Paul Smolensky, Period 2, 5/16/23

 Creativity & Fiction

● Craft a piece of FAN fiction related to any of the reading we’ve done in class that

addresses one or more of the following:

○ Literary elements (i.e. structure, tone, diction, mood, irony, and figurative

language) to craft a narrative.

○ Structural features of drama (stage directions, character attributions/tags,

dialogue, monologues, and/or soliloquies) to craft a script.

○ Multidimensional characters to develop themes and create socio-political

metaphors.

Daniel’s First Night

The year is 1978. Night has fallen upon New Orleans. Its citizens finish their days

and return to their homes. They have dinner with their families, they relax, and

eventually they fall asleep. For one being, however, the night does not bring peace and

respite but excitement and promise. This being is Daniel, a newly-embraced vampire,

discovering the joys of the night for the first time. He has spent the last few days

underground, in a crypt of the New Orleans cemetery that Lestat has turned into a

haven for them both. As Daniel exits the crypt, he thinks over the first days of his new

unlife. He had found Lestat and explained who he was. He told him of Louis and what

he was doing. And as he had for Louis before him, Lestat offered him a choice...

The first days were full of excitement and temptation. Having learned from his

experience with Louis, Lestat did not immediately set Daniel loose on the world. While

Lestat taught him all he knew about vampirism, Daniel was forbidden from leaving the

crypt. Lestat taught all he knew: about the newfound senses and the aroma of the night,

about the raw physical power that now radiated from him, about hunting and killing his

prey. Lastly, Lestat taught him about blood. What it now meant to him, how it gave him

strength, and how to call on it to perform extraordinary feats brought forth by the dark

gift. Daniel desperately wanted to go out to the city and experience it all firsthand but

Lestat wisely kept him indoors until all the relevant information was relayed. Now

though, at last, Lestat told him he was ready, and to go out and enjoy the night however

he wished, as they would be soon leaving New Orleans.

As Daniel ascends the ancient, moss-covered stairs to the surface and steps into

the cool night air his senses are all at once struck with an overwhelming barrage. The

air smells sweet and inviting. The lights of the city glean like stars, pointing the way to

myriad opportunities. With every step, he becomes more and more aware of the power

within him. Every muscle, every tendon courses with terrible might, begging to be

unleashed. All of a sudden, Daniel bursts into a sprint. The cemetery is huge and

winding, but he makes it to the high ironwork fence in a blink of an eye. As the wind

whips by and he approaches the edge he winds up and leaps, clearing the 12-foot-tall

bars with room to spare. With a catlike grace he lands, looking behind. As he stares

gleefully, dumbfounded by his own prowess. A triumphant cheer rises from him, and

turns into laughter as he races off towards the city. In but moments he is there, now

walking slowly among the mortals. Recalling Lestat's teachings, he turns down a dark

alley. As soon as he is out of sight, he steps up a brick wall and scales it like a giant

lizard. Crouching on the wall, he looks down on the narrow dimly-light street. He calms

his mind and opens his senses to the world around him. But a few minutes later, he

hears an awful, rhythmic, scraping sound, metal grinding against metal. He looks

around and finds the source. Two men are standing near a back entrance of a store,

with one sawing the lock with a hacksaw, and the other looking around with his hands in

his pocket. As he crawls quietly closer to the burglars, Daniel surveys his newfound

prey. After a moment's thought to create a plan of action, he swoops down on the

lookout and drags him back up to the roof so fast that the only noise is a gust of wind.

Before the man can even scream, his throat is pierced with razor fangs, the crimson

liquid gushing into Daniel's mouth. As the man's white face becomes completely pale,

his hand loses its grip around the object in his pocket. A small knife slips out and

plummets to the ground. Daniel, too preoccupied with his first ever drink, does not

notice or even care. As the knife strikes the concrete tile behind the “locksmith” he turns

around and stares where his partner was but a moment ago. Seeing the knife, he looks

around and then glances up. The sight makes him step back. He sees his friend's body

hanging over the edge of the roof, throat torn and missing, and a man with crimson eyes

and a bloodstained mouth crouching on the wall. He pulls out a pistol and takes aim

with trembling hands, but no weapon can save him now. As Daniel pounces on his next

target he calls forth his Gift. At once, his fingernails distend into long, gangly claws.

Where once there stood a terrified man there are now only shredded remains. As Daniel

finishes cleaving the man into pieces, he hears a familiar voice. “Enjoying your night?”

Lestat asks with a hint of a smirk on his face. “I am.” says Daniel bluntly, not sure what

to expect. “Well then, in future, do enjoy yourself in a less messy way. The cattle will

grow nervous and start asking inconvenient questions” Said Lestat chidingly. “But it

doesn't matter now. Come young one, we have some old friends to visit.”