Picture of Lincoln
Lincoln's P.O.V
I let my eyes open, tired with the faint slumber I'd allowed myself for a few months. If I fell any deeper, I'd miss a couple of decades.
Not that it mattered, but I preferred to keep myself aware. It'd be a bitch to wake up and find myself chained down with little humans pricking at me, again.
That was probably the one fear which all vampires shared, falling too deep into a slumber, only waking to find you'd missed a couple of centuries.
Time was the most valuable resource for vampires. Extending it for as long as possible was all that really mattered.
I didn't really care. I was stuck on this earth whether I liked it or not. I didn't even have the luxury of falling that deep into slumber.
I wish I had the luxury.
I'd never wake up.
I didn't bother trying to convince myself to get out of bed. There was nothing waiting for me out there. I had no duties, no tasks to complete, no one to hunt - I already killed those I needed to. There was nothing to do. So instead of doing something so useless as leaving my bed, I rolled over and picked up my phone.
Vampires were without a doubt, the most 'normal' species in the supernatural world.
We didn't chant weird spells or turn into beasts during the night, spend our lives haunting others or pursuing a disturbing deep connection with nature. Out of all the various species that'd spawned over the generations, vampires were the closest thing to humans.
Probably because the majority of us were desperate to be human again.
I couldn't relate to that want, that incessant need to be something I once was like the rest of my kind did.
I didn't remember what it felt like and naturally didn't crave it. It helped that I naturally despised the unknown, I had no cravings to explore that side of life or pretend to encompass it.
Only the foolish pursued such fantasies, the foolish and the hopeless.
The only reason I was involved in this new world's creation known as social media, was to keep myself up to date with the world. I couldn't expect to survive in it if I didn't understand it.
So I spend a good set of hours familiarizing myself with the world I'd awoken to. New presidents, more death, more chaos - no surprise there. Then I stumbled upon this thing called 'memes'.
Turns out memes are the humans' greatest invention since porn.
I pull the sheets from my body, deciding a bath wouldn't be so bad but quickly develop a frown when I place my feet down in a thin layer of dust. My eyes dart around the space to find all furnishing coated in a similar layer that represented the world that had continued to move one without me. I itch at my brain, trying to remember the last time I gave this place a good cleaning but that seemed to be an unaccessible timeframe.
I hate cleaning more than I hate breathing.
Accepting the cold of the cracking tiles, I make my way across the fractured flooring into the large bathroom which was just as dusty, with cobwebs creeping from corners. I already hated this bathroom for being entirely black, now I just hated it more for being dirty.
It should've been white.
I take my time rinsing the bath, cleaning it thoroughly before filling the large tub with cold water. I strip myself of my worn clothes before letting myself sink in. Releasing a strained sigh as my ancient veins sizzle momentarily from the crisp touch of the water. Though I hated to admit it, any way to feel alive, even for a nanosecond, was worth it.
I may not truly be dead, but it sure as hell felt like it.
After scrubbing myself clean, I climb out of the tub and dry quickly before dressing myself in only a pair of loose, grey sweatpants.
After letting myself soak in the wintry chill of my own thoughts, I clean myself up and slip off the first pair of pants I find. With that, I leave my bedroom and make my way through my vacant castle. It was just as dusty and just as dirty as the room I inhabited. I was the only one who lived in this fortress and didn't have a single servant to clean it for me.
I, unlike all vampires, hated the concept of servants and slaves.
Any vamps who had even a shrivel of power immediately surrounded themselves with as many slaves and servants as they possibly could. Slaves who they beat, overworked and fucked when they wished.
It was fucking atrocious.
I refused to own anyone, refused to indulge in the disgusting practice. I'd experienced what it felt like to be in chains, to have no control over your actions and to be treated as nothing more but a scrap of shit. I wouldn't condemn anyone to that fate, never. I'd never force someone to spend their entire life doing my bidding. It repulsed me to alter someone's life so much.
So I lived my life alone. In a fragile state of peace which was the best, I could achieve.
Like it always had, it took a good ten minutes of walking before I even approached the stairs which lead to the basement. Of course, I could get here much faster if I wanted to, but it made the minutes of these long days multiply and I truly adored anything which made the time go faster.
Despite this, I release a tired sigh, eyes lazily staring down into the darkest part of my abode. Taking one step at a time, I trudge down the neverending spiraling staircase until I myself am consumed by the darkness itself.
I ignore the forgotten slave cells and haunted torture chambers, which remained untouched as they'd always been, and head straight for the enormous cooler in the back. Lifting the top, I stare down at the seemingly endless encasement of blood bags, pleased to find that Wequie had kept things rolling.
After years and years of hunting for my meals, I'd grown tired of feeding on humans. It was tiring and boring, it always ended the same way anyway, took the fun straight out of it. Instead, I consumed my blood in the least vile way.
Blood bags. Their packaging had changed over the centuries, the most revolting being the actual head of the carrier. It'd be sliced from the neck and everything inside cleared out only to be refilled with the owner's blood.
That was a phase of my species that I did not enjoy.
I grab an O-Negative as an effort to spice things up, I hadn't had this one in a while so why not live on the wild side. I take a few more to last the day before making my way back to my room.
The gleam of sunshine invades my vision, slowing my haste steps in surprise. The small flicker of sunlight brushes my skin and took the breath from my lips. I hadn't seen sunshine in years and I almost missed it feeling it against my skin now. I stop myself and take a tentative step back, my eyes closing to soak in the little brush of the sun.
I approach the glass wall which I had assumed to be entirely covered by vegetation but apparently wasn't quite. I walk a bit closer until my eyes are a few inches from the small hole created by the gap of rapacious vines that covered the entire castle, revealing a small glimpse of what lay outside the castle.
It was dark, like always. But there were little shrieks of sunlight which rained down from above to help my natural eyesight revealing the acres and acres of forest which somehow found a way of growing despite the fact that I was several feet underground. I'd always chalked it up as an effect of the witch who inhabited these lands before me.
I challenge myself to think of the last time I went outside, outside the castle or into the sun. Decades at this point, I had a slightly, useful supplier for my blood and anything which interested me. I hadn't felt the sun in years and I hadn't seen my overgrown land for even longer.
The fact disturbed a part of me.
Brushing off the odd feeling, I continue my familiar path back to my bedroom. It took just as long but I didn't mind much with the taste of blood on my tongue and a faint feeling of the sun still on my skin.
My feet stop me when I find my door slightly open. My fangs immediately descend as I step inside. I always close the doors behind me. Always.
I enter the room with movements gentler than a wandering spirit, shutting the door behind me to trap myself inside with my intruder. Prey got skittish in closed spaced which made it all the more exciting. With my sensitive ears on alert and my fangs completely elongated, I step further into the room. It'd been a while since I had my last kill.
This could be fun.
"Lincoln, you really need to get your piping sorted out, there's only cold water." I relax my stance at the sight of Malcolm drying his hands with an old, rugged hand towel, walking into the bedroom with narrowed eyes full of displeasure. His dull, grey eyes find mine as an easy smile I knew all too well stretches across his face.
I don't return it.
"What are you doing here?" I ask monotonously, bringing one of the blood bags to my lips after placing the others on my nightstand.
I close my eyes, cherishing the taste that sent a viciously thrilling tingle up my spine. My body welcoming the taste of the luscious liquid on my lips as my lungs welcomed the familiar liquid equivalent to a breath of fresh air.
I relish in the feeling.
This feeling that sent every piece of my frame crazy, one that made my senses heighten with the urge to kill brimming, my skin stretches to cover my tightening muscles. The feeling that made me feel alive, at least that's what I imagined it to be.
I didn't really know what it felt like to be alive.
"Is that any way to greet your best friend after seventy-five years?" Malcolm questions, plopping himself on the leather couch opposite my dresser.
"I thought you were dead," I reply honestly after squeezing out the last drop of blood from the plastic seal.
"So does the entire world apparently. I swear to the Gods, you take a short nap and everybody forgets who you are!" He exclaims angrily.
Malcolm through the centuries always held a place in the humans' hearts. They'd taken a strange liking to him, in whatever form he presented himself in. Through different shapes and forms, from a ruler to a simple commoner, he'd always ended up being worshiped and he reveled in it. In the attention.
"I can't believe you are still living in this old, ugly castle.. alone. You've been here for almost two hundred years Lincoln! I thought, well I hoped, that in my absence you'd escape this prison of your own making." Malcolm says sounding genuinely terrified at spending so much time in solitude.
I grew to like the quiet.
"I have blood and my phone, there's no need," I reply waving my phone in my hand making him frown quickly.
"I saw those everywhere on my way here. The humans couldn't keep their little eyes off of them. A phone you called it?" He asks walking my way. I hand it to him carefully, allowing him to examine it curiously. He presses the home button, only to drop it once the screen lit up. "I see they're back to their demonic practices."
"It's not demonic," I reply picking up the device to find the screen cracked. "It's technology. Advancing technology."
"You can update me all about this technology after the auction." He counters with a beaming smile which makes my permanent frown deepen. "Oh don't look at me like that! I need a slave if I'm going to survive in this new world."
"You don't need a slave. You choose to get one." I correct through clenched teeth.
"I don't judge your way of life and so you don't get to judge mine." He replies making me raise a questioning brow. "Okay, I may judge your's, but you don't get to judge mine. It's just the way this amazing friendship works."
"I'm not coming with you," I state, making my way back to my bed with the intent of burying myself under my covers but he catches my arm before I could lie down.
"You don't have to get one, I just need the company. I believe things have changed greatly in my absence and at least you've kept yourself up to date. I've always liked that about you. Now, the payment methods are all different now, I don't know how it works." He explains desperately. "Just help me out, just this once."
"No."
"Linc, please. You know I've never mistreated a slave in my entire life. I treat them way nicer than the rest of them. Help me before some poor girl ends up in worse hands." He begs, tugging on all the right strings he knew would get me to comply.
"I wish you really were dead." I groan uncomfortably, setting my empty blood bag down.
"Aw, Linc. I missed you too." He replies, clasping his hands in front of him and making a swooning gesture.
I don't waste any more time arguing, wanting him out of my hair as soon as possible. I pick a navy, blue suit which Malcolm grabs from my grasp before rushing to the bathroom. I curse him mentally and verbally before grabbing a black one for myself instead.
These auctions, though filthy, viewed themselves as higher than life. In the sense that one should be dressed appropriately and their attire should reflect their wallet. They would never turn us down if we didn't comply, but I knew it'd be better to keep my reputation to the level it was always at.
I wasn't a believer in regards to the majority of practices almost all vamps agreed on, but nevertheless, I dress swiftly, Malcolm emerging just as I'd finished.
"You know the best part about us being best friends?" He questions, examining his frame in the tall mirror. "Being the same size."
"Yeah, it's amazing," I reply drolly as he digs through my watch draw. Picking one for himself before throwing me my favorite. We slip them on before he moves onto sunglasses.
"What are these?" He asks before placing one on. "Everything is dark."
"Helps with the sunlight," I inform as he plays around with a few. Eventually, he picks one for himself and me, I don't question his taste knowing he always dressed me better than I did myself.
"So apparently Camila died." He starts as we walk out of my bedroom. Camila being his friendly, neighborhood witch. "So I have no one protecting me from sunlight, I was wondering if you co-"
"No," I reply sternly. "Figure it out yourself."
"Love you too buddy." He scoffs to himself.
Within an instant, we were both in my garage that was slightly off the castle grounds. Since I couldn't bring my cars underground, the acres of woodlands making vehicular transportation challenging, I parked them in a nearby garage of sorts which I'd had constructed moons ago.
My eyes swiftly sweep over the dusty number of cars that I collected over time, ranging back from the very first to the latest that had been released before I went under. I pick one of the newer models of Mercedes which I ordered from Wequie, my supplier, recently, pulling the cover from it to find it just as beautiful as the images portrayed it to be.
"I'm I correct in assuming these are what they're using to transport themselves in this modern age?" Malcolm questions with fascination bubbling through his tone as he circled the vehicle. I slip inside and wait for him to do the same. His eyes widen as the engine roars to life, purring awake for the first time. I glance across at Malcolm to find him practically beaming with his innocent excitement, his eyes darting around viscously as he examined every visible inch of the metal contraption. "I like this."
"That's nice," I comment as I set out onto the old broken road.
It doesn't take long to find my way through the overgrown tracks and forgotten routes that's been bombarded with newly grown trees. I weave my way through until I eventually find myself on newer roads and eventually, what I can only assume to be the main roads. The structures surrounding much different than I'd last remembered.
I was online enough to not be too surprised at what laid outside my castle. But it still struck me to see it in person in all its glory. The way the world had shifted was almost foreign in its new form. Lamp posts were replaced with light poles, dirt roads with concrete highways and crafted homes with skyscrapers that littered the once green landscapes.
"Humans sure know how to fuck over good things," Malcolm comments as his eyes stay glued to the large, man-made towers. A look of awe, striking his adonis face.
"Who's auction is this?" I question realizing I had no idea where I was going.
"Diablos'." He answers in a gentle whisper that even my ears almost missed.
I hit the breaks hard, almost sending another car crashing into my own as it barely manages to shift into another lane. Annoyed honking surrounds us as humans navigate around the sudden obstacle my car acted as but I didn't give a damn. I turn my head slowly to face Malcolm as my fingers clench around the wheel for stability, my fangs dropping without prompting while I seethed with anger.
"I'm sorry but if I told you earlier you wouldn't have agreed." Malcolm apologises pathetically while backing himself into the car door, hand on the handle, prepared to bolt.
Diablos was one of the older vampires who were part of The Prota Generation, the ones who were crafted not reborn. He always posed a problem, since the very day he was formed he was trouble.
He was one of the few remaining in this realm who I hated with a burning passion. Easily and popularly known amongst our kind as the vampire who I hated the most from a bunch of imbeciles I despised. He was everything I abhorred about our kind personified.
He was a vile being who was desperate to create chaos in a world already bleeding with it.
He was just like them, so he was their greatest creation.
"We'll be in and out before you know it," Malcolm adds innocently. Once I don't reply he continues. "He still presides at the old estate, I take it you haven't forgotten where that is?"
"Malcolm." I call.
"Yes?" He answers eagerly.
"Shut up."
"Okay."
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I look around at the surrounding luxurious vehicles as I pulled into the painfully familiar property, undesirable memories beginning to ascend confirming that we were undoubtedly in the right place. Getting through security without trouble, I park near the exit wanting to leave within a moment's notice.
We took our time walking in.
It'd take a couple of weeks for Malcolm to transfer his shares and possessions into the cash which was handled today, so I was his living piggybank for now.
Once we'd been enlisted, we made our way into the large exhibition hall. Eyes quickly drifted towards the two of us, hushed whispers quickly morphing to silence as we passed.
It was no secret who we were and after not being spotted in such a long time, I almost couldn't blame the hundreds who sat silently and watched us in awe.
It would be something they may boast about the next day, seeing 'The First' with their own eyes and with the fifth made.
The space in all its size and high ceiling deeply resembled a theatre, with several rows all circling the grand center stage which several spotlights shone down on. I follow Malcolm to our seats near the front.
My stomach begged to empty itself at the number of vampires that filled the room.
For as long as time, vampires had an intransigent lifestyle. One which deemed them masters and humans, slaves. They bought and auctioned off people to be their servants, tools... toys. They used them because they had the means to. It was a common practice, engraved so deeply in the bones of our society that it was impossible to erase.
I've tried.
So I shift uncomfortably in my seat as the lights dimmed, leaving only the center stage as the light source. It remained quiet, eyes focused on us until the sound of crisp, rushed steps filled the large space. Leading to a thin elongated man walking to the stage, a vampire I recognized to be one of Diablos' workers.
I'd expected him to have been killed by now. Bummer.
"Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen." He greets prestigiously with a large smile. "Thank you all for joining us. It promises to be a special night with exotic treasures."
People. They're people.
"I hope you all are ready." He continues as he lets his thin, fingers curl around the microphone. "There are twenty categories tonight, each better than the last. So without further ado, let the bidding begin."
Applauds follow as the man steps aside and the stage shifts slightly, allowing ten young humans to appear from beneath the one clear middle. All in cages, stark naked, with tears lacing their faces. I look away from the site.
I could break this all apart, let the humans go and find a witch to rid their minds of all these awful memories. But then tomorrow, there would be another auction in another theatre like this. I could tear that down as well, but they'd just find another and another. It would grow with another branch, making two instead of one, both much safer this time.
Anything I did would just hurt more in the future, I'd come to learn that.
The bidding starts and I watch one by one as they are each sold off in the blink of an eye. And that's exactly how the night continues, alongside my ignorant pleas with Malcolm to just pick one so we could rid this disgusting space. But he refused to, claiming quite adamantly that he had to pick the right one.
We were at category nineteen now and everyone was on the edge of their seats, anticipation a blinding mistress to the greedy.
"Now, for one of the best categories of the night. I present category nineteen." The host exclaims with excitement which only further encourages these vermins' excitement. This time only four people emerged from beneath the stage. Each possessing breathtaking beauty that held the audience's tongues, but one of which held their stares.
A thin young elf, his white cloud-like skin glowing brightly against the violent stage lights. With pointed ears that tipped their way out of his cascading, ice-blonde locks that trailed down the length of his naked body. Unlike the others that passed throughout the night, he didn't cry, he didn't try to hide his body. He stood tall instead, showing both his impressive height as well as his unwavering confidence and bared his fangs at the lot of us.
He was defiant, I smiled.
"Him." Malcolm whispers from beside me drawing my eyes away from the being.
"You've got to be mad." I hiss back as the bidding for the others began.
Elves were probably the strongest supernatural creatures. With heights that started at six feet and strength that rivaled that of an alpha wolf, they made a formidable opponent. Rare to see as they lived in their own realm, they become something of a myth for those without a never-ending clock. They hated all others which weren't themselves and made vicious warriors.
It was astounding that they managed to capture one, but the moment he was let out of the cage, his new owner would undoubtedly find their throat slit.
"He's beautiful." He replies, his eyes never once leaving the elf.
"He's a he. Malcolm, you're straight." I say as if informing a child of their name.
"Not anymore." He says with a smile.
"He's also an elf. Elves hate vampires." I continue but he brushes me off as the bidding begins for the elf.
"Starting at three thousand do-"
"One million!" Malcolm shouts standing to his feet making my eyes widen considerably as he pants with excitement. "One million of whatever the currency is. One million of it." He repeats like a fool. The elf stared at him as if recognizing him as the idiot I knew him to be.
"G-Going once, twice.....sold." The cage was carried backstage and Malcolm retook his seat.
"You're a fucking idiot," I growl once his eyes finally find mine again. "A stupid piece of fried horse shit."
"What?" He asks innocently.
"Nobody else wanted a fucking elf, you idiot! You could've gotten him for three thousand or probably, for free! Not one million dollars!" I hiss angrily as the bidding continues for the last category.
"I'm lucky I got him for one million, he's worth so much more." He sighs as if lovestruck making me roll my eyes.
"Whatever, let's just go," I grunt pulling him to his feet. We make our way back to the entrance we came through, needing only collect Malcolm's new slave before I could retire in my usual, comforting solace.
Except, it was the last bidding for the night and the crowd was wilder than before.
I look down at the vampires as I made my way up the steps, all their fangs were down and their eyes bloodshot with lust. They toppled over one another with their verbal bids, shouting loudly and desperately for the last candidate. Their eagerness prompting me to seek a glimpse of who they were so desperately fighting for.
....I couldn't breathe.
The air was thin and refused to feed itself to me, my stomach in binding knots as my eyes took in the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid my eyes on. My chest contracts as my attention focuses on the small, sickly thin boy in the cage who's large hazel eyes danced around the audience nervously.
He was gorgeous.
Despite the way his bones hugged his skin and how pale he was, he was undeniably gorgeous. Stunning a way nothing had any right to be. So beautiful, my mind blanked as I stared at him.
I take a sheepish step forward as my body sizzled at the sight of him. Sparks igniting through me uncontrollably as I search his features. He had short, black hair which stuck to his face with sweat and dirt, his skin pale with malnourishment but didn't harbor a single blemish. A look of innocence filling his frightened eyes as he curled into himself. Every inch of him made every fiber in me scream to connect the two of us.
"Four million going once.." I zoned back in at the sound of the bidding closing. "Twice..."
"Stop!" I roar making all the chaos dissipate within a single moment.
The fangs instantly retract as the vampires still, the reckoning power I'd left untouched for centuries creaking to life with a newfound purpose to its name.
They shivered, trembled with fear and blatant weakness. The few eyes that could, turned to witness the strength that had grown to be folklore, but all I saw was the honey, brown eyes which found me.
Tears flooding from them stopping momentarily as he looked at me. I could feel my heart creak to life with a phantom beat as his eyes stayed glued to mine.
"I-I'm sorry Sir but t-this is an auction." The worker stutters making my eyes cut across to him, he'd seen me enough times for him to know I wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
"I'm taking him." I say calmly as I make my way back down the stairs.
"B-But M-Master D-Diablos....Y-You c-can't just t-take....." His words fumble off when my eyes meet him once more.
"I can and I will," I reply easily, my eyes never once leaving the boy's. "Diablos can tell me himself if he has a problem with that."
"B-But." He stumbles, looking around to a docile audience who wasn't foolish enough to argue against me. They just watched, felt my power suffocating them into a state of submission they detested enough to be quiet, as I climb up on the stage.
I barely register the worker running off the stage as I stand before the precious boy.
I break the lock that held the cage with ease before opening the cage door. The boy looks up at me with wide curious eyes, hazel eyes that shone with such life...
.......such light.
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CHAPTER 1!!!! IT HAS BEGUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thoughts????
Please vote up and comment if you liked. I think it's obvious that some vampires are a lot older than the rest of the supernatural world believe them to be.
I don't think you guys could ever understand how happy this makes me to start. I just love that I'm entering a new world that isn't werewolves. Don't get me wrong, I love my mates but I'm so excited for something new.
Okay, I hope you liked.
Until next time,
Byeeeeeee humansssssss