The Vampire Endgame

The Ancient One looked at the sky, and it was a dull shade of dark gray, as it had been for the four hundred and seventeen years since the Apocalypse. Man unleashed nuclear winter upon the planet Earth, effectively decimating much of the world's flora and fauna. One of the species to survive this mess is of course Humanity, and the other is the Race of the Vampires.

Tonight, or today, not that it mattered in a world of permanent darkness, the Ancient One's hunt had been successful. It found some nomadic Humans hiding out in a cavern. Drawn by the heat of their fire and the scent of their flesh, the Ancient One stalked them in the darkness, and killed their sentinel to slake its thirst...

The sentinel in question, a hardy, pale-skinned and fair-haired, sturdy female, had been carrying a Titanium-tipped spear when the Ancient One happened upon her. The pale-skinned female put up quite a fight, thrusting the spear into the snarling, fanged monster's abdomen. If the spear tip had been silver, it would have slain the Ancient One. Fortunately, silver was simply rare these days...

When the Ancient One approached the sentinel, it wore its Human disguise, which was of course no disguise at all. The Ancient One looked like a tall, dark-skinned and muscular young man with long, kinky dark hair and piercing green eyes because that's the way it looked, back when it was a mere mortal. Smiling at the sentinel, it pretended to be just another lost soul wandering the desolate, ever-dark landscape...

With the sentinel out of the way, the Ancient One could have slaughtered the others...the eleven men, nine women and six cubs sleeping on cots in the cavern. It chose not to, not out of pity or remorse, but because it knew that a predator that exhausts its food source is doomed to starvation and extinction. Always leave an egg or two in the nest, the Ancient One thought, as it walked away, returning to its lair.

A long time ago, when the world was different, the Ancient One had a name. It went by the rather interesting moniker Cain Martel. The Ancient One vividly remembered the latter days of the twentieth century. Born on the island of Antigua in 1984, Cain Martel, the son of a wealthy French expatriate and a local Afro-Caribbean woman, seemed destined for adventure and glory from the get go.

Cain's father, Lucien Martel moved the family to the City of Paris, France, in 2000, and they lived in a stately mansion within walking distance of Les Champs Elysees. In the summer of 2006, after completing his education at the Universite De Paris, Cain Martel decided to do some traveling. As the son of a wealthy family, it was the certain the En Vogue thing to do.

"Je dois voir le monde, I must see the world," Cain said to his parents, Lucien and Marie Martel, as he hugged them goodbye in the crowded terminal at the Charles De Gaulle Airport. The young man embarked on a journey to the City of Casablanca, in the heart of the Kingdom of Morocco, a place he'd long to visit ever since he watched the movie of the same name with his father, ages ago.

"Amuses toi au Maroc mon fils, mais reviens chez nous, have fun in Morocco my son but do come back to us," said Marie Lucas-Martel, and the tall, dark-skinned woman hugged her only son fiercely. Cain Martel kissed his mother on the forehead, then hugged his father. He did not know, of course, that he was seeing them for the very last time.

"Je reviendrais, bien sur, I will return, of course," Cain assured his parents, prior to boarding the plane. After that tearful goodbye with his folks, Cain couldn't wait to start his Moroccan journey. While at the Universite De Paris, Cain dated a young Moroccan immigrant named Nadia Doubli, and she delighted him with tales of her years spent in the environs of Kenitra, Morocco.

Cain Martel was going to the Kingdom of Morocco as much for the women as for the tourism. And he wasn't going alone. Cain's best buddy from his university days, a young African American named Tyrone Delacruz, and his Austrian girlfriend Amanda Rossbach were also coming along. They were three wealthy, adventurous young people and to them, the sky seemed the limit.

Cain had been dreaming of going to Morocco for a very long time. Of course, he'd hoped to visit the place with his former girlfriend Nadia Doubli by his side, but the dark-haired, golden-skinned and dark-eyed Moroccan Muslim beauty had left him a couple of months before their graduation from the Universite De Paris.

"Stay in Paris with me, Nadia, we love each other," Cain pleaded, but Nadia shook her head. They were lying in bed together, but this was anything but a typical night for them. With graduation looming, the long-time couple had some decisions to make. Cain wanted Nadia to stay, and he was willing to convert to Islam and marry her if that's what it took...

"Cain, I love you but I must return to my country, it's my duty and my family misses me," Nadia insisted, and she looked at Cain through moist eyes. Cain looked at his beloved Nadia and shook his head. He'd fallen in love with her the moment they met, one fine day at the Universite De Paris library during their first year.

Cain always knew that the day would come when Nadia, an international student, would return to her native Morocco. Still, he'd hoped that after living in Paris, France, for years and years, Nadia would come to realize that her life was there. Cain prayed that Nadia would see the light and accept the fact that she was more Parisian than Moroccan at this point. Not that he'd ever make her choose between the two...

"Nadia, you're a free woman, you love sex, you love life, you're strong-minded, you're getting a French university degree soon, you can have a life here in Paris with me, don't go back to the Kingdom of Morocco and play wife for some creepy and controlling Arab dude," Cain said, and he regretted the words the moment they left their mouth.

"How dare you," Nadia said, her voice quiet and full of wrath. Cain mumbled an apology, or tried to. Nadia slapped him hard across the face and then, half-naked, fled from him. That night, Nadia left Cain's bed, and his life. The breakup hit the rumor mill around the Universite De Paris, since Cain and Nadia were considered one of the school's most unique couples. They had a lot of admirers.

In the weeks that followed, Cain basically stalked Nadia, trying to reconnect with her, but she wanted nothing to do with him. Cain finally admitted to himself that his relationship with Nadia was over, and he resigned himself to having lost the love of his life. Cain swore to himself that he would never forget his darling Nadia. He also intended to keep his promise to visit Morocco someday, hence the post-graduation trip...

"Morocco is going to rock," Tyrone said, bumping his fist against Cain's as they sat side by side in first class. Cain nodded, and smiled at his best friend. Tall and dark-skinned, with an athletic build and a shaved head, Tyrone originally came from Miami, Florida, where he swam for the prestigious Florida State University men's varsity swimming program while studying civil engineering.

After completing his studies in Florida, Tyrone Delacruz decided to see the world, and somehow ended up at the Universite De Paris, where he met fellow expat Amanda Rossbach. The tall, blonde-haired and blue-eyed young Austrian woman sat next to Tyrone, clad in a black leather jacket, red T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Lucky for us I got us the best hotel reservations, we are staying at the Sheraton Casablanca Hotel and Towers," Amanda said, grinning, and Tyrone kissed her on the lips. Cain smiled at his friends, thankful to have such good company on this trip. Of course, it would have been much more awesome with Nadia there, but oh well...

When Cain and his friends came to the City of Casablanca, the most storied locale in all of Morocco, the trio came to what they expected to be a fun place, but it turned out to be anything but. A series of gruesome murders and disappearances gripped the city, and Casablanca Chief of Police Ahmed Khalif thought that a serial killer might be loose in the metropolis, preying on the unwary.

"Man, I thought serial killers were a white dude thing, no offense," Tyrone said, smiling apologetically to his girlfriend Amanda as they watched the news report from the hotel lounge. Cain shrugged. Like all of them, his knowledge of serial killers was limited to what he remembered from Christian Bale's portrayal of business exec turned psycho killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

"Anyone can be a killer, silly," Amanda said, slapping Tyrone's arm, and the burly young American grinned. Cain looked at the two of them, laughed and shook his head. After a day spent shopping and visiting museums, restaurants and historical locations, the three of them were tired. Amanda and Tyrone returned to their hotel room, hand in hand. Cain, though, opted to stay behind...

"I'll see you guys in the morning, I'm going for a walk," Cain said, and he waved Amanda and Tyrone goodbye. The young Parisian stepped out of the Sheraton Casablanca Towers and into the night. The City of Casablanca beckoned with her unique people, her mystery, and her danger. Cain, who loves adventure, was more than ready for Casablanca, or so he thought...

When Cain slipped away from the hotel, he went to a specific place, less than a kilometer away. The House of Sin, one of the best whorehouses in Casablanca, according to Mahmoud, the Casablanca Sheraton hotel concierge. He went there, intent on bedding one of those lovely and elusive Moroccan ladies, and found way more than he bargained for...

"Salaam, stranger," said the madam, a curvy, bronze-skinned, forty-something Moroccan woman with a few silver strands in her dark hair. Cain smiled at her, and took a look at the place. It looked nicer than the Sheraton hotel lounge, which was saying something. In Morocco, pleasure houses were an ancient tradition, and always hidden in plain sight, for men of means with unusual tastes...

"Salaam, ma'am, I'm Cain, visitor from Paris, and would love a companion for the night, the more wild and unusual the better," he said, smiling, and the Madam nodded understandingly. Money exchanged hands, and Cain was shown to a waiting area. When the lady whom he would meet was ready, the Madam summoned him.

"Come forward, brother," said the Madam, and a smiling, excited Cain rose to his feet. Cain was ushered into a dimly lit but comfortable-looking room, and soon met...her. Fatima, the woman that the Madam assured him was more than enough to satisfy any man's desires. Upon seeing Fatima, though, Cain remembered feeling dread, rather than arousal...

"Come to me, handsome," said Fatima, and Cain looked at her...mesmerized. The woman standing before Cain was almost six feet tall, curvy to the point of being voluptuous, with large breasts, wide hips and thick, sexy legs. The woman also boasted of the biggest, roundest derriere that he had ever seen. With skin of a rich caramel hue and long dark hair, Fatima was certainly more exotic than the average Moroccan Muslim woman...

"Oh my," Cain said, and Fatima smiled. For the next couple of hours or so, Fatima showed Cain new pathways to pleasure. Cain, who'd visited bawdy houses in Paris even while he was dating Nadia, found Fatima far more sensual and open than ladies in her line of work usually are. Fatima simply did not hold back, and Cain absolutely relished this about her...

"You have so much passion," Fatima said, after Cain and her had been at it for hours. He'd taken his time with her, complimenting her beauty rather than getting rough with her. Fatima had been quite surprised when Cain laid her on the bed, and kissed every inch of her sexy body. He even kissed her lips, something that most of her clients didn't do, and which she didn't normally allow...

In Fatima's experience, most men cared only to have her suck their dicks, and then they would proceed to spread her thick legs and shove their way into her vagina. Fatima would lie down and mentally count the minutes while the men plowed away at her, taking their pleasure, before withdrawing, panting, and then vanish from her bed, only to be replaced by more of the same...

"Fatima, I find you beautiful and I believe that a man who doesn't respect women isn't a real man," Cain said, and he actually meant every word. Fatima, who was still tingling from Cain eating her pussy and fingering her as she lay in bed with him. The handsome foreigner seemed to know his way around the female body, much to Fatima's delight...

"Cain, I wish more mortal men were like you," Fatima whispered, and Cain grinned, and continued to pleasure her. Burying his handsome face between her legs, Cain ate Fatima out. The lovely lady tasted a bit different than the women he was used to, and she smelled different too, but he chose not to make a big deal out of it.

"You're unlike any woman I've ever known," Cain said, feeling tired and sated, after Fatima grabbed his manhood and inserted him into herself. Cain winced as Fatima's pussy gripped his dick, and she rode him passionately. He thrust into her, smacking her big beautiful ass for good measure, and her screams of passion mingled with his own.

"If you only knew," Fatima whispered, as Cain lay there, with his head on her belly, after hours of passionate sex. Cain relaxed, pleasurably sore all over, thanks to Fatima and her, ahem, carnal knowledge. Cain just thinking that he was missing something, the sort of thing that might be staring him in the face. Suddenly, he got it...Fatima's skin felt oddly cold, and he couldn't hear her heartbeat!

"Fatima, are you alright? I can't hear your heartbeat," Cain said, alarmed, and Fatima looked at him, feeling amused by the concern on his handsome face, and saddened by what she knew she had to do. Cain gasped as the lovely Fatima...changed. The lady's eyes turned bright red, and her teeth elongated and sharpened into wicked fangs.

"I'm truly sorry about this, Cain, you're one of the good ones but I can't take any chances," Fatima said, and she pounced on her lover like a cat leaping after a mouse. Cain, terrified and shocked, tried to resist but the monstrous lady's strength was incredible. The thing that Fatima had become overpowered Cain, held him down and sank her fangs into his neck. Cain closed his eyes, surrendering to oblivion...

When Cain came to, he was...changed. The young man he used to? Gone, transformed into a nightmarish Undead creature that moves about by night, and drinks the blood of the living to live. A creature that doesn't breathe, lacks a heartbeat, and prowls the Earth, looking for food...and its favorite food is the blood of Human beings. Somehow, Fatima turned Cain Martel into a monster...

Cain Martel never saw the lovely, monstrous Fatima again. He had to learn the Way of the Vampire by himself. In the movies and television shows, Vampires are social creatures, forming Undead cliques and families to hold off the boredom and loneliness of eternity. That's a very foolish and romantic notion of the Undead.

Cain Martel, nascent Vampire, found himself utterly alone, and the other Vampires he encountered weren't exactly the social type. For decades he wandered the Earth, from Morocco to Spain, and finally, the City of London, England. That's where Cain was in the summer of 2025 A.D. when the Nuclear war between the Western world and the Islamic World Powers began. It devastated the planet, endangered the Human species, and brought the world's Vampires out of the woodwork.

The Nuclear Winter proved to be even deadlier to Vampires than it was to Humans. With their food source dwindling, Vampires fought a costly war among themselves, one which decimated their numbers. Cain Martel, once a newbie, was one of the few Vampires who survived. The others simply got slaughtered by their own kind during the Blood War.

"Must prowl the Earth until the day I die for real," said the Ancient One, mostly to itself, as it rested in its bed of dirt, deep below the Earth. For as long as Humanity exists, there will always be Vampire. Without Humanity, Vampires as a species simply cannot exist. The Ancient One intends to see which species makes it to the end, that's one of the reasons why it bothers to go on existing...