The Seducer: A Gone From Daylight Inspired Story - 19. William Harker’s Journal: Entry 19

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Monday, October 1, 1989

I’m still awake this morning here at Dr. V’s. I couldn’t sleep at all last night and I had more than a few weird things go on to keep me awake!

First of all…Dr. V had been right! Someone or something must have gotten in last night. I heard rummaging around upstairs like furniture moving or…bodies being thrown around! To be honest, it sounded like a full blown fight upstairs! Again, I was split right down the middle as to what to do.

The self-preserving part wanted to stay down my rabbit hole and just wait out whatever was transpiring upstairs! The ‘heroic’ part wanted to go up and ‘help’ somehow. Maybe I could sneak around, find a gun, be a distraction…just something! But, what held me in place was Dr. V’s command to stay hidden.

With breathtaking suddenness, it was all over and there was no more sound! I really wanted to go up there when I heard that! I was and still am afraid that something’s happened to Dr. V! I am currently still down in the panic room. But, I don’t think I’ll stay here for long. I haven’t heard anything in hours and, by my watch, it should be late afternoon by now. I know of Dr. V’s penchant for getting up in the evening, but I can’t imagine he’d be able to sleep after the damage that ruckus must have caused upstairs! I know I’m supposed to be staying down here until called for…but, I just can’t stay here when Dr. V might be up there injured and unable to call me for help!

I’ll go up soon, but I’ll just jot the other thing down before I do.

It seems that ‘ghost’ visited me again last night! I was almost on the verge of falling asleep when I swore I heard someone whisper my name! ‘William!’ seemed to come from the air all around me! It was that same woman’s voice from before! I would still chock that up to one of those twilight nightmares a person can have just before they fall asleep. Some noise gets interpreted weird in the brain or whatever. But, then another book just fell off one of the shelves on the wall! That shocked me awake! This place is seriously getting to me, I swear!

The book was another one on vampires again! Again, it wasn’t a novel either but, like, an encyclopedia or reference book of some kind! In it there were stories of various vampires from the past. As I was flipping through the pages, I found myself at the first one after the forward and the name there froze my blood!

Ambrosio!

Apparently, according to this strange book, he was the first of the vampires! Others followed him and they all had a symbol on their pages that matched the larger symbol that marked Ambrosio’s page. The symbol was like a royal coat of arms or crest. It was a great dark wolf with a crescent moon arching over its head and a banner beneath with the words ‘Vertz Primen Zoloçt’ engraved on it. The article beneath translated it from the ‘Old Language’ to mean ‘The True and Only First’, something I could only gather meant Ambrogio’s being the true first vampire since that, basically, was what the article spoke to.

What made me suspect that the book wasn’t real was that under the other vampire stories that carried the seal of Ambrosio, one of them was for Voivode Dracula. Naturally that was THE Dracula, or Vlad Țepeș, as the story of the famous Count goes. I read the article to pass the time and was having fun with it until I got to the last paragraph…

“…having moved to America upon the great noble diaspora of Romania during Communism, Dracula took up residence in the San Francisco area but under an alias as yet unknown.” At that, another passing chill went through me! A chill brought on by an insane thought!

Was Vlad Dracula’s assumed name…Dr. Vlad Valahi?

I quickly pushed that thought away because, as they say, that way lies madness! What possibility, in my furthest imagination, could there be of: first - there being real vampires in the world. Second - that Dr. V could be one of them?

The very idea! It’s completely childish and silly on its face!

But, then again…there’s Dr. V’s connection to Ambrosio - a very unusual name even for an Italian, I suppose. Also, let’s not overlook some other idiosyncrasies of Dr. V’s. The only being out at night bit. The fact that I’ve never actually dined with him! This stupendous house with strange panic rooms and stranger library contents!

But, no…like I said - madness!

Anyway, I need to chance going upstairs. If, in fact, Dr. V is hurt or, God forbid, dead then I’ve got to know about it - safety be damned!

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Well, guess what?

Nothing! That’s what!

Everything is in perfect order upstairs! The place is deserted, but naturally, the sun’s still up so why would Dr. V be around? He’s a ‘vampire’ after all. Right?

I don’t get it! It’s like nothing happened at all! What was all that racket about if nothing happened?

Wait…hold up, a tick!

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Um…I found a ring! A big chunky gold one! It has a little…blood on it and its still, erm…sticky! It’s not anything I’ve ever seen Dr. V wear. I think I would have noticed something that big on his hand!

On its crown is an engraving, like one of those old signet rings kings used to use to sign things in sealing wax. It is a very odd engraving that looks like the profile of a crow or raven. Then there is a big ‘C’ carved around the raven-head. On the back of the ring is engraved a small capital ‘N’.

I’ve taken it with me back down into the panic room deal. I don’t really want to be up here against Dr. V’s orders. I’ll wait a while for him to come and get me. I have a feeling whatever transpired up here saw Dr. V victorious, if indeed, anything happened at all and this was just a lost ring from the party…with blood on it!

I haven’t even thought about class today! This situation is so bizarre, I barely know what day it is! But, then, my life hasn’t been the same since meeting Dr. V! I feel like I’m being brought into a whole new world I never knew anything about! A strange society of stranger people who do very strange things! Now, some of these strange people disappear and then there’s…blood on rings and…and…!

…and I don’t know what I’m doing here and how, in God’s name, I’m ever going to get out of this!