Chapter 5

Dante, Victor and Alex stood in the dark and damp basement under Dante's house waiting for the unconscious man tied to the chair in front of them to wake up. Alex's annoyed foot tapped feverously on the floor as they waited.

"Alex." Victor complained annoyed.

"What? This guy should be awake by now. The sedative I gave him doesn't last this long." Alex said gesturing towards the unconscious man.

"That's because he's faking it." Dante revealed.

"How do you know?" Victor asked staring intently at the strapped man.

"His heart rate returned to normal." Dante said and Andy finally opened his eyes to looked up at the three men in front of him. He then began to scan his surroundings.

"You must be Andy." Victor began catching Andy's attention upon metioning his name, "You're a way from home." Andy stared silently at Victor, "What are you doing here Andy." Andy smirked.

"Being part of the solution." Andy purred. His eyes moved to Dante who asked,

"Who created you?"

"You did." Andy replied simply

"I think I would have remembered you then." Dante said making Andy smile, "Do you have any idea what you're doing? Exposing our kind."

"It's time we stepped out from the shadows. The humans need to know of our existance and fear us." Andy replied as though he had rehersed it.

Dante was beginning to get angry, "How many humans have you killed?" Dante finally asked.

"Mmm. Twelve? Or is it twenty one?" Andy replied as though in thought. Dante snarled as his hand grabbed Andy by the throat.

"Dante." Victor warned. After taking a deep breath, Dante released the man and walked away saying,

"He's of no use to us. Sedate him again with a higher dosage and send him off to the doctor."

"It'll be better for you to give in!" Andy called after him, "You can't stop what's to come."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked pausing with a syringe in his hand.

"The abandoned warehouse near the pier, go and have a look at what the future will be." Is all Andy replied.

~~~

Nicole sat in Merçenas Restaurant waiting for the handsome man to walk in. In all honesty, Nicole didn't know if she could call him a man but monster didn't sound like the right word either, but he definitely was not human. He looked like one and had the charms like one, but he was something different, something alluring, like a net just waiting to catch it's prey. What was she thinking, actually agreeing to meet the man whom she saw kidnap someone with another man. Another man who disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Does that make him not human too? Was he also some kind of monster? Again, not the right word.

"You came?" a voice said, breaking Nicole from her internal debate. The person to whom the voice belonged to, sat down across from Nicole.

"I wasn't sure what you'd do if I didn't." Nicole replied, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Dante smiled apologetically and leaned slightly back when a waitress placed a cup of steaming coffee in front of him and Nicole, "I ordered coffee, not sure what you prefer."

"Coffee's good. Thank you." Dante said taking a sip, waiting to be bombarded with questions.

"So why did you want to meet here?" Nicole asked. Dante found it strange that this was her first question. He would have expected her to ask something like, 'what are you?' or 'Are you a murderer?', surely the question will pop up later on in the conversation. It was only human to ask about things you are curious about.

Dante cleared his throat, "Well, I thought you would feel more comfortable in a crowded place somewhere near you apartment."

Nicole nodded "So what are you?" There it is, the anticipted question.

"I don't think you're ready for that answer." Dante said slowly. Nicole frowned with a sigh.

"Are you a human trafficker? An undercover agent? Do you work for the police?" Nicole asked throwing the possibilities Dante's way. Dante just shook his head. Nicole took a breathe then whispered, "Are you a monster?"

Dante chuckled softly before shrugging, "Of sorts." Nicole released a breath of air she didn't know she held and leaned back in her chair.

"I guess that's all I'm gonna get." Nicole said then reached for her coffee mug. Dante chuckled again, shaking his head in disbelief., "What?" Nicole asks.

"You humans," Dante chuckles again, "You never cease to amaze me."

"What does that mean?" Nicole asks feighing that she was insulted.

"Just like that you're going to accept that I'm some kind of monster?"

"Well, all monsters have a story as to how they became monsters." Nicole shrugged. Dante nodded at Nicole's logical answer but looked up quickly when Nicole asked, "What's yours?"

Dante sighed and leaned forward on the table, "Wanna go for a walk?"

After paying for the coffee, Dante and Nicole walked down the sidewalk in the briskly cold outdoors. Dante's hands were in his pockets as he tried to think about what he was going to say. The two walked in silence for a while before they entered a park. Keeping to the cemented path, Dante finally began,

"I was born in 1312 in a small town called Transilvania, but I was different. I was a carrier of a disease. A disease that is unique and that has no cure. This disease allowed me to live my long life because it froze my chromosomes when I reached the age of twenty. And of course, the disease itself started to mutate and evolve, giving me certain...abilities. One could say it is a supernatural force." The couple reached  bench and Dante sat down. "I am a monster." Dante confirmed with a nod. Nicole took a seat next to Dante. "I couldn't bare being able to live forever on my own so I, I turned someone into what I was, and I did it again and again until I realised what I had done, but it was already too late. The damage was done. The people I turned, were not exactly like me, there were some... differences." Dante sighs before looking towards Nicole, "Do you want to run away yet?"

Nicole shook her head with a small smile, "So you're the scary character that terrorises most movies." Dante scoffed and looked away with a smile, "Not all are bad, I mean, Twilight is pretty neat." Nicole says to lighten the mood. She smiles at Dante's sweet innocent smile. Nicole reaches for Dante's hand, "You are not a monster, Dante, if anything, you're human. It's only natural not to want to be alone."

"Doesn't make what I did right." Dante replies softly.

"Maybe. What matters is how you fix it." Nicole says. Nicole stands and stretches her arms out in front of her, "So," she says as Dante joins her, "Do you drink blood?"

"No," Dante replies simply, "I mean, yes, I'm attracted to the smell but I don't need it to survive. The people I turned however, developed a bloodlust." Dante clicks his tongue, "A side effect of the disease." Dante said raising his eyebrows. Nicole nods and the two begin to walk again.

"How many did you turn?" Came Nicole's next question. Dante shot Nicole a sideways glance before replying,

"About a hundred and thirty." Nicole looked over at Dante in shock but then composed herself when she saw Dante's ashamed face.

Nicole cleared her throat, "Why so many?"

"There was a civil war going on at the time and we were losing. I needed an army to help me protect my home." Dante replied before letting out a sigh, "Of couse I  could have just taken their immortality away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I needed them to help me feel whole too."

"Mmm." was all Nicole replied. They walked in silence a little longer before Dante stopped. When Nicole realized he stops she stopped as well and turned back to look at Dante, "What is it?"

Dante looked at Nicole and replied, "Stay here."

Dante walked away and Nicole searched her surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed normal, the crickets were cricking, the occasional soft breeze and a man was taking a walk. A man that was taking a walk towards her, or was he? Nicole looked behind her to see if there was someone else the man was walking towards, but when she saw nothing she turned back to look at the man and let out a yelp when he was suddenly in front of her. His eyes a bright yellow and a pair of sharp fangs protuded from his upper lip. The man grabbed Nicole and exposed her neck to him. Nicole quickly kneed the man who then growled then the man was suddenly flung backwards. Shaking with fear, Nicole saw Dante standing before her, looking worried.

"Are you hurt?" Dante asked, to which Nicole shook her head. Dante nodded then looked back at the man who stood up slowly. The man snarled before charging towards Dante. Dante extended his arm and bats appeared, flowing from the black wisps around Dante's arm, and flew towards the man, striking him in the chest. The man suddenly turned into dust. Dante looked back to Nicole and sighed when he saw her fear sticken face.