October 20, 1419 – Beijing

   The chill of the floor is comforting as I let the rigid stone soothe my aching muscles. I close my eyes and listen to him pace along the wall, allowing my brief reprieve. The physical assault my body as endured over the past six hours is more than a human could bare but it is imperative to training oneself to outlast and outsmart another vampire during combat.
   Marcella watches me sternly. Her displeasure with, in her eyes, my flagrant display of weakness and ineptitude radiates from her severely. Her anger with my inadequacy brushes against me in a most abrasive way, urging me to my feet. Pulling my protesting body from the cool floor, I stand; not because I believe I could do better but because I know that I must continue to improve. It is not possible for me to win today, only a fool would hold on to that false hope. No, I will fall again today, and I will fail tomorrow; however tomorrow I will be better than I am today. Tomorrow, I will not fall so easily.

November 17, 1520 – Athens

  There is a wolf in the hen house. I do not mean that figuratively, but quite literal. A werewolf and his son tend to a repair in their chicken enclosure, unaware of the creature watching them from the edge of this dirt road. The father looks at me curiously. It is unusual for someone to be lurking around in this place, at this hour. Staring, he knows something else is different about me but is unable to discern what that something is. Not all werewolves believe we exist. Not all have met us in the dark of night. Some are naïve to the distain they should feel for vampires.
  Despite his unease, the father smiles at me and asks if I need shelter for the night. There it is. An invitation. My chance to enter his home and silence every beating heart. It would be easy to follow him inside and let his beast meet mine. And I would win. However, it is better to let him live and keep his entire pack from the knowledge of vampires altogether. So, I smile, and I lie smoothly about my destination and intentions, and I continue on into the murky night. I will have to find another to die in his place. But that really will not take too long. After all, there are so many others in this world that are deserving of such a violent death.

April 17, 1999 – Whitefish

   Colors flicker across her skin delicately, reflecting the ever-changing scene that dances on the screen. The darkness of the theater only helps to highlight the brilliance of the copper flecks that gleam in her eyes and, like a spot light designed just for me, the light cast from the screen is only enough for a vampire to see the way it shimmers across her face.
   Everyone is watching the screen, including her. This is why everyone is here. This moment; the climax; the anticipation. Their hearts beat quicker. With widened eyes, they watch as the either the antagonist or protagonist will meet their end. But I watch her. With one hand lingering in the bowl of popcorn, still frozen in place from when the movie pulled her from this reality, she stares with locked eyes. The suspense intensifies and her other hand takes mine. Her touch is firm, yet still tender as she seeks me in the dark. Watching her makes me smile softly. This is where I want to be always. Beside her, watching her illuminate the darkness that will always surround me.

August 1, 1482 – Berlin

I am not sure why I came here tonight. What I thought I might be able to find. But this is not the world I belong in. These are not my people. These creatures are no more than animals that have been blinded by their own ferocity. The life of a nomad has an inescapable allure to it, such freedom. No rules, no restrictions, just greedy pleasures. However, creatures like us need limitations to keep us from swirling down a rabbit hole of monstrosity that would surely take over our entire being. What good is freedom if what remains of you is simply a hostile husk of who you were?
     There must always be lines that one is not willing cross. And there were lines crossed tonight. The fear that is reserved for consuming blood should never be for taking someone’s body. But they did. And I saw her, that little scared human. I saw her, not just her eyes, full of pain and begging for my help, but her. She was seeking relief from me, a predator, because the monster holding her down was so much worse. But I had nothing to offer. There were far too many nomads and her life was already over.
     Her last moments were a torture she did not deserve and I could do was wait for my opportunity. Wait for the sun to lock them inside. Waiting, my ears were audience to the horrors happening in that house, until the sun was moments away from cresting the ridge and spilling into this valley. Then I lit that house on fire, knowing one way or another, every vampire inside would be ash by nightfall. I cannot make it home with the sun shining so brilliantly, so I hide under this canoe on the edge of the yard. It shields me from the sun but not from the smell or their screams.

July 18, 1415 – Budapest

The water is cooler than I expected but that is helpful. It distracts me from the fire raging inside. I swim slowly, watching the way the moonlight ripples over the waves my body makes as it pushes through the water. I had come here for seclusion so when a red-haired woman approaches with a wide smile, I am less than thrilled.
    She asks if I would like company in the water and on a typical night, I might have. But this is not a normal night. Tonight, I will come one night closer to gaining my freedom from all of Marcella’s supervision. I tell the lady the partial truth; that I do not want her in the water; that I am, in fact, avoiding people like her. I do not tell her that it is because I made a deal with my mother that I would not bite anyone for an entire month to prove that I am capable of such control, or that I am two days away from completion which is too close for a tart like her to ruin all my progress. Offended by my brashness, she leaves me alone to swim in peace, never realizing how close she came to a real-life boogeyman. As the clacking of her shoes disappears into the night, I continue paddling about letting the water comfort me once more and reminding my burning throat, it is only two more days.