~4-Evil Without Remorse~

~Rhett~

Darkness roots deep in physicality. It engulfs the skin of man, hidden in plain sight, only to be felt in the shadows. And then, comes the monster, revealing himself as this darkness. I feel him. 

He touches me. His words reek fright in me. Unlike none I've ever felt. His talons, sharper than a knife. His fangs, eager to drain your blood. His voice, leaving your legs shaking. And he comes for me, in the woods. In the shadows. 

He murders. He killed Reynolds. 

My eyes snaps open, a heavy headache forcing me to dig my nails into my thighs as I groan aloud. When it finally comes down, I'm left breathing harshly. 

I'm in a dark room, so dark I can barely see anything. The floor is cold. The smell is awful: nasty and nauseating. My stomach retches at the sensation. My body's weak but I throw it forward until I touch an iron bar. My heart quickens then things start to make sense. My eyes are now familiar with the dark. Goodness. I'm in a cage. 

My nerves spike up as chills run down my spine, knocking the air out of my lungs. I can't breathe. I can't think. Fuck, it's real. I'm doomed. 

I fall to the ground as recognition dawns on me. It was never a dream. 

Reynolds was killed in the woods. The monster took me—Valois' boss. The shock leaves me glaring into the nothingness. 

I remain stuck on the floor enough to lose track of time until the cage opens. I raise my gaze to see Valois at the entrance. He stares down at me, offering a gentle approach. 

"Rhett." He calls my name, and I don't know what to say in return. 

My throat hurts as I force my speech. "It is true, is it not? You are really a...?"

"A vampire, yes."

"Why...I..." I can't make sense of anything. 

There was a brief silence before the Valois walks inside. "Precisely fifty-four years ago, a young boy had to fight a battle he knew nothing of. His father nor mother sinned greatly enough for him to inherit such reality. The Fates, as cruel and damned as they are, made him suffer in enemy's captivity for six years. The horror the young boy endured. The agony he was tackled with. Eventually, the monster he was turned into. It crawled at his skin, awaiting the ingredient to awaken it."

"Then came him. A monster who understands his pain. From the shadows, he beckons—King Kael. He saved me. He rebirthed me." Valois pauses, allowing me to sink in the information. When I look into his eyes, I see him for the real him. He was passively telling me the truth all this time, but how could I have known? 

"I came to college for one purpose: to get the Hunter Reynolds killed. What I didn't think is you'd get entangled in all of this. You shouldn't have been there, Rhett. These are supernatural events you don't know anything about. Think us evil all you want, but we are not. I am sorry." 

"No." I grab my head, forcing my eyes shut. "This isn't real. It can't be real." There's no way vampires are real. There's no way Reynolds passed through such devastating death. 

I lose touch of the ground, lifted midair by Valois. He does it effortlessly. "This is real, Rhett. King Kael calls for you. I need you to heed to whatever he asks of you. I'm trying my best to keep you alive. Believe it or not, but I don't want you dead. You seem a good human. Now, follow me." 

Having dropped me, Valois turns around to lead the way. He's completely different. No, this is someone else. My eyes shift to the opening. Maybe I can run away. 

"Hit him from behind and flee." The thought runs fresh. Without hesitation, I speed forward but gravity shifts around me. A gust of wind hit my face, shifting my environment. When the air stops flapping, I'm in a different room. 

I twirl, not believing my sight. It can't be real. It really can't be. 

"I just told you I'm a vampire, Rhett. For a vampire, a human is an open book. I can read your thoughts before they are implemented." Valois says, deadpan and slightly squinting his eyes at me. "He'll be here soon. Trust me, I'm trying to get you free." 

There are many things roaming my head but they're reeling too fast. I'm dumbfounded and fazed. My brain is foggy that I didn't even realise all this time we are in a throne room. Except Valois and I, there is no one else. The throne sits in a near distance from me. The ventilation in the room are blocked which lessens rays of sunlight but enough for a good sight. The room is massive, spacious, and clearly vintage. It leaves an eerie feeling.

Suddenly, the creaking sound of a door fills my hearing and I hear footsteps, followed by a thick authoritative tone. He begins, "did you know the human body is merely a tool? Snatch the heart, its owner dies. Detach a joint, mobilisation seizes. A flawed machine. Even the littlest of things—a finger when cut, its owner screams in pain. Your brain loses focus. It rather dwells on the pain, leaving you more vulnerable."

At the last sentence, I feel a coldness seeps in. I can feel a presence behind me, inches away. I try to hide my squirming but it's impossible. My body is releasing insane hormones that hurts more than the thoughts of dying in the hands of these leeches. 

His breath rests on my ears, sensing as though he speaks inside my head. "I will ask just a question. For each time you fail to answer, you'll face one of those pain methods I mentioned." A brief pause. "What were you doing in the woods?"

Beads of sweat slide down my face as Valois' boss, now King Kael, faces me in a flash. A second ago, he wasn't there but now, he's in front of me, his height towering over mine. Like Valois, he's completely different from the man I saw back at the apartment. 

Here, he's the devil. His eyes are glowing scarlet red. His brows are furrowed. His palms are brawled into a fist, contracting his muscles. 

But then, all of a sudden, I had a rethink. He doesn't want answers. 

I'll die here, won't I? 

I can't survive this, can I? 

They'll never let me return to my old life. My fate is doomed. Even if they leave me be, I'll never heal from what I saw. The horrors. The dreadful deaths. With it, my life is forever altered.

My eyes drop to the ground. I dare not look into his eyes. But I find my voice. "He didn't deserve the way he died."

"He was a Hunter. If he was stronger, he would have done the same to me." Replies King Kael. I'm surprised he hasn't decapitated me. Still, in my fright, I find a courage to continue. 

My eyes shift from Valois to King Kael. "So, all this is really true. Vampires, Hunters...they are real. The movies never lied. You live amongst humans. But do you really have to be so cruel?"

"Answer my question or you'll face a crueler judgement. Are you a spy of the hunters'?" King Kael is losing his patience. 

"What crueler act could there be than that I witnessed?" My voice breaks. "It is true. You really killed him...and you, Valois, you knew of it. What will happen to me now? Will you kill me too? Is that it?" My inquisition is met with silence which, weirdly, offends me even more. Surprisingly, I'm at a stage where I know death is inevitable and this courage I feel, it's unnatural. It feels drawn. But from what?

"Answer me!" I yell. I swear, King Kael is going to cut my thread right here and now, unaliving me, except the door opens, revealing another devil. Those crimson eyes. It's another vampire. A strong one, I'm certain.