The Darkness Read online

The Darkness

  By Melvin Cook, III

  The Darkness

  Melvin Cook, III

  Copyright 2013 by Melvin Cook, III

  Table of Contents

  Part 1: Descent to Darkness

  Part 2: Awakening

  Part 3: The Price

  Descent to Darkness

  And when I peered into his mouth, there they were, two razor sharp fangs, both glistening white. Well the story didn’t begin like this.

  It was the beginning of fall. I went to talk with my friends Lonnie and Ronnie―they were twins. Lonnie had fair hair that was the color of the sun early in the morning beaming among the clouds. Her eyes were hazel, and she was very feminine. Her brother, on the other hand, had brown hair with beady black eyes. He had a face that seemed stern, peering deep into your soul, but they were my friends.

  “Ryan, do you want to come over today?” said Ronnie.

  “Nah, not today.”

  “Come on, I’m begging you.”

  “Not today, I have an important biology test tomorrow.”

  “Oh yeah, I totally forgot about it, see you later.”

  I started home. On the way, I spotted a weird-looking bird. As I stared harder, I realized that it was a bat. I had never seen a bat in person, but I knew I never stayed out late, too. It swooped down, snatched a strawberry off of my neighbor’s bush, and proceeded to engulf it. I glanced at it one more time and continued home.

  I started to approach my house. It was pretty normal. It was made of brick, still fresh and red, and it had a clean, white picket fence. The grass had an emerald glow, and the bushes perfectly squared. When I opened the door, I was greeted with a scream. My older brother, Jeff, was attacking my younger brother, Zach.

  “Get away, Jeff!” yelled Zach.

  “No! I told you not to go in my room. Now it’s time to meet Mr. Swirly,” returned Jeff.

  “I’m telling mom!” Zach yelled as he ducked under the kitchen table.

  I walked past and went to my room preparing for my test. I really wasn’t worried, though, because I was number three in the freshmen class. I was really thinking of the short story I was writing. So far, I was one paragraph in:

  “One morning on a dark day, I went into my house and saw aliens. They brought me onto their ship and flew away. They taught me their language and customs. I now am a bounty hunter.”

  I didn’t like it, but it was the best one. After what seemed like days, Mom called us for dinner, reminding me of how hungry I was. I came down to a dinner of salmon and rice. As I finished, my dog tackled me and I petted him. I went to my room and went straight to sleep ready for the next day.

  When I awoke, I prepared for school, and took my test. Later, I went home and saw that same bat, but this time it was clenching a blueberry.

  “Well then, I guess we are new neighbors,” I said laughing.

  I opened the door to silence, complete and utter silence. I looked, thinking no one was home, but there were my brothers, talking silently to each other. Something was wrong; they have never been in a room without arguing. That next day I went to speak with Lonnie.

  “Hey, Lonnie”

  “What?”

  “I think something’s wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “First, I see two bats.”

  “Bats? In our neighborhood? Impossible.”

  “I am serious. Zach and Jeff were even getting along”

  “No, way!”

  “Yes.”

  “I think we should investigate.”

  “Let’s”

  As we went to my house, the bat was there again, with some more fruit in hand.

  “Did you see it?”

  “Yeah, it is the third time.”

  When we went in, my brothers weren’t in sight. They were in the living room talking about sports.

  “I distract them; you search their rooms, “said Lonnie.

  “Okay.”

  After they left, I went into their rooms, but I found nothing. The next afternoon, Ronnie told me something was up with Lonnie. He said that she seemed distant today. That was it. Something was up, and I was going to see what it was. And that brings me back to where I started.

  “Oh no!” I gasped silently, “This can’t be.”

  His eyes flashed opened. They were fires off of the surface of the sun.

  “Oh yes!”

  He lunged forward and threw me to the ground.

  “Time to join us!” he screamed as he got closer.

  Then everything went black.

  I woke up to a strong light in my eyes. I heard talking, but I didn’t recognize it.

  “Are you okay?” said the voice.

  “Y…yes.” I stammered, “What happened?”

  “Well, you were pinned by that creature… that vampire”

  “A vampire?”

  “Yes, if I hadn’t come sooner, then you would have been bit.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m sorry, but I have to go now, so you need to save your brothers and friend.”

  “How?”

  “You need to kill the one that transformed them.”

  “What do I need to do to beat it?”

  “Use this steak.”

  He handed me a sparkling wooden steak. It had the word “Goodbye” engraved on the top.

  “Thank you.”

  “The one that transformed your brothers is that bat you have been seeing.”

  “Okay.”

  So I started to my neighbor’s house, and the bat was there eating another morsel from my neighbor’s yard. I ducked down and watched. The bat then flew right past me, but I was in hot pursuit. After about 3 blocks, it stopped in an old warehouse, and I followed in. the inside of this building was dark. Every piece of furniture was at least 300 years old.

  “Stop hiding mortal,” said a booming voice.

  I stepped out from the large barrel I was hiding behind.

  “Welcome to my lair. My name is Vladimir.”

  “Hello.”

  “Ryan, I know why you are here.”

  He moved inches from my face.

  “And you won’t be able to do it.”

  In that moment, I thrust the steak in my hand as hard as I could into his chest.

  And then nothing.

  Nothing but the clang of metal.

  “Did you really think I would be that stupid?”

  He hurled me into the wall and started walking to me slowly.

  “Time to finish what your brother started.”

  “NO!” I screamed as I pulled a sword from a statue.

  He then grabbed an old battle axe off of the wall.

  CLANG! CLINK! CRASH!

  He blocked every swing I gave.

  “You will not win!” Vladimir screamed.

  He threw me into the wall.

  “Enough!” he yelled.

  He leaped onto me, fingers digging into my skull. He then said the one thing that stung my very soul.

  “It’s over.”

  The words singed my ears

  He moved in mouth open

  There was no sound.

  I didn't scream.

  There was only darkness.

  Awakening

  When I awoke, I asked myself, “What happened? What brought me here? Am I the same?” I stood up and looked around. “What is this place?” I thought. The smell of rotting wood engulfed me. I choked, but I kept looking. I saw old dressers, cabinets, and chairs; all warped by the great force of water. I found an old mirror and picked it up. I wiped the mold off of it and looked at myself. I still looked the same, but now there were two miniscule, dark mounds on my neck. I slowly moved my finger towards them. As I touched it, I remembered everything.

  I r
emembered seeing the bat. I remembered how my brothers acted. I remembered seeing those teeth. I remembered being saved. I remembered coming here. I remembered…

  “I see you have awoken,” Vladimir said with his booming voice.

  “Y…Ye…Yes,” I returned felling strangely faint.

  “You have been here three days.”

  “Th…Three?” I whispered, the words straining out.

  “Drink this,” he said as he thrust a cup at me.

  It was a bright crimson drink with a strong, distinct odor. I brought the cup to my lips and drank. It was smooth going down and tasted bitter. Then I realized that it was blood.

  “Blood?” I asked as my strength returned.

  “Yes, drink up; we can’t have you dying here.”

  I finished the glass.

  “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so follow me.”

  I did as he said. He led me into a room with two couches. As we sat down, dust flew up.

  “Ask me anything.”

  “What happened to me?”

  “I’m sure I don’t have to answer that.”

  “Yes, but why did you do it?”

  “Well, you are special.”

  “Special?”

  “Yes; special. Do you remember that steak?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, that was your great grandfather’s.”

  “It was?”excitement was building up in my voice.

  “Yes. Your family has a gift. That gift allows you to combat evil.”

  I started to smile.

  “I need your help,” he said.

  “How?”

  “I have been turned just like you. I have lived for many years, and want to end this curse. I want you to help me defeat the one who turned me, so I can go back.”

  I thought about how I would feel if that happened to me.

  “I’ll do it.”

  “Okay, first you need to learn how to use your powers.”

  “Let’s go.”

  “Try to transform into a bat. You need to think hard about it, and then jump.”

  I thought as hard as I could about it, and then jumped. I felt lighter, then I fell to the floor.

  “Good job! That part usually takes a week.”

  The next few days flew by. I learned how to use all of my powers from flying, to increased strength.

  “You learn faster than anyone I know.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Tomorrow is the day.”

  He told me stories about M, the foe I had to defeat. He supposedly had large wings at all times, and the strength of 1,000 men. He could only be beaten by the one.

  “He lives in a cave in the Amazon. I bought tickets.”

  After we landed, he left to get the luggage. I used this opportunity to call Ronnie for the first time since that day. I lied about what happened to me and what I was about to do. Vlad then came.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes.”

  We went to a nearby city and found our guide, an older man from the U.S. We followed for hours until we reached a very dense part of the forest. The guide motioned us away and struck the ground with a stick. Suddenly, the Earth spoke. The teeth opened wide and we all fell in. We were greeted with manic laughter. I saw a mist, and my eyes started feeling heavy. The world burred and shook, then blackness.

  I awoke in a cell of some sort. It was a small room with a metal floor. The walls were made of a lustrous black material, and the roof was made of glass. There was a window, but it seemed to thick to break. I reached for my phone, but it wasn’t there. I then woke the others.

  “What happened?” Vlad asked.

  “I don’t know, but they emptied our pockets.”

  “This can’t be good. No. Not at all.”

  “Well,” the guide said, “I ain’t stayin’ here.”

  He banged on the walls.

  “Let me out!” he yelled.

  A man came to the door.

  “Stop banging on that door you old coot!”

  “No, I ain’t stoppin’ till I’m free.”

  “Okay… Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”

  The guard came back after a minute.

  “Boss wants to see you.”

  He pressed a button and the black dissolved. We followed him down a hall and went into a large cavern. There were wires hanging on the wall, and it was dimly lit. Weapons lined the sides. There was a man in a large revolving chair.

  “Welcome to my base,” the man said with a gruff voice.

  “What do you want with us?” I asked.

  “What do you think I want? I want to kill you. Any last words?”

  “Get me out of here,” the guide said as he ran away.

  “Get him!” the man yelled.

  The man grabbed a strange looking gun.

  “On three, turn into a bat,” Vlad whispered.

  “One.” The man grabbed the weapon.

  “Two.” The man steadied it.

  “Three” He pulled the trigger. We both changed into bats and leaped out of the way just as the silver projectile came. I ran behind cover, and Vlad flew to him. I transformed back, grabbed a gun, and started aiming. I eased the trigger down as Vlad moved out of the way. The projectile flew out at light speed. Right before he was hit, the projectile opened and a net came out. Vlad and I flew away back to the jungle. After a while, we found another cave.

  “This is it; move carefully.”

  I followed through the winding tunnels. As we went further, they narrowed, and the air became dry. After a few more turns, we came to a large room. There he was. I snuck in, transformed back, and pulled the weapon. I charged in with a yell. He grabbed rocks and started hurling them towards me. I dipped and doged. I then closed my eyes and leaped towards him. I felt the pressure of his skin and pushed harder. I then let go. He fell to his knees screaming in pain. The cave started collaping. White light came from the wound. He exploded into a pile of ashes.

  “It is done,” I said.

  “Ha...haha..HAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! I AM THE STONGEST IN THE WORLD NOW! And it's all because of you.”

  “You used me.”

  “I did. Now it is time for you to die.”

  He grabbed a rock and hit me with a peice of the collapsing cave.

  The Price

  I woke up with a heavy weight on my chest. I thought about what happened. How could he turn on me. I had that feeling for days, but he seemed sincere. I pushed the rocks off of me and looked for the steak. I knew what I needed to do. I had to beat Vladimir. I knew I couldn't do it alone, so I thought about how to find the man who helped me before. After thinking for a few minutes, I had an idea. I would put my friend in danger, forcing him to come. I grabbed my steak and some jewels and left.

  I started to feel faint again. It was the same felling I had when I woke up. I needed blood. I set out to find a city. I searched for about fourty minutes, but found a small city in the forest. I went into a small house and crept in. I found someone sleeping, and closed my eyes. Did I want to do this? Did I want to be a monster? I realized that this is the only way to save many more people. I dug into his flesh with my teeth and sucked. My strength started returning. I released him and left out of this building, regretting the deed I had just done. I asked everyone for a way back to Rio, until one guy said that he had a plane.

  “How much would it cost to go to Rio?”

  “500 plus gas.”

  “Will this do?” I handed him some jewels from the cave.

  “Yeah. We leave tonight.”

  We boarded his plane and we were off. He flew for a while before I saw lights.

  “Alright, this is your stop,” he said as he handed me a parachute.

  “No thanks I said as I leaped out of the plane.”

  I jumped out the plane and started flying. The wind flew by my ears. The ground came closer and closer. After I was about 300 feet away from the ground, I transformed into a bat and glided down. I found a merchant who paid me for
the few jewels I had kept. I used the money to buy a ticket home. When I landed, I used a pay phone to call Ronnie.

  “You went to Rio?”

  “Yes. Can you meet me at the park?”

  “Sure.”

  I took a cab to the park and waited for a while.

  “Hi,” he said as he came to me, “Why are you in black?”

  “Oh, it's nothing.”

  “So how was your camping trip?'

  “It went great, could we go back home?”

  “Okay.”

  We went to his house then. His house was similar to mine, as they were on the same street. I went in and we went upstairs.

  “Truth is, I didn't go to camp.”

  “You didn't go to Rio either?”

  “I did. Let me tell you what happened. I started seeing a bat in my neighbor's yard. My brother started acting strange so I investigated. Long story short, I am now a vampire.”

  “Really?” Ronnie said in disbelief.

  “And now,” I said in my scariest voice, “I will kill you.”

  “Don't.”

  “You can't stop me.”

  I pushed him into a wall.

  “There's no one to help you. You are done.”

  I flared my teeth, then the man who saved me burst in.

  “Stop now, you beast!”

  I dropped Ronnie and turned around.

  “You? I thought you won.” the man said startled.

  “No, I lost, but I need your help beating him now. “

  “Why should I help you?”

  “He is now the strongest vampire in the world, and now I need to beat him.

  “I'll help you,” Ronnie said.

  “Me too,” the old man said.

  We sat on his bed.

  “Now we all know that you are the only one who can beat him, so you will have to give the final bow, so we will distract him.”

  “How am I going to distract him?” Ronnie asked.

  “Simple, you fake a surrender, I burst in to save you, and Ryan lands the final blow from behind.”

  “I think that would work,” I said.

  “We'll go tomorrow evening.”

  I waited at Ronnie's house all day, and contemplated. I would do it, I would beat him. I would save the world. The time flew by as I watched the street. The time then came.

  We went silently to the warehouse.

  “Now you go in,” the man said to Ronnie.

  He went in and I went around to the back. The door had a lock on it, but my strength could break it. I tiptoed in and grabbed my grandfather’s steak. I saw as the man broke in and Vlad leaped at him. Then the unimaginable happened.

  Vlad leaned in, then he bit him.

  “No!” I yelled as I ran in.

  “I thought I killed you!” he yelled as he saw me. “Well, you won't be so lucky this time.”

  He grabbed his new victim and threw him at me. I fell down, then pushed the man off. Vlad came over with his fist balled.

  “DIE!” he screamed as he thrust his fist towards my head.

  I hopped out of the way and his fist left a crater in the concrete.

  We fought all night, doging blow after blow. I started getting exhausted, but I could tell that he was, too.

  The sun started coming from over the horizon and I knew what to do.

  I grabbed him and jumped outside.

  “You fool.”

  We started burning in the fresh sunlight.

  “I will not die with you,” he said, barely breathing.

  “We both know that you are too weak to leave, and so am I.”

  “I don't even know why I didn't kill you.”

  “It's too late now.”

  I closed my eyes and thought about the good I just did. I just saved hundreds of people from a great evil. The only price would be my life.

  I then felt someone dragging me.

  “You okay buddy?” I heard Ronnie say.

  “Yeah.”

  I started feeling stronger. I looked outside and saw a pile of ashes. I reached for my neck and the marks were gone. I had done it. I had freed everyone.

  “Let's get you home,” Ronnie said.

  We walked back and I