Life Eternal

Thriller Stories | Sep 21, 2012 | 8 min read
40 Votes, average: 4 out of 5
It was morning. 7:15 AM, and the pale morning sun's rays were poking through the leaves and tree limbs overhanging the dirt trail. This patch of woods, however small, was a majestic place to witness at all times of the day. But corruption was slowly seeping into it, even into the town itself. Charlie stood on the trail; confused, lost. The silhouette of a man stepped forward from the darkness of the trees, but remained in a shaded part of the trail, away from the sun. It spoke with a calm, but distinctly bold voice.
"Enjoying the view?"
Charlie replied with a fearful whisper."I always have."
"Do you know why you're here?", it continued.
"No."
"Well, I'll be straight-forward. You have been called to my cause, my purpose. I have chosen you to help me. To give me the world I have always wanted." He spoke with excitement in his tone. Excitement that Charlie did not share.
"What if I refuse?", Charlie shuttered at the thought of a response.
"You won't. I won't let you..." The figure shot forward with incredible speed, dodging each beam of light on the trail. Charlie meant to run, but froze with shock and amazement. The figure grabbed him, and pulled him into the shadows. He gasped in fear as he saw it lift its head and reveal its face. A face he knew well. Without another word, it opened its mouth and dug its fangs into Charlie's jugular. Within seconds, Charlie was dead.

"Give me a reason, just one reason to stay!", I shouted at my roommate. Things had gotten absolutely insane within the last few months at Wellington University. The classes were harder, the food was disgusting, tuition prices were raised, and Doug, my roommate, was always partying all night and hungover the next day.
"Because I need you to help me in my core subjects! I can't do it alone. I'll lose my degree if you aren't here to help. Not only that, but you have to get a degree too if you want to get a decent job. Please, don't quit on me!"
"Like you really care about your future", I replied with sarcasm, "You're always too busy slamming booze to even study with me. I'm sick of doing your work if you can't even be there to thank me."
"I swear that will change, starting right now. Please!"
I was ready to quit on college, but unfortunately not on my friend. "Fine."
He smiled and gave a simple "Thanks Owen". He walked out the door of our dorm, off to his next class. I'd have to leave too, but I had a minute to spare. I opened the drawer to my nightstand and grabbed my bottle of vodka. Sure, I liked to drink, but at least I had the sense to do it after I was finished with my studies.

Another cloudy day at the University. The outdoor courtyard was crowded with students trying to make it to their classes. Yet something was wrong with the crowd. Many people were missing, at least fifty of them. For the past month or so, students were disappearing from their dorms. Here at night, gone the next morning. Police were notified, but their searched turned up no evidence. There is a small patch of woods behind the school grounds, where many students go on jogs along the dirt trails. A few people said they saw the "missing persons" enter the woods in the early hours morning, and never exit. The police proceeded to search that area too, but found nothing. This incident gave the woods an urban-legend sort of reputation. I walked to my next class, biology. As I sat in my chair, I noticed another empty seat in the class that never was filled. Another missing person. This was ridiculous, why haven't the police found anything yet? It proceeded to bug me throughout the class.

I arrived back at my dorm that night to see Doug, doing shots of tequila with another student. Not an uncommon sight for me. "Oh, Owen, how are ya?", he said in a drunken tone. "I want you to meet someone, I met him in my civics class. Owen, this is Nathan."
My eyes met his. He had dark blue eyes, almost the color of sapphires. A slim build with broad shoulders, pale white skin, and dark blonde hair. He smiled at me, and offered his hand for me to shake. "How are you?", he asked with a bold voice.
I returned a smile and shook his hand. He had a powerful grip. "Good, and you?"
"I'm doing alright. Doug tells me you really don't like to have fun", he said with a chuckle.
I glared at Doug, and his head shrunk in his shoulders with a smirk. "No, I just act responsible and get my work done before I let loose." Nathan nodded in agreement, then returned to his shots with Doug. I have to admit, I kinda liked Nathan. He seemed to be a nice fellow, sensible yet fun. We were going to have to get to know each other.

Nathan and I were practically brothers after that night. He, Doug, and I always hung around each other. Nate was always too busy to visit during the day, so we hung out at night. I seemed to be doing better with my social life, but Doug was deteriorating before my eyes. He grew pale, didn't shave, and got quieter and quieter. He almost seemed depressed. He never went to any more parties, and I hadn't seen him drink in days. When ever I asked what was wrong, he simply said "I'm just tired". Nathan was just as confused as I was at Doug's behavior. One day, I awoke in our dorm to see Doug not in his bed. I figured he spent the night somewhere else, but no one had seen him. It then hit me. He had become another victim to the "missing persons" case. I notified the police, then Nathan came to my dorm.
"Where the hell is Doug, Owen? I can't find him anywhere."
"I don't know Nathan, but I called the cops. They'll look for him."
"I'm kinda worried about him." Nathan seemed legitimately concerned with Doug's disappearance. That made the both of us.

The next morning, just before I went to my first class, Nathan came running to me in front of the University. "Owen, I saw Doug!"
I couldn't believe his words, "What?!"
"Yeah, I saw him in the woods behind the grounds."
"You didn't get him to come with you?"
"He wouldn't budge. He said he was Where he belonged... , whatever the hell that means."
"We have to go get him right now, he might be hurt", and with that said, we both ran to the woods. It was just before sunrise, and the trail of the woods looked ominous, almost foreboding. Something felt wrong. We ran along the trail, Nathan was right behind me. We soon came upon the spot where the sighting was. Sure enough, Doug was standing off the trail, in the dense brush, looking at me an Nathan. Doug didn't seem himself, he looked sullen and enraged. His eyes were glowing with a blue light.
"Doug, are you alright?!", I called to him. He never moved.
"Yes, he's alright...", said Nathan.
I spun around to see Nathan, now his eyes were glowing too. That darker shade of blue radiated from the iris of both his eyes.
"Nate....what the hell is going on?"
Nathan smiled and revealed his long canine teeth. He had fangs, big ones. I was so startled, I couldn't move. Then, he spoke calmly.
"Doug has become one of my many victims. He is now like me."
I turned to see Doug, now he was on the trail with us. Nathan spoke again.
"Owen..."
I turned to see Nathan, now Doug was somehow standing behind him, his eyes locked on me. Impossible, how could Doug have gotten over there so fast? I didn't bother to ask.
"Owen...", Nathan whispered, "I want you to join me."
"For what?"
"I am building an army. I have the power to grant immortality to any that I choose, and then in return, they will build an empire for me. We will destroy the established order of mankind, then build upon its ashes." He spoke with a sort of confidence, like he had already won. As he spoke, I began to notice more glowing sets of eyes, scattered among the trees. I was surrounded.
"Why are you telling me this?!", I screamed.
"I already explained, I want you to join. And I don't accept refusal."
I wasted no time. I turned to run, but Doug was standing in front of me. I sucker-punched him, and he fell off the trail into the bushes. I sprinted down the trail, out of the woods and into the University. I heard Nathan's voice in my head; "No, I'll go alone. It will be fun chasing him down."

I sprinted down the halls of the building, not knowing where to turn. Classes were in session. I thought about telling someone, but who the hell would believe me when I say "Oh help! There's a vampire after me!"? I realized just how alone I was in this situation. I must have ran for 20 minutes before I ran back out of the building. Then I saw it. The old cathedral that was down the street. No mass would be in session, but vampires don't like crosses and holy stuff, right? As I bolted down the street, I saw Nathan watching me from the roof of the University. He was standing there, smiling with his glowing eyes.

I ran up the steps to the front doors and grabbed the handles. Locked. I forgot that this place had been closed for a while, condemned for unsafe construction. Funny, since this giant stone cathedral was built over 70 years ago, and they just decided to close it down 2 years ago. I turned to see Nathan standing at the bottom of the steps. He looked pleased with the situation. With a deep breath, I rammed the doors with my shoulder and broke the lock. I swiftly slammed them back closed and pushed a nearby bench in front of them. This would hold him. As I ran along the path to the altar, I marveled at the size of the building. It was humongous, at least 10 stories high. Then the doors flew open, sending the bench in front flying above my head. It smashed into pieces against the far wall. There stood Nathan, he looked even crazier than before; he knew he had me trapped.

Nathan walked along the benches, grinning as he approached me. I was confused. "Aren't holy items dangerous to you?!"
He smirked and replied, "Hahahaha, no. Back in the 1600's the catholic church created that myth to convert more people to their religion."
"You were alive in the 1600's?"
He shook his head in denial. "No. The one who turned me was."
"There's more of you?!"
"There was, but over time humans became aware of their presence, and slaughtered them."
"And the one who turned you?", I asked. I really didn't care. I just wanted time to plan my escape. The stairway was my best bet.
"I killed my maker. I wasn't going to be his slave."
After that sentence, I bolted through the door and up the spiral steps. There were so many, I was sure he'd catch me before I reached the top. But fear kept me going, it kept me fast and strong. I finally reached the top, it lead my to a balcony overhanging the ground floor. In the center of this balcony was a rope. My eyes followed the rope to a system of gears, and the gears to a group of large bells. I'm sure they called the locals to the church on Sundays. Further back, the balcony stretched to a large stained glass window, beautifully decorated in red, blue, and gold. Nathan stepped out from the shadows, and walked towards me. As I walked backwards, I felt the rope brush against my arm.
"It's a gift, Owen. You will be faster, stronger, and you'll never die. Your senses will heighten, you'll see, smell, and hear from miles away."
Then it hit me. If he had acute hearing, those bells would sound like bombs to him. I yanked at the rope, and Nathan looked up at the moving gears. The bells rang so loud, it almost deafened me. I held my hands to my ears, and looked at Nathan. He was in agony. He held his hands to his head and screamed as if he were on fire. He writhed in pain and ran around the balcony, slamming his shoulders to the walls. He was in so much pain, he was screaming almost as loud as the bells! I looked to the stained glass window. It grew brighter, sunrise was finally here! I scoured the floor of the balcony, looking for something blunt. A brick, this would work. I ran to the window and shattered the beautiful colored glass. Sunlight poured into the room, and Nathan looked surprised. His glowing blue eyes shined in the light, and his body erupted into flames. At first he screamed and dropped to his knees, then he collapsed and finally died.

I had to leave fast; the fire spread wildly since the floors were made of old dry wood. As I ran down the steps, I heard the balcony creak and break, it was about to collapse and set the entire building ablaze! I bolted out of the front doors and down the steps to the street. The cathedral was wrapped in flames, the bells now drawing a crowd. I had to leave quickly; I didn't want to be arrested for arson. I stumbled back to the University, and as I approached the door to my dorm, I sighed in relief. Nathan was dead. It was over. I opened the door to see the blinds of the windows shut, and Doug's glowing blue eyes focused on me...........

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Reviews

Velma golden Sep 24, 2012

you bet one of the best I have read, more to it, more meat if you will, great going, keep writing love your work.

Andreea Sep 23, 2012

For sure ;)

Michael Sep 23, 2012

I tried to add a twist to the vampire myth. Hope you guys enjoyed.

Andreea Sep 22, 2012

Great story! I love it! Thank you :D

Velma golden Sep 21, 2012

Oh Oh, bite bite. good story.

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