Fuelled with anger that her father had ignited, Harley roamed the city just waiting for the chance to unleash her fury on one of the abominations that roamed the earth. Though the problem was that the night seemed quiet.
On a normal night, she would have made at least three kills within the first half an hour, but tonight she had been out much longer than that and still hadn't encountered any vampires. Something didn't feel right about it either, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
The cold made her shiver as she moved slowly through the city. Most nights it wouldn't be a problem since she would be moving fast and fighting, which would warm her body up quickly. Feeling confused and even a little lost as there wasn't anything that needed to be done, she changed her route and headed towards the quieter, more isolated parts of the city.
First she checked out any back alley she passed, then all the children's play parks and dog fields; still nothing. The only place left for her to check out was both cemeteries; the old and new one. Continuing down the street after exiting the last park, she reached the new graveyard first. Opening the gate and stepping foot inside, she looked around carefully. Unlike the older one, being there didn't hit her with any kind of emotion for all the fallen people. She had always been a kind and compassionate person, but something about this place made her feel nothing.
After ensuring that the new cemetery was in the clear, she made her way to the old one where she had been visiting her mother only hours before. Fighting the urge to go back and kneel at the headstone once more, she continued her inspection. As she reached the church, a shiver ran up her spine. During the daytime it looked ordinary, yet at nightfall it held a completely different feeling; as though there was something almost sinister about it. Trying to ignore her growing uneasiness, she slowed down as she headed off to the side of the church.
As she reached the mid-way point, Harley froze in place. She couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't alone in the cemetery which confused her greatly as she saw no signs of another presence. Kicking herself mentally for feeling so afraid, she tried to talk herself out of the stupidity.
Of course no one is truly alone in a cemetery Harley, she scolded herself.
"Pretty foolish to be alone in a cemetery at this hour of night, wouldn't you agree?"
Harley's eyes widened as she frantically looked around the entire area, her eyes darting from one corner to the next. Despite conducting a thorough search, she was unable to locate where the voice, male as far as she could tell, had come from.
"Up here, love."
Despite her fear, Harley gathered all the courage inside of her and forced her gaze to lift from the ground, up to the rooftop of the church. Finally, she was able to pinpoint the voice as she could just barely make out a faint figure, perched on the cross that decorated the middle of the church roof. Though she could not see clearly due to the darkness, she noticed that they had crouched down; most likely to stay hidden.
"Hello." She called, her heartbeat having rapidly increased since they'd first spoken.
"My bad, how rude of me! There's no way that you can hear me properly from all the way up here." He quipped.
Before she could process what was happening, the odd stranger stood up straight and leapt off of the rooftop; a hundred meter drop at least, and landed agile like a cat, right in front of her. Trying her best to be subtle, she moved her hand slowly towards the sheath of her sword. She knew that there was no way a pure human would survive a jump from that height. She was face to face with a vampire.
Only now did she get a good look at him; he was taller than her, at least six foot in height. His figure was slim but there was no denying that he had at least some muscle to him. Though it was his face that caught her attention. His complexion was paler than the full moon that shone down on them from the starry night sky, which caused his ocean blue eyes to stand out, and his dirty blonde hair was a ruffled mess. If she didn't know any better, she probably would have fallen for his charms.
"Ah, ah! No need for any weapons, I'm not here to harm you. I just wanna talk." He informed her, noticing her hand slipping to unsheath her sword.
"I don't talk to vampires. I slaughter them." She retorted.
"Oh well, go ahead." He told her, causing her to frown and freeze as she raised her weapon, clearly confused. "I mean if you really don't want to hear the really important news that I came here to tell you." He added.
His last sentence caught her attention and although still untrusting of this monster, she lowered her weapon ever so slightly. Locking her eyes on his, her stare only hardened as she waited for him to explain. When it became clear that he wasn't going to, she forced herself to speak up first.
"News? What news?" She asked, although her tone was more demanding than questioning.
"I'm not gonna tell you until you put that weapon back where it came from." He stated firmly.
"Don't try to manipulate me!" She warned, furrowing her eyebrows and gripping her weapon tightly to send him a warning.
Readying herself for a fight, she raised her weapon once again and shifted her stance to be prepared for when he revealed his true intentions. She didn't tear her eyes away for a split second, focusing on his every move.
"Easy there... You don't want to do that." He told her, a sly smile written upon his face.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't." She demanded.
"Because if you do... A lot of people are going to die." He warned her.
"Is that a threat?" She questioned, intimidated by the expression that accompanied his words.
Rolling his eyes, he folded his arms and looked to the side before refocusing his attention back on Harley. He'd never come across a girl so stubborn and mistrusting before, usually he had them all in the palm of his hands with only a look. But she was different, so it seemed.
"No, it is not a threat. I am not going to hurt you, why would I want to ruin such a pretty face?" He retorted.
"Because you're a monster! Cold blooded killer!" She snapped.
"Ouch!" He said, stabbing his chest with his hand and pulling a goofy expression, exaggerating the sting of her words.
She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, shuffling her feet slightly as she waited for the situation to escalate so that she could stake him and move on. Usually when she came across vampires, she never hesitated to kill them, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do the deed without him giving her a good reason to.
Come on Harley, just kill him! You've done this a thousand times before, so why are you hesitating now? Her conscience screamed at her.
"I..." Never in her life had she found herself to be so weakened by anything, let alone a vampire's charm.
Giving in, she slipped her sword back in its sheath and sighed, absolutely frustrated with herself. Tonight was supposed to be her chance to prove her father right and yet here she was, hesitating about killing a vampire.
"Alright, I will hear you out... But if this is a waste of my time or a distraction then believe me when I say that I will kill you before you even have the chance to move." She agreed, though her tone was no less hostile.
"Okay, I get it! Boy, you really are feisty." He commented, earning a glare from her.
Walking over to the nearest bench, she sat down and waited until he followed and sat on the bench too. Feeling a little too close, she shuffled over a bit and turned her head to face him.
"Now talk." She ordered him.
"I'm sure that you've noticed how quiet tonight has been, at least when it comes to vampires, right?" He questioned.
"Yeah, obviously. It's kind of hard to miss when hunting them is your job." She answered truthfully.
He couldn't help but pick up on her solemn tone as she answered his question. In all his years he had never been curious about the lives of the humans he'd interacted with, but Harley... She intrigued him. There was something about her that, even though they'd been talking for only minutes, pulled him to her and made him want to give her the chance she would need to prepare and save her people.
"Well... There is a reason for that." He informed her.
Now fully invested in whatever he was trying to tell her, she shifted so that her whole body was facing him and kept her eyes on him. What he had said was interesting, but the next few seconds were crucial. She would know instantly if what he told her was a lie.
"I'm listening..." She prompted him.
"I run with a whole clan of vampires, and when I say clan... I mean bigger than you would have expected. Anyway, these vampires usually run riot every night, as you already know. Not tonight though, and that's because their leader; Demitri, is planning an uprising. You can probably guess that there is going to be a lot of bloodshed." He explained.
Intrigued after hearing what he had to say, Harley couldn't find the right words to voice her thoughts. Even after receiving this rather interesting piece of news, she was still unable to shake her suspicions of him. Gathering her thoughts, she stood up and spun around; almost too fast to keep her balance, and swiftly began to walk away. Unable to stop herself, she looked back over her shoulder at the bench where they were just sitting and stopped in her tracks when the place where he'd been sitting was now vacant.
"Where are you going?" He questioned.
Facing forward again only to find his face mere inches away from her own, she backed up a little as she began to feel slightly intimidated.
"None of your business." She retorted.
"You know you really should listen to me..." He advised her.
"I'd have to be stupid." She snarled.
Turning in the opposite direction, she almost fell backwards when she was face to face with him once again. Becoming angered by his persistence, she clenched her hands into fists.
"No, the only stupid thing is to ignore me." He corrected her.
At the end of her tether, Harley lost all control she'd previously had over her anger and sent her fist flying through the air and smashing it into his annoying; but also charming face, causing him to stagger back almost drunkenly.
Stunned by her actions, he did the only thing that he knew how to do; laughed his head off. Now confused by his reaction, she clenched her fist again, ready to hit him a second time. Though as he caught sight of her white knuckled fist, he killed his laughter and straightened himself out.
"Woah, woah, easy there, no need for fists of fury! At least... Anymore." He cried, throwing his hands up in surrender.
"If what you are saying is true then give me an exact date and time that this uprising is going to happen and then bring me proof of it. Tomorrow night. Right here in the cemetery." She demanded, folding her arms across her chest.
"What now?" He asked, making sure he'd heard right.
"You heard me. Date. Time. Proof. Tomorrow night." She simplified.
"Our leader, Demitri, informed us that the uprising will happen a month from today... The night that a blood moon will rise, granting us extreme power." He informed her.
Just as she was beginning to be satisfied that the news he'd given her was in fact the truth, another thought crossed her mind. One that she couldn't end the night, not knowing the answer to.
"Hold up a second!... Why would you, a vampire who is part of Demitri's clan, warn me, a hunter that comes from a long line of them, about your leader's evil plans?" She questioned suspiciously.
The vampire thought for a second, as if he was unsure on whether or not he should give her a truthful answer, and then licked his lips, giving her a brief sighting of his fangs.
"I've been alive for five hundred years because of that leader... But that doesn't mean that I agree with everything he plans. You see, when I hunt I only take what I need but I don't kill innocent people. I'm not like him." He explained.
"And how did you find me in a city this big?" She asked, the thought only just crossing her mind as he gave his answer.
"You're unique, Harley... Something of a legend in our world." He stated.
"No... It's not true." She denied.
"How would you know?" He questioned.
Harley stayed silent, unwilling to answer such a question. She thought that it was quite clear now that he was just trying to get into her head; weaken her and then serve her up to his almighty leader.
"Did you really think that you'd be able to fool me with that? Well think again, this is clearly a waste of time so if you don't mind I'll be on my way now." She snapped, brushing past him and stalking off down the path.
"If you leave now, you'll regret it!" He called after her.
"No, I won't. Goodbye." She yelled, without bothering to look back at him.
Exiting the cemetery, she was glad to be rid of his presence. Despite her distaste for him, she couldn't bring herself to ignore his warnings. It was something that had to be taken in consideration, no matter if she trusted the source or not. Crossing the street, she headed back towards the park that she had inspected earlier on and began making her way from there.
With little to no lighting in the area, she slowed down as an uneasy feeling swept over her. Then out of nowhere a group of six vampires appeared, blocking her way forward.
"Well, well... What do we have here?" One of them questioned rhetorically.
"Looks like a snack!" Another one whooped.
"I wouldn't dare if I were you." She warned, reaching for her sword.
A loud roar of laughter erupted from the gang of monsters and Harley's breathing quickened as she shifted her feet and raised her weapon. Distracted by the three in front who were closing in on her, she didn't notice the other three had slipped away and as she backed back, she crashed into one that was standing behind her. As she tightened her grip on her sword and swung it, the vampire caught her wrist midair and jerked harshly causing her to lose her hold, sending the weapon flying through the air and landing upright in the grass with the sharp point lodged beneath the surface.
Now without her best weapon and with her hands restrained by the vampire that she'd backed into, she used his grip as an anchor and lifted her legs, striking him in the face with her feet. He staggered back and loosened his grip, which allowed her to break free.
Knowing that she didn't stand a chance at repossessing her sword, she pulled one of the smaller daggers out of her belt and launched it at the vampire, who had now regained his focus and was heading for her. The dagger struck him in the heart and a loud shriek escaped him as he burst into flames, ending up as nothing more than a pile of ash within seconds.
Exhilarated by the first kill of the night, she turned to the remaining five and whipped out another dagger hidden in her belt, making a charge for them. Just as she reached them, the tallest out of the lot managed to redirect the weapon and rather than piercing his heart, it made barely a scratch upon his face. Angered by her miss, Harley made a second attempt. Though she did not account for the rest of them and was taken by surprise when one of the other four snaked his arms around her and yanked her backwards, pulling her hair to the side and exposing the bare skin of her neck.
"Kill her! Kill her! We'll be the most famous vampires in the world if you kill her!" The ring leader yelled.
Fighting against his strong grip was getting her nowhere and without easy access to her weapons there wasn't much she could do. Screwing her face up in disgust as the vampire's fangs neared her throat, she thrashed around and elbowed him in the side. This move did little to give her an advantage and instead only angered him. Two more of the Vampires rushed at her and helped him to hold her in place as the leader watched in amusement, waiting patiently for his comrade to make the kill.
Squinting her eyes shut and preparing for the pain that would burn through her body, she let herself fall limp in their grip. She could feel him getting closer and closer until his fangs pricked at her skin, preparing to sink deeper.
"Hold up!" A familiar voice called from across the park.
All five vampires turned their attention from Harley to whom the voice had come from. Though they were amused, their hold over her did not break.
"Mason! How kind of you to join us." The leader beamed.
"Yes, yes Aiden, now how about you budge over since she is my kill." He retorted with a malicious grin that made Harley feel sick.
The group paused for a moment and looked amongst one another as if making an agreed decision that they did not speak of aloud. Once they'd finished, they turned back to the vampire from the cemetery, who's name she now knew was Mason, and grinned.
"Go on brotha!" The vampire that held her tight cheered, moving aside as Mason took his place.
"Please... Don't..." Harley begged, feeling helpless as she pleaded with him.
As the group began to egg him on, Harley felt herself getting restless as she felt Mason's eyes burning into her neck. He lowered his head and just as she thought he was about to rip her throat out, he released her and shoved her to the side, winking at her, then making a charge for the leader of the group. The two vampires tumbled to the ground, locked in battle and Harley ran quickly to retrieve her sword.
Spinning around, she impaled one of the vampires with her sword that was attempting to sneak up behind her. Meanwhile, Mason had managed to gain the upper hand and tore the head off of his opponent. With four remaining, the pair were now back to back and moving in a circle in sync as they prepared for the enemies to attack.
Leaping through the air, Mason tackled one of the vampires that had been opposite him. Both baring their fangs at one another as they rained punches down. Behind them, Harley took on another one. Challenging it with her sword as it managed to block and dodge most of her hits. Using the lessons that her father had given her for many years, she used her weapon to dodge the vampire's attempted attacks and once he had gotten frustrated enough, giving her the advantage, she kicked him in the face as he made one final charge. With the vampire now on his knees, she placed the tip of her sword underneath his chin; taking pleasure in his nervous swallow, and then driving the sword through his heart.
Harley withdrew her blood splattered sword just as the third vampire burst into flames. Immediately, her attention was turned to the final vampire that was heading towards her. She began to back away as it stared at her, finding herself unable to control her body as his eyes made contact with hers.
Having just decapitated the vampire that he'd been fighting, Mason turned and saw his fellow clan member using his mind control to lock Harley in place. Without a second thought, he fled across the few feet at superhuman speed and threw the last vampire to the floor, using one of the daggers that he'd picked up from the ground to impale him in the heart before he had the chance to retaliate.
With all five vampires dead, he wiped the dagger clean of blood and offered it back to Harley. Looking him up and down and breathing a sigh of relief, she took the dagger back and placed it back in her belt; also returning her sword to its sheath.
"So... Now do you trust me?" He asked with a smirk.
