Tom stepped up, instinctively shielding Suzanne with his body, covering her petite body behind his towering frame. Suddenly, he believed every horror story he had read as a child, that they were all true; the undead walking amongst the living and feeding off them. At that very moment, he wanted to run away, more than anything. But he stood firm, he would protect Suzanne with his life if need be.The vampire found this amusing, “How sweet.”

'We had all but scattered across the earth, but father hunted us down one by one. And then, there were only a few of us left. My sister and I stayed with mother, we were the youngest in the family. A few were hiding elsewhere. I believe father came for us last.  When he found us, we were surviving on the blood of lizards and snakes. All the other creatures had all but been consumed. We were weak, father would have no problem finishing us off. But father loved mother the most. She was his first love.

It was 2:15 am on a snowy Christmas morning when the plane landed at Incheon International Airport, but no one was celebrating. Instead, most of the passengers were glued to their phones, reading and watching the horrendous news in disbelief. While they were up in the air, the ‘plague’ had swept across the whole of the Middle East and a major part of Europe. Many were trying to call their loved ones back home, some were lucky to have their calls answered, others, were left in tears.   Both Suzanne and Tom kept their heads down and hurried out of the plane.

Suzanne closed the door behind them as Tom wheeled their bags into the bedroom. It was a simple but spacious room, with a king-sized bed against the wall and an adjoining bathroom next to it. The room even had a little balcony with a view of the backyard, not that there was much to see at the moment. Outside, the sky was still dark and heavy with snowfall. Tom walked over to the sliding glass door and pulled the curtain to a close, he didn’t want any ghosts peeking in on them.Suzanne looked at Tom silently as he went about with their toiletries and clothes. He was a good man, and she was endangering his life. What chance would he have if the mist came for them a second time? This was a mistake, she shouldn’t have let him come here.

Thomas laughed,” Hans, you’re kidding right? I mean if it was you, or Marcelino I would understand. But this is Suzanne we’re talking about.”He was exasperated, they all were. Thomas shook his head, “We all travelled from different continents of the world to gather here at your sanctuary. I don’t know about the rest of you but I was hoping to find solace and protection here, and now you’re telling us we have to fight? Based on some weird inscription and a freaky looking tattoo on Suzanne’s palm? Hans are you out of your mind?!”The twins ignored Thomas and went over to inspect Suzanne’s palm in awe. Marcelino remained silent and unmoving.Thomas started to storm out of the room when Hans quietly said, “Suzanne is the only one who survived the black mist. And if you don’t believe in us, you can at least believe in Hendricks.”Thomas whirled around, his eyes were tearing up now.