In medio, virtus

During my journey through Central America and the northern part of South America, I crossed the Amazon jungle. While hunting a capybara, I was surprised by three women who seemed to be dressed in loincloths. I managed to incapacitate two of them with my tasers, but when I approached the third one, she suddenly disappeared. I couldn't sense her smell or hear her, let alone see her, but the radar kept indicating her presence. My tasers remained active. I knew they were doing something to my mind. This was the second time I had encountered someone with a gift after Kaori.

When the radar indicated they were very close, I activated two smoke bombs, creating a dense cloud that allowed me to rise with my propulsive boots to get a better view, or at least escape. My senses began to recover, and I went after the one responsible for my sensory loss. One of them managed to hit me from the side, but I held onto my saber. I swung the glowing saber, guided almost solely by the radar, and threw smoke bombs in all directions. The fire started to slowly consume the forest.

"They're waiting for me to make a wrong move. I can't even feel the heat of the fire, I know everything is ablaze, but my mind only shows the jungle..." I thought, starting to feel frustrated.

My mask managed to capture some images and movements, allowing me to identify a possible pattern in their movements. It wasn't a guarantee, but I thought, "If I die here, I'll at least take down the most valuable one..."

After a pause, they renewed their strategy and attacked me. Using the reference of the possible mark I left on the radar when attacking the illusionist, I swung the saber in that direction, and for some reason that neither I nor they understood, we stopped.

The illusion vanished, and the shorter woman had my leg in her grip. The other had her mouth near my neck, both with eyes as dark as coal. My saber was millimeters from the face of the third woman, who the heat of my blade was slowly burning the strands of her forehead. She had long, straight hair, adorned with a braid. Meanwhile, the surrounding area, which I calculated was about 55,3748 square kilometers in diameter, was engulfed in flames.

As my amber eyes met the intense ruby eyes of the illusionist, whose face gave the impression of a wild being rather than a human, we both knew that the cost of the battle would be high for both of us. We exchanged a slight smile and slowly they retreated. I was able to fly safely out of the jungle. I had entered their territory and simply needed to escape. I was an invader.

I continued jumping through the Andes mountain range until I came across a small village near the mountains. The place was completely abandoned, and the abandonment seemed recent. My radar detected traces of potion, and there were burnt bodies.

"This feels very familiar... yes, Maria's lair and the Mexican coven." The signs indicated that the cleanup had been done hastily and improvisedly; there were clear marks on the bones indicating they were vampires.

"Newborns, again..."

I decided to follow the trail and tried to connect to satellite images. The scans showed that among the villages, one seemed suspicious. As I headed towards that village, I tried to find images that might show a suspicious group, perhaps a pattern of newborn gathering, but I found nothing. What I did find was a signal that seemed to be four vampires heading in the same direction as me, towards that abandoned village. The signal became clearer as my radar detected the points, and the collision was inevitable. I stopped and looked for a place to devise a plan.

Two of the four signals were fainter, almost unstable, and it seemed they disappeared from one moment to the next.

"What if they're hybrids? Jennifer? Two vampires and two hybrids," I thought.

The fainter signals separated, while the vampire signals continued to approach the village.

"I can't detect them..." I used my nose and senses to be alert for the possible presence of hybrids. I threw the smoke bomb and attacked. This time, I hit one of the vampires with the gauntlet and subdued the one who seemed to be a female vampire with a taser. I needed answers. If I learned anything from the Mexican coven, it's that where there are newborns, there's a plan.

While I kept the woman kneeling, I readied my saber. The vampire slowly stood up amidst the dispersing smoke. He was a tall, slender man with defined muscles, long black hair. He wore a mane and dressed in torn jeans and a leather jacket. At that moment, I detected a familiar scent, unmistakable. It was a scent very similar to mine.

Now standing and looking at me with intense ruby eyes, in a confused manner as if he had seen a ghost, he said, "Gonza?"

"Nacho?" I responded, astonished.

"B-but... you... you're dead," he furrowed his brow while observing me.

I sensed something, knew something, but resisted believing it. Now I could see it with my own eyes. My cousin, almost like a brother, Nacho, had become a vampire, and his eyes showed me that he now was what I had sworn to fight.

"Gonza, cousin..." He swallowed, took a deep breath, and raised his hands to his head, smiling. "You're alive. It's a miracle! Look at you, you... you look great. Please, whatever that sword is you have there, be careful. Can we talk?"

My breathing became even more agitated, my hand gripped the hilt. "What do I do, what do I do? What am I supposed to do?" I thought.

The woman who was kneeling looked at the saber and exclaimed in surprise, "He's the man who killed Joham, the man Jennifer talked about."

At that moment, the two hybrids appeared behind me. They were Jennifer and her brother. He stared at me seriously and exclaimed, "You!" in a stern voice, while Jennifer looked at him. Then he added, "I won't let you harm my aunt, you bastard!"

The hybrid lunged at me as I processed what was happening with Nacho. He attacked me and we crashed through several walls. My saber ended up in one of the houses, and he began hitting me in the face, helping me regain my composure. I electrocuted him with the gauntlet and pushed him aside.

Nacho quickly grabbed him by the arms, and the vampire broke the taser with her hand. I remotely controlled the saber to retrieve it, igniting it again. As the vampire got to her feet, Jennifer positioned herself between us and shouted, "Nahuel! Nahuel! He saved my life! He was only after our father!"

While Nacho held Nahuel tightly, he began to calm down and compose himself, looking at me seriously. "Why them? Why didn't you spare their lives?" he demanded an answer. "Maysun was willing to die for her father, just like Serena," I responded with a bitter and sad tone. Then I added, "Maysun killed my mentor at the time, and Serena was going to kill my then-partner. I couldn't do anything else."

Nahuel paced back and forth, looking at me. The vampire tried to console him,

and he simply looked at the ground.

"Let it be, Huilen," Jennifer said.

Both women were concerned about Nahuel's reaction. As he calmed down, Nacho continued to look at me with disbelief but caution. Finally, Nahuel calmed down and asked Nacho, "Is he your family?"

"Yes, Gonzalo is my cousin," he looked at me and nodded with a slight smile.

"Then I'll have to think about whether I'll help you. I don't know if I can."

"But he freed you from Joham and brought you back to Jennifer. Now you're free from that maniac," Huilen replied.

I looked at Nacho and then told him, "I have nothing more to say, I wish you luck..."

Nahuel finally vanished with Jennifer and her aunt Huilen, leaving me alone with Nacho in the middle of the abandoned indigenous village.

We looked at each other, and finally, I dared to break the silence and said, "How? Why? Was it voluntary?"

Nacho looked at me with his typical smile, the kind of smile someone uses to maintain their toughness but underneath, it reveals their softer side. Then he responded, "A bit of both. I was in trouble, our village is in trouble."

We got closer, and finally, we exchanged a warm embrace. He might be a vampire, but he's my cousin, almost like a brother to me. He has likely been going through the same torment I've experienced over these past years.

"You don't know how happy I am, Gonza. Tomás and the family will be thrilled to see you again. Oh, right... everyone thinks you're dead. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to visit them; I'd have to explain things while omitting the fact that you survived the accident and got out of there, not to mention the fact that you're a vampire. We haven't told them anything; Amalia told us that humans shouldn't know anything about us, or they would be in danger."

I thought about all the people I interacted with, especially the people in Mexico. "Damn... I didn't think about this... now they'll be in danger," I muttered to myself.

Nacho looked at me and said, "Oh... there are people who do know... well, if there are humans who know, I guess. But it all depends on the level of importance of that human. A madman or a beggar, for example, no one would believe them."

I felt irresponsible. Those people, though marginalized, had seen a lot, and even though they lived in rural areas where superstition was common, the possibility weighed heavily on me.

"Gonza, tell me, how did you become one? Did someone save you in that accident? And what happened to Marie?"

We sat down on a bench, and I told him the whole story. Nacho had a very serious face and just patted my shoulder while looking at the ground.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't dare to talk to Sofia or anyone else. I only met Nahuel and Huilen a couple of months ago; we've hunted together, but it's been awkward. We just need help investigating some marauders who've been harassing the village. But look at you! Now we have you. The more, the merrier, right?" he said, using his typical tough guy expression.

"Yes, I think I have some experience, but I need to see the others and gather as much information as possible," I added after a pause. And then, mustering up courage to ask him a question, "Your diet. How do you manage it?"

He looked me in the eyes, took a deep breath, and told me as he gazed at the stars, "I knew you would ask that. Your amber eyes were already telling me. Well, I focus on malicious people, or people who ask me to."

I furrowed my brow and said, "You mean euthanasia?"

"Only with people leading miserable lives who have no chance of improving, or those in their final moments who no longer want to keep living. You know there are families needlessly prolonging the lives of those poor souls? It's horrible to witness; I can't stand for it. As for malicious people, I only act against those I catch in the act, so I don't risk killing someone who might turn out to be innocent."

I understood his motivations, though I didn't necessarily like his reasons. Playing God is dangerous, and my own experience told me that human blood enslaves a vampire.

"Nacho, have you tried abstaining from human blood?" I asked him.

"Yes, but I couldn't. Sorry, I don't want to," he responded sincerely.

I pondered for a moment. "Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears," I told myself.

"I respect your decision, cousin," I replied, then added, "Let's go to the village, I need to see Tomás."

Nacho got up, and I followed him. We crossed mountains and deserts as the sun rose. Jokingly, Nacho said to me, "You know what I hate most about being a vampire, Gonza?"

"What?" I answered.

Nacho showed me his face. I laughed and thought, "Of course, the glow of our skin in the sunlight."

"It's awful, Gonza! I'll never get used to this!" he exclaimed.

"I know, it's something that embarrasses me greatly," I responded.

"When they offered to turn me, I imagined something terrifying and imposing, like Dracula or something gothic, and they give me this. Imagine the surprise!" We laughed, and then he added, "We're blood-sucking fairies, Gonza! Damn fairies!"

We laughed, and I thought, "My goodness, Nacho's right, I've never seen it that way. And yet, despite everything, his imposing stature (Nacho and Tomás both stood over 6 feet), elegant proportions, straight hair, and attire made him look like a rock star or some kind of modern vampire."

If I had an active heart, it would be beating rapidly right now. The desire to reunite with my own after so long, or at least with Tomás. I had to carefully consider whether I should visit my family. If I expose myself, they'll wonder why I didn't go to the police or why suddenly I can run and walk as if nothing happened.

"Do you know who you look like, cousin?" I said to him.

"Who?" he asked curiously.

"Android 17, from Dragon Ball Z, but darker!" I laughed, reflecting on Kaori's influence on me. I was starting to feel like an otaku.

"Ah! Tomás tells me the same thing. Remember when we used to watch it on TV? It was quite an event."

As we reached the outskirts of Santa Maria, I could make out two figures silhouetted near one of the large hills and hills that surrounded our village. One was unmistakably Tomás: tall, more muscular, and well-dressed, with his perfect hairstyle as always. The other figure, shorter, was that of a woman with a long braid down to her waist. This woman radiated a radiant and beautiful smile, very similar to Marie's or Anastasia's; she had a more voluptuous and athletic body than Anastasia or Kaori. She had the typical polished features and perfect proportions of vampires, and as Sofia had told me, her features were definitely of African origin. Both had intense amber eyes, more intense than mine. I could tell that in both of them, the contrast between their eyes and their skin greatly enhanced their appearance.

Tomás was dumbfounded, the woman exchanged glances between him and me. Finally, Nacho broke the silence and exclaimed, "Look who's here! You're alive, Tommy! It's a miracle!"

Tomás ran towards me and gave me his typical bear hug, lifting me off the ground, sobbing and shouting. "You bastard! We cried for months over you! You have no idea how happy I am to see you! If the uncles saw you, cousin, oh wait..."

While he was examining me, he realized and asked me, "How did this happen? How?"

Nacho looked at him seriously and shook his head. The woman quickly caught the hint; I could sense a tone of sadness and concern in her. Finally, she took my hand, enclosing it with hers, and asked me,

"It wasn't consensual, was it? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. Please forgive my rudeness. I'm Amalia, a friend of your cousins. Nice to meet you, Tomás has told me a lot about you."

I felt how this woman somehow radiated peace and tranquility. The puzzle pieces were slowly coming together. It seemed like she was here to protect our village, whatever had wiped out the indigenous communities that were decimated.

The three of them started telling me about the marauders and the unfortunate events on the outskirts of the village. Tomás had been rescued by her from a vampire while he was wandering in the desert lost in his depression. Seeing how horrible and dangerous they could be, he decided to turn to help Amalia take care of their land.

Nacho was rescued by Tomás after a motorcycle accident, and with Tomás's insistence, Amalia turned him to save his life. Since then, the three of them had been patrolling the village and confronting marauders who were becoming bolder in their approach to the area.

Every time Amalia saw Tomás, she couldn't help but smile. I noticed a certain admiration, or perhaps something more, in their glances. Tomás only glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and I got the impression that there was some discomfort in those moments. It all started to make sense when I saw that Nacho was watching both of them, with a tone of sadness and frustration.

I didn't want to ask, but I could sense the reasons why Nacho rejected the lifestyle of Amalia and Tomás, the lifestyle I was learning to live. Seeing the four of us chatting and sharing our experiences, I began to understand that not all vampires were monstrous human devourers. Understanding Nacho's stance made me reflect on my own past and my internal struggles to control my thirst. Seeing Tomás and Amalia made me realize that my efforts to preserve my humanity weren't unique; there were other vampires who had already achieved what I had been seeking for a long time. I reflected and finally murmured in my mind, looking at the stars:

"If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one ever was truly harmed. Harmed is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance."