VALERIA

Chapter Four.

The woods was more than Batty could've ever imagined. The further she and Connor traveled, the more the scenery morphed into that of a common village. There were even people that lived there. Not just that though. They were monster people by the looks of it. Connor pointed it out first. A woman pushing a stroller with a child in it. Upon closer inspection, you could see her elongated teeth. She was a werewolf mother pushing her puppy! At first, Batty had to stop and breath. It was too much.

"Batty, it's okay. It's . . it's a lot, but. They aren't coming for us. Maybe the cat is protecting us," Connor held a trembling Batty in his arms. "They're looking at us like we're regulars." Batty peered around. In fact, they were. The village people were going about their day but some had stopped to look at the disruptive tourists in disdain. She assumed the folks with the light blue skin might be vampires, for she couldn't see their fangs but they looked dead and sexy. Then some that dragged their feet and groaned — she assumed those were the zombies. But none seemed to want to kill them. It felt like they were in the heart of town.

"Can . . I help you folks?" A voice blossomed from behind the two teens. Both of them jumped in horror and whipped around. Standing there was another blue figure, clad in black. He had chocolate brown wavy hair a piercing green eyes. He looked embarrassed for them and a bit impatient. "You're kind of blocking the market center, and . . you reek." He wrinkled his nose, taking a step back. Connor and Batty were both froze in place, holding each other, but Batty spoke first. "You're hot," She admitted in awe. "But where are we?"

The boy rolled his eyes upward. "Is this a joke?" He asked. When neither of them spoke, he sighed, corralling the two to the side of the center. "This is the marketplace so unless you're trying to shop for organics, move out of everyone's way." Batty gently removed herself from Connor's grasp and looked the vampire up and down. "You drink blood, not organic produce!" She accused, pointing. The vampire stared at her finger then frowned, " . . Someone of us choose differently. But that's not the point! You said you don't know where you are? You don't just end up here. No human ever comes this far, let alone two."

Batty looped her arm with Connor and raised her chin, "Well, we did. God, I feel . . I feel like I might faint. Is this real or did I seriously hit my head?" The vampire snagged Batty's hand and dragged her off, thus dragging Connor. The action broke Connor out of his daze and he spoke up finally, "Wait, where are we going? Where are you taking us?" The vampire looked over his shoulder and scoffed. "If you're so scared, just let go of my hand, right?" He looked away again, pushing onward through the little homes. They looked to be made of sticks and hay and leaves, amongst other natural materials. Some were even made from stone and scraps from the world outside of the woods. Batty wondered if they got out much or if the legends were true that they only were free during Halloween.

"Anyway, I'm taking you to the King. He'll know what to do with you two. Humans are not safe here by any means, trust me," The boy explained, then added, "Oh, and I'm Cassius. Pure vampire." Batty oo'd, glancing over at Connor. Connor looked dismayed and . . piqued. "So, in theory, you could just bite us? Make us like you?" He asked bravely, hints of a smirk on his lips. Cassius stopped abruptly and turned around on the two teenagers. He backed them into the side of a home. "No. That's never gonna happen. Do not ask me that again. Or anyone else, 'lest you run into a less friendly guy."

Batty's heart was racing a million miles an hour. Connor's eyes never faltered from Cassius's, even as the vampire backed away and turned off, trench coat catching in the wind as he went. "Hot . ." Connor breathed, peeling away from the house and following suit. Batty shook her head and trailed after them. The King's palace was a massive building. It was not tall, but it was lengthy, surrounded by a moat of mutated alligator creatures. Or maybe they were just alligators. A wooden bridge connected the land to the actual building.