..Something wicked this way comes.. Act4, Scene 1 of Macbeth. —William Shakespeare

I'm not good at being human—I never was.

Growing up in an eccentric family of geniuses might have sounded quaint, but my family was actually an elaborate gang of crooks.

They claimed to be intellectuals spouting academia, but my parents were really highly organized thugs dabbling in law and witchcraft. I'm sure they were proficient in neither discipline. Starving for legitimacy, they pursued status like cocaine whores in a crack den.

At eighteen they described me to their acquaintances as a huge disappointment-a son who chose to leave home over working in their corporate empire. Pointing fingers at someone else to distract themselves from their own failure was a neat trick until I grew tired of always be their scapegoat.

I became a Light Worker for New York's paranormal Undead Burea because they offered me to Sylex, but after I met Zoe, I became committed to helping those in need. She always forgave my mistakes and weak moments, but I'm afraid becoming a baby-devouring-zombie is beyond even her forgiveness.

I thought finding the mage's legacy in the ancient shrine would save me—the holy ground would see the that I'm an abomination and burn me to a crisp. Instead, the ancient sanctuary is full of dust covered relics and ghosts, not the sacred power to send the damned back to hell. There is no message of enlightenment or salvation for me here. This ancient stone shrine silhouetted against the desolate backdrop of the dying world was my last hope.

I am lost.

I drop my head into my hands, fighting back tears. I know what I am...a monster like Cronos who devoured his own children.

I have been sitting here all night, waiting and staring up at the new moon, a Hunter's moon, but solace hasn't come to lighten my solitude. I've been thinking about the past—I don't know what the future will bring. I'm torn about approaching Zoe in this state.

Yesterday, I went to her apartment. I was shocked when I saw the change in her as she leaned out her window. She was always athletic, wearing her shoulder-length black hair tied back in a militant pony tail and favoring white tank tops and tight utility pants.

The woman that I'd seen yesterday was dramatic and spectacular. Her prominent cheekbones, bright green eyes and beautiful full mouth made me want to kiss her. Dressed in a soft tunic, her mahogany hair surrounded her head with a soft auburn glow. From sitting next to her while working, I know there's the barest hint of freckles sprinkling the bridge of her nose. I've always wanted to caress them with my fingertip. The effect makes her look very young, vulnerable and sexy. The fact that she doesn't seem to be aware of her attractiveness makes her all the more alluring.

She was like a startled deer leaping out into blinding headlights last night. A majestic doe being chased, or hunted, by someone or something. I have to protect her.

I want to see her again, but I am afraid to disclose what I've become. When she sliced off my head, she stopped my bloodlust, but she didn't burn me so I regenerated. She couldn't finish the kill. Does that mean she loves me? Now, we're both connected through the Dark One's consciousness. He attacked and infected both of us, but Zoe was his main target. How can I protect her from him when he is my master and I am no better then a slave?

I scan the barren scrubland that surrounds the tiny stone structure. Against many misperceptions, zombies don't like to wander around in dark, remote, creepy woods. They much prefer cosmopolitan cities and haunts. Even I have to admit this religious site is a bit depressing.

As I sit here, the darkness closes around me like warm, silent velvet curtain, cocooning my new form. With my heightened senses, I know a deer has wandered close while feeding on tender shoots. I curiously watch her, listening to two heartbeats, hers and the life growing inside her belly.

Rolling thunder sounds in the distance and the frightened deer leaps up the hillside, sensing the danger of an invasive presence. My muscles tense as the unnatural darkness creeps across the sky and covers the moonlight. Drawing the light out of the night, the swirling energy sucks stronger than a black hole. Behind my back, a shallow pond of water starts to roil.

Fog rises around me and billows across the shallow water in an eerie mist as the hairs on the back of my neck prickle as I stand up. This is the precursor to a psychic storm. Judging from the dark billowing clouds roiling across across the marsh and eclipsing the sun, this was going to be a massive system, a darkness of unprecedented strength. Inwardly I shudder as a mammoth cloud forms overhead and blocks out the sun.

The Dark One always finds me.  The reason I must stay away from Zoe. He travels in the storms. I must not lead him to her again.

A sandstorm arrives with the dropping temperature. The unnatural darkness combined with the dust reduces visibility to almost to zero as the wind rages around me. An invisible rising wind whips at the walls of the deserted shrine.

Listening to my instinct, I run into the scrub bush and follow the deer's scent. A few hundred meters past the shrine's perimeter, I see a crack in the hillside. I rush into the dark opening to escape from the hellish winds. The dark abyss of the underground seems to welcome me as it shelters me from the storm. After a few minutes, my eyes adjust to the blackness. I hear dripping water as I make my way deeper into the cave system. After forty five minutes, I arrive at a massive cavern with an underground river flowing through it.

The walls are adorned with ancient cave art. Figures and lightning. Who painted the prophecy on these walls? Maybe this is the sign I was supposed to see.

Where will the river bring me?

There's about two feet of head room to breath as I swim through the darkened tunnel. I'm no longer shaken by being taken unawares. I'm pissed. Who is this creature to invade my dreams and turn them into a nightmare?  I ferociously crave my Light Sword. I'm determined to face this insidious entity and vanquish him back into the darkness. Even if I don't have my psychic powers. Something in me wants to fights harder knowing I have to protect Zoe.

Over and over I keep thinking, "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, but I know this is real. If what's chasing me overtakes me, it will kill me for disobeying it."

After a half hour of swimming, crawling and spelunking, I see a dim light forming up ahead at the end of the tunnel. In the middle of the tunnel is a round hole with a ladder attached the rock walls.

Curious, I use the ladder to access the subterranean level. I blink in disbelief when I see a robed figure standing in front of me. The ancient woman seems to draw on some inner knowledge as she assesses me. Her eyes blaze with intensity.

"This well is an energy vortex. It's older than the beginning of time. When Light Workers started relying on technology they abandoned earth magic. The Guilds thought they could control and master psychic universal energy. They turned their backs on the Old Ones."

I stare at the blue light emanating from the pool of water at her feet. The figure holds a small orb of glowing light in front of her to illuminate the small chamber.

I watch incredulously as the orb rises and floats in the air above us. "Who are you?"

She raises her cowled head and I see she has storm-colored eyes. I am Zarinda. I am descended from of an ancient race that has never been recorded in our history.

Listening to her speak of an untouched time, I'm enthralled. I've never seen such a strong reliance on earth magic instead of technology. As Zarinda explains her mission to me, I feel something primordial awaken in me. A tremor of fear, or could it be a remnant of my psychic shielding?

"You prayed for a miracle. Are you ready to accept it?"

Without much enthusiasm for her dark arts, I answer Zarinda as honestly as I can. "I don't really know what happened to me the night I was attacked. When I woke, I discovered I'd been turned into a blood-drinking monster. Can you help me?"

She looks at me with her x-ray eyes as if she's scanning me. "To make yourself whole again, and regain your psychic powers, you will need to find your darker half." She nods in the direction of the well without looking directly at it. I wonder what she is thinking, but her focus is on the end of the tunnel entrance.

Out of the darkness, a sheet of obsidian billows towards me. An eerie light slices through the black wall allowing a caped figure to step into this realm.