Throughout the night, Jeremy could not sleep even when he tried so much to.
The night seemed long and unending, he wished for it to come to an end so soon so that the next day would arrive... He forced himself to sleep but after many unyielding attempts, he gave up and decided to take a stroll around the new town.
He had no particular destination in mind, just walking around and getting used to all the corners, places, buildings around the town.
After walking around for close to five hours, he finally stopped — something had caught his attention which made him to stop.
After thinking so much, he had finally accepted who he had become — a creature of the night. Devoid of warmth and unwanted emotions... Though he had none from the very start. He had shut his heart from the outside world... Now, what remained of him was an empty shell— a deep empty hole in his heart.
As he glanced to the left, a scene caught his attention. But before that, he heard smelled blood from afar and now that he was near, every part of his body reacted to the smell.
He saw a vampire, feeding on a helpless human by the corner. The first thing that came to his mind was one of the rules. The second one which clearly stated that they are not allowed to go around attacking humans and feeding on them.
If they were binded by a rule... Why then was that one going against it? Or are there some who aren't aware of the rules?
As if sensing his presence, the other vampire raised its head... His glowing eyes staring at Jeremy. But after some time, he returned to what he was doing, completely ignoring Jeremy's presence.
Jeremy seeing he was totally ignored decided to ignore what was happening — to act like he didn't see anything. So he continued on his way, but just as he had gone a little far off, his stomach grumbled.
The hunger was growing again.
It clawed at his insides, scraping raw against whatever part of him still dared to feel.
Jeremy stopped walking, clutching his stomach.
The scent of blood still hung thick in the air, taunting him, calling to him like a voice just out of reach. His throat burned, his fangs ached, and for a brief moment, he almost turned back — back to the alley, back to the still-warm body.
No.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to move forward, one slow step at a time.
He would not become like that — mindless, careless, an animal feeding without thought. He had already lost too much. He refused to lose the last shred of control he had left.
But the town was unforgiving.
Everywhere he walked, he caught scents — rich, sweet, coppery — bleeding through cracked doors and open windows. Humans, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the monster stalking their streets.
He found himself wandering into a narrower part of town, where the buildings leaned too close together and the streetlights flickered with dying light.
Here, the air felt different.
He could sense others — not humans, not exactly — watching from the shadows. Their eyes gleamed from doorways, from broken windows, from the dark spaces between buildings.
Other vampires.
Some feral, some nearly civil, all hungry.
This place was not meant for the living.
Jeremy pressed deeper into the maze of alleys, driven by a hunger he could barely fight.
A sound stopped him.
Soft and wet.
He turned a corner and found himself staring at another scene — a different one.
Two vampires stood over a slumped figure, their mouths bloodied, their faces twisted in cruel satisfaction. One looked up, grinned at him with fangs bared.
"New blood," the taller one said, voice a rasping sneer. "Lost, little brother?"
Jeremy said nothing.
The shorter one tossed the empty body aside like garbage and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing blood across his chin.
"First night?" he asked, almost kindly.
Jeremy nodded once, tense, wary.
The taller vampire chuckled, stepping closer until Jeremy could smell the iron sweetness clinging to him like perfume.
"You're hungry," he said, tapping his nose. "I can smell it. We all can."
Jeremy stayed still, fighting the urge to bare his own fangs.
The taller vampire leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Forget their rules. Forget their chains. Out here, brother, it's survive or starve."
Jeremy stared at him, at the blood staining his teeth, at the madness dancing behind his crimson eyes.
He understood then.
Not all vampires followed the rules Elly had spoken of.
Some... didn't even pretend to. There was no need for that.
And here, in the rotten heart of the town, they ruled the night.
The taller one clapped him hard on the shoulder, a gesture too rough to be friendly.
"Come on," he said, jerking his head back toward the deeper alleys. "Let's hunt properly."
Jeremy hesitated.
The hunger screamed at him to follow.
But something colder, deeper inside him — the last fragment of his old self — whispered a warning.
He watched the two vampires disappear into the shadows, leaving him standing there alone, torn between two worlds:
The monster he had become...
And the monster he might yet become.
He tightened his fists until his new claws dug into his palms, drawing dark, sluggish blood.
Without another glance at the fading figures, Jeremy turned away — forcing himself to walk back toward the dying lights of the town.
Jeremy's steps were unsteady as he made his way back.
The streets blurred around him, the hunger blinding, twisting everything into a haze of red and black.
By the time he reached the apartment, he was more beast than boy — the door slammed open under his hand, the wood splintering slightly from the force.
Inside, the air was cold, sterile.
It matched the hollow pit gnawing at his chest.
He stumbled toward the kitchen without thinking, every part of him moving on pure instinct.
When he yanked open the fridge, a thick, coppery scent flooded the air — so strong it nearly dropped him to his knees.
Inside, packed tightly, were dozens of small, clear nylons.
Each one filled with dark, heavy blood.
Some fresh and bright, some darker and older.
The sight of it made his mouth water, his hands tremble.
He didn't even bother trying to be clean.
Jeremy tore one of the bags open with his claws, ripping it like wet paper, and raised it to his lips.
The blood poured into his mouth, thick and warm, tasting of life and death and everything in between.
He drank greedily, violently, not stopping even when it dripped down his chin, staining his clothes, splattering onto the white tiles below.
Bag after bag, he devoured them, the hunger inside him howling, barely sated.
For a few seconds, nothing else existed — just the blood, the rush of it filling his veins, silencing the burning ache that had been driving him mad.
By the time he dropped the last empty nylon onto the floor, his hands were shaking from exhaustion.
The kitchen was a mess.
Blood smeared across the floor, the walls, pooling at his feet.
His own reflection caught in the dark window above the sink — pale skin, hollow eyes, bloodied mouth.
A true monster.
Finally full, finally breathing again, Jeremy slumped to the ground against the fridge.
The silence pressed in heavy and suffocating.
No heartbeat.
No warmth.
Only the steady drip of blood from his fingers onto the floor, marking the only sound in the empty apartment.
He closed his eyes.
And for the first time since waking in this cursed body...Sleep came or what seemed like it.