We are the Shadows: Prologue
I've noticed something, in that most of my stories are really rather short installments of a bigger main story, well I thought I'd take a crack at trying to write a BIG production We are the shadows came from another story I do on another site called Split: Legend of the Half-myth, in which a young nihilistic boy is accosted by a dying vampire, the boy is able to escape but instead of taking the boy's blood the vampire instead bites his spine, imprinting some of her DNA into him. The end result is not just a split personality, but a nightly metamorphosis into a wise cracking tough as nails female vampire who is sickened by human blood. Enough of that though, I completely reworked the story from the ground up to be different so I hope you all enjoy and comment on my longest story. We are the shadows
Warning: I don't subscribe to the concept of a total furry, you may see my characters as you wish, be they full furry or partial, so my concept of fury is a mix between a human and an animal, a Komi if you will in that the human displays different traits of the animal and posses different body parts of the animal, as to what those parts are I will leave up to you, make them as you WISH to see them but I prefer the varying Nekomi view of ears and a tail.
I would also like to point out that the social style is that of Japan, as well as the Architecture, considering Split was set in northern Japan, if you are Japanese and see things wrong with my environments, please contact me I am completely fascinated by your culture (Not in the anime and video game sense but in the sense that you actually HAVE a culture in modern times) and would love to learn more
We are the shadows
Chapter 1: Second Death
"It wasn't long ago that I was like you, stupid and young" An old race horse spoke as he walked beside his young nephew who was now attending his first year of high school. Jack a golden haired and tan furred lion boy, was originally an orphan in this life. Luckily he was found by an equine couple who took him into their home and raised him like their own son. Sadly though the couple died shortly after Jack turned five, leaving him to go live with his uncle, a celibate old pain in the ass race horse with his best years behind him.
"I'm not that stupid uncle mike" Jack growled distastefully, he hated how his uncle hated everything, just because he wasn't able to run around a circle for fake trophies and girls anymore. A bum leg took Mike the wonder horse out of the circuit in his prime, after that he resorted to doing sports adds but slowly became bitter and relentless in his criticism, as long as Jack had lived with his uncle he knew that Mike hated the entire world for something that he had no control over, his bitter attitude more or less warding the ladies away, than him being a lame horse.
"I'd say you're pretty stupid missing the bus and needing your uncle to walk you to school like a toddler, should I hold your hand little Jackie?" Mike snorted a cynical laugh and continued on as Jack pulled his bag over his shoulders. "How the hell do you oversleep on your first day, if I overslept on my first race then I wouldn't be where I am today!" Mike began spouting off stories of his short lived golden youth, Jack just taking a CD player out of his bag and turning on some music.
The pair continued to walk past the bridge that connected the country and the city, underneath a network of tunnels that would cause any normal man to go insane. Unknown to the rest of the city though, those tunnels were the home of a vicious group of creatures known as vampires. Watching tirelessly day in and day out the vampires hated the normal living beings, mainly for three reasons. The first being that they didn't need to hide like convicts from birth, secondly that they could reproduce while vampires were required to convert others into their family, thirdly because they were free, they didn't have an eternity to suffer through, regular living furs died at some time and were able to rest, vampires were not.
A shift pair of eyes belonging to a young house cat watched Jack as he fitted the headphones over his ears. "I pick that one" The girl purred and watched Uncle Mike slap the headphones off and begin to berate Jack for not listening
After a long lecture about paying attention to his elders Jack finally arrived at school, an hour late to boot. Bidding his bitter Uncle farewell Jack hurried into the school dashing towards his class room, only to be stopped by a hall monitor and sent to the office for running in the halls and disregarding school safety.
Mike trotted back towards his house muttering something about the nerve of that boy. Mike stopped and walked down the hill to stand by the river that ran under the bridge. He opened his wallet and stared a picture of his sister sighing wistfully. "I did as you said to, and what do I get, ignored by some half angst filled young whelp, why did you have to go and die" Mike sighed curling up and staring at the water. "I miss you so much Mary" The sound of a giggling girl brought Mike out of his curl and alerted him that someone else was there besides him.
"Hello?" Mike stood up and walked towards the sound of the giggles entering the service entrance to the bridge, inside it was dark, presumably because no one had serviced that bridge nine years. Mike looked around reaching over to his arm and hitting the light on his wrist watch, illuminating the entire concrete room with a pale green glow. Nothing responded to Mike as he investigated and his watch battery couldn't last much longer. With a sigh Mike released his watch light and muttered something to himself. "Great sister now I'm going crazy" A loud screech sent Mike spinning around only to find the fangs of a young vampire sunken into his neck. "...." Mike fell dead to the ground dropping his wallet and all the money inside.
"Fuck" The young vampire spit out the blood coughing, this one had past it's prime for her taste. "I wanted to get that young one, this one tastes like misery and failure" The girl hissed and spit some more. "Disgusting" In aggravation she kicked the wallet and watched it fly into the grass the money clip coming loose and landing on the edge of the bank.
"Fucking ridiculous" Jack growled and took home a slip saying that he had gotten detention and was sent home early of all things on the first day of school. "Maybe if that fucking bus driver didn't hate kids I wouldn't have missed the bus" Jack kicked a rock and opened his cell phone to call his uncle. He so wanted to hear a long story about how he did something, and it wasn't the normal at the time, but he was trendsetter! Jack was walking along the bridge towards his home when a sound caught him off guard, the sound of violent spitting. "What the.." Jack jumped backwards as another sound, a more potentially deadly sound of a truck horn warning him to move, blew by his ears making them ring. Crouching down to grab his head Jack dropped his phone, the light silver cell dropping off the bridge with a push from the passing truck and dropping into the water with a wet splash. "OH HELL!" Jack ditched his bag and ran down to the bank frantically searching for the lost cell phone. "My uncle is going to talk my ear off for losing this, come on.. come one god if you love me at all you will NOT MAKE ME LOSE MY PHONE TODAY!" Jack cursed and swore at his luck, finally grabbing something and pulling it up victoriously. "HA THANK YOU!" Jack held up his prize, a bright shiny... money clip
".. Aw, DAMN IT!" Jack threw the money clip into the grass and kicked the water furiously. "WHY" The water splashed and scared a school of minnows away. "DOES!" Jack thrashed making a loud noise that awoke the young vampire, bringing her to the edge of the entrance her lips curling into a smile as she spotted her intended pray. "MY!" Jack stomped and got his foot stuck in the muddy bank. "LUCK!" Jack struggled to pull himself free and with a pop managed to do so landing hard in the grass with a heavy thud. "Suck" Jack groaned and turned his head, spotting what looked like a pale faced girl watching him and laughing at his misfortune. Jack hurried to his feet and moved towards the entrance to teach this girl something about laughing at others. "Where are you?" Jack growled being as menacing as possible, he had unique eyes for his family, able to see very well in the dark he was not hindered by night blindness like his relatives were. "Don't bother hiding in the dark I can see you" Jack sniffed the air, it stank.. like bad meat. Jack ventured further into the entrance when a sound caught him off guard, the sound of a low hiss and a swift motion. ".. HEY COME OUT NOW!" Jack roared and was suddenly sent flying to the floor as the vampire girl gave him a swift kick in the head, making him twirl mid air before crashing down again.
"You have no idea how to ask a lady" The vampire smirked and pounced on Jack bearing it's fangs and leaning in to finish the job. Unsuspecting that Jack was baiting her into exposing herself. With a startling roar Jack sprung back to life reversing the girls hold and tumbling out of the dark entrance with her, into the bright sun and out on the grass. "NOW.. Who are you and why are you playing in that tunnel?" Jack held the girl down, not noticing that the sun was burning white pockmarks into her skin, the young vampire screaming in pain as the light cut into her like a cheesy metaphor. "STOP THAT AND ANSWER ME!" Jack was not about to let some crazy woman get one up on him, a very proud young man at best, at worst a foolish idiot with a case bad case of the dignities.
"LET GO OF ME YOU'RE KILLING ME!" The girl screeched out and thrashed violently, her skin turning black and ashy, her body turning to cinder before her eyes. Desperately she lunged up and bypassed the boy's jugular and instead bit around the back of his neck, holding it until she felt the light begin to dissolve her entire being she hissed a final breath, falling to the ground and scattering into the wind as black ashes, leaving Jack confused and slightly creeped out.
"Wow" Jack mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck wondering what in the world that girl was. "I guess it doesn't matter now right?" Jack mumbled and then noticed something shiny on the bank. "Aha!" He ran over and grabbed the object, pulling up a wrist watch. When he looked down Jack nearly fell over, laying in the bottom of the river bed was his uncle Mike, dead as a doornail, pale as a ghost. Jack fell onto his ass and began to tremble, why did everyone he loved even a little die?
The police were called in to investigate but there was no proof that Mike was murdered, instead it was ruled a suicide due to his failed career and Jack was once again without a home. Too young to stay by himself he found himself once again in a foster home transit waiting to see his new residence, so to speak, he didn't know where he would be living yet, or even if he had found a foster home but he was in the transport none the less watching the street lines as they drove deep into the city.
A pair of eyes watched the surface with wistful glares of both envy and hatred. Deep in the sewers of the city the vampires ruled their domain, in the center of it all was their leader the elder descendant of Dracula, or Grandfather as he was called, all vampires related in one way or another, Big daddy. Big daddy no longer had another name, just a title, Big daddy was the leader of his country and along with several other Big daddies they created what was known as the Family. Running their countries like a business the Family existed to unify vampires under one banner, a sense of balance embedded deep into the family way, one that prevented the world from vampires and light walkers from ever crossing.
"What is the status" Big daddy sighed as he turned around and re-addressed the council he presided over, the council kept the different regions of the country in line under the all seeing eyes of Big daddy. The council was made up of relatively trustworthy vampires in the big daddies circle, most of them his personal friends. Big daddy however was a rather solitary man, he enjoyed watching the light walkers with envy, but despised them as he rightfully should for making him and his kind dwell in their sewers like some common vermin. He, they, were the superior race and yet they bowed to the inferior because of a simple immunity to light, it was nonsense.
"All the regions are progressing smoothly, our conversion rate is slowing to a pause and we have not seen any acts against our kind by our spies on the inside" One vampire reported and sat down, several other reports were the same, the last vampire however had shocking news.
"There was an attack on the bridge entrance today, a young boy entered and overpowered... Princess Suria" The vampire shied away from using the name but when he did the entire council became erect listening with interest, Big daddy leaning in curiously now, Princess Suria was the unofficial next in line after Big daddy either gave his position away or died of sun related causes. "She was, lost to the light and did not manage to survive, the whereabouts of her corpse are currently unknown" The vampire sat down and trembled a bit, a dark surge of energy shaking the ground above them
"WHO DID IT!?" Big daddy was furious, to attack his own blood, to slay his only child, the light walkers would pay for such injustice, it was one thing to bow to them and concede the day, but to suffer being accosted in their own homes. "I will make sure that the one responsible is captured and bleed until they cry for mercy, and receive nothing but my claws in their back" Big daddy snarled his fangs showing as the council rallied around him, swearing vengeance on the light walkers and the one light walker responsible.
Jack sneezed quietly, an old legend about sneezing when someone was talking about you behind your back coming to mind. The van stopped infront of a plain house, white paint brown doors, glass windows and the such. Stepping out Jack saw a glimpse of a fairly normal looking domicile, no freaky lawn gnomes or feral cats wandering about aimlessly. "This place is already better than anywhere I've stayed" Jack muttered and took the initial first walk down to the door. Knocking politely on it he waited until a pair of domestic felines answered the door. One, presumably the man of the house, was a full black male with long hair and yellow eyes, hidden behind a pair of glasses and business type suit, the other was a calico colored female wearing a white dress and earrings. Jack being a lion was presumably bigger than the small domestic cats but that didn't intimidate them at all. "Hello I am Jack" Jack offered his paw but the female cat leaped up hugging him.
"OH my god I am so sorry about what happened to you dear, Excuse me I am Clarissa and that is Dan we were friends of your parents, lovely people they were, even that sour mike was such a good man" Clarissa began to weep for mike, a very big surprise to Jack that anyone could weep for that stubborn asshole. She continued to cry until Dan hugged her and moved aside. "Yes please come on in, I hear it's about to rain soon" Clarissa sniffled and wiped her eyes with her tail walking Jack into her home and displaying it with pride. Jack had never seen such a neat home, he couldn't remember his parents house, and uncle Mike's home had old trophies and dead bouquets lying around everywhere.
"It's nice, and thank you we all miss his unique perspective" Jack lied through his teeth, in the end Mike was no more than a means of living, the only person Jack ever felt close to were his parents, who were really just his finders. Mike never knew his real parents but he assumed they were either dead or assholes for abandoning him as a kid.
"Oh thank you dear, I try my best" Clarissa blushed and purred a bit then straightened up and looked to Dan. "You can put your things in your room dear, you've had a long day" Clarissa reached up hugging Jack again and wandering off to go do something that needed her attention. Shortly after she disappeared a young toddler cat skittered out of the stairwell stark naked.
"NO BATH NO BATH!" It flew by Jack and startled him a little more than it amused him, raising an eye brow he laughed and looked to Dan who just shook his head. Dan slid his tail out and caught the naked tot snaring him with his snake like apendage. "NO bath!" The toddler repeated and then looked over at Jack. "Who's he?" The kitten flipped right side up just in time to hear his mother coming and have her snatch him up and swat his backside.
"That is Jack he's our new friend" Clarissa didn't think she was adopting Jack more than just doing a favor for an old group of friends. "You can say hello after your bath young man!" Clarissa stuck her tongue out and began to lick all over the tot who mewled in protest, a black and white spotted young feline.
"I see" Jack raised his other eyebrow, he didn't know people still tongue bathed, he remembered His mother Mary tried to do that once and nearly swallowed him. Jack shook the memory of having to be yanked from mommy's mouth out of his head and heard the heavy footsteps of boots. Turning around he saw what looked like a scene from the Rock Horror Picture Show, a purle haired, pink tailed, red lipsticked, black eyeliner clad cat gir,l with a MP3 player blaring what could only be described as painful screaming.
"That's the bulk of your problems, not the little one" Dan muttered and withdrew his tail, for fear of his daughter stepping on it again. "Her name is Alice but she doesn't talk much, she mainly just nods to yes and no questions, she stays to herself mostly, but since you two are sharing a room I don't need to tell you both no funny business" Dan seemed uncomfortable about letting Jack stay in his home, but he was pidgeon holed by Clarissa in the matter, as to his lodging the choice came between sticking him with the kitten or with his young impressionable seventeen year old Gothic obsessed daughter... the answer was simple right?
"Oh stop that Jack is a good kid, he won't cause any trouble for Allie" Clarissa finished the youngsters tongue bath, now fitting him in a diaper and a pair of pajamas the youngster clung to his mother's leg and looked at the taller than normal Jack giggling in a shy manner. "His name is Thomas and he's only one and a half years old, he's the baby of the house and he's a real handful sometimes, but he won't bother you, he knows better right Tom tom?" Clarissa looked down and Thomas was gone hiding behind the couch with a timid mew. "THOMAS THAT'S RUDE!"
Jack raised his hand and shook his head laughing. "No it's okay, I understand I used to be shy too, I probably look like a giant to him, not to say your short or anything... I mean I'm a stranger for now, I bet he'll be chatting my ears off in no time, nice to meet you Thomas I'm... Jack but you can call me what you want" Jack crouched down and Thomas giggled
"Mon-ster" Thomas giggled and fled from the room his mother chasing after him and Jack looking bewildered. "MOSTER MOSTER MOSTER MOSTER JACK!" Thomas ran in circles and laughed loudly evading his mother narrowly and running up the stairs sticking his tongue out at Jack. "Monster Jack" with that Thomas was gone to his room where he would hide from his very cross mother who told him to behave when meeting Jack. Dan going up to help Clarissa out
"Ah dang it" Jack groaned getting up as Alice smiled and laughed at the sight of seeing her baby brother call someone a monster. "You know if he says it, then it must be true monster Jack was it?" Alice laughed and Jack just did a humoring smile. "Don't let it get you down, he calls me a demon sister, I think a monster and a demon would get along together well" Alice smiled and put her headphones back on when she saw her dad.
"Damn brat runs like a cheetah or something" Dan huffed thoroughly winded at the game of catch the kitten. "Anyway, Alice can show you where your room is, you start school in two days so get your fill of not having any work to do Jack, we do chores around this house, and those who don't aren't able to go anywhere got it?" Dan was a very strict man, or he tried to be Alice could fool him with the cute 'daddy please' and Thomas was ignorant to any rules besides his own. Dan however figured if he could get Jack to fear him maybe the others would fall in line.
"Yes sir" Jack felt a little military but it was his only place to stay besides an orphanage or a shelter so a few rules won't be bad. He followed Alice up the stairs and watched her begin to smile again. "Why did you stop talking when your dad came in?" Jack was curious and Alice repayed his curiosity with a giggle.
"I like to fuck with him, make him think I'm all depressed and troubled, it's my only source of amusement, since they closed everything down on this side of the city, all the fun shit migrated north to you guys" Alice unlocked the lock on her door and opened the passage into her dark tormented space, no sitting adjacent to what was basically white wall and blank potential. "Oh.. damn it" Alice grumbled and flopped onto her bed. "I thought we could share the Gothic theme but Clarissa said no, you had your own style... peh individuality is a burden on the souls of the weak and helpless doomed to toil to create a self image then cast aside into a set class of individualists, how's that for pathetic irony" Alice repeated a poem or something from her books and Jack just shook his head.
"I'm not into that, I just want to get some sleep, freaking bite mark is hurting" Jack rubbed the back of his neck but there were no marks on him now, the wound healing quickly. "What the hell?" Jack searched for it, but it was gone. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth I suppose" Jack shrugged it off to quick healing and flopped down onto the only other bed, slightly scared of the one Alice was sitting on.
"What bite, what happened?" Alice asked feeling herself get drowsy after her long day of being depressing and angst filled. She looked over silently, she kind of admired Jack, going into a strange home and just adapting, she was semi jealous but mostly apathetic to people dying, being goth she respected death in it's many forms, mainly because it helped her cope with her boyfriend's suicide, after Tim died she became obsessed with justifying herself through depressing poetry and the general attitude that death is next stage in life, inevitable and unavoidable.
"Believe it or not I think I got bit by a vampire or something, some weird girl who burnt up in the light bit my.. neck or back or something and then crumbled into dust, like in the movies" Jack rolled over and yawned his tail flickering gently. He wasn't really concerned, just an odd occurrence on the same day that his Uncle died, now cementing him into the family of a distant friend, Jack secretly wondered how many times he could be passed before being labeled a walking omen of death.
"Cool, if you turn into a vampire you have to convert me too okay, if your an undead creature then it's not fair if you don't share it alright?" Alice smiled she loved to talk about vampires, the Gothic symbol of hope for life after death, or life during death, a vampire was the highest goal a Gothic child could set for themselves, to become one of the walking dead, never to die and never to age.
"Will do" Jack closed his eyes and drifted off feeling a heavy sweat overtake him while he slept, a strange force inside him beginning to awaken.