Four Fangs

001 - Birds of a Feather

It had been an hour since I started running, and I wanted to go home.

When you're running all you have is yourself, your feet carrying you through the hundreds of pounds of force of each step, the music from your headphones humming in your ears, and your thoughts, unceasing waves of consciousness. And my seemingly endless, newfound stamina gave me too much time to spend alone in my head thinking about matters I would really prefer not to. My stomach growled.

Like that one.

The frenetic guitar riff cut off as I yanked out the earbuds and dabbed the dripping sweat from my forehead and rubbed the stinging salt from my eyes. When I opened them, there was a girl walking in my direction, cutting through flower beds and hedges as if she were on a mission and had calculated the shortest path to her goal. Long, platinum blonde hair clung to her lean frame and her unsettling steel-gray eyes seemed to look right through me.

I stepped into the grass to let her get by, but she stopped right in front of me and stuck out her hand. "Just as I was getting bored. Hi, I'm Sera."

She'd mistaken me for someone else, the poor thing. "Um, who are you?" I said as I accepted her handshake. Shit, I thought. Did I grip too hard? An equally strong squeeze from the weird girl assured me otherwise. I shivered in relief, remembering the drunken time I crushed a man's hand as easily as a rice ball.

"A friend. I'm like you."

I took a step back. This girl is mental. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sera spoke, revealing unusually long and pointed canines. "What does blood mean to you?"

I froze. "What do you want?"

"I can help you."

If there was one thing I didn't believe in, it was the goodwill of humanity. And I hadn't exactly had good experiences with my kind either — the only one I'd met had torn me apart and left me for dead. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"I know what you've been up to." Sera leaned closer, her green shirt brushing against my own. "Blue Moon." She returned to her original position, allowing me my much appreciated personal space. "Actually, I've been looking for you. Didn't expect you to be like me though. What you've been doing, playing hero, it won't work. You need my help before you do something you regret — like I did."

After taking off her drawstring backpack, Sera rifled through it and pulled out a metal bottle, offering it to me.

I took it, confused. Mom always said not to take things from strangers. Guess I'm a bad child, but I already knew that. Tilting the bottle back and forth, I heard liquid slosh inside. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Probably, I can't read minds. Why don't you come sit?"

After a moment of hesitation, I followed her to the bench and sat at the opposite end, almost as far away as I could get.

"You can drink it now if you want."

I wanted. Wanted it enough that I didn't care I was in a city park surrounded by people or that I got this from a girl I just met. I unscrewed the lid and was overwhelmed by the sweet scent, my mouth moist. In a series of continuous swigs I downed the container of crimson ambrosia, all my senses brightening and electrifying as if it had jolted me from a nightmare into a more pleasant world.

"Sorry, it's a couple days old," Sera said.

"It's.." I struggled to rein in my laborious breathing, barely spitting out the words. "Fine."

A minute later, I composed myself. "How did you know it was me?"

Sera cocked her head. "Your aura."

"What's that?"

"The glowing fields around living things? Do you see them?"

I shook my head.

Sera's brow furrowed. "You might have one of the older versions of the virus."

"A virus, that's what this is?"

She nodded. "I used to think it was a curse. Sometimes, I still do. But the scientists I've talked to say it's a virus, one that has evolved over the years and split into different types. Most of those with the old virus are in Siberia and have a quite... antiquated lifestyle. They refused to cooperate with us and we decided it'd be better, for both sides, if we left them alone. Unfortunately, that means they've only studied the new virus, the one I have."

"A curse, huh. I feel that." Under an oak tree, a mom purchased a pink ice cream cone from the vendor and handed it to her child whose face lit up with innocent delight.

"It's not all bad though. We never grow old. We have incredible power." Sera laughed. "Yeah, that's about it."

"Is there a cure?" I asked, hoping.

"When have you ever heard of someone un-becoming a vampire? That kind of story doesn't exist. The scientists are too concerned with getting immortality for themselves and the rest of humanity. Once they crack that secret they'll research how to reverse it, but they're a long way from either of those things. Decades, even centuries away."

My heart sank at the news, fears confirmed. Sometimes, it's better to not have expectations, to not hope. This was one of those times.

"That blood you gave me, it wasn't free, was it?" I asked, a sinking feeling in my gut.

"It was. No strings attached. You can walk away right now."

This is too good a deal. "Then tell me why I shouldn't."

"If you let me join you on your outings," she said, putting air quotes around the word, "I'll give you more. As much as you want. Just let me be a hero for once in my life."

This is way too good a deal. "But... Why?"

Sera sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I tried. I tried to live a life without fighting. It's what I thought I wanted. It was what I wanted. But I can't do it — not after everything I've seen and experienced, not after knowing what I can do, what I can change. Maybe some part of me thinks I can make up for what I've done, blood for blood. I doubt it will, but I still want to try."

"Well," I said, smiling, "if you want to be the Blue Moon's sidekick, you're gonna need a name."

"I've already got one — Red Knight."