Dominium Tenebrarum — Vampires — Halloween Prompt — Fiction Series
Portals of Death — Chapter 2
…And They Entertained Visitors That Night…
Goosebumps galore.
I am in the Dojo of William Parker Parnell, or “Faung” (pronounced fah-ng). Tongue in cheek name for one of the greatest martial artists on the planet, and one of my teachers, who happens to be… a wolf.
I must admit, I never knew werewolves were real. There’s a lot I’m learning is a myth or real since my transformation into the world of protectors, vampires, and wolves. Charles is fine btw, still recruiting. And I, as you know, am Brian Marteen. You can read about my becoming recently recruited and turned vampire here.
It’s been 3 months since my new life began. I am dating a woman who I met when I was referred to her department. See, the dream I had didn’t stop when my transformation finished. Because of this, I was sent to the office of Dr. Darla Warnall, a psychiatrist, a dream specialist, and a wolf. I was the patient of one of her colleagues.
It turned out, the endocrine glands in my brain were in a constant “on” position. Pumping out hormones endlessly and causing the dream to be extremely realistic and progressive. I was processing the effects of the transformation in a way that wolves do. Apparently, I am part wolf. Barely 3% wolf, but enough to wreak havoc with my body and warrant a second transformation.
Faung enters the Dojo and bows to us. He takes his position at the front of the room. Sitting on his meditation cushion in full lotus, he then motions to us to join him, his mood is sobering.
“Today, I am here to talk about history. The history of this organization and how we came to be here. I am taking this sojourn from our normal routine in order to shed light on the events of the last few weeks and to impress upon all of you the importance of why we are here and why you were chosen.
“Several thousand years ago, some visitors came to this planet by way of a portal. They were chasing a being that comes from a planet far from here. This being was a Grogun. A huge humanoid lizard that feeds on humans. Don’t let my description fool you. The Grogun possesses superior intelligence, and they can appear as a human. The only way to tell them apart is their smell. Humans can’t smell them, and they are not strong enough to fight them off.
“There aren’t enough wolves to protect all of the humans. A pandemic destroyed most of our population a thousand years before the Grogun and visitors came. This virus had no effect on the human population. Humans have since forgotten wolves exist. There are only about 350,000 wolves left.
“Now, as for the visitors… These beings were different than any we had met before. They looked and smelled like humans but they had abilities humans do not. Unbelievable strength and speed, only matched by our own. Superior intelligence or better. Agility of mind and body, and psychic gifts, unmatched by any. A propensity to heal by thought or by touch and, unlike you, they are borne. Their capabilities are transferred to you through their bite.
“The portal they came through, they manufactured. Using their mental and psychic abilities combined, they are able to manipulate the boundaries of space and time to create a rift, enabling them to travel across the Universe. On this day, they were chasing the Grogun.
“The Grogun use their hunting senses and their ability to teleport to hunt humans. They travel from planet to planet, wiping out entire civilizations.
“The visitors found the Grogun, but not before he had transmitted his position to his people. After killing the Grogun, the visitors stayed in order to teach us how to protect the humans from the Grogun and to create you.
“Once there were enough vampires to protect the humans here, they left. As more Grogun came we needed to create more and more vampires. We now have enough protectors that most continents have a significant presence of them.
“However, the Grogun have started coming in larger groups. Some of them protect the group, while those within the group kidnap humans to feed on or take someplace else through teleportation.
“This is why we search for the abilities and skills you all possess and why we have you recruiting more.
“Now, the events of the last few weeks.”
Three weeks earlier, 2 a.m.
I’m barely awake but I notice the camping grounds sign as we drive by.
Timberboro Camp Grounds — Vacancy
I am Marsha Celeste Gravens, my brother Doug is driving. The others are sound asleep in the back.
Every three years, we take a 3 week long, friends and family trip to Timberboro.
The last time we were here, I almost drowned. The time before my brother and cousin climbed a tree. The limb they were standing on broke, and they both almost fell over a cliff edge after hitting the ground. Not every year ends in catastrophe…
We get to our cabins, settle in, and get some sleep. Our itinerary for this trip? Hiking and camping along the Trader’s Trail Line. A line of trails that the fur traders used to use. We’ll have to sleep in tents. I don’t understand why we can’t just stay in the cabins we’ve rented, but I was outvoted.
“Several attacks occurred at the main camping grounds of Timberboro and along several of the more remote trails, Faung continued.
“These attacks resulted in the deaths of 5 humans, 3 vampires, and 4 wolves. All Grogun have survived. They have come with numbers and weapons this time. We need people who can anticipate and pre-empt these raids and still protect the humans and each other.
“This is why all of you have been chosen. And why, you have been out in the field recruiting, even though you haven’t finished your training.”
Man, can it get any hotter today? Stumbling along the trail her brother chose while trying to look like she’s enjoying herself, Marsha notices the scent of ozone.
“Hey, did anyone check the weather?”, Marsha asks.
“Yeah, why?”, Doug responds.
“I smell ozone.”
“So.”
Marsha sighs, “Ok, just sayin’.”
“The weather’s fine.”
Fine. Meanwhile, the blister on the back of my ankle just turned into a gaping hole. Great. I wonder if anyone will mind stopping so I can fix it, muses Marsha.
“Here are the things we know:
- The Grogun are coming in groups of 20 or more.
- The humans they are attacking are isolated.
- Their weapons are primed when they appear in anticipation.
- There is the smell of ozone just before materializing.
It is imperative that we gain the upper hand on this. We cannot afford to lose anyone else, human or otherwise. That’s why I need ALL of you to take your recruiting seriously. Find someone and bring them back so we can start their training.”
Doug finished bandaging my ankle and another quick check to see if my wound was bandaged and padded properly, “There, how’s that? You can put your sock back on if you’re alright.”
“Thanks for this.”
“It’s no problem.”
I help Doug clean up the bandage wrappings and put them into the Can’t Recycle bag. Then we race to catch up to the others.
“How is your ankle? We have about another hour before we hit our checkpoint. Are you going to be ok until then?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“That’s good. Do you smell ozone?”
To be continued…
This is a response to Binky Ink’s Discovery Channel story prompt in Dominium Tenebrarum’s Halloween Challenge of the Underworld.
Thank you for spending time with me in my world
© 2023 Delaney Patterson