MidReal Story
Eternal Shadows: Redemption in City of Angels
Scenario: A lone vampire woman moves from New York to L.A to start over after the vampire she sired was killed
Create my version of this story
I was a vampire on the run.
I’d left New York behind, and I was never going back.
The city had too many memories, too many ghosts.
I’d tried to start over there, but it hadn’t worked.
The hunters had come for me, and they’d killed the only vampire I’d ever sired.
He’d been my friend, my companion, my only real connection to the world.
And now he was gone.
I was alone again, as I had been for so long.
So I’d packed up my things and left the city that had been my home for over a century.
I didn’t know where I was going or what I was looking for.
All I knew was that I couldn’t stay in New York any longer.
It held too many memories, too much pain.
I needed to get away from it all, to start fresh somewhere new.
Los Angeles seemed like as good a place as any.
And I was tired of running.
I knew that the hunters would eventually find me, no matter where I went.
But in the meantime, I was going to enjoy the freedom that came with being far away from New York.
I had no intentions of staying in Los Angeles for long, but at the moment, I didn’t have any better ideas.
I’d never been to the city before and didn’t know much about it other than what I’d seen on TV and in movies.
But it was big and crowded, and that was all I really needed to know.
The journey from New York to Los Angeles had been long, but it had been worth it.
As soon as I’d crossed the border into California, I’d felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
It was like I was finally free from the pain and the memories that had haunted me for so long.
Of course, that wasn’t entirely true.
I would never be free of those things.
But at least I was far away from the city that had caused them.
The vampire who’d died back in New York was the only one I’d ever sired.
He’d been my friend and companion for almost two decades.
He’d kept me company on the long, lonely nights when I couldn’t bear to be alone with my thoughts.
But he hadn’t just been a distraction; he’d been important to me.
Losing him hurt more than I could put into words, but I tried not to dwell on it too much.
There was no point in thinking about things I couldn’t change.
What’s done is done, as they say.
As my cab pulled up outside my new apartment complex, I marveled at how different everything felt here compared to New York.
The air was warm and dry, and even though it was late at night, there were still people out and about, going about their business as though it were just another day.
Because really, it was just another day.
I was just another person trying to make my way in the world, even if I wasn’t entirely human.
“Here you go,” the driver said as he pulled up outside my new home.
“That’ll be twenty bucks.”
I fished some cash out of my pocket and handed it over before stepping out of the cab.
“Thanks,” I said as he drove away.
Taking a deep breath, I looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
It was still dark outside, but there were streetlights on every corner that cast a warm glow over everything they touched.
It felt good to be here, like this was where I belonged.
Maybe this time things would be different.
Maybe this time I could finally find what I’d been searching for all these years.
“Spare some change?”
I turned to see a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk a few feet away from me.
He had a scruffy beard and dirty clothes, and he looked like he hadn’t eaten in days.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill, but when I went to hand it to him, he held up a hand to stop me.
I’m not looking for a handout,” he said with a kind smile.
“I was just wondering if you could spare some change, miss.I haven’t eaten in days, and I’m trying to save up enough money to buy a meal.”
I hesitated for a moment before pulling out a few more bills and handing them over to him.
“I don’t have much, but it should be enough to get you something to eat.”
He took the money from me with a grateful smile, his eyes shining with tears of thanks.
“Thank you, miss.I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” I said with a small smile of my own.
I turned to go back into the apartment building, but after a few steps, I stopped and turned back to him.
The night air was cool, and he was shivering in his thin clothes.
I glanced down at the heavy winter coat in my arms that I’d been clutching to myself while on the plane ride here, thinking that if it got cold enough in LA, I might put it on later to keep warm.
But looking at him now, I knew that he needed it more than I did.
“I have an extra coat if you want it,” I said as I walked back over to him.
It’s not much, but at least it should help keep you warm.”
He looked at me in surprise, as though he couldn’t believe that I was offering him my coat when I barely knew him at all.
“Are you sure?”
he asked, his eyes wide with shock and gratitude.
I nodded, holding the coat out for him to take.
“It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve been through.
No one should have to suffer like this when there are people out there who can help them.
Take it, please.”
He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and accepting the coat from me, his hands trembling as he clutched it to his chest.
“Thank you, miss.
You’re a real angel, you know that?”
he said as he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.
“You’re gonna save my life tonight, and I’ll never forget what you did for me.”
I smiled as he put the coat on, the fabric hanging off his thin frame like a dress that was several sizes too big for him.
“It’s just a coat,” I said with an embarrassed chuckle, although the truth was that his words meant more to me than he could ever know.
He smiled up at me, looking almost like a different person now that he was warm and well-fed.
“Well, whatever it is, you’re an angel to me.
Thank you so much for your kindness.
I gave him one last smile before turning and heading back inside the building.
I stepped inside the convenience store and made my way to the back, where I was greeted by the sight of row upon row of refrigerators and freezers filled with every kind of food and drink I could ever imagine.
I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and breathing in deeply as I reveled in the familiar scents that surrounded me.
It had been days since I’d last fed, and the only thing I’d been able to think about during that entire time was blood.
The hunger was maddening, driving me to the brink of madness until I thought I might never be able to think about anything else ever again.
But now that I was here and surrounded by all of this food, the hunger seemed to fade away to nothing more than a dull ache in the back of my mind.
I needed to feed soon or else I wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer, but for right now, I just wanted to take a moment to be still and simply enjoy being here.
I opened my eyes and turned back to the store, walking over to one of the aisles so that I could pick out something to eat.
There were all kinds of food here—candy and chips and even hot food like pizza and chicken tenders—but I didn’t have much of an appetite for any of it.
All I wanted was something simple and plain, something that would fill me up without being too heavy.
After everything that had happened over the past few days, I didn’t think I could handle anything more than that.
I grabbed a loaf of bread from the shelf and made my way back up to the front of the store, where I placed it down on the counter with a smile for the cashier.
He was an older man with thinning gray hair and sunken cheeks that made him look like he never got enough sleep, even though he was currently working the night shift.
He looked at me as I put down my food with an expression of curiosity that I couldn’t quite place.
“Kind of late for shopping,” he said as he scanned my bread.
His tone was casual, almost conversational—like he was trying to make small talk—but I could hear the question in his voice nonetheless.
“Do you work nights or something?”
I shook my head, my expression blank as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet so that I could pay him.
“No, nothing like that,” I said as I handed him a ten-dollar bill to cover it.
I didn’t want to talk about my life or what I did or who I was—I just wanted to be left alone.
I was standing here, minding my own business and not hurting anyone.
It was none of his business why I was out shopping so late at night.
He paused for a moment, looking at me with a frown before he took the money and rang me up.
“Alright, then,” he said as he gave me my change.
“Be careful out there, okay?
Lot of crazy people wandering around on the streets this time of night.”
I nodded in agreement even though I knew that he wasn’t really talking to me anymore, just repeating the same warning he gave to everyone who came into his store after dark.
But I didn’t mind—I had already tuned him out by this point.
