Broken (The Captive #5.5)(86)
To see what it would have offered to us.
***
August, 30th, 1727,
My dearest Genny,
We arrived in a place called Boston today. Though we were not the first vampires to step forth on the land, we are amongst the first settlers of our kind. This land reminds me of many other places I've been, mostly in England, but they say the land beyond is still unsettled and savage. We will be pushing inward to discover these wild lands tomorrow.
***
November 15th, 1727,
My dearest Genny,
This is a land we could have settled in, lost ourselves within, and built a magnificent life here. It would have been challenging, it is already far colder in these mountains than anything I am used to, but we have established a settlement that should see us through the winter. You would have loved it amongst these mountains. You could have run around barely dressed wherever you chose with no one to stumble across you.
The indigenous people in this land welcomed us on the first day but we've seen little of them since. I don't know how but I think they understood what the other humans don't; we are not to be trifled with. The people that were here before us are strange humans with darker skin, but not quite as dark as Khalfan's. They move amongst the wilderness with a grace and ease that almost reminds me of a vampire. They were born to this savage land and they thrive amongst it, as will we.
They're also a good food supply. No matter how well adept they are at using their bows, arrows, and spears I am still able to hunt them. There are also plenty of wild animals here, more than I ever could have imagined. Yes we would have made a fine home and fresh start here, no one ever would have found us amongst the trees and mountains of this foreign land.
It is also a much better place to make a stand against the humans than Europe would have been. This is where it was all supposed to have started for us, and it will be where it will all end for them.
***
December 15th, 1787,
My dearest Genny,
It appears that the humans have decided to name this land where we have settled Pennsylvania. I was informed of this today by a young man named Gideon. Though I suppose by humans standards he is no longer young. He has become friendly with Braith and I see them together often talking over wine and sneaking off to be with women. I do not trust Gideon, there is something about him I don't like, but then I don't like anyone anymore.
No matter what I have done, or continue to do to show them the truth, I still see this belief that the world is good and full of promise in both Braith and Jericho. Most fear Caleb and Natasha, I watch them with an air of amusement as the servants scurry out of their way and even vampires step hurriedly aside when they walk by. I watch the way they torment others and see the twisted version of me within them when I stare into their eyes. It's as if the worst parts of me somehow passed into those two. I am well aware of the fact that Caleb has tortured and slaughtered more than a few of the indigenous inhabitants of this land, but he is careful about disposal and who am I to take the pleasure from him? I find my own release that way too.
Sometimes I think that the good in Braith and Jericho came from their mother. She may be as boring as dirt with the personality of a board, but she is a kind woman and people and vampires respond well to her. I try to tell myself that their good is from her but I know the truth. I see the me that I used to be, all those hundreds of years ago in them, especially in Jericho.
He has that carefree air I'd once possessed. That easy grin and who gives a care attitude that drove me to the clubs and to party all those nights away with Merle. It's funny how clearly I can remember those long ago days with Merle, and you. Yet the many that have passed since then are nothing but a blur. I wouldn't be able to differentiate one day from another if it wasn't for these daily writings to you.
Yes, Jericho was the me I was as a youth, teen, and man. I've tried to change it in him, but I see the way that grin makes the girls smile, and his complete indifference towards anything political. Braith is different, he is kind, I see it in the way he treats people. The women also like him but where Jericho makes them laugh and melts them with his whispered words, Braith has only to sit there and they go to him. I am no fool, the power radiates from him. Caleb is the one that will help me destroy the world, but Braith is the one that inherited the full power of my bloodline.
Braith is caring but he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, and as he has gotten older, he has become more distant and less carefree. Perhaps, it is the weight of my world he carries upon his shoulders that has made him more reserved over the years. I am the one trying to make him the leader that he has to become one day. Though sometimes I feel like I am failing.
I've looked for Camille since arriving in this land but I've yet to see her. I don't know what I would do if I did stumble upon her one day. I don't think I could handle it. I can only hope she escaped the persecution of the continent but I feel as if I will never know the answer to that. I chose to believe she is as alive and happy as Merle claimed her to be when he last saw her.
Merle left again yesterday. The Council has sent him out to explore this vast land and see what it has to offer; though I think most vampires are content to stay in this area. It is safe amongst these mountains; there is enough food for us all, but not enough humans that they are a threat to us. There are other vampire colonies throughout this vast land, but I do believe this is where The Council will keep its base of power.