"Now that I'm a vampire, what can I do? Is it similar to what the movies show?" I ask. Jenny laughs and shakes her head.

"Unfortunately not, Kamen. It's not that simple; you may be a vampire, but realistically, you're a baby vampire. "You haven't entered the realm of a full-fledged vampire, and no, it's nothing like the movies."

"In order to become a full vampire, you'll need to feed more and train your body; if not, then you won't last long in our world." Alistair explains.

 

"What's the training like, and how long will it take? Will I take the traditional route and train like a ninja, a warrior, or what?" I ask.

"You have to learn the basic martial arts: endurance training, mental training, weapon training, and lastly, ability training." While lighting a cigarette, Alistair says this.

"Ability? I didn't believe that we had abilities; I thought being a vampire was exactly how it sounded. What are the abilities?" I asked curiously.

"All vampires have abilities; you just have to train to obtain them; they're locked dormant inside you; it just depends on your soul and your bloodline what ability you get; not that you won't be able to achieve different abilities; but that's for a different time. For now, you need to come outside and get in the car with us." Jenny says she is walking out of the room and leaving the house.

 

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked, following her to the car.

Alistair looks back at me in the rear-view mirror. "We're taking you to a place where you can start your training immediately." I hope you're ready." Alistair says it with a wicked smile.

 

"Ignore him, Kamen; I have to tell you, the training will be harsh; it's different than you think; with this training, we will test the limits of your body, mind, and soul." Jenny explains as we drive down another back road until we reach a strange-looking building.

 

"Is this where I'm going to train?" I am amazed by the size of this building.

"No, not exactly; we have to go through a portal to our training center." Alistair says this, still grinning.

"Dude, why are you staring at me like you want to fuck me?" I asked, looking at Alistair.

"You'll find out in due time, Kamen." He says it very ominously.

We get inside the building and head for the room that they say houses the portal. We get into the room, and shock and awe wash over my face as I look at the big red gate with Greek and Norse written all over its pillars. "What the fuck is that, and how did it fit into this house?"

 

"We know different types of people; some of them are skilled at creating things; this is the creation of one of our great friends." You'll meet them sometime in the future." Jenny says this as she walks towards the gate with a smile.

 

"Since this is your first time seeing something like this, you can go first." Jenny says it with a smile. I shake my head back and forth. "I'm not going through that first; fuck that."

 

Suddenly, I feel a foot plant itself against my back and kick me into the portal. "Fuck you, Alistair!" is the only thing I manage to say as I fly through the portal.

 

Jenny looks at Alistair. "Did you really have to kick him into there?"

"No, but it was funny," Alistair says before walking through the gate.

Sigh "I have a bad feeling about this." Jenny says this to herself as she rubs the back of her head.

On the other side, I fly out of the portal and land hard on my ass. "Damn him. I'm going to kick his ass when I get the chance," I mumble as I get up, rubbing my sore ass.

 

Alistair appears out of the portal, and Jenny follows him.

"So, what do you think, Kamen?" Alistair says, motioning around him towards the room. I look around the room, taking in the sights and sounds. It's a vast space, easily the size of a small warehouse. The sandstone and granite walls, reminiscent of a medieval castle, contrast with the shiny black marble floor. Weapons are scattered on the walls, as well as posters displaying various martial arts forms. A large circle with symbols I don't recognize marks the floor in the center of the room.

 

"It's... impressive," I say, still looking at everything and attempting to take everything in all at once. It's truly overwhelming; the sheer size is mind-boggling.

 

"This is where you'll be training," Jenny says softly, standing beside me. "It won't be easy, but we'll be here for you every step of the way."

 

"Thanks, I guess." I say it reluctantly.

"Now," Alistair says, clapping his hands together. "Let's get started. Who do you want to train against first?"

 

"Oh my God, I didn't even consider that; I assumed we would have begun by performing pushups, crunches, or even striking a wooden post, as depicted in anime." I said I was scratching my nose.

 

Shaking my head, I point towards Jenny. "I guess I'll spar with you, Jenny."

 

Alistair laughs while holding his stomach. I look at him, confused as to why he's laughing. "That probably wasn't the best choice, Kamen." He explains. Before I can fully register what he meant by that, Jenny appears next to me, grabs my face, and throws me into the far north wall.

 

As I collide with the wall, I feel the air leave my lungs momentarily, and blood spills out of my mouth. "Jenny, what are you doing? I thought we were training??"I speak between gasps for air.

Jenny looks down at me with a smile on her face. "I told you that the training would be harsh and would test your limits, Kamen; I also never said that I would go easy on you just because you're my friend and a newborn."

 

"Damn it, I should have fig-" Before I can continue my sentence, Jenny quickly grabs me by the throat, punches me in the gut, forcing the air from my lungs once more, and throws me onto the ground.

 

"Get up! Fight back! You can't rely on us forever, Kamen. You need to learn to fight back!" Jenny yells out in frustration. In shock, I look over at Alistair. He just shrugs his shoulders and laughs. "I told you that you should've chosen me. I would've gone easier on you."

 

"Pay attention! You can't lose focus when you're fighting for your life, Kamen! If you get distracted, it'll give the enemy the opening they need to kill  you." Jenny says this in frustration as she punches down into my face, forcing it into the floor, leaving a crater.

I look up and see her face. It's the first time I've seen her like this; her eyes are glowing blood red. She looks so beautiful. Because I'm stupid and determined, I get up, swing at her, and miss.

 

"Good. I'm glad you tried something, but it isn't enough. You need to try more!" Jenny says this as she punches me again in the face. I feel the bones in my jaw break and shatter. The pain is excruciating as I feel my jaw heal itself slowly.

 

I feel my anger rising, as well as a strange feeling in my chest. I decide to close my eyes momentarily and focus on it.

 

Jenny and Alistair watch in shock as strange black energy slowly envelops my body. "How can he do this already? It should be impossible." Alistair thinks to himself as he watches the fight unfold.

 

Jenny and Alistair are too lost in thought about the strange energy; they didn't notice in time that I had disappeared. When I appear behind Jenny, I pull my fist back and punch into her with all of my might. As soon as my fist makes contact, I feel the energy flow into Jenny.

 

A second later, Jenny flies across the room and collides with the wall, leaving a bigger crater than before.
Jenny launches herself across the room and collides with the wall. Alistair is shocked, as this happened all within a few seconds. He quickly snaps out of his stupor and runs over to Jenny, checking on her condition.

 

His concern swiftly gives way to relief. "Good, she's okay; she's just unconscious." You could have killed her, Kamen; why did you hit her that hard; and what was with that strange energy you just used?" Alistair's eyes widen as I grab him by the throat and begin to squeeze, restricting his breathing. He attempts to loosen my grip on his throat, but is unsuccessful.

 

"My name is not Kamen; my name is Death." Where is this located? Who are you?" The strange man controlling my body asks,

 

Alistair looks confused, and before he can say anything, my body falls to the ground limp, unconsciousness taking over.

 

"Who are you, and what did you do to Kamen?" Hearing Jenny moan, Alistair looks at her and helps her up.

"Be careful, Jenny; you took a really hard blow just now."

 

"What happened, Alistair? Where's Kamen?" Jenny looks at my body lying on the ground, unconscious, and runs towards me.

"Did you do this? Why did you hit him so hard? He's a newborn; you could've killed him!" Jenny says so, holding me in her arms.

"I did nothing; he picked me up and passed out after knocking you out." "He has something strange about him." Alistair says this while crouching down, picking me up out of her arms.

"Let's go back to the house; you and Kamen need to recover." Alistair says this as he walks back towards the gate.

 

As they walked through the portal and back into the house, I slowly began to come. The first thing I noticed was the intense pain in my jaw, but as I sat up, I realized something else was different, too. I could feel this almost electric energy pulsing through my body, humming with power.

 

"What the hell happened?" I asked, still confused and disoriented.

 

"You happened," Alistair said, his tone flat and severe. "You tapped into something dangerous, and you nearly killed Jenny."

 

"I didn't mean to," I stammered. "I couldn't control it."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Alistair said, his expression darkening. "We need to harness and control whatever that energy is." If it's allowed to run free, who knows what will happen?"

"I'll do whatever it takes," I said, bold and determined. "I won't let this thing control me."

"That's what worries me; how can we know you can control it?"

"I have no choice, right? I need to connect that strange energy to myself. I don't have a choice."

"There's another option, Kamen." Jenny and I can hold on to this energy inside you until you learn to control it," Alistair said.

"No, no fucking way." Whatever this thing is, it's mine. I won't let some fucking old ones take my power away. It's mine."

As I said, I felt the same determination and rage I had felt before, mixed with something else. A strange curiosity, like a cat watching a mouse hole for an animal to pop out. The fire in my eyes intensifies, and the room goes cold in a second, making Alistair and Jenny shiver at the change and feeling of power radiating from me like an open flame in the night.
"I said it's mine," I say coldly.

Slowly, I feel the power fading back into me, and I calm down. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." I get up and walk away.

Alistair looks at Jenny and says, "We can't let Dracula find out about this; if he does, then he will make Kamen into a slave or kill him."

"I know, Alistair. "I'll make some calls to the witches and see if they can do anything to make it so that Drac can't find out about it." Jenny says she is walking away.

Alistair stops her. "Jenny, don't let him know you call him Drac; you know how he is about his name."

Jenny nods and walks out the door.