Orphans of Vril

Ever heard of them? How about Vril?

Vril was a form of energy that was first wrote about in a story called "The Coming Race." I read it, it's OK.

So?

When it came out, a lot of people believed it to be true. Clubs were made, people wanted to find that energy. Some people claim to know how to get a hold of Vril. One of these groups in Deerbow was called the Orphans of Vril.

I haven't found out too much about what the group was about, but we do know some of the members. What we think they were is a group of business men that got together and held meetings. These were not the social meetings you would expect. Vincent was forced to one of their get-togethers and... He's what he is today, thanks to them.

They dabbled in what they thought was magic. They thought they were channeling the power of Vril. They were channeling something, but it was not a fictional energy source.

These were the top men in the society here in Deerbow. They were bankers, business owners, and possibly a priest. They killed people. Never anyone that would be missed. Immigrants, homeless, and in Vincent's case, they covered up the murder.

Do people know about this now? The historical society says that there were rumors, but no proof. But if you think about it, the proof would have disappeared. A well placed bribe, a payment or a threat to keep someone quiet, these were men that had the power and the money to do that.

Well that's the theory.

How crazy does this sound?

Buffy

I still love Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. I loved watching the shows and I still do. Steopa refuses to watch the shows with me. He watched one and when he saw Buffy stake a vampire, he scoffed. "If they think that small stake will kill a vampire they are mistaken."

Why do I still like the show? Spike. I liked him before I became a vampire. I like him even more now. Actually, I like all the vampires. You know how most shows and movies use cookie cutter vampires. Buffy was one of the first I enjoyed that didn't. Some were bad, some were good, all of them could kill. None of them were copies of Dracula, or Louis, or Lestat. Except that one episode with Dracula.

What does Steopa think of it?

I can't watch the shows anymore, if he knows I am. It's not that he asks me to stop watching. But I can't watch a show with him scoffing, yelling at the screen, and all that. Because he has faced real vampire hunters. Although he is impressed with her fighting style. He can't see her being the only one fighting the vampires. I have argued that she is not alone, but he refuses to watch.

Is there anything about Buffy that is real? The hunters I met, were very religious too. Buffy wasn't. I mean that The ones we have run into, will attack with prayers. They wear crucifixes, and other religious icons. They also don't use little stakes. They use ones that could be pikes.

How can I get him to enjoy it as fiction?

Baldman Rants 3

There was a show on TV about aliens. We were at Teodor's when it was on. I wasn't really watching it. I had come over to use Trucker's computer. Steopa and Teodor went outside to talk. A picture on the TV caught my eye and I told Baldman about it. I said the alien looked fake. He was quiet for awhile, then he said.

"That is what they look like."

As you know, I take Baldman's ideas with a large grain of salt. But he sounded sincere. I had to ask, "How do you know?"

"I've seen them."

I had to turn my face away. I hope he didn't see me laughing.

"Saber, I have seen them. But I can't talk about it," he said.

Okay I didn't push.

But Baldman is always like that. He will tease you with what he claims he knows, then tell you he can't talk about it. Yet, a few days later I get an email from him. It's a picture of that alien, Baldman is in the background. I think it's a photoshop job, but it looks real.

Maybe he is on to something?

Spring Heel Jack?

That shadow amoeba is back.

This time it looks more like a human, but it with wings.

Steopa and I were down near Jacob's Landing. Not many people out, thunderstorms were rolling though. We had to dodge hail at one point. Vampires can dry off very quickly, if they get wet. But hail still hurts. And I don't want to find out what being hit by lightening will do to me. So we took shelter under an awing in a strip mall.

The hail sounded like popcorn being popped as it hit the awning. Then I saw this man running with his coat over his head. He had a lunch pail in the other hand. He stopped at the covered bus stop that sat at the entrance of the parking lot. His shroud was a dark blue. Not black enough to make him a potential prey for us.

Steopa growled. I had to turn my head to see what had set him off. Shadows seem to gather in the middle of the parking lot. Then a human shaped shadow stood. I didn't see any eyes, but I could tell it was watching the man in the bus stop. The man in the bus stop, turned and looked behind him. He left the bus stop, leaving his coat and lunch pail behind. He walked to the shadow.

Before we could move, the shadow extended long wings and wrapped them around the man. Then it jumped. The leap went almost straight up.

Steopa and I followed. But by the time we reached the top of the building. The thing was gone.

It reminded me of the stories of Spring Heeled Jack.

What do you think it was?

Greenwood Tales 2

Greenwood the large expanse of woods on the eastern side of Deerbow, is not a full virgin forest. It has been harvested before. It was developed before. The seven bridges are a good examples of that. Upper Trestle, Upper Bridge, Visitor Center Bridge, and in the swamp, the Cooper Trestle, Oberst-Dettenger Bridge, the Old Trestle, and the Lower Bridge. All of them are strange to see for the first time. You will be walking along a trail, and then a bridge will appear next to the trail. The old roads or rail that used to lead to them, are gone. They are all closed to any traffic, except for the Visitor Center Bridge. But people still climb them. One of the high schools has a tradition, of all the senor boys cross the Cooper Trestle the night before graduation.

High Tower is a large, tall rock formation, that you can see for miles around Greenwoods. Near it is a small bog and Indian burial mounds. This is one of the few areas that was never developed. These are the oldest trees in Greenwoods. you can take the stairs to the top of High Tower and see most of Deerbow over the river. Another place that has stories about it. It was a sacrificial rock, it was used to observe the night sky, river pirates used it to look for law enforcement, and a UFO landing pad.

Indian Burial mounds there are unique in the state for the fact. Not once, never, in the history of the development of Deerbow has anyone wanted to touch those mounds. Even Strake and Thorson left them alone. We have been to the mounds after I changed. There is a very good reason why the mounds are not touched. But I can't talk about it.

By the way, the rumors of the man that seduces the young women. True.

Is Greenwoods the type of place you want to take a walk through?

Feelings about the Coiree

The coiree. I shouldn't talk about it, but I have to rant.

Its a cup. A large cup. I think coiree means valley. I am not sure. But we found that thing, and now we keep it safe.

I think humans would call it a grail. But instead of the blood of Christ, this thing fills with vampire blood. We are watching over one of the vampire relics and none of us know what it is.

I don't know what to make of it. When Vincent was injured it filled with blood so he could heal. Most of the time it just sits there. But there is something odd about it.

Other vampires want it. None of them have been forth coming about it. They say it will grant them power. But that seems so vague. What sort of power?

That is the biggest issue about it. It's powerful, you can feel it. It can physically repeal you. Some humans knew about it. They tried feeding it animal and human blood. But that was wrong. It wants vampire blood.

There is something attached to it. It's a creature of some sort. I have seen it. Well, not really seen it. More like I felt it looking at me. It scared me and at the same time, I felt as if something important had happened.

I wish we knew more. Maybe we shouldn't be protecting it. Maybe we should have left it for the humans that like to dabble in magic. We should have left it in the ground. But if we hadn't it might have been found by someone else.

And then what would have happened?

Urban Legends of Solemn Trees

Solemn Trees is the largest cemetery in Konakove. Konakove is the part of Deerbow were most of the immigrants start out in. It is the same today.

Recently, they put a Buddhist temple into one of the newer sections. One of the few classes I took in college we counted how many different languages were on the tomb stones. Fifteen back then. With the recent Asian and Arab populations, I am sure the number has gone higher. Solemn Trees is the cemetery you are buried at when you can't afford Forest Grove.

It's a beautiful place to be laid to rest in. The oldest part of the cemetery if full of trees. Often you will find old coffins pushed through the ground by the tree roots. The trees are so thick in the part of the cemetery it looks as if you are walking through a forest in some areas. Old stone benches dot the landscape. Many of the stones are unreadable now, and the ones that are, are usually not in English.

A place like that would be ripe with tales. It is. Most of regular ghost stories. Certain grave sites have ghosts that appear at certain times. There is the one that has a helpful spirit that will tell you who you will marry if you sleep on her grave. My favorite is the bagpiper.

In the Scottish section, there is an ornate, but small stone. The writing on it has been weathered away. So there is no proof on who is buried there, if anyone. What happens is, if you go there on or around January 25th, you will see the piper. He appears next to the stone and plays his bagpipes. If you see him, but don't hear him, that means death will come to your family. If you hear the pipes, you will die soon.

The reason I like this story, is that a friend of mine swore she saw him. She told me that she had went their with a couple of other people to see if the story was true. And he did appear to them, but they did not hear the pipes. When her grandmother died a few years later, she claimed the piper had warned her.

Spooky?

Perun

Do you know what a leshy is?

I didn't.

A leshy is a forest being. A human like creature with amazing powers. A greenman is close to the description of a leshy. Mainy male, I understand. They are great friends.

How do I know?

Because Perun is one.

If you are familiar with Deerbow City, you know of the large expanse of woods on the outskirts of the Eastern part of the city, called Greenwoods. You know the place with the "lost village". Perun lives there.

A leshy looks like an average looking man, with wild hair and a beard. He has moss and small plants growing in his hair and beard. His feet, oh god, his feet. They are human, but elongated like a dog. He walks on his toes. He can leap and bounce in the woods like a mad man.

Perun is another friend of Steopa's. He had lived in Poland for many years. But something happened in WWII and he ended up here. He is a wildman. I mean really a WILD MAN.

He loves vodka more than Steopa does. He will drink any liquor, but his favorite is vodka, or a sipping whiskey. If you want to make him really happy. Leave him a few pounds of meat. And you should once in awhile. He will leave you alone then. He likes to play tricks and games with people. and if you have paid him off, he will let you be.

He farts, he belches, he makes rude comments, he tells stories, he is always looking for a woman to take back to his house for some fun, and he protects those woods fanatically. A good example happened a few nights ago.

Down near Jacob's Landing, on the southern end of Greenwoods, there is a new development going up. Technically, it is out of his range. But he goes down to the edge of it and sees what they are doing. The night we went with him. One of the contractors had decided to dump scrap wood on the edge of Greenwoods. Legally, nothing wrong. But what pissed Perun off, was that they had destroyed a fox den, when they brought the wood over with the front end loader.

We go down to the site with him. There are a couple of people there. One is this woman, she is just as pissed about the fox den as Perun is. Perun chuckles. "Nice to see human's caring."

Her boss, I can only assume it's her boss, tells her off and tells her to forget about it. Perun starts to sing. His singing, to me, sounds like chanting. I can never make out the words. But then I hear rustling in the woods and smell foxes.

Steopa and I turn around. There are dozens of foxes coming out of the woods. Perun must have called the entire population of Greenwoods. The foxes wait. Then Perun whistles and points to the man. They attack! They are biting, and yipping. Dozens of red foxes descend on that man. The woman runs and hides in her car. Perun is laughing.

He calls the foxes off after a minute. The guy is laying on the ground, bleeding and looking embarrassed. Perun walks up to the car. He smiles at the woman. I swear he did not say a thing. But she walked off with him. And a few moments later, we can hear them in the woods. Steopa shook his head. I couldn't help myself. I had to giggle.

As much as he embarrasses me, I like being around him. He is a bit like Vincent, if he likes you, you will have a good time. But he is a fierce friend too. Steopa and him are not supposed to get along, but they went through something together, and they watch out for each other.

So if you are in Greenwoods, leave a bit of food and drink for him. And if you are a woman, he might show you a real good time.

Would you want to meet a leshy?

The Founding Fathers of Deerbow

I've been telling you about some of the urban legends of this town and I never told you about the "big men". I never care to learn about it in high school. It wasn't until a year or so ago I started to look into the past of the city. There are some rich tales there, someone could make a mini series out of them.

The two biggest names were Strake and Thorson. They were the lumber barons of the city. Deerbow would not be much of a place to live if it hadn't been for them founding their lumber company here. Where the Deerbow River forks off, they had built their first mill. It was a perfect place. The logs would come down stream and they would stack them on the piece of land that juts out into the river (Jacob's Landing).

They built a big empire here. They were not as rich as the Rockerfeller's, but they were well off. Of course they were pillars of the community. Strake gave all the land to the University. Thorson built theaters (for his wife, because she missed the theater life in New York). There are schools named after them, there are hospitals, their names are all over Deerbow.

There was a dark side to the men as well. Thorson was the bad guy of the duo. Rumors of him cheating business associates, possibly killing one, there are stories of his strange taste in women. But the one that I remember from childhood was what had happened at the mill.

He might have been Deerbow's first serial killer. Long before OSHA, long before safety regulations, business owners like him could cut as many corners as they needed to make a profit. There were a lot of accidents at the mill. Many fatal. But, the odd thing was, most of the accidents happened to people that crossed Thorson. I remember a friend of my father's telling me that her grandfather had been a foreman at the mill. He was often asked not to be in certain areas at certain times. And at those times, people died.

There is so much more, I will write about them later.

Any stories like that where you live?

How Does it Feel to Become a Vampire?

Andi asked me this one night. I didn't know how to answer her at the time. But now I have thought about it. There are two stages in becoming a vampire. One is the bite and the other is the change your body goes though.

The bite. If you think that it is as nice as getting kissed on the neck. You are wrong. It hurts. It hurts if the bite gets interrupted. If it doesn't then there is a pain killer that is released in the bite that numbs you. I think some people like it. John says its like getting Novocaine.

When Steopa bit me, it was one of the most painful things that ever happened to me. If you have been bitten by a dog, or maybe another person, then you know how it feels. The pressure of the bite, the puncture of the fangs. You can feel the mouth and the tongue sucking the blood. Not romantic at all. You know that your blood is draining from you. Your body reacts. I pissed my pants.

If the bite is unfinished. In other words if the painkiller is not released, you may become a vampire. Some people change in a few hours, others take days.

What does it feel like?

It feels like your entire body is rewiring itself. You teeth change. You lose your molars and gain the fangs. Your heart stops. You don't have to breathe. But when your lungs stop working, you don't panic. So it is not like being underwater and not being able to get to the surface. Everything below the waist, except for your legs, stops working.

Most vampires don't remember the change, most were buried or laying in the morgue when it happens. I remember. I was conscious. I had found Steopa. Vincent thought if Steopa bit me again, the change would stop. It didn't. When it happened, after the first moments of panic, it was actually interesting. Weird, I know. But have you ever had small surgery done, like getting stitches? And they only numb that part of your body. You can watch them sew your skin up. It was like that. You know the things are happening, but you are not really experiencing them.

When all that rearranging, and rebuilding ends. It's like someone takes a mesh mask off your face. You can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel more. There are things you can now experience that your human mind would not have been able to process. And everything is geared for the hunt. Steopa says it's like we changed from a herd animal to a predator. I agree.

Why do you think some people take days and other hours to change?

Steopa's Great Grandfather's Diary

Ogden invited us to his house last night. He took us to his library.

You have to see this library. Two stories of books. He has three of those ladder that run on wheels around the room. He has one large desk and an even larger table. The books look old and they feel old. Have you ever been into a room full of old books. There is a smell that comes off them. This room reeks of that.

"I was in Russia last week," he said. He put a small, but thick book on the table. "I bought this off my regular dealer. You might find it interesting."

He gave it to Steopa.

Steopa opened to the front plate. I have been learning Russian, but I could only make out a few words. Steopa closed the book. I could tell he was surprised and a little upset, even though the expression on his face did not change.

"How much have you read?" Steopa asked.

"The entire thing. Is that a relative?" Ogden asked.

Steopa did not say anything.

"It could be fiction," Ogden said.

"Can I have it?" Steopa asked.

Ogden agreed.

After we left and returned home, Steopa showed me the book. "This might be about my great grandfather."

I was surprised, he never talked about him before. "Are you sure?"

Steopa shook his head. "No. I only heard stories from people outside of my family, my father did not say much. But the name of the writer is Matvey. That was my grandfather's name. He told me once that he had written down the last months of his father's life. This could be that document."

"Why didn't you tell Ogden this might be from your ancestor?"

"Because he read it. He already knows the truth."

Steopa wouldn't tell me any more. He locked the book in the safe he uses for the few valuables he has. He won't talk about it. I can tell he wants to, but he won't.

Should I pry?

You see why Steopa is sweet.

Steopa and I had a fight last night. This is what he gave me:

Dearest Rebecka,

There are times I forget that you have not been a vampire as long as I have. That is good. I feel as if we have known each other longer than the few short years we have.

When we argued last night, I let my stubbornness block me from hearing your side. You were right. When you left our place, something was missing. We have been apart before, but last night, it felt as if we had been separated. There was a hollowness in me, something I have never felt before. When I felt that void, I knew that amends had to be made.

One thing that has not changed, in all the centuries I have been on this world, is that some people cannot say they are sorry. I am not one of them.

Rebecka, I am sorry.

Eternal Love

Steopa

You can see why I love him.

Twilight

I have to get this post over with, because too many people have been bothering me about it.

I've read Twilight. And you are going to expect me to hate it right away because I am a vampires. Yes, and no.

If I would have read it when I was still human, I would have loved it. I would have fallen for Edward. Why not? He was watching over Bela all the time. He wanted her. I would have loved someone like that, when I was alive.

But I was messed up then, I wanted people to take care of me. And if some guy, a good looking guy, came around and told me that they wanted to do that. I would have welcomed them with open arms. Even if they were as controlling as Edward is.

But I read it after I changed.

Steopa never would have sneaked into my room and watch me sleep. He is a gentlemen. Edward is a control freak. Borderline abusive. When I wanted to see my brother after I changed. Steopa told me his fears, but HE LET ME GO! He let me talk to my brother. He let me decide if I wanted to come back. I doubt Edward would have done that. He would have let her go, then hung out outside like a stalker.

The interpretation of vampires is not as horrible as most people say. They don't like the sparkling vampire. I did laugh. I read that part to Steopa and he shrugged.

"But he sparkled in the sun," I said.

"There have been vampires that could survive the sun, perhaps that is how they did," he said.

I still don't know if he was pulling my leg or not.

Drinking animal blood? That is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin. We have to drink human blood. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Otherwise we become a ghoul. Which is something I don't want to talk about now.

My biggest issue. Why high school? Are the Cullen's punishing their "children"? I know a couple of vampires that can pass as teenagers and high school would be the last place they would go. I sure the hell wouldn't.

I understand why people are obsessed with the book. I could have been one of them. There is a plus side to the new fascination with vampires. Especially ones that are nice and go to high school. Because Steopa and I can be out in the open and the ones looking for nice, young vampires, don't know they are in danger until it is too late.

Did my reaction surprise you?

Baldman Rants Part 2

The more I talk to Baldman, the more I realize that he is picky when it comes to what conspiracy theories he follows. We were talking about the chem-trail one, and he told me something scarier or sillier.

If you are not familiar. The idea is that those water vapor trails left behind by airplanes, are actually mind control chemicals. Baldman calls that theory stupid.

"It was obviously made up by someone that didn't understand basic science," he told me. "Besides, would they be so careless to leave an obvious clue?

I had to agree.

"So there are no mind control chemicals?" I asked.

"Well, um, yes there are."

Baldman went on to tell me about his ideas about bottled water. "You see everyone that drinks bottled water, is ingesting the chemicals, but it is not from the water. It is from the plastic."

I told him I know about that, that's why they pulled some plastics off the market. He tells me the opposite happened. They pulled the safe plastics and put the ones with the mind control chemicals in place. "You can test the bottle at the plant, no problem. But once it sits on the shelf for at least a week, the chemicals leech in and you drink them."

"Why?" I asked.

"To make you want to buy more. The chemical affects your pleasure part of the brain. It strokes your need to buy things."

"Why?"

"So more things will be made cheaply and with less and less safety regulations. For pollution you understand."

"I see," I said. "And the water bottles can be part of the pollution too?"

"Exactly."

Scary thing is, this makes a bit of sense.

Do you think I should stop talking to Baldman?

Odd Person Again

I saw him again. That strange man, whose watch set my fangs off.

We had gone down to the square. The Irish festival had been going on all day and we went to find some unfortunate drunkard. The beer had not been flowing long enough, so the drunks were hard to find.

I saw him standing next to the east stage. He wore the same outfit he had at the club. Which with all the green, looked out of place. Steopa and I had been standing next to one of the speakers. I was watching a tall man, who was bouncing back and forth between two groups.

When I saw the odd person, he looked in my direction. We stared at each other for a moment. Then he walked right toward us. I tapped Steopa on his arm. The man made it up to us before we had a chance to leave.

"Excuse me," he said. "Are you Steopa and Rebecka?"

Okay, that was weird.

"Who are you?" Steopa asked.

"You can call me Traveler." He bowed.

He really bowed. Steopa has done it to me, but it is still strange to see.

"How do you know us?" Steopa asked.

"I have been looking for you."

"Why?" I asked.

He pulled out his pocket watch. "I am sorry, I will have to talk to you later, about this."

He hurried away. We followed him. But by the time we had turned the corner, he was gone. Steopa jumped to the roofs to look for him, but Traveler was gone.

Should this bother me?

More Strange Sounds

There was nothing else to do a few nights ago. So we went back to our place. Steopa was practicing his fencing. I was at the computer talking to Baldman. A normal night. Then I heard another strange noise.

This one sounded like a high pitch whir. Steopa stopped his fencing. We looked at each other. The whir lasted for a long time. Steopa hung up his sword. He walked into our bedroom. I had to shut my chat off with Baldman. The whirring continued for a long time. I heard Steopa hit the wall in our bedroom. It stopped.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"It sounded like a dentist drill."

Steopa picked up his rapier and started to practice again. I went into our bedroom. I could see where Steopa had hit the wall, the steel had buckled. I went back out to the other room. Steopa kept practicing.

If these sounds came from above, I would not be so unnerved.

What the hell is going on?

Jeremiah

If you think all the vampires are slim, beautiful beings, you are wrong. We look like everyone else. How else do you think some of us get so close?

One of Steopa's friends is another heavy vampire, Jeremiah. Steopa won't say much about where they met. But Jeremiah doesn't seem like a vampire.

He's heavy like me. He has a buzz cut. Not your typical vampire, right. If you meet him on the street, you would probably not pay any attention to him. And thats how he gets you.

Steopa and I went with him one night. He goes to this truck stop most of the time. And like Steopa, he can eat some food. So we are at the table, Jeremiah is eating pancakes with no syrup. Steopa and I only have water. But the waitress doesn't seemed to curious about it.

About an hour later we are walking through the parking area with all the large semis. This big guy comes out of his rig, he's got a prostitute with him. And he isn't being nice. I wanted to go in and take the guy out myself, but Jeremiah shakes his head.

"My place, my job," he said.

Jeremiah motions us to stay where we are. He walks up to the big trucker. "Dude, what the hell are you doing?" he asked.

Of course that big guy assumes that Jeremiah is a fat weakling. He knocks the woman to the ground and turns on Jeremiah.

"Stay out of it!" he yelled.

Jeremiah shakes his head. "I won't."

I will not tell you what he did to the guy, but I know they had to use a hose to get some of him out of the truck grill.

Do you think it is only human fantasy that makes them want to believe all vampires are super-models?

Urban Legends of the Rathskeller

I used to live in one of the most haunted places in Deerbow and did not realize it.

The Burgundy Rathskeller had been built in on of the largest slaughterhouses that lined the river in the old factory section of the city. Lorelei says she picked that building because at that time the city was almost giving the building away. They wanted that area redeveloped. It worked, now it is one of the best places to hang out at night. Not just at the Rathskeller.

If you back up to when it was a slaughterhouse. That is where the first haunting stories come from. According to Vincent, who had worked there, it was a 24 hour work place. Thousands of cattle and pigs would come through the doors. It was constantly moving. The stench was horrendous. And people disappeared.

I am sure some got sick of it and left. But there are other creepier stories. The most famous one is the one about Jonnie. Jonnie had just married. He was a hard worker, and it looked like he was on his way to become a foreman. Then one day, during a lunch break, he told some of his workers he had to check one of the ditches, it was backing up. He wasn't seen after that. But a couple people swore they heard him screaming for a few days after is disappearance. A month later, one of the workers ran out of the factory with a bloody face, screaming that Jonnnie had attacked him.

He was sighted multiple times over the next year. Each time he would attack someone. Everyone of them were injured. Some stories say that a few of the ones that were attacked disappeared after the injury.

Where the Rathskeller is, was the lower part of the killing floor. According to some people that work there, they have seen ghosts of the animals that were killed there. I never did. Andi swore one night as she was putting the beer away something came behind her and snorted in her ear.

I am sure there are other stories, but I haven't heard all of them yet.

Any haunted place that you have been to?

A Strange Event

Last week, that guy with the pocket watch, freaked me out. This week, something else happened.

I have to back up a bit and explain. When we don't want to be seen, we can shield ourselves from you. It looks like shadows come and cover us. If we are standing in a shadow, you won't see us at all.

Thats what we were doing. I had my prey in sight. This skinny pan handler that was always hanging around a bookstore downtown. This night, she was getting pushy. She would block people from leaving the store. The store personnel would come and chase her away. She would come back. Her shroud was so dark, that it was like she was in the shadows as well.

What's a shroud? Have you ever seen the photos taken of people's auras? That is what it looks like. Everyone has one. They can vary in color from bright pink to dark black. The darker, the better. A person with a black shroud wants to die. They might not be suicidal. There is a difference between suicidal and wanting to die.

A person that wants to die, invites death into their life. They might be living a lifestyle that will kill them. They might do things that are dangerous, so they take the risk of dying. Of course, some suicidal persons, really want to die.

So I am watching this pan handler. She is in a black shroud. I am in my shadow. I am waiting for the right time to strike. And then it happened.

This thing came out of the alley. It rushed by me. If felt the wind as it went past. It stood next to the pan handler. I would have not seen it, except my fangs grew. She walked away from the door. That shadow thing followed her.

I was curious. There goes my meal! I followed.

Have you ever seen animations on how some micro organisms eat their food. They surround the prey and absorb it. That is what this thing did. The black fog swirled around her. Then it dissipated like the wind blew it away. She was gone.

HER WHOLE BODY WAS GONE!

I am not kidding. Only her clothes remained. I didn't even smell blood. I had to get out of there. I was freaked out, not since I walked in on Vincent, have I been so freaked out.

Steopa found me. I told him what happened. He put his arm around me, and we hurried out of there.

Watch yourselves out there.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?

Urban Legends of Greenwoods

Greenwoods is a large expanse of protected woods on the eastern side of Deerbow City. A wonderful place if you ever visit. You can hike, walk, and run during the summer and in the winter cross country ski. Considering that this was part of the city in the 1800's the woods have grown back very nicely.

And there are stories.

In case you don't know the history of Deerbow City. It was made by the lumber and meat packing barons. Greenwoods was supposed to be their wonderfully planned community. They hired some of the top architects to plan out streets and neighborhoods. One place was built, then nothing. The lumber barons moved in to clear out the lumber. See that was the last deal. They would get the timber as the land was cleared. They wanted the wood no matter what. But that never happened. The logging started. Got stopped. Started again. There were accidents and murders. The logging companies finally stopped all together.

The stories started when the logging companies moved in. Remember I said accidents and murder. Well one of the companies, Strake and Thorson, they were starting to cut down the woods across the river from the University. One of the foremen got into a fight with one of the workers. The worker returned that night and killed the foremen. Since then people say the foreman's ghost haunts the woods.

One of the recent ones, is a bit odd. The university students go to Greenwoods a lot. One of the trails is maintained by the cross country team. The rumor is that along that path, there is a man that lives there. Apparently, a lot of the women that use that trail have met him. He must be a charmer, because the stories end with them having sex with him. The odd part about that story is that Andi, the waitress at the Rathskeller told me that she had two room mates that swear it happened to them.

There is the missing village as well. It was the only part of the development I talked about before that had been completed. It was used by Strake and Thorson to house their workers. You can find pictures of it as recently as 1965. But then it disappeared. No one has been able to find it since then.

Do you have places like this where you live?

What an Odd Person

This was really strange. Now mind you, since I was bitten. I have seen some really weird shit, but this one takes the cake.

There is this 6th or maybe 7th sense that vampires have. We can tell if another vampire is near by. We can tell if someone is not human. When ever I look at Swen I get a head ache. So when this guy walked into the Rathskeller last night. Something was up.

First, Swen stopped him. I couldn't see why. He wasn't threatening in any way. I really don't remember what he looked like, except he was dressed like Peter Cushing in a Hammer film, not out of place for the club.

Then he comes inside. He sits down at the far table, so his back is against the corner. It's at this point Steopa starts to watch him. I know something is weird, but I can't place it. I asked Steopa. "What is it?"

Steopa shrugged.

The guy sits there for a while, then Andi comes over and takes his order. She walks by us and gives me this strange look. I force myself not to watch that guy. He wasn't doing anything. So why did it bother me?

Andi gives the guy his drink. He sips it. Then I see it. His pocket watch. When I look at Swen its like I can't focus. This pocket watch makes my fangs grow. He doesn't do anything all evening, but drink his drink. Tips Andi and leaves. But that damn watch bugged me.

Why would the watch do that?

Baldman Rants

I had to cover my face talking to Baldman last night. I didn't want to laugh on camera. I didn't want to offend him.

But reptile aliens? Is he serious?

We were talking about SETI being shut down. And Baldman tells me that the real reason they shut down SETI is that they had come close to finding the actual planet where the reptilian aliens lived.

He's told me about these things before. According to him, they live among us. There are some people that believe they live underground and actually control the governments. Baldman argues that there is no way they could control the governments, because we have a small group of people that already do that.

Then he tells me that the reptiles are here to make sure we mess up the planet. They want it for who they work for. They are like corporate spies. They want us to sabotage our world. They want it hot. Because then the ones that are paying them, will come and take it over. No need for invasion. We will be too sick to fight back.

Scary right?

That wasn't what made me laugh. I asked him, how do they hide among us?

They use plastic surgery.

It was at that point I had to cover my face.

Isn't that one of the weirdest things you heard?

Father's Day

I miss my dad.

My real dad.

My dad died when I was 12. Motorcycle accident. And my whole life collapsed.

He wasn't a rich dad. He was always in some sort of trouble. Nothing that would land him in jail, although there were a few close calls. But he made sure John, my brother, and I always were taken care of. If anyone bullied us, he was down at the school the next day raising hell. If he knew the parents of the kid, he would be at their door. A few of those meetings ended up in fights.

The biggest thing I loved about him. And what I miss. Is how no matter how much we screwed up, or how much damage we did (like when we decided to help him paint the house), after we were punished. He would make us sundaes, and talk to us over vanilla and chocolate. You almost looked forward to a time out, when you knew sometime later, you would have ice cream.

He looked after us more than my mother did. She was always on him to get a better job, to work harder. He was satisfied that he had food on the table and a roof over our heads. We got our clothes at the goodwill, and we never felt poor. Until after he died and mom got weird.

I wish he could have met Steopa. I think they would have gotten along.

Happy Father's Day.

Strange Sounds

Something woke me up.

Yes, we can wake up during the day. It not a sleep like you are used to. It's more like your body shuts down, but you are still aware of things around you. So if someone was to get into our lair, we would be on the attack before they had a chance to harm us. Those scenes in the movies where the vampire sleep and they can stake them, don't happen. Steopa assured me the ones he saw, the hunters needed a team to hold the vampire down.

Anyway. I was in my stupor. Steopa beside me. I heard this noise. Like clanging. At first I thought it was someone working in the maintenance room above us. Then I realize the sound is not coming from the parking garage, but behind the wall. I fully wake up. I moved Steopa's hand off my chest and sat up.

It happened again. The sound was muffled. And it wasn't really clanging. More like something being hammered with a mallet. Steopa woke up.

"What is it," he asked.

"Don't you hear that?"

There were no sounds for a long time. He shook his head. I laid down after a while. The stupor would come. It had sounded like the noise had come from below us.

What is the strangest noise you have heard in the night?

Sir Ogden Phelps

A private vampire that I met soon after changing is Ogden. He is a strange character, even for us.

He has a lot of money. He lives in the old rich part of the town. His mansion is the real deal, not those Mcmansions. Every time I go there, I feel like I am in England. He doesn't talk much. When he does, he sounds like a school teacher.

This is what I know. I know he had been in India. He has some antiques in his house that would make the guys from Antique Roadshow have heart attacks. Most of them were from when he served in the army as a doctor. He married a Hindu woman. I have seen the photo from their wedding. They looked happy.

I don't know how he ended up in Deerbow City. I have figured out that he had a home and lands in England, but why he left there and came here? I don't know. Steopa says he was one of the first vampires he met when he took over his territory. But Odgen left Steopa alone. They didn't cross paths again until I turned, and then Ogden has been in our lives since then.

He knows magic. I am not talking about "watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat" type. I mean real magic. The kind that you can only achieve in movies with special effects.

He has a bird too.

I think he could be really dangerous. I am glad he likes Steopa and me.

Should we be cautious around him?

How We Hunt

If you think we pick our prey out at random, you are wrong. Some humans think that vampires pick only criminals to feed off of, some think only certain types of women or men. That is all rubbish.

Steopa says were are predators. And like predators, we weed out the sick and weak. But we don't have to chase anyone across the veld to figure out who would be a good meal for the night.

The main thing to keep in mind is that we Do Not Need to Kill. We need a little blood. If we are in a situation were we will need a lot of blood, then we might kill. It's not a necessary step for feeding. But mistakes can be made. So when we hunt we look for the shroud.

The shroud is an aura that covers all humans. When a vampire looks at you, they see this slight color that surrounds your body. We look for the dark colors. If the shroud is black, that person wants to die. A person with a dark shroud is less likely to fight back and less likely to talk about their experience.

Some shrouds are pretty. Young children can be surrounded in rainbows. The saddest thing to see is a child with a black shroud. Steopa and me don't touch children. We both agree that there is no need to attack a child.

So if we find someone with the right color shroud. We will follow them until they are alone. Then feed off them quickly. The entire feeding takes a couple of minutes. When we are done, the person is usually in shock. Steopa and me take their money. When the shock wears off they convince themselves that they were mugged.

It actually as routine as eating. We don't think about it too much.

Do you think you would ever be chosen to for a meal?

Mundane Parts of a Vampire Life

There are times when a vampire's life is boring.

Don't believe me? We don't have to feed every night. We don't always fight. There are long stretches of nothing. So what do we do. Same thing you do.

There is housework. I can hear you laughing. But there is. Dust is horrible. Especially where Steopa and I live. Once a week we are dusting and scraping the wax off the tables. Although less wax now that I have run the electric to our place. And we can use a vacuum. Now you can laugh. Watching Steopa vacuum is worth a giggle.

We have to go to the laundry mats. Clothes get dirty. The movies and some of the books make it seem like we only wear one outfit, but that's not true. Steopa has two wardrobes full of clothes. I am getting a collection too. In fact I care more about how I look now, than when I was alive.

How do we pay for the laundry? We take the cash off our victims. I know that sounds horrible. But the main reason is, to make it look like a mugging. We don't have to kill. We can. But most of the time, we drink, knock the person out, and take their money. I sometimes take jewelry. Steopa thinks it's a stupid idea. But there are pawn shops that never ask where you get anything.

As you can see, I am on the computer. So that is something else I have to pay for. Thank goodness for prepaid credit cards and cell phones.

One thing I had to get use to was what happens when we sleep. Which is another reason we have to use the laundry mats. We don't go to the bathroom. And some of us (Steopa) like to drink and eat some human foods. We still have to get rid of the waste. It comes off in a powder that covers the skin. When we wake up, the dust gets all over the bedding. It's not really gross. But, once a week, we have to wash our bedding.

I have also learned to mend my clothes. Bullets hurt and they leave nasty holes in shirts.

So if there is no housework, or we aren't hunting. What do we do? Visit Teodor, go to late shows at theaters, hang out at the Rathskeller. But in the late night, early morning. There is nothing to do. That is when we go home. And currently, Steopa is teaching me Russian, which is an up hill battle.

What other mundane things do you think we have to do?

Stories of the Base

Deerbow has its own Area 51. Have you heard of it? The secret underground base that was set up after WWII? If you grew up in Deerbow, you heard of it. For those of you that haven't, a little background.

There are a lot of stories about the base. Here are some of the similar parts of the stories. It was built sometime after of just at the end of WWII. They built it underground because they did not want the public to wonder why a big base was going up in Deerbow. The part of town it was in (Konakove) had a major building boom at that time. A lot of buildings went up, but stayed empty. It is said that was to hide the building of the base.

No one really knows what they did there. On story is that it was a base that had scientist from Nazi Germany working there. With the amount of Germans that lived in Konakove at the time, it would be possible to hide them there. Another theory is that is was a place where they actually sent the saucers from Rosewell. That it is really Area 51.

Is there any proof of the base? Sometimes you will get a person that says they have documents or the like that support there was something going on there. Most of them end up being forged, or unusable. There are the stories, there are so many stories.

One of the ones that I always thought was possible was the mysterious explosion in 1967. A three block area of Konakove had been blow apart. The official explanation, gas line exploded. Only seven people died. Most of the buildings that were destroyed were empty, or closed for the day. That part of the city was rebuilt in a few years. There are some people that think the base had been destroyed that night. That something they were working one backfired. What were they working on? Everything from a fighter jet to UFOs; from atomic bombs to alien energy weapons.

I love stories like that, don't you?

Teodor

Yes, there are werewolves. No, we don't fight them. In fact, Steopa and I will be attending a wedding of two of them soon. We already seen the changing ceremony. The wedding is only for show.

Steopa's friend Teodor is a neat guy. He is the werewolf. He looks like he is in his mid twenties. From what I can figure is that he has to be at least 90 years old. Steopa and him don't talk much about how they met, but I know it happened during WWII. Somehow Teodor ended up in Russia. He is from Spain. One of these days, I have to find out how.

Personally, I like the werewolves. They have such a close family. Every time we go to his house, it's like how I remember family life before the hell started. The kids respect their dad. But all of them joke around. It's always a mad house. Two of his sons are in college. His daughter works two jobs. His other two sons work and plan to have their own business. Yet, when all of them get together, you can see how much they miss each other.

Steopa is like an uncle to the kids. They treat him like that. The night Nick handed Steopa a beer, was hilarious. Steopa chased him down the street. I hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

Sometime in the 80's Teodor's wife died. Steopa won't tell me about it and Teodor changes the subject. My friend Andi, who's marrying Chuck, one of Teodor's sons, told me that it was horrible. So I have not pushed.

Humans have the wrong idea about werewolves. Or maybe it's just Teodor's pack. But they don't hunt humans. He gets his meat the same place you do, the grocery store. His kids have dated humans. They do have to keep their eating habits a secret. Eating raw meat in front of people can gross people out.

Why do you think werewolves are painted as monsters?

This was a request.

{EAV_BLOG_VER:ae72168c9fa52158}

My writer, sounds so grand doesn't it, requested I quickly write this post.

She has had this question come up. Are their vampire clans?

Um, no.

I don't know who came up with the idea of clans, but I can tell you that most of the time vampires stick to themselves. You want to get us pissed, come in and claim you are a leader.
Steopa and I get looks because we are so close! I am still friends with Vincent, and Ogden, I'm still not sure about him. But the point is, we get along, but if we had to be around each other all the time. We would have it out.

It's like sticking two cats together that are used to being the top cat. They are going to fight, hiss, and attack each other. Then they will tolerate the other presence. That's the best way to describe vampires behaving around each other.

If us four had not made a promise to each other, we would be fighting. Sounds silly, but there you are.

Meet Baldman

One of my hobbies I enjoyed as a human, and still do.. Hacking. Yeah I like to break into servers and mess around with the data. I don't steal anything. I like to see if I can get to the information. And I have found out some stuff. You would think that when companies have stuff on secured servers they are hiding stuff. Actually most of it is benign stuff.

Anyway. One of the first hackers I met, that I can call a friend. I know him as Baldman. I know he has other aliases. But he is my go to guy if I get stuck. He would scare me, because I know he has gotten into a few places that I would never had tried. He knows about about a lot of things, unfortunately I think most of it is crap.

He's a conspiracy theory nut. He doesn't believe the stuff like the Earth is flat, or that we did not go to the moon. He does have some weird theories about who actually runs the planet. He thinks that most of the counties are not separate, that they are all part of a world government. He does get mad when someone tries to claim that 9/11 was a set up. So mad I think he was actually there.

I don't believe half of what he tells me, but it is fun to listen too. Although, I have to admit, some of the things he has shown me, and told me, that can be verified, are scary enough to make me wonder if he does know more than he lets on.

I will not tell him what happened to me. He doesn't need to know that I am a vampire. Can you imagine giving him proof that vampires exist, what he would do?

He is a good friend. He understood what was going on with me before I changed. When my medicine was held back in production, he found another source for me. He has connections. He won't talk about them, but I know he knows some powerful people.

Do you think he is a nut?

Vincent

I was lucky. I had a friend that helped me not freak out too much when I became a vampire. He is one. Vincent.

You've seen him. If you ever go to the Burgundy Rathskeller, you have seen him. The unofficial host of the club. Usually dressed in an outrageous costume. I think his favorite now is an undertaker outfit with a bright purple bow. He always has at least one woman on his arm. People are so convinced that he is playing the part of a vampyre, that he has smiled, with his fangs exposed and no one freaks out.

I did. But then I walked in on him feeding. Seeing a vampire feed is not what it looks like in the movies. It's not a kiss. When I was shoved into his private room and he had his fangs in that woman's neck. There was no doubt what he was doing. He raised his hand. At the time I thought I was going to be killed. He told me later, he was motioning me to stop and wait. Minutes later he found where I had ran to and talked to me.

I had liked Vincent before. I have to admit now, I had a little crush on him. Whenever I had a bad night, he would be there to pick my spirits up. And he's cute too. But when I found out the truth I was freaked. Back then, I freaked out about a lot of things.

So I did know a vampire before I became one. After Steopa bit me, Vincent was there. He stayed by my side and helped me through a couple of things. Not because I was under his care. You know, that stupid idea that some humans have that there are vampire covens. He did it because we were friends. We still are.

One thing we share, is that he can talk to me via my mind. The weird thing was when I was human, he would try to straighten my head out and I would push him away. No human ever had done that before. When I was bleeding from Steopa's bite. He calmed me down, talking to me in my mind. Since then, if we need to get a hold of each other. We can.

Not every vampire has the same gifts. I can't rearrange someones memories, like he can. But then he can't do what I can. Apparently, not many vampires can. His new gift is cool too. I have to admit I am a bit jealous.

How would you like to find out your friend is a vampire?

Where We Live

You would think that because I am a vampire, I sleep in a coffin. I don't. Actually I never was buried. Legally, I am still alive.

Steopa lives in an underground vault. I think it's a bank vault. Above us is a parking garage. So I think there had been a bank here at one time, and it got demolished, but they forgot about the vault.

Its perfect for us. Its underground. We can lock it from the inside. There is no way sunlight can find us. And the urban spelunkers that explore the tunnels (if they find them) can't enter our place.

We have two rooms, both of them are vaults. One room Steopa has made into a living room. Books, chairs, candles and now my computer stuff fill the room. His swords hang from every wall. It is actually a nice room. If it wasn't for the steel walls, it would feel like a fancy sitting room.

The other is our bedroom. We have an actual bed. I don't know how Steopa got the large four poster oak bed into the vault. The thing is massive. Of course it had to be big enough for him. He has lined the walls with standing wardrobes.

Its a nice place. There are times we do not go out. And our place is comfortable to rest in.

If you were a vampire, would you want to sleep in a coffin?

Introduction

I can't believe that people want to have me post things on line. So here I am.

My name is Rebecka Saberhagen. Some might know my handle SaberDragon. I can't say much more. That sounds so bad. But I don't know how to describe what is goes on in my life.

I live with my... How do I explain Steopa? Boyfriend? No. Lover? Impossible. Friend? Yes, but deeper than that. He calls it linked. I think that is the best way to say it. We are linked. Which means we are always in each other thoughts. Not like we are always thinking of each other. I mean we can always sense where the other is.

Steopa is wonderful and I know people look at us odd. I don't blame them. I'm cubby. Not short, but anyone standing next to Steopa will look short. He is 7 feet tall. So if you see a really big guy walking with a chubby, curly haired girl, you might have seen us. I know we are an odd couple, but I don't care.

I have a brother. He owns a tattoo shop and some of the time, he DJ's at a club called Burgunday Rathskeller. That club down at the old warehouse district. His girlfriend, Lorelei, bartends there. I used to work there too, but after meeting Steopa. I don't need to.

And I am a vampire.

Do you think you will come back and read more?