THE BLIGHTED CITY

The Market

The day was cold.

Winter was always hard on the tiny town of Althemos. The hunting decreased a lot in this time of year, making it more difficult to gather food. The prices in the market skyrocketed too, as there was less food and items that could be sold. Many people fell ill, as winter brought a freezing cold wind mixed with multiple storms and less daylight. In short, mortality rose, many people, young and old, died in the cold and cruel hands of this horrific time of the year, where the plants stopped growing and the animals hid away.

The days were hard but the nights were harder. On winter, the chases became more frequent, not to animals, but to vampires.

Vampires were said to be horrible creatures that roamed the night, with their crimson red eyes and their sharp animal fangs. Their skin was white as snow and thin as a corpse, as they were believed to have either lost the blood from their bodies when they were bit, or directly not having it from birth. They were monsters that attacked the innocent, killing humans for their own personal pleasure, and as winter was a time of year were mortals, as they so called them, were weak, they attacked the most.

Lucas had grown to become a strong young adult, his medium length blonde hair always up in a low bun or ponytail. His aquamarine eyes were almost hypnotising in the light of the moonlight, as they looked like the sea in the early morning or the lake when it wasn't frozen. He took his warm and heavy wool cape and put it over his shoulders, covering himself from the snow and the cold temperatures. The vampire hunter also took a warm hat so he could warm up his ears so they wouldn't freeze and end up hurting him.
After putting his snow boots on, Lucas made his way out of his house and into the streets of Althemos, where many children were out playing in the snow, either having snowball battles or just building a snowman.

Althemos was a pretty small town, with every local knowing each other and, or, being related. It was a town in the foot of a mountain where a big forest, full of fruit and flowers on spring, but dry and frozen on winter, extended over the land, where animals lived, hid and got hunted. Though Althemos had a big reputation on its fertile land, it was known better for its market, as, even if it was a fairly small town, it was the most popular one across the land. The market had a lot to offer, from food and clothes or bandaids, to weapons for vampire hunters and priests to protect themselves in the chases.

That was the reason Lucas was headed to the market. He had to go buy a new stake, one he could reuse and didn't break as soon as he used it. He walked through the slippery streets of the town, greeting a few villagers as he passed.

"Good morning, Miss Amana, how's everything?" Lucas smiled at the sight of the older lady who was slowly and tiredly walking towards the market. She had a hump, and she walked as if every step she took hurt.
The woman looked old, perhaps around her 80's, she had a cane that supported her when walking in one hand, and a basket made out of reed to carry items in the other. She had big round glasses that made her eyes look ten times bigger and made her convex nose, which was red from the cold weather, pop up, as well as her red cheeks, which were also red because the freezing temperatures.

"Oh, hello, Lucas.." she greeted, her voice shaking a bit but sounding soft and caring, sweet as an angel "I'm good, I'm good, only a little bit older as the days go by... and a bit more sore, too... but for the rest, I'm the same, my boy." She let out a muffled laugh which made her cough a little, her voice sore from the cold air.

"You look as great as alway, Miss Amana." Lucas said as he approached her and reached his hand out "can I help you? I can carry your basket and help you with your shopping, I'm also going to the market today."

The old woman smiled and gratefully gave Lucas her basket. "You're a kind young boy, Lucas. So many people should be like you, so so many..." she took the arm Lucas was also offering her for more support and they both slowly began walking towards the market, chatting about many things, like how hunting had become more difficult and how the town major had lost his hat.

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After walking for what seemed like an eternity because of the old ladies slow pace, Lucas and Miss Amana made it to the market. It was a beautiful, the market was full of people and many wooden stands, all decorated and painted differently depending on the owner and what was being sold.

The first stand they walked past had it's wood painted in an icy blue colour. It had fairy lights hanging around it as a way of both decoration when it was sunny and illumination for the night. It had a few blankets hung inside the wooden walls both to keep the seller warm and sell. The owner was an older man, his beard, long and white, mixed with his small eyes, made him look cozy and humble, almost like a warm fire in a family chimney. His looks also matched with the items he sold: mountain gear used in winter to get rid of snow or climb rocky and slippery hills.

Lucas made a mental note, he had to visit this stand once he was done helping Miss Amana.

As they walked through stand to stand collecting everything the elderly woman needed to buy, Lucas was going through a mental agenda about how his week was planned.
Lucas's life was a rather busy one, he never seemed to have time for anything, it seemed. He was always caught up with work. Training and being a vampire hunter was draining enough on the physical side, but also having to study vampire's anatomy and history was even worse for him.

Miss Amana began looking at some red and yellow tapestry on one of the stands and she began to make small conversation with the seller, a girl in her mid thirties with bright red hair and very noticeable dimples when she smiled. She reminded Lucas of a squirrel, with her button nose and squinted eyes and also her fast and hyper attitude.

This little interaction gave Lucas some time to actually go through his mental agenda and organise his week. He hated not having enough time to do things or suddenly getting his plans changed. Lucas hated spontaneous things, like running out of matches or candles while on a dark hall, or when someone cancelled a plan on him, or surprise birthday parties, specially surprise birthday parties.

Lucas snapped out of his mental trance when he heard the old lady's voice call out to him.

"Lucas, my dear, what do you think of this one?" She showed him a forest green rug "I think it would go well in my living room, don't you think?"

Lucas smiled "yes, of course, miss Amana." he helped her, taking the rug as she paid.

"Is that all?" Lucas asked.

Miss Amana nodded "yes, my dear.. I'm truly sorry you had to help me all of a sudden! I know how much you hate to be disrupted."

Lucas shook his head and shrugged "I don't mind it, I was already coming here, after all."

In truth, Lucas did mind it. He had mentally prepared himself for the day, and now, he was running late to his next activity. It's not like anyone was clocking him or expecting him to do everything he had to do that day, but if he didn't get everything done, he would have to begin delaying everything in his agenda and he didn't like it.

As they headed back to the exit of the market, a loud scream was heard in the distance, followed by some other people's gasps and others running away.

As Lucas looked up, he was hoping he wouldn't see what he thought he'd see.
But, to his luck, he saw it.

Sighing in defeat, he turned to Miss Amana "I'm sorry, miss, but I have to go solve... that problem."

Miss Amana nodded "go, child, I'll leave the market and get to safety, do not worry about me."

Before he could turn to face the monster, Miss Amana took his hands. "Be careful, Lucas." she looked into his eyes "may God help you."

Lucas nodded and turned back, getting his crucifix out, taking his hat off and doing his hair up in a tall ponytail, a few strands falling from and covering his face. He pushed them behind his ear. He felt the cold winter breeze hit his face and ears, sending a chill down his spine.

"Alright... let's get this over with." he mumbled as he turned to face the bloodied mouth monster.

Lucas glared and then launched himself full force against the red glowing eyes vampire that was a few meters away from him.