Zachariah

**Zachariah** was a vampire in *Midnight, Texas*. He led a nest of vampires that made its way back to Midnight, Texas.

## Backstory

Much of Zachariah's past remains shrouded in mystery, such that his beginnings as a vampire or his age is unknown. However, whispers of a man that could offer freedom spread. Such rumors reached plantation slaves. One slave, in particular, sought him out. One night, over 200 years ago, in a dark and dry field, Zach was approached by Lemuel, who had just escaped from his slave quarters in search of freedom. Zachariah admitted that he could grant Lemuel the freedom he so desperately wanted, but, in doing so, there was no turning back. He then drained Lemuel of his blood to the point of near death before feeding him his vampire blood, which resulted in a near instantaneous transformation. After completing the transition, the two of them headed back to the plantation where Lemuel was a slave to find his friend, Abraham, hanging from a tree. They entered the Plantation Master's house and slaughtered him and his guests. Following those events, he grew to have a close bond and friendship with Lemuel. For a time, Zach and Lem were at each other's side; they were like brothers.

In 1888, months prior to New Years Eve, he met and developed a relationship with a human named Pia. Their relationship grew enough that he told her what he was, a vampire. Leading up to New Years Eve, Zach caved and turned her. It is presumed that she remained at his side through all 129 years of her vampire life.

Sometime around the 1950s, they arrived in Midnight and he and Pia were responsible for much of the chaos that ensued. They had free reign over the town, which made for disastrous results. Zach and Pia shared an equal love for the hunt and the taste of blood. Lemuel, however, had been in a foul mood for months, which prompted Zach and Pia gifting him a gypsy girl named Xylda, to feed on. Much to his surprise, Lemuel returned with glowing blue eyes, the likes of which Zach had never seen before. He wondered what Xylda did to him. Lem revealed that she freed him and that she could do the same to them. Zach and Pia would never have to kill another human again. But, he wondered why he would want that. They were food. Zach enjoyed the killing and the blood, as did Pia. He was happy with the way he was.

With nothing more to say, Lemuel banished them from Midnight, but they weren't willing to leave as it was their home too. After witnessing Lemuel kill two of his nest members from simply touching them, Zachariah changed his mind on not wanting the power that Xylda could bestow but by then it was too late. Zach was told to leave or else Lemuel would do the same to him, thus, Zach, Pia and the nest went their separate ways.

## Throughout Midnight, Texas

### Season One

In *Lemuel, Unchained*, upon his arrival in Midnight, Zachariah harasses Creek as she walks home alone that night. Just as he prepared to bite her, Lemuel intervened by throwing him into the road. It had been a long time since they have seen each other. Zach and Lemuel were old friends. He claims that he was just having a little fun with Creek. Had he know that she was Lem's friend, he never would've attacked her. Lemuel explained that everyone at Midnight was his friend. Zach wasn't looking for trouble. They decided to stay the night while passing through on their way to Mazatlán. Midnight brought back old memories of when they were all together.

Lemuel lived and worked at Midnight Pawn, which was just as dusty and crowded as he remembered. He was then introduced to Olivia, Lemuel's girlfriend. Olivia thought it was funny that Lemuel had never mentioned him before, which came as no surprise to Zach consider he and Lem had a falling out the last time they saw each other. It cost him his closest friend. Zach was asking for a second chance, hoping that they could put the bad blood behind them, which led Lemuel to his next point, setting ground rules. No feeding on anyone in the county, Midnighters, and locals were off limits to him and his vampire nest. Zach understood. He had turned over a new leaf and he fed on blood bags. A long time ago, Lemuel told him that he got tired of the hunt, it took Zach a little longer to see the light. With that being said, Lemuel welcomed him back with open arms. He then inquired about the old hotel, which had been taken down, but the restaurant, currently known as Home Cookin', was still up.

He was amazed at how much the restaurant had changed since his last visit. They were then joined by Pia, which brought a certain level of awkwardness between her, Olivia and Lemuel. After Olivia left due to a supposed migraine, he begins to dance with Pia, then switching up and handing her off to Lemuel. It wasn't long before Olivia returned with accusations of misconduct on the vampires' behalf. She was accompanied by Manfred, a fellow Midnighter. They had broken into Zach's bus and discovered that the vampires were draining a girl of her blood. Zach was far less upset than Pia was as their suspicions were justified. The girl's name was Tiffany. She was a vampire groupie. The groupies were the most humane way for vampires to sustain life since they were willing food sources.

As the four of them sat at a table, Pia recounted the night Zach turned her. It was New Years Eve, 1888. In a rare moment of weakness, he caved. While Pia was begging to be turned, Olivia admitted that she had no desires to become a vampire. Zach then asked the ladies if they could give him and Lem a moment of privacy. It must be nice being at Midnight, it's a cold world out there for a vampire, he said. Always on the run. It was exhausting. He forgot how special the town was. The energy was more powerful than Zach remembered. Midnight called him as if he belonged there. He was asking that Lemuel allowed them to stay.

He claims Xylda made Lemuel turn his back on them. He gave Lem eternal life. She gave him ultimate power over them. He made Lem, meaning they were family. In spite of all of this, Lem denied his request to stay. Looking to end the night on a better note, Zach opted for one last drink for old times sake with Lem, or so he claimed. As Lemuel drank the blood, it was revealed that the drink was laced with silver, resulting in Lemuel collapsing to the floor. After failing to stop Olivia in time as she kills Pia, Zach told Olivia that she would be taking her place. In response, Olivia shot him with a silver bullet and fled the restaurant. He pulls the bullet out and then tells his guys to kill everyone in town.

Zach has taken Lem up to an old hotel room and chained him to the floor. He was sorry that it came to that but Lem took everything from him. He opens up the curtains, saying that the sun would be up soon, which will result in Lemuel's death, and that his human friends would be joining him in death. From the streets down below, Zach could hear Manfred calling out to him, claiming that the gypsy girl from the past was his grandmother and that he could bestow the same power onto Zach that was given to Lemuel, so many years prior. As Lemuel shouts out in disagreement, demanding that Manfred stop, Zach punches him in the face, leaving him unconscious.

He joins Manfred on the street, asking what he wanted in return, which was for them to leave Midnight, but that wasn't going to happen. Manfred then settled on himself, along with the rest of the town being allowed to leave unharmed. This was fair enough, Zach agreed to these terms. Manfred then hands him a case, which Zach opened only to discover that it was empty. It was a grift, Manfred said, which made him a dead man as far as Zach was concerned. However, he and his nest were killed via a powerful crystal that with light behind it, could emulate UV sunlight rays, which results in instant death when in contact with vampires.

## Personality

Zach was a highly motivated but selfish leader. At the center of his motivation was a hunger for power. He desired it above all else. Zach envied Lemuel after discovering that Xylda, a psychic gypsy had modified his vampiric traits, resulting in a creature far stronger than himself, capable of feeding off energy and killing vampires with a single touch. Zach sought after this power but was ultimately denied.

Much like Pia, Zach showed a certain level of disinterest in humans beyond the fact that they were food. He also looked to them for entertainment, as he enjoyed the hunt, the killing, and the bloodshed, so much so that when given the opportunity to live peacefully amongst humans, he turned it down.

## Skills

Zachariah possessed the skills of a standard vampire in *Midnight, Texas*, such as super strength, speed, and immortality. However, the full extent of his abilities went unseen.

## References

1. ↑ During a flashback, a jukebox plays *Teardrops on my Pillow* by Sunny Gale. This song was released in 1953.
2. ↑ Turi Meyer & Al Septien (Writers) and David Solomon (Director) (July 24th, 2017). *Lemuel, Unchained*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season One. Episode Three. NBC.