Pic: The village of Herridghock.
The Island of The Culprits.
That's how humans actually call it, in shabby pubs at night, when booze unties their tongues and gives them a semblance of courage. That's the name they whisper, when they forget someone else is closely listening to them. Because I'm there. I'm always there. So quiet people tend to forget I'm here.
Although I am a loner at heart, I forced myself to go to the pub every night since I got to the small town of Herridghock, discreetly enquiring about the so-called Island of the Culprits.
I now have a lot of drinking pals, and not much money left.
I don't regret it though, as I have always been extremely careful not to share anything personal with anyone from the village. It was quite easy - humans are naturally very keen to talk a lot about themselves, very little about others, even more so when they've had a drink or two.
All in all, my little excursions at night proved to be very useful.
This is what I've learned so far:
It seems that all the fools who dare setting a foot on the island share the same goal: be hired by the Huserdown family.
How is that foolish, you might want to ask. The employees are all housed within the luxuous mansion of the Huserdown family, the salary is more than good and the landlords are supposedly decent vampires, who would never harm humans in any ways. Nobody ever resigned from their position so far. That's how good the job seems to be.
Think again, a beefy sailor who, believe me or not, goes by the name of Hulk once told me. Why would a normal person like you and I want to be hired by these bloodsuckers? Only criminals, villains, or desperate people who want to forget about their shady past. I'm telling you, Bran. These vampires do something to their employees. I've seen some of their staff from afar, when I deliver packages of food on the island. They all look so happy and yet so ... empty. And don't forget that once they hire you, it's for life, if you see what I mean.
My name is Alex, short for Alexander, not Bran, I mentally corrected him. I lied to you, dumbie. And I'm not a normal person, like you said. That's why I'm so interested in your story: because I want to go to this island. You say it's a secluded place, forgotten from the world? Even better!
So here I am, three weeks later, sitting in the waiting hall of the Huserdown's mansion. I have given what was left of my spendings to the only sailor who begrundgingly accepted to take me to the island. As soon as the money was into his pocket, he took off, not even bothering to say goodbye.
Regardless of what Hulk thinks, it is a good thing that I'll never leave the island alive if I'm hired, because I thought I would die during the short trip on the troubled sea.
A werewolf on a boat? Ah! If that's not an oxymoron, I don't know what it is.
"Sir? Excuse me, sir. The masters are waiting for you. I will guide you, if you don't mind"
I look up and see a tall girl with a dark skin and fuzzy brown hair. She gives me a serene smile, as if she has all the time in the world and would be perfectly content to wait with me for an eternity.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Serena" she doesn't stop smiling.
Serena. How fitting.
Hulk was right. She looks too untroubled. They probably all do.
I don't smile back, and start following her. We climb more than one flight of stairs, go through rooms full of expensive-looking furnitures and mirrors made out in copper and inlaid with gold. Bleh. Not my taste.
We also cross other employees, who don't even throw us a single glance.
"The employees don't look too lively" I comment.
"Don't call them 'employees'. We are the servants, and the Huserdown are our masters. You should start referring to them as such" she advises me sternly.
She eventually stops in front of a huge wooden door, knocks three times then motions for me to let myself in, before she leaves me to accomplish my destiny.
Let the masquerade begins.
For a few seconds, I feel so afraid that my heart stops beating. I voluntarily chose to spend the rest of my life working under vampires's commands. Vampires. Werewolves' natural enemies. That's craziness put into action.
Good thing my wolf hasn't manifest himself for years and that I no longer feel the urge to shift, or I would have been dead already.
Inside the room, there are five vampires sitting on large thrones. The setting is so pompous that I want to laugh, but that wouldn't be a good way to start my relationship with my future employers - sorry, Masters, so I refrain myself.
They are all very beautiful, as cliché as it might be. Well, hello, Cullen family. Where's Alice Cullen? She's the hottest one, Edward always looks like he's ill.
There is a lanky man who looks like he is his late fifties, a very old woman with beautiful gray hair and bright blue eyes and a young chubby woman with hazel eyes and blond hair. Next to her is a handsome man with short blond hair, a strong jaw and a stern expression. He must be in his thirties.
The last vampire, who I guess is the youngest of the family, is the most remarkable one, though. He doesn't look like the others in the slightest, so my guess is he's been adopted, although I have no idea how it works for vampires.
He is probably still in his early twenties, so a couple of years younger than I am. He has a dark skin, curly brown hair and dark eyes that look like they can see the unseen.
Although he has a boyish face, and is slightly smaller than me, because I'm ridiculously tall, I can tell that he is much stronger, not just because his tight shirt outlines his well-defined muscles, but because of the aura of power that emanates from him.
He doesn't look too kind either. There's definitely something wicked about him, under this heavenly appearance.
I guess I'll have to be extra careful around him. He should never find out about me being a werewolf, or else he will shred me into pieces.
I only take two steps forward, before the oldest one signals for me to stop and wait. Then they start talking about me - surprise, surprise, probably thinking I can't hear them. Well, I guess I couldn't, if I was a human, especially since the room is huge and they are whispering.
Unfortunately, I am a werewolf and I can hear every single word they're saying.
"He doesn't look like much" the young woman comments.
Ouch.
"Why don't we hire more sexy humans? I want my eyes to contemplate beautiful faces and bodies, not plain-looking ones" the youngest vampire complains, after giving me a quick once-over.
"Hush, Malik" the old lady admonishes him. "I already told you to stop fooling around with the staff. At least now I know you won't bother this one."
"I definitely won't" Malik scoffs. "He is so not my type."
"He is not mine either" the young woman adds.
"Alright, thank you all for sharing your tastes in men" the old lady interrupts with a stern expression. She then looks at me and speaks out, louder this time:
"You may go forward, young man"
Once only a few meters are separating me from them, I respectfully bow, making sure to keep my eyes on the ground.
"Alright" the old lady starts - I guess she must be the chief or something. " We have seen your resumé. It's good enough for us. You are young and seem capable enough. You'll start by doing simple tasks, mainly gardening and assisting our waiters, then we'll give you more difficult missions to handle, if you prove yourself good enough."
"Yes, Mistress" I simply reply.
"Another boneless human, kill me now" Malik whispers in the ear of his older brother.
My lower lip twitches, the only sign, almost imperceptible, that the guy is already getting on my nerves. It's a good thing I've trained myself for years not to let my emotions show on the surface, because this vampire seems like a real pain in the a*s.
I'm not sure I will ever be able to call this guy 'Master'.
"I suppose that before you came here, you've done some research and that you know who we are, and what we ask from our servants" the older guy suddenly speaks.
"I do, Master"
"You can look at me"
I look up, and find him looking back, a satisfied expression on his face. At least one of them doesn't look too disappointed in me. He resumes:
"You seem very respectful. It's good, as it is not a virtue many humans seem to possess nowadays. Now, I want to make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into. All of our servants have a dark past. They want to forget about it, which is perfectly understandable. They want to forgive themselves. That's what we give to them. We alter their memories, so that they no longer remember their pasts. This way, they can start a new life. In exchange, we demand absolute obedience."
They all look at him in awe, except for Malik, who looks bored and maybe even slightly disgusted.
I wonder if they truly believe in their bullshit. They are not trying to help people. They are controlling them. Creating puppets with no memories, and in consequence no ambitions, no purposes or whatsoever.
It doesn't matter, though. Although it probably won't work on me, I want to try it. I want to become empty. Coming here was a good idea. This way, I won't be tempted to go out and find Kyle, Darren and Nate. There's no point trying to explain myself, Darren will probably kill me before I open my mouth.
This is where I will live the rest of my life. In a stylished version of a retirement home.
"I understand" I declare solemnly. "And I accept your conditions. All of them."
They all relax - I'm pretty sure they would have killed me if I had refused. Nobody leaves the Island, after all.
"Okay, then, let's start with the incantation"
They all close their eyes, raising their arms in my direction.
Don't laugh. Don't laugh.
" You will be as innocent as an newborn.
As pure as the driven snow
So that the Wrong will be undone
And you won't reap what you sow"
That's a joke! What's next? Edith Piaf song's "Je ne regrette rien" ? (I don't regret anything)
Eventually, I start feeling something, small tingles of magic enveloping my body, so I close my eyes, and I pray. I pray that somehow this magic, intended to work on humans' minds, will work on me as well. I pray for oblivion, because oblivion would mean the end of pain. The end of a never-ending spiral of contempt for myself.
My conscience fades, but only for a few seconds.
However, God must be fair because I'm not allowed peace of mind that easily, as the memory of Kyle's incredulous expression is the first thing to comes to my mind, as always. It is his face that I see when I wake up at dawn, and the last thing I see before my exausted mind finally drift off.
I understand, Lord above. It's only fair that I have to live with the memory of what I have done - tried to do, for the rest of my life.
It was inconsiderate of me to even hope for that.
"What is your name? Just give me your first name, your real name. I highly doubt Bran is your real name. I won't ask for more. Like Jordan said, we don't care about your past, here." the young man - Malik suddenly asks.
He keeps looking at me with a bored expression and I can't help but feel slightly offended. I don't look like much, I get it. No need to be rude, Mister. I don't like you, either. Good looks aren't everything.
"My name is Kyle."
I regret those words as soon as I let them out, because I have no rights to take the name of my former best friend, the one I betrayed. I'm Alex the Traitor, not the strong, beautiful Kyle.
Malik can't detect my lies, though, because he only nods before declaring:
"Alright. Welcome to the Huserdown's family, Kyle."
I'm going to hell, and there's no going back.
Hey! Hope it wasn't too boring, but I wanted to set the décor... Anyway, it actually feels good to be back! Hope to hear from you all, at any time! I'll update soon I promise x