1 The darkest of nights

'ONCE AGAIN HE HAD HIT ROCK BOTTOM. Bound and cursed, a curse he could not break.

A velvet liquid dripped, clicking and splashing entwining itself with the dusty floor beneath him, making its escape away from his veins. Slowly, it Stripped away the little energy he had left within him, the very same energy that once flowed high inside, now pulled him further under, etching towards that deep end no one escaped. Darkness lurked just around the corner, making its way slowly and Painfully towards him.

Every ounce of his being was consumed with those frightful thoughts, thoughts of a dying man. What was happening to him?

He began to lose the little bit of control he had left. That aching feeling, it never left just lingered, it was an ache very much hurt and throbbed his muscles. Taring him apart, bit by bit, never had he felt so farther away from feeling like himself, he felt nothing like himself anymore... How could he feel like himself when delicate body was being vandalised, stabbed violently as needles surged through the barriers of his skin, deeper and deeper with such force and aggression, leaving him in simple agony, throbbing.

How could someone bare such a pain? He couldn't, it hurt far too much. He was desperate, desperate enough to do anything to make it stop. To end his misery, the need to vanquish it was strong, but no matter how desperate he was, the liquid still entered his skin, heavy and vial. Its poisonous chemicals intoxicated his bloodstream, fracturing his insides. Breaking him bit by bit more than it ever did before. 'Make it stop!' His mind screamed.

Wolfsbane. A vile substance, a substances that now engulfed his insides, swimming and flowing within him, corrupting every ounce of his body. It spread unbearably quick, burning, a painful burn from the inside. Taring and turning everything into mush. In that moment he felt it, fear. For the very first time he was experiences fear, an emotion he couldn't brush off so easily, it's intensity was consuming, it ate at his hopes of ever breaking free. Grayson felt those hopes, he held so tightly wither away, turning to dust.

He knew wolfsbane was a highly poisonous plant, that would repel his wolf, killing the both of them. Leaving them both helpless and weak, too weak to defend himself. It was a power plant that would kill any werewolf within seconds of reach, he wasn't stupid he knew he was going to die, he had known that from the moment they had injected it in him.

The leather rubbed, scratching at his exposed flesh, burning it off. Grayson tried thrashing his arms and legs, he tried to move, to simply break free but he couldn't.

The willingness to fight had left him dry and weak, the cuffs on his limps wouldn't budge. He was bound and helpless, and right now he would do anything, he was far too desperate for his freedom, that desperate need that was eating at him told him to make everything to stop.

With no fight left to give. Giving up seemed liked a dream.

Death was something that was permeant and he wanted to live and experiences everything that he never got the chance to, he was far too young. Silver burned and cooked his exposed back, he laid helplessly, awaiting for his strength to magically appear but it never did.

The wolfsbane's and silver forced it to wither away, denigrating what was left of it. It had weakened him to a point where could think straight.

Smoked cigarettes and dried blood. That's all he could smell, beside a burning of his flesh, disgust couldn't come close to what he was feeling- it made him nervous though, he didn't want to die like this, he was way too young to die.

A piercing scream left his dried lips, the pain intensified, it became ten times more painful that it originally was, What was happening?

His body began to rapidly thrash, a desire to break free. No, he needed to break free but couldn't, multiple cold touches held his body in one place as they pushed him against the silver beneath him, a stench of burning flesh consumed the air, he tried fighting them off but they were too strong, a strength he could not beat.

He was at their mercy.

"Hold him!" A voice commanded, what were they going to do to him?

Questions flooded his thoughts, he knew he defiantly wasn't going to survive this, he had known it the moment he was poisoned, but he was just too weak to do anything, another scream left his lips as another needle broke through the barriers of his flesh, it's poisonous liquid abused his insides.

"P-please s-stop..." He was helpless, begging for mercy, for someone to help him but no one did. His voice felt like whispers that got lost in the air, forgotten and unheard.

The wolfsbane was just too strong- dizziness took over, the light above him began to blur and his vision began to spin as his body departed slowly. He gave into that darkness that awaited him, maybe then he would find peace.

Slowly his eyelids became heavy and started to shut, his vision blurred. He saw nothing but fainted blobs of figures.

"I will make them suffer-" A mischievous voice spoke, the hate that linger within those words, made him shiver, every word was spoken full of hate and anger but his hearing suddenly shut down, he couldn't hear anything.

Who was ''them?' Why did that man want 'them' to suffer? Questions and more questions remerged the surface but before he could have the chance to even ask the person, darkness took over-'

The sun had gone to rest, the moon taking its place as the darkness surrounds him, he drove through the night trying to not stay at one place, he had to stay on the move. He was alone. Always had been, he had no one.

It had been three years since his escape from that hell hole, wanting to get as faraway as possible from the people who had used him and abused him, tormenting him for years and years.

They had always said it was "For the great of good" and what really angered him was that fact that he had started to believe them, but it was all lies. BIG. FAT. LIES. Lies that he believed. He'd never understood that, "For the great of good?" how is killing innocences for the great of good? For years he was forced to do things, he didn't have a choice but to do them.

The vivid images of the day when he'd took another innocence's life, it lingered in his mind, it never left him, it just lived there now. Always a reminder.

The begging and pleaded for him to have 'mercy' and 'stop' but he had no choice. It was either him or them, so he chose them.

Desperation would make you do many things, even kill. Never had he hated himself that much before, he chose his own selfish self instead of taking another beating from them. Never had he loathed himself that much before, for never have control over his actions but he didn't have a say in the matter. That control he so badly wanted to have, was taken away by force. He hated them for taking his innocence away from him. Leaving blood to stain his hands. Blood that would stain his hands forever.

Driving through the night wasn't easy, the constant stress and the lack of sleep, was permanently straining his features, but it was the only way he could getaway without them gaining on him. He had to getaway. The constant torment he'd been afflicted was not something he could endure anymore. It wasn't the physical abuse that was afflicted but the blood that held a permanent stain on his hands, he couldn't do that anymore. No one wants to live that life.

He couldn't live in pain and torment, it was something that he couldn't do. He would rather die a thousand times than to see another innocent die in the hands of him.

An old, rusty gas station sign appeared in his view, he had to stop he couldn't go through the night without some quick pit stops for gas and food.

The door made a Ting! sound as he gracefully entered through the arched door, he scanned the small aisles of filled up shelves of food. The musty smell caught his attention, a strong and distinctive smell, it wasn't unbearable but it wasn't pleasant either.

Grayson traced his finger along the shelf slowly, making his way through the aisle of junk food, stopping swiftly when he came across the one food he loved more than anything. It was his one true love. His only love. Oreos. One of his all time go to food, if it was the end of the wold he would just binge eat on the delicious chocolate, creamed cookies, he could simply just eat them for eternity if it was up to him.

Suspicious eyes stared and glare straight at him wiry of his new customer, as if he was going to steal food off his shelves and make a run for it but he wouldn't blame the man behind the cashier desk, no doubt he gets plenty of people who would do just that.

Beep, beep... a repeated sound coming off from the scanner as buttons were being pressed rapidly on the cash register, "That will be $14.28" The old man clearly seemed bored, tired even you could clearly see the dark bags under his eyes that had formed from long hours of work.

Dropping a fifteen dollars on the counter, "Keep the change" Grayson's voice came out rougher and more intense than he had intended it to be.

The old man seemed scared at Grayson's tone, Grayson could smell it, it was strong and distinct but the old man kept his mouth shut, he knew better than to cross the young man before him, although he was more curious and intrigued about the young man that stood in of him, coming to a conclusion of the young man being temperamental and could hold up a fight if deemed necessary. But that was his first impression.

The lights shun down on Grayson's face, shadows corrupted his parts of his facial features causing them to shift in mere seconds as he made his way to his car, something seemed off as he came to an instant stop just half way, the smell of death consumed his lungs almost causing him to choke in mid-inhale of oxygen. A piercing scream caught his attention the old man, realising as to what is happening or more specifically who.

"Did you really think you could get away that easily" Whispers surrounded him, the voice came out in all directions around him, he couldn't pin point the location of the voice as it moved before he could grasp it. He knew it was a distraction to prevent him from know where the mysterious creature resinated although he paid a close attention to were the thing kept moving and re-positioning himself. Trying to catch a pattered to his movement.

On his shoulder an ice-cold hand came in contact with his skin. An open opportunity for Grayson to quickly grab hold of the creature's hand and bash his whole body forward in mere seconds, the creature's body hit the ground hard with a loud thump, as a painful moan left his mouth. Grayson was used to this, the hunt for him. It wasn't the first time this had happened, he'd been in this situation.

Grabbing the creature's pale throat, as he tightened his hold on its neck so hard as the motion came naturally to him, making it hard for the creature to grasp even a slight whiff of oxygen.

The creature's blood, thirsty eyes filled with so much thirst and desire, a desire it could not control, a thirst it could not bare to ignore, it was in its nature to feed themselves with the blood of other innocent, helpless human beings, it was the same feeling a human got when they were just about to indulge themselves with a big mac.

Small, purple veins made their way to his blood thirsty eyes- he really did look monstrous, but then again he is not in a position to talk. He held the same eyes as the creature in front of him, his eyes were worse actually.

The struggle to break free from Grayson's hold was very visible in the creature's eyes, but that didn't stop him from releasing a laughter so wicked and vile it gave Grayson a slight shiver running down his spine. It's dark pigmented lips slightly parted as it began to speak, "Master is gonna kill you-" it let out, looking very pleased with itself as if it had won a big award, or it had achieved something great, it took in some air as the creature let out it's other few words,

"I thought you were smarter than this Gray doll-" Grayson tightened his hold on the nickname the creature had given him, causing it to squint its eyes in pain, "your gonna lose doll face." he carried on, speaking with pride and gratification, but it's big ego didn't understand something, he was nearing it's last second of living.

"We'll see," Grayson said. A deep, terrifying voice that would haunt the creature's nightmares as a flicker of wickedness and madness showed the creature that he was ready for whatever came at him. In truth he was, he was ready. Even the creature knew that. Everyone knew that.

They new exactly what he could do, they had seen it play before their eyes when they angered the beast that was ready to resurface once again.

The creature knew exactly what its fate was next, With an aggressive motion, Grayson plunged his clawed hand in the area where the creature's heart kept beating, tearing through layers of flesh. The blood that once flowed within his veins gushed out as his skin came in contact with the creature's flesh and blood.

He felt its beating heart rapidly beating with a fast rhythm, Grayson started to slowly pull on the heart as it began to take away from its place as he force it out of the owner's body.

The once blood red eyes faded into a light brown, looking almost human, as he fell to the ground, with limbs that didn't move, but just laid their lifeless. His short, auburn hair stained with blood; crimson. His eyes were wide with shock but his irises held a sudden sadness to them as he laid there. Dead.

This wasn't the first time Grayson had killed, he had done this way too many times to even keep count anymore, it was something he was forced into enjoying.

"I hate vampires." He whispered to himself, still holding the creature's heart in the grasps of his hand, blood still dripped. Grayson knew him, he grew up with him, Alaricus was his name. He was human at the time though but guess that changed very quickly.

Alaricus's heart fell out of his hand, as it fell on the gravel beneath his feet, splashes of blood splattered near him staining his combat boots.

Grabbing Alaricus's legs he began to drag the body to his car.

He knew too well he couldn't leave him there, it would draw too much attention.