A twisted tale of terror and friendship

            In bed, I toss and turn. Gripping the covers for dear unlife. The darkness grips me tighter while i fall deeper and deeper into the black void....
            Suddenly I'm high above the ground, floating among the tree tops. Below, on the ground, is me. I feel a strange pull from my corporeal form and start to descend. I become one with this version of me. Embodying myself, I start to walk through a secluded part of the woods when I start to hear shouting. Following the noise, I traverse deeper into the woods. Upon closing the distance, I move against the nearest tree and stop to examine the scene in front of me. My vision is instantly enhanced far beyond that of normalcy. Everything is much brighter and richer in color. I make out a ring of individuals punching at the air and screaming, all facing towards the center. Twenty feet from the ring a strange yet familiar scent assaults my senses. It's a mixture of something rank and... my mouth starts to salivate....blood, I smell blood. Fresh and old. I can feel my pupils dilate further as my teeth start to ache.
            In the center, there is what looks like a mere human male trying to fend off.....one of my kind? Yellow eyes, an elongated muzzle and wolf like ears, yeah definitely my kind. There's a steel cage beyond the ring with adults and a small child inside. I grip the tree harder and hear a twig snap behind me. My vision briefly blurs, then comes back into focus and the area becomes slightly darker, more dreadful. I turn to see a male and female approaching, their arms linked.
          "Welcome". They say in unison. The male continues. "I'm Victor, have you come to join us brother?".
        "Join you?". I say, somewhat confused.
        "Yes, come to share in the spoils of fight with your brothers and sisters".
        "Well my interest is piqued". I respond.  "Victor, was it?".
        He reaches his hand out. "Yes". I look at it and dread having to put on a show. Knowing I'm out numbered and haven't had time to get a layout of the situation. I put on a fake smile and clasp hands with him. "I'm Victor and this is Victoria, my mate."
         I nod. "Pleasure, I'm Magnus". I say reluctantly.
          Stepping back I have a chance to take the two in. He's in black boots, brown pants, tan tunic and a dark tan coat. Short black hair covers his head. Shes donning brown boots, tan pants and tunic with a black trench coat. Golden hair in a long braid, very attractive. Clearly not human.
         They motion for me to follow as Victoria says. "Come, Magnus, we will show you".
         I glance at the tree I was leaning against and notice claw marks in the place where my hand was moments ago. I notice Victoria has also taken attention to them. Hoping she doesn't think anything of it, I follow as they turn and head for the crowd.
          On my way around the circle a few Kindred look at me and nod, welcoming me to the fold. They don't seem to bright. Maybe this will give me an upper hand if his welcoming turns sour. I take in the group and notice they're not dressed as well as Victor and Victoria, but rather dressed in tattered and worn clothes looking like hobos, while some even look sickly.
          Looking between them, the human is being pounded into the ground. With each blow the blood beneath grows while splashing to and fro. The vampire stops, sinks his teeth into the neck and finishes him off. The body leaves drag marks in it's wake as it's moved to a pile of stale corpses. Passing by, Victor informs me that I will be required to donate to the cause. Victoria continues without a beat missed to stress the importance of the donation, as a failure to do so will not go well with the others. As we continue the "tour" around the clearing I am able to make out the people inside the steel cage as we pass. Nine adults, four female, five males, and one female child.
         She mentions with a flick of her hand towards the cage that any member may choose ANY adult but the child is Victor's and Victor's alone, as this is his "gift" from her. My lip curls in disgust.
Further down I see a male chained to a large tree. A snarl on his face, his eyes follow our every movement behind a curtain of blond hair. Before I have a chance to ask why hes there Victor closes the distance and kicks the man in his face. The man retaliates by spiting blood onto Victor's pants. A growl comes from his throat. I can sense this whole ordeal is going to end very badly.
         "Friend of yours?". I ask
         "No. He refuses to fight. Says they're innocent and he will not beat an innocent to a bloody pulp for entertainment. That I'm a savage beast in need of being put down. What he doesn't realize is that he is the same as I, a beast. I just choose to embrace what I am instead of fighting it".
         "I understand" is all I can say. Knowing if I continue I will end up the same as this guy.
          Some others make their way to us. Victor and Victoria step away to meet with them, something about a new shipment is in route. Victor turns and informs me that I'm welcome to enjoy the entertainment and to excuse him for he has business.
          I nod "I understand, thank you brother." He turns and leaves.
         I wait a few moments watching them disappear in the distance before I turn to the guy chained up.
        "What a piece of work that guy is, eh?". I say to him.
          The blond man looks up with a glare but then his features soften with weariness, "You're not like them, are you?"
        "No, not really. I'm not one for innocents being tortured for entertainment."
        "Get me loose. I'll get them out of here." He jerks his head towards the caged humans.
        "First, how did you end up in this predicament?"...He waves his hand at the area around the guy. "What, with the chains and all?."
        "I tried getting into this... 'club' in order to free the humans and dismantle what they were doing. Got found out. They tired to make me fight. I refused." He lowers his eyes, "They shot my 'opponent' and said they would continue to kill them if I did not fight. I still refused and began shielding them with my body..." he nods at his shoulder where several bullet wounds are healing. "And now, Victor is going to finish me... eventually."
        "Interesting. So you shielded him from the others?....By yourself?"
        "And you see where it got me. Now either get me loose or high-tail it outta here before they take you too." How is this man still conscious? His face is swollen. His Lip split open, a cut along his cheek and eyebrow are still oozing vitae. Not to mention the bullet holes in his shoulder. He took one hell of a beating. I MUST proceed with a level head, otherwise I'm fucked.
        I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Fine. I'll help, but you need to understand that not all of them will make it out alive. My priority will be the little girl. I will however give you my word that I will try my best to free them all. Now, what should I call you?".
       "They call me 'Mongrel'."
       "They?.....Never mind." I crouch next to him. Reaching to the swell of my back I pull a hunting knife out and hand it to him. "Take this and keep it out of sight until you're free." He conceals it with his thigh.
        "Well if we are going to do this, you need to feed, you're too weak from the looks of it". I use my pointer finger and thumb to rub my chin. "Hmmm....". I look over at the captives. "Well, it's not conventional but it'll work. How do you feel about receiving blood from my mouth?".
 He gives me a strange look. "What? No wine and dine first?".
"I can't release you until you gain your strength back. Doing it prematurely will mean certain death for us and I don't accept that. Plus, This is dine for us, is it not?".
He sighs. "I suppose."
         "Alright, hang in there." I head to the cage. The humans move to the far end and create a protective stance in front of the little girl. As I approach I gesture for them to be silent. "I have a way to get y'all out of here but I'm going to need some help in doing so."
          A large male comes closer to me. Anger lights up his face. "And why would you help us? You seem to be just like them.......savages!" He responds in a venomous tone.
          "You are partly right. I am like them, but not in the savage part. I don't KILL innocents." I pointedly look at the child. "Or children for that matter. So what do you say? Will you help or not?"
         "What do you want us to do?." He says.
          "First, do you see that guy over there chained to the tree?."
          He nods. "He the one who refused to kill my brother in the ring last night."
          "Well he's in bad shape and needs to feed in order to help us. Do you know what he eats?"
          "You mean he needs blood? That's what you mean isn't it? Because I've seen what they do to us, and it always ends with them draining us dry from our necks. Their faces covered in it."
          "You are correct. He needs blood. I cannot give him mine, he needs......." I nod my head in their direction. "Fresh....blood."
          He swallows hard and responds. "How much does he need?"
          "Umm...a few mouthfuls should suffice". I say with a shrug of my shoulders.
          "If I agree I need you to promise me one thing. Promise me you will get Zoe...." He points to the child. "...out. No matter what".
          "Ok".
          "Okay, what?". He responds in a more stern voice.
          For a moment my features turn violent and I contemplate killing him for speaking to me in such a tone. He notices and I relent.
          "Okay, I promise I'll get her out. It's one of the reasons I'm doing this anyway". I glance toward the fight.
          "How do you.....umm.....How do we get him..uhh... what he needs?". He asks with a shaky voice as I turn back to him.
          "Give me your forearm". He complies through the bars. "I'm going to take him what I can with my mouth, okay?".
           He swallows again and mumbles "Mmmhhmm...".
          I decide to mix some of my blood with the humans in order to help Mongrel trust me easier. I cannot have him turn on me once I release the bonds, so this is the safest option for the both of us. I extend my teeth and bite the insides of my cheeks and lips. I do my best to not show the human my face as I bite into his flesh. My senses go haywire as I draw the liquid in my mouth. Not swallowing is taking all the self control I have. In the end, I end up allowing some to trickle down my throat savoring the taste as long as I possibly can. Walking as quickly as I dare so as not to draw attention to myself. I spit as accurately as I can into his mouth. Only a few drops miss. I repeat two times. After I spit the last batch I notice a few vampires are looking our way.
         Still close I whisper. "We have an audience, Play along. I need you to headbutt me".
         He complies, splitting my lip in the process. "Motherfucker!" I stumble but catch myself, then back hand him with enough force to give a good show of it. "For that, I'm going to request to be the one who kills your sorry ass!". I turn and join the vampires who were watching. They laugh with approval. Two clap me on the back. "Can I kill him now?." I growl as I lick the blood off my lip.
        The one in torn up jeans says. "I wish, but hes Victor's claim. None of us are allowed to go near or touch him." He gives me a stern look. "But we won't say anything about your mishap with the Mutt. Since you didn't know." I notice two keys dangle from his neck.
          "I'd appreciate it." I say, eyeing the keys. . I decide to watch the current match as long as I can stand to, giving Mongrel's body some time to heal itself and my blood to take effect.
           The current match is not going to last long. The humans right arm is in the process of being broken. A loud snap. A scream. The crowd cheers. The vampire grabs his other arm and moves it behind the guy while holding his shoulder firmly in place. Raising the arm up towards the back of the guys head. Theres a loud pop followed by a another scream. The vampire slams his forearm into the back of the elbow, snapping the bone right out of the skin. Blood sprays and he falls to his knees, letting out a piercing wail. The vampire kicks him to the ground, straddles him, then takes a curved blade out and slices his shirt open. The pain must have been to great because he seems to be unconscious now. Good. The blade glides through the skin like butter, creating pools of blood to well up from the depths of this poor mans chest. Chunks of flesh are carved out and tossed to the crowd. My hands ache from how hard I'm clenching them. I turn to the key holder.
         "Any chance I could speak to you a second, in private?"
        He eyes me strangely for a moment the says "Sure."
         I lead him to the other side of the tree that Mongrel's tied to. When we are out of view of the crowd I spin and kick his knee out. On his way down I move behind and clamp my hand over his mouth, then reach around and rip out his jugular with my claws. Blood sprays on the base of the tree while I hold him in place a moment, waiting until he looses enough vitae. Then he collapses grabbing at his throat. I swipe a twig from behind us and jam it in his heart as fast as I can, snapping the end off. I drag the body and lean it against the tree out of sight while I unchain Mongrel and put the key vamp in his place.
        "This should give us enough time to move to the cage without detection."
         The cage is at least twenty five feet away and off to the side. A few trees between it and the crowd. Beyond the cage, a lush dense wooded area, our escape route. Closing on the cage we notice four vampires close by. He grabs my arm and we crouch by a tree.
        "Plan?" He whispers while clutching the hunting knife.
         "My plan was to get the humans out quietly with little blood shed. Now it looks like we will have to fight out way out, once the cage is unlocked. And I still don't think all will survive this." I give him a worried look "We cannot take on all of them ourselves. Even if they are all thin bloods, which I'm sure the one in leather over there is not. So here's what we will do, I will take the one in the leather pants and Hitch since you are still not 100%. You take Phil and Steve. We should be able to take down Hitch and Phil before the other two reach us".
         "Sounds like a plan. Umm....Hitch, Phil and Steve........?."
         "Yeah we need to distinguish between them, hence the pseudo names. Phil's the one with the stain down his shirt, Steve is the bald one and the one that's limping is Hitch."
         "Ok, got it. By the way, go for the kidneys. Hurts like a bitch and it should keep them down for a time". His voice has a strength to it that it didn't moments ago.
        "Good thinking, ready?".
        "Let's get this over with".
        I motion for the humans to be quiet and hand the guy the key. We sneak up on Hitch and Phil. Time our assault and attack. I decide at the last second to reach around and snap Hitches neck. He drops at the same time Phil is being driven to the ground by the hunting knife being jammed in and out of his back in rapid succession. I kneel on one knee while grabbing two throwing knifes from the inside of my coat and fling them. The one hits Steve in the throat, he falls while my target gets his in the center chest and doesn't even flinch. Mongrel's on top of Steve now, clawing the shit out of him.
         I stand and wait. In this moment I allow the knowledge of what these Kindred have done, and were going to do to these innocents fuel the raging inferno within me. The moon light washes over me adding to the violence that's already coursing through my veins. I give myself over to it, allowing the violence take hold and steer my actions. My sight turns red for a moment, then returns to normal.
         I attempt a round house kick, but he catches my foot giving it a hard twist and I find myself spinning to the ground. I hit, roll, and get to my feet. I'm slightly dazed when I get a fist to the face, then the abdomen, doubling me over. I secure his arm, reach up and grab his throat with my claws digging in, wrap my right leg around his effectively tripping him backwards. I drive as much force as I can into the fall, using gravity to my advantage. Before I have a chance to make my next move I hear a battle cry and a knife is sticking out my vamps head. The body starts to spasm. Blood running down it's head.
         In the midst of battle the humans made it to the wooded area but vampires were already catching up to them. I sigh. Me and Mongrel sprint into a dead run. Passing by vamps, I throw knives at them, some finding the targets neck, and in some cases where the human has lost I aim for them in hopes of giving them a quick death. I get off five good throws before I run out. We vault over the last tackled human when I hear Mongrel stop. I join him back a few paces and he informs me that they didn't catch the little girl, yet. I use my sight and notice foliage swaying back to it's place by a tree.
         Mongrel follows my line of sight. I see Victor, only hes much more gruesome now with only one eye, scars raked across his head and one ear missing with very little hair. He's stepping out dragging Zoe by the hair. Fear spreads through my body. I'm seized by Victoria from the rear, unable to move. I hear a whistle from a blade, blood sprays my face as Mongrel's head splits in two, his body crumbling to the foliage below. My eyes go wide as fear paralyzes me. Zoe is shaking and crying, screaming while tears streak down her face.
         Victor grips Zoe's hair tighter while turning her to face him, a sadistic grin spreads across his face. He then starts punching her over and over and over in the face. Blood spattering his clothes and face. My arm gets loose and I reach for her while screaming "NOOOooo!!!!." He pulls out a knife that has a wicked curve and jams it into her head. He then yanks the blade out and starts to drink from the wound. He then throws her into a nearby tree while giving me a blood filled smile. Everything starts to fade to black, I'm losing my footing, my head is spinning faster and faster, I start falling through blackness.....
     I sit upright screaming "NOOOooo!!!!." I clench the covers with white knuckles. The beds soaked in sweat. "I'm sorry, I tried to save you both". Confusion sweeps over me "Wait! Noo, it can't be?! I just saw him". I grab my cell.
       "Hello?" comes Mongrel's voice from the other end.
        "Mongrel? Please tell me we saved little Zoe two years ago?".
        "We did Magnus, we did. You blacked out while fighting Leather Pants, but we ended up getting out".
        Relief washes over me. I rest my head in my hand. "Oh." Is all I could muster.
        "Another nightmare?" Mongrel continues.
       "Yeah, It was different this time though......you were killed. That's never happened before, Zoe was always the source of my nightmares. These terrors are growing more and more twisted as of late. When I wake, I feel as though I've gone through the events not just mentally but physically as well. I'm alright now though, Thanks, Mongrel."
"Anytime Magnus". Click
I'm not ok, If these nightmares are any indication, I would say the nightmare realm is growing and getting stronger. I think it's time I contacted the person who posted that bulletin.

      

The Nightmare realm

            My vision is hazy as I run through the dense forest, the moon light casting dark and desolate shadows across my path. The ground seems almost alive, the slight breeze gives the shadows a pulsing motion. Tree branches moan as if warning me to something that only the darkness knows. Leaves tumble across my bare feet on a sudden burst of wind. I stumble over a thick root but am able to regain my balance and continue at a steady pace. Clouds cast darkness across the land and for the briefest of moments, causing a slight dip to the temperature, forcing a chill deep within my bones. Goose bumps run across my skin in an attempt to out run the sudden cold. I grip my arms and vigorously rub them. Being what i am, the change in temperature shouldn't affect me, but here, it does. I feel a strange sensation run down my spine giving off a warning of something watching me. Yellow eyes glow from behind shrubs, leering at me with such intensity it would seem as though they are gazing into my soul.
           The breeze brings with it a mixture of distant howls, hollow moaning and loud buzzing insects. I pass through the tree line and stop before a small hill. I whip my head around looking into the distance for any sign of life. Nothing, just trees and darkness. Fear starts to take hold, the sensation of ice making its way through my lifeless body. Scattered clouds roll in bringing with it loud thunder claps and blue lightning veining across the skies. I try to zero in on where the sound of a body being towed through the dirt is. There, beyond a dense line of trees that i passed through, I see a faint outline of a body being pulled across the forest floor by something unnaturally large. In my peripheral vision I see a tree covered in chains swaying back and forth clanking and rattling. Goose bumps ripple along the top of my skin.
            I look down and notice I'm shirtless and my trousers are littered with tears and shredded at the bottom. Blood and dirt coat them and my bare feet. The ground trembles beneath. I turn to see slabs of stone start to rip and tear there way out of the ground, dislodging roots in there wake, linking to form a stairwell before me. I find myself slowly traversing the quaking stairs. At the top i watch as a small stone church mausoleum grows, dirt tumbling over the edges to the ground below. A rusty, ancient cast iron gate imprisons the church. There are no visible entrances or exits. No doors, no windows, nothing. Only a blood stained offering column sits nearby.
           Freshly dug graves are littered with tumbled and broken tombstones. Written in a child's scribble is the names of those who perished here. The quaking stops when an outer stone wall encompasses the area. My body starts moving on it's own accord to the column which looks pagan in nature. Standing in front of it I raise my hand and let it hover palm up above the blood stained stone. A curved ritual dagger appears in my other hand. I place the blade to my upturned palm and slowly drag it across my pale skin. Blood wells up and slowly makes its way over the edge of my hand. Tear shaped drops start to fall in slow motion. An enormous shape appears behind me casting it's massive inky shadow over me and most of the church yard. A low growl penetrating the stillness around me. My body starts to tremble. Huge arms encase me, forcing most of the my blood to miss the column. The right side of my face is bathed in hot, steamy breath when a deep but dark rumble of laughter follows the growl. I start to kick and thrash......
         I come to after something hard slams into me. When i open my eyes i realize I'm on the floor wrapped in my sheets, blood where my head is. With a grunt I stand up and immediately hear a thump as something in my sheets falls to the floor. Blood is smeared on the sheets as well, and once i take them off i look down. I see my trousers are destroyed and my feet are covered in blood and dirt, and my curved dagger laying next to them, blood coating the blade.
         "..FUCK.....ME!".