Unexpected New Destiny

The Cirque was always on the move. One day we could be in a barn and in the next we could be in one of the seasonal campgrounds. This time we were staying in an old theatre in a small town. My name is Larten Crepsley and I am a vampire. I have lived for well over 200 years and not once have I felt lonely, but tonight I was. Even with my girlfriend (Madame Truska) at my side, I still felt an empty void in my heart. Truska seemed to notice and told me to go for a walk but then her face went blank as it did when she envisioned something.

"Murlough, deaths of two parents, a baby orphaned, Darren" Truska came back to the present "What did I say?" she asked as I walked out the door.

"Oh, just something about clear skies and a bright shining sun tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll be back before dawn" I said, contemplating her vision all the while I did so. What did Murlough have to do with that vision? Whatever it was, one thing was for sure; he would be the one causing the deaths of the two parents.

I had walked around town for an hour and was about to go back when I heard a rustling noise from up in the tree. 'Good God! Creepers at this hour?' I thought, deciding whether or not to shake the tree and yell 'EARTHQUAKE TEST!'

All jokes were put aside however when I noticed that it was the vampaneze, Murlough, and he was looking for prey. In the window across from the tree was a family of three, two parents and a baby. I started up the tree but Murlough didn't notice me and instead leaped into the window. There was crashing noises coming from inside the house and as I leaped into the window I noticed that the attacker and attackees were nowhere to be seen. Then there was a female scream from another room. Running into the hallway, I saw the father's body on the floor with fresh blood leaking from a fatal neck wound.

'Murlough must be saving him for later' I thought darkly. A baby's cry broke the silence in the house from inside the baby's room. As I walked into the room, I saw Murlough cutting large slits in the mother's throat so that the blood would flow freely. The mother's body was bending over something she was protecting.

"Come on, hand the kid over. Children's blood is my boss's favorite" Murlough hissed. The mother gave a small cry and held the crying babe closer to her chest. Without another thought, I leaped forward and caught Murlough by the neck and threw him across the room. Murlough snarled when he saw me and leaped with his claws slicing through the air. Our battle continued as we exchange blows; I took a critical blow to the shoulder and soon after, I raked my talons across his chest. Murlough staggered back and hissed

"This isn't over Crepsley, you're going to regret stealing young Murlough's dinner" he took one last look at his lost meal and bolted out the window. I turned on my heal to examine the mother and child. The mother's breath was now coming in ragged gasps. I bent down beside her but before I could speak, she pushed the small bundle in her arms toward me.

"His name is Darren, please take care of him, all of our other relatives are dead and I can't bear to think of him in an orphanage" This was the only thing she managed to choke out before she died. I took the little bundle into my arms and looked at the child. He had dark brown hair which was matted with his mother's blood and tears streamed down from big brown eyes. A little hand found it's way to the folds of my large coat and grasped them tightly. Before I knew what I was doing, I tucked the child into my coat to keep him warm and climbed out the window. I did not flit back to the theatre for fear that not even being inside my coat would protect him from the sudden lack of air. Instead I just ran at full speed. By the time I reached the theatre, I was defiantly out of breath. I saw Truska waiting for me at the front entrance.

"Larten, where have you been? It's nearly three minutes to dawn and…. what is that?" she asked as she pointed at the bulge in my coat. I took the baby out and handed him to her. Truska let out a gasp and took Darren into her arms and cradled him.

"He has blood all over him! Is he-" I cut her off and told her that it was his mother's blood. Truska then hurried back into the building to clean the child off.

"Larten, where did you get him?" she asked after she was done cleaning the blood off of Darren.

"Murlough killed his parents. His mother handed him to me before she died, said his name was Darren and asked me to take care of him" I said, looking sadly down at the orphaned child. Little Darren was looking happily up at Truska and snuggled into her, totally forgetting about the earlier events.

"Well he certainly is a happy little guy" She said, cuddling him.

"Yes, he is" I said blankly as I felt the empty void in my heart fill up. This child needed me and I needed him, so I made the decision.

"Truska, can you please help me with the child?" I asked

She smiled at me understandingly "So, you decided to keep him?"

"Yes"

"Alright, I guess I can play 'mama' '' She laughed when she saw me blush. When we reached my room, Truska told me to lay in my coffin. After I did so, she positioned the child in my arms. A few seconds later, Darren nuzzled his face into my chest and fell asleep. A warm feeling consumed me that I had never felt before. Truska walked out of the tent and came back minutes later with a blanket.

"There" She said as she draped the blanket over Darren and I "That should keep him comfy"

The baby gave out a little sigh and fell into a deep sleep, snuggling even deeper into my chest. This made me smile, Truska noticed and smiled as well. Truthfully, I had not done this in a long time.

"There will be plenty of moments like these in the future years but raising a child is not an easy job, that's why you have me here" Truska stated as she smiled down at Darren. An idea occured to me and I smiled mischieviously up at her and asked "Would you like to join us, I believe that family relationships start on the first night where both the parents and the child sleep together"

Truska smiled back "Alright but just for tonight"

I made room for her as she climbed into the coffin and we each put an arm around each other and the other over the baby.


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One Night Later:

We were already packed up and ready to go. I had already told Mr. Tall about Darren's two human parents and that I was taking him in. He placed an anoynomous calm with the police and told the rest of the Cirque to pack up. After my coffin and things were loaded up, I nestled Darren into my arms and sat in the back of the truck. A few seconds later, Darren started to cry and I paniced. Truska jumped onto the back of the truck with a baby bottle that she obviously bought on a short trip to the store before we left.

"Calm down Larten, he's just hungry. Poor guy hasn't eaten yet" She stated as she took Darren into her arms and put the baby bottle to his mouth to drink. After he was finished feeding, Darren started to cry again. I looked at Truska with a pleading look. She rolled her eyes and sighed

"Larten, you don't know anything about babies do you? He just needs to be burped and you just can't sit there holding him, you have to rock and entertain him" Truska demonstrated and gave Darren back. I looked down at the child and started rocking him. Darren looked at me with those big brown eyes and smiled, giggling as he did so. I smiled back at him as he started to play with the folds of my large coat. All of a sudden, the truck roared to life as the driver turned the ignition key. Darren whimpered and hid his face into my chest. I tried to comfort him

"Shhh, it's alright. It is just the truck"

Darren continued to whimper, begging for protection. I decided to humor him.

"It is alright, I will not let the monster hurt you" I paused, then tucked Darren into my coat and whispered "I will not let anyone hurt you"

Darren finally calmed down and fell asleep. I kept him inside my coat and held him close. I made a silent promise to protect this child, my new son, from all harm; especially from the likes of Murlough and the other Vampaneze.