• The sound of the ocean waves repeatedly crashed against the grainy shores of southern California. A cool,ocean breeze blew, the palm leaves rustled with the gentle wind. The moonlight glistened casting a magical effect on the ocean currents, and the night vast, filled with the scattered stars, yet contained the feeling of great emptiness . . .

    Dyanos walked along the shoreline, barefooted, leaving foot prints in the sand, just until the waves washed them away. He always walked along the coastline, it was what helped him to think. To reflect upon his day, his past, and the eternity that awaited him. Dyanos has been walking the earth for centuries. He has accumulated vast knowledge and wisdom than most beings. He's lived and fought in wars, read almost every book, seen some of history's greatest achievements; but he's always been alone, solitude, independent, relying only on himself to survive. Dyanos was a vampire, one of the last of his kind.

    He chuckled to himself, thinking of how foolish the humans depicted vampires. Most of the vampire myths were false, with the exception of sun light and the insatiable thirst for blood. But the blood, to Dyanos, didn't pose much of a dilemma anymore. Apart from being just a vampire, he has been working as a doctor for over a century now. Working within hospitals, he had trained himself to resist the hunger for blood. Dyanos thought of the self-discipline, amazed that he was able to conquer such a feat. In doing so, he has become an exceptional doctor. Far superior than the average doctors, his precision and accuracy of his hands, his vast knowledge of medicine and the human anatomy, and his ability to think much faster than the human brain had saved many human lives.

    Dyanos enjoyed his career, the feeling of saving lives instead of taking them pleased him greatly. But he was deep in thought, thinking of his patient the night before. It was an elderly lady, Mrs. Mosshart, and the decision she chose that bothered him tremendously. Mrs. Mosshart had kidney failure and the only way she can continue living was to go through dialysis. But she astonished him, telling him that she had lived her fullest in life. She's lived through wars, traveled the world, had a wonderful family, and she believed and felt that she was ready for God's loving embrace. He tried reasoning with her, trying to dissuade her from her choice; but she had already made her final decision. Still, Dyanos tried to convince her, telling her what would happen to all the people she would leave behind; but her mind was made up. He sat next to her bed, asking her of her accomplishments in life. They talked for hours, she told him all the things she had done and Dyanos, too, began to believe that she really was ready to go on. He stayed by her bedside till she breathed her last. There was a sense of peace on her face, a peace that Dyanos had thought about many times throughout the centuries of his life.

    He came back, withdrawing from the bitter sweet memory of Mrs. Mosshart. He realized how far he had walked, about 3 miles down the coast. He shook his head, trying to distract himself, wondering what he can do for his free night off. It came to him, a couple of the nurses working the night shift spoke of an online chat game where it's possible to have conversations with people all over the world and they would never even know who they were speaking to. He pondered on the thought of trying this game. Sighing, he thought of how much of a time waster it would be; but then again, he thought of all the things people had to say. It intrigued him, wondering the kind of conversations he could make. Dyanos breathed deeply and exhaled a white misty vapor. The vapor enveloped him and dissolved leaving nothing behind.

    The vapor reappeared, 3 miles back from the direction Dyanos had once been. It gathered together, forming a the shape of a man. It became physical, forming clothes, hair, eyes, hands, legs; the colors swirled mixing together, becoming solid. Dyanos rematerialized, everything intact. He walked toward the direction of condos along the beaches' shoreline. Most of the residents were already asleep, leaving the neighborhood silent except for the sound of the waves and the occasional barking of the neighborhood dogs as they called out to each other in the night.

    Upon reaching the door of his condo, Dyanos envisioned a possible future. He saw that he would meet someone who would change the way he acts, thinks, and possibly even drive him of his discipline. The vision faded away as fast as it had appeared. He wondered why he had a vision, it has been centuries since he last had one. Something was going to happen to him that would greatly effect his future, but what? He massaged his temples, trying to calm himself and telling himself that he had to relax. Besides it was his night off. Dyanos' condo was perfect for one such as himself. It contained all the necessities of human living, the illusion to make him seem "normal" and it was equipped with the latest in technology. The walls contained famous portraits of Da Vinci and various other artists; a few of which Dyanos himself had painted. Yet, it had the consistent feeling of loneliness, with which he endured for the centuries of solitude. He scanned the room, making sure nothing had broken in in his absence. With everything the way it had always been, he ascended the flight of stairs. The higher up he went, the darker the condo became. At the very top, the hall was pitch black and a soft melody played farther down the darkness. He smiled, taking a step forward and with a wave of his left hand, the room illuminated. Torches lined across the hallway, with even more portraits. These portraits however, were depicted of some ancient family. The frames slightly peeled, revealing the copper color beneath the gold paint. The portraits were done well, they seemed to create a sense of living with each person in the pictures; they looked like they might jump out of their own frames and walk about. Their expressions, powerful and so noble.

    Dyanos walked down the hall, toward the sound of the melody. It came from within his master bedroom, and a blue light shone underneath the door's crevice. He reached for the door, twisting the door handle carefully and quietly. The door creaked, as he opened the door. The melody suddenly stopped and iridescent blue flames floated around the room, casting an eerie effect making the shadows dance. The blue flames continued circling around the room, flickering and moving in a specific way; almost like they were commanded to do so. Dyanos stepped into the room and extended his arm, hands open, reaching for the flame. He touched it and the flames disappeared; an instant later, the room warped. Transforming it's structure, no longer boxed but dome like. Holes enlarged within the walls, forming windows. Book cases aligned the walls, the ceiling painted with pictures of vampires. It seemed to tell a story, a legend of what they were and how they came to be. The book cases were filled with leather-bound books, paper-backs, loose files, hard-covers and scrolls. Books and papers even covered the floor, making it almost impossible to tell what kind of flooring there was. A finely crafted oak made-bed lied amidst the clutter of novels. The bed however was neat and clean, a laptop lay on the cerulean colored bed covers.

    He murmured a command, it was of some unknown language; ancient and long forgotten to the human race. The books lying on the floor, suddenly rose and stacked themselves in neat piles from biggest to smallest against the walls. With the books neatly stacked against the walls, the dome shaped room was now very spacious; but the bed in the center of it all, greeted him with that same depressing loneliness. Dyanos walked toward the window, opening it up to let the crisp evening breeze flow in. He took a peek outside looking at the shape of his condo. It still looked like all the others around him, but it's internal structure was just rearranged.

    He shut his eyes, still wondering why he had a vision. He let out a heavy sigh, pushing back the vision, trying not to let it get to him. He walked back to the oak-made bed. He sat on it, shifting his position to get comfortable and opened up his laptop. Immediately, after patiently waiting for his laptop to automatically update it's fire-walls, he typed in the web address. It became painfully obvious the moment the window loaded the website, that it was meant for adolescent teens. The bright colors and the slang words used by the NPC's made it a bit childish. Nonetheless, Dyanos signed up, typing in his email, password, and user name. He read all the precautions, adjusting his account, and finally created his avatar. He spent half an hour just trying to decide what kind of avatar would represent him. There were so many choices, combinations to put together to have the avatar that best suited his personality and sense of nobility. He decided to make on a light brown skin, blood red eyes, and long black hair. The clothes that the website automatically provided for new members looked a bit plain; he just choose dark clothes that the teens these days would call "emo" or "goth".

    Everyday after work, Dyanos spent a few hours trying to learn how the site works and everyday added new clothes and accessories for his avatar. The other members of the website, ever since he visited the site's "Town", had been calling him a "newb" or "noob". Puzzled he asked one of the avatars a question, asking him what a newb or noob was. He just replied with a "lol", and told him that a newb or noob was someone new to the game; and Dyanos' avatar looked a great deal like one and just the way he had been acting, asking questions on where to get and how to get certain things. Little by little, he had grown to enjoy the game, as he figured out more and more on how things worked. Picking up the meanings of the abbreviations, that the teens used to "speak" in town or on private messages. He was also getting used to the role-playing, he found it amusing that he can outsmart most of the other members with his superior vocabulary and quick thinking. Dyanos eventually bought exclusive items, ones that required money, so that he can get out of the status of "newb". In two weeks, he had developed a habit for the online chat game. Whenever he had the chance, Dyanos would use his free time to go online. He made a few friends, joined a couple of guilds, even donated gold or items to people who asked kindly. All the while, taking his career as a Professional Doctor seriously.

    A couple months passed since Dyanos first began the online game. He was no longer a "newb", nor did he look and acted like one. The vision he had sank deep into the darkest parts of his mind, there it stayed forgotten, waiting . . .

    The night was silent, the ocean breeze gently blew, and the waters still. Dyanos woke, yawning and stretching his limbs, letting the cold blood within his body flow through his veins. He scanned the room, his night vision piercing the darkness, searching for anything that might have been unusual. With a sigh, he forced his body to get out from the comfortable warmth of his bed. He waved his hand and said another spell, making the sheets straighten out and the pillows fluff up and reorganize themselves as if nobody had used the bed at all. Dyanos walked out of his room and down the hall of portraits; taking glances at each one as he passed them. He quickly descended down the stairs and went to take a shower. Though the showers were unnecessary for a vampire, he found it enlightening and peaceful in a way. He stood under the shower, eyes closed; feeling his mind clearing, his body cleansed, and his soul purified, as the water splashed against body cleaning every inch of him. After the shower, Dyanos got ready for work. Taking his time, since the hospital was just a couple of blocks away. He simply conjured up his clothes, using his mind; he pictured himself wearing a buttoned down fauna shirt, with a long charcoal colored coat, and a long black trousers, complete with a black shoes. The clothes instantly materialized and they fit perfectly on him, almost like a second skin. The clock went off, as soon as he got his files together, telling him that it was 6:00. With a deep breath, Dyanos left his home, but not before adding a couple of safeguards in case someone planned on breaking into his humble dwelling.

    The night was beautiful, the evening sky free of clouds; gulls were visible along the coast, each one nestled in the sand to rest for the night. Dyanos walked away from the beach, toward the hospital's direction. Cars began lining along the sidewalks, people coming home from a long day's work, needing to relax. As he walked he kept his pose straight, elegant, noble-like. The fellow neighbors watched him pass by, greeting him with such reverence. Some of them, mainly the females, couldn't stop staring at Dyanos wide eyed. Like he was a dream, an illusion conjured up by their imaginations. Dyanos in turn, greeted them, making small talk, asking how their day went. His voice, as he answered them, low like the last echo heard from a cave or a mountain top, but pleasant to the ears and mesmerizing to the opposite sex. Ignoring the feeling of lust they held in their minds, he excused himself and continued walking toward the hospital.

    The hospital, most people detest the hospital, the feeling of sickness, death, and the consistent feeling of sorrow was what made it depressing. But people tend to overlook the other feelings. Those of happiness, relieve, and hope are what made working in the hospital, a satisfying thing to him. The lives he saved are the ones that made the most impact to him, the expressions on the patients faces and their loved ones are memories he treasured and made it all worthwhile.

    But not this day, Dyanos had the feeling something was happening. Once within the hospital's walls, many of the doctors and nurses ran around trying to treat the severely injured patients. There were commands being yelled at to the staff, so much commotion and so many dying people came through the emergency room. He grabbed a doctor running passed him and questioned him.

    "Excuse me, Dr. Reddfield. What's going on? Where are these people coming from?"

    "Didn't you hear? There was a major accident on the freeway! Some loony couldn't control his car and crashed into an oil truck. It blew up and all these people were caught in the explosion. Hurry, come help us out. We can certainly use your help!"

    Dyanos, didn't bother changing into the usual white coat that he wore. He immediately rolled up his sleeves and rinsed his hands well, before entering the Emergency room. That night there were a total of twenty-three people severely injured. Most had third degree burns all over their body, some lost limbs, and others had fractured skulls, ribs, and spines. Worse yet, their x-rays showed that some of the ribs punctured their major internal organs. Leaving them with only a eleven percent survival rate. Out of the twenty-three, only six people were stabilized and sent to rest. He did his best, using all his skills to try and stabilize the patients' heart condition. He felt a sense of loss, like part of him died away. He was in grief, which even astonished himself; he had not teared in centuries. It seems his time of solitude and living in plain sight, has made Dyanos very fond of the human race. To respect them, was something most of his fellow kin would not admit to.

    He left the hospital, exhausted and filled with sorrow; but not until after he drank his fill from the blood room. Instead of walking to his condo, he exhaled that same misty vapor and it warped him inside his master bedroom. He collapsed on top of the bed covers, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Never before has he felt such intensity of emotions concerning the humans' deaths. In the wars, he's killed hundred of them and that didn't make him break into tears. Where had these feelings come from? He wiped his tears with his blood stained fauna shirt. It occurred to him, that it's possible that the vision he had long ago had something to do with today. But he didn't meet anyone that changed him, the only difference was his emotions intensified. Dyanos cast the vision aside, setting it back in the dark depths of his mind. He needed to distract himself, do something to keep him from thinking of the vision and of what happened tonight.

    He opened up his laptop and logged on to the online chat game. He knew his mind would drift into the virtual world, to seek anything that would keep him from thinking of the current events that took place. He changed his avatar, making it look like a prisoner, so that he can draw attention to himself in the towns. In the virtual town, Dyanos sat in the shade under a tree. On the other side of the screen another avatar was looking in his direction, a female avatar. He just sat there, in the shade, ignoring her. She got up and walked in his direction and typed, "Poke, poke." when she was within reach.

    Annoyed, he quickly typed in, "Chokes with chains."

    The female avatar also typed in, "Gasps for air"

    Intrigued, he typed backed, "Let's go"

    And in turn, she replied with, "Cough, cough"

    Dyanos was wondering who this girl was. He figured that she was having fun, teasing him as they role-played against each other. Eventually, he just stopped and asked her a couple of questions. The usual, age, state, favorite band, etc. She in turn answered him, but she did so in a playful tone. She also had asked him the same questions, and Dyanos reluctantly replied with with his real age, which was about 18 thousand years old, and where he had lived and his favorite music, etc. But she also asked him, why he had choked her. He replied that he had a troubled night, not revealing the whole truth to her about the incidents that happened. She forgave him, since it hadn't harmed her physically; it was just role-playing. Right then, he realized that this is that person whom his vision had shown him. It was nearly morning and Dyanos bid her adieu, but without first asking her to be his friend. After leaving town, he checked on her profile. He didn't expect the things he anticipated from her. It seemed that her profile told him that she was a college student, graduating. He read the rest of her profile, making assumptions to some of her interest; according to the way she had her profile set up and the way it simply looked. Before logging off, he commented her profile, telling her to meet him in town tomorrow at about 8:00 in the evening.

    He closed his laptop placing it beneath his bed. Staring at the murals on the ceiling, he thought about his vision. Could this be the one person that would forever change him? Could she have been the one from the vision? He thought of each one. Wondering how exactly she could change him. Feeling the exhaustion from the night, Dyanos fell asleep. His room suddenly became pitch black, the windows becoming tinted; not even the brightest light would be able to illuminate that room.

    The morning sunrise reflected it's magnificent light, shining the ocean waters. The city yawned, the early morning workers got into their vehicles and drove to work, and the residents along the coast woke to a dazzling sunlight, as Dyanos slept in the silence of his room, dreaming of the end of heartache.