The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

A story I am working on, tweaking the first chapter here and there, so bare with me.



"Upon the Pyre" By Brandon "Tyamet" Shaw



Chapter One (Work In Progress): Part One -



"Here son, take this blade, use it if you are ever in a pinch! Be careful! I love you, Henry!" Philip Gartner, the boys father says, as he runs off in the opposite direction with the other four members of the family. Henry nods with courage, and darts into the heavy, clouded fog. After what seemed like forever, the boy trips, rolling out of the fog, to a boatyard with a few fishing shacks and three docks. All of which are empty, except for one building with a fire going and a rusty old man, hunched over the dock, wrestling with a net. On the other side of the dock where the man is, is a boat, massive in size but in bad condition, however it's a boat nonetheless. Henry takes a few steps onto the slippery, wet dock, catching his balance and approaches the old man.

"Sir, I need a ride and quickly, how much will it cost?" Henry says with a frantic, scared look on his face. "You don't look a day o'er twelve! How old are ya, son?" The disgruntled Docksman replied. "Sir, please, if it makes any difference, I am seventeen, 'bout to be eighteen. Now again, please, can my family of six get a ride to the coast? We need out of here and quickly!" He replies. "What do you mean... Six? There is only one of you..."

In the distance, a sweeter, more loving voice arose from the clouded air. "Vali, what's going on here? Who's this?" The soft-spoken woman, with a rough exterior said to the Docksman. "I haven't a clue. He came to me asking for a ride down the river, and that it was urgent..." Vali confusingly replies to the kind woman. "Well then, what's the matter, get him on the boat already, you slug!" "But, love, I can't just let him on for free, plus, he's done said that there's five others wit' him!"

Through the silence to follow, as the two pondered, lit arrows pierce the air. Imagine for a moment, what it would look like if an army had all shot arrows from a castle wall into a crowd. Hundreds of small wooden sticks flying through the air to only hit a handful of people. Like hot knives through butter, the arrows flew. In the midst of thinking, an arrow hits Vali straight in the eye, striking him down with just a single gasp of air before he collapsed. "VALI-" Angela, the Docksmans wife cries out! "No! Come back! It's going to be okay!" She cries. Just like Vali, she is struck with an arrow through the back of her head, the arrowhead peaking out of her mouth. She too, collapses, without a single second to spare.

Henry frantically looks around for a place to hide. He makes a dive for a few barrels that lay strewn about on the dock, where ropes, metal hooks, and clamps be put. He starts to have a panic attack, gasping, shaking as more arrows fly above him, and into the barrels he lay behind.

"O'er here, men! Get him! He can't be to far! I watched him go behind the barrels! GET HIM!" A General hollers at the Army of hundreds of men of both bow and gunmen, chasing this poor boy and his family. "What do I do? Why us? Oh god... Okay, think Henry, think!" Henry thinks to himself, then soon remembering his father had given him a knife, with a blade as long as his forearm, before running off in a different direction as he. He strikes the boards of the dock below him, and slips through the opening, diving straight into the cold, murky water.

"He's right there!" The General yells and points at the barrels. "Danny, go get him and bring him here!" Gen. Isaac Costache, yells! Daniel, the slim, lanky Soldier as he is, nods and trots over to the barrels and looks. "S-s-sir! He's not here, sir!" Daniel replies, tripping over his words. "YOU IMBECILE! YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!" General Isaac yells angrily. He pulls out his pistol from his side, shooting the Soldier twice. He shot him once in the heart, and the other above his mouth, just below his nose. The Soldier falls. "Now go find that boy and his family, or y'all'll be next!" Gen. Isaac yells.

Running out of breath, Henry peaks his head out of the water, leering at his surroundings. Noticing that he is far enough into the fog to mask him, he swims over to the side of the river and onto a bank. Henry shakes his head, and vigorously runs his hands through his hair to berid the excess water. "Man, that was a close one. I wonder how far down the river I swam. I need to meet up with my family somehow. But the closest town, Vagridaud, is nearly 25 miles away." Henry thinks to himself.