Bloodlust: Sliver of Moonlight

13

Damien propped Rosalina on one arm and looked around the base. It looked like a tornado swept through, followed by a hurricane. Cots and weapons laid scattered all over the place, bodies and piles of ashes that used to be bodies littered the floor as well. Rosalina kneeled down to one of the bodies and examined the injuries. The man's body was riddled with slashes and bites.

"This can't be anyone else's work but Alex and Marcus," Rosalina choked, tears coming down her face. Damien turned around, avoiding the gruesome image. He sat down on a cot, exhausted and throbbing in pain. Rosalina stood up and began to walk towards Damien, her face pale and soaked with tears. Damien looked up and stood up as well. He walked towards Rosalina and put a hand on her shoulder. Rosalina looked at her shoulder and quickly hugged Damien. Damien wrapped an arm around Rosalina and rested his chin on the top of her head. Rosalina shook in Damien's arm, trying to hold in her cries. She looked up at Damien, her red eyes welled up with tears. She leaned closer to Damien when a faint moan echoed in the base. Rosalina turned to the moan and grabbed Damien's hand, pulling him with her. The two followed the sound and found Maximus lying on the ground, puncture wounds lined his chest. Rosalina ran to her father's side and rested a hand on his chest.

"Dad..." Rosalina whispered, "What happened...?"

Maximus coughed, "Rosalina...where's Da-...?" Rosalina moved out of his view. Damien walked to Maximus's other side and helped him up. 

"It's...much worse than I ever imagined..." Maximus groaned as Damien walked him into a medic tent that was still standing. Damien laid Maximus onto a cot and started to run to get medical supplies, but Maximus grabbed Damien's arm. 

"Listen to me..." Maximus wheezed, "I don't...have much time..." Rosalina and Damien both leaned in to listen.

"Marcus...and Alexandra..." Maximus began to speak, "They're heading to the surface..."

"We know," Rosalina whispered, "In three days-"

"No..." Maximus groaned, "The army is advancing...tomorrow." Damien face grew pale.

Dad... Damien thought. He leaned closer to Maximus, looking at Rosalina with worry.

"She...took us out..." Maximus said, "Didn't know...you two were gone." Maximus grabbed Rosalina's hand and held it tightly, "Rosalina, Damien...you are our only hope..." Maximus smiled and look up at the tarp. The hand that held Rosalina's fell limp, his body fading into a grey color. Rosalina looked at her father, tears streaming down like rivers.

"DAD!!!!" Rosalina screamed, burying her face into her father's chest. She knelt there, her cries echoing through the base. Damien looked down at the ground and heavily sighed. Damien placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Marcus and Alex..." Damien whispered in her ear, "They will pay for the lives they took. All of them." Rosalina nodded, propping herself up with her one good arm. She turned to Damien with grief stricken over her face.

"Yes..." Rosalina said with angst and rage, "They will." She cocked her head towards to a spare tarp on the ground. Damien grabbed the tarp and unfolded it, laying it on top of Maximus's dead body.  Rosalina breathed shakily, watching Damien cover her father. 

"We need to tend to your arm," Damien said, "You can't fight Marcus and Alex with a broken arm. Ask Gohan."

Damien sat patiently, next to Rosalina. Her arm was in a sling, but she assured Damien that her arm will heal in a few hours. Damien sighed, periodically looking over at Rosalina. Roslaina kept her gaze on the ground, lightly shaking. Damien went to put his arm around her, but stopped. Rosalina looked up at Damien's arm and scooted into Damien's arm. She laid her head on Damien's arm, using her free hand to hold his.

"Rossie, I'm sorry," Damien whispered, "Your father was a good man." Rosalina looked up at Damien and raised an eyebrow.

"'Rossie'?" Rosalina asked.

"Well, I thought that, you know..." 

Rosalina giggled, "It's okay. I think it's kind of cute." She sighed and slid closer to Damien.

"Damien, earlier you asked about my mom. Why I resent her," Rosalina said. Damien looked down at her and nodded.

"You don't have to, Rossie," Damien whispered, but Rosalina shook her head.

"It's fine," Rosalina said, "The truth is: when I was born...my mom tried to kill me. Tried to suffocate me when we got home. For the next few years, I lived with harassment and violence. She resented me, hated me. Called me a 'disappointment' to her. So then Dad came back one night after being turned, and then my mom lost it. She grabbed a knife and tried to stab me to death, but my dad intervened. And when she dropped the knife, I picked it up and..." Her voice trailed off, looking down once again. Damien scrunched his eyebrows for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Holy shit," Damien said, turning his head to Rosalina. Rosalina nodded in embarrassment.

"All that rage and pain she caused," Rosalina said, fiddling with her fingers, "It all was unleashed then. I didn't know how to stop. Then, my dad pulled me aside and asked me to help him. He turned me that night. And now...here I am." Rosalina gave a half smile to Damien, before looking down. Damien looked down as well, contemplating on what to do.

"Now my dad is dead," Rosalina said, "Everyone...and it's all my fault..." Damien turned Rosalina's face to his and planted a kiss right onto her lips. Rosalina gasped in surprise, but quickly melted into the kiss. She wrapped her free arm around his neck and Damien put his hands on her hips. The two stayed in their embrace for a long minute. Rosalina pulled herself away slowly, blushing very hard.

"Don't beat yourself up," Damien smiled, "We have to fight now. We're all that's left." Rosalina began to look back down, but Damien grabbed her chin and turned her face to his.

"It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were," Damien said, "Right now, people's lives are in danger. For the world above: tomorrow changes everything. If we can't stop them, we can at least get the people out." Damien stood up and walked towards the exit.

"Get rest," Damien said, "We have work to do tomorrow."

"Where are we going?" Rosalina asked, climbing into the bed and under a think blue sheet. Damien looked at Rosalina, then turned around.

"Home," he responded, and walked out the door.