A World of Vampires: Volume 1

by Dani Hoots

  She had seemed real enough. I wasn’t one to hallucinate when I was tired or hungry, but her appearance seemed otherworldly, like an angel sent from Heaven itself. I had heard of men in war sometimes having seen such a divine presence, but that was usually during a battle, not after one. Was she real, or was she just in my imagination? I shook away the thoughts. It must have just been the lightning. There was no way any sane being would be out in that storm if they weren’t lost.

  After a bit, the rest of the men retired for the night, wanting to catch up on some much needed sleep. God knows they deserved it. I sat there on the wooden rocker, not having any desire to go to sleep for the night. Too many thoughts were running through my mind. The blood shed on the field. Men falling down beside me as I kept on fighting. Not being able to do anything for them except to fight on. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and it was going to take a while for me to recover from those nightmares. So I tried not to sleep, and simply stared into the fire.

  The blaze of the fire reminded of the spilt blood that divided the hours on the battlefield. Friends lost, comrades injured. I was lucky that the men that slept now were still alive. They were probably going to be haunted by those gory battles for the rest of their lives. Just as I was.

  I rubbed my eyes, trying to make the images go away. I prayed that once I returned home, and had Alice at my side, she would be able to help alleviate the pain I had been feeling through these past few months. She was innocent, pure, and being around her made me feel sane again. I could pretend that this war had never happened, that I didn’t kill men on the battlefield. I would be able to hold my dear Alice, and also be cleansed of all this blood I had on my hands from all the bloody wars I’ve been engaged in over the past few weeks.

  I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. I scanned around the room looking for where the draft could have come from, but didn’t find anything. It must have just been my imagination running wild, making me feel cold once again. I wrapped my arms around myself, but I could still feel a cool breeze against my neck. I glanced around again but nothing seemed to be causing it.

  As I gathered myself closer to the fire, I heard a voice.

  “Henry...” A whisper called me. It was the sound of a woman’s voice, soft and sweet. I glanced around but there was no one there. I couldn’t hear anything but the storm outside.

  “Henry...”

  That was definitely not my imagination. I stood up and hurried to the window. Whatever it was, it seemed to be coming from outside, as if being carried by the storm. I peered out into the storm.

  Wind was rushing through the few trees that were surrounding the inn. I could hear them creak and crack as the branches were pushed beyond their limit. Even in the darkness, I could see the grass being whipped back and forth and I was glad I was no longer out there in the thick of it. Lightning was striking the hillside, bringing light to all around it. I swore I had seen some figure out on the hillside. I waited for the lightning to strike again. As it did, I noticed the figure to be missing.

  It must have been my imagination again. I closed my eyes for a moment, taking in all the sounds, seeing if it was all just in my head.

  “Henry...”

  My eyes shot open and not too far out in the distance, she was standing there like a beacon. Her white dress flowed to the ground like an angel’s and she appeared to be almost floating. I gaped at the figure, confused as to its existence. She was definitely the same figure I had seen when we were coming down the Highlands, but it just couldn’t be possible. How could she be out in that storm, especially appearing dry and not bothered by any of it?

  As I stood there at the window with my mouth open, flabbergasted, she raised her hand towards me. “Come to me.”

  I don’t know what happened, but everything around me seemed to disappear and all that was left was her. It had been her voice, it was hypnotic, I couldn’t think straight. All I wanted to do was obey her every command, no matter what it was. Something in the back of my mind was shouting at me to stop, but I just couldn’t listen to myself. The rest of my body wouldn’t obey. I slowly stepped for the door, wanting to go to her. Her voice was like a melody, beautiful and pleasant, making you want to forget everything that was around you. She kept repeating my name, as if it were some note of a song. Even with the wind howling in the background, I had to go out there with her. I had to be with her.

  I began to turn the knob of the inn room door.

  “Captain, is everything alright?”

  I blinked, coming back to reality. It felt strange, as if I was aware of moving across the room to the door, but at the time had no control over my movements. I stretched out my hand. I had control now and that was all that mattered. I glanced back out the window. There was no sign of the woman that had been calling me now. After taking a deep breath, thinking I had definitely begun to lose my mind, I turned to find Ralph standing there, staring at me as if I had gone crazy. I didn’t like it when men a lot younger than me gave me a look as if I had gone senile.

  I smiled. “It’s nothing. I just thought I saw something out there.”

  Ralph stepped up next to me and took a look outside. “In that storm? It was probably just shadows playing tricks on you, sir.”

  I gave him a look, letting him know I didn’t appreciate him mocking me. I was tired and irritable, making night the worst time to cross me.

  He coughed. “It also could have been an animal, sir. Back on the farm, they have played a few tricks on me in the middle of the night.”

  “I suppose it was,” I glanced out the window once more. Nothing but the storm waited for me out there. There was no point in searching for illusions. Even if they had seemed so real.

  “In fact, there was this one time when our cow, Kathy...”

  I gave him a look, not wanting him to go one with the story. He stopped talking.

  “Have you seen anything strange lately?” I asked.

  Ralph shook his head. “Nothing other than this horrible storm.”

  I took another moment to stare out into the darkness. It was strange, that was for sure. Whatever was haunting me, was only bothering me and no one else.

  “It’s about time I retire, Ralph. I bid you fair night,” he yawned.

  He nodded as I passed him and retired to my own room. I didn’t particularly want to fall asleep, but neither did I want to stay and see if that woman would come back, and whether or not I would be able to resist her this time around.

  She had known my name.

  I had heard her voice; that wasn’t an illusion. Or maybe it was. I sat down and rubbed my face with my palms. I hadn’t gotten much sleep for the past few weeks with the war, so that could have played a part. I probably just missed the embrace of a woman, so this ghostly apparition had to be a figment of my imagination

  Opening up my locket around my neck, I took in the picture of my fiancé, Alice, who was waiting for me in Nottingham. It was a cheap painting I had a friend do that didn’t do her any justice, but it was at least something I could take with me when I was away. Dark brown hair, sea blue eyes, a smile that could warm up the hardest of hearts. She was perfect. I had promised to wed her the moment I came back from this war and I would uphold that promise. Throughout the battle, I had kept her in my mind and it was the only thing that had kept me going. Soon we would be together once until the day we died.

  I kissed the locket and placed it on the table next to the bed side. Maybe, if I fell asleep, my dreams would be filled with memories of her back home.

  I didn’t dream of Alice.

  No, I couldn’t be that lucky. Instead I dreamt of canons, gunfire, echoes of screaming commands, death and destruction. Over and over again. It was cycle that never ended, brother against brother, men and woman fighting for freedom, for power. It made my heart sicken.

  I opened my eyes to find only quiet calmness. The storm had subsided for now and all that was left was the tiny drizzle of mist that surrounded the Highlands. The clouded lig
ht beamed into my room and I watched as a dark colored bird flew past my window. I was never that good at remembering species of different types of animals, nor did I ever really care. I appreciated them, though. They brought liveliness, where sometimes we can’t find anything.

  We would have to spend one more night here, taking a break from traveling, before heading back to England. I didn’t look forward to staying here again, but my men needed the rest, and I wouldn’t mind it as well. I wanted to lie here all day, losing myself in the images I could make out of the wood on the ceiling. I slowly closed my eyes again, hoping to drift back into my thoughts about Alice and how happy I would be to see her.

  I was never that lucky.

  A tap sounded at the door. “Captain, are you awake?”

  It was Kenneth. I rubbed my face. What did he need now? Why couldn’t I ever get some rest before one of my men needed me? “Yes, what is it?”

  “We can’t find Ralph,” he explained. My heart quickened.

  How could you not find someone in this inn? It wasn’t that big.

  Kenneth went on. “We were wondering if you knew anything as to where he might have we.”

  I jumped up out of my bed and quickly put on my coat. I wasn’t going to lose another man, not after the battle was over, even though he probably was just wandering around outside like he normally does. He was a kid after all. But it was a bit nasty outside, I didn’t know why he would want to go out during a day like this. Running my fingers through my hair a few times, I opened the door. Kenneth appeared disheveled, his hair a mess and his shirt not quite tucked in. I wondered how long he had been awake, although I probably didn’t look any better. “How long have you been searching for him?”

  “Since five this morning. It is seven now sir.”

  And they didn’t wake me? Why wasn’t I notified? I felt like asking this, but knew they just didn’t want me to worry about something that started out as something so trivial. Now it had been two hours since Ralph was last seen and they knew they needed me to help find him. “Did he go out in the morning? Did anyone see him?”

  Kenneth shook his head. “No. No one had seen him since last night.”

  He had been there when I saw that woman. Could she have been behind the disappearance? No, she was just a figment of my imagination. There had to be something more to it. I rubbed my eyes. “No, I saw him early this morning, around one. He was checking in on me, said he couldn’t sleep. I retired after that.”

  “So he was up and about?” Kenneth asked.

  I nodded, a cool tingling feeling creeping up my neck. If he had seen the woman, he would have gone outside, just as I was about to do. “Have you searched the premises?”

  “We have not yet, Captain, we were awaiting your orders,” he said. Of course they were, these men wouldn’t know how to lead a search party even if it determined their survival.

  Buttoning up my coat, I started down the hallway. “Then let us do it.”

  An eerie mist had swept through the Highlands, taking away me and my men’s ability to see more than a couple yards in front of us. The fog’s moisture clung to our skin, chilling us straight to the bone. We separated into two teams of three, leaving both Andrew and Percy to wait at the inn, since they didn’t really care nor think anything was wrong. Kenneth and George were grouped with me.

  The air smelt of wet grass and mud. Although the chilliness was unpleasant, the smell of the Highlands did beat that of the city, which was an odor consisting mostly of smog from factories, sludge, and feces. If I could make enough in the countryside, I would choose it over living in the city any day. I wasn’t a farm boy, though. Rather, I had grown up in the city of London as the son of a Royal Army Commander. I didn’t have a choice in the field I went into, though I doubted anyone in life ever did. Alice grew up living above a bakery and had spent her entire life in the city as well. We wouldn’t know the first thing about living in the countryside, so our dream was to open a pub in the city, even with all the downsides.

  And that dream of a life after the war was what kept me going.

  Every strange sound echoing through the hills made my skin crawl. I swore it had to be coming from something entirely otherworldly. Nothing deemed good in God’s creation would have sounded like that. If hell was a place on Earth, this had to be it.

  “Ralph!” I called out into empty abyss of white fog. “Are you out there somewhere?”

  In this God-forsaken place, I almost added. I didn’t, though, since I didn’t want to shout more than I had to, for the cold air filled my lungs and mouth every time I did. It made my voice feel hoarse, the cold, dry air tugging at my throat. “Ralph!”

  There was no answer, only the echoes of my other soldiers calling out his name were heard throughout the surrounding area. Damn it, Ralph, where are you? I listened closely for anything else. I heard nothing. Even the random noises of birds and wind that made up the Highlands had subsided. All that was left was the eerie sound of silence, which was worse than any other sound out here.

  I glanced around, but all I could see was that familiar murky white fog. If it weren’t for Kenneth and George being there, I would have felt lost and abandoned. I wasn’t even that sure how far we were from the inn any more. Such places could easily play tricks on the mind, and I just wished to be out of here as soon as possible. No one should have to suffer in these parts any longer than they had to.

  “Where do you think he went off to, Captain?” George questioned. “There ain’t nothing out here except Satan himself.”

  He had that right. “I’m not sure, George.”

  I glanced over at Kenneth, whose red curly hair was the only thing I could see other than the fog. His hair was like a beacon and I was slightly thankful for that. I could barely make out the concern he had on his face for his friend. Both he and Ralph were young, and they had a connection from the start. They even talked about taking a trip down to the coast together before they went back home. I just hoped we found him before something bad happened.

  None of us were to stray too far from the inn, in fear that we wouldn’t be able to find our way back in this strange mist. I took a mental note of the direction we were headed, but every time I glanced back, I feared we wouldn’t be able to find the inn. If all else failed, we could probably call out loud enough for someone to hear, but the thought did spark a little fear in me.

  “Ralph!” I called out again, beginning to think we wouldn’t find anything. He couldn’t have wandered out this far, we have to be almost a mile from the inn, it just wouldn’t have made any sense. Maybe someone else had found him. “We should head back. Maybe the others found some clues, as to his whereabouts.”

  Kenneth and George both nodded, not wanting to be out in this area any more time than needed either. We were worried about him, but we also didn’t know if he had made it back to the inn while we were searching for him. It was something he would do, have all of us worry, and then show up acting as if nothing had happened. As the three of us were just about to turn around, I spotted an object straight ahead. It was large and sprawled out like a human.

  “Oi! Over here!” I pointed ahead near the base of the hill and hurried towards the object, fearing that we were too late. As I got closer, I recognized Ralph’s red coat. We had found him, although he seemed to be passed out, or worse, dead. I prayed to God that he was still alive.

  I slipped on the mud as I reached him, going down to my knees and my hands, both now covered in filth. I didn’t care about the grime, knowing I needed to help Ralph. His face was in the dirt, so I carefully turned him over.

  His skin was white, like that of a ghost. I covered my mouth. I had seen many dead men throughout the years at many stages of decomposition, their bodies bloating, skin lightening, and a stench coming off of them worse than anything else, but none of them had ever appeared like Ralph did. It was haunting, not like that of anything from this world. I didn’t know what to say or do. Both Kenneth and George caught up with me and gasped a
t my discovery.

  “What is wrong with his skin?” George asked, his mouth not closing as he looked at the body. He had noticed the same thing I did. It wasn’t something you normally observed a dead body to physically undergo in such a quick time, even in these temperatures. I glanced at Kenneth, who was still in shock of finding his friend dead. I wanted to comfort him but first we had to get out of the cold.

  I shook my head. “I haven’t the faintest idea.” It was puzzling indeed, and I doubted we would ever find out. I would have Jonathan, once a surgeon before joining the Royal Army, take a look at him. Maybe he could figure it out. “But we must carry him back to the Inn. George, Kenneth, help me get him up.”

  His body was a lot lighter as well. I had carried many a dead men through the years, never had someone felt so light. It was odd, I had no idea what to make of it. Normally a body was a lot heavier when it was lifeless. It was all quite strange. My mind raced to put the pieces together, but nothing seemed to make sense.

  The three of us carried him back to the inn. One of the search parties had already beaten us back and each of the men gasped in horror upon seeing Ralph’s body being carried, unceremoniously, into the inn’s common room. I had to admit, it took everything for myself to not wallow in self-pity as his body laid there. He was young, had a long life ahead of him. It was unnerving that such a young spirited man could die in such mysterious conditions. I had promised no harm to come of any of my men, between Culloden and on the way home to London, and I had let them down. I probably shouldn’t blame myself, especially when such unexplained supernatural forces were playing against us. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help shouldering the blame for what had just happened. I was the captain and I was responsible for the welfare of my soldiers, regardless of who our enemy was.

  Luckily, the McGregorys had a room that wasn’t being used for anything other than storage. So, two of the men, laid Ralph’s prone body on the cot, from where Jonathan would examine him further. The innkeepers tried to be as accommodating as possible, knowing that this was quite a tragic event for us. As such, they left us in peace, as we prepared Ralph’s body to be examined.