Heartlessly Humane

By wired2damoon

Chapter 1: Prologue

A/N: Hi! Wired2damoon here, with my new fic! I know it's probably not the best idea starting this, when I still have two other novel-length fics to finish (and am nowhere near) but the damn plot bunnies wouldn't leave me in peace. So…here you go. The prologue to my first multi-chaptered "Being Human" story, it shall feature, some George/Nina, loads of George/Mitchell, Annie/George Mitchell/Annie/George friendship and of course, the main one, MITCHELL/ANNIE LOVE!

Is set Post Series 1 Episode 6 and the prologue is in the form of the sort of monologue either of the three have at the start of each episode. Enjoy! ~wired2damoon~ x

- Mitchell's POV -

9976 weeks, 43070 days, 1033680 hours, 62020800 minutes and 3721248000 seconds I've been on this earth.

And all those ridiculously large numbers amount to exactly one hundred and eighteen years.

Not that I'm the type to be countin'.

And yet, in all that time, as I sit here, on the edge of my bed, smokin' to my non-beatin' heart's content, I can't help but realise just how much I've missed out on in my time as a vampire.

I guess, nearly dyin' brings out my inner intention to detail.

There are a lot of things in the world that human beings take for granted…yet with vampires, it's more like they ignore it. A soft touch gracing the cold, calloused skin, the sounds of the birds chirping in the breeze, a smile reflected warmly in a lover's face…

All of these things, moments, are simply, over-looked by someone of my…species, condition, curse.

But not by me.

Not anymore.

I can't say that I've had a 'new lease of life,' per se, but in these last few weeks, I have woken up to my own reality. For the last three years or so, I've been deluding myself, and now, I plan to put a stop to it. There is no way, my friend's honourable and extremely precarious efforts will be in vain.

No more fallin' off the wagon. No more mistakes. No more slips.

No more fresh, live, youthful, human…prey. I've grown to despise that word.

Seeing George last night, standing in that small, basement room, face to face with none other than Herrick, that meant something. That meant everything. Watching him sacrifice himself in my place, to…to kill…I would never ask of him to do such a thing, ever. And yet, he did.

And it meant something.

I stand up off my bed and saunter towards my window, my now certain thoughts roaming around in my brain. Darkness has fallen around our little, quiet street, with nothing but the street lights basking it's faint orange glow to disrupt it.

This is my life now.

This is what I want my life to be. To have some…normality…the only problem is, I fear that the last words I ever heard Herrick say will come back to bite me in the arse in the worse possible way.

"I am the beginning…"

The beginning of what? I've pondered endlessly ever since. I wonder, I worry, I dread, I just about go mental at the thought of what could possibly be worse than Herrick. What more could possibly go wrong for us? Me, George, Annie, and now, Nina.

"There will be more after me…"

What if this is the safest we are ever going to be? What if there's something just around every corner we ever come by? Bigger and more terrifying than Herrick ever was?

All these 'what if's' that pop into my mind, it almost makes me laugh at the words that Annie had uttered only months before.

"Nothing phases you…does it? You never get scared…"

I snorted aloud, then, not caring that I probably looked bonkers, laughing alone in my room.

If only she knew, if only they all knew…but I can't let them know how deeply this 'pseudo-peace' unsettles me. Things are finally, calm, at least for the moment. George is already traumatised by what happened, Annie is…well, I don't know, probably just as disturbed, and Nina, well, she's shocked to say the least…

But something is different about her. That much I can tell. I sense something has changed, something has shifted around her, and I almost don't want to let myself to think what that might be.

So, for now, for the next twenty-four hours or so I'll let it drop. Just let everything be. Just like the Beatles' classic says.

'Cause after all, even 'pseudo-peace' is better than no peace at all…

Isn't it?

A/N: Well, there you go. The prologue, featuring Mitchell. I hoped you liked it, I made a point to write it exactly how he would speak, hope it worked out okay. If so, let me know…

P.S: Sorry if my mathematical calculations are a bit off, I did the best I could but unfortunately maths were never my fortae...~wired2damoon~ x