Jonathan Harker's Journal (kept in shorthand)
27th November. - I was not in the mood for writing during the last two days. We are sailing along the Danube by ship now. Although we are vampires, we can cross water whenever we want. Unlike Dracula.
23rd November, 1893 - Sunset. - When Quincey turned around, we saw that he pressed his
hand on his chest. Blood ran through his fingers, so that we all were worried.
“Mr. Harker, you cut his throat while I stab him with my Bowie knife.” We
wanted to do as he said: While I cut the Count’s throat, Quincey tried to stab
him. But suddenly, Dracula got up from his box and took Quincey’s knife. We all
were scared. None of us knew what to do. The vampire came towards us with a
gruesome expression upon his face – and then he stabbed all of us. All except
from Quincey; he had already been stabbed by the gipsies that protected Dracula.
I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, and when I fell down to the ground, I saw
Qunincey lying next to me. Dead. That was the last thing I should see before
darkness came over me.
I must have been laying there for at least thirty
minutes, for the sun had already set when I awoke. I was scared. My hand was
lying on my chest, but I could not feel my heartbeat. “Mein Gott! Now we’re un-dead.
Nosferatu. Vampyr. Our blood is infected with the virus. Goodness, we have
become unholy creatures of the Hell! Servants of Lucifer himself!” van Helsing
cried desperately. He was as shocked as all of us. I do not know where, when
and how, but we must have tasted from the Count’s blood or from the one of one
of the other vampires. Dracula, his coach and all of his gipsies had
disappeared. I am not sure, but I guess that they went on to Borgo Pass,
directly to his castle. Because we did not know, we could not go on hunting
him.
“What shall we do now?” Mina asked Professor van
Helsing. “You know a lot about vampires, don’t you? Can you teach us?” - “It
seems like I have to”, he replied with a sad voice. “Is this my reward for saving
the world from terrible diseases – and vampires?”
While I write this, I can feel my veins burning and my
canine teeth growing. This feeling is unknown to me, but I think it is
bloodlust. What a terrible feeling! Now I understand why Dracula bit all the
people. Everything I hear is louder, everything I smell is more intensive and
everything I can see is clearer. Will I ever get used to this? To an eternal
life with bloodlust and such strong senses? O r
shall I ask van Helsing to drive a stake through my heart? No! I may not give
up!
I am still wearing the clothes I wore when I died, for
it had only been an hour or a little more from my death to now. My crucifix is
still hanging around my neck. I wonder why it does not harm me. Maybe we are
different from other vampires, for religious things – such as crucifixes or
holy water - normally burn their skin when they touch them.
I heard a rabbit jumping around. “What are you waiting
for? Catch it!” van Helsing said. As if they were not already strong enough, my
senses seemed to become even stronger. I could hear everything. I could smell
the rabbit, which now was hiding in a bush. Now I had to completely rely on
them. The rabbit came closer to me. I jumped next to it and then grabbed it.
When I held the animal in my hands, I wondered whether I should really kill
this innocent thing. But if I wanted to get rid of this burning pain, I had to.
My canine teeth grew. I pulled the rabbit’s head back and dug them into its
throat. God, forgive me! I have to admit that it was the best thing to do, for
the pain has almost gone.
When van Helsing took out his mirror, I realised that
me and all the others had a reflection in it. The Professor could not explain
this. “We must be a new kind of vampires”, he guessed.
´We do not fight
a single monster but legions of them.´ - ´The vampire doesn’t die like the bee
after the first sting; he grows stronger.´ - ´Your last drop of blood? Thank
you, you’re very welcome here. I didn’t ask as much as that. Not yet.´ - ´A
peasant unearths no grain to see whether it grows. Only children who play
peasant do this, but not those who earn their money with it.´ - ´She’s not a
helpless victim, she’s a willing recruit. She is… the devil’s… concubine!´ All
of van Helsing’s quotations which I ever heard or read in the other’s diaries
came into my mind, and some of them now were fitting very well to us.
Becoming
a vampire must have stressed me, for I feel very tired now.
24th November - Dawn. - After I had lain down, I fell asleep
immediately. I woke up three hours later. Therefore, I came to the conclusion
that vampires need less sleep than humans.
The sun does not weaken me. This is another strange
thing that separates us from most of the other vampires.
27th November. - I was not in the mood for writing during the last two days. We are sailing along the Danube by ship now. Although we are vampires, we can cross water whenever we want. Unlike Dracula.
Today I had a wolf for breakfast. The largest animal I
have bitten yet. Van Helsing had taught us a lot about hunting – although we have
been un-dead for only four days by now. After all of this, I wonder what we
will witness in future…
