Hopeful Fear

The Portal

Oliver's phone rang for so long that angry faces started turning towards him but he didn't even notice. Every time he saw her number his mood changed and a sense o dread washed over his body. For some strange reason, he didn't stop communicating with her although she recklessly dragged him out of his hiding place.

"My dear, what can I do for you tonight?"- his voice sounded both tired and sarcastic.

"Look, you were the one who told me I can contact you so here I am."- she tried not to yell, but it was an effort.

"What I fail to grasp is why is there this necessity to organize one meeting after the other? Can you please enlighten me."- he was almost laughing now and it was not easy to avoid sounding condescending.

"Well, if the whole thing is so futile why are you still interested in helping us?"

She had him there.

"Let us say I think we can maybe, and I repeat maybe, make some improvements. However, please don't think anything significant will happen. Humans have never been a real challenge."- he didn't even bother to lower his voice although the bar was almost full.

"I know that, but there are some real issues out there, like that god-awful Youtube, for example. That is one of the topics of our next meeting, and by the way, you have surely seen the video, right?"- she sounded quite angry now and the only thing he could think is how weak she really was. Showing emotions so clearly was never good for a vampire, especially one of her age.

He has seen the video alright but it was nothing spectacular or dangerous. Someone has managed to film a vampire feeding in a small alley and afterward, the idiot just flew away leaving the victim unconscious and bleeding to death. Fortunately, nobody ever believed those kinds of videos were real and that was precisely the reason why they were never in danger.

"Yes, I have seen it, and what of it? I will certainly propose punishment for any moron who does a similar stupidity but I will not go any further."- he sighed.

"Say what you will, but something needs to be done. So, should I waste any more time in contacting you or you will join us?"

"You can contact me and we can meet, but you know what...no, never mind. Send me the date and time and we will talk."- he said quietly.

"Ok, great. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, at midnight."

She hung up the phone before he managed to answer. It was a small victory and she felt a deceptive twinge of joy.

                                                                            *******

Oliver took his time on the way home, and he watched the city as it fell asleep. The night was not so cold and although the weather didn't influence him at all he liked feeling its touch on his hard skin. This night in particular was gentle, so his troubled mind responded in the same way, leaving him at ease with his own thoughts.

He came home after some 30 minutes of walking around the center square and Jurišićeva street. His apartment was situated only 10 minutes away from the square, in Palmotićeva street, and he loved it to bits. It was not so big, maybe 80 square meters, but it owned the antique atmosphere with a high ceiling and dark, wooden furniture. Regarding technology, he owned only a laptop and a good sound system while the rest of the furniture were only necessities he didn't bother to throw away. He did make an effort in furnishing and remodeling the bathroom because a shower here and there felt really good, but the kitchen and the sleeping room were left in almost the same state. He bought the apartment a year ago, immediately after he established contact with Madeleine. Croatia was a good choice after Germany and Italy because he really needed peace and a small country like this was the perfect refuge. The location was also one of the reasons he accepted her proposal. Although they lived in the 21st century, in their mind nothing could replace physical contact.

The room he loved the most was the living room where shelves reached the ceiling. They were filled with books, magazines, and older music records which gave him comfort while he slept on the big, comfortable couch. He protected the big window with automated blinds to stay away from sun rays, and every time he waited for the nasty star to rise he remembered how much he missed the golden light and the warmth. It was the only thing he didn't like about being a vampire. The night sometimes just felt like a prison.

As soon as he passed through a heavy wooden door, he left the keys in a glass bowl that decorated a small table near the entrance. The green glass was beautiful and it reflected dim light coming from the hall.

After he sat down on the couch, he picked up a black notebook where he wrote down everything he saw on the night he will never forget. The fifth page was obviously worn out because it was the first one to greet him, and black letters looked him straight in the eye asking for deliverance and absolution. He had neither, nor he planned to find them because it could not be done.

The date was the 8th of October, or two months ago. He was walking his usual route when a weird thought suddenly surfaced telling him to go home as fast as possible. He didn't argue the feeling and in fifteen minutes he was entering his old building. The thought of flying did enter his mind, but he couldn't let himself go to the wind, he was too distraught for that.

After he climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor, the heavy door welcomed him but it seemed darker than usual. Wood was almost black although he knew it should be of a light brown color. He cautiously went inside but what he saw in front of him, in his favorite living room, stopped him in his tracks.

It looked as if an invisible film screen was projecting a movie, a blurred motion picture, and he was both the spectator and the "projector" of the very tape which played the film.

He saw a man, or to be more specific, he was seeing a vampire who was sitting by a big modern-looking desk, sifting through some papers. His hair seemed strange. Its black sheen was mixed with grey streaks and Oliver saw clearly it was straight, barely reaching his broad shoulders which looked well shaped under the white shirt he was wearing. This vision was so clear and translucent that he noticed the vampire's grim expression as his head silently shook from left to right. Something was obviously troubling him and Oliver envisioned it was maybe an old problem without a solution in sight.

At this point, any person would probably freeze or run away, but Oliver wasn't an ordinary person nor an ordinary vampire. After some two minutes have passed, he was already calm enough to start noticing interesting details about the mysterious vampire, and he knew for sure that he must be old and very powerful. He literally felt him, as if his power leaked through the invisible screen with a desire to grasp the target with skeletal fingers. The power was raw, strong, and even menacing, but Oliver knew it wasn't wild or uncontrollable. He knew he was looking at an ancient vampire, someone with so much experience that he was meant to be followed and respected.

When his final thought flashed through his mind the vampire lifted his head and looked right through him. Oliver felt a jolt from the stare and he backed down a little bit as if it will help. The vampire rose slowly to his feet, like a panther seeing its prey, but at that moment the screen disappeared leaving Oliver alone and shivering.

He was powerful and dangerous, however, at this particular moment, he felt as he was human again.

The same feeling came to him again as he closed the notebook and lowered it down on the couch. He couldn't remember any moment in his long life when he wasn't sure of his existence or his choices, and this was precisely the reason why was he chosen to be turned.

But, at this point life as he knew it was slowly disappearing, leaving him bare and completely unprotected.