From Stone To Ashes (Chapter 1)

The creature was sleeping. It was daylight, a time for rest. This was no different than any of the other thousands of days he had withstood. It was four-thirty in the afternoon and, as well he should have been, he was resting on his cement floor. This dark room that this creature occupied was almost bare, not that anybody would stop by for a friendly visit anyway. This creature, this once man, was used to being alone. He had left his pack long ago, sometime in the early 1920's, but nobody really knew for sure. This underground tomb was used for sleeping, and that was it. There was never a dream to be had here. Eating was always done elsewhere. Those who were dead were the only ones that entered this room. This man was a vampire, and even he didn't like the sound of what he was. 1

The vampire lay on the cold cement floor, never feeling the iceyness on his skin, never inhaling a breath, never dreaming of what he had done the day before or what he wished would happen the next day. In this state he was quite like a corpse; cold, silent, and dead. His left arm lay across his stomach and his other stretched out onto the floor. A faded red shirt covered his chest and it had done so for a long time. He had found it at a local runaway shelter and had taken it from a box when nobody was looking. The black jacket, pants, and leather shoes he had stolen off of a fresh corpse that had been put in his mausoleum about three months before. His dark brown hair was dirty and unkempt, but he could never see an image of himself anyway. With his mortality, his reflection had also left. Looking nice for people was never one of his main priorities. 2

The vampire's hazel eyes began to flutter open. There was a sharp pain in his left shoulder. He sat up, shocked, and pulled off his jacket and shirt. The round scar that was usually there was now becoming a deep hole in his body. Ash was potruding out of the hole and tumbled down his chest. He was confused as to why he was actually feeling this pain. Usually a large gash would give as much pain to him as a papercut would to a human. He then fully awoke from his sleepy state and remembered. It was the gift that with it carried a curse. The amethyst stone. It was near, and he would have it. No matter what. 3

***4

In the middle of the city, Julia Lawrence walked arms crossed, head down through the dimly lit streets. Her camera was on a thick strap hanging over her shoulder. It was now nearing eleven o'clock at night and most were at bed at this hour, not including the homeless beggars who were sitting on their cardboard boxes in the alleyways. Julia lived in the crowded part of town where the old Italian immagrants lived. This was all that she could afford. She did a double take as she crossed the street and saw a homeless man sleeping. He was sitting on the ground, his back leaned against the brick building behind him with his arms crossed. 'It makes him seem somewhat...regal' Julia thought. She took her camera off of her shoulder, turned on the flash, and took a picture of the homeless man. He twitched slightly but stayed alseep. Staring at the man, Julia became lost in thought. Her mind drifted back to when she started working at a local newspaper a few months ago. She was happy to have a job as a real photographer. It was a job she had wanted for a long time. It wasn't until after she got the job that she found out that the newspaper only delivered once a week and to a small part of the city. Most of the time, she was stuck doing petty office jobs for her boss. 'How could I make this big of a mistake?' she thought to herself. She put her right hand over her eyes to try to calm herself down. Her other hand took hold of the necklace around her neck and started anxiously playing with it. 5

Up on the roof of the brick building stood the vampire, his jacket blowing in the cold autumn wind. He saw a young woman on the street below him. Long dark hair, normal height and weight, fair skin, wearing a dark red turtleneck sweater. There was something in her left hand. 'Where is the stone?!' he thought angrily. It was his, and he would have it. He jumped off of the three story building with quiet flapping of his coat in the wind. He landed with only a slight thud on his feet directly behind Julia. 6

Julia heard something behind her. She slowly lowered her hand from her eyes and put her necklace underneath her shirt. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her. Muggers were not uncommon in this city and she knew that. Thoughts were rushing through her head as to what she should do, but her fear was louder than her thoughts, making them nearly incomprehensible. 7

"Hello." Julia heard a deep voice say. She spun around quickly to find herself about a foot away from a strange looking man. He would have looked like he was ready to go to a funeral if it hadn't been for the red shirt underneath his jacket. He took a step closer and Julia slightly gasped. She took a step back and the vampire half-smiled. 8

"You have something I want." he said as he walked slowly toward Julia. 9

By this time Julia couldn't think of a thing to do. Her feet seemed glued to the ground. "Wha-wha-"10

"The amethyst. You have it, don't you?"11

"Well...I-"12

"Don't you?!" the vampire growled. He took two large steps up to Julia and ripped the collar of her shirt open down to her shoulder. There it was, attatched loosely to a silver chain. "Where did you get this?" he asked, holding the rip in her shirt open so he could see the stone.13

Julia's hands were at her sides, slightly shaking. "M-my great aunt gave it to me before she died. She said it belonged in the family."14

The vampire smirked. "Not anymore." he said with accomplishment in his voice. He grabbed onto the chain and Julia jumped slightly. As he was about to pull the chain off of the girl's neck, he felt a burning sensation in his shoulder again. He yanked his shirt down slightly and saw the hole was spewing out ash again. He saw a flash of white and heard a voice in his head. "If you should ever lose this gift, demon, it will be given to a protected family, and they may only give it back to you if they will it." A searing pain ripped through the vampires head. He put his left palm to his forehead and shut his eyes tightly. Once the pain went away, he looked up again furiously. His regular canine teeth grew into fangs and his soft hazel eyes turned black. The vampire wrapped his right hand around the back of the girl's neck. She opened her mouth, but found herself unable to scream. Her voice only cracked. The vampire put his cheek against hers and whispered with great force into her ear, "My name is Zachary". He bit into the girl's jugular vein and drank her blood in rage. When there was little left in her body, he held her loosely in his arms. Her shocked eyes looked up at him as she tried to take in sharp breaths. "Heh...Welcome to my hell." 15