Back to Life (David & Dwayne)
The last thing Dwayne remembered before falling into the darkness was electrifying pain surging through his entire body. His flesh burned and melted off his bones, and his screams of pain turned into nightmarish, high pitched howls. That punk ass brat fired one lucky shot and it was enough to pin him to the stereo, where he met his untimely end.
Wasn’t he supposed to live forever? Wasn’t eternity a gift that was bestowed upon him? Was sleeping all day and partying all night supposed to lead to such a gruesome end? It was bad enough they lost Marko while they were asleep in their own cave, but to die at the hands of mortal brats was such a low blow to the vampires’ egos.
Dwayne faintly remembered his elderly grandfather talking about what happened to their spirits once they died. The story varied from different tribes, but many of them spoke about rejoining the earth and becoming one with nature. Would the same hold true if one chose the darkness and became a blood drinking killer? Dwayne had no regrets of joining David and Max, and he never mulled on whether there was a heaven or hell. Back then, he was focused on living in the now and ruling over Santa Carla’s nightlife.
Now, he wasn’t sure where he was. He moved so sluggishly in the dark that it was difficult to tell which way was up. It was all too quiet, such a contrast compared to the chaotic scene that was Michael’s house. Was he going to be stuck in limbo forever listening to his own thoughts?
A warmth wrapped around his body like a thick blanket on a chilled winter’s night. Dwayne hadn’t felt cold in decades, being undead and all, but he welcomed the sensation.
He still couldn’t see anything, yet he was growing stronger. He was even able to move himself about more freely. He no longer felt like he was treading in quicksand. If anything, it felt more like he was floating in mid-air.
Behind him, he heard the familiar sound of bats screeching along with wings flapping in the air.
A gentle light from above shined down upon him, and after blinking from the sudden brightness, Dwayne found himself emerging from a vat of blood.
Crimson liquid splashed over the edge and leaked onto the floor. Dwayne was sitting up and gripping the sides of a large tank with such intensity that he created intends with his fingertips. He was panting heavily and searching the area with his penetrating dark eyes. It looked like one of the many chambers inside the cave with a simple torch burning in one of the oil drums a few feet away.
“The hell?” were the first words Dwayne uttered.
