The Truth of Vengeance: Vampire Formula #2

Chapter 1

"Christopher, Chris, come over... Chris!"

I sat in the red leather booth at the back of the bar sipping a cold beer and ignoring the shouting. On the walls were wooden panels that gave the bar a mock hunting lodge style, with old black and white pictures of the first settlers in stiffened poses. Nailed to the walls, were old wooden style skis, ski poles, and an old sledge giving an insight into times past. Sat at the tables in front, two couples crowded around enjoying drinks and a plate of nachos as they re-told tales of their day's skiing; the crashes, arguments, speeds and fears. A dark haired man in a thick red fleece retold the tale of his crash, and how his girlfriend, the blonde haired woman next to him, had helped him up. She reattached his skis then re-gathered his hat and poles still laying scattered in the snow further up the mountain. He looked adoringly into her eyes while gently stroking her arm, and she leant in to share a tender kiss. They continued laughing at the tales, poured back the cold beer and crunched on the nachos as they enjoyed the après ski debriefing.

I sat alone in the bar supping my beer surrounded by the occupants of the booths either side discussing their own tales of the day.

In the next booth along with ski shoes hanging off the wall, I heard them discussing plans for tomorrow. Off for a ride with the Huskies, a short ski then a meal at the Chinese. To the side a TV flashed with images of the ice hockey. The Calgary Flames centre slipped past a defender, then flashed in the puck to the side of the keeper to make it 4-2 against Vancouver. A couple of the locals clapped in celebration.

I drank more beer and continued playing with my phone, checking the news and the weather forecasts in an attempt to block out the normal happy couples surrounding me.

"Chris, come over!"

I wished Christopher, whoever he was, would get a move on as the noise was disturbing my thoughts.

It had been a strange day for my eighteenth birthday. I had spent it on the slopes at Lake Louise in Canada. I had plenty of stories to tell of my own day's skiing as well; carving down the slopes, cutting up snowboarders and doing my first mini jump. I had been in Canada for a month, and in that time I had gone from complete novice to good skier. My newly strengthened body through the vampire formula and from time training with Thorn had meant I learnt quickly. My instincts and senses had radically improved through the three vampire formula needles I had injected. The formula gave me the power of a vampire for the night. However, after the effects had worn off I had grown more powerful in my human form. I had grown taller, more muscular and my senses improved each time. It was as if the vampire formula had stretched my limits and I could never return to my original body. The psychic powers came along last as a vampire, but some of it still remained in human form. Just the odd snap-shot or detection of emotions. Not major mind-reading like Thorn, or my vampire self, but I wasn't your normal eighteen year old either.

During this time, Thorn had insisted I kept up my vampire training even with the additional exercise of skiing nearly every day. We still sparred a few nights a week, and she sent me down to the hotel gym to use the weights, and the cycle or treadmill. On top of the physical training, I continued to enhance my computer skills by trying to hack into the databases of the Hunters and the military research centre that had held Thorn prisoner. I hadn't breached it yet, but the practice had improved my skills; allowing me to create false identities and records to cover our tracks.

"V, get over here I have been calling you," Thorn's psychic voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up across the bar at Thorn. She had toned down her dress sense after fleeing England. She wore faded blue jeans, black calf boots, and a grey sweater. Her raven tousled hair was swept back and tied in a knot. A time and place for everything and trying to fit in, she had said, but she still stood out with her sky blue eyes and skin flawless like white silk. She could wear a sack and still be the most attractive woman in the room. I was a lucky man.