Dark Alley

The harsh wind whipped around Blaise’s silver hair against his temple as he walked down the street beside his twin sister, Mia. He tightened his fist, his face twisted into what appeared to be a permanent scowl as he observed his surroundings.

  data-p-id=0fd34bc69ff7b557cd4ec6c811a64c20,This whole place was infested with humans. He hated them, with a burning passion that could rival the burning heat of a thousand suns. He loathed them. They took away his father; they ripped away the one person he loved immensely. And they did it without even an ounce of remorse. So yes, he hated them, and living among them, walking beside them disgusted him to an extent.

  He remembered the day the Anti-ghoul took away his parents. He never imagined his father, a stern man in his mid-thirties who was as tough as cinderblock, could ever cry until that day when he witnessed his wife shot dead point blank in the chest right in front of him.

  data-p-id=af24077bedea630f41edf008d605b1a3,He felt a hand curl around his tightened fist. His cold blue eye's widened slightly as he glanced sideways.

  data-p-id=7563b9c49ad363450d8d2e7e9cc96acc,His twin sister, Mia, smiled at him softly, her identical blue orbs reassuring. They both were identical in terms of hair and eye colour. Other than that they were polar opposites; Blaise was explosive with his temper and was hard headed whilst Mia was calm and level headed.

  Her gentle smile reminded him so much of his calm and loving mother. He scoffed and ripped his hand away from hers, increasing his pace so that he was now walking ahead of her.

  data-p-id=6fed8efab6ba38b047f0e848d5971f83,Mia sighed sadly as she stared at the angered ghoul ahead of her. She could feel the anger and anguish rolling off him in tidal waves. She wanted so badly for him to be happy, to try to live as normal as possible, but that would never be possible, because the older he got, the more his hunger consumed him.

  It wasn't the hunger for sweet human flesh, no; it was the utter and complete, madness for revenge. And it was a festering wound to his soul. Mia could feel him slipping away, day by day, hiding into his anger and pain and sorrow, bit by bit he was slipping away from her grasp. He had been this way since the ANTI-GHOUL killed their parents a few months ago.

  There was no use saving someone who didn't want to be saved. Blaise didn't want to be saved. He was a blazing fire, and his hunger for revenge was his steady fuel. And there was nothing Mia could do to change that.

  data-p-id=5185e741ce6a415b02ff431f30438353,As they turned down a dark alley, they heard a loud shrill scream, from the alley to their right. Blaise stopped walking immediately. Mia stopped by his side, the sweet smell of blood almost making her ravenous for human flesh. She bit her tongue and controlled her hunger, keeping it in check.

  One slip up, that was all it took for her parents to be killed, she wasn’t going to make the same mistake.

  The passing headlights of a car lit the almost dark alleyway. A cat scurried out of a toppled over trash can to their left, hissing at them before disappearing into the darkness.

  data-p-id=74382e00d0e2833f2e2729b0648cd156,The way home was the alley to the left, so she went that way. Ignoring the helpless cries from the other alley, she reminded herself that people died everyday anyway.

  data-p-id=1ef56acd760356b96226b71001585b82,She stopped walking when she realized that Blaise wasn't by her side. She glanced back, puzzled, and saw him staring into the dark alley where the cries were coming from. His back was facing her.

  data-p-id=6d27277fdc93c6b8bddbab385a05a695,"Blaise?"

  data-p-id=4b890730ea59957b47009f9b92b525bd,He walked into the dark alley without responding.

  data-p-id=27430792e9be7f808306090aa7daec68,Mia's eyes widened in panic as she quickly ran for him.

  data-p-id=04b15355056d041182e90a4ca68c013e,"Blaise!" She scolded, grabbing his arm. "Stop! You might be walking into someone else's dinner. You know how territorial ghouls are."

  data-p-id=6886af36629401ed2b40871ff6e5c2f8,Blaise glanced back at her with a blank, daring look, his beautiful blue orbs replaced by the red eyes of a ravenous ghoul. She gasped as he ripped his arm from her grip and continued walking deeper into the dark alley.

  data-p-id=7fbd2ff27d3b40fc263c6a016f0697b8,She called after him, yelling his name and scolding him. But he ignored her, focused on that cry from what he assumed was a pathetic human girl.

  data-p-id=150a9885dd49fed3cdd9b8f4c259b544,Mia stopped by her tracks when she saw what was going on in front of her.

  data-p-id=3384f045780c27e1b727d145bfca7cee,There were three ghouls. Each one had one human in their arms. The two other ones were devouring the flesh of a familiar looking, young couple while the other was holding a little girl down and forcefully opening her eyes. She was screaming and kicking and crying as she was forced to watch as the ghouls ferociously devoured her parents, knowing she was next.

  data-p-id=b8a9dc83ad7db87758d89e1e6b6d3377,Mia's eyes watered involuntarily. She knew them. That was Kimi and Denji and that little girl was their forever cheerful daughter, Caitlynn.

  The smell of fresh human flesh made her head throb and her throat ache.

  data-p-id=56531b05a9961565cf198616dbe583b2,Sensing an audience, the three ghouls drenched in blood turned to the two younger ghouls, their eyes were wide, pupils diluted and orbs the colour of blood. Their eyes held a wild gaze, as if this was their first taste of flesh in months.

  data-p-id=dadab1d8892f46a58c49423177a34a51,One of them snarled. "Hey punks, get lost, unless you wanna be next."

  data-p-id=89f8e1bd0766b4b6c5b99b5d91c7e0de,Blaise tilted his head to the side, looking at Caitlynn with confusion. He remembered seeing her almost every day of the week at their café. She was always with her parents when they stopped by. She'd always smile and seemed ridiculously pure and innocent. She would always ask her parents to buy her a chocolate chip cookie and then on their way out she'd leave it on the table with a note on the napkin for Blaise.

  data-p-id=9c91a898af9c9e4864ce909296b3a74f,He was sure she was under the delusion that they were friends even though, countless times he'd swear at her or call her names, she'd still smile cheerfully at him and leave him a chocolate chip cookie every time she came to the shop, which was once a every Friday, except the last Friday of every month. She'd been doing that since they were six, regardless of how cold Blaise was towards her. He wasn't sure whether it was pathetic or admirable.

  Her smile always made Blaise feel better somehow, as annoying as it was. And now as she was crouched on the ground sobbing violently, her brown eye's wide and filled with terror, he felt like something snapped in him. He was confused when he felt this pang in his stomach. He realized that seeing her in this state made him feel anger and pain. The feeling was so raw and abnormal to him it left him awestruck.

  data-p-id=b115299ce596a7196e73e016a66dba68,"Hey punk! I said beat it or you'll be next!" The same ghoul snarled, standing up and cocking his head to the side.

  He must be the leader, Blaise noted dully.

  data-p-id=4f2ac7b6735c0805d2a8ae5ba564d675,"Don't talk to him like that!" Mia snarled her eyes already red and her sharp teeth barred.

  data-p-id=3cba5e9d0243a92feaf14c0a5af38dfd,Blaise snapped out of his trance. He flicked his gaze to the ghoul who yelled at him.

  data-p-id=1f896aa839c701de6ceab831f122ec8a,"Making a girl watch while you eat her parents is low, but cannibalism? Tsk, that's a bit too much. Don't you think?" He drawled in a low cold tone.

  data-p-id=049217385839310f5ca287ce26044474,Mia felt her skin crawl. She never could get used to his cold monotone.

  data-p-id=75166f37d7437af2143225df42f35858,The three ghouls shook with rage.

  “You crazy kid, this is our territory.” Their leader barred his teeth in a show of dominance. The other two ghouls stood up. One tossing aside the forearm he was chewing aside and the other shoving the girl to the floor and standing up.

   Caitlynn had stopped crying and was just numbly staring at her parents’ mangled and bloody bodies. She seemed to be in shell shock.

  “I’m fully aware of that. I want her.” Blaise motioned towards the girl curled up on the floor next to her parent’s body.

  Mia snapped her gaze to her brother. Was he really going to risk his life to save a human? Mia knew the girl, they were good friends, but she never thought once that Blaise would put his life on the line to save a human.

  “Blaise, what are you doing?” She snapped.

  The ghouls laughed amongst each other and the ring leader stepped forward, blood stained lips twisted into a leer.

  “Go get your own meal kids.”

  “Look, have the adults and give us the girl, that’s all we ask.” Mia tried negotiating as she stepped forward. She really wasn’t in the mood for a fight and from the determination in Blaise sharp red eyes; he wasn’t planning on backing down.

  “Or what?” The ghoul who was holding Caitlynn spat.

  “Or I kill you guys.”

  “You’re a kid. Is that supposed to be a threat?” The leader threw his head back and laughed.

  Mia winced and closed her eyes. Wrong move Dickhead.

  The sound of skin being ripped and bones being cracked echoed along the cold brick walls accompanied by a few strangle cries and grunts. When Mia opened her eyes, they were all lying in a pool of their own blood. Mia blinked. She had forgotten how strong her brother had become. He was a Class S ghoul.

  data-p-id=474c6704571cb546b1c130e01de71d39,He landed without a sound and stood up, hands leisurely in his pockets. He glanced at Caitlynn to see her curled up in a ball, her eye's squeezed shut.

  data-p-id=d95fa22c09627163ad1a3d902b4e2a1d,Walking slowly towards her, he stopped in front of her and knelt down.

  data-p-id=b678240cd9044e35b067984f345157b1,"Hey. Annoying brat." He said, tilting his head to the side as he stared down at her.

  data-p-id=8fe833b5b55a38aeb15ac22dba2d4365,She wasn't sobbing anymore. She sniffed as she slowly opened her eyes. Revealing her twinkling brown orbs, eye lashes glistened with tears. She looked up at Blaise with wide eyes.

  data-p-id=a4859c6fe6147c1c5fc245b67f3d95b2,Blaise eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he stared down at her, his sharp teeth still exposed and his eyes still ghoulish and red. She wasn't looking at him with fear, or anger, or terror like what he assumed she would. She was gazing at him with a look of astonishment and awe. He wasn't used to a human not looking at him without fear of what a monster he was. He wasn't used to anyone looking at him like this. It made his heart tug and thump in a way he wasn't used to, and it mystified him.

  data-p-id=8c07e8356aa067d18ce527c9b560bf50,Then suddenly she flung herself onto him, her arms went around his neck, her face nuzzled against the crook of his neck and her small body pressed against his. His eyes widened in shock as she hugged him. He didn't know how to react, so he just sat there tensed and frozen in place.

  data-p-id=3c4e2df41fcead202f0729ce50e85a8b,He didn't know why his heart was beating this fast or why his mind was racing. She was a human. A pathetic human. Just like the ones who killed his father and his mother.

  data-p-id=b7f4be8417cdc796d1c23e731f48a58e,"Thank you," she whispered softly before slipping out of consciousness.

  data-p-id=a882d6a3d54981e569269abfa41699e2,Mia's cold eyes softened immensely as she watched Blaise pick Caitlynn up bridal style. He was staring down at her with a look Mia couldn't quite pick out. But one thing was for sure; this girl would change everything.