*TWO DAYS AGO*
The woods of Centaurus Forest stretched out before Damien, a labyrinth of gnarled trees and shadowy pathways. He had walked here several times before in the darkness of the night, the only time he could enjoy being outside. But that night, he did not feel any comfort.
Every now and then he kept glancing back, his unbeating heart thrumming against his ribs. What he couldn’t do to feel that sensation again. Only now, he was glad he could move without making any sound.
A moment’s distraction and he could find himself pounced upon by a large wolf or another one of his kind, a second’s skirmish and then a take jutting out of his chest. The image made him shiver, although his blood was colder than the winds blowing about.
Damien wasn't one for regrets, but the memory of his recent actions gnawed at him like a relentless beast. He wished he could rewrite the past, reshape the outcome of his deeds. Yet, the past remained immutable, a heavy burden he bore alone.
Joshua was trying, but he was truly of no help. Nate had never stood a chance either. There was nothing the two could do against a whole pack of werewolves. Or the vampire council.
Damien was doomed. All that was left to do was note down the timing of his death. This time, for real. There was no coming back this time.
Anger coursed through him, the feeling of injustice weighing heavy on his chest. Why was he the one to suffer for it? No one would listen to him. He’d be wrong any way they tried to view the situation.
So, what could he truly do but waste away the last few immortal days of his doomed life?
As he wandered deeper into the heart of the forest, a faint glow caught his attention—a flickering light that danced amidst the darkness. Curiosity mingled with his frustration, drawing him towards the source.
He emerged into a small clearing, where a solitary tent stood amidst the shadows. The fabric fluttered softly in the breeze. Inside, the soft murmur of voices reached his ears—a young couple, oblivious to the danger that lurked outside their sanctuary.
And then it was as though Damien was taken by fury, a kind of bloodlust he had never experienced before. His cautious thoughts were out of the window. The vampire council could fuck itself, he thought. He didn’t give a damn about its rules.
He tore through the fabric of the tent, his presence a menacing shadow in the moonlit night. The couple's cries filled the air. He toyed with them. Their futile attempts to escape only fueled his sadistic pleasure. He savored the taste of their fear, the adrenaline coursing through their veins like sweet nectar. Their screams echoed in the night, a haunting melody that stirred the darkness within him.
As their bodies grew limp in his grasp, he drank deeply, each drop a bittersweet reminder of his own doom.
Hours later, Damien stood amidst the wreckage of his deeds, his heart heavy with the weight of his sins. But even as remorse lingered, he knew that he was bound by the darkness that dwelled within him—a creature of the night, forever haunted by the choices that shaped his destiny.
"You shouldn't have come here," he growled, his voice a low rumble in the darkness. "You shouldn't have crossed paths with me. I’m sorry."
"I’m a creature of the night," he whispered. "And in the shadows, I shall remain. Till they come for me."
Then he got down to the business of making it all seem like an animal attack. Because as much as he wanted to enjoy the remainder of his life well-fed, he did not want the council coming for him sooner than they intended to.
***
*PRESENT DAY*
Josh swept his gaze across the room, his eyes searching for the TV remote. The screen flashed the same forecast it had been showing for the past ten minutes : asking townsfolk to find shelter for there was a storm coming.
"Ah, there it is!" he shouted, and summoned it towards him before switching the TV off. "Do you think Damien is still alive?" he asked casually, as the stray cat ran up to him, meowing.
"Maybe the council finally got to him," Nate pondered. "I don't see any clouds outside," he said, sighing once again. Josh watched as his eyes widened when he opened the curtains again. "What the hell?"
"What's going on?" he asked, stepping closer to the window. "Woah! Who is that he's carrying in his arms?"
Nate’s voice assumed a serious tinge. "I hope whoever it is, is alive. He doesn’t need one more death on his head."
Both of them hurried to the front door, watching intently as Damien walked towards them over the stone pavement. In his arms he carried a woman who seemed to have fainted, her body limp in his hands.
"I hear her heartbeat. She's alive," Nate confirmed, however, his brows further wrinkled in suspicion.
Just before he reached the door, Damien stopped in his tracks. Something fell on his cheek. Josh gasped as he realized it was blood. A few more drops dripped to his face.
Damien looked up at the sky, realization flickering across his face.
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and it rained.
Blood poured down on the town of Orilon.
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'While the people of Orilon were still trying to uncover the mystery behind the animal attack that resulted in two dead, they had to witness another incredible event last night.' The reporter cleared his throat and took a brief peek at the paper in his hand before continuing, 'Apparently, Orilon experienced a 'blood shower' but before any of you jump to any conclusions, we want to inform you that our town's renowned scientist, Rayna Cooper has done her research on the matter and she has figured out that it was all a result of a complex scientific phenomenon. We will come back with a detailed explanation after a short break.'Damien yanked the remote out of Nate's grip and switched off the TV. He briefly acknowledged that the flatscreen TV place in the living room stuck out like a crow in a flock of pigeons. The furniture from the 1800s didn't go along well with the modern-day electronics. The chandelier peeked at him from the ceiling above, polished as ever. He looked away and glared
The first thing Eira discovered when she gained consciousness was the pitch blackness surrounding her. Her eyes had only opened but her heart raced when she was greeted with the smell of rancid blood and rusted iron and she shut them close immediately.For as long as she could remember, she had feared darkness. It crawled over her skin like hairy bugs and roiled her stomach. Even when her eyes were closed, she still sensed her surrounding and shadowy, dark figures appeared in front of her inner eyes which she knew really didn't exist.She began sweating coldly even though her surrounding temperature was really low. Her skin shivered with fear while her hands reached around to find the switch and turn on the lamp but she couldn't find it. She usually kept it glowing throughout the night; it helped her sleep the night away. Even though Bella, her room-mate and best pal preferred to sleep in a pitch-black room, she would make an excuse every night only for Eira.With rising anxiety, Eira
Eira sat in complete silence on the metal bed, resting her palms on the edges on either side. She threw away the fear and panic and drew a blank expression across her tanned face, intending to keep it that way for the whole time until was asked to say something. Her heart however raced erratically, threatening to jump out of the ribcage. As her supposed kidnappers approached the cell she was locked in, the temperature around dropped several degrees. Her fingers began to shiver irrevocably but she couldn't be sure if it was them or the fact that she was horribly and absolutely afraid. Their faces were concealed in the darkness. She could only see faint outlines of their figures. Sounds of more footsteps hit her ears. "Did you place the candles as I asked?" One of the figures questioned authoritatively. He wasn't the one who had attacked her. "Yes." This one was. For a moment, silence lingered in the air along with the smell of three different male perfumes. Eira resisted the urge t
Josh crossed his arms slowly and leaned against the brick wall layered with moss, allowing Eira to absorb the information he had just passed. His back pressed completely against the cool, solid, age-old bricks but didn't mind the mud or the green patches on his freshly ironed, beige shirt. In fact, they only made him feel more attached to the source of his power—nature.Eira responded with a sigh and then followed cold silence, one that sent a chill down his spine. No words escaped her plump lips but her blue eyes shot a thousand questions at him. He wanted to answer them but fear kept him at bay. It was an unspoken and ofttimes a spoken rule by the vampire council to keep the secret to them.Josh rubbed the nape of his neck lightly while managing to maintain his calm facade, perceiving well that such a reaction was not completely normal for someone had been kept in the dark for too long. But he wasn't too experienced in the matters of giving satisfying, non-surprising revelations."Lo
Eira felt as though someone had pulled the floor from beneath her feet and she was falling—faster with each second into the depths of insanity. Her senses went numb for a while. A part of her still wished this was a joke or a dream and she would wake up soon but the other acted like a rebel, enjoying the thoughts of being in danger and facing death. But she was certain the latter was a result of her best friend's influence. The saner part regretted the decision of getting wasted and ending up at the cemetery. When Dakota was alive, she had only brought trouble into her life. Even when dead, she was doing a good job.The sound of a sigh greeted her ears as she saw Josh fold his arms yet again, "That is why I have this offer for you. You can choose to accept it or not. Remember, there's danger of death."Unfortunately, I can't reveal to you more about the supernatural activity in our town unless I know for certain you're on our side. If you don't accept the deal, I make you forget all
Damien noticed how Eira's blue eyes silently stared at him. She had put up a brave mask over her face but he could hear the frantic beating of her beat in his ears. That sound made him smirk. He strolled towards her lazily and his steps halted right in front of her. He could sense Josh's dark eyes on him."Did I scare you, little blood bag?" Damien asked with an amused tone, widening his smirk into a grin."I'm not scared of you," He heard her calm reply and his grin turn into a full-blown smile. His eyes moved to the bite marks on her neck and felt her breath hitch at the same moment.She remembers that. "You are, but if you aren't, you should be." He teased her and bared his fangs. She was trying too hard to appear brave and unaffected but silly girl didn't realise he could hear and smell the blood pumping through her veins. He craved to taste it. She somehow still managed to smell like strawberries after spending a whole night in the stinking dungeon.Unfortunately, he had no time
[JOHN]In the ten years that John Williams had worked as a special detective agent, the experience hadn't been close to relaxing for him. The cases were exciting, challenging to his brain. He found himself deeply pressurized for most duration of the cases he handled. And enjoyed the pressure. The race against time. It made him feel alive. But then, a year ago he decided to move to Orilon after his beloved friend Dakota's death and everything changed.Dakota Blake, his childhood friend had been a citizen of the town of Orilon for over five years. She lived with her daughters. While her elder one, Melissa married off with a rich person and got a child, the younger one stayed behind to complete her education even after Dakota passed away. Whenever he visited the town in the past years, Eira, Dakota's younger daughter always complained of her mother's unjust attitude. Sadly, it wasn't his right to tell the girl the truth. Eira was a beautiful little girl, with pretty blue eyes and a smile
As Eira watched the horrific scene unfold, she screamed—or at least, attempted to. Her fingers clutched the bedsheet covering her body and she opened her mouth to scream, as loud as she could but nothing happened.Blood trickled down her mother's long neck and she could nothing but watch. After what seemed like hours, Dr Keeley let go of her and her limp body fell off the stool to the floor.With a sob, Eira closed her eyes shut.When she opened them again, a ceiling appeared in her vision. Her body was resting on something soft. She darted her eyes and realised it was a bed. But not the one at the hospital."Bad dream?" A masculine voice inquired.Eira abruptly lifted the upper half of her body to locate the source of the voice and found the blonde-haired guy leaning against a table on her right, his gaze firmly set on her body.The realisation sunk in gradually—it was just a dream. Yet, it had felt so real."No." The word had escaped her lips before she could think the question throu