avail
“You know the laws! You turned him, you look after him! And give him a name!” Dubois ordered, storming away from the ward. Soleil sighed and hung his head angrily.
“Come with me...” He thought for a moment. “Theren...” He had given his pupil a name.

Update tomorrow, with some character background from Soleil

Chapter 2: Soleil's Story

“Theren isn’t my name...I have a name. A human name. A real name!” Theren, the new vampire tried to argue as he followed Soleil down a long dark hallway with steel doors either side leading to various rooms.

“That’s great kid, if you can remember it and tell me what it is that’s what I’ll call you.” Soleil replied quite sarcastically, as if he knew something Theren did not. Theren thought for a while as he thought. He couldn’t remember his actual name.

“I...I don’t know.” He told Soleil quite concerned. Soleil was not shocked.
“Nobody remembers their real name. Not unless they get told what it was. Apparently my name was Steven at some point...that’s what Dubois says.” Soleil explained, stopping at one of the steel doors, he took out a black key and unlocked it, leading Theren inside.
The room was filled with memorabilia from the past. Over forty years ago to be exact. Tie dye and various posters of people long dead, or bands that were no longer together. People who once had a dream, a dream that died.

“Is this your room?” Theren asked looking at the time capsule of a room. It didn’t fit Soleil at all. A room filled with so much colour and life, for a man that wore so much black and looked so dead.

“Yes, it’s my room. Lord Dubois was very generous to take my things and place them here for me after he turned me...” Soleil replied, seeming to ignore what was actually in the room. He just sat himself at a table. Kicking back and resting his legs on it. Theren sat opposite him confused.

“Dubois did this to you?” He asked “Why?”

“The same reason anyone gets turned...” Soleil put quite bluntly “It’s in the eyes, the eyes show who they truly are inside...it shows whether or not they have potential. You’re the first vampire who was unintentionally recruited...you should feel special.” Soleil was very impassive, very emotionless and monotonous in his tone.

“How long have you been a vampire?” Theren asked, still looking around the room. Seeing a poster of Jimi Hendrix.

“Over forty years now.” Soleil said quite proudly “Dubois was preparing me for when I recruited my first student...it seems I have you now.” He grumbled slightly at that last statement.

“Be honest with me...what is it like...what’s going to happen to me?” Theren leaned forward, showing obvious interest and fear.

“Hunger...inescapable hunger. You won’t be feeling it that bad right now, it’ll just feel like you haven’t ate in a while. As if you’ve missed breakfast. But after a while it gets worse. You have to feed on blood. The first time is always the hardest...” Soleil was still being very blunt, very emotionless...but very honest.

“I don’t think I could ever drink someone’s blood.” Theren seemed to gag a bit at the thought.

“That’s what we all say before we have it. As humans we cut ourselves countless times, work, accidents, fights. They are walking accidents waiting to happen. They see blood and they think nothing of it. Wrap it up, bandage it, and plaster it. Why in the world would it seem sane to them to drink it? Bacteria and diseases and all that scientific mumbo jumbo scares them away from any impulse like that.” Soleil had a little bit more emotion in his voice now, resentment, hatred...possibly jealousy.

“But us...it keeps us alive. Helps us forget.”

“Forget what?” Theren asked with a raised eyebrow

“The people we killed...” Soleil replied softly “Vampires have tried replacements for blood before, usually when they’re newcomers. They think they can be a moral vampire. Someone who can pave the road for us to go on the straight and narrow. Then they kill someone after the hunger gets hold of them...they make a promise never to do it again, then they see the face of the person they killed, they hear the screams. They remember what they want to forget...and they know that the only way to forget, is by taking the drug which keeps them sane.” Soleil seemed to trail off for a moment, looking blankly into the distance.

“How did you become a vampire?” Theren finally plucked the courage to ask, for a moment Soleil didn’t answer, he was just sat there. Silently. Theren waited for what seemed like forever for something to be said, he stood...preparing to leave when finally Soleil spoke.

“It was in 1967....” He began
------
1967, San Francisco



The decade of fighting for love and peace, people fought for a dream that didn’t exist. Humans managed to scrounge up courage, stop believing in what they were spoon fed and started thinking for themselves. Fighting those with higher power above them...it only seemed fitting that the decade of riots, protest, drugs and sex, was the decade in which I’d be turned. Whatever it is we were fighting for...we thought it was right.

Jefferson Airplane was blaring into the streets of San Francisco; people were dancing on top of cars. Holding signs which read “Love, Not War.” Couples were having sex in the streets among the crowds and nobody cared. It was an orgy of chaos...and standing against it was the police. Told to end the protest, end the people who fought with words and music, rather than guns and fists. End the protests...by whatever means necessary. That led to the beatings. It was only a matter of time before the tear gas was dropped on us. It was civil war...and we were unarmed.

The police charged at us, beating on innocent men and women with their nightsticks, smashing heads with their riot shields. Laughing as tear gas caused women and children to choke. Some even took women into their police trucks for what they called...private questioning. A sight of dancing, love and joy became a sight of fire and undeserved beatings. Undeserved death. If it wasn’t for one man in a police uniform that dragged me away...I swear I would have died that day...but then again. I suppose I did.

Dubois was much less scarred back then than he is now. His face was clean of scars and he had a look of utter confidence on his face as he cuffed me and took me into his car.

“Alright, Scott Nelson isn’t it?” The officer asked smirking back at the protestor in the car.
“How do you know my name? The government tracking me down?” Scott spat at the officer, a police uniform was the worst thing anyone could wear in that day and age.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Dubois chuckled “These human do love to keep an eye on trouble makers. Truth is...I’m not an officer. Though the uniform is quite slimming on me.” He laughed quite heartily.

“Who are you?” Scott asked looking extremely confused

“My name is Dubois...Do you believe in ghost stories mister Nelson? Witches, Werewolves, Spirits...Vampires?” Dubois asked with a twinkle in his eye
“That’s kids stuff.” Scott scoffed “The kind of stories I got told on Halloween when I was six.”

“Yes I always found the idea of crucifixes and holy water to be quite silly.” Dubois pondered a moment “And the whole garlic thing? Why would garlic hurt ANYONE? In fact I’m quite a huge fan of garlic myself. It goes good with a lot of things. Gives food a little kick!”


Steven just shook his head "So are you going to let me go now or what?" He aske dmotioning with his cuffs. Dubois sighed and shook his head

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that...you see those stories of ghosts and goblins, Dracula and his multiple wives. They're true...I'm a living example of it...and there comes a time, where we have to get a student. I'm going to be honest the first few weeks will be a burden for me. Ypu'll be shouting and screaming. Oh no i'm a monster! What have you done to me? Why me boo hoo! But the truth is...after I'm done with you. You'll never stop thanking me."


Steven began to writhe and shift in his seat, kicking at the car door as Dubois' eyes went blood red and his fangs emerged. He screamed as he felt the fangs dig in...the last human memory Soleil can remember.