PRESENT TIME...
_
"Since when did the color of the snow become so red?" The little girl asked herself as she looked around her.
Cold wind blew so strongly that she could even hear it echo in the midst of the silence of the night. Blood covered snow surrounds her like a nightmare, as if a bloody war had taken place, yet not a single body, alive or dead, can be found aside from her own. She couldn't remember anything. Not what happened, not even her own name.
Her winter clothes weren't enough to stop the cold from getting onto her skin and she shivered. Her mitten-covered hands were shaking either due to the cold of the winter wind or maybe the shock that engulfed her like the cold night upon waking up in the middle of nowhere. She wasn't sure. She looked around for the second time. With the help of the moon that hides behind the clouds every now and then, all she could see were trees and fields covered in thick snow. She can hear hooting owls from a distance mixed with the howling of wolves calling to the moon that is partially hidden by the clouds. She tried to walk away from where she woke up, only to fall back on the snow with a thud because she didn't have the strength she needed. Her feet were numb as if she hadn't used them for a long time. Her muscles seemed to have forgotten how to function correctly.
How long has she been unconscious? How did she even end up in that place which obviously has no trace of civilization?
Violet-colored eyes stared blankly at the sky which was covered with dark clouds as snow fell on the ground mercilessly. The moon is having a hard time shining down on the earth below because of it. A little while later, a branch which snapped from the pressure of something heavy captured her attention. She suddenly sat up. The hair at the nape of her neck stood up as she felt eyes watching her from a distance like a predator would at its prey, yet she couldn't point out where.
She stood up with all the strength she could muster and tried to run away when she felt danger closing in on her but she was stopped by a man who suddenly appeared in front of her. He had bloodshot eyes and dried blood on his lips as if it had been a while since he last had his meal. His hair was unkempt and his clothes were untidy. When he smiled sinisterly down at her, fangs could be seen behind his upper lip.
"Vampire…" she thought as fear was starting to crawl into her veins as it gripped her heart painfully.
How did she know such creatures existed when she couldn't even remember everything about her? It's as if she has been programmed to recognize them.
"Are you lost, young lady?" He asked.
She knew he didn't need an answer to that and so she stayed silent. He is mocking her. He is playing with her like a predator would before it devours its prey. And in her present situation, she is practically the latter.
Her subconscious told her to run, that this man in front of her was danger in the flesh. Her body responded, but it was already too late. The vampire grabbed and yanked her suddenly, making her scream so loud that the sleeping birds in the forest woke up and flew away. He had this crazed look in his face that brought all the horrors right in front of her.
"I am in need of a snack. And you being here means I'm gonna be having it earlier than I thought."
She struggled, using all the strength she has left to push him away, but it's as if she's pushing a rock that is too big and too heavy for a little girl like her. She knew her efforts were useless and she almost cried, but tried so hard not to. She is not going to show him her tears.
"Let go!" She screamed as she pulled herself away from him, but she failed miserably.
"Human, why do you even resist? You are born merely to become our food so be still and I will have my fill of your blood."
"No!"
When the vampire was about to bite her neck, a voice which came not far from where they were at made him stop midway.
"Vampires these days have no shame at all. They have fallen so low without any dignity, just as much as those traitors who tarnished the blood of the Nobles. And you, who was created due to their lack of self-restraint because of greed and ignorance, cannot even be considered as one of them. Are you seriously preying on a defenseless little girl?"
The vampire gripped the little girl's shoulder tightly as he hissed and growled at the stranger who disturbed him at his meal, making the little girl whimper in fear and pain. The vampire bared his fangs in warning, hoping to scare the stranger away but he stood there unmoving as if he considered his existence insignificant.
When the little girl glanced at the stranger, she couldn't believe what she saw. He is beautiful. Handsome wouldn't even be enough to describe him. His messy black hair is in contrast with his dark red eyes. As he stood there under the soft moonlight without a care in the world, he looked ethereal. As if he doesn't belong in this world.
The vampire laughed. "And what are you going to do? What can you do?" He mocked.
Because he couldn't feel the stranger's presence, he deemed him to be one of the human beings waiting to be preyed upon.
The stranger ignored him completely as he sadly looked down at the little girl whose struggles were futile. She doesn't deserve what is happening to her. She's too young to be experiencing such things in this cruel world. And it's the fault of those who had once been under his protection whom he swore when he woke up to send to their eternal sleep if it is the last thing he would do. The color of his eyes slowly turned into the color of a glistening red ruby stone and along with it was a powerful aura that came off from him which suddenly engulfed the place they were in like a blanket. The moon suddenly shined red as the clouds in the heavens suddenly disappeared. The falling snow stopped at once and not a single sound could be heard. The whistling winds settled and the crackling of branches stopped. It's like the place itself had died - frozen in a way that no one would think they are in the wilderness in the middle of the night.
The vampire who was just mocking him cowered in fear when he realized that the stranger wasn't who he thought him to be at all. At that instant, he realized that he was much superior than him.
"W-who are you? I know you're not the prince. He does not roam around in a place like this alone and that Silver Blood is always by his side."
The stranger only stared at the vampire in front of him. As if telling him he doesn't have any right to be questioning him about his identity at all. Or it may have been to tell him that his question did not need to be given an answer.
The vampire gasped when something clicked into his mind. They had never met any of them but they knew there were vampires greater, higher and much stronger than the First Bloods. These were the ones at the summit of their hierarchy whom even the First Bloods fear.
"A Noble Blood…"
"Not quite," he retorted, but never had any attention to give any explanation as to why. "Get your filthy hands off the little girl," he then commanded.
The vampire felt an unknown power which made him comply with his words immediately. The girl stumbled on the ground due to her knees trembling out of fright, but she pushed herself to crawl away from the man who wished to drink her blood. If the stranger did not appear, she was certain she'd be drunk dry by now.
The vampire hissed and growled when he realized what was happening to him. He couldn't move away from the place he was standing in. He also can't move his fingertips even if he willed it so desperately, as if he had completely lost control of his own body. Mind control. That is the only explanation as to how the stranger can control him to such a degree. He became a mere puppet for this stranger to control at his will. He cursed in anger and put all the blame on the clueless little girl. If he had not been distracted by the smell of her blood, he wouldn't have crossed paths with him.
He gritted his teeth and bared his fangs dangerously. "I swear I'll get the girl one day! And I will have you watch as I slay her slowly!"
The stranger vanished from where he was standing, then suddenly appeared right in front of the vampire within the blink of an eye. In the coldest voice which chilled the vampire down to his bone, he whispered, "who said I would let you leave here alive?"
Before the vampire could say anything, the stranger immediately pulled his heart out from his chest with his bare hand so fast that the vampire didn't have time to be surprised. The vampire who tried to make a meal out of the little girl turned into crystal dust at once along with his heart that was in the stranger's hand. The bloodstains on the stranger's clothes also turned to glistening red crystal dust which was blown away by the wind that suddenly appeared out of nowhere when the color of his eyes turned back to their original color.
Once everything was settled, the stranger glanced down at the little girl. He reached out to her without a word and covered her eyes with the palm of his hand gently as he whispered words she had never heard before but somehow could understand.
"Koimísou, agapité. Eísai asfalís. (Sleep, dear one. You are safe.)"
Before darkness consumed her, it finally dawned on her that he really was not human either…
_
Eona's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her eyesight was blurry at first, as if she'd been sleeping for a very long time, and it was a little while later before she could see around her clearly. It took her about a minute to realize that she was in an unfamiliar room. The two IV drips hanging on the drip stand beside her bed were connected to her arm thru needles that were made secure on her veins using medical tape. It was only then that she noticed her arms were covered with a bandage. From a distance, she can hear announcements being made through a central communication device while footsteps at different paces can be heard outside her room. She is in a hospital.
Being alone in a very silent room with no other thing to entertain herself made her think back on the dream she just had. It is so vivid to the point that she can still remember what those two non-human beings looked like, as if that scene only happened last night. It is the sole memory which remained in her memory after everything has been wiped out without a trace.
According to her family, she was kidnapped when she was eight years old, which was almost ten years ago. No one knew who took her and until now it is still considered as an unsolved case. She went missing for a week until her mother received a call from a hospital stating that she had been admitted there. When she woke up, she could only remember what took place in the forest while forgetting the rest - even her own name. She told her family about that night, about the vampire who tried to drink her dry and the other that saved her who she's sure isn't human either. She told them everything she could remember and the looks on their faces made her think she had never said a word in the first place. They did not believe any word she said and the worse was that they thought she was confusing fantasy with reality. The young Eona was left questioning what was real and what was not. And as she grew up, that scene on that particular night slowly faded from her memory. So how come it came back to her as a very vivid dream, as if the world of supernaturals was making itself known to her?
Is it because of what happened back at her school?
Eona raised her bandaged arm in front of her and memories of what happened which resulted in her ending up in the hospital assaulted her like a nightmare. Breathing became hard as the beating of her heart became erratic. Her ears were ringing and she started to feel dizzy. She heard something beeping before the door to her room opened, followed by someone wearing a white coat entering in a rush to assist her along with a few other people.
"Breathe, Ms. Lorentz."
She followed the doctor's instructions and it took a while until everything settled down. She knew what happened brought a traumatizing experience but she didn't expect it to affect her to such an extent. Her family weren't around. Something must have kept them busy and left her under the care of her attending physician and the nurses with the promise that they would be back the next day.
"How long have I been here?"
"Two weeks. And the whole duration you've been in a coma," Dr. Frazier answered as he checked on her. "The burns on your arm have healed but please, do avoid being directly under the sun or else it'll put you in a riskier situation than the one you just had," he advised, and all she could do was nod absentmindedly. "Rest, Ms. Lorentz and I'll have someone inform your family that you're awake."
"Thank you."
The doctor smiled but before he left, he promised to ask someone to bring a meal for her. She must have been in the private rooms for them to give her such attention and care. Not long after, someone brought in dinner for her to eat but she was not in the mood to consume anything. Moreover, she was not hungry so she just left it there on the console table. For someone who just woke up from a coma, it amazed her when she was able to stand up and walk towards the window of her room without a problem.
Because of the IV drips that were connected to her arm, she also pulled the stand where they were hanging along with her. She opened the glass window and breathed in the cool air from outside while totally ignoring the fact that the air conditioning system was still on. The hospital was built on a hill, a little far away from the busy highway. It's quite a good place for patients to recover from whatever it was they are suffering from. Her room was on the third floor, enabling her to see the nearby lake and on its far side was the bustling city now basking in lights. When she closed her eyes to just enjoy the breeze on her face, events that led her to end up in the hospital came crashing onto her for the second time, reminding her of the horror she just went through at the hands of those who deemed her a blood-sucking vampire. But this time, she had already gotten hold of her emotions…
_
Her day started like how it used to. Even in the light of the morning sun, her umbrella was out in the open as she walked towards her building. Different pairs of eyes followed her until she disappeared from their view. She's been attending her school for two years and they never seemed to have gotten used to seeing her avoiding the sun. She never participated in any of their outdoor activities and if she was outside, it was either under the tree or under any shade she could find. The teachers knew of her circumstances and so did the students in her class. Her mother has provided enough proof of what she's presently going under. But students that don't personally know her, those who do not even belong in her class, seemed to have a hard time accepting what was clearly right in front of them and they immediately associated her illness with something out of this world. Also, the fact that she obviously looked so different from any of them didn't help to ease the rumors around her either. Having white-blonde hair, brows and lashes that stood so clearly in the crowd, along with striking violet-colored eyes accompanied by a pale skin complexion, she really isn't your regular human being. But the way she looked on the outside was because of the irregularities in her DNA. She was born with it, so there really is nothing she can do about it.
She knew they called her 'the umbrella woman'. Others even branded her as 'the girl avoiding the sun'. But with the recent incidents that have caught the attention of the media where victims were found dead or either dying due to loss of blood through bitemarks on their neck as if some rabid dog had bitten them on that particular part, they seemed to have added another name for her. Her other nicknames have been long forgotten as a new one circulated like a forest fire and it was not that long ago when they started calling her 'the white-haired vampire'. She ignores them every day, but somehow, their voices always make it to her ear for some reason.
She thought the day would pass by like any other. But she was mistaken. She was almost on her locker when a guy from another class stopped her. She remembered him to be Jayson Corbin. One of the regulars of the football club, even though he was not the captain. In her peripheral vision, she could see his friends in the background waiting for something to happen.
She faced the man in front of her with a passive face. "Yes?"
"Do you know about the incidents lately? You know, the ones where victims were either found dead or dying due to loss of blood? And all they have in common is the bitemarks on their neck."
"I don't think your interests have been on par with mine, so I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about." She answered vaguely, but his friends must have caught the words in between and they snickered.
Jayson ignored her words. He even had the audacity to lean on the lockers and look at her from head to toe and then back. "Aren't you just hiding the fact that it was your doing?"
"What?"
"The authorities said it was done by some rabid dog but the way they said it makes it obvious that they are hiding something from the public. There are those who believe that a supernatural being did it. Something that lives on by preying on human beings because of the blood running through their veins. A vampire who mingles with us humans to hide the fact that she's different. Do you get what I mean, human who burns in the sun?"
Something snapped on Eona because of his words and the look he was giving her. It's as if he was saying that he was talking about her and she should know that fact.
"Are you in need of a pair of glasses, Jayson?"
"What?"
"Do I look like I have fangs?"
Another set of snickers echoed in the hallways which made Jayson furrow his eyebrows and without a word he harshly pulled her towards the glass wall where the morning sun was peeking through. The second the sunlight grazed her skin, she felt like she was literally burning. She screamed but Jayson did not let go of her until someone immediately pulled her back away from the sunlight as Jayson was pushed away from her. The next thing she knew, there was a commotion in the hallway which only stopped when someone interceded.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" An angry voice bellowed which she immediately recognized as Shaun's, one of her classmates. He was still wearing his tennis uniform, so he must've come in directly from morning practice.
Jayson angrily wiped away the blood on his lips as he glared at Shaun who must have landed a punch on him. "You're protecting her? Did you not even once question why she's avoiding the sun? And now there are these incidents where people are dying because they have been drained out of their blood with only a bite mark on their neck as a clue?"
"I swear, man. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I will kill you myself."
Jayson looked at Shaun, then at her and then back. Students who had heard of the commotion were already forming a crowd as they wait for what was about to happen. Where are the teachers or the school's security personnel when you need them?
"Oh, I see. You're in love with her."
"What?"
"That is why you immediately came to her rescue. What kind of human being would burn under the sun? That woman is a vampire and she's the one who has been on a killing spree every night. Her family knew that and they are trying to hide that fact with forged documents stating that she is suffering from an illness of some sort."
Shaun tried to land another punch on Jayson's face but their classmates immediately pulled him back while the latter backaway. "Shaun, he's not worth losing your place in the upcoming tennis competition," one of them said as they restrained Shaun away from Jayson.
It took some time for Shaun to calm himself down and when he did, he threw a threatening glare towards Jayson, who somehow suddenly felt blood lust oozing out of Shaun's aura. Like he has killed before and that one mistake by him means he's going to be the next. For a second when Shaun glared at him, he felt fear and danger at the same time.
"Since you obviously have time being an imbecile, why don't you spare some of it researching? You might come across the reason as to why Eona burns under the sun."
Laughters and snickers echoed in the hallway as they left Jayson, who ended up turning red due to the teasings around him. Shaun never left her side until they were already in their classroom and he cursed in his breath when he noticed her arm that has now started to turn red.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Shaun. Thank you."
He wasn't actually someone special. He's just one of her friends who had a little more understanding of her situation compared to others. When class started, Shaun was called out into the teachers' lounge and came back with a grim face. He must have received a lecture or two. Their classess pass by like a blur and lunch break came without any other hassle but instead of going to the cafeteria, Eona chose to stay behind in their room.
"Right now?"
She glanced towards Shaun's direction, who was frowning while talking to someone over his phone. He was almost whispering as if he didn't want anyone else eavesdropping.
"What are you guys even doing outside the house?... Is he with you?… Not him but with the Lord?"
Eona frowned. Who is he referring to? She was lost in her thoughts when Shaun caught her looking in his direction. He must be thinking that she was not eavesdropping, so he only nodded his head to acknowledge her before he looked away and continued talking to whoever was on the line.
"Fine, I'll meet you at the usual place. I can't be gone for long because there's a general assembly later… And whose fault is it that I'm following the naturals' regulations?… An idiot just doesn't know when to stop. He must have wanted to end up basking in something that was red... Please, I can do that without your help. See you in a few."
It was a little while later when Shaun disappeared without a word. He must have gone to wherever it was he said he was going over the phone. With nothing else better to do, she leaned down on her table and looked outside through the window. It was a pure moment of silence until someone opened their classroom door and in came Jayson who looks like he was on a mission to accomplish something. Eona decided to ignore him completely. What she didn't expect was that he would grab her roughly without a word and drag her out of the room.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!"
"Scream and I will slit your throat, vampire," Jayson threatened, and he looked at her in a way that told her he was not joking.
She glanced around. Why isn't there a single student or teacher in the corridor? She cursed when she remembered there was going to be a general assembly today. They must have started to gather in the gym.
"If they can't believe my words, why don't I just show them the proof?"
Her heart hammered inside her chest. He's planning to throw her outside under the sun. She can't allow that. "No, no, no. Please, don't do this to me. I'll die, Jayson!"
Jayson laughed as he dragged her down the fire exit stairway. "Because you are a vampire."
"I'm not! How many times to I have to tell you that?"
"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that."
What happened between them was a tug-of-war, but Jayson being one of the football players of their school and a male at that, he was much stronger than her. His hold on her arm is too tight that his fingers even left a mark on her wrist. By the time they were on the covered part of the school's square, she was a crying mess. She begged, she pleaded, but he continued to drag her without care. He's going to exhibit her in front of the student body.
Different sets of eyes slowly followed them. They could see she was struggling to free herself from Jayson but nobody cared. Maybe it was because Jayson was the Chairman's grandson or maybe it was because they were curious as to what was happening between them. When Jayson saw that some of Eona's classmates started to run towards them to come to her rescue, he smiled as if the devil possessed him and she trembled.
"Let's show them how you burn, shall we?"
Jayson forcefully pulled her towards the plaza, under the scorching sun, at twelve past noon. She cried and screamed horrifyingly when her skin started to burn. It felt like a million needles were pricking her all at once as her skin immediately started to turn red. Her strength immediately left her and all she could feel was pain.
"You damn, cretin!"
Someone pushed Jayson away from her, followed by the sound of punches being released here and there while another tried to help her, but she only screamed even more when they touched her burning skin.
"What are we going to do?" A frantic voice asked someone in particular.
Nobody answered but Eona felt a coat was spread above her to keep her away from the sun. But, she knew it was already a little too late. Eona knew that the sun had already penetrated her skin deep down and that such a shade wouldn't do anything to ease down the pain she was suffering. She could feel her skin cells were being scorched at a rapid pace and that her consciousness was starting to leave her.
Someone gently picked her from the brick floor and carried her limped body away from the commotion. "I never should've left you alone."
"Shaun…" she thought.
Before everything went dark, she was able to see security personnel coming in between the fight that occurred and teachers who immediately called an ambulance for her…
_
With a deep sigh she opened her eyes. There is no way she's going back to a place that couldn't even provide her with the simple protection she needed. As soon as she gets out of the hospital, she's going to process her transfer.
She was about to go back to her bed when something caught her attention by the lake. She had to squint her eyes just to make sure she was not seeing things. It was Shaun. And he was looking up at her from that far away, as if he could see her clearly. But it was not him that made her curiosity spike. It was his companion who was standing beside him regally - the one with black hair and… red eyes?
She almost forgot to breathe at her realization. Those eyes are familiar. She knew she had seen them somewhere. Before she could gather her thoughts, the second she blinked, those two disappeared without a trace, as if they had never been there in the first place.
ns 18.68.41.141da2
