032. Eternal

Black velvet laced the night sky covering the sparkling stars. Consumed was the land of parched amber grounds hissing as the boiling steam rushed through the numerous hairline cracks. Shades of crimson smoke wafted in the air full of heat. Jagged rocks scattered the vast terra firma. Flames were randomly rampant as they burned anything remotely living.

A dark creature came forth on one of the countless serrated mounds. The clinking of his charcoal hoofs as he stood on his hind legs could be heard even above the constant noise. The insignificant scarlet fur that covered his body gleamed with a mixture of sweat and grime. As he stood overlooking the lands, his torso and arms displayed intricate creases of brawn on his mammoth body. His face was rugged with various shades of crimson. The eyes beamed a frightening glare of white that seemed to lessen when he blinked. The malicious smile that grew on his hideous mug bore razor sharp teeth that would make anyone cower. The oversized horns curled from his head towards the sky which made him seem like a giant. The being overlooked the seemingly empty grounds for anything that looked remotely different. His eyes spotted a faint figure that was lying on the ground.

A sandy hair man laid face first on the warm ground, seemingly sleeping as he was sprawled out. His loose white shirt clung to his lean frame and his black pants outlined his slender legs. His eyes fluttered open and then squinted as he felt the sharp pain ringing in his head. His hand automatically went forth on the side of his head as if that would soothe the pounding. He slowly raised himself up on his sandaled feet, finding himself in a daze if he stood up too fast. His arm fell to his side as he took a look at his surroundings. He was confused as to where he was, not even sure how he got there either. The only thing that came to mind was to see if he could find his way home or somewhere familiar. As he took a few steps, he felt a large hand rest on his boney shoulder. Surprised, he turned around to see the monstrous creature of red. His eyes widened instantly as a slight fear coursed through his body. The demon smiled faintly out of amusement. Instead of saying anything, he gestured for the man to walk with him. He felt he had no choice but to obey. As they walked side by side, the man kept gazing at this creature. He had a sinking feeling of where he was. As they neared the edge of the cliff, they stopped together and the creature pointed towards the bottom. Reluctantly, the man took a few steps towards the edge to get a closer look.

The scene was almost ghastly. Numerous little dancing crimson devils circled around joyously as they were doing various tasks of torture. The victims were battered and torn, screaming and bleeding, being whipped as their limbs were chained together. Fires were ablaze and also used to torch the skins of the prisoners. Laughter was only screeched from the ugly miniature demons out of pure sick pleasure.

Kei was horrified at the sight and instinctively started to back away, the sight of this making him sick. The creature beside him placed his huge hand behind Kei's small one to stop him. It took little effort of his might to shove him towards the edge. He screamed as he lost his balance and started to fall faster and faster towards the ground…

Kei woke up with a start, his eyes huge and his breath staggered. He looked around to find himself in a dank alley where some dampness soaked his clothing. He felt some moisture that ran from the corner of his mouth. He felt it and then wiped it off with his fingers. He looked at the crimson liquid and became confused; maybe he was in a fight and was knocked unconscious.

A few feet away, a dark figure with short charcoal hair sat on a discarded wooden box with one knee in the air slightly as he rested his arm on it. The figure had been patiently waiting, keeping an eye on the other man as he sat in the shadows. His deep scarlet eyes gleamed in the artificial lights as he glanced over. As Kei looked around his surroundings, his eyes caught sight of the strange figure. He stared as the other man decided to come out of the shadows to reveal himself.

"Who are you?" Kei asked in a rasped voice, his breathing irregular out of fear but his face remained stern. The dark figure looked at him, not entirely sure how to go about what he had done.

"Tell me!" Kei raised his voice, gritting his teeth together in frustration.

"I wouldn't advise you to speak that way to me," the other man finally spoke, getting rather annoyed. "I'll tell you who I am and what is going on, but right now I need you to come with me," he said, extending his hand to help him up. Kei looked at it and slapped it away as he got up on his feet. The other man wasn't fazed by this and walked ahead, presuming that Kei would follow. He did hesitantly, not knowing if he should trust this man or not, after all he just met him, though he had a sinking feeling that this man either saved his life or was the one who started the fight.

The other man seemed to take Kei to a secluded area that was in ruins, which most of the city was, but this seemed to be completely abandoned. Colorful words plastered the walls as art and different vegetation climbed the walls and on the muddy ground. Pieces of the building lay scattered about which could easily be used to sit on, which the other man did and Kei reluctantly followed by sitting opposite him.

"My name is Luka," he introduced himself. "And I'm a vampire." Kei knitted his eyebrows in confusion which Luka was prepared for, but needed to explain himself and this was the best he could come up with; being straightforward.

"What?" Kei asked, completely confused at that. "There's no such thing as a-"

"That's what they want you to think, and I prefer that anyway," his soothing deep voice had become calmer that before. "You see, you were my victim tonight," he started to explain, Kei couldn't help but be shocked as his eyes stared intently on the man. "I saw that you were walking alone in the alleyway, your hands deep in your jacket pockets, possibly in deep thought about something that was bugging you."

Luka paused, seeing Kei's reaction as he was getting disturbed by his description, almost as if Luka was a stalker. He decided to not defend himself and continued.

"I made my way towards you, quickly and successfully clinching my fangs deep into your neck as I slowly drained your body of life," he explained, eventually feeling the guilt just as he did not too long ago. "When I looked at you in the streetlights nearby, it was then that I felt sorry for you. The fear that consumed your pallid face as your energy was slowly dying, gasping for air. It was then that my heart broke at what I had done. Ignorant people assume that vampires do not have feelings, but we do… we were humans once. And, you reminded me of myself at your age; almost like we were brothers in a past life."

Luka paused once more, finding it odd that even though Kei was still glaring at him cautiously, that he wasn't stopping him and proceeded to listen.

"It was then that I couldn't bear to watch you die," he continued. "But you had lost too much blood and the nearest hospital is about an hour away on foot, so I did the only thing that I could," he paused, afraid to disclose what he had done.

"What did you do to me?" Kei asked, anger flowing through him as the suspense was killing him. Luka looked up at him.

"I turned you into a vampire," he finally admitted.

"You turned me into you?" Kei asked angrily, standing up in a natural reaction of wanting to kill this man.

"You are a vampire now," he calmly replied.

"Turn me back!" Kei demanded which got a chuckle out of Luka.

"If I knew how to do that, I would've done it a long time ago," Luka said amused. "There is no undoing, it's permanent. The only way out of it is death."

"You turned me into a vampire because you felt sorry for me? I didn't want this!" Kei raised his voice, trying to figure things out and his mind raced at all of this information. He then turned his mind to something that he remembered. "What was that dream I had?"

Luka looked at him and knew what he was talking about immediately. "It's different for everyone, but it's like your transcendence into becoming a walker of the night. You have a vision as your body changes."

"But it was so horrible," Kei remembered the intricate details of it.

"Don't dwell on it, it's meant to scare you," Luka revealed.

"So," Kei thought aloud. "What now?" Luka stood up and approached him.

"Let's go somewhere nicer and talk more, ok? I'll show you that it's not all bad, being a vampire. Think of it as a new experience, because it will be."

Kei nodded, feeling as if he had no choice. They walked together out in the open as they were greeted by the round moon that was in the twilight sky. Kei wasn't really sure what to do anymore but to follow this man's teaching and learn what he should do now.

The feeling of being a vampire was different as if he felt lighter. His eyes were sharper like a feline's, ever rampant to spot out the littlest things that moved about. As Kei looked around his surroundings, it was almost like a completely new world.

And as if his soul was now eternal…