Shadowman of Baltimore |

Photo by TheUsher

The warehouse had an air of and stillness of death. However, in that space was unlife. Twenty of Sledge’s most loyal vampires hid in the darkness, watching his every move as he moved down the hallway with his own master. He gave them the slightest nods of acknowledgment.

“Nice arrangement you have here,” Adalrich said to him. “Mostly stereotypical, but only a little dark and dank.”

Sledge gave him a sidelong glance that bordered on huffy. He took a quick look around the place, then pursed his lips.

“It ain’t much, but it’s home.”

“From what I’ve heard, this is more like your headquarters and not a house.”

“I guess you can say that. I have an apartment not far from here close to Patterson Park.”

Sledge paused in front of a door leading to an office. He held the knob, but turned his attention to Adalrich.

“I mostly spend my time here at the warehouse, but I go to the apartment, especially when I have a new one that I have to take care of,” he said then gestured at the door. “This is my office.”

He opened the door and stepped inside. Sledge gestured, welcoming his sire inside.

“It certainly reeks of workaholic, but it’s nice,” Adalrich murmured.

The room was small, but filled to the brim with news paper clippings and nicknacks. Adalrich moved around the room, taking closer looks at the various items in the room. He ran his fingers across an article on the wall near the oak desk.

“’Baltimore Vigilante Strikes Again.’ You have been busy, I take it?”

Sledge shrugged, “Like you said, workaholic.”

“Seems that way.”

He continued around the room while Sledge made his way to the desk. When Sledge flopped down in the chair, Adalrich raised a brow at him.

“It says that you’ve assisted in the arrest of more drug dealers than the police have alone in the last month,” he commented, sounding rather proud.

“I just led them to the right place anonymously,” Sledge said. He picked up the nearest pencil on his desk and twirled it between his fingers, “I mean, it’s me, but the paper is just assuming.”

“Ah. Well, as long as it’s being done. This place has gone downhill since the last time I’ve been here. Of course, that was fifty years ago.”

The elder vampire picked out a book from the bookshelf and began thumbing through it. Sledge grunted as he adjusted himself so he could prop his legs on the table. The moment they hit the wood, Adalrich gave his feet a slap. Sledge corrected himself quickly.

“Not proper,” he muttered.

“Sorry,” Sledge apologized, but frowned as he said it. “Wait a minute, this is my desk!” He put his feet back to where they were. “Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Adalrich gave him a toothy smile, displaying delicately pointed fangs, “You never were patient.”

“Damn right.”

Slowly, with arms closed behind his back, Adalrich walked to the opposite side of the desk. He took a seat before his vampire, then crossed his arms. He sat there, still, watching Sledge carefully.

“Sledge,” he said finally after a long moment of silence, “We are in troubled times. Not just the human world, but in our world as well.”

Sledge righted himself in his seat. He leaned forward, very seriously.

“I ain’t heard nothin’ weird. Did something happen?”

Adalrich shook his head, “No, nothing yet. But something is on the wind. I’ve talked a seer from the homeland. The time is coming to chose sides.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know yet,” Adalrich said then leaned in, mirroring Sledge’s pose. “What I do know is that I want you to not be rash with your decisions.”

“Rash? I’m not rash,” he responded thoughtfully and added, “Usually.”

“Really?”

Adalrich picked up a picture from the desk of one of his more recent victims. He held it up, pointing to the human-shaped image etched into the side of a dumpster.

“What? That little bastard was selling to a ten-year-old. He had that shit coming.”

Adalrich gave Sledge a patient smile as he returned the image to the desk, “Sledge, the tides are changing. Something is pointing to a major upheaval of some sort. Will it be violent? I am not sure. There is always that possibility. All I know is what my seer feels in the air. The next thirty to fifty years will bring a new era for us. For all of us.”

“Okay, okay, no need to get this heavy, sir. I’ll be very careful in my decisions.”

“That is all a father can ask for.”

The elder vampire stretched his arms, pulling at the expensive looking pin-striped suit he wore. He cracked his neck a few times.

“There now, where can I rest? Dawn will arrive soon. I would like to be settled in.”

Sledge nodded as he rose from his seat, “There are rooms on the lower level.”

Silently, the pair left the room. Adalrich stayed close to Sledge as they made there way to the lower level of the warehouse.

“How long will you be staying?” Sledge asked quietly.

“Not long. Perhaps another day. I must return home to Kiel shortly.”

Sledge pursed his lips, “I can’t believe you came all this way just to tell me to stay out of trouble.”

“There is that. Also, there may have been a little bird who informed me of a recent loss of someone very close to you.”

Sledge’s face became flat and emotionless, “I see. I imagine it was Ghost.”

“I will not answer that. You know that,” Adalrich said. “How is our Hattie these days?”

“Her name isn’t Hattie in this life. It’s Shelia,” his tone was chest-clenching pain as he spoke her names.

Adalrich grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place, “I would not have changed you if I thought you were to suffer.”

Sledge move away from the man’s grasp, “You didn’t change me because of her. You changed me because I wanted to avenge her.  I tore those bastards limb from limb and I’m damn happy I did it, too.”

They continued down the concrete hallway with only the sound of their steps around them. Sledge stopped in front of a large wooden door. Adalrich looked up at him with as much emotion he had left in him.

“You impress me, Sledge. Such a long life, yet, somewhere in you, you still have compassion and even love.”

“For her,” he said forcefully. “Only ever for her.”

Adalrich gave Sledge a nod before entering the room. Without another word, the door closed between them. Once his sire disappeared behind the door, Sledge leaned against it, pressing his forehead onto the wood. He closed his eyes as he attempted to compose himself before he headed to his own room.

When he was finally ready, Sledge moved down the hall to large French white doors with fogged glass. The moment he stepped inside, he kicked off his sneakers in opposite directions. He savored the feel of the deep, plush, chocolate carpet beneath his bare feet. Shedding clothing as he moved, Sledge walked across the room until he reached the floor-length mirror.

After removing everything but his boxers, the vampire slid his hand down his stomach until it reached the spot where he’d been shot. There was no whole nor a scar. In fact, thanks to the thugs blood, it had been healed. All he could see was tight muscles—the sight he’d seen for a very long time.

He looked at his face. He felt so tired and so old, yet he looked the same as he had when he’d been changed. Having his sire in town only made him feel that much older.

And now, he could feel the ghosts of the past watching him. They were creeping from the edges of his memory to the forefront. Memories of pain and anguish gripped him to the point he nearly stumbled. He shook his head as though that would free him from it, but it didn’t help. It wouldn’t help.

“Shit,” he muttered as he ran his hand over his bald head.

He moved to his bed and climbed in with a series of grunts. With an arm thrown over his forehead, he focused on the light fixture above him. Swallowing hard, he let the past wash over him.

Posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 6:12 pm in the category:Chapter 2. Comment RSS 2.0 feed. Comment it , or trackback this post.