Blood Moon

6 | Away from Home

It's the first time that I'll be leaving our woodland home. I've been raised among birds, the trees and beautiful waters. The woods are too big and we've only managed to move from one far side to the other.  I'm not able to train in the cities, mountains, and swamps since I never got past the "Woods level". 

The Feeding isn't something you can predict and Newborn vampires are most likely human survivors like us who were turned by the Night coven. They usually are sent out for killing hunters but Newborns cannot control their insatiable thirst and end up killing not just the hunters of any group. They do not have human qualities by the time they turn - leaving them with only the need to feed. 

The last ambush we encountered was 5 years ago and before that, I was too small to remember. The Night coven doesn't roam the woods too often since hunters here are too strong. The last ambush killed most of the Night coven's Newborns and most of our loved ones as well. 

Mother Maia is the mother we all grew up with. She took us from different places with most of us already orphaned either by circumstance or by the vampire takeover.  I remember her singing me a lullaby to sleep and telling me stories about the world they used to live in. It always fascinated me. But everything crumbled down when the takeover happened.  

Mother Maia told us how the vampires took over slowly and silently but Newborn vampires caused the abomination.  Technology fell as businesses collapsed and homes were invaded. Eventually, human resources became scarce and people turned on each other, one betrayal after another. 

But the world, it's still beautiful. We learned to appreciate what we have. Nature was once tampered with by humans and animals slaughtered for sport. But now? Humans live among them. The majority of the survivors resided with nature - forests, mountains, rivers, the seasides. Humanity's cruelty toward Earth gradually disappeared. We, the survivors, learned to depend on each other to live. But of course, survival isn't for the weak and there are a few who do not survive by helping others but by destroying them and benefiting from their hard work. These are the people that mother Maia warned us about and taught us to never just trust anyone. 

We must save mother Maia and Jermaine. We weren't raised to leave anyone behind nor allow them to be taken away. I just hope they're still alive. But nevertheless, we will not come home until they are with us - even if, the worst is to come, that we come home with just their corpses. 

"We're almost by the roads," says Ciro. "Lost in thought again?" 

"Um, uh, yeah," I answer. "I'm just praying that we get there in time." 

"Oh, we will, Selene. We will," he assures me. 

Ciro is so serious. He doesn't take his focus out of the goal. He's been like this since last night and although it's saddening what had caused his change, I find it endearing.

"Am I that handsome?" Ciro says with a smirk. 

I snapped out of my daydreaming and instantly looked away. Damn, I was staring.

He laughs. 

"You're so adorable," he says. 

I blushed, still not looking back at him. 

"You know Selene, I may not have been the greatest older friend but I care." 

"Just remember that I still find it funny when you take a bath under the waterfalls in broad daylight completely naked."

I scoffed. "Ugh! I knew it! You were spying on me!"

He laughed. "I was not"

"But you watched me take a bath! That's so perverted!" 

"I didn't look, I swear!" and he holds his right hand up then draws an "x" across his chest. "Cross my heart". 

"Hope to die!?" I shout at him. 

He laughs heartily, looks at me with his brown eyes then laughs some more. 

He goes to walk ahead of me and I follow stomping my feet on the ground, scowling. 

~

I didn't know the road was going to be this long. We've been walking for hours but saw nothing. 

"Are you sure this is the right way?" I say to him.

"Yes. I've been to the city," answers Ciro. 

"I think we should take a rest. It's getting dark." I tell him.

"I suppose you're right." 

We camp by the trees near the road. We drank from the water bottle that we made and laid our belongings on the soil. 

Ciro gathered a few sticks and leaves and made a bonfire to keep us warm. 

"Want some dried fish?" I offered. 

"Thanks," says Ciro.

I stare at him by the fire while he eats. He's kinda cute. I never thought of him as more than just a friend but.. what the hell am I thinking!? 

I visibly shake my head to get those weird thoughts out of it and he sees me. 

"Are you okay? Did something bite you on the face or something?" he asks, grinning a little. 

As if he knew what I was just thinking. 

"I know what you're thinking," he says in between bites. 

"Huh?" I stammered. 

"Yeah." 

"You're thinking that we're lost and that I have no idea where we're headed," he says, not looking at me but continues to eat. 

"Uhm no, of course not!" I said in defense. 

"Hmm? Then what are you thinking about? Tell me. You used to tell me what you think, you know? When we were kids," he says.

"You used to tell me when you're scared and when you needed me to protect you from monsters." he smiled, clearly remembering those times. 

"Do you remember?" he looks at me with a hopeful smile. 

I just stared at him and nodded my head. My heart's racing, why is he telling me this?

"Oh, you do?" he chuckles. "It didn't seem like it when you started to avoid me."

I was shocked. Avoid him? I always talk to him. 

I still didn't respond. 

"It's like, just one day, you decided to not tell me what you thought. I felt us drifting apart." he continues. 

"Well, you were constantly pestering me!" I said, and probably shouldn't have because the expression on his face changed sourly. 

"What was I supposed to do? You didn't want to be around me anymore and bothering you, intentionally, was the only way for you to talk to me." 

I was dumbfounded.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you every day, you know!" I said, very defensive. 

He looked at me, confused and just said, "Nevermind, it's nothing." 

I looked away from him. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know he felt this way and that he was so offended by my actions. I don't think I should apologize for it either because I did nothing wrong. 

The night went by with us not speaking to each other. I don't think that conversation was appropriate and I absolutely have no idea why he brought it up so suddenly. And of all the days that we see each other, he picks this day to have a damn dramatic moment. We're here to save people, hello! 

This trip? It just got a lot harder. 

~

I woke up with the sun hitting my eyes. I think it's already mid-day and we overslept. I look by my shoulder and find Ciro gone. I panicked and stood up. 

His stuff is gone. 

Did he leave me here? No, that can't be. He would never do that to me. 

I fixed my stuff and wandered. I know that if I shout out for his name, someone else might find me so I loiter around looking for him. 

I first looked at the roads, hoping that he could just be walking there but he wasn't. I can see the far-stretched cemented land and see no one. I know that he must still be here in the woods. 

I go deep into the forest looking left and right and atop the trees, he might be sitting at one of them being overly dramatic. 

What the hell was he thinking going off like this!?

Oh yeah, he was thinking about how much I've hurt him. Whatever. 

I stopped to see a cabin. This was here all along and we slept with the mosquitoes.

He must be inside.

I ran towards the door - it's jammed by something heavy. Then there's definitely someone in there. If it's Ciro, I'm going to be so mad. 

I try to look in through the windows but it's too dark to make out anything. 

I go at the back to try and find another way in but all entrances are blocked. Someone is really trying to keep someone - or something - out of the house. 

I begin to get nervous at that thought. I slowly walk away when I see someone move by my peripheral view. 

I stopped and waited. Nothing's there. 

I turned back around and was so startled that I fell to the ground. 

I stared at the person in front of me and instantly felt the blood drain from my face.