Beast of the Night

Revenge - ONE

As the world declined into a holocaust, creatures with a lust for blood took control of all races. Mankind, the predators of nature, became hunted, the animals falling further down the pyramid of a crooked hierarchy. In the fleeting time that had passed, the sun rose slowly, only to fall as quickly as the tide of the ocean. The earth had retrogressed to the horrors of the animal kingdom, almost like evolution had taken place in the souls of men. With their hearts hardening and becoming as black as the night, their appearances changed, their thoughts, and their appetite. All it took was one bite, to turn you into a wicked monster. The population of humans tucked themselves away in seclusion, so they would not be captured by the beasts that caused their jeopardy. The surviving humans named these beasts vampires.

The leaves shook with a soft breeze, the blackened night approaching the vast forests of Wales. It was in the years of the 1800s, although no one had an interest in keeping records. The country had fallen apart anyway. recording dates was much too important for anyone to care about. The creatures of the trees gave cursory glances under and around, knowing of the grave danger that threatened all mortals. A rustle approached the low trees, quiet footsteps following the growing noise. Out of the shrubs came a younger man holding a worn-down riffle; his skin was freckled from the morning sun, his crescent curved eyes focused intently. Skinny arms and a short appearance, his body covered in chestnut brown rags of a poor man. These soft features but a belligerent mindset made him an angel in disguise. This human called himself Vee Elrod, as once did his deceased family, taken by an intruder with deathly fangs.

Murmuring and cackling was audible from his position, the male's riffle cocked and ready as a group of lower vampires gathered in benevolent smiles, but duplicity in their intentions. Each of the beasts had rags covered in dust; most of the vampires were lowly city folk on the verge of starvation. One of the creatures stood by a small carriage carrying a steel empty cage; his legs stood crossed and his hands carried a lasso. Vee adjusted the barrel of his gun, his knuckles white with his tight grip.

"Die..." Vee muttered under his little breath.

It was almost ironic. The beauty of this little man was that of a god. He would have been better off forgetting his past, to work in the upper village. But, with his unscarred skin, most, if not all, vampires would notice. With a blossom-like scent, such a sweet nectar for any changeling to lay their teeth to, Vee would be gobbled up in a moment. Just like his wife had been. Just like his little infant had been. If Vee had to see the monster, whoever it was; the vampire to damn his entire existence to revenge; Lord only knows what would be done to that beast.

There was no feasible mercy left in Vees soul, corrupted by his longing for retribution. The nostalgia he felt for his son and wife nearly drove him mad, to the point of pulling the trigger. A loud crash echoed through the forest as one of the humanoids fell to the ground, dead, as the bullet had shot from its barrel. Vee flinched at the noise, but grimaced with hatred, pointing the tip of the riffle to the others baring fangs. As the vampires fell, one by one, Vee neither felt a pain in his heart, nor any joy of redemption.

Vee believed his work was done. What else could he do? The man was much too weak to wrestle against a vampire, and definitely couldn't lift up the body of one. Vee stood from his hiding spot, turning and spitting on the ground with glistening eyes. "Horrid monsters..."

He gulped down the tears in his aching throat to keep from sobbing. But soon, the man felt a sudden chill, the air growing eerie. A rustle approached his tiny pale ears, making the peach dull eyes turn wide with worry.

A tight hand wrapped round Vee's wrist, making the young man gasp with fear, "Get off of me you-!" Grabbed from the wrists by a lunging arm, Vee screamed out as he was pulled back in the bushes, shortened and cracked black nails digging into his skin as he slowly fell unconscious under the suffocating grip. Vee never had any tolerance for pain. Maybe that was another reason this absurd hunt for vampires was just that. Absurd. The night went silent, only the faint growls of beasts could be heard.

...