THE WASHINGTON FAMILY

THE AWAKENING

Damon walked toward him. Then, without warning—CRACK! He broke one of the wooden chairs. He pulled out a sharp piece of wood and threw it. It struck Nicole directly in the shoulder. Blood poured from the wound. Nicole didn't scream. Instead, he reached into a bag beside him. He pulled out a blood bag. He drank it slowly. Damon walked toward the bar. He picked up a bottle. "1995 tequila." He smiled. "Do you remember this?" Nicole looked at him. "The one you stole from Lazarus?" Damon poured himself a drink. He sat down. Then his smile disappeared. "You've grown weak, brother." Nicole stared at him. "I thought you were better than this." "You used to be my shadow." "Now look at you." "You're weak." Damon took another sip. "You were always my favourite brother." Nicole placed the empty blood bag on the table. "Damon." He looked up. "Stop the act." Nicole's eyes became cold. "I know what you did." "And that's why I took it upon myself to punish you." Damon slowly stood. "You?" He laughed. "You think you can punish me?" Nicole didn't answer. Damon stepped closer. "I must give you credit." "You managed to put all three of us to sleep for centuries." He smiled. "But now you're in trouble." "Because if I'm awake." Damon looked toward the other four chairs. "If I'm awake..." His smile widened. "...then the others must be waking up too." "I can't wait for the next family meeting." He paused. "I wonder what Lazarus will do to you." Nicole's expression changed. For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes. "Lazarus..." Damon laughed. "You still haven't told me where Lazarus is, have you?" Nicole remained silent. Damon stepped closer. "You sealed him away." "You thought sending him away would solve anything." Nicole looked away. Damon whispered: "But you were wrong." "Lazarus is alive." "Somewhere beyond this world." "In a world where monsters rule." "A world where humans are hunted." "A world where creatures far more terrifying than vampires and werewolves roam freely." Nicole clenched his fist. Damon smiled. "And you know what makes it worse?" "Lazarus isn't alone anymore." Nicole suddenly looked at him. Damon raised his glass. Before Nicole could respond, Damon smashed the bottle against his head. CRASH! Nicole staggered. Damon grabbed him. With terrifying strength, he drove his hand into Nicole's chest. Nicole's eyes widened. Damon ripped out his heart. Nicole collapsed onto the floor. His body began to decay almost instantly. Within seconds, his flesh turned black. Then his body became grey. Damon stood over him. He looked at the empty chair. Then he smiled. "The family is waking up." The forest became silent. Damon stood inside the old mansion, staring at the place where Nicole's body had disappeared. Only a few drops of blood remained on the floor. Damon slowly wiped the blood from his hand and looked toward the five chairs. Three of them were still empty. He smiled. "So it begins." He walked toward the window. Outside, the moon was unusually bright. Something felt different. The air itself seemed heavier. The trees moved even though there was no wind. Then Damon heard something. A heartbeat. He turned around. "Thump." "Thump." "Thump." Damon's smile disappeared. "About time you wake up, you weakling." The heartbeat wasn't Nicole's. It was coming from beneath the mansion. He walked toward the staircase. Every step he took caused the wooden floor to creak. At the bottom of the stairs was a large iron door. Damon had not seen that door for centuries. He placed his hand against it. The moment he touched it, strange symbols appeared across the surface. Damon stepped backward. "What the hell?" The symbols began glowing. Then a voice came from behind the door. "Damon..." Damon froze. He knew that voice. It was impossible. He slowly stepped closer. "Who is that?" The voice answered. "Your brother." Damon's eyes widened. "Nathan?" The iron door suddenly exploded outward. "BOOM!" Damon was thrown across the room. Dust filled the basement. For several seconds, there was complete silence. Then a shadow emerged from the smoke. A man walked forward. His clothes were covered in dust. His eyes were completely black. Damon slowly stood. "Nathan..." Nathan looked at him. "You woke me." Damon smiled. "And you don't look very happy about it." Nathan ignored him. "Where is Nicole?" Damon's smile disappeared. "I removed his heart." Nathan stared at him. "You killed him?" Damon didn't answer. Nathan's eyes turned red. "You killed our brother." "He deserved it and moreover he will wake soon." "You always say that." Nathan stepped closer. "You've been saying that for centuries." Damon laughed. "Stop acting like death is the end for us." Nathan suddenly disappeared. Damon barely had time to react. "BOOM!" Nathan punched him through the wall. Damon flew across the room and crashed into a large stone pillar. The mansion shook. Damon slowly stood. Blood ran from his mouth. Then he laughed. "I've missed this." Nathan charged again. This time Damon caught his fist. The two brothers stared at each other. Their strength against one another. The floor beneath their feet began cracking. Damon whispered, "Where is Lazarus?" Nathan's expression changed. "I don't know." Damon's eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me." "I haven't seen him since Nicole sealed me." Damon released his hand. "Then we'll find him." Nathan looked toward the five chairs. "There are supposed to be four of us." Damon looked at the empty chair where Nicole had once sat. "There were." Nathan stared at him. "What do you mean?" Damon walked away. "I'll explain later." Suddenly, the mansion began shaking. A loud cracking sound came from above them. Nathan looked toward the ceiling. "What is happening?" Damon's smile disappeared. "I don't know." The lights went out. Then a voice echoed throughout the mansion. "THE BLOOD HAS BEEN SPILLED." Both brothers froze. The walls began bleeding. "THE BROTHERS HAVE AWAKENED." Damon looked at Nathan. "What is that?" Nathan shook his head. "I don't know." The voice continued. "THE OTHERS WILL FOLLOW." Then everything stopped. The lights came back on. The blood disappeared from the walls. The mansion became silent again. Damon looked at Nathan. "We have a problem." Nathan nodded. "For once, I agree." "BREAKING NEWS: BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MISSING AFTER SUPERNATURAL ATTACK." "TEN RESCUE OFFICERS FOUND DEAD." "UNKNOWN CREATURE SUSPECTED." "WHO ARE THE WASHINGTON FAMILY?" People began leaving their homes. Schools were closed. Airports were shut down. The military surrounded London. Nobody knew what had happened. But one person knew. The British Prime Minister. He sat alone inside a heavily guarded room. His hands were shaking. A military officer entered. "Sir." The Prime Minister looked up. "What have you found?" The officer placed a file on the table. "We found something." The Prime Minister opened it. Inside were photographs. Old photographs. Very old photographs. One showed Nicole. Another showed Damon. Another showed Nathan. But the photographs were dated more than one hundred years ago. The Prime Minister stared at them. "These photographs..." "Yes, sir." "What year were they taken?" The officer swallowed. "1896." The Prime Minister's face became pale. "That is impossible." "There is more." The officer opened another file. "We searched the historical archives." "What did you find?" "Records of the Washington family." The officer placed a thick book on the table. "They have appeared throughout history." The Prime Minister opened it. There were photographs of the same four brothers. The same faces. The same eyes. The same people. But the photographs were separated by decades. Some were over a hundred years old. The Prime Minister slowly closed the book. "What are they?" The officer hesitated. "We don't know."