My daydream was abruptly ended by the sudden realization that the pack of wolves had flanked me and the Alpha-male and his pack were now standing opposite to me.
"Damn…" I softly cursed, "Now what…"
The wolves growled, closing in on me.
"I hold no grudge against you! Go away!" I knew they wouldn't understand, but a chance is worth taking. I saw an opening, a female wasn't looking at me… I decided to go for it. I accelerated to the female, catching the entire pack off guard. I slammed into the wolf with my weight, forcing her to the ground. Too slow!!... I thought to myself as I saw the alpha-male jump for me, I dashed to the side, evading the sharp fangs of the alpha-male. I lost my balance and fell down, hitting my right shoulder. Damn! Another wolf caught me from the back, quickly sinking her teeth in my arm. I screamed… not in pain, in shock… Too slow! Again!... I quickly recovered by kicking with my free leg, I hit the wolf in the gut. It squealed and released me. I roared, trying to scare of the other wolves, this did nothing but make them angry. I felt blood seeping from my wound, not gushing like a normal human wound, but seeping.
"Shit, shit, shit!!" I screamed scared, I held on to my arm as I got on my feet and ran away.
No more hunt, this now was a life or death situation. I ran, quickly, but the wound was slowing me down, and I heard the pack gaining on me. They were going to kill me! Damn! I would die, here and now! They would tear me to shreds! No, no they would not, I'm superior. Fuck em! Thoughts raced through my head, conflicts… I ran on and felt my body breaking down under the strain, vampires aren't marathon athletics… The amount of trees was decreasing and the moon could be seen through the canopy. I finally came at a clearing in the forest and the moonlight was poured over the boggy swamp-like field. A smile returned to my face, Vic always warns me about this part of the forest, the bogs here are treacherous and will kill you. But not today, today it would save me. I gathered adrenaline, and leapt on to the moor. As I landed I Immediately felt my feet sinking down into the depths, I resisted, and jumped up again, jumping high above the grayish moor. I jumped again, and again, I felt my mood lift with every single jump. I outsmarted them! I cleared the bog landing on the firm soil on the other side and laughed loudly. Echoing through the trees, my laugh returned to me, eerie… I heard the wolves howl and wrinkled my lips into a wicked smile, they had come to the moor. A cloud slid in front of the moon, darkness gripped the land. I took a second to adjust to the new light conditions and again ran downhill, I had to get back to the house. I entered the dense forest again and weaved through the trees. I'd come a long way, shit… I'm already exhausted!... I looked up at the clouds, no stars to guide my way… I would need a road to get back. I sighed as I ran towards the road, this had been enough stress for one day. I jumped through a bush and my feet hit gravel the moment I landed, the road. I slipped to a standstill a looked both ways, one down, one up. My house lay uphill, and so I chose the road that led up the mountain, once more. Soft trickling of the first autumn rain broke the eerie silence, I smelled the forest, fresh smells of decaying leaves. I still ran, not because I was being chased, but because I wanted this night to be over. Stupid wolves! A distant sound reached my ear and I immediately stopped. An engine? This far into the woods? I listen carefully, the sound approached me, and within minutes I saw the headlights of a car come round the corner. I quickly found cover in the bushes next to the road, and watched the car go by. A large black all-terrain jeep, in the car sat four men, who looked like hunters, feverishly looking at the bushes next to the road. The shining muzzles of rifles caught my eye: Most definitely hunters. I must tell Vic. As the sound became a distant hum, I reappeared from the undergrowth and continued the way, also keeping track of any new sounds. I ran on, with probably an extra enemy on my tail. Rain started to pour from the heavens, and the road quickly turned to mud, slowing my progress. I found the entrance to the drive to our house and ran down it. Luckily the tracks of the jeep followed the normal track and the sound was almost inaudible now. Finally my house came into sight, I ran up to the entry door and firstly recaptured my breath, I found myself panting like a human who'd run a marathon. Damn! My stamina was dwindling. I now felt the slight burn in my leg muscles, and the flesh wound on my arm was leaking blood. It stopped the bleeding with a piece of cloth torn from my wet t-shirt. The skies really had opened up now, and rain crashed down on the leaves of the canopy, forcing the almighty trees to bow down, mother nature at her best. I entered the house and walked down the stairs, I smelled the outside in the living room, Vic had made it. A warmth engulfed me, a safe hugging feeling, I was home… I left a muddy trail coming down the stairs and without thinking I shook my head to dry my hair.
Vic was waiting for me downstairs, a worried look on his face, "Where the heck have you been? Why are you bleeding?!"
"Someone had to lead the wolves away from us, right?" I said calmly and smiled bravely, like some hero, which I didn't feel like.
"You did what?!" Vic frowned.
"I had to let the wolves chase me, otherwise they would've killed you!" I said defeated, I expected gratitude, not anger and that came like a slap in the face.
"GODDAMNIT! Have you fucking lost your mind?!" Vic yelled angrily. I tried another smile, Vic answered with a demonic roar.
"You can't Handle a pack of wolves on your own, you utter moron!"
"they would've caught you!" I tried to defend myself.
"And so you sacrifice yourself?!" Vic Yelped. I knew this anger, this wasn't because he was angry, this was because he was worried about me… what a brother!
"I'm here right?" I said comforting, "in, well almost, one piece. They took a bite from the arm."
Vic calmly walked up to me, "Bloody idiot…" he said softly, the disappointment in his voice was harder to bear than the anger. He raised his hand, preparing to slap me, instead he carefully laid it on my cheek. "Stupid idiot, utter fool…" He stammered softly, "if you were to be killed, who'd I have left?" He took a step towards me, stretching out his arms, I walked to him, and entered his embrace.
He hugged me tightly. Even though vampires aren't prone to crying, I saw a solitaire tear run down my brother's cheek.
"You are everything to me, my Bratja, without you I'd be completely lost." Vic looked me in my eyes, his deep purple colored eyes emitted a calm which made my heart make a single beat, as if it were human.
"Sorry, bratja, It was wrong of me… but I'd also be nothing without you, I'd only wished to protect you…" I said softly and I saw a smile return to Vic's face.
"I will fend for myself… never do it again! Please?" Vic asked smiling.
I nodded. Silly thing: emotions…
"Brother?" I asked, ten minutes later while we were watching a silly home shopping program on television. I'd changed into dry clothes and Vic had mopped up the mud and rain water. Rain was still beating down and the trickling on the roof spread a glum feeling in our home.
"Hmm?" he answered, slightly dazed look in his eyes.
"When was the last time you saw humans up the mountain?" I said calmly, still staring at the television. Humans nowadays are lazy, for every problem, a gizmo. Ha!...
"Humans?" Vic asked, he frowned, his eyes sank deep beneath his brow, "well, not in years! The occasional hiker or farmer, but nothing more, not this high. Why?"
"I saw a jeep tonight, with hunters in it." I said, quasi-interested.
Vic awoke from his trance and looked at me, anxious, "What?!"
"You think, maybe, they're after us?" I answered his unspoken question
"Well, I sure don't hope so…" Vic said worried, "But what else would hunters be doing here in the midst of night?"
"You think, its them?"
"possibly…"
The year is 1622, 125 years after Reg had died, 316 years after my rebirth. The year Conrad died.
"No!" I screamed, "I will not eat him! Nor will Vic!"
"YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BRAT!" Conrad yelled at me, his yelling was powerful, as if the forest yelled with him. "YOU KNOW NOT THE CONSEQUENCES!"
"I most definitely do! We do not want to feel like animals or monsters anymore!
"you think that is what you are?! Monsters?" Conrad sighed, he walked towards me, his red eyes punctured my resolve, I felt air being sucked out of my lungs. "Damn you! I raised you as my own! Took you in as a child! You have grown considerably, but apparently not enough!" Conrad turned his back on me, and wanted to walk away.
"I have learned enough! I know now the real truth! We do not have to be monsters! You taught me wrong! Do you want to see another child dead?"
"HA! You think I will let that happen?! I would rather die myself!" Conrad laughed, he turned around once more, and showed me his hand.
"See this color?! This is the color of death! We cannot be accepted as normal humans!!"
"Yes we can!"
"Well! If you do not accept me anymore, and your brother feels the same, you will have to kill me!" Conrad yapped, and a grin appeared, "But hell, you do not have half the power needed! Here you are: a mere child!"
"Bu…" I opened my mouth, but saw Conrad's face, and closed it quickly
"Now GO!" he screamed. I bowed my head unwillingly, his mind power was awesome…
I turned around and walked away, angrily pushing aside the branches of trees.
The river flowed peacefully, I sat down on a green mossy rock and looked at the fish, trying to fight the, for him, powerful current.
"There you are bratja…" Vic said softly in my ear, he had crept up on me, without me noticing. "You okay?"
"No Bratja, no…" I answered grimly.
"Conrad was relentless right?" he asked, but knew the answer. And I only nodded.
"He said we had to kill him…"
Vic stared at the fish, and he smiled peacefully, he always was the wisest of us.
" No chance in this world, he would have us dead in seconds."
"no way…"
"there is, of course, one other way." Vic said, "but we would be putting ourselves in danger too…"
"Spill, Bratja…" I said to him, trying to read the glimmer in his eyes. He was prepared to put himself in danger to kill Conrad, we really hated his guts.
"Have you ever heard of the Order of Purification?"
"I thought they'd been eradicated centuries ago…" I muttered, thinking back to the days when our life as vampires was in serious danger.
"Well, probably not…" Vic answered with a sad expression.
The Order of Purification or the Divine Human Spirit, was a sinister splinter faction of the Catholic church, who were most active during the late dark ages. The Order was brought to life after the Bull Summis desiderantes affectibus by pope Innocent VIII, in this bull the hunt on witches and vampires was made legal. This Order, driven by one leader, who ironically was a vampire, was focused on the eradication of the Vampiric Race. In the dawning years of the Order their hunters killed 20000 'suspected' humans before turning to actual vampires. After being discovered, a vampire stood little to no chance of surviving, hunted down and killed like a beast, this is what happened to Conrad, killed by the Order… The Order was successful in destroying the Sangue Reale in Italy, the major and oldest Vampiric family worldwide. But this attracted unwanted attention to the Order, for the murder of almost 200 brethren won't go unnoticed in the other Families. And so the Order was systematically assassinated. But still, Vampiric believe says a few survived, amongst which, the leader of the order: Alessandro Moretti. In 1646, 353 years after the Sangue Reale murders, Pope Innocent X officially declared the Order to be heretical and their hunts based upon mere folklore, and barred the order from practicing any public function. However, in the course of the second half of the second millennium, unsolved Vampire murders still remain, and many say the Order is still active, even greater than it was back then.
"Well, I say, let them try and come for us!" I yelled viciously, Vic jumped up, startled.
"Don't be so rash, Bratja, you know what they did to Conrad right?"
"Hmph… true…" I smiled serenely.