Drowning in Crimson

Hello people in fanfiction land! Darkness here. Now, there is something I want to explain about this story. If any of you have ever read my other story called “The Darkness That Binds Me To You” then you will recognize some of the characters in this story. That’s because I dislike the mentioned story so I gutted it and gave it a total makeover into the story you’re about to read. I just wanted to make that clear to save from any confusion someone might have. Now please go on and I hope you enjoy it!

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The sound of footsteps echoed in a small alley as a man ran through it. He knocked over trashcans and stumbled over some rubbish. The man continued to run until he was in the deepest depths of the labyrinth of alleyways. When he felt safe he stopped and leaned against the brick wall, panting heavily. He began to laugh as he looked down at a purse that he held tightly to his chest.

“Stupid bitch didn’t even know what hit her,” he cackled, wiping his forehead with his other arm. He looked at the gun he was holding in that hand and raised an eyebrow when he saw some blood on the handle.

“Guess I bashed her harder than I thought,” he muttered then shrugged as he opened the purse. He searched for any valuables then pulled out a wallet, discarding the bag on the ground.

“Helloooo, looks like I picked a good one,” he said in delight as a wad of cash greeted him. “This should last me a few days.” He shoved the money and a few credit cards in his pocket then picked up the purse and threw it, and the wallet, in the nearest dumpster.

“Good nights work if I do say so myself,” he praised himself as he started to walk away.

“So beating up poor, defenseless women and robbing them is your idea of a good night?” a voice suddenly asked from the darkness. The man whipped around and held up his gun, looking for the owner of the voice.

“Who’s there!?” he called out, his voice a pitch higher than before.

“Who am I? Who are you? Such trivial questions for a dead man, don’t you think?” the voice replied. The man kept turning and searching, but couldn’t see anything but the deserted alleyway.

“Come out where I can see you!” he yelled his blood pumping in his ears and the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

“Ah, me thinks I hear a waver in your voice. Could the big bad thief be frightened?” the voice sneered. Now the man was getting angry. He was getting threatened and taunted by someone he couldn’t see. The only thing he could guess was that it was a man by the sound of the voice.

“I’m not going to tell you again. Come out!” he ordered. There was a dreadful silence that added to his uneasiness.

“Doesn’t that count as telling me again?” the voice then asked. The man snarled then jumped as a crash sounded behind him. He spun around and fired his gun. The bullet vanished into the darkness and the man saw a cat run from a knocked over trash can.

“Stupid cat,” he growled softly.

“Stupid man,” the voice remarked from somewhere behind him.

The man turned just in time to see a blur coming at him before he was slammed into the wall. He cried out from the force then gasped and his eyes widened as something latched onto his neck. A pain like a thousand needles spread throughout his body and he couldn’t move or speak.

Rasping breath passed the man’s lips as he became lightheaded. His vision went blurry and his body felt weaker and weaker. The pain from his neck numbed as all feeling started to leave his body.

The gun fell to the ground with a thunk as the man’s fingers went slack and soon he followed, landing in a lifeless heap. His eyes were dull, his skin pale and blood oozed from two puncture marks in his neck.

“Now you can rest and the world will be relieved of your existence,” said the voice softly. The owner of the voice smiled and licked his lips clean of the blood that lingered on them.

The attacker was a tall man, dressed in a dark blue suit. Long, silky black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and touched his shoulder blades. His skin was smooth and very pale, making a perfect contrast to his hair.

The man sighed and closed his eyes as he tilted his head up toward the sky, relishing the new blood pumping through his veins. From his slightly open mouth two long fangs retracted until they looked like normal canines.

“Mmmm nothing like feeding to make the night perfect,” he muttered in pure bliss. He opened his eyes and looked down at the body he had just drained.

“But the cleaning process is always such a bother,” he huffed then started patting his pants pockets, looking for something. “But you know you can’t just leave it here, Lucas, no matter how tempting it is,” he told himself. “Ah, there you are.”

The man named Lucas pulled out a butterfly knife from his pocket and flicked it open. He fingered the blade for a moment and let the light from the moon glint off the metal.

“Such a pretty little thing and quite handy too, I should have gotten one sooner,” Lucas said then nudged the man’s body so he lay on his back.

“Sorry, Mr. Thief, but you picked a bad night to go hunting. This particular predator always comes out on top,” Lucas told the corpse as he crouched down and placed the knife on the dead man’s neck. With one swift motion Lucas slit his throat and thick red blood immediately bubbled up and spilt to the ground, staining it crimson.

Lucas had been careful to leave enough blood in the man so it wouldn’t be too suspicious once the body was found, as he assumed it would be. It would be simple enough for someone to think that the thief had stolen from the woman then was mugged and killed himself. Lucas had been playing it that way for awhile and no one was the wiser.

Once he was sure the puncture marks had been destroyed, he licked away the blood on the knife then closed it and tucked it away safely. He then went through the dead man’s pockets to retrieve the money and credit cards. Lucas couldn’t leave those if he wanted people to think the man had been robbed. With that thought he searched the man thoroughly, looking for anything else someone would want to steal.

When Lucas pocketed everything of value he grabbed a fistful of the thief’s shirt and stood up. He dragged the body to the dumpster where the woman’s purse had been abandoned. Lucas tossed the dead man into it and wiped his hands on his clothes.

“Good enough,” he said as he straightened himself up. With everything taken care of, Lucas put his hands in his pockets and started making his way out of the alley. He whistled a cheerful tune as he went and it echoed about the walls.

Almost halfway out of the maze, Lucas stopped. He remained perfectly still then turned to look down the way he had come.

“Is that another vampire my senses are detecting?” he asked the night air. A smirk crossed his lips and his fangs lengthened ever so slightly.

“Looks like tonight’s festivities haven’t ended. A little bloodling has wandered into my territory, I better go give him a proper greeting,” Lucas said, a mischievous glint appearing in his electric blue eyes.

In the blink of an eye he was gone, reappearing on the rooftops. Lucas quickly jumped from roof to roof, following the presence he could practically feel. Whoever it was was not skilled at concealing their vampiric energy.

After a few minutes Lucas came to a stop on a tall building where he had a birds-eye view. What he saw made him raise an eyebrow.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” On a building below his, Lucas saw a man running across the roof. He was easy to spot since he was wearing a white trench coat and had interesting short white hair to match. Lucas then spied the vampire he had sensed chasing after the man in white. The other vampire had tussled brown hair and was clad in green and black clothes.

Lucas watched as the vampire almost caught up with the man, but the man in white suddenly stopped, crouched down and threw the vampire over his back, which was easy to do given the vampires momentum. The man was then quick to change his direction and jump to another rooftop.

“Hmmm this could be interesting,” Lucas muttered and decided to follow the two without interfering. He wanted to see what exactly was going on.

*******

“Gah! That was definitely too close,” the white clad man huffed as he hopped over to another building.

“Oh, little Julian, you know you can’t run forever!” came the vampire’s taunting voice from behind him.

“We’ll see about that, Ricky!” Julian called back, looking over his shoulder. He came to a skidding stop when the vampire was nowhere in sight. Julian tried to catch his breath, but kept his guard up at the same time.

“Shit, where’d he go?” Julian muttered, looking for any sign of him. He spun around when he felt something behind him and came face to face with Ricky’s wicked grin.

“Peek-a-boo,” Ricky said before punching Julian and sending him flying. The man crashed into the upraised part of the building covering the stairway with a sickening crunch. Julian stayed there for a few moments before gravity dropped him down, face first, on the roof’s surface.

“My, that made a nice dent,” Ricky chuckled, looking at the broken brick caused by Julian’s impact. “Tsk tsk, Julian. Did you really think you were a match for me?” the vampire asked as he walked over to him. Julian didn’t speak and didn’t move, not even a twitch came from him.

“Awe, don’t tell me I crushed your skull or something fatal like that, I wanted to have more fun,” Ricky pouted as he stood in front of Julian’s motionless body. The vampire got down on one knee and took hold of Julian’s shoulder.

“Waky, waky,” Ricky said in a sing song voice as he flipped Julian onto his back. His eyes widened and he gasped when the other man was grinning up at him and had a gun in his hand.

“Eggs and bacy,” Julian finished for him before pulling the trigger. There was a loud bang followed by a screech. Ricky stumbled back, screaming in pain while he held his face.

“You bastard! You fucking bastard!!!” The vampire howled. Julian took that time to quickly get up onto his feet and watched the tormented man.

“Drat, did I get your iris? I was aiming for your pupil,” the man said in amusement as he reloaded his gun.

Ricky’s wailing quieted to pitiful whimpers. Blood poured down his face from his punctured eye that had a dart protruding from it. Ricky took a deep breath before grabbing the dart and yanking it out. A wrenching cry followed, but the eye already began to heal. The vampire glared at the grinning man in white before looking down at the item in his hand.

“A dart? Why did you shoot me with a dart?” Ricky asked through clenched teeth.

“Come, come now, Ricky. You’re not that slow are you?” Julian asked as he stood off with the angered vampire. “Darts only have one use.” Ricky stared at him and was suddenly aware of a warm sensation spreading from his eye to the rest of his body.

“Wha…? What did you inject me with!?” the vampire demanded then suddenly stumbled and held his head as he felt woozy. Julian laughed as he watched the brunette act like a drugged animal.

“A new elixir my buddy cooked up for me and it seems to have a quick effect, that’s good. You’re just going to be feeling a little drowsy and sluggish, Ricky. You should see yourself, it’s hysterical,” Julian sneered. The vampire snarled and lunged at the other man who dodged easily.

“See? You’re already starting to slow down,” Julian told him as Ricky took swipe after swipe at him. After one failed attempt Julian grabbed Ricky’s shoulder and jammed his knee into the vampire’s gut. As the vampire tried to regain himself he suddenly found a gun pressed against his forehead.

“Now let’s not make this difficult, Ricky,” Julian said, his expression suddenly serious. “Trust me; there aren’t any darts in this gun now. I will fuckin’ blow every limb off your body with pleasure. Your second death will be worse than you can even imagine if you don’t tell me what I want to know,” the man threatened.

Ricky couldn’t help the shudder that passed through him. He stood on shaky legs as he nodded.

“O-Okay man, okay. Let’s not be hasty. I’ll tell you whatever you want,” Ricky told him. He hated it, but he was completely under Julian’s control. Whatever the man injected Ricky with made his body feel like dead weight so he knew he didn’t have a chance if he fought.

“Good, I’m glad I have your cooperation.” Julian took a few steps back, but kept his gun right in line with Ricky’s head. “Now where is she? Where did that bastard take Emily?” he questioned. Ricky gulped and shook his head.

“I-I don’t know. He n-never told me where he was going,” Ricky replied. Julian’s eyes narrowed and he scoffed.

“Wrong answer.” Julian’s hand moved to the left and he fired. Ricky screamed as the bullet shot into his flesh and exploded when it made contact. The vampire wailed as he fell to his knees and his arm landed a few feet away from him. There was hardly a stub from his shoulder left and part of his side was gone.

“I hope you understand I’m not fucking around, Ricky. I can use these exploding bullets until there’s nothing left of you. I want to know where my sister is and I want to know now!” Julian yelled, anger flaring in his emerald eyes.

“I don’t know! I don’t fucking know!!!” Ricky screamed as he held his bleeding side. “He just told me to lead you this way and then he left! That’s all!” Julian stared at the vampire as he wept miserably.

“Don’t feed me that bullshit, Ricky. You know how this works. If he didn’t trust you enough to tell you where he was going then he must have given you something. Anything that was supposed to be passed onto me,” he said, his finger itching just to pull the trigger and blow the pathetic bloodsucker away. Ricky sniffled as it looked like he was trying to remember something.

“A-A letter…” he whispered. Julian raised an eyebrow and took a step closer.

“What?”

“A letter. He gave me a letter. He told me not to open it or read it, but he said I’d know what to do with it when the time was right.” Ricky looked up at Julian. “It must be for you.” Julian stared at him suspiciously.

“Where is it?” he finally asked.

“I-In my jacket pocket,” Ricky told him and was about to reach in to his left pocket.

“Hold it,” Julian ordered and the vampire froze. “I don’t need you getting your blood all over it. Just put your hand up and don’t move. One twitch and I might just relieve your neck of your head,” Julian threatened.

Ricky slowly put his arm up and the other man stepped towards him cautiously. His gun never left its mark as he carefully crouched down and reached into the vampire’s pocket. Ricky suddenly smirked and his fangs extended.

“And you say I’m slow,” he said softly before using all his strength to lunge forward. Julian tried to jump back, but he wasn’t quick enough and he cried out when the long ivory fangs sunk into his shoulder. A burning sensation spread across Julian’s chest as Ricky clawed at him with the hand he had left.

Julian felt nothing but agony as Ricky thrashed his head, trying to rip the man’s arm off. Julian knew it was risky at such close range, but he had to get the vampire off. So Julian did the only thing he could do and stuck his gun in Ricky’s gut and fired.

There was a blast and Julian felt a ripping sensation in his shoulder before he was thrown back. The man lay where he landed for several minutes as he tried to bite back the pain that racked his body.

“Fuck, that hurt…” Julian cursed as he tried to sit up. He looked at his shoulder and saw it was torn up and a blood pool began to appear in the whiteness of his trench coat.

“Damn it, I really like this coat too,” he grumbled then looked around for Ricky. Julian whistled when he saw the damage. The vampires chest and above were in one place and his waist and legs were closer to Julian than they were to him. Blood was splattered everywhere along with flesh bits and pieces.

“The bastard deserved it, but still…ick,” Julian murmured as he struggled to his feet. He walked towards what was left of Ricky. Sidestepping the lower half and going to the upper.

“Ricky, hey, you still alive? Undead…whatever,” Julian called out as he approached him. He was surprised when the vampire opened his eyes and groaned in pain.

“Ah, d-damn…those things pack a-a wallop,” Ricky wheezed, a blood trail running from his mouth and down his cheek as he spoke.

“I told you,” Julian said as he squat down beside him. “Man, you must not be as weak of a vampire as I thought if you survived that,” he praised as he looked him over. *I’m assuming if his body parts get close enough he’ll be able to regenerate,* Julian thought as he looked over at Ricky’s legs then at the lone arm that was a ways from them. *I’ll have to be careful of that.*

“I told you not to be difficult, Ricky, you stubborn bastard. See what happens?” Julian told him.

“I was just doing…as he told me. I have no….no regrets,” Ricky replied weakly, looking up at Julian.

“Is there really a letter in your jacket?” Julian then asked, getting back to business. Ricky slowly nodded and Julian stood up. He was careful to leave Ricky in his sights as he made his way back to his lower half and to where the lower part of his jacket was.

Julian prayed that the letter wasn’t damaged as he searched through the pockets. He smiled in relief when he pulled out an envelope with a familiar rose seal holding it closed. The man jumped back when the legs suddenly kicked at him. He looked over at Ricky to see a look of pure concentration on his face.

“My, my, you can move your body when it’s not attached to you?” Julian asked. “Impressive, but I suggest you settle down,” he warned and stomped on one of Ricky’s ankles. Julian was surprised when the vampire whined. *He can feel pain from discarded body parts?* he wondered. *Keeping that one in mind.*

Julian then brought his attention back to the letter. He broke the seal and opened it, pulling out the paper inside. His heart quickened its beat as he unfolded the letter and began to read.

“Dear Julian,

I’m guessing if you are reading this you have defeated my little Richard. Such a pity, he had slight potential, but alas I don’t have use for weak fledglings. Let us get back to us, shall we, Julian? You must be on the verge of desperation right now, aren’t you? Trying so, so hard to get your baby sister back into your protective arms, but always falling short, you poor thing, but I assure you Emily is safe. She is quite the delightful company if you get over her constant crying of wanting to go back to you. I’m honestly surprised that there is such a strong sibling bond between the two of you, what with your…fiendish tendencies, shall we call them? But I suppose your irritation is rising as you read this so let us cut to the chase. I’m oh so sorry, Julian, but you have chosen the wrong fledgling to chase after. You have come to another dead end in this game, such a shame. Looks like Emily and I will be spending more quality time together. I’m sure this news makes your blood boil, ah such the lovely temper you have. Well, I suppose you’ll just have to wait until I’m ready for another round of our fun, or are you any closer to finding me on your own? No matter, until next time have a pleasant existence alone.

My Eternal Love,
Michael”

A vicious growl came up from Julian’s throat and he tried hard not to crush a rip up the letter.

“God damn it!!!” he screamed to the heavens. He clenched his teeth tightly as he tried to fight back the overwhelming impulse to destroy something, anything. Julian counted to ten slowly and he visibly relaxed.

“That bastard…that bastard is going to pay dearly,” he muttered softly, folding the letter, stuffing it back in the envelope and tucking it away in his coat. Julian then took a deep breath to calm himself a bit more. Suddenly he grabbed something from his belt and threw it across the roof.

A pained screech came from Ricky as a silver knife plunged into the wrist of his dismembered arm. The appendage had been slowly crawling back to him as Julian had been reading.

“Sneaky, but no dice, Ricky,” Julian grumbled as he walked back over to him. He looked over at the arm that was now twitching and the flesh started to burn where the knife went in. It was a small, thin knife with a cross attached to the handle. Julian had had several made and kept them on him for just such occurrences.

“Now it looks like you’re in a rather tight spot. Your sire has abandoned you and has left me in a foul, foul mood. It really sucks to be you right now, Ricky,” Julian told him as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from inside his coat. He took one of the white sticks in his mouth and returned the pack to its place before lighting the cigarette.

“What sucks even more for you, Ricky,” Julian said as he blew out a cloud of smoke, “is that I know exactly what I’m going to do with you.” The vampire watched fearfully as Julian went back to his legs and dragged them closer to Ricky, but kept them at enough distance so they couldn’t reattach. Julian looked over at the arm and decided that it was close enough. He walked back over to Ricky and pulled a flask out from inside his trench coat.

“What do you think is in this?” Julian asked as he shook it. Ricky knew what an obvious answer would be, but Julian was not an obvious type of person so he shook his head to show he didn’t know. A whimper came from Ricky when the man smirked evilly around his cancer stick.

“Well, believe me, it’s not alcohol,” Julian told him as he unscrewed the cap. He tipped the flask ever so slightly, just enough so a single drop came out from the opening. It fell through the air and landed on Ricky’s cheek. The vampire cried out in horror as the skin where the drop hit began to burn and shrivel up.

“H-Holy water!” Ricky screamed, looking up at Julian in terror. The man just chuckled.

“Yes and no, Ricky. It is holy water, but I mixed it with something. Can you guess what it is?” Julian asked before beginning to walk leisurely around Ricky, pouring the water over the vampire’s body parts. Ricky screamed in agony as clouds started to rise from his burning flesh.

Julian began to hum a tune as he worked, ignoring the poor vampire’s pleas and cries of pain. Soon he began to sing softly to himself.

“Something ugly this way comes, through my fingers sliding inside. All these blessings all these burns.” At the last word Julian poured a good amount of the liquid on Ricky’s chest. Watching in twisted delight as the shirt was burned away by the bubbling rotting flesh underneath.

“I’m godless underneath your cover. Search for pleasure, search for pain. Now I am undying. I unfurl my flag, my nation helpless…” Julian continued to sing under his breath.

Such a sight the man made. Singing as he splashed the burning body on the ground with the scalding liquid, the smoke from his cigarette joining the clouds coming from Ricky’s body. Julian was as white as the fresh fallen snow except for the crimson that stained his shoulder and went down his arm and chest. The wound Julian had received was all but forgotten and didn’t seem to bother him in the least.

“Black black heart, why would you offer more? Why would you make it easier, on me, to satisfy? I’m on fire. I’m rotting to the core. I’m eating all your kings and queens. All your sex and your diamonds.” The singing was joined by the horrible screaming coming from the vampire.

Ricky was in more pain than he could ever remember being in. Why had Michael left him to this fate? Why had his sire abandoned him in the hands of this madman? But even through his torment a distinct smell struck at Ricky’s nose. It was not of his burning flesh, but the pungent smell of gasoline. Ricky realized that was what Julian must have mixed into the holy water.

“J-Julian! Please! I don’t want to die!” Ricky cried out through his pain. The other man froze when he heard those words. He turned and looked down at Ricky curiously. Julian then walked over to Ricky’s head and kneeled down beside him.

“You don’t want to die, Ricky?” he asked softly as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and held it between his fingers. Ricky shook his head and looked up at him with a pleading look. “Poor little Ricky,” Julian said and touched the vampire’s undamaged cheek with his fingers, the cancer stick coming dangerously close to his eye.

“But, Ricky, let’s think back now. Remember all those people you’ve killed for food and for fun? Remember back to how they must have pleaded and begged for their lives.” All sympathy left Julian’s face and he stared down at the vampire with a cold, unforgiving look. “I’m sure none of those people wanted to die either, Ricky, did they? It’s just the way things work.” Julian then reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a white ball of tissue.

“Now open wide,” Julian told him as he forced Ricky’s mouth open and shoved the ball into it. “Taste your mind and taste your sex. I’m naked underneath your cover…” Julian started singing again as he stood up, leaving Ricky to yell his muffled pleas.

The man replaced his cigarette in his mouth and shook his flask to see how much was in it. The sloshing of the liquid told him there wasn’t much, but enough to do one last thing. Julian began to pour near the puddle that had formed around Ricky then walked away, making a trail in his wake.

When the very last drop was gone Julian closed the flask and returned it to his coat. He took a second to look at his work before taking the cigarette out of his mouth again.

“See ya, Ricky; I’ll meet up with you in hell sooner or later, so remind me to buy you a beer,” Julian told him as he held up his hand and flicked his cigarette away. The burning stick landed on the liquid and it was quick to catch fire. The blaze snaked its way to Ricky’s body and the vampires screams were heard even through his mouthful.

Julian turned and began to walk away, the crackling of the fire and the screaming of the vampire playing like music in his ears and he sang along with it.

“Covers lie and we will bend and borrow, with the coming sign. The tide will take, the sea will rise and time will rape…” With the last verse the fire had spread to Ricky’s face, lighting ablaze the tissue in his mouth that quickly burned away, revealing a black powder.

An explosion went off behind Julian and a great deal of hot air blew by him, ruffling his hair and making the end of his coat whip in the wind. But Julian hardly noticed and his soft singing floated into the air.

“I’m on fire. I’m rotting to the core. I’m eating all your kings and queens. All your sex and your diamonds. All your sex and your diamonds. All your sex and your diamonds…”

***************

The burning light from the fire played across Lucas’ pale face. He watched as the man in white walked away and disappeared over the side of the building, most likely to the fire escape.

“Hmm how intriguing. That man obviously knows how to take care of himself.” Lucas gazed at the fire that was eating up the last bits of the vampires flesh and played over everything he had overheard.

“Whoever has taken this Emily girl from that man must really love to torture him. It seems they’re doing a good job of it too, judging from his reactions.” Lucas turned his head as he heard sirens off in the distance. He decided to make himself scarce and began to make his leave. Lucas took one last look at the fire and smirked.

“Julian. An interesting man, that one. I may just have to introduce myself since my curiosity has been peaked,” he said before vanishing into the night air.

=============================Ch. 1 End

So how was that? I personally like it much better than the story I had before. Aren’t the characters just lovely and gory? Now I know it seems stupid to have Julian singing since that’s such a Mary Sue trait *shudders in disgust* but Julian has his reason’s and for anyone who is curious about the song it’s called “Black Black Heart” by David Usher. If you would like to hear it here is a video on YouTube that has the song go with a very nice FinalFantasy: Advent Children video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5kR5O52aGA&search=Black%20black%20heart

So I hope you enjoyed yourself, I’m not sure when I’ll get the next chapter up so please be patient with me. Please rate and review!