My Darkest Hour Pt. 02

He went to the sink and tried to drink water from the faucet to quench it in vain. He gripped the sink, and breathed slowly in and out. He was trembling from the sudden surge in bloodlust, and could barely contain himself. Finally, as he focused on nothing but breathing he slowly calmed down until he had the monster contained.

He breathed a sigh of relief and frustration. He was relieved that he hadn't exposed himself but knew that if he was any weaker to the bloodlust that he would not have been able to control himself. He would need to consume blood sooner than he realized to keep the thirst at bay.

A man opened the bathroom door, looking at Michael. He then went to the urinal and relieved himself.

Michael closed his eyes and focused on calming himself again. He didn't know what the hell triggered his thirst so quickly and violently. He was frightened to return to Taylor, and didn't know if he could contain himself the next time it happened. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, or anybody else.

Michael heard the urinal flush but made no attempt to look up. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting in his neck, right in his artery. He recoiled from the pain and tried to fight back against his assailant. He turned around to see the man who relieved himself holding a huge syringe grinning menacingly. He tried to swing at the man, but his body was shutting down from some sort of tranquilizer.

Michael fell on his knees, his vision turning dark. He tried to call out for help but his mouth wouldn't function. He tried to crawl towards the bathroom door in vain, as the man pulled him back by his legs. Michael screamed in terror internally before all of his senses went dark and the void of nothingness swallowed him.

CHAPTER FIVE

Maggie awoke to confusion, her vampiric senses already telling her that something was off- Michael was not home. She could not hear his heartbeat nor smell a fresh scent. She got out of bed, and threw on a robe. She looked at her phone, and saw no new messages or calls from him, as well as noticed the time- it was after ten 0'clock. The sun had been down for over an hour and he was nowhere to be found. She tried to call him but it went straight to voicemail.

It wasn't entirely out of the norm, as he sometimes left the house to go do things while she was sleeping. She left her room, and went into the kitchen. Her eyes focused on the fridge, and saw a note on the notepad. She darted over to it and read it.

"Went to go to Denny's for lunch, I should be back before three. I love you." The note read.

Maggie's eyebrows creased in worry. It was well after ten at night, and he was in town unsupervised. If he smelled a drop of blood he could lose control and hurt someone. Maggie darted back into the bedroom and threw some clothes on, then headed outside. Luckily, no one was around and she could dart safely to the diner far faster than any vehicle. She never grew tired of the impossibly fast speeds, and felt completely free at night. She could hear every heartbeat for several blocks, as well as hear every voice spoken for half a mile. She could also smell every scent possible.

As Maggie approached the restaurant, she was shocked to find her car was still in the driveway. She hoped that Michael was somehow inside, and quickly walked in. She scanned the lobby but did not find Michael. She walked to the bar, and could not see him nor could smell his scent. The only place that she could smell his scent was by one of the window seats, as well as the men's bathroom. Maggie walked over to the cashier and pulled up a picture of her and Michael.

"Have you seen this man?" Maggie asked.

The waitress nodded. "Yes, I served him earlier. How do you know him?" The waitress asked.

Maggie sighed. "He's my boyfriend. He didn't come home and I was wondering why he's gone and my car is still here." She replied.

The waitress looked nervous. "I don't know where he's at, but I know you should probably have a talk with him when you find him. I've never seen someone so drunk that they had to be carried out by friends. I'm pretty sure he's cheating on you too." The waitress informed her.

Maggie was in disbelief. The amount of alcohol and rate at which it took to get a half vampire drunk was so massive that they would never give it to him without compulsion. There was also no way that he would cheat on her, not after what he had been through and how devoted he was. "Can I look at your cameras to see who he was with?" Maggie asked.

The manager shook her head. "It's not my place to say. Only my manager can tell you yes or no." The waitress replied.

Maggie was growing frustrated. "Can you get them please?" She asked.

The waitress nodded, then went back into the kitchen. A couple of minutes later she returned with a very official looking man with an intimidating gaze. Intimidating to anybody but her.

"Can I see your cameras from noon to three?" Maggie asked in an innocent tone.

The manager shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't show you security camera footage unless the police ask for it." The manager replied.

Maggie looked at the waitress. "Can you give us a moment?" She asked.

The waitress nodded, and went to assist customers.

Maggie turned her gaze to the manager. She stared into his soul. "You will show me that security camera footage from twelve to three and be okay with it." She commanded, compelling him.

The manager's attitude changed into a smile. "Right this way ma'am!" He told her in a cheery voice. He led Maggie into the kitchen and through a door that read 'Manager's Office'. He went over to his computer desk and turned on the monitor, and brought up the closed circuit camera footage. He rewound it to twelve and played the footage.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Michael walked into the restaurant, and was escorted to the seat that she smelled his scent near. He just looked at a menu until someone she didn't expect to see appeared on the footage- the woman he let go the night before. Something was off about the way she entered the diner. She was looking around, and was peeking around the corner and spying on Michael. Finally, she walked up to him and sat down with him.

After a few minutes of chatting, Michael looked at his phone. However, when he looked at his phone she reached down into her purse. A split second later, Michael grabbed his throat and ran for the bathroom.Thirty seconds later a man approached the woman that Michael had sat with. After a brief conversation, the woman pointed at the bathroom. The man then walked into the bathroom where Michael was still located.

To Maggie's horror, the man opened the bathroom door while carrying Michael over his shoulder. The woman approached him, and assisted him in taking Michael. They picked up his phone and keys, and left the diner.

Maggie was in full blown panic mode now. There was no way in hell all of these things happened by coincidence. "I need to see the parking lot, before and after." Maggie told the manager.

"You got it." The manager replied, then switched to the parking lot cameras and rewound the time.

Maggie saw Michael's car pull up, then saw a white van pull up immediately after him. The same woman who Michael met last night got out of the vehicle, and approached the diner, peeking inside through the window at Michael. She fast forwarded to when the guy approached the restaurant and saw the other man get out of the van.

"He was followed." Maggie whispered under her breath.

The manager fast forwarded to the moment that Michael left the diner, and indeed the mysterious woman as well as the man got into the van, and drove off. The film was too grainy to get a license plate or anything.

Maggie groaned in frustration and slammed her fist on the desk. She looked at the manager. "You will erase everything on those tapes, and you will forget both me and everything you saw on those tapes." Maggie commanded, compelling him.

The man nodded, then got to work on erasing everything.

Maggie exited the manager's office, and entered the main lobby, and located the waitress. "You will forget everything that you saw here today. Today was a normal, uneventful work day for you. Nothing was out of the ordinary." Maggie told the waitress.

When the waitress nodded, Maggie stormed out of the restaurant and went to her car. She retrieved the spare key under the bumper and entered the driver's seat. She let out a blood curdling animalistic scream, and fumed. No doubt her eyes were glowing bright red. The anger turned to frustration, and frustration turned into panic. Michael had been kidnapped, and she had no clue whether he was alive or dead.

CHAPTER SIX

Michael awoke to the feeling of something over his head. The air was frigid cold, and he could feel the wind. He could hear the sounds of distant cars on the road, but had no idea where the road was. He tried to move his hand to remove the cloth obstructing his head, but found that his hands were bound. He was being suspended in the air by his hands, and his feet were also bound.

"Is anyone there? Help!" Michael shouted. His head was pounding from whatever he had been drugged with.

All of a sudden he heard a sinister laugh. "Go ahead and scream. No one canl hear you." A mysterious voice told him, taunting him.

Michael froze in fear. He began to hyperventilate, afraid of what his captor might do. Suddenly, he felt agonizing pain as he was hit in the stomach by a large metal object. Pain shot through his body as he screamed in pain.

"I thought that vampires were supposed to heal from wounds? That sure looked like it hurt!." The voice mocked him.

Michael shook his head, shocked that he knew what he was. "I don't know what you're talking about! Please, let me go and I won't tell anyone about this!" Michael pleaded.

"Don't fucking lie to me, leech!" The man told him angrily, then hit him again with a bat, this time on his arm. He hit him harder than he intended to, as he broke his arm.

Michael screamed in pain and tried to free his good hand to defend himself. He could feel his bone pushing through the skin, as the blood dripped down his arm. "Stop, please!" He pleaded with the man. A stabbing pain shot through his body from his broken arm.

The man then removed Michael's bag over his head, revealing where he was and what had happened.

Michael was in an abandoned construction site, somewhere out of town. He could see the distant view of cars driving on the road in the distance. He was in a gutted or never finished building, only the pillars were built although there was severe water damage as well as weathered concrete. The area did not look familiar, and he had no clue if he was still in Salem or if he was transported somewhere. The wind was cold and unforgiving, and the air cut right through his bare torso. There was also a video camera connected to a laptop pointed directly at him.

The man produced a glass vial and approached Michael. He held the glass vial to his bleeding arm and collected some of his blood and set it next to an empty vial on the table with the laptop. He then walked back to Michael, causing him to recoil in fear.

"What are you going to do with me?" Michael asked. He was terrified, and in severe pain. He examined the chains that bound him. There was no way he could break out of them.

The man ignored him and instead turned around to face the camera. He wore a hand painted mask, so Michael could not see who he was. He was wearing the same clothes as the man who kidnapped him, but he wasn't completely certain that it was the same person.

"After months of searching, we have finally located and captured a vampire. We believe that there are at least two different species. This one appears to be immune to sunlight damage, but does not heal as fast as the vampires of legends. We believe this one is a half vampire, as it exhibits some of the traits of vampirism but not all. Observe as both it and its blood reacts to human blood." The unknown assailant told the camera.

He walked over to the table and collected the vial of Michael's blood and brought it over to the camera. He then held his hand just out of reach of Michael's lunging range and cut his finger open to taunt him. He then dripped it into the vial, causing Michael's blood to turn completely black.

Michael let loose a tortured primal scream. His throat felt like it was on fire and was dying to rip into the man's flesh and drink his blood. On top of that, his body involuntarily tried to break free from the chains, injuring his arm even further. He cried out in agony, but his assailant just laughed as he watched. "Why are you doing this to me?" Michael asked.

The man turned to Michael and punched him in the face. "To see you suffer. Now, shut the fuck up!" He shouted. The man then picked up the baseball bat with his free hand and hit him in the stomach again. He then drew the bat again and prepared to hit Michael again.

"That is enough Gavin! You have your evidence." A familiar voice snapped.

Michael turned to look and see who spoke, but couldn't name the voice.

The man named Gavin then glared at Michael, spat on him then walked back to the camera and turned it off. He then walked out of sight.

Michael heard footsteps in heels behind him. When the person appeared in view he was shocked to see who it was.

Taylor walked in front of him and studied him.

Michael breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. "Are you okay? Did you get kidnapped too?" Michael asked.

Taylor studied him intensely, and pursed her lips. "Yes, I am okay. No, I didn't get kidnapped. I brought him to you." She responded.

Michael was confused. "What do you mean you brought him to me?" He asked.

Taylor shook her head. "You don't get it. I helped him kidnap you." Taylor replied.

Michael was shocked. "Why would you do that? I never did anything to hurt you!" Michael asked.

Taylor was conflicted. She was so sure that Michael was a heartless killer, but even though she knew he was a vampire he had expressed emotions just like any human. She had been told that vampires were apathetic and emotionless killers, but Michael was none of those things. Seeing him terrified and broken made her pity him.

Taylor sighed. "I am part of a secret organization that was recently formed to try to expose the existence of supernatural creatures to the world. Soon, the whole world will know that vampires exist, and we have a suspicion that they are not the only mythological creatures that walk this earth. Soon, there will not be a single place on Earth for the supernatural to hide." She responded.

Michael was at a loss for words. She had befriended him only to use and torture him, then expose his dark secret to the world. He was reminded that before that, he had almost killed her but couldn't go through with it. "Why would you do that? What have I done to you? I have been nothing but nice to you!" Michael asked, cut deep by her betrayal. He felt like he had been stabbed in the gut.

"You were going to kill me! How can you question what you have done to me?" Taylor accused him angrily.

Michael shook his head. Her accusations were technically true, but were also not at the same time. "You're wrong!" Michael argued, wincing in pain. The blood was trailing down his side, as the stabbing pain continued to shoot through his body.

Taylor didn't believe him, but wanted to hear whatever bullshit answer he would give to defend himself. It would make it easier to hate him. "How am I wrong?" Taylor asked.

Michael hesitated, conflicted with whether he should tell the truth. He sighed and tried to make direct eye contact with her, which was difficult with how woozy he felt from the blood loss.

"It is true that my original intention was to feed. However, I am a new vampire, and have not consumed a single drop of blood since I have been turned. I have always come to the bar with the intention to find someone to feed on, but have always denied my bloodthirst. I don't want to kill, and I certainly don't want to harm others. The vampire that turned me- my girlfriend told me that I would need blood soon, or I could snap and do something I would regret. She told me to seduce someone if I had to, that's where I met you." Michael confessed. He winced in pain again.

Taylor was shocked. She had already suspected that there was at least another vampire, because Michael was only a half blood. What she didn't expect was for them to be in a relationship together. She felt angry, because he had told her that he had been cheated on, yet he was in a committed relationship and had tried to seduce her. "Is that all I was to you? Some piece of ass and a meal?" She shouted angrily.

Michael shook his head. "No, you weren't. I wanted to leave the bar, but the other vampire told me to seduce you. I never wanted to. When I heard your story, it reminded me of what happened to me before I turned. I let you go because there was no way I could do that to you, not after what you had been through." Michael replied.

Taylor was shocked at what he had said, but wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. In the end, it didn't matter. She couldn't give him the same mercy that he gave her. She had thought that he had been lying to her about his backstory, but seeing the pain on his face and hearing it in his voice made her think that he was telling the truth.

Taylor once again pursed her lips and studied Michael's broken body. His ribs were badly bruised from the bat that Gavin had hit him with, and a bone in his right forearm was clearly broken in two, the bone was even jutting out of the skin in a sickening fashion. The more she looked at him, the harder it was to justify what they were doing.

"Thank you for telling me the truth. For what it's worth, I am sorry that it has to be this way." Taylor responded. She placed the hood back over Michael's head and gave him another tranquilizer shot. She held his cheek in her hand longer than what was necessary, and slowly pulled away as he lost consciousness.

Taylor sighed, her thoughts full of regret. She pulled out her phone, and began to make a call. He had told her about the other vampire, so it needed to be dealt with.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Maggie was in full blown panic mode. The time was now past 4:00 in the morning. She had about two good hours to find Michael until sunrise. She had tried to track his scent but it was useless. He had been gone for too long, and she couldn't get his captor's scent. Even vampiric powers had their limits.

She had next to no idea how she would find him, and questioned whether he was even alive or not. She wondered why they would even take him, as she had taught him how to hide his condition well. They wouldn't have gone through all that effort of capturing him alive for no reason. She also knew that whatever they had used on him, it had to either be incredibly powerful,or Michael was weakened enough from the blood starvation that his healing factor was suppressed.

If that was the case, then she shuddered to think of what they were doing to him.

Maggie decided she would go home and try to find any clues of where he would have gone. As she drove home she was restless, and fidgeting with the knobs on the console to try and distract herself. Unfortunately it wasn't working. When she pulled into the driveway, she rushed into the house to try and find any clue as to where he could have gone.

She started in the living room. She managed to get the woman's scent, but knew it was of no use to her. Once someone got into a vehicle they were next to impossible to track by scent alone. She searched the couch cushions to see if the woman had dropped anything, but no luck. Frustrated, she then moved to the kitchen to see if there was anything else that Michael had left for a clue. Once again, no such luck.