Ava is a 19 year old girl, who used to be a subject of experiments involving vampiric DNA. She doesn't remember the early years of her life and lives a (somewhat) ordinary life in a war-torn world. One day she finds herself lost in the woods and mak...
Four days have passed since Ava arrived at the mansion. During that time she didn't get to see Ruby much, except for when it was time for supper. Most of her day, she spent locked in her room, thinking of ways she could get Lynn out of the attic and escape this city safely without being followed. The only other person she could trust in the mansion was Marcus, who she also barely got to see lately.
Her attempts at having a conversation with him were often met with short answers or him turning a cold shoulder. She never once saw him smile, it didn't take long for her to figure out that he hated his position as the leader's right-hand man. The few things she knew about him, were that his mother had passed away shortly after he got turned into a vampire and the fact that he, Ruby, and Elenor were the only surviving members of the old clan.
She didn't feel the desire to sleep due to the overwhelming anxiety she felt. The wailing of people mourning their fate, locked in the room next to hers didn't help either. More than a few times she thought about using her lock-picking skills to set them free, but feared the consequences. There were always at least two vampires patrolling each corridor at any time.
In the rare moments, she did doze off, her dreadful dream was replaced with memories from the house in the woods. Those pleasant memories were quickly smeared like ripples in the ocean, broken by the sound of someone screaming as they were being dragged out to be used as dinner.
This time, however, her slumber was shaken by something much more dreadful.
"Wakey, wakey." Ava heard Ruby's voice and upon opening her eyes, she saw her face inches away from hers as the woman was lying on the bed next to her, wearing a peaceful smile. The sight made the jump from her spot as if she had seen a ghost. "Didn't mean to startle you. Sorry for waking you up at this hour, but I don't want you to miss the show."
"What show?" Asked Ava, her heart still beating like crazy.
"You'll see."
***
There was a huge balcony on the top floor. At least three times the size of the room Ava slept in. The weather was chilling enough to make a polar bear shiver. If you happen to throw a glass of water it would turn to ice before it had the chance to hit the ground.
The sun wasn't up yet, but by the color of the clouds the girl could tell it was only minutes before sunrise. There, near the edge were about a dozen people tied up, standing on their knees. Marcus was there as well, lifting the cotton bags, and covering their heads to reveal their bruised-up mugs. The girl recognized them by the insignia on their hoodies. They were the gang that attacked them earlier.
"That's all of them, boss." Proclaimed the boy loudly.
"Good. You did well. "Said Ruby in her usual sweet tone. "Now go back inside."
He obeyed without wasting a moment.
"Do you know why you are here?" The woman asked, throwing a questioning look at the gang members, similar to the one of a strict teacher during exams. "Anyone?"
Only one of the men there mustered the courage to speak. His lower lip was busted and half of his face was blue and swollen.
"Forgive us for attacking you. It was a mistake. If you let us go, you won't hear from us again." He croaked.
"You didn't answer my question." Continued Ruby. "Anyone else?"
Ava touched the scar on her neck by instinct. To her, it was an obvious act of revenge for wounding her in the fight four days ago. A chill went down her spine as she suddenly realized what her friend meant by a "show".
"Ruby, you don't need to do this because of me. Just let them be-" she said, trying to stay as calm as possible.
"Because of you? No." Ruby interrupted her. "I mean that's partly the reason, but in reality, the reason for their capture is much simpler." She came closer to the tied-up people, leaning forward to get a better look at their petrified faces. "I just can't stand idiots like them. Thinking that my defense would get weaker once they captured my right-hand man as if that would affect me in any way whatsoever. I'm simply doing mankind a favor by purging the Earth of their stupidity."
"Please have mercy on us!" Another one of the members cried out.
"Mercy? Oh, I am being merciful. Otherwise, I would have just hypnotized you into killing each other. You're lucky I don't like using my ability on small fries like you."
The sun's rays slowly crept from behind the endless array of buildings. Ava noticed how the vampires's faces turned red, bubbles forming on their glowing skin. They didn't even have time to cry before bursting into flames, filling the area with their agonizing screams. The fire grew larger and larger until it faded, leaving nothing behind but a pile of ash and cinder. By the time the dust settled, it was already dawn.
Ruby marched towards the remains, kicking their charred bones with a satisfied look on her face. Her friend however did not share that same feeling and was staring at her with disapproval.
"Next time I would prefer it if you let me sleep during the execution." Said Ava, brushing off some of the ash that fell over her clothes, carried by the wind.
"You're no fun. Why do you even care about these losers? They were vampires who tried to kill you." Said Ruby.
"Nobody deserves to die. We don't live in medieval times where they threw the death penalty left and right with complete disregard over the sanctity of a human life."
"Are you going to lecture me on morality again? You're making me miss that one time when you went berserk..."
"Because of you! Should have just let me die back then. At least then I wouldn't have to witness the animal you have become!"
"It's all a point of perspective, sweetie. I see my actions as completely justified. They come after my people and for that, they suffer the consequences. You can't play with fire without expecting to get burnt." She chuckled. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Okay then. If you are so adamant about justice and fairness then let's make a deal. I challenge you to a fair fight. No hypnosis, no juicing up on vampire blood, no exterior weapons. Just you and me. If I win - you let both me and Lynn go without following us. If you win - I'll do whatever the hell you want from me."
"A fight?" The smirk on Ruby's face grew wider, showing the sharp teeth underneath her blood-red lipstick. "Now that's a side from you I'd like to see more of. We have a deal."
As they shook hands, Ava noticed droplets of sweat starting to form on her friend's face, but her expression remained full of glee.
"What's wrong? Are you getting cold feet all of a sudden?" Asked Ava with a newfound confidence.
"No, you must be mistaken." Ruby wiped off the sweat from her forehead. "I simply can't stand the heat."
"The heat?" The girl looked at her confused. It was still negative degrees outside, she was trembling on her spot, wondering when they'd finally go back inside.
"We shall fight two weeks from now. I'll give you some time to prepare. After all, it would be really disappointing if I took you down with just a few hits. So promise me you'll give it your all."
"We'll see who takes down who."
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