The Monster Inside: The First Vampire Chapter 66

Eldovian Era 1707, the 4th day of the 1st month:

After two months of waiting, the specimen was finally weak enough to procure a sample from the exposed muscle of its back . After closer inspection, it appears my initial thoughts were correct in a.s.suming that the specimen cannot regenerate his Life Lines . A project I initially thought to bare no fruit suddenly has its doors wide open to a range possibilities . With this opportunity, I have gathered a total of ten tissue samples from muscles, which despite being beneath the Life Lines, seem to heal fine . Perhaps it is just the life lines themselves that cannot be healed? I have also collected several vials of blood from the specimen . Preliminary observations show the blood is of a darker than average colour, though still red . Whether this is a carry-over from the specimen's previously human state or a commonality amongst his kind are yet to be seen .

I have ordered that several rats be collected for experimental reasons . Considering the ultimate goal of these experiments is to find a way to reproduce the same abilities in other beings, I believe it should be prudent for me to explore all angles, as there is no guarantee that copulation will result in an equally powerful and viable offspring .

Also, despite his accelerated healing abilities, the specimen seems to have a growth rate comparable to his human counterparts . He is showing the first signs of his transition to an adult, it should be an interesting period to observe any developments in abilities .

***

Eldovian Era 1707, the 12th day of the 1st month:

A total of twelve rats have been collected for my experiments, and the Duke's generous donations have allowed us to acquire gla.s.s cages, preferable for observation . Initial observations of the rat's behaviours and intelligence have given me an idea of how to proceed . After much debate, I have decided to proceed by feeding half of the rats one of the tissue samples I acquired, and the other half a portion of the specimen's blood . As for the Specimen himself, he seems quite unagreeable despite being fed after a few weeks time . He has drained another three slaves, including the slave I originally thought to have observed creating an emotional connection with the specimen . Nyssa? Lyra? Well, whatever her name was, it appears the specimen truly views them as prey only . His growing appet.i.te is beginning to cut into our funds . When the child spy reports back, I shall have to ask him to emphasise these points .

***

Eldovian Era 1707, the 24th day of the 1st month:

The child spy arrived to obtain another report . He demanded the specimen be released from his chains as it was a previous order set by the Duke . He also gave the specimen new clothes, though nothing overly fanciful . The guards reported that they talked for some time . I would like to take advantage of this relationship between them to gather more information on the specimen, but the child spy seems unwilling to cooperate . One observation that is clear is that the specimen does not treat the child spy as he does the rest of us . He seems to observe him more as an ally, though not necessarily a friend . The specimen's behaviour that I previously observed to be lacking emotion in his connections has been brought into question .

The experiment with the rats proceeded as follows;

On the first day after consuming their respective meals, all of the rats became unwell within a few hours . I initially was willing to write it off as a failure, but after three days, the rats who had consumed blood were suddenly active . Those who had consumed the tissue samples however, were at death's door . The rats who survived became increasingly erratic over the next 4 days . Any food that was given to them was consumed quickly, they never attempted to stash the food or leave it for later as they had done in my initial observation of their behaviour . Nine days in, and one of the rats attacked another, with the other four proceeding to follow in its footsteps . They consumed their fellow rat in its entirety, but their increasingly violent behaviour did not seem to stop .

The larger of the rats in the proceeding days consumed the others as it had the first . Just yesterday, it appeared to get so violent that it attempted to break out of its cage, succeeding in breaking the gla.s.s . This was proof of its increase strength . Considering its now uncontrollable state, I had to order it killed . Upon examining the body, I noticed immediately that unlike the specimen, it did not possess fangs . I have concluded one of 3 possibilities for this .

First, the transformation was incomplete, whether through lack of time or stimulant is unclear .

Second, perhaps it is a difference in species . The original specimen was originally human, far different than a mere rodent . Perhaps a more sophisticated subject is required, though this will increase the risk of uncontrollable factors .

And finally, third, the transformation was at its core, different to the original specimen .

I have decided it is safest to proceed in exploring the first potential problem at this stage due to the risks involved with the other two .

***

Eldovian Era 1707, 25th day of the 2nd month:

Since my first experiment I have managed to conduct two more experiments based off of my first a.s.sumption that the transformation was incomplete . As gla.s.s cages were a poor choice for the experimental subjects originally, I have procured more cages that are surrounded by anthrite in hopes that it will inhibit any increases in strength or speed in the subjects should they try to escape, but not in ordinary behaviour . After all, the original specimen seems to only be affected by the metal whilst in direct contact . The second experiment was conducted with blood alone in order to stimulate a successful transformation . The six rats collected were given various volumes in order to determine whether this had an effect on the transformation . The rats as before were sick for three days before they began exhbiting the same erratic behaviour as the last batch . Three of the rats were fed raw meat, and the other three were fed blood procured from the slaves . Those who were fed the raw meat followed the same line of behaviour as previously observed, increasingly violent behaviour . The three rats who were fed blood seemed highly active, but were violent only when they were not fed within a particular time frame . Out of curiosity, I began feeding one of the raw meat rats the blood instead, and witnessed his behaviour change to something akin to that of the blood-fed rats . Still, even with a diet of blood, the rats showed no signs of physical developments such as fangs, and when shaved, there were no Life Lines present on their bodies . Even those rats that were fed more of the original specimen's blood showed no further signs of transformation . Upon eradicating this second batch, I conducted a series of autopsies, but found no biological changes or differences .

The third batch of just three rats were given the blood of the specimen and followed the same pattern of being ill for a few days before their behaviour changed . They were fed a diet of blood for a week, and I have now decided to starve them to see if the same stasus state can be induced in them as in the original specimen .

On another note, the drawings observed on the specimen's walls are becoming more and more extensive, though there seem to be no apparent connection or sense . It is reasonable to a.s.sume that the specimen's mental stability is growing weaker .