Chapter 2: Soiled Blood

"No..." Uriela whispered in disbelief. She had lost the vampire, hadn't she? Why did he come after her again?

It was a moment of pure panic, when the young woman grabbed her siblings' hands and ran off with them into the woods, hoping to escape the blood-sucking creature. The forest was dark and held a sinister atmosphere. Uriela could barely see and hoped not to trip or stumble over stones or roots. She just needed to run away. The horrible smell of smoke and burned flesh slowly vanished, making the distance to the town clear, but the more Uriela ran with her siblings, the more she became frightened. Was there even a way to escape?
After more minutes of fleeing, Uriela finally stopped. She needed to rest and collapsed. Her legs wouldn't carry her anymore, her breathing already hurt in her lungs and caused her to cough. Her body was past its limits.

"Uriela..." her sister asked her with a worried expression.

"Don't worry..." Uriela panted and wiped the sweat drops off her forehead. Brown bangs fell in her face and hid her blue eyes. "I gave my word to protect you both. We will make it out alive... I promise..." she coughed and gasped for fresh air. A moment of silence passed. There was no noise in the forest. She couldn't hear anything. It was a good sign, she had indeed escaped from her chaser, however, a bad feeling spread in her stomach. Not even that they had lost everything precious to them, they had lost everything in general. Uriela thought about her family and she and her younger siblings were the only ones left. They had nowhere to go and nowhere to stay during these times of the pestilence. I promised you, father. I would protect them... but what I am going to do? I don't know, how I can save Raphaelle and Gabriel, she thought. Even in the darkness of the night she was able to see the silhouettes of her younger brother and sister. She couldn't let them see her older sister in such condition. Both of them had already suffered enough.

Suddenly, Uriela hear something crack. Propably a branch. Immediately, she jumped to her feet, hiding her siblings behind herself. Her heart almost burned and hurt at the speed it was beating. Did that vampire catch up with them? She stood still and didn't dare to move at all, even her breathing stopped for a short moment. Uriela focused on the noise she had heard. There was another sound again. This time a squeak. Only a mouse climbed over some roots of a mighty tree and caused the noises. Sighing loudly in relief, Uriela nearly dropped to her knees. What a shock. But she couldn't be relieved yet. She needed to leave this place, for more than just one reason. "Let's go." The woman pretty much dragged the children deeper into the forest.

"Where are we going?" asked Raphaelle, seemingly tired and exhausted.

"I don't know yet. But we need to find a safer place," the woman replied.

"I am sleepy," her brother complained.

"Keep moving. We can rest later... I am sorry." Uriela honestly felt sorry for her siblings. They had seen so many people, even their own family, dying, and now had to run for their lives in order to survive somehow. Was the effort and the pain worth it? Uriela couldn't find an answer to this question. If there was only a way to take the burden off their young shoulders.

"I am tired..." Gabriel pouted again and yawned. His moves became slow, and soon he fell behind Uriela and Raphaelle.

Sighing, Uriela turned around and waited for her brother. She bent down a little, offering her brother to carry him. Exhausted, Gabriel climbed on her back and wrapped his arms around her neck. It was rather a comfort than a piggyback ride for him. His older sister felt his head resting on her shoulder and his calm respiration. He had already fallen asleep on her back. "What about you? Can you still walk?" Uriela asked her sister, who was also out of breath. Raphaelle nodded weakly and followed her sister in silence. "We can switch later, then I can carry you," Uriela smiled. It was a forced smile. In truth, she was about to cry and give up. But how could she? Showing any weakness in front of Raphaelle and Gabriel would only make the situation worse.

The way through the forest became more and more strenuous, however the clouds from the night sky slowly disappeared, revealing the light of the moon shining down on the earth. It wasn't much of a help, but better than nothing. At least, they could somehow see their surroundings now. In this night the forest even appeared peaceful, even though it wasn't. Anything could attack them. Perhaps wolves, or a vampire again. They couldn't afford to be careless.

Uriela felt how her eyelids became heavy. She felt a stinging pain in her legs and in her neck. The marks of the bite from the vampire still hurt, but had stopped bleeding. With a shiver running down her spine, Uriela remembered the shock of the bite. It was a horrible sensation, yet with an odd pleasure. The memory of it gave her creeps.

And again, they kept on walking. From minute to minute Uriela's legs hurt more and became heavier. She tried to count the trees she walked past to keep herself awake, still keeping her surrounding in sight.

Uriela gasped from time to time and yawned. She felt exhausted, beaten, and barely alive.

After a while, she asked herself, how long they have been walking now? Judging from her burning eyes and her tired mind it seemed like hours. However, they have only been wandering through the forest for about thirty minutes.

With a loud, desperate sigh, Uriela stopped on a glade in the midst of the forest. She felt her legs shaking and carefully let down her brother, who woke up from the movements. "We will rest for five minutes..." Uriela mumbled. Her mind was spinning and she felt very dizzy. How long would she be able to endure this? She needed sleep. Both of her siblings, dropped to their knees, as well as Uriela. She panted silently and wiped across her face with her right hand. "Gabriel?" the woman asked, when she noticed the strange look on her brother's face. His eyelids were closed halfway and he kept breathing through his mouth. With caution put Uriela her hand on his forehead. He was warm. Fever.

"Am I sick?" asked Gabriel in a sleepy, monotone voice.

"No, only tired, I guess. Don't worry," Uriela said in a loving and caring tone. It wasn't simply exhaustion, and she knew it. He was infected by the Black Death. It would always start with fever, then the infected would cough up blood. Afterwards, boils would grow on their bodies and parts of their flesh would turn black. In the end, they would die. The question was always, how long it would take. Uriela felt tears coming up in her eyes again, but suppressed them. She started asking herself, if Gabriel would somehow manage to survive for just another week. Was Raphaelle infected, too? Would she die as well? Mother... father... help us, please...
A strange, yet frightening thought came to her mind. If all three of them were infected, Uriela had to stay alive longer than her siblings. She didn't want to leave them behind. Uriela couldn't allow herself to die before them. No, she had to protect them. Perhaps, there was a cure somewhere, she needed to find it and heal Gabriel. Then, the truth hit her like a slap. There was no cure...

"Shall we continue?" the brown-haired female asked her siblings.

There was no answer, but a tiny nod from Raphaelle and Gabriel. They hoped to find a house, a barn, even a cave or anything to sleep in, soon. Raphaelle stood up and tumbled from feet to feet, fighting to keep her balance. Uriela at the other hand, offered to carry her brother again.

"My, my. Look at this." It was a male, unfamiliar voice that suddenly echoed through the forest.

Quickly, Uriela stepped in front of her siblings, protectively and clinging to them. Suddenly, she was awake now and very tensed.

Out of the shadows came a young man, he was probably in his late twenties, with long silver hair and a beige coat covering the rest of his features. A childish grin spread on his lips. His voice was strangely clear, he almost seemed amused or even happy. That man made three steps towards the three people in front of him and hummed in a joyful tone. "Three lost lambs wandering in the darkness. You probably don't know, how dangerous this is," he said. His smile stretched, showing his white teeth and two fangs. The moonlight revealed his shimmering red eyes and pointed ears.

Uriela almost yelped in shock. He was a vampire.

How was this possible? Even before, when she met the first man who had drunk her blood, she couldn't believe it. Vampires were supposed to be fairy tales. They didn't excist. However, there were always rumors about blood sucking monsters, who would kill people for their blood. Those rumors had turned out to be true. It was the precise moment, when Uriela finally realized it. They weren't simply real. Uriela had faced them, for the second time now...

"Leave us alone!" she yelled bravely, yet she was trembling in fear.

"Ah, so much courage. It was your blood that I smelled, wasn't it? I couldn't resist following this scent," the silver-haired man said and walked in a circle around Uriela. Almost like a preditor would approach his prey. "I can see, that someone had the privilege to taste your blood before me." Those word gave Uriela strong shivers, which crawled through her whole body.

Slowly and with caution made Uriela a step back, but it didn't go by unnoticed. She desperately tried to bring more distance between them. Raphaelle was also shaking in fear and clung to Uriela, while Gabriel was about to run away. He was only waiting for his sisters to run, but they barely made a move. Was it that situation that made them stay there like statues? Or his fever, which caused his heart beat so fast that he was about to rush off. "Raphaelle, Uriela! We have to run!" he cried. In a wink, he turned around and ran away, hoping that his sisters would follow him.

"No, Gabriel!" Uriela noticed him running. She spun around, trying to sprint after him, before the vampire would attack him.

"What an eager little lamb," the silver-haired vampire laughed and chased after the young boy. Unlike Uriela he was much faster, it was nearly unreal. He appeared in front of Gabriel, smirking down at him and taking all of his chances to escape.

"Run, Gabriel!" both Uriela and Raphaelle screamed.

Before the boy was able to turn around again, the vampire grabbed him by his neck, lifting him up. Gabriel struggled, squirmed and fought for his life. He screamed as loud as his lungs allowed him to as the vampire bit in his neck. Tears streamed down his face and he didn't stop screaming. At every swallow the vampire took, he sensed his life getting sucked out. His screams became quieter until he was silenced. His body hung in the vampire's grasp lifelessly. No motion. No sound leaving his lips. He was dead.

"No!" Uriela screamed in tears.

A trail of blood from the man's lips down to his chin was the only blood left. He had just sucked Gabriel dry. "What a horrible taste... such dirty blood..." the vampire said, rather dissatisfied and let go of the dead body. Gabriel landed on the ground with a 'thud' and remained there. With the same grin on his lips, the vampire turned back to Uriela and Raphaelle. He wanted more blood.

"Run, Raphaelle!" Uriela slightly pushed her sister back and made her sprint. She knew that Raphaelle would be the next prey, but she couldn't let that happen. Uriela would stop the vampire and Raphaelle could flee. That was her plan, but was it even possible? She saw the look in the vampire's eyes and made a jump to the side. He was about the attack Raphaelle! Quickly, Uriela stepped in his way to hold him off, but it was no use. His speed was incredible and he rushed, almost flew past Uriela. This had caused her to trip and she fell into the soft grass of the ground. As Uriela looked up again, she found her sister being cornered by the silver-haired creature. "Please, no! Please, spare her life! You can have my blood, but let her be! I beg you, leave her alone! It is my blood that you want! Please!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and in great panic.

Raphaelle couldn't move at the sight of that blood drinking monster. She was literally rooted to the ground by her fear, when she saw him right in front of her.

Rapidly, the vampire moved his hand towards Raphaelle as if he was about to beat her. Instead, he cut the skin of her cheek with his fingers. Raphaelle squirmed loudly. The injury wasn't deep, but deep enough to bleed. "What a pity. Your blood is dirty, too," the man said. It looked like he would do the same to Raphaelle's other cheek, leaving a cut in the skin. However, this time, he cut through the flesh of her neck with his hand with brute force. He cleanly separated her head from her body.

Uriela had lost her voice. She stared at the happening with wide, teary eyes. It was the same picture like before. When the red-headed vampire had killed one of the thieves, but this time a vampire had killed both of her siblings. Raphaelle and Gabriel were both dead. They died in front of Uriela's eyes. Huge sorrow and anger filled Uriela's heart, it was almost too much to bear it. She got the urge to throw up, but she couldn't even do so. All Uriela had wanted was to protect her family, and now they had been killed and she could only watch. In the corner of her eyes she glanced at the slaughtered bodies of Gabriel and Raphaelle. It was a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She wanted to wake up now!

"Hm, you're the only one left," the vampire stated, humming and approached the young woman.

Adrenaline rushed through Uriela's veins, but she couldn't move. All she was thinking about was now running and finding a way to escape. Caught in her thoughts, she was suddenly lifted up by her hair. With a firm grip, the vampire lifted her from the ground. His strength was incredible. The vampire smiled at Uriela and opened his mouth, getting closer to her neck. In a moment where she showed her will to live, she kicked the vampire with all of her force. Yet, he didn't even flinch. Uriela struggled in his grip and was able to wriggle herself out of his grasp. She was about to rush off, but the silver-headed vampire caught her wrist, pulling her back. He grabbed her other wrist and held it in an iron-like grip and now directly stood behind her. Leaning his head over her shoulder, he showed his fangs again. "Let me enjoy the sweetness of your blood," he whispered to her. Uriela tried to lean away from him without success. He was too close to her, close enough to memorize his facial features. The look in his eyes was terrifying.

"No...I beg you!" Uriela whimpered between the sobs.

Of course, he didn't stop. Why would he? The vampire bit into the flesh between her shoulder and her neck, causing her to scream in agony. This pain was too much to handle. She felt like the vampire would even rip out a part of her flesh. Her whole body was shaking. Her blood got sucked out of her by that monster.

Uriela hoped that it would be over soon. That the pain would be over, and she would just die. A last glance at her dead siblings made her heart hurt. I... am so sorry. I am so sorry... she thought.
Slowly, her sight got blurred, her mind felt empty. She would faint from the blood loss. There were no hopes left, there was no sense in fighting anymore. It was over. With that, Uriela lowered her head. Her body became weak, too weak to hold her own weight. She collapsed and the vampire let her fall down.

"Huh, there you are, my dear friend," the silver-haired male exclaimed. His lips were covered in blood now.

Before the consciousness left Uriela, she heard the vampire and faintly turned her head, only to see a familiar red-headed person walking out of the woods. She knew him, the vampire who had saved her brother's life before. He walked out of the shadows and stopped next to Uriela. His glance wandered down at her, observing her motionless body, then to the slaughtered bodies of the children. "What's the meaning of this, Ferid?" the vampire asked.

The silver-headed creature simply laughed. "What do you mean? I was only getting myself some blood. But shouldn't ask you the same question? You have tasted this sweet blood before, haven't you?" Ferid asked with a smile and pointed down at Uriela, who watched everything from the corner of her right eye. She was still alive and remained conscious. "Why do you confront me with such silly question?"

"I mean the children."

"Oh, I was bored. And they would have died, anyways. I could say, I have delivered them from a painful death. Am I not nice? Oh, and Crowley, I even left some blood for you. You can drink the rest." The silver-haired vampire laughed in a high tone and left the place. He disappeared between some trees. His voice also vanished shortly after.

Crowley sighed silently, gazing around him. He still couldn't understand Ferid's behavior yet. Perhaps, Crowley was still too young as vampire to understand, why Ferid killed and slaughtered people for his own entertainment. Especially children. He knew Ferid love for young children's blood, but couldn't explain why Ferid loved to slaughter humans like this. He looked down at the motionless woman beneath him. Even though the scent of her blood made him thirsty, he waited.

"Just kill me..." Uriela managed to whisper, though her voice was very weak.

The vampire raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You can still speak?"

"Please...kill me...I beg you..."

"Why is it your wish to die, woman?" Crowley asked and bent down to her.

Uriela could barely speak, neither could she move her lips. The words just out of her mouth. "There... is nothing...left..." Her voice became weaker and weaker. Uriela closed her eyes and hoped that the vampire would at least grant her that single wish. She wanted to die now. There was no sense in living anymore. She had nothing left.
"I only... want... to see my family...again..." she mumbled a last time before she fainted.

Crowley's eyes widened a little in surprise. It was her wish to die that made her somewhat... interesting. He studied her features again. Her appearance was the one of a corpse, but not the one of a pretty, young woman. The vampire remained silent for some minutes before he grabbed Uriela by her throat and lifted her up. He licked his lips...

...and simply sighed. The woman was light for his opinion. He threw her over his right shoulder and walked off into the darkness of the forest, following after his comrade.

Left behind was a picture of a massacre, that would probably never be found.


I can officialy say, that my writer's block is in the past now. Weeeee :)
Here is the second chapter of Ashita no Owari. I hope you liked it. If you did, please review. I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for reading^^

Btw, if you have any questions so far, feel free to ask me. The next chapter will be up around next weekend, if I can find the time to write.
See ya