This chapter includes AU elements and may have some inaccuracies.
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Paul left alongside his mother after she grew weary of nagging Nick to cease doing foolish things without success.
"Don't fret over Nick, Mom," Paul said as he kissed her lips and caressed her breasts. Madison relaxed at his touch, indulging more in her son.
"Accompany me, and I shall reveal something to you," Paul uttered after kissing her for a while and finding momentary satisfaction. "Whatever happens or you hear, remain silent. Just listen and observe."
"Vow it to me," Paul instructed as he gently pinched his mother's nipples.
"Ahh, my love... I promise," Madison moaned, relishing how her man touched her like that.
"Good mother," Paul praised, fondling her breasts for a brief moment before reluctantly ceasing his affectionate touches.
Subsequently, he took his mother's hand and led her into the room where they had left Alex and Jake earlier. However, their path was suddenly obstructed by the presence of all his girls.
"What are you doing?" Alicia inquired, noticing how Paul intimately caressed their mother as they walked.
"He seems to be in a state of arousal, like a horny dog," Claire remarked with a chuckle.
"Paul... If you desire it, I can help you," Amy blushed and suggested beside everyone.
"Yes, babe. Give it to us too, not only your mother," Andrea also asked for it.
"Hold on, ladies, don't wet your panties," Paul appeased his girls. "I intended to show Mom something extraordinary, like something out of a fantasy novel, if feasible. If not, then it would be something dreadful."
"What?" Alicia asked with doubt.
"Indeed, what is it?" Claire inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"I struggle to articulate it clearly. You must witness it yourself," Paul replied enigmatically.
"Come on, Paul, reveal to us what it is," Andrea urged him.
"No, no," Paul declined with a finger, shaking his head at them. "If you wish to see it, you must swear to me that whatever transpires or you hear, you will remain silent. Just listen and observe."
They promised in unison almost immediately, wanting to know what he had to show. Then, they resumed their walk into the room. Upon entering, Paul spotted Jake's appearance, and he still harbored an aversion to the young man's appearance inside him.
"The battle has ended; we won," Paul proclaimed with a smile as he and the girls entered the room.
"That's a relief," Alex sighed, feeling a bit relieved.
"Yes, at least we won't be adrift on a boat or in a worse predicament," Jake barely managed to utter, his voice hoarse with pain and resignation.
"How are you feeling?" Paul inquired as he checked Jake's condition.
"I am more dead than alive. That woman, the nurse did everything she could. But the prospects are not so good, she said," Jake lamented, overwhelmed by physical pain and a sense of resignation.
"Don't say that, you will recover," Alex reassured him, feeling a bit saddened and exhausted as well.
"I have not asked about it before, but you two, are you a couple or something?" Paul raised an eyebrow, noticing the young man and the Asian woman together.
Jake attempted to laugh, but it resulted in a strained groan due to the pain that engulfed his body.
"Relax, don't try to move," Alex cautioned Jake. Then, she turned her gaze toward Paul. "No, we were strangers to each other before the flight. I... I owe him."
"Oh, sorry about the assumption, it just seemed a bit odd how much you care about him, given his current state if you weren't someone close or a friend of his. It must be quite a significant debt, given the lengths you're going to." Paul remarks, intrigued but not pressing further.
"I've already told Alex not to feel bad about it, but she doesn't listen. I am really grateful to her because of it." Jake says with a genuine smile despite his predicament.
Alex looks visibly saddened and touched by it. It seems she has developed a fondness for the young man as a friend.
"We are currently near San Diego, but we're about to leave this place and cross the border into Mexico." Paul explains their current situation. "We intend to enter Baja after crossing the border."
"How's the situation in San Diego?" Jake inquires, slightly worried about moving into Mexico. His family is still in the country, and he still hopes to find them.
"We don't know; the military bombed it, and there are walkers everywhere. There's some sort of government still in operation, judging by the guard coast still patrolling the border." Paul replies uncertainly about the actual situation in the city. "In any case, we're leaving now."
"What would the two of you do? Will you come with us, or take a boat into the city?" Paul asks them both with a raised eyebrow.
"I... I don't know what to do. I can't move right now." Jake says with difficulty.
"We're coming with your group. Jake won't survive much longer if just the two of us go to San Diego." Alex decides firmly. She has already made up her mind for herself and Jake.
"I will leave it to Alex," Jake says sadly and resignedly.
"Alright, you will come with us. But here's the thing: Strand won't take you both where we're going once we touch land in Baja. He made it clear to all of us." Paul delivers the other bombshell they need to discuss. "There's no room for all of us, he said. And sorry for both of you, but I will put my family first above anything else."
Alex's face twists into an unpleasant expression when she hears this. But she knows it's only natural given the circumstances. Jake just sighs and remains silent, the young man's situation having accelerated his emotional and mental maturity.
"So, once we touch land, you will be on your own." Paul continues. "I know this news sounds terrible and paints a grim future. It will be similar to going to San Diego, but with a bit more hope. But someone needed to let you both know about it, and I took it upon myself so you could prepare for what to do with your lives."
This time none of them talked and passed in silence for a while, each one with their thoughts thinking what they would do. Paul also was pondering his thoughts again about experimenting with them, to see if he could make successfully a vampire, he already knew his blood heals as it should, but he still didn't know if it also could transform a human into a vampire after death. He was feeding his girls his blood in case the worst came to happen but he still didn't know if it would effectively transform them after dying.
Lost in contemplation for a while, he finally reaches a decision. In the best-case scenario, he will have two grunts to work for him that could be honed into skilled soldiers or assistants to carry out his bidding. In the worst-case scenario, they don't become vampires and die permanently in the process. Another worst-case scenario would be they become vampires but cannot be controlled or refuse to submit, then he would have to kill both of them, but it would also test the possibility of creating vampires.
"What do you know about vampires?" Paul suddenly asked them both out of nowhere leaving them confused. Also making his mother and the girls raise an eyebrow at his weird question.
"Vampires? You mean those little flying animals?" Alex asked uncertainly if that was what Paul was referring to.
"No, I'm not talking about vampire bats. Hah," Paul chuckled at that.
"Then you mean those bloodsuckers with human appearances in the comics and movies," Jake responded hoarsely with difficulty.
"Yes, those are the ones I'm talking about," Paul's smile widened suddenly. "What else do you know about them?"
"What everyone knows, I suppose. From the fantasy and horror themes they appear in," Jake replied, then in a flash of realization, he connected the dots with the walkers. "They were once humans who became undead, similar to those living dead around us nowadays."
"Go on. Tell me more," Paul chuckled.
"Basically that. No longer alive but animated humans who feed on the blood of the living, something similar to the walkers who instead eat them," Jake said confidently.
"Well, quite to the point. But there is a difference between them both. The walkers don't require sustenance to survive and don't have a soul anymore. They eat the flesh of the living not because they are hungry but because their brains still compel them to seek and gnaw on anything living. A vampire however still has the person's soul in his dead body and requires human or animal blood to exist. Without blood, a vampire will become weaker and weaker, eventually 'desiccating' and dying. In this process, they will lose their intellect and start to behave more like an animal, eventually unable to resist feeding on whomever they come upon." Paul says as he continues explaining. "One is a body without soul and the other as a soul. Or we could say in one case you are dead and your soul left his body and in the other, you are still dead but your soul is still on your dead body but your personality also will change you no longer will be the same."
"Those things would be a more thorough explanation and difference between them both, as comics and movies tell us about vampires and what we have learned so far from the walkers," Paul says bullshitting is way about the vampires, after all, there is a pop culture of them in this world differently from the zombies, hell, there are even for werewolves too in the comics and movies.
Paul's words left everyone in the room pondering what he was saying. But his mother and the girls were more confused as they listened more and more, already having a premonition of something to come.
"Why... why are you saying these things, anyway?" Alex asked quietly, weirded out by Paul talking about vampires and a little alert, unknowingly.
"Because I can help Jake heal and never be afraid of the walkers or most of the things on this planet in his life anymore," Paul says, tempting them with a cure and promises of power. Madison's eyes twitched hearing that, as if her suspicion were becoming true.
"Are you meaning... becoming a vampire?" Jake says with difficulty speaking. "Let's say I believe what you are saying. It would heal me from what I am now?"
"Oh, my friend. Not only that, your body will be as if it were being reborn, and be gifted with powers beyond human capacity." Paul says enticingly to both of them. "But... yes, there is always a but. There is a price for that kind of gift."
"The price is that you will be dead and not dead at the same time, and feed from the blood of a living being to live, preferably from a human. Be it from their body or a blood bag." Paul says. "You will also live for eternity roaming the land of the living unless you perish midway, yes a vampire doesn't age and still can die but it's difficult to kill them by human means."
"You must be joking, right?" Alex says from the side, still a little unsure of believing it, but she also entertained the thought because now there is the existence of the walking dead.
Jake was silently weighing and pondering the idea of becoming a vampire. He was suffering tremendous pain almost wishing to die. But he also thought about the consequences of it. He also thought there must be a trick besides what Paul said so far about the vampires.
"I want it, how can I become one?" Jake says slowly with his hoarse voice. "I want this pain to stop. I want to walk and be normal again. Also, I don't have a choice, be it staying here in San Diego or going to Baja."
"Jake..." Alex said, as if wanting to say something but in the end she chose not to.
"It's okay, Alex," Jake says.
Paul then explained to them both all he knew about the virus and started bullshitting his way with half-truths and lies about it mutating his body into something different from a normal human. Making him have these superhuman abilities and his capacity to heal people, but he told them clearly that he didn't intend to heal him as he could any other person. He wanted to test if his blood could mutate them after their death into something different from a walker. A vampire.
"So, there you have it. What would be your choice?" Paul doesn't say it explicitly, but he will kill them both now if Jake refuses to partake in the experiment.
Alex was quite stressed out more than she wanted, after all, she also understood the subtone of these implications. He wasn't giving them much of a choice, it was basically to die willingly participating in it or die unwillingly also participating.
"I will do it," Jake says firmly. "I have more hope of living in this way than any other option we have."
Alex sighed and also accepted.
Paul takes a cup lying on a small table and unsheaths the bayonet and cuts his hand, dripping it with blood. "Both of you need to have my blood in your system before dying, I will kill you both after you drink it."
"We will start with Jake, seeing your sad look, Alex," Paul says as he moves to Jake. All the girls were quite disturbed by what Paul was doing, but they didn't say or do anything as they promised him. But at the same time, deep inside, they were also curious about what would happen and each one had different thoughts about it, but mostly they were excited if it were true.
After Jake drank from the cup with blood, his body started healing fast at a visible eye speed, leaving him like new. Paul waited a moment, as Jake was feeling the changes in his body when then suddenly in a blur he snapped his neck, killing him instantly. Paul was observing him, thinking how long it would take him to come back. There was no limbo here, or what other place their spirits could go before being in transition. Elena was on The Other Side, but there was no other side nor limbo in this world, maybe there was just darkness for them? When he came to this world, there was nothing, it was just in the blink of an eye, and maybe it was the same for them.
Not long after Paul killed Jake with his blood inside him, he felt some kind of connection with him, as if something was making an invisible bridge between them. He felt like a drop of something was flowing from him to Jake's body constantly, but also being regenerated, continuously and faster than it left. When the bridge came to be completed with a constant and stable flow of this energy, that he assumed was magic, not long after he suddenly woke up from his slumber.
"What... What happened?" Jake asks, feeling disoriented for a moment and also having a strong feeling of craving for something from inside him.
"You died and came back," Paul says, smiling at the success.
Jake started checking his body after hearing him say that. "But I don't feel any different from before. Just... this craving or I should say desire for something... Like hunger..."
"That's good, you still have a pumping heart, you are basically no different from a human. Except for your new needs, you need to feed on blood." Paul says, smirking. "That impulse is your body wanting to complete the transition"
"Right now you are in the process of being a vampire, if you don't feed on human blood you will die after a while and if you do it, you will be completely something new, no longer human, enjoying new benefits that a simple human body couldn't provide," Paul explained to him. "Lucky for you, Alex is still a human."
Paul looked at how Alex was a little disturbed but not scared, even a little relieved and excited now, seeing what was happening before her eyes. He didn't intend to give him his mother's or girl's blood or someone else's here in this boat, he was still experimenting with them, maybe his blood could also complete his transition to vampire making him live, he should test that on Alex, otherwise, she would need to feed somewhere after they landed and complete it in the next 24 hours.
"I will do it," Alex, seeing the new prospects of power and living with no fear in this new sad world. She steeled herself and moved beside Jake, extending her arm. "Drink Jake. Make it fast."
Jake was having difficulty being rational with the constant feeling of wanting to feed. So, the moment Alex allowed him he didn't hesitate for a second and fed on her, intending to bite her wrist, but unknown to him his fangs showed up and emitted a hiss sound like a beast, his face became pale, and blood rushed into the veins surrounding his eyes, darkening them tremendously, before biting and starting to drink.
"Oh god, Paul, this is so surreal," Madison says beside his son, observing what was happening before her eyes with a little fright, but more bearable than seeing a walker. The rest of the girls also made a few comments of surprise and interest about the magical thing before them.
"Alright, that's enough Jake," Paul says after seeing him wanting to feed on her until sucking her dry.
Jake wasn't hearing him or taking anything that was happening around him, he was in his own world, only feeling the rush he got and delighting in the blood he was drinking. Paul sees Jake's state being absorbed into it and Alex's growing weakness. He broke his neck, surprising everyone.
"That would do, it will not kill him but will render him disabled for a time," Paul says as he helps Alex sit on the bed. "Now, your turn Alex?"
Alex nodded, and Paul fed her his blood. She was recovering fast after feeling weak, but Paul then snapped her neck, killing her. The same process happened as Paul observed again the feelings and changes during the connection.
After a moment, Alex also came back, experiencing her new urges, but feeling delighted in not seeing anything different from before.
Paul extended his arm to her. "In this case, I assume my blood would help you also complete this step, after all, we don't have anyone here anymore from whom you can feed aboard and we are experimenting, remember? In case it doesn't help you still have 24 hours to complete it, when we land you can grab anyone and feed."
Alex, a little resentful at what he said, took his arm and drank. The same happened with her as Jake, her eyes changed and her fangs showed as her face paled. Alex had more control than Jake, after drinking for a while she separated from his arm, satisfied and delighted, her hunger sated, but deep inside she longed for more of his blood, loving the feeling, but she also had the impression that he would break her neck if she did that.
Paul then left her side and came back to where his girls were standing. "So, maybe you are experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, literally. Your emotions must be enhanced and you must be having a hard time adapting to your new powers, such as hearing things everywhere, your strength and speed also as changed, so you need to be careful when doing things."
Paul saw how Jake finally left the bed and stood on his feet as he removed the gauze around his body that covered his burned places. He also was having a hard time processing everything around him from vision, smell, and sounds as was Alex beside him.
"From now on, what you two need to take into account are four things or rules," Paul instructs them seriously. "First, the sun is your enemy. You are creatures of the night. If you are in direct contact with daylight, you will burn to death."
The room windows had curtains blocking the light. He moved one to the side so a little light could seep in directly. "Try putting a finger near the light," Paul says to them.
Jake was courageous enough to put his finger there, making him instantly burn. Prompted by survival instinct, he quickly removed his hand. He cried out in pain from the burn.
"That's it. You can't walk as you please from now on under the light." Paul smiled as he explained. "But... You can cover yourself with clothes thick enough to walk under it." He then threw them a piece of cloth to wrap around their hands. "Try to put your hand under the sun now."
Jake was a little afraid, his instincts were telling him he shouldn't, but put his hand under the sun as if he couldn't disobey Paul's orders. His body felt compelled to do as told. This time, with his hand wrapped in cloth, he didn't burn under the natural light from the sun.
"That covers rule number one," Paul said. "Number two, you need to feed and survive on the blood of the living. Be it human or animal blood." He explained this part. "Yes, you can still survive on animal blood too, but there is a difference between feeding on human and animal blood. Those who live only on animal blood are weaker than those who feed on human blood. Less strong, less fast, and less durable. Their capacity to heal is diminished, being slower but still much faster than a normal human. But even if you feed on animal blood, you will still be the top predator on this planet, capable of killing or fending off everything."
"Your heart is still pumping blood around your body and it still has normal human-like physiology, continuing to function normally as long as you have a steady consumption of blood. That means you can still go to the bathroom and take a dump, as long as you eat food as you please and enjoy it. But you won't get nutrients from them; only blood can sustain your body."
"Abstaining from drinking blood for extended periods will eventually render you in a state similar to a mummy until someone gives you blood to recover."
"Number 3. As the sun can kill you, you are also highly flammable and sensitive to fire, and will quickly burn and die from it if the flames are not extinguished in time. The same goes for decapitation or if someone removes your heart. However, you are still pretty much durable to normal means of killing you. Lastly, anything related to wood, a wooden stake through your heart, or a wooden bullet, will kill you, while damage with wood on other parts only slows you down or just a scratch. Aside from that, the majority of conventional weapons or bullets will do pretty much nothing to you."
"Number 4... Number 4..." Paul hesitated, not remembering what he was about to say. "I don't remember what I was about to say. If I remember later, I will tell you. For now, engrave the previous three rules in your hearts, always keeping them present."
Paul thought about how Jake had a face that didn't want to put his hand near the light again because of fear and instinct but nonetheless did so. He concluded that maybe they had a Sire Bond with him and wanted to test it further.
"Jake, Alex. Put a finger under the light." Paul ordered, surprising everyone in the room, as they had already seen what happened to a vampire under it.
Jake and Alex's faces changed, but they moved to obey the order, burning until Paul told them to stop and remove their fingers from the light. This confirmed to Paul that he was right, it seems the vampires he makes are sire bonded to him or maybe these two were just lucky to be bonded.
He was delighted because if that was the case they are now supernaturally loyal to him. To the point that they will go out of their way to do whatever he asks them to do, even if they don't actually want to do it. However, this bond doesn't affect how they truly feel about him; it only affects their behavior.
Satisfied with the turn of events, he wanted to do one last test. Feeling the connection from his body to them, he could discern their approximate location. He also sensed he could do something more. He attempted to disrupt his connection with Jake, and the moment he did, he began writhing in agony until he stopped, allowing the flow to return to normal. He came to the conclusion that, since magic does not exist in this world, they require both blood to sustain their bodies and the magic generated from his body to survive. In essence, they need both elements to exist because their bodies are the product of magic.
After all this, they continued experimenting and talking about being vampires and how to control themselves among other things. In the end, Jake, now able to move around and possess these new abilities, wanted to look for his family. Alex wanted to do the same. Paul allowed them to leave as they could train their control away from the people around him. But he also ordered them to come back looking for him when they had finished their business. However, he also told them that if they ever felt great pain, it was because their time was over, regardless of what they were doing, and he was calling them back to look for him.
Jake and Alex left the yacht in a boat while covered in clothes from head to toe, wearing sunglasses in the direction of the coast. Strand was happy to have two fewer passengers. Paul had a hard time explaining to all his girls what they saw in that room. He invented stories to make it the most reasonable and credible possible. In the end, they were also looking forward to becoming vampires themselves, given the case if they needed to be. However, Paul wasn't so excited about making them vampires. He explained that if they were vampires, they couldn't get pregnant with his child, and he wanted them to give him children. Because of that, they suppressed their interest for the moment.