Don't Look at the Moon (Complete!)

Three

The morning had come for Virgil to be sent off. It seemed as if the whole town had come to watch him be sent into the woods on a quest that would probably get him killed.

But the only face Virgil cared about was his mother's.

"Virgil!" He heard her call out. "Let me say goodbye!" She shoved past the guards that lined the pathway Virgil was being escorted down. Virgil held his ground as the guards attempted to make him keep walking.

"Mother," Virgil cried. "I'm sorry, I should have listened, and I know I messed up. I'm going to come back, I promise."

"Virgil, all I want is for you to stay safe. I love you," she hugged him. Virgil wanted to hug her back, but the guards shoved his mother back into the crowd and forced Virgil to keep walking.

"I love you too, mother," Virgil whispered, not even loud enough for her to hear. He turned around once more, trying to catch one last glimpse of Maddison Crowe, but she was swallowed by the crowd that had come to see Virgil be sent into an incredibly likely death.

"Virgil Crowe, " the governor announced, glaring at Virgil. "You have been found guilty of thievery, and be hereby sentenced to stake the vampire that lives in these woods and has terrorized this town for decades. If you are seen in this town again without ample proof that you have done the deed, you will be hanged. You will be given ample supplies for your noble quest that must be completed in order for you to return. Are your instructions clear, Virgil Crowe?"

"Yes, " Virgil muttered, barely loud enough for the governor to hear him. Virgil was handed a backpack of food, a roughly drawn map of the woods, and a vampire hunting kit, which contained a cross, a wooden stake, and several vials of holy water, all things which were said to be able to kill vampires.

The guards led Virgil to the path that would lead him to the center of the forest. It was mostly used by merchants traveling from town to town, but it also led through the woods. Virgil felt the stares of hundreds of eyes watching him as he walked down the worn path, his heart pounding as every step took him closer to the confrontation of a nightmarish creature.

Eventually the well-travelled merchant path gave way. Now the only path Virgil could find in the dense wood was an overgrown animal path. Virgil followed to the best he could, but he lost the path before it was even midday. Despite the sun overhead, Virgil had trouble seeing in the dense woods, the sunlight filtering through the branches of trees casting ominous shadows on the ground. Several times, Virgil thought something-or someone- was following him. But it was all in his head, right? There wasn't anything in the woods that could hurt him yet! He was still close to the town, still able to catch a glimpse of the flag blowing in the wind on top of the highest church spire.

Sometime later, perhaps minutes or hours, a crunching noise shook Virgil out of his thoughts. He looked around the woods, searching for the source of the noise. To his left, Virgil spotted a deer, standing still as one of the statues that decorated the town hall. Virgil would have been comforted by the sight of the animal, had it not been looking somewhere else, it's eyes wide and ears pointed toward the noise. Virgil followed it's gaze deeper into the forest, trying to catch a glimpse of what the doe saw that made it so frightened.

He felt his hand creep toward the vampire killing tools he had been supplied with, pulling out the wooden cross.

It's probably nothing. But just in case, Virgil tried to reassure himself that there was no threat as he glanced up at the sun. He swore as he saw how low on the horizon it had set, turning the sky a deep shade of red that only reminded Virgil of the blood the vampire would steal from him. Virgil looked back at where the deer had been and watched as it ran off.

More branches cracked, and Virgil tried in vain to find what was making the noise. He stepped backward, attempting to put distance between himself and the unknown threat. His back hit what he thought to be a tree, but before Virgil could turn around, he felt an arm wrap around his throat and choke him.

"What are you doing here?" A voice behind him asked.

"Please," Virgil gasped. "Let me go. I'll tell you anything you need."

"Seriously? You're not going to struggle? I thought this would have been more fun," the pressure around his neck stopped and Virgil could breathe again. He turned around, gripping the wooden cross he had been given.

A shorter figure stood in front of him, a hood over their face that revealed nothing but their smile.

"So tell me," they said, stepping closer to Virgil. "What are you doing all the way out here, in the middle of the woods?"

What did Virgil say to them? Should he lie and say that he was lost? Did he tell them that he was going to kill the vampire? They would never believe him, but what if the figure in front of him was one of the terrible creatures? Would Virgil be bled dry before he even made it to the old castle?

"Oh, I see," the cloaked figure took the cross out of Virgil's hands before he even saw them move. "You're here to kill us."

Us? What did they mean by that? Unless- no, no! He hadn't come across a vampire already!

No, they weren't a vampire! They could hold the cross!

"What do you mean- us?" Virgil worked up the courage to ask, realizing that he would not like the answer.

"Easy. I'm also a vampire. And yeah, I'm holding the cross. Wrong religion, pal." The figure glanced at the moon Virgil hadn't realized had come up. They took off their hood, revealing someone with purple hair who looked to be just a little bit older than Virgil. "And the boss knows you're here, so he sent me to take you to him. I'm Talyn, by the way."

Talyn grabbed Virgil's arm, and in a blur, Virgil wasn't standing in the woods anymore.

He stood at the gates of a castle overgrown with ivy and bushes, his heart beating faster and faster as he realized what was about to happen.

He was about to meet the apparent leader of the vampires.

The one he was sent to kill.