There we were, both of us, in a tiny, dirty bathroom. Despite it being a cold moonlit night, large drops of sweat were running down my temple. The beam of light from my gun created a vibrant red dot on her head, highlighting her constant trembling, while my index finger hovered hesitantly over the trigger. She crouched behind the toilet, and raised her slender arms, highlighting her vulnerable position in the bathroom gloom. Her matted hair barely let her childish face show, yet it did not hide her dirty cheeks soaked with large tears and the gleam of anguish over her large eyes that did not lose sight of any of my movements. In my mind, the human part of me kept wondering how on earth I was supposed to end her life.
Maybe you may think I'm an assassin, wearing military assault gear, armed to the teeth, possibly I look like one but I'm really not, well not in the practical sense of the word.
Equipped with firearms with explosive and corrosive bullets, so destructive they could dissolve a block wall; a riot shield, explosive titanium stakes, and short-range grenades; anyone would think I was a soldier about to leave for war.
It was inevitable that I would end up like this. On my shoulders weighs a long lineage of vampire hunters, so long that it dates back more than 400 years of famous bloodsucker fighter characters. My great-great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, my brothers, and even my sister were already part of the great legendary caste of vampire hunters. An underground faction that fought in the shadows against the horde of vampires that threatened the society we lived in.
Unlike all of them, I have never been in favor of killing a living creature, it's not in my being, and to top it all off, I don't even eat meat. I'm sure you're wondering: What am I worried about? Vampires are not living creatures, they are bloodthirsty and merciless creatures, whose only goal is to satiate their appetite with the blood of their victims. Or so I thought.
Despite having trained for 3 years in the art of killing vampires at the illustrious vampire hunters academy and knowing all the humanly possible ways to exterminate these monsters, my legs faltered with every step I took.
At first, I thought it wouldn't be too difficult to exterminate a frightening creature, full of menacing fangs, eager to sink into my throat, and who definitely wouldn't hesitate to tear me to pieces at the first chance they got.
But this was not what I had anticipated.
My visor, constantly, kept telling me that in front of me was a neophyte, possibly less than 6 months old. That made her an even more dangerous creature. Their lust for blood compels them to throw themselves against their prey without mercy, their superhuman strength could tear a man in half if they wanted to.
My mind is still engaged in reciting the theoretical knowledge I learned at the academy.
I don't know how much time I had been standing in front of her. I couldn't believe that this little girl was a murderous monster. But if she was - I wondered - why was she crying, was she capable of having feelings, and if so, did she have a conscience?
“Get it over with once and for all,” a cracked voice came from what I understood so far as a shadowy, sinister creature.
Intrigued I turned off the alarm on my visor and removed it from my face. I was able to observe more closely that her features were even more subtle than I thought.
“I never chose to be what I am,” the girl said grimly.
“To you, we’re scum and to the ancients, we only serve their purposes of gaining ground,” she spat contemptuously, scrunching her moistened cheeks.
Could it be that everything we learned at the academy was wrong? She was a neophyte and yet she retained her personality and apparently her conscience, otherwise, by now, it would have been her dinner.
Was she a special and unique case, or did all of them retain part of their personality from their previous life? Perhaps with the passing of time, they have forgotten their old lives and immortality erased their memories.
My mind was puzzled about their unusual behavior. I gestured to carefully stow my weapon and sat down on the ground, two meters away from her.
“Can I trust you with a secret?”, I asked, setting aside my training for a moment.
She looked at me with suspicion.
“I also had no desire to be a hunter of,” I paused and rolled my eyes, for some reason I didn't want to offend the girl, “creatures like you,” I shrugged and continued to explain, “I'm just a guy who all he's ever wanted to be in his life is to be a famous YouTube personality, or what many know as a Youtuber.”
“A Youtuber!”, I chuckled at the remark I had just said.
“Can you imagine?”, I insisted unsure if she had any idea what I was talking about.
“Unfortunately, as you may know, there are many things about my extracurricular activities,” I said pointing to my attire, “my surroundings and my family that I cannot make public. For obvious reasons, which at the time, I had no idea.”
“Like you, I also had no choice,” I explained letting her know that I knew her situation perfectly well or so I thought.
She sat unconcerned for the moment, pushed her hair back with both hands, and asked angrily “Do you think you understand how I feel?”
“You can choose to be who you want to be at any time,” she said annoyed.
She looked back at me.
“I cannot change who I am, it is inevitable to give in to the killer instincts intrinsic to the new being that I am, to the hunger that is never satiated, to the cravings that claw at my insides and curse my existence.”
She closed her eyes, as she tilted her head back and clenched her fists.
“Sorry,” I said sincerely.
“I admit it was foolish to compare your life to mine..... I had never considered putting myself in the shoes of a...” I paused and she completed without opening her eyes “Vampire?”.
“Yes,” nodding, “I always thought you were inhuman monsters.”
“It's what they teach us at the academy you know,” I explained myself.
She nodded.
“Do you remember how you became?”
She shook her head a bit. In the dim light that managed to filter through the bathroom window, her complexion looked gaunt, anorexic, and weak.
Then I decided to do something no hunter would ever do in their life. The rules no longer applied anyway.
We usually have in our packs, in addition to ammunition and food, a medical kit to temporarily heal wounds. In it, there is a bag of plasma and a bag of type O blood, a universal blood type for extreme cases.
I tossed it to her and she caught it instantly. She clenched her jaw, it was obvious she was fighting her instincts; hesitantly, she stared at the red contents that rippled lazily between her hands.
She was definitely not a normal vampire, most vampires would have torn the bag open instantly, yet she still didn't open it, fighting her thirst.
“Drink it,” I urged, “I assure you, you won't have harmed any human being by doing so,” I smiled heartily at her.
Suddenly, my communicator buzzed to life, reminding me of the exterminator team I belonged to and my primary orders.
“Rookie, the upper floors have been swept, meet us at the extraction point.”
The girl flinched at my superior's words but was reassured to see that I simply turned off my communicator and ignored the orders. Terrible mistake
“You should drink it, in your current state you're not strong enough to escape,” I insisted again.
The girl hesitated for a moment, but after my warning and the possibility that my companions might appear at any moment, she decided to sink her teeth into the bag. The thick liquid disappeared in seconds. Her body shivered at the cold temperature of the blood.
An expression of relief relaxed her furrowed brow. Color returned to her cheeks and a tender smile painted her lips for a few seconds.
Suddenly her peace of mind changed drastically, her fangs protruded from her mouth and her eyes reddened. A shiver ran down my spine. For a moment I thought I had made a big mistake.
My hands instinctively reached for my gun, but it was obvious that I wouldn't be fast enough to grab it and open fire. It would probably all be over in a couple of seconds.
Time stood still; I was petrified, expecting the worst.
“My suspicions, finally, have been confirmed. I see you are different,” stated an unfamiliar voice. Despite sounding non-threatening, my new friend looked reluctant and her terrified expression did not change.
Without making any sudden movements, I lowered my viewfinder. It painted the small screen red, further aggravating the situation. A Class 1 vampire had appeared. It wasn't common for them to roam these places. What the hell was it doing here? They never wandered in these neighborhoods.
“Flee,” I whispered and lunged at the threat without looking back.
I was sure I wasn't up to the task of defeating a class 1, still, I grabbed my two guns and ran out of the small bathroom screaming in terror with my eyes closed and opened fire in all directions. For some reason, I felt the impetus to protect this unusual girl. Bursts of light from the detonations bathed the room. My 34 explosive bullets slipped away in seconds, shattering everything around them. Amazingly none of them hit the target and suddenly I had a Class 1 specimen in front of me.
Bits of debris and clouds of dust covered my vision; the moonbeams filtering into the room gave his skin an ivory glow in front of my eyes. Her face, far from being terrifying as the manuals described, had a European appeal, with no trace of hostility in her gaze. His eyes, of a light brown, reflected more curiosity than bloodlust.
Suddenly, he grabbed me by the neck and threw me over his shoulder, as if my body were an insignificant piece of paper, I thought I would break my neck when I fell off guard, but fortunately, I fell on cold, hard as concrete arms.
To my surprise, the girl had softened my fall, preventing me from crashing to the floor. Immediately, she interposed herself between the intruder and me. Her sharp fangs threatened the stranger who watched us in amazement at the neophyte's defensive behavior.
“You have nothing to worry about,” the stranger said, “We are a group of immortals, who like you, do not feed on humans. We value human life.”
There I was, sitting on the floor and despite my training and all the weaponry I still had at my disposal, I felt like a tiny being before the pair of titans in front of me. Suddenly, the girl didn't look as innocent as she had a moment ago.
“We can help you if you come with me.” suggested the stranger, “but you must hurry in making your decision, his friends,” he pointed with his eyes to where I was, “have heard the detonations and will soon be here.”
We were both stunned by the offer the stranger had put forward.
The girl looked at me hesitantly, what the hell could I do, hide her in my house?
This was all new to me. A vegan vampire caste? I had never heard anything about it during all my training. But there was no time to waste. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Honestly, your best bet is to go with him,” I pointed out. “He's a class 1 being. He probably would have torn us to pieces had he wanted to, his battle experiences are second to none not to mention his amazing speed,” I explained.
“I've never heard of anyone being victorious in a confrontation with a class 1.”
“And yet, you threw yourself against me, to give her time to get away,” the stranger asserted.
The girl gave me a surprised look. I opened my eyes even wider, perplexed at the last thing the stranger had uttered. Could this being have read my mind and figured out my improvised plan? She, for her part, had corroborated my intentions to lunge at him to protect her, even without having any chance of defeating him.
“Don't put yourself down,” he said kindly, “I'm sure between the two of you would have found a way to beat me.”
He was definitely reading my mind and to top it off, he was patronizing us.
“I like this guy,” I blurted out, chuckling under my breath, “I still think he's your best option,” I reiterated with another shrug.
She nodded hesitantly. However, I grabbed her arm before they left.
“My name is Gabriel may I know yours?”, I asked.
“Cinthia,” her name echoed before they both disappeared
Image by ArtCoreStudios at Pixabay
