Sanctuary - Chapter 1 - Asher

Prologue1

I am Asher, Lord Protector over these lands. Ever since the great death came to England, I have done all I can to protect those who would be consumed. Yes, I hear you ask – consumed. As in eaten, chewed, torn asunder and devoured by foul and putrid mouths. We are at war, you see, with a known and deadly enemy – these are the people that once worked along side you, served you in the supermarket, drove you in those big red buses through London. Now they are death, the walking, ravenous dead – who feast upon the living with the vigour of a pack of wild dogs.
At first I stood back, watching from my Island fortress. I was a rich and powerful man, or I had been in the times before wealth and power were thrown to the side and replaced by the will and urge to survive. I was a recluse; of my own volition I might add – different from the teeming multitudes that passed in their cars near my home. I was the last male of my own kind, alone in my affliction apart from my beloved Nya. We are what the humans call Nosferatu or more commonly Vampire.
What! A Vampire protecting the living from this new pestilence? Yes, indeed for that is what Nya and I do. We have found our ready and willing food supply depleted by the converging undead army – so it is more for our own survival that we help these people – starvation has never sat well with me.2

So you would like to know what has befallen the human race? Very well, I will tell you – but the story isn’t a pleasant one – and it may chill your blood. But knowledge is power, so I will tell you.3

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Chapter 1
Asher5

I first noticed the changes one night while stalking a particularly delicious and dark individual. To help stave off my deep-set boredom, I had taken to choosing my victims carefully. I would find a victim and then follow them through their life for a time, before I struck and fed upon them. After nearly nine hundred years of life, feeding can become a little tedious – so I needed to do this for my own sanity more than any other reason. Call me selfish if you wish.
Anyway, getting back to the story.6

The streets that were normally teeming with people were deserted. The lights of Piccadilly Circus were extinguished; the cars silent, the buses stopped haphazardly against zebra crossings. It was as if they had all just disappeared. I was dumbfounded; I had not ventured out for a week or so, apathy is a frightful affliction and I had been suffering it in droves, so I had missed what had come to pass. Nya had been sleeping for almost a month, and to be honest I missed her gentle company. This was one way she dealt with her immortality – Sleeping – it helped her to remain sane while all around her the world was going to hell – in this case, quite literally.
I had wandered the silent streets for hours, listening for any sounds, any indications of life – and yet there were none. I finally came upon what I was looking for; a young girl, no more than thirteen or maybe fourteen, watching me from across the street from an open window. I let out a relieved breath and let myself into her home through a crudely made barricade. The home looked deserted, smelled of rotten food and human waste – there was only one heartbeat, that of the girls – she was alone.
When I opened the door to her bedroom, she was cowering against the wall, her eyes fixed me with a defiant glint and she held a crowbar in her hands.
“Leave me alone!” She hissed through clenched teeth; and I laughed. This girl was a feisty one.
“I have no intention of hurting you.” I had assured her; and the best thing was – that was the truth. I couldn’t imagine snuffing out this Childs life like the flame on a candle. Her eyes registered her surprise.
“You’re not one of them.” Her body sagged in relief, tears filling her eyes.
“I thought I was the only one left. I couldn’t leave here, there are just too many of them. I’ve been trapped here, wishing, hoping for someone to rescue me. Have you come to rescue me?” I smiled, hiding my fangs expertly.
“Of course. Tell me little one, what has happened? Where is everyone?” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Don’t you know? Don’t you know what’s happened?” I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
“I’ve been away for a while. Tell me.” She sat up, wiping at the tears, which had sprung into her eyes.7

“I was at school when it happened. There was a message over the tannoy telling us to go home. So I gathered my stuff together and got on my bike. It was really weird, that in the space of a few hours the streets were empty – it scared me so much, that I peddled hard, and I managed to get home in a couple of minutes. When I got there, my Mum was home from work and my brother David was there too – he was older than me and worked in a factory. They were sat around the Television and had the news on. There was a man on there telling people not to panic, and not to go outside if they could help it. There were riots engulfing the city and it was dangerous to leave our homes. We must have sat there for hours just watching the pictures being beamed from CC-TV cameras on the streets in the centre of the city. It didn’t look like a riot to me, there was blood and people running and screaming. The same man kept coming back on the screen telling us not to panic, but to stay indoors. I had finally gone to my room and turned on my computer. The same thing was happening all over the world, not just in London. People were going mad and killing each other. It was so scary, that I crawled under my bed and hid. I think I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up – the house was quiet – the voices from the Television in the living room weren’t coming through the ceiling anymore. I lay under my bed for a while longer, I don’t know why I did, but something just told me not to move. Finally I needed the toilet and I couldn’t wait any longer, so I forced myself out of bed and crept along the landing to the bathroom. It was on the way back that I noticed the splashes of blood on the stair carpet. I crept back to my room, and looked out of the blinds at the street. There were people walking along it, a lot of people, they were moaning and knocking down the doors of the houses in my street. They dragged Mrs Nesbit and her children Abigail and George out of their house and into the street. The crowd of people surrounded them until I couldn’t see them anymore. They screamed and I closed my eyes and covered my ears for a second. Then it was over, the crowd moved on and all that was left was a bloody puddle of clothes and bones. I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out loud. That was what had happened to my family, that was why there were blood splashes on the carpet. I got back under the bed, my breathing so shallow that it gave me a pain in my chest and made me dizzy. I listened for any sound at all, but the crowd had moved on, believing they had picked the houses clean of food. I’ve been here ever since, waiting for them coming back. I’ll be ready for them.” She had said finally. I had looked at her in disbelief.
“This mob of people actually ate the woman and her children?” The girl had nodded her head, tears sliding down her dirty cheeks.
“Interesting.” I said simply and she had stared at me in disbelief.
“Do you know why it happened?” I asked her again and she shook her head. I needed to investigate more, but firstly I needed to get her to safety.
“If you want to live, come with me.” The girl had gotten to her feet clumsily, her body thin and soiled.
“Who are you?” She asked and I had told her.
“I’m Asher, you are?” She had lowered her lashes.
“I’m Sari.” I had taken her by the hand and lifted her into my arms. She had sagged against me in relief, the ordeals of the past week taking their toll on her.
I had carried her through the deserted streets to my safe house beneath a department store, in London’s Regents street. Then I had laid her on my bed and left her to sleep. I hoped she would not wake up and snoop around while I was sleeping. I had powered up my computer, trying to contact of any of my friends across the globe. Finally I managed to find Malachi online. Malachi was another immortal, although he wasn’t a Vampire. We had been friends for centuries, after I had tried to feed on him in Venice.
“Greetings Old Friend, it is fortunate that you are well.” Malachi had said in his formal way.
“Greetings to you Mal. Tell what you know of the current problems with the humans.” There had been a pause and I had waited a long time for Malachi to answer.
“There is a pestilence Asher, it causes the bodies to die and decay and yet reanimate once more. These new bodies require living tissue to survive and so they hunt and devour the living. Humans feasting upon Humans. It is indeed hell on earth my friend. I fear for you and Nya, with no living blood to feed upon, your time on this earth maybe at an end.” I had been shocked by his words – I had to admit I had not even given it a thought until he had voiced his concerns.
“Are you safe, Malachi?” I had asked, fobbing off his doomsday predictions.
“Indeed I am at this moment. What of you and Nya? Do you have a fortress in which to ride out the end of the world?”
“Yes Malachi, you need not concern yourself with us, we will survive. I have found a living human, a young girl. She gives me hope that there maybe more out there. I will save those I can and bring them to my home. A colony of humans if you like, and I will protect them and in return they will give Nya and I blood.” Malachi had signed off and I had retired to my double bolted room to sleep. I had left out some food for Sari and a note telling her to stay put until I returned.
When I had awoken, Sari was reading, the food had been consumed. Her eyes had lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw me.
“I thought you’d abandoned me.” She said simply and I had shaken my head.
“I’m going to take you home with me, and Nya and I will look after you.” She had brightened.
“Who is Nya?” I had smiled.
“Nya is my wife. I am going to try and find more survivors like you Sari.” 8

That had been almost three years ago now. The dead still walk and still feed – I do what I can, save those I can. We call our Island, Sanctuary. Our numbers have grown to over 400 souls; Sari has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She accompanies me on long trips to find other survivors – her skill with weapons honed by my teaching. 9

Our Battles continue.
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