Chapter 1

The setting is just outside L.A. it is a dark night a half moon hides behind a curtain of clouds. You can hear the passage of an old Oldsmobile making its way up a deserted hill. The headlights on the car were completely dimmed so no one would notice where they were going. As it came to the top of the hill it pulled to a stop. The passenger got out last buttoning his expensive black suit he moved to join the driver as he opened the trunk. Inside a middle aged human was tied up and gagged lying inside. His eyes strayed to the opening trunk door, and they were met by the chilling smile of the small man in the suit. The driver wore street clothes which made him far less impressive but he could easily blend in inside a crowd. He was about 5'10 and had a good build. Unlike the other man's face his was quite somber as if he weren't really paying attention to what was going on around him.

The tied up man was a reporter who had opened his mouth one time to many. He had threatened to expose what seemed like a crime ring of kidnapping and mugging gone bad that left bodies that the police and the city council quietly cleaned up, and labeled as random crime when it was obvious something far more sinister was happening. Too many of these kidnappings and mugging happened on a regular basis, and a woman simply called "Mary" seemed to be responsible for it. He traveled up and down the official chain going through the official government; it was only when he paid a few key players behind the scenes that he got the information he needed. They had warned him it would do him no good but they had been happy to take his money especially since he paid well for the information they provide. Now here he was realizing just how far he had stepped into the briar's bush. As the taller man picked him up as if he were as light as a babe he began to wonder what was going to happen next. "Lean him against the car so he can see." The smaller man said. The other man did as he was told obviously the muscle. The reporter was propped up against the side of the car the bindings cutting painfully into his skin drawing a grimace from him. This seemed only to make the smaller man enjoy what was happening more. Looking at his companion he said, "Take your time with this one and drain him dry. When your done dump the body over the edge. The cops will make sure it's labeled as an accident. After that make your way back to the gas station and leave no survivors. We can hardly afford witnesses."

The taller man seemed to barely listen as his hands touched his head as if he were in pain. The small man produced a small container filled with pills like a doctor would prescribe shaking it so the pills rattled. Looking at the smaller man as the sound drew his attention. One of his hands began to shake as it reached for the pills his eyes showing desperation and agony. Painful images flashing through his mind that only brought more pain, and made him feel sick, he needed those drugs. The smaller man pulled the pills just out of reach producing yet another from one of his pockets. "If you promise to do as you're told you make have both after I make sure you understand. Do you understand Anthony?" He said. Anthony nodded reaching for the pills again more desperate than ever. The smaller man tossed both containers to him and turned and left. Another car soon showed up and took him away. The reporter watched Anthony down the first container emptying all it contents. The reporter was surprised that he didn't choke on the pills in his haste. It took moments for the drugs to kick in due to how many he had taken. Anthony's eyes closed as the pain went away and there was only stillness and peace in his mind. Breathing in relief he turned to the reporter a look of hunger on his face. The reporter didn't understand what was happening. What did the other man mean by "drain him dry"? As Anthony moved towards him his lips curled back revealing long sharp canines like something out of a vampire movie, and then he realized all too late what was happening. It all made sense now the kidnappings and the fake muggings, these guys were the real deal, not characters out of a story or movie but the real thing. Terror gripped his heart as Anthony's dilated eyes fixed themselves on the blood pumping through the reporter's neck. He tried to get away but it was no use his legs would simply not move, fear had paralyzed them. Those horrible teeth came towards him and all he could do was scream in terror, but in the end no one else would hear him.

When he was finished with his assigned tasks Anthony returned to Mary. She was pretty woman who appeared to be a young woman in her early twenties though she was far older, how old exactly Anthony had never bothered to find out. Her blonde hair hung to her shoulders without anything that might be used to style it. Other than brushing and washing it Mary preferred the natural look unlike some of the younger vampires who had been turned in more recent years. Her figure was nice as Anthony could attest to upon seeing it on more than one occasion without the hindrance of clothing. Greeting him warmly she said, "Did you do ask I asked? Is the problem taken care of?" Anthony nodded in response. He had dispatched the gas attendant quickly draining only a little before snapping her neck. Mary seemed pleased with him and deep in the recesses of his mind he both loved her and hated her. She offered her body to him trapping him in her web as she had so many others. He had seen the others fall one by one and wondered idly when his time would come would he be gotten rid of when he was no longer useful? Would he even see it coming, just as the others hadn't? Not that it really mattered to him when he thought about it; as far as he was concerned he hated what he was. It was that self hatred that made him wonder who he had been before the drugs he had been offered by Mary to numb the pain, and hold back the memories of his past. Still it was too painful to look into his past somehow this was something he knew without having to think about it, and so he was trapped without the drugs there was only suffering and while he was using them Mary had power over him for he would do whatever he had to get more. Perhaps the only thing that had made him last this long was that he was her play thing. She took him out with her acting as her escort and came to her bed whenever she wished. Even now she was looking him over, and if he had been paying more attention he would have noticed the look of disappoint in her eyes as a warning that he was in danger.

He barely listened when Mary gave him another job. Apparently another vampire had crossed her one to many times and she wanted him eliminated. It was quite usual for Mary to behave this way; she didn't tolerate nuisances for long especially if they were a threat to her growing power in the city. Only Santiago another ancient vampire had the daring to stand against her openly. This vampire no doubt belonged to him and Mary being who she was chose to make an example of the vampire who was walking the streets alone and unprotected.

Heading out Anthony went to do her bidding tracking the vampire until he came within eyesight of him. The vampire walked alone in a suit not unlike Mary's immediate subordinate Ornado. Anthony hated that small little man and his enjoy of the suffering of his victims. While Anthony only wanted to feed the hunger and get more drugs Ornado enjoyed his work. "Taking his time" as he put it. The pains returned again and Anthony was forced to take some more pills further dulling his wits as he continued to follow the stranger taking his eyes off him for only a moment. When he looked up again the stranger was gone. Annoyed at losing his quarry Anthony began to track him by his scent. The scent led to a manhole around the nearest corner. Lifting the lid off Anthony set it down on the asphalt and climbed inside. The scent was hard to track in the sewers due to the other scents he had to slow his progress in order not to lose it. Eventually the trail led back onto the street above and Anthony lifted the manhole at the top of the ladder on the way up and climbed onto the street. Once there he could still smell the stink of the sewers as it still fills his nostrils. Looking up at the moon as it comes out from its hiding place he sees the stranger standing on one of the roof tops standing there waiting. As he lights a match Anthony's nostrils clear and he smells a new scent that is unmistakable: gasoline. It permeates ever square inch of the alley. The stranger had set a trap from him, and Anthony had no doubt that Mary knew this would happen. Looking up at the person standing there holding a lit match he realized who it was. Only one person would have dared walk the streets alone and dared Mary taking a chance at him under these circumstances: Santiago. Anthony had been tricked and betrayed, try as he might he could no longer welcome death after possessing this knowledge. A rage built up in him as the match dropped striking the ground and setting aflame the very asphalt beneath his feet. Flames washed over him searing flesh and clothing as he was cooked alive. Anthony cried out in agony as white hot pain seared his very brain driving him to his knees. His mind was awake the effect of the drugs gone. With his mind finally clear he focused on the manhole and his only escape. Somehow he had to get to it and make Mary pay for her betrayal. Crawling as flames continued to lick his body scalding him further he managed to make it to the edge and pull himself through. Smoke billowed up as his hot body met with the nasty waters of the sewer cooling him. Opening his eyes his vision was at first a blur before he saw his last batch of pills. He reached for them but they disappeared from view due to the burnt holes in the plastic container. Anthony searched for them on his hands and knees before delirium overtook him. Visions of the past overtook his mind and wave of pain washed over him as his body tensed and contorted. A change happened then as his body now free of the drugs refused to not reach its potential. Too long had it suffered under the punishment of drugs but never again. Anthony awoke with an insatiable hunger for blood as pain still wracked his body he moved like an open sore unsteady on his legs at first. Making his way to the surface he exited near the park and sniffed the air. The scent of two individuals came from the park itself and he turned and made his way in.