Journal of a Haunted Man

[Adrian (DELETED 4904)]

Dear Diary...
Actually, I can't write that with a straight face. Journal Entry #1... Yeah, that sounds better. I'll stick with that.
I've never had a journal before so I don't know where to start. Might as well start with some basics.

My name is Adrian Azure. 25 years old, and now a vampire. Raised in an orphanage since I was a baby, that was the only life I had. After my girlfriend burned it down (and died in the process), I started my search for who my birth family was. After searching for 8 years, I finally made my way to Harper Rock. I came here with only a photograph of one person, Madison.My usual contact in my search had only provided the photo and her name. By asking around the area, I was eventually led to Lancaster's, a bar in the southern part of the city. I talked to the owner there, a Mr. Elliot dArtois. Unfortunately, our conversation didn't go as well as I liked. This is partly because Courtney started to mess with my mind, and also because Elliot wasn't as receptive to my questions as others have been. Courtney is (was) my girlfriend back at the orphanage. Now, she haunts me. It started out in my dreams. Then, I started to hear her when I was awake. After I turned.... now I can see her. All the time.

So, Courtney still haunts me, and she isn't exactly the most helpful. Therefore, during my conversation with Elliot, which was already going downhill, she started to derail me and I had to leave immediately. Fortunately, before I left, I gave Elliot a location where Madison could find and meet me. Waiting at the Station, she eventually found me.

Long story short, I found out that she is my cousin, and now I am a vampire. And Courtney, instead of being a voice in my head, is now a full-blown ghost that's haunting me. Since then, I have been introduced into a new world. One of darkness and blood. There's a war going on, and I want no part of it. I have gotten a job here in Harper Rock. I work Sales for Ariadne at The White Rabbit, so I'm getting paid well.

And so ends my first Journal entry.

[Adrian (DELETED 4904)]

Journal Entry #2... Turning Point?
These past few days have been strange. Stranger than normal. It feels like Courtney has been appearing to me more and more often, yet there are times that she completely disappears. It appears that she likes to appear when I am around certain people, and then there are certain people who she doesn't appear at all around. I might have to look into this.
That's not the strangest to happen, though. It appears that Pi dArtois, of my bloodline, has joined Tytonidae. That quickly caused some friction among the line, especially regarding Madison and Elliot. Whatever. If she chose to join, then she chose to join. And she chose to join for what she believed in, and I honor and respect that.
It's starting to feel like I need to choose a side sometime soon. I have looking on the Crownet, listening out for things, and all I hear is talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. They are all saying this or that, without any real substance. What starts out as a genuine discussion quickly degenerates into a silly argument. Some talk about how to throw our species in the spotlight. Why? At this point, our kind isn't ready to reveal ourselves. The world isn't ready yet.
One time, I saw a movie. In that movie, the opening lines were this:

There's two kinds of people in this world, when you boil it all down. You got your Talkers and your Doers. Most people are just Talkers, all they got is talk. But when its all said and done... it's the Doers who change this world, and when they do that, they change us. And that's why we never forget them. So which one are you? Do you just talk about it? Or do you stand up and do something about it? Because believe you me, all the rest of it is just coffee house ********.

I agree with this. If there are too many talkers, then the doers are going to have to stand up and do. Deeds, not words, will save our species. I have chosen to be a doer, but how? How shall I do what I must?
Simple answer. Join those who would also do what needs to be done. Those who are not just going to stand by and talk. I am going to have to choose a side.
I have been talking with people, those with information. I am learning about who i could go to inorder to make a change. Very soon.

[Adrian (DELETED 4904)]

Journal Entry #3... Cloud-Watching

Today, I sat in the park, just watching the clouds flow by overhead. I sat there for the longest time, wishing to be like them. To be able to just float overhead, without a care in the world. Without having to worry about anything. To be able to go where the wind takes me, wherever it may lead.
I sighed, then. If only life for a vampire could be as simple as that of a cloud. Clouds don't turn on each other for silly reasons. Clouds don't want to kill each other for a simple, perceived slight. Clouds don't just talk. I glanced around, just watching the humans walk by. How ignorant they were. Thank the gods (whatever gods there are) that they don't know about vampires. The fear, the hate, the paranoia. All of these emotions of humanity would end up being our undoing if the world found out. They would fear us for our power, what we could do. They would hate us for needing them in order to survive, for feeding on them in the shadows. Their paranoia would seek us out, driving us from our places, our havens. Their paranoia would persecute us, hunting us down. Their discovery of us would end us.
We need to hide from them to survive, yet we need them for our survival. Our secrecy is important, more so than a single life.
I stood up from the bench I was sitting on as I thought these thoughts. I wish we had it as easy as the clouds. If only that was possible... to live without fear of discovery. But that dream is a way long off into the future. We need to be able to work together within our own species first before we can start thinking about that. There are those among us who would push for us to open up to the world. They would ally themselves with those who would love for us all to die, to disappear. Such fools. They might say, "Oh, they already know about us. What's the harm in working with them?" What's the harm? They could easily alert the world to us. And if they did, our kind wouldn't be ready to fight against the tide that would rise up to wipe us out.
Walking to to the exit of the park, my thoughts had ensnared me. Lost in them, I had barely paid attention to the human following me. He grabbed my shoulder, and spun me around. "Hey man," he said. "Give me all your money."
I raised my eyebrows. "Are you trying to rob me?" I asked, threading a bit of my power into my voice.
"Yes," he responded, pointed his gun at my chest. I hadn't seen him pull it. He must've had it hidden in his coat. "So give me your money right now."
I smiled. "I don't think you want to do that, do you? Do you really mean that, friend?" I was threading quite a bit of power in my voice now, trying to subdue him. "You wouldn't do that to a friend, would you?"
I saw the gun waver in his hand as he started to succumb to my voice. My smile grew wider as he put the gun away. "Yeah," he said finally. "You are my friend. What was I thinking?"
"It's alright," I said, putting my arm on his shoulder, gently leading him out of the park. "We all make mistakes. But I am sure that you can make it up to me."
"Really? How?" He turned his gaze towards me, full of hope. "I'll do anything."
I lead him to a nearby dark alleyway. I looked around to make sure no one was around. I looked back at him and said, "Just close your eyes for a second, alright?"
A minute or so later, I left the alley alone, with some extra money in my pocket, and blood on my lips. Licking them clean, I walked off. Yeah, clouds did have it good. However, those of us still on this earth still had to deal with what we had. If that meant cracking a few eggs for us to survive, then so be it. I am prepared to do what I must. Our secrecy is our redemption, our savior. We need to preserve it to survive. We can't allow our kind to get away with exposing us.
As I thought this, I felt a weight lifted off my chest. I feel like I have made my choice, and I shall stand by it.