Supernaturals

23. To save a friend

ASHLEY *(minor character)*

We were in the house the old man took us to, as we waited for Declan to go do whatever it is he wanted to do. I wasn't against him liking the witch, I was against him putting his feelings in the way of our mission.

Unfortunately, there was very little I could do. And by “very little", I meant nothing.

One good thing was that the old man had fallen asleep. Before dozing off, he had since been running his mouth, telling us things we had no interest in learning. Couldn't blame him, he probably hadn't seen people for the longest time.

I have known Declan since we were kids. He always had a big, kind heart, and that's one of the reasons he rarely got into fights. Unlike humans, not getting into fights was impossible and unavoidable.

Somehow, Declan had managed to stay to himself while putting up with all the meanies we grew up with.

I knew who he was and it was nice to see that he had grown into a decent young man, but still retained the heart of that little boy. That was way more than I could say for myself.

I don't know why but the things I saw as a kid made me change. And then I changed the path of my life to make sure such things never happened. At least, that was the end goal. I promised myself that I wouldn't die until there was no other vampire alive. Besides Declan and maybe myself if I still have a life to live.

I meant it.

“Can I ask you something?” Rochu inquired, sitting just beside me.

“Sure, whatever you want.”

He remained mute. I could see that he wanted to say something but had decided to keep it to himself.

“What is it, Rochu?”

He shook his head quickly. “No, it's nothing.”

“Most of the time, nothing ends up being more than just nothing. Spit it out.”

“Uhm . . .I wanted to ask how . . .I mean, where are we going to stay?”

I placed a strong arm on his shoulder. “Rochu, you are lying. Ask whatever you truly want to know. Hit me, I won't get hurt and I couldn't ever judge you.” I tipped his face up with my finger poking him softly, so our eyes could meet. “You know that, don't you?”

“Okay, fine. It's about this, uhm, mission of yours.”

“You mean our mission, right?”

“Yes, it has got me thinking for a while now, especially lately.”

This was interesting.

“How so?” I asked.

“I feel the mission might make us worse than Landon.”

I twitched my nose funnily. “Have you met the man?”

Rochu continued. “Seriously, if it's possible that we kill all the vampires, how does that make us any better than them?”

“Because we vampires, whether we like it or not, are not meant to exist. We are a mistake.”

Though I've said that thousands of times, it never failed to sting. Admitting that one's existence was a mistake wasn't the easiest of things to do.

“Maybe we are, but we are still conscious and have feelings and—”

I cut in. “Vampires kill innocent humans, that's enough reason."

“Humans do the same thing too.”

“It's not the same thing because we weren't a part of this world, we are an invention of ancient witchcraft.'

“But I don't see you killing any human, doesn't that mean that we still can be good?”

“Sorry to break it to you, hun, but I'm not particularly a good person.”

“Maybe you're not, but not all humans are good either. What I'm emphasising is choice; we all have the choice to be good or bad. You know that.”

For a thirteen-year-old, he was quite brainy and mature.

I shook my head in disagreement. “Untrue. Only humans have this ‘choice' you speak of. Do you tell a lion not to kill an innocent gazelle? It just does so, but then, vampires are even wilder and more dangerous than the beasts of the earth.”

It was sad to see him feel this way. He was young and was finding it very difficult to rationalise our mission. I wished there was a way I could tell him that I could relate with him and the way he felt was only expected—even natural. That I was as scared as he. Perhaps more, since I was scared for him.

“How do we live with ourselves after all this?" He asked, his voice barely audible.

“Bravery.”

“What?”

“Yes, bravery. We have to be brave enough to fight for the greater good—”

We heard his voice. Unmistakably, it was Landon's. The monster himself.

I felt shivers down my spine as he said, “Come out, I know you're all in there.”

He must have gotten the scent of the old man and somehow, he knew we were here too.

“What ...do we do? He's going to kill us!" Rochu exclaimed.

The old man woke up and we brought him up to speed. As he saw how scared we were, he became even more scared.

“O God—,” the old man let out, as he dropped to the ground. He couldn't have picked a worse time to pass out.

Rochu began to cry. “I have seen what he's capable of, we are done for.”

“Not if I can help,” I said, holding his shoulder softly. “Look, you are going to run through the back, and all you have to remember is just three words.”

“What are you talking about?”

In very few words, I explained to Rochu why he needed to run—and that I couldn't go with him. I had to hold Landon off if he would have any chance of survival at all.

“I can't leave you here," Rochu wailed.

“You can and you will. Now go!”

“What are the three words?”

With tears dripping down my cheeks I said, “Don't stop running.”

Without saying anything, Rochu fled through the back, leaving the unconscious old man and me in the house, with Landon waiting in front of the house.

As expected, Landon wasn't alone, he had nineteen other vampires with him. They all smiled as they saw me walk out of the building, and I knew it was over. No, it was over the second he tracked us down.

The best I could do was delay them because they were definitely going to go after Rochu. While he had a head start, they were stronger and way faster than him. His chances were, undoubtedly, slim.

And after a good thought, I saw that I couldn't even delay them. They were all older vampires.

“Where's Declan? Don't tell me he's hiding inside," Landon said, unsheathing his sword which I recognised quite well.

“Where's the little boy?” One of the vamps with him asked.

I ignored the questions and took deep breaths, enjoying every moment.

Landon gestured to Uster, his right-hand man. “I’m going with the rest to find Rochu and Declan. Kill her but have some fun first and make sure she dies very slowly.”

Have some fun? Uster was the next strongest vampire beside Landon, and like Landon, his s*x drive was unhealthily high. Now he was that kind of a man and Landon asked him to “have fun” with me before he killed me. It didn't take a genius to figure out what ‘fun' denoted.

I wasn't naive enough to think I could match Uster in a fight. I would be knocked out with one good hit.

“Let's start nice and easy,” Uster voiced, just after Landon and the others had left.

“Let me make something super clear, you are going to die and it will be permanent. Not just you, but every one of our kind.”

After saying that, I dug my hands into my jacket pocket, brought out a knife, stabbed myself in the neck, and ripped my head off.

Su*cide was even harder for vampires because if our heads were still attached, the act was unsuccessful.

This was the end of Ashley Homer, but my lifelong mission still had a chance. On that note, I believed I couldn't die because a part of me will live on if the mission was still going on.