My eyes snapped open, and the first thing I saw was a football field. It was certainly not what I had expected to see the moment I regained consciousness. One minute I was having a pleasant conversation with God in a kitchen, yet here I was, standing on the damp grass with the scent of dew and old bleachers filling my nose.
Talk about an abrupt change of scenery.
I took a moment to let my vision clear, blinking away the lingering traces of unconsciousness. Surveying my surroundings, I noted that I was standing near a thick line of trees that bordered the field, well-obscured by the heavy darkness of the night sky. It was a relief to realize I hadn't dropped right into the middle of a crowd; that knowledge took a significant weight off my shoulders.
The stadium in front of me was vast and illuminated by bright lights. Judging by the people milling about, a game was due to start soon. High school cheerleaders were prancing across the turf, singing and dancing to a spirited fight chant, while the bleachers were already filled with hundreds of spectators.
Wasn't I supposed to be dropped off at the start of canon? From my memories of the show, the first scene with this many people at the pitch didn't happen until around episode three. Maybe God messed up the timing a bit. Not that I'm complaining; the first two episodes were a bit of a chore to watch with all those slow, dramatic character introductions.
Speaking of introductions, I suddenly realized I had no plan. What the hell was I supposed to do now? It was cool to be in a fictional reality, but I doubted I had a legal identity here, let alone money or a home. I was effectively broke and destitute in a strange town, an annoying thought given the nature of Mystic Falls.
As I was debating my limited options and wondering if I'd have to sleep in the woods like a wild animal, I felt a slight weight shifting in my pocket. Looking down at myself, I noticed I was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a crisp white t-shirt, and a pair of Converse shoes. At least I looked normal and not like someone who had just materialized from thin air.
Reaching into my pocket to find the source of the sensation, I felt the familiar leather grain of a wallet. I pulled it free and opened it, only for a small note to slip out and flutter toward the ground. With speed that was genuinely insane, I snatched it from the air before it could even hit the dirt. I unfolded it to find words written in neat, elegant cursive.
"Hey Sam, bet you didn't expect a letter from me, huh? Sorry about the rough landing. I may have been a bit distracted by the wife, and I also forgot to give you some crucial information.
First, you have an identity in this world. Secondly, you have a small home in Mystic Falls, located a couple of streets over from the main strip. The wallet has all the identification you need, and a bank account with enough money for a year or two has been set up.
This is a courtesy for your first world, at least regarding the home and the money. Your identity will always be ready for whatever world you eventually visit, as I'd rather not watch you deal with the government every time you dimension hop.
Anyway, the wife says to start causing some chaos already!
Regards, GOD."
Well, that was convenient. I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I tucked the letter away. I fished out my driver's license to check the details. It was a standard license, nothing different from my previous life apart from the state, but the name caught me off guard. God really did have a weird sense of humor.
"Samuel Athanasius Kastiel McDowell." It was a bit on the nose, considering it was essentially a male version of Evangeline's full name. Snorting at the absurdity, I tucked the card back into the leather. As my hand slipped back into my pocket, I felt the cold metal of a set of house keys, which confirmed the note's claims.
Speaking of Evangeline, the more I stood there, the more I could feel the changes from gaining her full template. My senses were heightened to a frightening degree, so sharp that the sound of the wind through the leaves sounded like a roar, and I could hear hushed conversations happening blocks away in the town center.
My body was brimming with so much latent strength that I felt as if I could destroy the environment for miles with a simple flick of my finger. Fortunately, the inheritance granted me all of Evangeline's mastery over her own body, mind, soul, and magic, preventing me from accidentally crushing the keys in my hand.
Her memories were available for me to browse, spanning from the moment she was born until the point she reached the peak of her power. It was intense to realize I could replicate her feats without a single second of training. The knowledge was ingrained into my very soul, as if we had been the same person all along, finally made whole.
Her journey had been the story of a goddess. She had done so much, fought so many people, and killed even more. Then there was the magic. I could feel the mana humming beneath my skin like a live wire. I could actually tear space apart with a thought or shatter the world with a punch.
It was sheer, unadulterated insanity.
Shaking off the heavy weight of those memories, I focused back on my new reality. The crowd had doubled around the field, with banners flying high and the air filled with the mounting excitement of the students.
I debated whether to go join them, but I figured I had an eternity to have fun, so there was no rush. I decided to head toward the back entrance where the buses were parked, preferring a quieter route to clear my head.
The cool air of Mystic Falls was welcoming, refreshing my mind as I walked through the brush. I could have easily vanished into the crowd, but walking felt more grounding, helping me process the fact that my life had been flipped upside down only hours ago.
"And that, my brother, is your humanity."
I heard a voice speak up ahead, cutting through the ambient noise of the woods. Thanks to my heightened hearing, I picked up the argument long before I saw them. Looking forward through the trees, I saw two people in a heated debate. One was wearing a crimson football uniform; he had brown hair swept up in a styled look and a sharp, angular jawline. The other was slightly taller with dark hair and a perpetual, mocking grin.
I knew those two instantly. It was Damon and Stefan Salvatore, which meant I knew exactly what was about to happen. Just as the thought crossed my mind, Damon smirked at the coach walking toward them from the shadows.
"Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!" The man, who I knew was the history teacher, Mr. Tanner, yelled at Stefan while completely ignoring the older brother.
"If that's my humanity... then what's this?" Damon said, his eyes narrowing with a dangerous glint. He spun around and launched himself at Tanner.
I watched with clinical interest. To a normal human, Damon's speed would be a complete blur, but through the eyes of a Shinso, he was moving so slowly that the world seemed to have frozen.
I could have saved Tanner quite easily, but I frankly disliked the man based on my memories of the show. I wondered for a second if my morality was already being corrupted. God had said I wouldn't gain Evangeline's personality, yet I felt no revulsion at the concept of someone dying in front of me. Perhaps it was just that Tanner specifically was someone I didn't care for.
Time flowed normally again as I stopped processing the world in bullet time. Damon latched onto Tanner's neck, draining him at a blistering speed that left the man no time to scream.
Stefan yelled, "No!" and stepped forward, but he was far too late. Tanner's lifeless body hit the dirt with a dull thud as Damon pulled away, his mouth stained with fresh blood.
"Anyone, anytime, any place," Damon said, sounding entirely too pleased with himself. Then, his head tilted slightly as he turned in my direction, hearing the crunch of a twig under my foot.
He clearly thought I was just collateral damage. I had seen the crime, so in his mind, the obvious choice was to kill the witness.
"Looks like we've got someone who saw the crime," Damon said, stepping toward me with a slow, predatory saunter. "You don't mind if I kill you, right?"
I blinked, watching him approach as if he had all the time in the world. He was going to regret this immediately. I hadn't planned on revealing myself within the first ten minutes of my new life, but things rarely go according to plan.
"You should probably turn away," I said calmly. The memories of Evangeline's power had already altered how I reacted to life-and-death situations. I wasn't scared; I was almost bored.
"Oh," Damon said, a chuckle vibrating in his chest. "He thinks he's going to survive. How quaint."
"Damon! Just use your compulsion! Don't kill another innocent person, please!" Stefan called out, but it was a lost cause. Damon merely scoffed at the plea.
"Relax, brother. I'm just protecting your secret. Poor Elena would be distraught knowing what you are. This is just insurance."
I was already tired of his false bravado. The posturing and the "predatory" act felt so incredibly forced compared to the actual monsters I had seen in Evangeline's memories.
"Dude," I said, stepping forward and closing the gap between us in a heartbeat. "I promise you, this isn't going to go how you expect."
Damon didn't bother with a retort. He lunged at me, his fingers hooked like claws. To me, his movement was a joke. I simply reached out and caught him by the throat before he could even register that I had moved.
My grip closed around his neck like a vice. Damon was suddenly hoisted into the air, his boots dangling helplessly off the ground. He thrashed wildly, scratching and clawing at my arm with all his strength, but he couldn't even touch my skin. A passive mana shield hummed around my body, stopping his fingers inches from making contact.
Vampires didn't strictly need oxygen, but the variation in this world still had a biological reflex to breathe. The absence of air was agonizing for him as he choked.
"Damon?" Stefan called out, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at his brother being manhandled by a "human."
"I told him he'd regret it," I said with a sigh, holding the elder Salvatore up as if he weighed nothing more than a toy. "Does he always act before thinking?"
Stefan merely nodded, watching in silent wonder as I held his brother motionless. Truthfully, I thought Damon would be stronger, but the resistance he was putting up was underwhelming compared to what I had expected.
"Can you please let him go?" Stefan asked, tentatively walking forward with his hands raised in a peaceful gesture.
"I don't know," I said, peering up at Damon's reddening face. "Are you going to act like a fucking idiot if I let go?"
Damon shook his head frantically. I loosened my grasp, letting him collapse to the floor in a heap. I knew I would have to pull my punches in this world, but I wasn't going to let anyone threaten me. God's words were already ingrained in my mind; I wouldn't allow anyone to control me, and by extension, control my actions.
Damon spluttered and coughed violently, clutching his throat as he looked up from the dirt with a look of pure confusion.
"What the hell, dude?" he asked, his voice a ragged rasp. "You could have said you were one of us."
"And you could have taken a second to not try and kill me, but here we are," I replied nonchalantly. "Speaking of killing, we should clear out. You did just eat the local history teacher."
Stefan snapped back to reality and sighed, looking down at the body. "Damon, please, just go home. You've done enough damage tonight."
Damon stood up, smoothing out his jacket and smirking at his brother, his recovery time impressively fast. "Good luck explaining this, little brother." He turned back to me, pausing for a moment. "Wanna come with? I've got some high-quality alcohol at home."
It was a strange transition from enemy to drinking buddy, but I did want a stiff drink after all the madness. I might as well get to know the main antagonist of the season before he became completely preoccupied with Elena.
"Sure," I said with a shrug. "Lead the way."
Damon nodded and blurred off into the trees. I followed him at a sedated pace, keeping his speed in sight without any effort. We weaved through the forest, dodging rocks and low-hanging branches before emerging in front of a massive brick mansion.
It was gothic in design, though I could see modern renovations had been made recently. A sign near the property entrance identified it as the Salvatore Boarding House. Stopping at the front door, Damon turned to me.
"I'll get my nephew to let you in. Give me a second."
"There's no need," I said, smiling. I simply stepped through the threshold without waiting. I couldn't help but laugh as Damon's eyes widened with genuine skepticism.
"Okay... you're going to need to explain how you can enter a home without an invitation." He walked past me into an expansive living room filled with leather furniture and towering bookshelves.
I took a seat in a plush armchair while Damon blurred into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with two glasses of scotch, handing me one before sitting across from me.
"So..." he started, taking a long sip to steady himself.
"So, do you always kill before asking questions?" I asked, enjoying the rich, smoky taste of the aged scotch. It was a relief to know I could still enjoy food and drink despite the fundamental changes to my biology.
"Most of the time? Yeah. Saves a lot of headaches," Damon said, leaning back and watching me closely. "So, are you a vampire?"
I couldn't help but snort at the simplicity of the label. "Something like that, yeah."
"Come on, man! I'm sorry for trying to kill you, okay? You already flattened me; I should at least get some answers."
I looked into his eyes and could see him trying to build a mental profile of me. I was thankful for the Shinso memories in that moment. Evangeline was a goddess of war, but she also understood people. She knew their tells and how to read the smallest micro-movements of their faces.
"Tell me more about you and your brother," I said, dismissing his question with a wave of my hand. "It looks like quite the family feud."
Damon tsked at my deflection but answered anyway. "You know how it is. Older brother causing headaches for the younger one. He pissed me off, so I got my revenge. Simple."
"Simple? You just murdered a man in cold blood. Aren't family fights usually a bit more... normal?"
That made Damon chuckle darkly. "Oh, you don't have an immortal family, no doubt. This is us being normal."
He was completely on brand for that statement. The two brothers loved each other, but they were incredibly volatile. Currently, Damon was playing the villain, but I knew Stefan could be just as dangerous when pushed.
"I see," I said, finishing my glass as I stood up.
"Why are you in Mystic Falls?" Damon asked, setting his own glass down. I saw no point in lying; I didn't have any malicious intentions toward them yet.
"I just moved here, actually. I heard about the football game and ran into you two. I doubt the game is going to happen now that the coach is dead, though."
"Tanner was a piece of shit anyway, so good riddance," Damon said, smirking. "I've never seen a vampire move like you or be that strong. My neck is still hurting, dammit. What's your name, anyway?"
I laughed and shook my head. "It's Sam. And you deserved the sore neck."
I brushed off my jeans and looked at Damon one last time. "Thanks for the drink. I should probably head home and figure out my next move."
"Oh, come on! We just met. Tell me a little about yourself. I promise I'll keep it a secret," Damon said, dragging a finger across his lips in a zipping motion.
"Not tonight," I said, turning toward the exit. "Besides, if you learned anything about me, you'd probably just try to use it against me later, right?"
The room was silent behind me as I stepped out of the Salvatore home. I could imagine Damon frowning, frustrated that he had gained absolutely nothing from the encounter. He would eventually learn more about me, but for now, he simply knew I was someone who could break him in a second.
Stepping out onto the dark street, I paused to listen, focusing my hearing on the distant sounds of the town. After a moment, I caught the distinct clack of pool balls, which meant I had a lock on the location of the Mystic Grill.
I needed to find my new home and take a moment to process everything in private. Because truth be told?
I was completely out of my depth.