THE DARKEST HOPE

Chapter 2

THE DARKEST HOPE 

Chapter 2 

The scenery was rolling dark and gloomy before Jungkook's eyes. The wet streets of the dirty city galloped by the window as the car swiftly found its way out of the labyrinth of narrow and broken roads, surrounded by ancient buildings, partly crumbled on one side, dusty windows, gaping darkly at different places, leaning and broken walls, buildings as sad and unfriendly as their owners, hidden deeply inside the dirty rooms, going out only when necessary. Sometimes some pale unhealthy face peaked briefly behind the dirty glass, but quickly disappeared inside its hideout.

That was all the life Jungkook knew, here inside these darkly and unfriendly neighborhoods. He was told stories about how people lived differently back in the days, how there were food and work for most of them, how they were happier and healthier, living a different, unimaginable life of peace, calm and prosperity. But not now. Not since the vampire virus spread fifty years ago like the plague back in the days, swallowing city after city until everything looked like a broken wasteland, dirty and crumbling by its own. The people who survived turned almost savage from the effort to keep their own lives, sometimes sacrificing friends and family in the process. The remains of humanity closed themselves into reinforced parts of the cities, surrounded by high, heavily guarded walls. That somewhat stopped the occasional raid of the crazed vampires, but eventually the virus would find its way inside the perimeter and there would be new bloodshed and horrors.

The virus was merciless and deadly. Once a person got infected there was no cure, no way out. Those who got ill slowly developed hunger for fresh blood, preferably human and within several weeks would slowly abandon their sanity until they transform into vicious, dangerous and mindless beasts. Limiting the spread of the disease was crucial and in the process were engaged not only the official government military forces but also a part of the civil population. For that reason the last years one of the most common jobs was "Vampire Virus Exterminator" also known as VVE, aka vampire hunters. Their task was to find and destroy every sign of the disease. If a person showed even the slightest symptoms of the disease, he/she would be hunted down and imprisoned into quarantined prisons and eventually as the illness progressed, exterminated or most commonly just killed on the spot. Even the children weren't spared. There was no other way to protect the rest but to engage a part of the healthy population into bloodshed and murder.

That was the reality in which Jungkook grew every day. Cruel and hopeless as it may be, when you come to know one thing all your life you eventually start to get used to it and even consider it normal and a part of the usual life. At least that is how it seemed to him at the moment. He thought that the life in the dirty back alleys was all the life he deserved or would ever have, simple and clear, no need to think much about it. Although his thoughts often drifted to a different place in town he had only seen from afar. For at the same time, alongside the poverty, illness and misery, there was the rich neighborhood. A place of security, wealth and glitter, reserved only for the privileged. The place was separated from the other parts of the town with an enormous stone wall, guarded heavily by militia. Inside were concentrated the homes of the rich families in the region, several scientists, doctors and all the necessary personnel the rich needed to attend to them. Time there has stopped almost fifty years ago. The place was wide and well developed. A huge, beautiful park in the middle of it was surrounded by wealthy manors; there were restaurants, a hospital, a school and all the other necessary facilities so that the needs of its inhabitants would be satisfied completely. That included a concert hall, clubs, expensive brothels and even a sport center. Inside were also the government buildings and the homes of the politicians currently responsible for governing the country, although most of them were mainly concentrated on eating, drinking and chasing all the pleasures of life before the deadly virus got to them. To get in one had to pass the heavily guarded barriers and have a special pass, a task impossible for the ordinary population, who only dared to steal a glance at the shiny vehicles, passing both ways through the barriers.