Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart

Chapter

"RUN!" The female screamed. Her feet were hitting the pavement hard and her breathing was labored. So labored, I think she was having an asthma attack as she ran. The man- I assumed- held her hand tightly and towed her behind him as he led the way, running.

I could smell their fear like it was a chocolate cake trail, showing me the way to where they were hiding. My long legs took their time following their trail. Their fear was getting stronger. They were listening to my approach. I smirked, enjoying the adrenaline rush of the hunt. I could almost hear their hearts racing, hoping I couldn't hear them breathe, hear their blood pumping in their veins.

Oh, but I could hear their palpitations. It was like sweet nectar calling my name.

To human eyes, it was dark in the park. I found two human lovers out for an evening stroll, probably for a romantic walk. I was out to eat. I haven't eaten since yesterday night. I have gone too long without blood and I was getting cranky and weak. I was hoping for a magical being, but where I was, there weren't many around. The humans stopped running about fifty seconds ago. The timing was everything. Losing seconds could mean losing your meal.

They are hiding.

That's okay. I like hide and seek. I could feel myself making a wicked smile as I walked to where they were. My fangs were now the dominating feature of my face, making me look daunting. I could tell by their panic that they had heard the stories about the evil creatures of the night roaming the streets in town. One of the strigoi I've tagged along with lets some of his prey go so that they can send word to others about the danger lurking around in the street. It was a stupid idea, but it did bring people to their knees in fear. The human told the others that we are stronger than we look (they must think we are on some sort of steroid), have red eyes and pale white skin (make them think we are albino), and have razor-sharp pointy teeth. They probably label us as vampires, which is one hundred percent accurate.

I came up to a vacant parking lot. I shook my head. Like all horror stories, the bad ending always has to stop at a creepy place. For some reason, vacant parking lots with a woodsy area always give me that creepy feeling. WHY?! Not that it mattered to me. I got a thrill out of it.

WHAM! Something hard hit me in the back of the head, sending me down on my knees, and then eventually I laid my head down. I could feel my head split open. I saw a blurry vision of a man standing before me followed by the girl coming up beside him. She grabbed his hand and made him make a run for it with her.

I took a deep, painful breath. Come on you stupid endorphins, kick in. I got up, biting through the pain as the endorphins kicked in. The girl screamed as she looked back, looking at me with her scared blue-green eyes and her beach blond hair in her face. 

"He's getting up. Aleksandr!" She half shrieked, half cried.

I got up and started walking towards them. Little did they know that the wound was already partly healed.

They ran down the deserted Kirzavod suburb street in Novosibirsk and then down an ally. Bummer for them, I already knew these streets.

I knew them because they were my hunting grounds. I had to get rid of a few problems; others who had claimed it before I ever came here.

There was only one rule: the strongest gets first dibs.

I climbed up the ladder of the fire escape to the rooftop of the nearest building of the ally that the humans ran down. I was on the rooftop in seconds because of my strigoi speed. I climbed the steel ladder effortlessly, and in a way, it felt like I was just gliding up. When I am on a hunt I feel like I am invincible, like no one could stop me.