Blood Spilled

He hoped he had run as fast as he could when he finally stopped and collapsed to the ground. The image of the boy had not left his mind; in fact, it would stay with him until the very end. Isaac lay there letting the snow hit his wound until the pain grew numb. Filled with regret, he punched into the snow. Why did he have to pull a gun on him? If only the boy had just listened and turned back to his troop; he would still be alive. Now he had his blood all over his hands. He then dragged himself towards a nearby tree leaving a trail of his blood behind him. Gathering his strength, he managed to pull himself upright then pulled a journal from his jacket. In it he penned down his love for his entire family including his estranged father. He mentioned how he was tired of holding a grudge and he wanted to be free of it. To his mother, he expressed his deep apologies for not being able to stand up for his brother. He was simply sorry. That's all he could think to say was sorry.

Isaac started to feel lightheaded and weaker. Something wasn't right. When he looked at his wound, he was bleeding profusely while his fever had hit the roof. He was shaking perhaps from the pain which now began to dull pulsing throb throughout his whole body. In the snow, the trail of crimson glistened to remind him just how much blood he'd lost. He thought it glorious to be given an opportunity to see how his own life would end. He was freezing so much that he felt like he was burning up. Slowly, he felt his eyes grow heavier as he struggled to stay awake.

There was no escaping it now; his consciousness knew he was approaching the end of the road. His breathing was heavy and dry just like his tongue when he tried to speak. So blurry was his sight that he started to hallucinate. As his eyes gave in to a swoon, he saw a white hooded figure approaching in the distance. Slowly, they got closer, seeming to sway graciously and he tried to reach out his wobbly hand.

"God?" he called out helplessly.

CHAPTER 2

Isaac had a dream if you could call it that; he'd had plenty since the last time he could remember. In his dream, he had walked into a huge golden gate in a strange foggy background. He had often wondered why dreams were always so strange. In the strange land, he saw people dressed in all types of attire, some perhaps too modern for his understanding. The air was warm and everyone started to look at him quite strangely. Suddenly a group of men came and grabbed him threatening to kick him out. He had no idea where he was and everyone was staring. A powerful voice came calling and he knew then that it was God immediately.

"That is no son of mine!" he said as the men dressed in all white dragged him back towards the door. Everyone started to laugh as they pointed fingers at him while he begged to be given another shot. The laughter soon started to sound like bombshells bang-bang-bang louder and louder. This dream had been quite recurrent yet he could never seem to come to the end of it.

Each time he had made an attempt to wake up, his head felt heavier than before. He could hardly see through the blur but he could feel the warmth of a bed. It was a bed alright; he could never forget what that felt like; especially after so long. He could feel the heat in the room and his heart started racing. Isaac wanted to lift his hand and rub his eyes but they felt too heavy. Slowly, he turned his head to the right in an attempt to scan the room when he spotted the fireplace. He could see a figure walk up to him and as it got closer, he could tell it was a woman. Suddenly, there were more of them and surrounding them were hunched bipedal creatures. They made little horrifying clicking and hissing noises.

Suddenly, he felt the sharp pain of something being pulled from his side making his hairs stand. So excruciating was it that he opened his mouth to scream yet no sound came out. A tear trickled from his eye and he felt it run into his ear. He was now convinced that his dreams were more than just. Or was he still dreaming? The creatures and figures seemed to be walking on the ceilings from corner to corner as if watching him. What kind of a hospital was this? Or was he in Heaven? No, rather He'll... That could be the only explanation for such weird occurrences.

He must have passed out once again because the sound of breaking wood scared him out of slumber. He was dreaming about being in battle and he'd been running when he heard a gunshot.

Isaac had been sweating profusely and the massive bed below him felt so wet. He was in a cold room of what seemed like a castle from the architecture. The radiating fire in the huge fireplace however produced enough heat for him. Still confused, he rose wincing in immense pain and sat upright. He remembered that he had been shot when he looked at the wound that had now been dressed and cleaned. Isaac struggled to get on his feet dragging one foot of the bed then the next. The pain was unbearable yet he was determined to find out what was really going on around him.

The windows were longer than what he was used to and he could tell that the place was quite elaborate. The room was gothic and dark despite the lighting due to the curtains being drawn. He was perturbed as to why and it had given him the strangest feeling. He thought the gadgets that lit the room were strange. They looked like balls of light hanging from the ceiling; until he realized it was electricity, in a place this old? His fever had subsided to his relief and his feet felt stronger than his entire being. Carefully, he stood up and walked towards the windows. He gathered his upper body strength pulling the curtains open and what he saw equally scared him just as it excited him.

Overlooking a winter-dead forest blanketed in a few feet of snow were mountains that seemed to surround the castle. From a distance, he spotted a well-lit village hidden in the heart of the afformentioned mountains and it hit him that he was nowhere close to home. A rat ran quickly past his legs, he almost missed it. Where the hell was he?

Scanning the room, it was obvious no one was in there. It was always so hard to be a rat; perhaps the most abhorred of creatures. She stood in front of her window and allowed herself to turn back into her original form. Talya could hear her bones break as she shaped and formed her steady figure once more. She hated that she had to sneak around her own castle but she was all the curious to observe their guest in the most natural of ways.

Things had been a bit tense between her and her sisters ever since she brought the strange man back home. Olivia had been the first to protest even suggesting they turn the poor boy into a full course meal but Talya stood her ground.

"No one touches the boy unless you want to go through me." She was not sure at the time how Olivia would have reacted. Even when she found him lying in the snow half dead, she thought of letting him die. It'd be a mercy to let this soldier die in a strange land then be eaten. The moment she'd heard him call out God's name, she even giggled a little. Human beings were indeed the most fickle of creatures. It was ironic that they believed in God yet they were in the middle of such a gruesome war; what did that really say about them if they think they're made in the image of said God.

Talya then picked up the paper next to the soldier, almost buried in snow. He was out cold by then but the writings seemed to tell a story of loss; a story she knew too well but she did not know of his story. The real reason she had taken the boy in was because she felt sorry for him if not also a little curious. Mila had been helping her with his care while everyone else watched curiously and with their own reservations. Olivia had not spoken a word to her since but she did not care. She was always so vain and quick to conclusion. Talya had suspected from the beginning that it would be a problem but she was willing to handle it. Now that she was sure her collection was alright, she could go about the rest of her day.

She stood staring outside her window contemplating her next move then a knock came at her door.

"Sister, the boy lives!" Mila came running in excitedly. Despite her four hundred and forty years on the planet, Talya always felt the girl had a lot of growing up to do.

She took a deep breath, "I know sister, do you mind keeping it down? Olivia could hear you from anywhere in this castle." She sighed " I'd rather she not know of his presence until he has gathered his strength."

Talya had seen him of course; he just had not seen her. She knew how humans hated rats so she hoped he would have been too scared to touch her when she ran past him.

"What do we do now? Do we eat him?" Mila asked like a timid child.

Unfortunately, she was more inhuman than Talya could ever be. On normal occasions that was not a problem but not this. The boy was her prize; hers and hers alone. Then again... she wasn't quite human either seeing this human as a prize.

"Let's get one thing clear, you little imp, he is mine. Not ours, mine! I say what happens to him!" Talya shot back causing her to recoil into a bat that flew into the fireplace in her room. She hated being rough with Mila but as long as she made sure Mila was just as afraid of her as Olivia she'd be too nervous about taking sides.

Talya eerily turned back to her window getting back to her thoughts. Frankly, she had no idea why she saved the human in the first place and now she had no clue what she was going to do about him. He is a handsome young man but would be boring and daft or brutish and ugly on the inside.

Once upon a time, she was just like him- highly unaware of the world beyond. This she thought was a human beings biggest weakness. Their ignorance- their lack of perspective.

Born of an incredibly old Noble, Talya had taken pride in being a good person and so had her father, Kanan. She remembered Vlad Tepis, the Dragon, a leader who's brief undead reign had shaped her into who she had become. Kanan was a man who Talya aspired to be like. Her father was a man of many mistakes however, he was the only person she'd known to always stand up for what he believed in. As a young girl, her first encounter with the Lord Tepis was when he visited their family home. Too young to understand back then, Talya overheard Tepis who now went by, Dragulia, offer Kanan the gift of immortality. Kanan wanted to live the rest of his life like the ones before him, in the light of Christ, for that was what he believed was natural. Vlad Dragulia could not help but think of Kanan as a weak man. Frustrated, he turned his back on their family and left their lands. She still wonders why Tepis didn't just kill her father for still being a Christian? Maybe some sense of loyalty from all the battles and war, a mercy almost?

Years passed by while Talya took care of her father to his last days. Life had not been kind to her. She was lucky enough to be married however to a man she cared very little for. Her recollection of him made her laugh because she could hardly remember his face. For women it was never a choice of who you loved rather what do you bring to the table? She had no living parents so no one really cared to wed her off. Her husband had been a kind man, most women would not have complained- not Talya. She wanted more out of life. Her marriage seemed to get worse when she discovered she could not bare a child for her husband; the only thing a woman was good for in these times. Then he joined a crusade against the Muslim Turks and died foolishly without even leaving a bastard son behind; such a tragic end to a uninteresting man's story. Honestly she couldn't care less now but reflect life's peculiarities.

Vlad Dragulia had taught her everything she knew and she would remain grateful to him for eternity. In fact, eternity is what Dragulia had gifted her. She had accepted the invitation when he came back and found her father dead and she widowed. It seemed like a small price to pay after all she'd been through. Talya bravely narrated her story to Dragulia and politely negotiated her terms. Dragulia was more than respectful; seemingly passing her father's courtesy to her.

"I will be your most loyal soldier only one on condition. I refuse to become your concubine; I believe I'm destined for much greater things that a whore in a castle. My destiny is to devote myself to the understanding of man."

Dragulia seemed pleased that she wasn't a woman of God but of science and modernity. She and Vlad Dragulia came to an understanding soon after for he admired her wisdom. He often told her that she reminded him of her father before all the wars had robbed him on reason and instead filled him with faith.

Talya aspired to be the best leader she could be to her people. She enjoyed spending time with the children in the villages and reading during her free time. No one had warned her about natural calamities like plagues. It was still a foreign phenomenon during those trying times. Combined with what she later called poor harvest, the plague wiped out most of the people in her principalities. They had no choice but to flee in search of greener pastures.

Olivia appeared to Talya as a 'good samaritan' someone with a better plan than she ever could think of. She was older and it seemed at the time, wiser. Desperate, Talya joined Olivia in executing her plan for a better future.

"Some future has become!" Talya hissed as she recalled all the things they had been through to get there. She had been thinking about leaving for a while but Olivia had always disapproved. Because of this their relationship was a little bit strained.

She looked over the mountains in vigil; one never could trust a quiet day. Suddenly, she sensed some commotion. Talya picked up on a distressed cry as it got clearer.

"N..no.. Noooo! Please stop. Stop!!" a desperate call for help came through the walls.

It was the boy! Talya rushed out at her inhuman speed.

Now what? Was all she could think.

CHAPTER 3

"Stay away! Stay away!" he cried frantically. Isaac was now convinced that he was in some sort of Hell. He was not even sure what he was seeing anymore. Was he still stuck in a dream? He just wanted to wake up already.

He covered both his ears with the palm of his hands. Isaac closed his eyes in disbelief when the foggy figures appeared in front of him one after the other.

"Hmmm.. the first but definitely won't be the last," one of them joked, who seemed to be wearing a cloak. It was strange how he looked human yet Isaac could almost see right through him. He closed his eyes harder as if it was supposed to make a difference.

"The living, they never cease to amaze me. They refuse to believe even when the truth is right in front of their eyes." Another ghost emerged from the wall. Isaac could hear the echoes within the castle as the apparitions appeared hovering around him. They were all so curious as to how this man hadn't been ripped open from chin to collarbone by the lovely undead women.

"If I were you, I'd leave this place. It tends to eat people alive." They said in unison in an almost humorous tone.

Isaac screamed falling on his knees then wincing in pain when he remembered he wound on his side as it tore open partially.

"Get lost phantoms, before I do it myself!" shouted a woman's voice so stern the room went dead still.

So shaken was Isaac, he failed to notice the ghost disappear back into the walls from whence they came.

"You mustn't be so afraid. They are only ghosts, no possibility of them harming you whatsoever."

The woman's voice sounded kinder this time yet Isaac could not seem to get himself up. He was coiled up at the corner of the room shivering like he was out in the snow again. The wound brought back all the traumatic memories. His mind couldn't even begin to compile itself.

"Your wound is open, we have to cover that up this instant." She said moving swiftly towards him.

"Don't just stand there, Mila, help me." She said pulling the blanket off the bed.

There was a bat hanging from the fireplace which surprisingly turned into Mila just when Isaac had lifted his head up.

"What are you?" He shrieked jerking upright j. Almost an instant with a wince. It would've hurt more but now his adrenaline was pumping. "Stay away from me!"

Just then another one appeared from nowhere; now they were three.

The look on Isaac's face said it all. He had a feral twist in his eyes. He was horrified and felt completely outnumbered by his captors but all he could do was think about the violence he'd seen. He didn't want to be gored like his little brother.

The one who had just arrived was dressed like the average German man, only that she had the features of a woman. It was not normal to see a woman dressed in a tailored trouser suit. Isaac could still remember that women got the right to vote in his lifetime let alone dress so.. masculinely?

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded when she found the two sisters moving around the room. "What is all the commotion about?" Her fists clenching so hard her pinkish fingers turned white.

Olivia was angered to find that it was the human who had woken her up. She liked to sleep during the day and stay up all night; most vampires did. They found themselves weaker during the day but never vulnerable to the sun. Talya asked Isaac to get on the bed so she could check on his wound but he was still frozen in his fight or flight, she was convinced she could hear his art beating from across the castle. Mila had just finished arranging the new bandage on the table next to the bed and she was scanning the room nervously. She was always anxious when Talya and Olivia were in the same room, it almost always ended in some sort of stand off...

Too afraid to move, Talya carried Isaac effortlessly herself much to his surprise. He hadn't been held in sometime and it soothed his rattled nerves.

"This has to be the most outrageous thing I've ever seen." Olivia rolled her eyes watching pensively as Talya laid the young man on the bed. She would have laughed but she was too disgusted by the show of affection.

Isaac did not know how it was possible but the room had gotten colder since the last woman had arrived. Being carried by a woman made him feel weak and he wondered how she had managed to do it with such ease. In most other instances he would've struggled to free himself but the pain and terror had turned him into a statue.

"You are scared aren't you?" Talya sensed his every feeling and she figured all her sisters did. She quickly changed his bandage and threw the old one into the fire. It was taking every fiber of her being not to sink her teeth into him. He'd been through enough however despite having made a delicious meal.

"He is quite intriguing, isn't he? I can feel his pulse get faster when I look at him and the sound of his blood flowing furiously through his veins. Can you hear that?" Olivia asked, nefariously walking towards the bed trying to taunt the young man. She'd heard stories of soldiers traumatized by war- she thought them cowards

Talya watched quietly saying nothing. Instead tending to Isaac's wound. His heart didn't slow down and she could feel the tension in every muscle like someone tuning a violin string.

"He's wondering who we are, where he is and whether he is going mad." Olivia ran her long pointy nails across his legs and it gave him goosebumps. The room was quiet and all the sisters could hear was Isaac's heart pound in his chest.

"Smells delicious, doesn't he? Tell me sister, can you taste him on your tongue already?" Olivia's fangs had grown longer out of her mouth like they did when she was ready to feed. Her greenish blue eyes glistened in excitement and Mila hopped next to her.