Awakening ~ Part 4

"Is all that we see or seem, but a dream within a dream?" -A Dream Within a Dream, Edgar Allen Poe

Jude's vision remained a deep blood red, shadows flickering here and there, somehow without impairing his ability to see. What he had taken from Charles practically sung in his veins, filling him with strength and a feeling of power. All of his senses were heightened. He could actually hear the sound of the water flowing in the cavern above; almost taste the moisture in the air. It was like he had awoken.

Yet there was also the guilt and shame of what he'd done. Charles was nothing more than ash; reduced to that by Jude's own hands. Now he was a monster, a murderer like the one he'd been named for. And his sire had made him this way; infected him with whatever horrible disease stirred in his blood and invaded his mind.

His eyes narrowed on the robed figure of the vampire that had changed him.

"This is not quite what I was expecting," the Master said, a hint of menace in his voice. "However, it does afford me the opportunity to impart a very, very valuable lesson."

Jude's sire stepped away from the three other vampires that cowered at his feet. Steadily, calmly, he moved across the cave towards Jude.

"You three are forbidden to interfere with this next lesson." He ordered, fangs lengthening, eyes gone red. "The euphoria of consuming another being, especially a vampire, is intoxicating. It gives one strength, and will make you more potent for a time. But do not mistake this enhanced might for invincibility."

The Master paused, leaving a handful of feet between the two of them. "Judas, from now until the lesson is at an end, try to destroy me."

Jude blinked in shock at the command but the feeling was short lived. The weight of the order seeped into him and the next thing he knew, he had crossed the short span between him and his sire, slashing violently at the creature's face. The speed at which he had moved was surprising, much faster than what he'd been capable of only moments before.

And yet the elder vampire casually stepped aside, avoiding the attack like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Surprised and suddenly infuriated, Jude attacked again. He lunged at his sire, letting his new found hatred for the beast fuel his assault. Claws whistled through the air, once, twice, three times. Still, each swipe failed to reach its target. The young vampire continued his barrage of attacks against his sire, even throwing kicks and punches into the mix. Yet every time he thought he would finally land a blow, the Master would suddenly move just beyond his reach.

"As long as you have blood in your system," the vampire said suddenly, in an instructional tone. "You will not tire. Power flows within that blood. If you are wounded, however," he emphasized his next statement by viciously striking Jude in the face. "If you begin to lose blood," claws rent the flesh of Jude's chest, spraying blood along the cavern floor. "You will weaken and that power will diminish."

Jude gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out at the pain. Instead, he redoubled his efforts to hurt his sire. A snarl resounded from within him as he went back on the offensive, claws slashing out simultaneously at the elder vampire's legs and chest. It was not use though, the Master avoided those strikes as well before responding with one of his own to the center of Jude's body. The force of the blow threw him across the cavern and into the back wall. Pain erupted along his entire back, traveling along his spine and darkening his vision.

"You are not invincible," the Master declared, turning his back on Jude. "Know your limits. You are all as children to me, fledglings barely old enough to hunt for prey on your own. Even a mortal could easily destroy you."

Though he wanted nothing more than to lay there and slip into unconsciousness, the power of his sire's command pulled at Jude's strings. He stood and with one last burst of strength, launched himself at the source of his agony.

A single deft motion on the other vampire's part had pain exploding in Jude's chest. Collapsing to the ground, all he could do was gasp weakly. He turned his head to look up at his sire, only to see to his horror, that the vampire held a beating heart in his hand. Jude's heart.

"Do you see this?" the Master asked, holding the pulsating organ aloft for all to see. "Inside your heart resides your power and your soul. The blood flows from it and to it. A vampire's very essence is bound within this frail piece of flesh. Guard it well. Or you will meet the same horrible end that befell Charles."

When he was finished speaking, Jude's sire gazed down at him, an expression of utmost contempt on his pale, veined face. "The lesson is now at an end," he said, dropping the heart to the ground.

At the exact moment the organ landed, Jude felt a searing pain in his chest that surged throughout his body. Breathing was not an option. All he could do was silently writhe in agony until it passed. In his peripheral vision he could see the Master walking away. Turning, Jude saw the monster transform into a dark cloud of mist and rise up and out of the cave, leaving only him and the other three vampires, alone.

After a long moment, his suffering lessened somewhat, but did not depart entirely. The ragged hole in his chest leaked blood and it pooled upon the stone where he lay. His heart rested only a few feet away, beating on its own. He should be dead; all logic pointed to that, and yet. Seizing on the impossible, Jude reached out a trembling hand and grasped his own heart. Careful not damage it in any way, he brought the organ up to his chest and forced it back into the cavity it had been ripped from.

"Returned," sighed the seven voices of his instinct. "We are whole once more."

Damn you! he thought angrily, speaking to those voices past his torment. What are you! Why did you go silent during my fight against my sire? What the f**k is going on!

Jude struggled to his feet, eyes warily scanning his surroundings. At the mouth of the cave; Timothy, Lacey, and the unknown blonde all eyed him with hungry red-orange eyes that he could somehow distinguish even past his crimson vision. Even more, he realized for the first time that the shadows seemed to gather around their body's, pulsating. As he stared, his pain faded somewhat, and he could almost see what looked to be different colors blinking in and out of the shadows that surrounded them.

"Lifesight," the voices explained. "We have aided you before by instinct. Lifesight is yours to command. Shadows are drawn to kin. The aura reveals one's nature."

Within the inky pall that enveloped but did not hide the other vampires, Jude glimpsed flashes of red, green, orange, and even a black so deep it stood out from the rest of the shadows. All seemed to vary in intensity. What was more, they swirled, almost hypnotically, drawing him in. Then, suddenly, one by one the colors began to dim, choked and swallowed by the darkness around them.

"Thirst rises. Their shadows will reign."

Knowing what that meant, Jude began to back away. Where he could go though, he had no idea. There were multiple openings in the walls of the cavern, seemingly gouged into the rock by something. From what he could see, they were all dead ends; nothing more than haphazard living quarters, as evidenced by the scraps of clothing and blanket in a few. There was no way out, and he was weak.

Why haven't my wounds closed? he asked the voices. My chest is a mess and I can see my own heart and ribs.

"Not yet powerful enough. Young, weak. Need fresh blood."

Jude's eyes dropped to the pool of blood on the ground where he had lain.

"Yes," his instinct whispered. "Retrieve thy blood."

Do I just lap it up like a dog? he asked, disgusted. "Or is there another way I can, I don't know, get it back?

"Young. Incapable."

But there is a way. Show me.

Suddenly the cavern rippled and bled away, revealing a bright full moon upon a clear night sky. All around were houses, but not like any he'd ever seen in real life. These were clumped together, with straw roofs, appearing to be made of clay or a similar material. It was like something out of a movie.

Then his surroundings shifted, like a camera panning around and zooming in.

Before him stood a tall man with long black hair. Draped upon his shoulders was a torn, severely weathered red cloak. His dark clothes were ripped and bloody, numerous wounds and injuries dotting his body. Bodies littered the ground around him, swords and other ancient weapons scattered about or held in death grips.

Though clearly in pain, the black haired man raised one fist, eyes beginning to glow red. In that moment, Jude felt something inside the person, the vampire, call out. It beckoned, and from all over the immediate area, the blood answered. It rose off of the ground, peeled itself from walls, straw and the stained blades of the dead. It all hovered for a moment and then he opened his hand. Every drop of dark liquid streaked through the air to his open palm, forming a reflective globe.

As he watched, the vampire raised the glistening orb of blood to his mouth and consumed it.

Reality came rushing back. The moonlit night vanished into nothing, replaced by the cold stone of the cave that served as Jude's prison. He blinked and found that his vision was once again bathed in blood red. The other vampires that were trapped with him didn't appear to have moved. How much time had gone by?

It didn't matter though. Jude mimicked the red cloaked vampire that the voices had shown him. He raised his right fist and felt for the blood within him. Breathing in deep, despite the pain of his gaping chest wound, the young vampire tried to expand his senses. His sight sharped and he began to sense something within himself. Whatever it was, it was black, angry, suffocating and vicious. He would almost say that it was evil.

He felt that dark presence suffused inside of his heart. It lived there, at the core of him. That same presence lingered in his blood, bound within...imprisoned.

With that, Jude suddenly understood what his sire had meant about his heart.

Aid me, he commanded the voices.

"Cannot." his instinct replied. "Young, lacking power; incapable."

Lies. I know that you are more than just voices inside of my head, bigger than mere instinct. You're something, or someone, trapped inside of my blood. You're the reason for my hunger. You were in control, you 'reigned' and destroyed Charles. Help me.

"Let us reign," they said in answer.

No, he thought forcefully, as the trio he mostly ignored began to move towards him; they'd been overtaken by their hunger. You're trapped within my blood. You helped me before and I'm betting when I feel pain, you do too. When I die, so do you. Help me or we're all screwed.

Jude felt that presence seemingly pause a moment, as if considering his words. Then, his vision flared and power began to flow through him.

"As you wish, young Master," his instinct whispered.

Suddenly, Jude could sense that dark presence all around him. It came from everywhere, seeping into him, then exploding outward almost like an electrical surge. The pool of his blood and dozens of other droplets rose into the air, hovering as the three vampires controlled by their hunger closed in on him. He opened his hand and it flew towards him, collecting into a perfect, wet sphere of carmine. Instead of drinking the globe like the vampire from his vision had done, Jude quickly shoved in into the open wound on his chest.

To his shock, his muscle, bone and flesh healed over almost instantly.

It was just in time too. The unknown blonde girl, a short, small teen, slammed into Jude's stomach, knocking him to the ground. Rolling around, he felt her extended claws slicing his skin. He grimaced in pain, but didn't cry out. Instead he reached for her throat, only for the vicious little thing to sink her fangs into his palm. Cursing, he slugged her hard with his other hand and wrapped his legs around her, using leverage to flip them over.

Now above her, Jude grabbed her head and angrily slammed it down against the rock. Before, he would have cringed at being so violent towards a woman, especially a young girl like the blonde, but things had changed. She wasn't human anymore and neither was he.

Standing, he spun around, just in time to face off against Lacey and Timothy.

The two attacked almost simultaneously; one going for his legs, the other for his chest. Falling back on training he half remembered from his early childhood and teens, Jude snapped a kick out, the ball of his foot connecting with Timothy's face. When Lacey barreled into him, he twisted with the momentum, swapping their positions. He rode her to the ground and used the few seconds she was stunned by the impact to deliver two strong blows to her face.

Sensing movement at his back, Jude rolled forward, coming up to his feet facing the charging vampire. Timothy pulled up short, swiping his claws out, catching Jude by surprise. Blood blossomed from his stomach, spraying the ground at his feet. Snarling in anger, Jude responded by slashing the blonde's throat open. He followed that up by grabbing the vampire while it clutched its bleeding wound and throwing it towards the mouth of the cave.

Even though he was fighting for his life, Jude didn't want to kill them. It was more than enough that Charles' blood was on his hands. He didn't need to add to it.

Before he had much time to recover, Lacey was on him. Claws ripped open his left cheek. He spun with the strike, forcing himself not to feel the pain. She followed him recklessly, allowing Jude to rake his own sharp fingernails across the back of her leg. Lacey cried out in pain as she collapsed. He wasted no time in tossing her at Timothy.

The two collided as he was getting to his feet.

A quick glance around him showed Jude that the little blonde girl he had knocked out was beginning to regain consciousness. Acting quickly, he crossed the few feet between them, picked her up and launched her at the others. She cried out as she hit the ground and rose up, skipping like a rock before crashing into them. With the three of them tangled in a heap of flailing limbs, Jude sighed.

Their assault had opened his cheek and stomach. He was losing blood again and he didn't know if he'd have the strength to fight them off again. His brows furrowed as he considered that he just might have to kill them all.

And then he heard a scream as a figure slammed into the ground at the end of the tunnel that led to the cavern above. Jude leaned forward a little, looking past the three snarling vampires, their shadows almost blocking his view of the newcomer. When his gaze finally caught sight of the person, Jude saw no shadows surrounding them. Only a vibrant aura that was a rapidly fluctuating mix of red, orange, black and green.

"Mortal," the voices cooed. "Sustenance."

The person moaned, a masculine sound, identifying the figure as male. Almost immediately after the human made noise, the trio of vampires stopped struggling against each other. As one, they all craned their heads in the direction the man was in. Animalistic growls sounded from them seconds before they fell upon the poor man. A single, terrified, scream escaped him before it was cut short.

Jude turned away from the sight, sickened, knowing he couldn't save him.

Although his wounds were beginning to heal, he could feel it this time, thirst arose in him like acid. Weary and disgusted with his own weakness, Jude forced it down and walked away, the wet sounds of the feeding frenzy echoing in his ears. Leaning against the back of the cave, he pondered on all that had happened since waking in that cell not that long ago. Although it was his body, his actions that had ultimately led to his brutalization of Ashley and the murder of Charles, he wasn't completely responsible.

His vampiric instinct, that presence that he felt in his body, the voices in his mind; they had held the reigns. They were the source of it.

Who are you? he asked them again. What are you?

This time, when they responded, it was not one voice or even two. It was a chorus, like a great coliseum overflowing with spectators that all spoke at once. A million voices echoing all around him, speaking from the heavy, spiraling shadows that suddenly blotted out his vision

"We are the curse that flows through your veins! We are the void that claws at your soul while you sleep! We are the hunger, your lust and your avarice! We are the darkness that festers in your heart! We are the apathy that chains you down and the Shadows that keep you from the light! Our name is LEGION for we are MANY!"

Author's Note