Levi
Legacy Name: Levii

STRAY

With a silent cry he startled from his sleep. His hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead, the pale green eyes widened, staring into nowhere. He was shaking all over his body and it took him efforts to force air into his lungs. He was paralyzed, completely frozen in this state for long minutes, barely able to catch a breath or even a thought.

Then his ability to move returned. His eye wandered restless through the room, searching the shadows and dark spots. It was a small room, downright tiny.

The left side filled the bed he was now sitting in and a wardrobe that provided space for a few, well-worn clothes. Two old, holey jeans, trainings pants, two combat trousers, several old, threadbare T-Shirts, some already baggy due to the bad quality of the fabric. A black, dirty Army parka and a winter coat, some socks and boxers. A black, woolen hat and fingerless gloves.

The right side was even more cramped, as beside the place the door needed to open there was a narrow second door to the even tinier bathroom. On this wall between these doors was only space for a table and one shaky chair that threatened to collapse every time someone was brave enough to sit on it. Above the table there was a shelf stuffed with weapons. These were the most cared objects in the whole room, from a sniper rifle to a sharp Katana there were so many weapons that the boards were sagging under the weight.

The man took a shaky breath. He ran his fingers through chin-long hair; bruised finger, that trembled still, but he had been able to take the edge off the aftermath of this nightmare. He had nightmares every day. One, sometimes even two or three. This had been the second one today and he couldn’t remember when he had been able to sleep through more than four hours straight without startling. It must have been over a year by today.

When he tried to puzzle together what had happened to him, he started feeling sick. Kidnapped, locked, and barely kept alive for almost three months. Turned into a vampire, brainwashed, abused as emotionless killing machine for further seven, eight weeks, then poisoned, comatose for several month. A horror trip that lasted almost a year.

When he woke up he had been given an ultimatum. Fight, or die.

He’d never give up. Never. It was against his nature. So he decided to fight. In a war that was not his. For a man, Marius, by whose blood he had been turned, who under normal circumstances would have been called his father, or at least his sire. But this man, the leader of the vampires, didn’t even want to look at him.

All what he had left from his life before were the dog tags with his service number, gender and blood type punched in. A simple, thin metal plate on a chain. Nothing more. Nothing else.And his name.

Levi Madsen.

Meantime he had calmed down. He had managed to push the horrible pictures of the nightmare in the farthest corner of his mind. One hour was left until his alarm clock would drag him out of his bed. And like every good soldier he knew the most important rule: Sleep whenever you can!

~*~*~*~*~

Levi missed his alarm clock and he didn’t even react when his fellow vampires also woke up and started making noise in the other rooms, when they joked and teased each other, laughed and screamed. He was dead to the world.

Only when it was already too late one of the other whelps - how young vampires were called in a rather mocking way - knocked on his door. “Wake up, Foxy! The training starts now!”

It was Jason, a young punk, who he was going along well with. Levi jumped up and fell all over his own feet when he rushed to the bathroom. Hastily he washed his face, slipped in his training trousers and ran across the yard to the adjoining building, in which a training hall and in the upper level some guest rooms were set. Levi tried to be fast, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The training had already started and Wolf, Marius’ brother, was in the middle of a demonstration when Levi rushed into the hall. All pairs of eyes immediately switched towards him and Wolf gave out a low growl.

“How nice you also decided to grace us with your presence!” Wolfs voice was velvety, but with a dangerous, sharp undertone. Levi swallowed thickly and tried to find a place in the backmost row, but Wolf had already other plans.

“Come here, Levi. Now. You will give the perfect participant for the moves I am going to show. For you as army specialist it should be one of your easiest exercises to withstand my attack.”Levi grit his teeth without giving any reply, stepped in front of the crowd and readied himself. However the attack swept him from his feet with almost no efforts. He landed hard on his back and gasped for breath.

Wolf was already above him and pulled him up by his shoulders. “Up. Repeat.”

The training went on with Wolf as his sparring partner for the next hours. It was fricking hard, even with mats Levi’s back started to ache after the first hour. The lack of sleep did not the best to his condition. But he didn’t complain. He never complained. He knew that enduring this was the only way to live. Fight to live. Suffer to live. There was no other way, not for him.

After three hours the lack of sleep took tribute. Levi felt shaky in his legs and dazed in his head. Typical symptoms of dehydration and sleep deprivation. But he went on, he always went on, no matter how much it hurt, how much his back ached, his lungs burnt, or his head spun.

Meantime also Marius had joined and demanded to have his time with Levi as well. There were scars all over his pale skin. Two fingers missing, both sides of his head shaved, the eyes steel grey and cold.

Levi feared him, and the same time he wished, he would accept him or at least wouldn’t hate him any longer. But Marius showed no emotion except a slight disgust. He didn’t want to touch Levi and sent him to off his feet with as less contact as possible. Then he looked down at him. Measuring, calculating, with a dry, cold expression on his face. Like someone would look down at a bug, figuring whether they should step on it now or not.

“Not good enough yet”, he spoke quietly. “Patrol, District Four, the rest of the week.”

Marius turned around and left.

Levi stayed back, still on the floor. He made no efforts to stand up, he just laid there panting, and covered his face with the crook of his arm. It was so rare when Marius looked at him, even rarer that he touched him or spoke to him. Today it had happened, but all what Marius had to say had been to express how disappointed he was.

Levi was usually no guy who was weeping easily, but the past months had worn him out. He was longing for rest, for a tiny hint of recognition, or at least being treated as a human being. Something – anything – he could cling on and move on. But there was nothing. He was functioning, well, more or less. Not a man, just a soldier. Those old vampires calculated with his life, how and when to sacrifice him to their higher plans. Basically, it was nothing new to him, the Army had done the same before. But this time it was the man from whose blood he was made of who was doing it. His father.

What he would’ve given for just one approving nod from Marius, one word of word of appreciation from Wolf.

He was crying, all silent, all alone for himself, even if about twenty men were standing around him, slightly embarrassed, and didn’t know what to do. Wolf eased the situation and sent the men back to training und left Levi where he was.

The training went on, and after a while Levi calmed down. He felt ashamed, but somehow, he resigned. It was clear to him that they didn’t give a shit about him. He played with his pendant, a small glass vial he wore on a chain around his neck und contained concentrated silver solution. Wolf once had given these to all warriors to provide them something to end their life with in case of captivity and torture.

And in this moment Levi made a decision.

He would fight their war, as he was made just for this purpose. And then, when the war would end, the content of the pendant would put an end to this farce he called his life.

It was like a switch in his head he flipped. When he stood up he was all calm and content. It was a plan. A long-termed mission.

His last mission.

~*~*~*~*~

Things didn’t go well for Levi after this night. Even if he thought he was in charge of everything, when he laid on the bed the nightmares started over and over. These times he wished he had somebody to talk about this. Somebody who could just hug him, shoulders he could rest against at least for a little while. But there was nobody.

His tasks to keep the streets save were dangerous, every time he went out to fulfill his tasks there was a good chance that he would not come back. Not that he would mind. He went out and embraced all risks with open arms, only his very instincts and a thorough training at the Army kept him from running directly into his enemies’ blades.

However, after two month of wearing himself out he was at the end of the rope. Wolf wasn’t stupid and he realized what Levi was doing and sent him to overlook the District and give support with the sniper rifle at the ready upon the highest building around. Slowly Levi walked through the streets towards his position. There was no hurry in this mission, he was early enough to enjoy the cool rain coming down tonight.

He had always loved the rain and didn’t mind at all that he was getting wet. In his hand his sniper rifle, with a strap over his shoulder his katana. Like so often he was dressed completely in black. A hat upon his head, a shemagh scarf around his neck, the parka just as the pants and the boots, all were black. The best color to hide at night as well as to disguise blood stains.
He was just about entering the building through the back door when he heard a soft noise. It sounded like a very silent, very high whine and made Levi stop in his moves. He stilled, listened, then he heard it again.

A little confused he looked around and at first, he saw nothing at all. He already wanted to leave when he saw the weak reflection of two eyes somewhere in the dark of an alley. Levi hesitated only for a second, then he slowly went there and crouched down.

There it was. A soaking wet kitten, maybe three or four months old, all black with huge, golden eyes. It mewed again when Levi saw what caused the troubles. There was something wrapped around its hind leg, maybe it got caught in some kind of plastic that had tightened around the small leg. Carefully Levi took the kitten up on his arm.

“Oh dear, what trouble you got yourself in, hm?” He spoke more to himself and smiled when he noticed it. Then he took the knife from his belt and turned the kitten so he could carefully cut off the plastic.

“There you go, little boy. Now you can run back to your siblings and play a bit”, Levi put the kitten down and took away the knife. The black little fella simply looked up at him and mewed again. Levi didn’t know what to do with him, so he put him up once more and carried him a bit away were it was not that wet. Gently he patted the little head.

“I have to go now, kitty. I have job to do, I’m sorry, buddy…” With a sigh Levi stood up again. He walked to the back door and just was about picking the lock when he heard once again the silent noise, but not from the direction where he left him. He looked down and sighed.

“Hey, you can’t run after me just like this.” Levi shook his head and raised his eyebrows when the little cat started climbing up the leg of his pants. Levi sighed once more and lifted him up.

“Okay, buddy. You can come with me, but then you’ll have to go home. Deal?”

They spent a whole night upon the roof of the twelve floors high building. The kitten was hiding in his parka where it was warm, dry and cozy, just poking out his nose every now and then. Levi felt the little one curling up against him and dozing most of the time. A few times Levi slipped his fingers in to stroke and scratch him softly, but what he felt almost broke his hear. This little guy was ways too thin. His bones were much too clearly noticeable.

Levi’s shift lasted four hours and the kitten slept most of the time. When it then came to an end, Levi put away his rifle and took the cat up on his arm. The ears were dirty and somewhat bloody, the now dried fur bristly and dull. But the kitty just yawned right into Levi’s face and started cleaning himself.

Levi laughed, then he stilled in surprise as if he would listened the so foreign sound he just had uttered. He didn’t even remember when he had laughed the last time. It felt to him like ages, but it surely must have been years. He swallowed thickly and smiled.

“Just look what you’ve done…” Levi bit down his lower lip to keep his composure and stood up, the cat still on his arm who made himself comfortable.

Levi took him home. He never intended to keep the little cat as pet, he just wanted to make sure he would be all healthy and strong. So he searched the internet for cat sicknesses and figured that Jester, how he kept calling him, had ear mites, fleas and worms. He got him the medication he needed to become all healthy and fed him the best food he could get to make him gain some weight.

However, he never forced him to stay with him. His window was a bit open all night long and Jester decided to leave every now and then. Sometimes for just one day, later sometimes even for a week.But he always came back to Levi, slept at his side for a few hours, fetched some strokes, ruffles and scratches he loved so much. He also stayed in moments Levi didn’t feel well, when tears wet the meantime glossy black fur. Then Jester just purred silently, rubbed his head under Levi’s chin and pawed softly against his cheek to ensure him that all would be fine one day.

story, code, art and graphics by myself

Name:
Levi

Codename:
Fox

Gender:
Male

Age:
~ 28 years

Height:
1,76m

BodyType:
athletic

Hair:
red-blonde

Eyes:
blue-green

Tattoos:
none

Markings:
Thorax scar

Current_Occupation:
Quick Response Team