“Day 366? Was this leap year? I don’t seem to remember. Other than the case, it’s been a year. One year in this forest alone, with literally nobody except for the supernatural at the hotel, and I’d rather not say hi to those guys. Ever since the humans and supernatural escaped last year, the supernatural that stayed are the ones who still their daily torture of their precious humans, and as my girlfriend-am I allowed to call her that?- is a human we can’t really be that good of friends.
“The town. The town I was in that was completely empty with only the word CROATOAN carved on a streetlamp. It was where I led everyone because I believed the town would be better than Danny’s little complex he just found. Speaking of which, I haven’t been able to find that either. Both of those places are just...gone. I went out of the town for a single moment to go prove that dryads were real and I went back to the town just to find grass. Don’t know how I lost a town, but I guess if anyone were to it would be me.
I haven’t had the luxury of looking at myself in a mirror, but I can guess that I’m pretty hideous. My eyes have become bloodshot since the only thing I’ve been able to feed off is animals, and it’s making me really twitchy. Fortunately since I’m already insane, it’s taking longer for me to lose my head and die. The only thing I’ve been able to cut my hair with has been my own dagger, and without a mirror I’m not that successful, nor am I an experienced barber, so I can only assume that the results are horrendous, and I’ve already cut my skin with the dagger. My facial hair has grown a bit, but I’m at least a bit more successful cutting the beard off since I can at least partially see it.
I finally found my tape after fifty days in the forest, and I’m keeping it with me this time. I think I dropped it sometime when I was travelling to the hotel. Oh those were fun times. I’ve replayed the tapes constantly since it’s the only person I can talk to. Yeah, I’m pretty much talking to myself, but Kate is in there a few times so I guess that makes it better.
I’ve visited the grounds where the town has been quite a while now. I’m going to visit it one last time, then I have to leave this forest. This is Nixon Anderzel, and if you find this tape look around, because I’m keeping this thing with me so that means I’m dead if you find it and my corpse should be somewhere or my enemies removed it.”
Nixon flipped off the recorder and put it back in his pocket. He was shaking now, but he knew no amount of animal blood would fix that, he had already tried. Nixon was going to die soon if he didn’t get human blood, and he was already on cheated time. He walked back to where he remembered the town was. He knew this forest like the back of his hand now, but he still had never seen a dryad. He supposed they really didn’t exist, or they had been hiding from him this entire year.
Shoving past several bushes revealed the initial small dirt path he had formed to know the exact place the town was. He walked down it, scratching his stubble. He heard absolutely nothing from this forest anymore, his senses had been extremely dumbed down from taking animal blood.
Nixon shoved past the last bit of bushes that hid the field where the town was supposed to be. There he saw what he-Nixon abruptly stopped.
It was there, it was back.
Vlad awoke with a bright smile on his face. The shapeshifting vampire got up from his oversized and comfortable bed, and quickly made his way into the shower. About fifteen minutes later, he was out and dressed in his usual clothing; a dark colored suit, and a cape that flowed down to the floor. He picked up his sword from the top of his chest, and strapped it to his waist.
A couple of minutes later, the man was walking down one of the many hallways of his beloved castle. He passed the numerous doorways and finally smiled when he came to a familiar one, with a small plaque that had the name “Ivan” on it. Vlad knocked twice before entering.
Ivan’s eyes shot up from his female guest in the bed with him as he heard the sound of a couple of knocks on the door, and at the sound of a door opening. He looked back at the unnamed female, one of the townspeople he had chosen for a little fun that night, and brushed her hair back as she cowered in fear and disgust. When he looked back, Vlad was standing at the doorway of Ivan’s bedroom, a frown on his face. With a small smile, he started to rise from his bed.
“Hello sir,” he said politely as he slipped on his robe over his pale and skinny, yet muscular, body. “I didn’t know I was expecting company this morning. If I would have known you were coming, I wouldn’t have had a girl with me.”
“It is no problem, Ivan,” Vlad said with a smile. “Listen, we have a big day today. I need to go find my ‘daughter,’ Lilia. Send your little, pet, back to her cell, and then go get a search party together. There are bound to be some stragglers, so we can snatch them up. Now, up. Go.” As soon as Ivan told him he understood, Vlad turned on his heel and walked out of the door, whistling a small tune as he did so.
Another twenty minutes later, the shapeshifting vampire was at another room with a placard on the door marked ‘Hammond’. After a couple of knocks, he walked in. He nodded to the trickster in the room and greeted him with what could be described as a half-smile. “Hello, Hammond. Hope you are doing well. I have a question about your little illusion you placed on that town, and the people in it. When does it wear off?”
The only thing that could be heard below grounds, aside from the occasional faint groans and screams of those being tortured, was the click, click of shoes on the cold, hard, stone floor.
Hammond looked up at Vlad, giving a small wave then disappeared. The real Hammond appeared to Vlad’s right, whose hands were currently soaked in blood. “Oh Vlad, I’m doing just wonderful after my five month nap. It really helps a man out after he puts an entire town in a one-day time loop for an entire year and make it invisible to everyone outside. But, let’s see, the time…” He looked up at the ceiling, and a clock appeared, spinning very fast but then suddenly stopping. “Today, glad you asked, I would’ve forgotten to check. I assume it’s time.”
Daniel looked up after coughing blood, and saw only small lights from candles passing by before blacking out again. When he finally came to, he tried to look around, but couldn’t see anything from the blood that had dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision. He could, however, make out the distinctive sound of the opening of a door to his cell, and before he knew it, he was thrown roughly into his cell, where he again blacked out.
When Daniel finally came to, he sat up against the wall, and looked across his cell, listening to the silence. That’s all there ever was for however long he was in the damn cell. He moved his head to look at the rest of his cell for the billionth time. A small, shabby cot that smelt of mold and blood and sweat from his now endless nightmares, and from various wounds around his body. If he tried really hard, he could hear the soft breathing of somebody in the cell next to him. He couldn’t really tell who it was, but if he had to guess, it would have to be a female. He looked over at the wall behind him, in the direction of the other cell, and knocked on it once, twice, three times. Hopefully the other person could hear the knocks. He needed someone to communicate with. Anyone.