30 Days of Night
Eben was the Sheriff of Barrow, Alaska. Barrow is the northernmost settlement of North America, and is a place where the average temperatures are below zero. The unique thing about Barrow is that they have continuous sunshine between May 10th and August 2nd. They also have 30 days of continuous knight in the winter when the sun sets on November 18 and doesn’t rise again until December 17th, an aspect of the town that would peak the interest of the un-dead. Eben worked with his wife, Stella Olemaun, managing the law and order of their small town.
It was November of 2001 when strange occurrences began happening in Barrow. A string of robberies and vandalism had struck the small town town. Almost everyone in town reported their cell phones stolen. Stella discovered the smoldering pit that the phones were torched in just outside of town and had called Eben to take a look. They remained outside of town to watch the last sunset for the month together. This would be the last sunset that Eben would see alive.
After the sun went down Eben received a call concerning a disturbance at Iko’s restaurant. There was a strange man causing commotion because the restaurant wouldn’t serve him raw meat. Eben and Stella took him in. In jail the man attempted to rile up Eben by threatening Stella, and by telling them that they were all going to die soon. He bent the bars of the jail cell and staggered toward them. Eben took him down with a shot to the head, and Stella made sure he was down with a few more. Shook up they decided to pay Gus Lambert a visit to see why communications were still down. When they arrived they found the communications building burned down, all the equipment destroyed, and Gus’s severed head impaled on a stake in front of the rubble.
Eben and Stella made their way back to town, but stopped on their way when they saw a light in the distance. Though his binoculars Gus was able to see the approach of the un-dead in the distance as they made their way across the tundra towards the town. Gus and Stella rushed back to town. They were unable to alert or save everyone in town, but the pair as well as a few other survivors were able to hide in a basement as the massacre of the people of Barrow began. They had only a small window with which they were forced to bear witness to the carnage as Marlow Roderick and the other vampires slaughtered and ate everyone they encountered in town. They had little warmth, food, or hope, and Eben decided to go out to search for food, medical, and other supplies.
While rummaging through the Sheriff’s station Eben came upon one of the vampires. He blasted the vampire’s face with a shotgun at point blank range and was able to escape. When he got back to the basement he found that one of the other survivors had also left to locate his girlfriend, and was badly wounded by one of the vampires. He slipped away quickly and, now un-dead, attacked his former friends and neighbors. Eben stopped him by cleaving his head with a nearby ax, and Stella finished him by removing his head. Before the vampire died, Eben drew a syringe of his blood, not yet knowing what he planned to do with it.
Eben and Stella watched through the narrow window as Vicente came into the town. One of the few remaining elder vampires, Vicente came to Barrow to punish the young vampires who would risk their secrecy, their way of life, and would slaughter humans with so little care. Vicente killed Marlow and told the other vampires to set the town ablaze to make the destruction look like an accident.
When the Vicente located two surviving human children, Eben decided that he needed to act in order to save Stella as well as everyone else. Despite Stella’s objections Eben injected himself with the infected blood, and began to die. When he awoke in Stella’s arms he said that he could smell her blood. Horrified that he was losing himself, and afraid of hurting Stella Eben ran into the streets. There he challenged Vicente. Hundreds of years of experience made Vicente a fierce and dangerous opponent, but as Eben’s new abilities began to come to him he was able to gain the upper hand in battle. At the climax of the fight Vicente lunged at Eben, talons out and mouth open. Eben sent a fist through Vicente’s mouth and out the back of his head, killing him. Scared, the other vampires withdrew from the town and left into the frozen darkness.
The sun would rise again the next day. Feeling himself surcome to his new instincts, Eben knew he needed to sacrifice himself in order to keep Stella safe. They sat and watched the sun come up. Eben was left a pile of ash, and Stella alone.
After Eben’s death Stella took up crusade against the vampires, during which she learned of a story that a vampire can not truly die. She was told that even the smallest part of a vampire’s remains contain the vampire’s essence, and that the right blood could restore a dead vampire. Stella located Eben’s remains, and spilled her own blood into the ash to revive her husband. Confused and disoriented, Eben was brought back to being un-dead again. At that moment Eben bites her and turns her.
Then in Eben and Stella (which takes place after Dark days but comes out after Return to Barrow) goes through the series of events that brings the good vampire couple back together. Then in Return To Barrow he is shown in the shadows as the savior of the small town Barrow, Alaska as vampires once again try to assault it.
Movie Adaptation
In the film adaptation of 30 Days of Night (titled 30 Days of Night), Eben was played by Josh Hartnett. His name was changed to Eben Oleson.