𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 ⌜𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿⌟

05. 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 05. 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦 4:21 𝗔.𝗠. 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 1, 1938, 𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗟𝗬𝗡, 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 clattering metal spiraled around the alleyway. A set of shoes slid across the ground, blood smearing on the concrete from the man's hand. A low growl rose in the air as he pushed himself back onto his feet. He grabbed one of the tin trashcans, hurling it down the way.

You caught it, placing it to the side. You sighed heavily, turning back to glare at the man.

"You're so noisy," You stated, flashing in front of him. Your hand closed around his face, and you swiped him off his feet, slamming his head into the concrete. "At this rate, you'll wake up the whole damn city."

You stood up, wiping your hands on your pants. Grabbing the man by the collar, you tossed him onto the pile of his other three friends. You looked around, a frown forming on your lips.

"I know you're there," You called. "You watched me kick these wanker's asses, so why don't you come out now?"

A figure emerged from the shadows. The light from the streetlamp shone down on them, illuminating the crown of short golden-brown hair. They wore a white button down shirt, brown slacks, and black boots. Their hands were in their pockets, head tilting to the side in curiosity.

"You're a new face around here," They said, their voice soothing. "I don't think I've ever seen you before. What affliation are you from?"

Your eyebrows laced together. "Affliation?" You muttered. "What the hell is that?"

"You must be a free ranger," They said, tapping their chin. "You don't sound like you're from Brooklyn either. Let me explain. Around here, most vampires are part of an affliation. They range from what they do and such. My affliation provides aid. I supply all vampires with a safe place to reside when the sun's out."

"What makes you think I'm a vampire?" You frowned.

"Oh, I'm one too," They said, hooking a finger in their cheek to show you their fangs. "See?"

"Ehrm..."

"I can't hear your heartbeat," They said, tapping their ears. "Besides, your speed is inhuman. I've never seen anyone move that fast before. So, if you don't have an affliation, why don't you join mine? The sun is about to rise, so why don't you come stay there until it sets again? I promise, we're no harm. I'm only looking out for people like me."

You frowned at this person. They didn't seem hostile towards you. So you nodded. They jerked their head, motioning for you to follow them.

"I'm Echo, by the way," They said, extending their hand to you as they pushed open a door with their back.

"Vex," You muttered, taking their hand.

"All the windows in this place a
have been sealed over so no sunlight can get in," Echo said, leading you through the hall. "Most of the people who stay here were either kicked out of their old affliations, or didn't have anywhere else to go. As you can expect, society doesn't exactly accept people like us. A lot of newly turned get dumped and end up dying because they don't know what to do. Some of their instincts might kick in, but a lot of them are scared, and confused. I want to do everything I can to help them. That's why I created this."

You flicked your gaze around the room. A few women were seated at a table, engaged in a conversation with smiles on their faces. A group of men sat at another table, laugjing heartily as they played a game of poker. You heard laughter, and looked down as four children ran past you, a teenage girl chasing after them. Another woman followed after, a baby in her arms, holding the hand of a little girl. You looked up, a frown on your lips.

"There are children here?"

Echo nodded. "Most of them are orphans. Their parents either turned and abandoned them, or didn't survive their transformation. They're mostly all normal, though. We only have two children here who are turned."

Nodding their head, you followed Echo's gaze. A boy and a girl walked past you. They couldn't have been older than six, and based in their matching blonde hair and amber eyes, you assumed they were twins. The girl held onto the boy as they walked towards a couch, crawling onto the seats. They sat across from each other, talking quietly.

"That's the twins. Wynona, or Nona, is the girl, and Quinn is the boy. They were turned as babies, and their mother dumped them in the Hudson river. I fished them out myself, and we've done out best to raise them," Echo said. "Their story is horrible, it makes me sick, but I'm glad we found them before they could remember what happened. They keep to themselves--Quinn is real protective of Nona. He'll let you know that too."

"They age?" You asked.

Echo slipped their hands into the pockets. "Once you turn, you'll keep aging until your body matures. That's usually from the ages of 18-21. Quinn, Nona, and the rest of the kids here will grow up. They'll never live normally, but, at least they aren't on the street."

Your gaze lingered on the two children. The boy smiled, rubbing a hand over his sister's hair, making her giggle. Your eyes softened for a moment.

"All right," Echo said. "You're probably exhausted, Vex. Let me show you a room, and get you a new set of clothes."

You followed after them. They showed you a clean room, and gave you clothes that you could change into. They gave a you a towel, and showed you the bathroom in the room.

"All set!" They smiled. "You're more than welcome to come and go as you please. If you get a craving, we have human friends who'll go to a butcher. I hope you don't mind animal blood."

"I don't feed on humans," You said.

"Then that's something you and I have in common," They said.

"Why do you do this?" You asked, making them pause in the door.

"Because I didn't have it," They replied after moment. "I didn't have anyone to show me what is was like. I was one of those people who were scared and confused. So I made something so that no one ever had to do that."

Echo smiled, tapping the frame of the door. "Get some rest, Vex. You need it."

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 05. 𝗘𝗡𝗗
𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 5 𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧 2021
𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗

𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗢 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗘. 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗚𝗢 𝗧𝗢 Simp_Overlord_Dio

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗘 𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥. 𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 <3