My body shudders uncontrollably even when I feel the cold air anymore, my fingers already grey and numb.
Cold air enters my dry throat, burning its way to the lungs, and then comes out colder than before. I place my dry, torn lip between my teeth to put an end to their non-stop loud clattering.
'I am tired… I wanna go back home.'
My hands come to hug my knees to my chest in an effort to keep myself a little warmer. And fortunately, I do find it, but it's a little too warm.
'I think I'm feeling hot… no, Eva. You're just losing your mind!'
I shake my head to get my thoughts straight, then let out a trembling sigh.
'What do I do now?? Is there a way to survive this situation in the first place? Where we, humans, are being hunted down by the vampires who are literally everywhere.'
I bite my numb bottom lip, the memories of how I had to run away from our café sliding through my mind. My nose flares, with hot tears warming my eyes.
The metallic, sharp, and dirty stench of the alley hits straight into the center of my head, clawing through my nostrils and causing a sharp, uncomfortable sensation of nausea. And somewhere hidden in the dark, gloomy part of the alley, droplets land consistently on the ground, which has accumulated enough water to echo the new drops landing throughout the alley.
"Come on, Seth! I am tired, and I wanna leave~"
Someone's whiny voice invades the alley before the heavy footsteps move in.
I freeze immediately, holding my breath as panic settles in, their steps grow closer to the barrels I'm hiding behind.
'SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! I'm doomed if they find me! Eva, don't let out anything, even a breath!'
I bury my face in my knees quickly.
"But, Sir, Lord Brandon ordered us to—" Another vampire was about to talk, but the first, whiny one cut him off in annoyance.
"And who cares about you or that Lord of yours?? Rubbish head." Then, turning to the third person they're with, he states.
"Seth, I wanna leave!!"
They stop walking in the middle of the alley, countable steps away from me.
'This vampire whines a lot. Annoying… I think I am almost used to it, vampires being near the places I hide in.'
Opening my eyes slowly and carefully, I glance down at my toes, slowly fiddling with the dirt.
'I can't see them right now cause there's no light in this hideout, but they're cut and bruised everywhere. The reason is that I'm barefoot. But don't feel anything cause they've gone numb, just like my hands…
God, I might be in danger of getting hypothermia. Wait, am I not having it already?? Ugh, I don't know what's what.'
"Sigh." The third guy lets out a deep sigh, his voice warm unlike the whiney one's.
'Vampires get tired too?? Why don't they just piss off and die instead of killing and kidnapping us humans?'
"It's an order from Lord Brandon, Salvius. Do you not understand??" The third man, who was sighing, talks sternly.
I freeze at the name that came out of the vampire's mouth.
'Ah—'
My childhood sweetheart Salvi's face flashes in front of my eyes.
'NO! Don't think about THAT now. Eva.'
I bring my hand to my chest, scratching as I succumb to my bad habit again.
'Ugh fuck, leave it, dumbass.' I pull my hand away from my chest, leaving ragged scratches caused by the unevenly broken nails, burning and itching the spot I scratched.
'Fuck me, this is the last of what I need right now.' I glance down at my hand, not able to distinguish the nails thanks to the darkness.
I grumble inwardly before placing my hand on the injury to stop any scent of blood from slipping into the air... And maybe numb the pain a little.
My brows furrow, and I bite the inside of my cheeks.
"Why? Do you guys plan on taking all of them at once or something??" The annoyed, whiny vampire huffs.
"Salvius!" The guy named Seth snaps, scolding.
"Ohhh, come on~" The first one whines again.
Seth lets out a deep, tired sigh.
"You know that it'll take us more than an hour to gather the vampires from all over the village before setting off to the Kord," Seth grumbles at the vampire's stubbornness.
"Then we just start now," Salvius argues flatly, not showing a drop of frustration. "Everything will be ready in an hour, and we leave. As simple as that!!"
'This man sounds like a headache, but...' I bite my nail at the idea of them leaving, 'Yeah, please. Leave the quickest you guys can.'
"Sigh~ Karl," Seth calls the third man, the poor one who has no say in anything, just following orders.
"Yes, Sir." The vampire named Karl answers.
"Go ahead and ask the Lord if we can wrap things up for today and leave." Seth gives the order, calm and composed, unlike what he was like a second ago.
My body halts completely for a second before I feel the excitement grumbling through my tummy.
'Really? Will they really be leaving? Finally?!!'
The excitement turns into relief, lingering as warmth in my chest. I let out a slow, trembling breath.
"As you command, Sir." Karl greets and leaves, his footsteps fading in a second.
All you can hear is the wind following him in a sharp swoosh.
"Is there no one to win an argument against you?" Seth grumbles.
'Ummmm, didn't YOU just give up too soon? You could've gone on and not listened to him… I mean, I am actually grateful you did, but you know… You could've if you wanted to.'
I raise an eyebrow, giving him my opinion in my head.
"Well, I don't think such a person has been born yet, and that day will not be coming. Unfortunately for ya." The arrogant vampire spouts his nonsense a little too proudly.
"I hope that day arrives sooner rather than later," Seth says.
Maybe even shaking his head, because that's what it sounded like.
'ME TOO! I agree. I want to see this Salvius guy getting his mouth shut. Actually, no. On second thought, not just him, all of you vampire guys, maybe go and die while you're at it.'
"Ohhh, I remembered." Salvius gasps suddenly, his fist hitting into the palm of his other hand.
"Brandon was calling for you. I think he had something to tell you in private." He continues, blunt and bored.
'It's either a lie, or this vampire just doesn't give enough shits about that Lord.'
"Hmmm, is that so??" Seth's voice carries both gentleness and a warning.
"It's not a problem when you're with me, but be mindful of how you address the Lord in front of others."
'Too gentle. You should smack the shit out of people like him if your goal is to make them listen to you, don't you know??' I represent my humble opinion to him in my head.
"Well, although I am a free, independent vampire. I'll try to do whatever you ask for, I guess."
The infuriating, insufferable vampire states, arrogant and uninterested.
Seth lets out a surrendering exhale, then voices out his farewell.
"Alright then, see you later."
"Bye bye~" Salvius sings, waving his hand.
I dare and rise to my knees, peeking at his face from above the barrels.
He stands there, grinning proudly. The light firelight coming in from outside the alley reflects on his face, red eyes glint excitedly as he stares at Seth's leaving back.
His long, sharp fangs visible beneath his big grin.
'He's a blonde… platinum blonde!!'
My breath catches in my throat, stuck for a moment as I stare at his breathtaking hair.
'Platinum blonde, just like my Salvi—NO, Eva, shut it. Salvi is dead! And THIS! This is a fucking vampire who takes us humans' lives as if we're nothing. A monster. Don't you DARE compare him to Salvi.'
My hand rises and scratches my chest in frustration. And when my body shudders from the searing pain of the injury getting cut again, I pull it back. I bring my hand back and place it on the injury to numb the burning pain a little with pressure.
'Where did these vampires even come from?? Just two days ago, our world was completely ordinary; now it's a nightmare.'
I frown as my eyes land on his elegant clothes, the white, excessive suit with formal charms hugging his figure snugly.
'He doesn't look like the other vampires I've been seeing these past few days while running around—two days to be precise, and hell, they felt like eternity.
This vampire has cat-like ears; the others have pointy, vampire-like ones. And clothes too, his look better and are of a higher caliber compared to the rest.'
I sit back against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest tightly with my shivering fingers.
'It's okay now, Eva, just an hour and they'll be gone. Pheww, vampires are just like the novels, except for the fact that they aren't affected by the sun or garlic, they have long pointy ears and fangs, drinking human blood to stay alive.'
'Fuckers, because of them, everyone is either dead or missing.'
I tighten my grip around my legs, feeling my tears well up in my eyes. The heat rises from my chest to my throat, settling there as a painful, suffocating lump.
'NO. Eva, not now. He will hear me with his sharp ear—'
"Hey there!" The vampire's voice pierces its way into my ears.
My breath stills when my head registers that it's too close to be from where he was standing seconds ago.
I jerk back and turn my head to look at his face, looking at me with a bewildered expression.
I crawl backward from there, trembling with hot tears spilling out of my eyes. My chest tightens, and my breath starts to break into ragged sobs.
'Shit. I knew it! Today is my last day. HE WILL KILL ME!! HE WILL DRINK MY BLOOD DRY!!! I should've stayed hidden in a better place. I should've… I should've… WAAAAH. He'll feed me to the monsters~'
I feel my guts go hollow as my body trembles out of control. My teeth bite my lower lip, hard but numbing, and I can feel my blood running out of my face.
"What's the matter?? Why are you scared?" The motherfucker asks as if he's not a VAMPIRE and I am not a FREAKING HUMAN.
I gulp, feeling my back bump into the wall, my heart almost jumping out of my mouth. And for a moment, he freezes. A glint sparkles into his now-excited eyes.
I swallow, then sniffle, then swallow again, trying to moisturize my suddenly dry throat.
'God, no, I don't want to die yet.' I shake my head slowly, sobbing.
He tilts his head with a confused expression.
'Why are you looking at me as if I am the weird one here?? Asshole.'
"You should hide somewhere better; the place here is exposed. That's all there is to it." He huffs, voice casual.
Grabbing the barrel, he throws it out of his way easily, then crouches down in front of me.
"There there~."
He wipes my tears with his ice-cold hand gently. A shudder runs down my spine from the touch, and adrenaline rushes through my veins, making my head spin.
"Well then, shall we??"
His hand wraps around mine tightly before he stands and pulls me effortlessly onto my feet, his left hand shoved lazily into his pocket.
My knees give instantly, causing me to collapse.
In a blur faster than sight, he sweeps me against his side, catching me as if I weigh nothing.
My head falls against his chest, too heavy to lift as the light disappears from my eyes. The last thing I hear is the vampire's voice asking, almost concerned.
"Hey Eva. Are you alright?!"