Broken Dreams: The Present Day - Project Abandoned (lack of interest)
Sam the T-man:
Preface
Hello, it's me again. Apologies for my first attempt at posting this opening up a can of worms - all I'll say about that is, when you've dated a sixteen year old at twenty and a half, the line becomes a little blurred.
But anyway, after thinking of a way to get round the problem, I decided to make the adult a teen instead - in fact, even though I've had to re-write parts of it to accomodate, overall it makes for a better storyline :D During the editing process I got carried away and changed the first three chapters too, since I wasn't that happy with them in the end.
So with no further fuss, I present to you all an improved, less controversial Broken Dreams, now with more chapters and a bigger initial posting binge ;)
Sam the T-man:
Well, they say everyone has a story to tell about their life. So here goes – there's certainly enough material here to keep me going for a very long time. I could think of better content for my first novel, but then what better inspiration to draw on than your own life?
My name's Evan Turilli, and I'm fifteen. Well, I was last time I checked, anyway...
Before I get too carried away, allow me to introduce the rest of my family; those I live with anyway, since they're just as important to this story. Especially this guy:
This is Luca, my Dad. He's fifty five there – doesn't look it, does he? Something you'll find out very quickly about this town we live in; it's weird. I'm not sure who it was, but someone discovered this elixir of youth, and since it got made readily available, everyone's been supping it like water. Including Mum when she needed it:
She was a little younger there, and so was I – that's me in her arms. My twin sister Amy is being held by a young Johan, or Joe as we call him. I think he was about sixteen then; pretty young to be delivering babies, but that's what he ended up doing. He also has a twin sister called Diana, and they left for University when we were growing up, so I don't remember them much, more hearsay from my parents. One of whom we share, but in different ways; without getting too technical, Luca has been a father to me and a mother to him. Nature may have never intended for men to grow babies inside them, but that never stopped aliens finding a way to make it happen.
So welcome to Alpinloch; home to a growing litter of half-aliens, adults who don't age... and, more importantly, vampires. Grand Vampires lurk in a busy outskirt town close to Sim City, and it all started when a man and his twin sister moved here quite a long time ago. Kieran and Erin, their names are. The spooky thing is, she looks just like Mum. Darker dressed maybe; both twins like to dress like that, but Kieran took it a stage further when he got friendly with one of the Grand Vampires. He was always fascinated by them, so when she sired him he saw it as a great honour. Erin meanwhile preferred the human life.
Trouble is though, although they're twins, their mentalities are completely different. Erin settled with someone called Manuel and went on to raise a very large family with him. Kieran on the other hand likes to add notches to his bedpost, male or female. One of his lovers is a man called Alex, one of those people you only have to look at to realise you don't mess with him... and Manuel's brother. Another significant part of the story, indirectly; you see, Alex is a friend of the family. Both Mum and Dad are into all sorts of strange things, from giving birth to aliens right through to experiencing what it is to be a vampire. Alex feels the same way, and made that clear to the first vampire to stalk Alpinloch's nights. He soon became the second.
He invited Mum over one night. She let her curiosity get the better of her, and came back very different in the small hours of the next day. We were all taken aback at first, but apart from her needing to sleep during the day instead of the night, there wasn't really any other difference. She didn't eat with us, although she did try at first. When she realised that, no matter how polite she tried to be, there was no getting round the fact she needed another diet, she would just sit with us for a while, enduring the smell of food to give us some quality time before tending to herself. She'd even started cooking us breakfast at about ten to six, so by the time we were up and getting ready for school, the aroma of omelette teased our senses as we came down the stairs.
Dad, although naturally curious about the idea, was happy to stay human, however he'd often ask her what it was like. As Amy and I got older we began to show an interest too, and despite her refusing to glamorise, the whole idea was becoming more and more appealing to me. Just like it had Joe, who she'd ended up indulging at his graduation party. I hadn't seen him for a long time, so it was left to my imagination to attempt to envisage how he looked nowadays.
I was pushing fourteen when it really started. We began to notice wolves taking an interest in our surroundings, and being the animal lovers we all are, none of us could resist ruffling their fur. Wolves are supposed to be fearsome beasts, but all I could think of them was how cute they all were. We even started to give them names; Rags, Tiffany... There was one wolf who showed up occasionally however - Dad christened him Balin – who despite being affectionate, I felt distinctly uneasy around, and whenever I saw him I'd slink upstairs to my room. There was something about his glowing eyes that gave me a sense of foreboding. It wasn't nice, and I felt wary whenever I saw Dad petting him.
One night I went downstairs after feeling confident that the black wolf had gone, but noticed the bathroom door was left slightly open. The light was on, and I spotted Dad doing something over the basin, so I went to investigate.
“Dad?”
He looked up, taken aback at my voice. “Oh, Evan! Hi...” So saying, he hastily swept something into the basin, and on noticing the movement I recognised contents of our first aid kit.
“Is everything alright?” I checked, “What's happened?”
“Nothing...” he stuttered, “Really, it's fine.”
His shaking hands told me otherwise, however. Something had happened, and he was in shock. Dread built up inside me as I approached, my face heavy with concern.
“Please Dad, you can tell me... something's happened, I can tell.”
“I'm fine, really...”
“Bulls***,” I sternly told him, “Did you get attacked?”
His head spun sharply towards me. “Why do you say that?” he asked suspiciously.
I couldn't help but stare back at him, suddenly feeling scared. “Your eyes...” I uttered feebly, “They've changed...”
He then frowned. “Changed?” he checked, before looking at the mirror. “Oh good Lord, they have!”
It was then I noticed his hand. I clasped it as I examined the bite-marks, before releasing it without warning. His hand was looking much hairier than it did earlier, and his eyes were yellow. I'm not talking an ill looking, jaundice yellow either, I mean the irises of his eyes; instead of hazel they were now a creepy yellow. And it wasn't just his hand that was more hairy, it was spreading to his arms, his face...
“What the hell is that Balin you liked so much?!” I challenged, “Glowing yellow eyes, and now your eyes have changed too? Strange co-incidence isn't it...?”
He frowned. “What are you...” He suddenly paused, his posture becoming rigid as he gave a pained yelp, almost as if he was trying to contain himself. It didn't last long before a full-blown scream escaped his pain-ridden being as he crumpled to the floor.
I had never felt so helpless, or so scared, in my whole life as I did that night. My eyes were fixed to the writhing heap on the floor as I slowly backed away, hands travelling to my mouth in an attempt to suppress the anguished noises I was barely aware of making. Dad's body was stretching and twisting into a different shape, and his screams were slowly becoming muffled and more animal-like. Hearing half-human snarling was what finally tore me from the bathroom and, closing the door, I sprinted outside, screaming at the top of my voice.
“Mum!!”
Thankfully both her and Amy were outside. But it also meant they hadn't heard either of us scream. They were soaking in the hot tub, and they looked up at me in surprise when they saw me.
“Evan?” she remarked, getting out, “What on earth...?” I noticed Amy getting out as I struggled to calm myself, but I was shaking more than Dad had been.
“Mum it's Dad,” I whimpered, feeling her hands on my shoulders.
“Look, calm down... Take a deep breath. Now, what's happened?”
My hazel eyes locked onto her red eyes as I replied gently, “Dad's a werewolf Mum, I've just seen him change...”
“What??” Amy retorted, “Don't be...!”
A chilling howl ripped through the night air, slightly muffled by the walls containing him, but still clearly audible. Both girls stared in horror at the house as my apparent ramblings were now proved true.
“Oh my God!”
“You two, stay here,” Mum commanded as she made for the back door.
“Mum, don't!” I cried out, advancing.
“I'm immortal, you're not,” came the harsh truth. So saying she went inside, leaving us two alone in the night. I didn't feel too safe outside either, especially if it was Balin who did this to Dad; supposing he came back for us?
The back door eventually opened again, revealing Mum coming through apparently unmarked, but that told us nothing given how vampires rapidly heal.
“It's okay now, it's safe,” she beckoned.
“No way,” I refused, shaking my head, “I'm not going back in there.”
“He's got something to eat now. He'll be alright, honest.”
Slowly I went in after Amy, and found the wolf-like being who once was my Dad devouring a plate of salmon, presumably which had been prepared by Mum. I was just glad he hadn't found our cat Angel, as we saw her slowly crawling out from under a chair later on. Poor thing must've been terrified with all that howling.
“Dad...?” Amy checked once he'd finished. He rose from his chair and turned in the direction of her voice, his features softened as he spotted us. There was still something of him there in that ball of fur it seemed, as he slowly beckoned to me. Not Amy but me, and I guessed immediately why that was as I gingerly approached.
“I'm sorry if I scared you earlier,” he told me gently, slipping an arm round my shoulder. I flinched involuntarily, not knowing whether or not I could yet trust him, but as he began to stroke my hair and pull me closer, it slowly sank in that all he wanted was a cuddle. I began to wonder which of us was more frightened as we clung to each other.
Sam the T-man:
Over time, Dad began to change. Not just physically, he did that every evening, but it seemed every time that happened a little more of his true self was lost. His affection, his sensitivity, all those things I'd loved him for and was even exhibiting myself, were slowly fading from him. At least that's how it seemed to me. The others seemed to either not notice or not mind, so I decided to brush my initial misgivings aside for now. That was until my half-alien half-brother invited us to his wedding – Amy and I were about fourteen and a half by then.
Now, this was a man whose graduation gift was immortality, something I learned he'd passed onto who would now be his bride. With two vampires getting married, and whose guests included the groom's embracer, the wedding had to be in the evening. Ironically it was booked for Hallow e'en night; something to do with a mixture of his dry humour and her outright silliness. Nevertheless, knowing what we now knew, we were in for one hell of a ride that night.
Mum had commandeered Dad's car for the evening, since once the moon was out he'd be in no state to drive. I wished it was me sat in the front instead of him; despite us all now used to seeing him change, I was still far from happy having to watch.
“Five minutes later than the last time you checked,” Mum replied dryly, after I checked my watch for the umpteenth time.
“Yeah yeah,” I grumbled. I couldn't help it – I was nervous, and the cathedral they'd booked was still nowhere in sight. I tried several times to try and picture the happy couple instead, since I had no idea what she looked like, and only a vague picture of him as a teenager. The fact it was Hallow e'en busied my imagination even more as my mind's eye attempted to envisage the clothes they'd chosen.
“It'll be fine!” came Dad's cheery voice, “How about some music?”
“Oh yes please,” I eagerly agreed, not only to take my mind off what was coming, but also in the hope it would drown out his screams. The opening bars of Kinslayer blared through the speakers and we all cheered – our parents' taste in music was infectious. I was inwardly pleased when Dad turned up the volume and our singing had to grow louder to compete, although even that wasn't enough.
“Aaaahh!!”
I stifled a groan as my gaze lowered. I wasn't in the mood to watch that evening.
When we pulled up, they were already outside and waiting for us. I hastily got out of the car as Dad lay slumped against the back of his seat, and Mum went foraging for the huge pack-up he now needed. When I spotted them however, they were a welcome distraction indeed as I approached; I don't know what I was expecting, but the clothes they chose were beautiful! I didn't know where to look for the best on seeing her, but one look at his red satin shirt and I was hooked.
“Wow, Joe!” I greeted, “You look great!”
“Thanks!” he grinned in reply, revealing elegant fangs. “We don't usually dress like this, but given the occasion...”
I chuckled. “Oh, you should see Mum these days,” I replied, “Where did you get that shirt?”
“I don't think it comes in your size,” came the sad news, “How are you, anyway?”
“Oh,” I half-smiled, “Could be better...”
He frowned. “Why, what's wrong?”
“It's Dad... well, your Mum, he...”
As if on cue, the others got out of the car. I looked apologetically back at him as I noticed the look of horror on his face.
“What the...?!” he began, before they came over. He adopted a different look as he folded his arms, a teasing expression on his face.
“Hi Joe!” came the happy greeting. Joe, understandably, wasn't so amused.
“Look Mum,” he replied, “I know it's Hallow e'en, but isn't this a little extreme?!”
I left them to their banter as more cars pulled up, and the street became more and more crowded. I recognised the lad in the white jacket as my nephew Karl, and we had a good chat before we got called in. It wasn't all pleasant however, as he noticed the well-toned beast walking back towards the crowd after talking with Joe.
“Who is that?!” he spluttered.
I nervously cleared my throat. “That's Dad,” I confessed. Karl eyed me in disbelief; I guess I would too if I'd been told my Granddad was a werewolf.
“I beg your pardon?”
I raised an eyebrow, trying to make light of the situation. “Welcome to life as a Turilli,” I remarked dryly.
“Come on Evan, this isn't funny!” he spat. This coming from someone who was more of a clown than his father – normally, anyway – was enough for me to drop the act myself.
“Yeah, tell me about it(!)” I retorted, “I've been living with it, imagine how I feel!” Without realising my voice had raised, and I sheepishly lowered my head. “Sorry,” I muttered.
“No, I'm sorry,” Karl apologised, “It's just a shock, that's all.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said, before noticing the crowds disperse. “Better get inside I s'pose.”
“Look,” he offered as we moved off, “If you ever need to talk...”
I smiled gratefully as we walked down the aisle to our seats. “Thanks,” I accepted, “That'd be great.”
Sam the T-man:
“And with this ring, I thee wed...”
I barely noticed when it was over; I was too busy struggling to stem the flow of tears. I know, it's stereotypical to cry at a wedding, but I couldn't help it. In fact, looking about me it became clear soon enough that I needn't bother fighting, so out it came.
“You are a soppy sod, huh?”
I looked up to see Marco; Karl is the spitting image of him. Aside from one important difference, however...
I chuckled at the sight of his glassy red eyes. “Oh sure,” I replied, “Look at you!”
“I know, I know,” he smiled as he self-consciously dried his eyes. We then both gave a surprised yelp as we came close to having a heart attack; a very loud yet familiar noise had reverberated through the building.
“What the...?” Marco questioned, but I was now glaring at the source of the sound.
“Dad!!” I growled, turning to face him, “If you're gonna do that, go somewhere else!”
Dad looked about him, noticing more and more people staring at him. “Oh very well,” he complied as he sloped off.
“That's Luca?!”
I looked back at Marco with a raised eyebrow. “Yep, that's my Dad,” I admitted.
“Okay...” he remarked, before starting to move off. “Come on, don't want to miss the cake do we?”
A mischievous glint appeared in my eye as I followed. “Oh no!” I agreed, rubbing my hands together in eager anticipation. As I stepped outside I noticed Dad talking with a man with long, very curly brown hair.
“Who's that?” I asked.
“Oh Adrian?” Marco replied, “He's your new brother-in-law.”
Now there’s someone who enjoys cleaning!
I watched the groom disappear with the cake stands, smiling to myself - Amy’s the same as far as cleaning goes. I went back to what was left of my cake and my networking before suddenly feeling glad Joe was the tidy type – was that the sound of someone fighting I could hear?
“Dad!” I heard someone shout, “Stop it! Please!?”
A feeling of dread built up inside, and I felt my stomach churn as I slowly turned towards the source of the scuffle. A hand clamped over my mouth as my eyes picked out the bundle of fur who answered to my name of “Dad.” I was mortified – was this really the same man who spawned me?!
Once it was all over I purposely strode over to him.
“What did you think you were doing?!” I exploded.
Dad folded his arms in reply, cockily I thought. “He asked me to,” he told me.
Okay, fine. But there’s just one little problem…
“At your son’s wedding?” I challenged.
“It’s Hallow e'en!” came the innocent reply, “It was as much his idea…!”
“It’s a family wedding!” I repeated, “Doesn’t that mean anything? Couldn’t you wait?!”
“It’s also during the evening,” he reminded, “If we’d left it any later I’d be back to normal. So no.”
I sighed angrily to myself, grateful that werewolves aren’t telepathic.
Now which of us is meant to be the immature one here? I’m fourteen, and I’m the one who thinks savaging someone at your son’s wedding is tactless! Especially when it’s the bride’s brother!
I walked away, trying valiantly to not let it get to me that much – it wasn’t my problem, after all. But then in a way it was; if Dad wasn’t the one who’d been bitten by that wolf, and he’d seen someone else tear into someone on their son’s wedding, he’d have reacted in the same way as I had. Maybe that’s where I got it from, I don’t know. All I knew at the time as I left him was, he just wasn’t the same any more, that was certain now. And it was starting to tear me apart.
Sam the T-man:
School became a real struggle. Sometimes I’d confide in Karl about my troubles, since we grew up together at school. At first he listened, but as time wore on he became distracted. Now he had his own problems, and the reason I listened, apart from returning the favour, was to remind myself that I wasn’t the only one with troubles.
His Mum is Jeanette, a sister of mine I met at the wedding. Marco's his Dad (hence his looking so much like him) and my meeting with him, as brief as it was, was enough for me to see why. Marco’s a lovely guy, and Karl takes after him a lot. Jeanette’s nice too, but she struck me as insecure – I could think of no other reason why she liked to sleep around as much as she did. But long after both of them became vampires themselves, Karl was now worried about the state of his parents’ relationship.
“Dad wanted to be sired for a reason,” he explained, “He’s been doubting Mum’s feelings for him lately, and from what I’ve noticed these days the verdict isn’t good.”
“Ouch,” was the best I could offer.
“Yeah, exactly,” came the reply. From watching him I started to wonder if, just by being a Turilli, he’d inherited Dad’s past over-sensitive ways. Just like me, Gino… even Joe and Carlos had, I heard. But why not the girls? They were either bordering on indifferent, or as Jeanette was starting to be, a bitch! It wasn't anything to do with Mum, since Joe's twin Diana was the same.
“I’m starting to wish I could hear thoughts myself,” I remarked, “Dad’s driving me crazy lately, and Mum is by not noticing!”
“She may be noticing more than you think,” he offered.
“If she is she doesn’t care,” I grumbled, “That incident at the wedding just took the p***.”
“Try talking to her,” he said, “It’s the only way you’ll find out for yourself.”
“Yeah, s’pose.”
I couldn’t wait when I got home. After checking my watch and satisfied that Dad would be in bed by now, I went upstairs, slung my exercise book down somewhere, and rapped my knuckles hard on the lid of Mum’s bed.
The coffin opened and Mum sat upright, resting her arms on the sides. “Hi Evan,” she smiled, before frowning, “Something wrong?”
“I need to talk to you,” I replied simply, moving away from the coffin so she could get out. We ended up going in my room; I felt safer talking in there.
“What’s up?”
I came straight to the point. “Have you noticed anything strange about Dad these days?”
Her mood dropped. “Honestly?” she began, “I can’t put my finger on it, but…”
My ears pricked up. “But?” I encouraged.
“I’m sure he’s not the same guy any more,” she pondered, “he’s not so… in control, if that makes sense. There’s more aggression there, I’m sure of it.”
Hallelujah!
She stared at me with a look of concern. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she quizzed.
Whoops. Keep forgetting that.
“That makes perfect sense,” I answered, ignoring the habit she had of answering my thoughts as though I’d spoken them. “The way he just went for Adrian at the wedding, even though he asked for it…”
She scoffed. “That’s been the least of my concerns lately,” she said, frowning again.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s lost his gentleness, I’m sure…”
“Have you confronted him about it?”
“Oh I’ve tried,” she sighed, “He was concerned at first, but now…”
“…it’s like talking to a brick wall?” I finished.
She lowered her head, and I sensed a rising sadness. “It’s so hard,” she admitted, “We’ve been together for so long; you met Gino didn’t you?”
I nodded, wondering what connection he had with our conversation, apart from the obvious of course; Gino was Joe's best man, and my oldest brother.
“He’s pushing thirty three now,” she told me. Indicating how long they’d been together?
My eyes widened in surprise. “Thirty three?” I echoed, before pausing and checking my theory. I’d been right.
“Wow,” was all I could say.
“Exactly,” came the reply, “It gets a lot harder to end a relationship that’s gone on for that long. I have been trying to accommodate; it’s not like he can help what he is. Even if he now cured himself he couldn’t get his old traits back.”
“I know,” I solemnly replied, tears welling at my eyes, “Pity.”
“Yes, I know,” she said.
I don’t know why but all of a sudden, I began to cry. It was as though I was grieving, and that was very possible the more I think about it now. This man living with us now wasn’t the same person who’d brought about my existence nearly fifteen years ago at the time. As harsh as it sounds, it felt as though my true father had died, and someone else who looked like him had taken his place.
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