Bloodlust: Sliver of Moonlight

9

Rosalina led Damien back to his room, looking closely at his newly-acquired eye color.

"Throws everything off, don't you think?" Damien said, holding a small mirror up to his eye, "I mean: one's red. The other is normal. It's just weird." Rosalina groaned in frustration, opening the door to his room.

"Yes. Yes it does," Rosalina agreed, slightly annoyed, "Now if you would stop looking at yourself like you're a fucking princess, get changed into combat gear. We have work to do."

"Three things," Damien said, turning around to face Rosalina, "One: don't talk to me like that. Two: don't talk to me like that. And three: I don't believe in combat gear."

"Fine then," Rosalina snapped, slamming the door behind them. She walked off in front of Damien, who instantly followed her back down to an open section with a padded floor. She stood at one end and pointed to Damien to stand at the other end.

"What's this about?" Damien said, standing at the opposite end of the padded area.

"You're not going to be able to master your new abilities in an instant like those superheroes you guys seem to be fond of," Rosalina said, "So I'm going to train you. Condition you to become accustomed to these new powers." She took a step to the side and held her hand out, "First: I want you to run to the end of this area and back as fast as you can." Damien smiled and began running at his top speed. Rosalina took out a tiny gold stopwatch and clocked him. When he got back, heaving and sweating, Rosalina checked her watch and shook her head.

"You know: for a guy who was fantasizing about superspeed," Rosalina said, looking at Damien, "That sure didn't seem like it."

"You try...running that long," Damien huffed, "And not...get tired..."

Rosalina shrugged, "With gusto." At that instant, Rosalina took off quickly and reappeared back at Damien's side seconds later with a cold bottle of water in her hand. She handed it to Damien, who snatched it out of her hand.

"Fucking show-off," Damien huffed again, taking a giant gulp of the water.

"A common misconception about some vampires is that we are just innately fast," Rosalina said, "But actually, it's like a lot of things. To run fast, you have to want to run fast."

"So I just have to 'want it'?" Damien said, standing up. Rosalina nodded, standing out of Damien's way. Damien sighed, and took another running stance.

Be fast, he thought, I want the speed. Damien began to run faster, faster than he ever ran before in his life. He looked around at his surroundings. Everything around him was blurry, zooming past other people around him. He went back to Rosalina and skidded to a halt, looking around frantically. Rosalina looked back at her stopwatch and nodded.

"Not bad," Rosalina says, tossing the stopwatch aside with slight jealousy, "You learn faster than I thought."

"Haha," Damien snickered, "I'm better than you."

"Don't push your luck, Damien," Rosalina sneered, running to Damien in a second and slugs him in the stomach. Damien collapsed, trying to catch his breath.

"You're not good enough yet," Rosalina laughed, staring down at Damien, "You still need a lot of training. Like how to take a punch."

"Fuck you," Damien wheezed, flipping Rosalina the middle finger. She smiled, picking Damien up by his jacket and throwing him to the other side of the floor.

"Wish you had that combat gear now, don't you?" Rosalina laughed again, prancing over to him. Damien coughed, crawling to his knees.

"Sucker punch, much?" Damien coughed. He tried to get up, but Rosalina was on him in an instant, stomping him in the back. Damien howled, trying to wriggle out from under her boot.

"Marcus and Alex are brutal, unfeeling creatures," Rosalina said, "You have to be ready. Be glad I'm being nice."

"This is nice?!" Damien screamed, "I don't see it!" Rosalina sighs, and picks up Damien again. This time, she slammed him repeatedly against the ground and tosses him back. Damien spun around, landing onto his feet. He ran towards Rosalina, swinging at her face with a fist. Rosalina chuckled, slightly moving her head away. Damien snarled, lunging at Rosalina with flurries of punches and kicks. Rosalina seamlessly dodges all his attacks and boots Damien in the face. Damien fell backwards, then hopped back to his feet.

"You have to outwit them," Rosalina said, "Outsmart them. Find another angle of attack." Damien looked at her, drops of blood falling down his nose. He ran to Rosalina, who shook her head. Then, Damien dropped and slid between her feet, tripping her. She fell to the ground, surprised. She climbed back up just to see Damien swing his fist into her face. She flew back a few feet from the blow. Rosalina rubbed a finger on her lip and smiled.

"Took you long enough," Rosalina said. Damien breathed heavily, on the verge of collapsing onto the floor.

"Well...I do learn faster," Damien mocked. Rosalina cracked her neck and ran to Damien. Damien braced himself, lunging his fist at hers. The two collided, sending a mild shockwave throughout the area. Rosalina kneed Damien in the stomach, while Damien slugged Rosalina in the jaw. They both staggered backwards, panting. Rosalina nodded to Damien, who fell to one knee.

"Good..." Rosalina huffed, "You're getting used to the changes in your body. Get some rest."

"Rest?" Damien replied, "I just got my nutsacks kicked in. How can I rest?" But Rosalina was gone, leaving Damien alone in the darkness. He sighed and made his way back to his room and closes the door silently behind him. He laid back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. As Damien looked up, he felt his eyes becoming heavier and heavier until they closed, falling asleep.

Damien awoke once again in a dream, but in a scene much different than before. He awoke what looked like to be Santa Monica, but consumed in fire, the screaming of civilians rang in the sky. He looked around to figure out what happened. Then, Damien heard laughter behind him. He turned to see Marcus and Alexandra, both dressed in blood red armor, walking towards him. In Alexandra's hand was, to Damien's shock and fear, Rosalina's newly dismembered head. Marcus leaned down to Damien's level and whispered in his ear.

"They asked for a savior," Marcus slyly whispered, "And all they got was a human. How pitiful..."

"You won't save them all," Alex laughed, tossing Rosalina's head over to Damien, "You'll never save them. They're doomed. This is the end of your world...and the beginning of ours." Marcus smiled as he bit hard into Damien's neck.