βρυκόλακας

2124

I was once a soldier in the human army, specializing in hand to hand combat and ranged weapons, along with the occasional sword. I was good at what I did, earning metals and awards everywhere I turned. My parents were proud, my siblings looked up to me, I was happy with my course.

The war with the vampires had been unexpected. I didn't like where things had been taken, but my duty was to my people and my homeland. And I defended them to the best of my power. I even killed a few vampires, werewolves, one demon, and one witch. I was like a slayer, that's what the General called me.

He always sent me on the suicide missions, knowing I would come back alive or at least in one piece, if not two. I even earned a few scars for myself. Luckily, none on my face, although my torso got pretty torn up.

The General put me in charge of training a newbie who was to specialize in my range of combat. I didn't like it... I liked working alone. So I gave him the cold shoulder, no matter how immature it was.

The boy didn't give up though and he learned quickly. By the time two years passed, he was mean and hard, no longer the soft, shy boy I had first met. He had a scar than ran from his eyebrow down to his chin. He especially liked the sword and beat me in every duel we had. We had learned to hate each other.

One night, after a late meeting with the generals, I took the boy - Landon - out to train. He followed wordlessly behind me, his dark hair covering his unnaturally blue eyes that were usually hidden beneath the locks.

Once we reached the arena, I turned to face him. "You've been doing quite well, Landon. So I decided to give you a last, ultimate test before you will finally become a master in your specialty."

Landon nodded, a smirk tugging the corners of his lips. "Tell me what to do, Master."

I mentally rolled my eyes at his sarcasm, folding my hands behind my back. "You will fight and defeat a captured vampire, complete an obstacle course, and finally defeat me in a duel."

He smirked again. "That's not so hard."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No, it isn't. Good luck, apprentice."

He scowled at the term "apprentice" for he highly believed he should have been a master long ago. But I withheld; he was too eager, unaware of how dangerous reality was. How, with one mistake, your life ends. He just couldn't comprehend how fast, how strong these creatures are.

As I watched Landon fight the vampire, I jumped and flinched every time the monster landed a strike on him. But no matter how much I wanted to, I could not intervene. This was his battle, his test, and if he could not complete it by himself, then he was not ready to become a master.

The match was equally fought, but the moment Landon was getting a lead, the fight took a bad turn. The vampire struck Landon's face, shredding the skin of his jaw. He stumbled back and fell over. It was then that I realized if I didn't act now he would die.

I leaped from my seat and onto the bloody sand of the arena. With a cry, I jumped into the air, sword unsheathed and cut off the vampire's head with one swipe. It rolled away, blood trailing it and the body dropping to the ground seconds after. I looked up at Landon, his horrified and ashamed expression bringing forth my sympathy.

"It is perfectly alright to fail your first battle with a vampire. I did. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Landon. You're just simply not ready."

"But I am ready!" He cried.

"Apparently you are not and this outcome shows it!" I yelled back, outraged. "You failed. You are not ready so you suck it up and continue your training. I will see you here tomorrow the second the sunrises and if you are not here you will be gone."

I made a move to step past him, but he grabbed my arm, pulled me towards him and crushed our lips together. My eyes popped open in shock and I shoved him away.

Landon simply smiled at me. "I hate you so much, I've wanted to do that they day we met."

"Y-you..."

"Don't let your enemies surprise you... Sir."

And then he turned on his heels, walking away. All I could do was smile.

_____________

Landon's training went on for another two years before he finally became a master of slaying. And by then the vampires had begun to win the war. We quickly became a pair, being the best slayers for centuries, and set out to eliminate the vampire generals and anyonething out there that was important to the enemy.

Not only were we excellent partners, we also became something that was illegal in the human world. Whenever we could, we would run off and hide to hold each other and kiss. And even do the unthinkable. Make love.

We mostly spent our time hunting, killing anything that was our enemy. It was amazing how excellent we fought together. It was almost impossible two could fight so well beside each other. It was like we could read each other's mind, see what the other was going to do.

Vampires quickly began to fear us, werewolves hid in their caves, and witches fell off their brooms at the sight of us. Even humans began to become afraid of what we had become. We kept getting better and better, our skills going beyond the human capabilities.

Eventually we were kicked out of the army in fear that we would betray our own kind, or that we were no longer human. Landon and I didn't care. We could now be together without fear of being discovered and still kill those who fought against our people.

"Markus, they are close. By noon tomorrow they will be among us," Landon murmured, his hands on my shoulders as he stood behind me.

I looked back at him, smiling. "Let them come. There is nothing they can do that we can't do better."

He smiled back and our lips met gently. I turned around, furrowing my fingers in his dark hair. His cobalt blue eyes met my cold gray ones, his fingers tangling into my white locks. Our lips met again and we fell to the ground, the grass cushioning the impact.

I hovered over Landon's body, his leather armor hard against my bare chest. We held each other in an embrace that could never be broken, even when we pulled apart.

"O-oh, Markus," Landon breathed. "Faster... ugh, faster."

His breathing turned shallow and hard as his hips jerked. My own thrusts began to get sloppy, my blood rushing through my veins, my breathing quickening, and the burning feeling churning in the pit of my stomach. Landon started murmuring my name, his fingers digging into my skin. Then he was screaming and I cried out along with him, collapsing on top of his body.

"I-I love you," I managed to gasp out. "I love you so much."

"Mm... Σ 'αγαπώ κι εγώ."

_______________

Landon had been right. By noon the next morning the vampires had arrived. We were hiding in the trees, our swords and other weapons out and ready for battle.

I looked over at Landon, meeting his gaze and nodding. He nodded back, moving swiftly to switch trees. A few leaves rattled and a vampire's head snapped up to inspect. His eyes narrowed, but he gave up after awhile, continuing to move forward.

Behind him, humans in chains followed with their heads down. Their clothes replaced with rags, their skin and hair covered in sweat and grime. My stomach churned with rage and sadness. So this is what our world had become...

I met Landon's gaze again, making the number sixteen with my fingers. He nodded and I patted my arm three times, indicating we would attack at three. One... Two... Th-

I cried out as I was shoved out of the tree, landing hard on the ground. A searing pain spread throughout my body, someone's cries ringing through my ears.

"Markus!"

Pounding footsteps hurt my eardrums, the sound of swords clashing and slicing skin sickening me. But it was all I could hear, all I could comprehend. And all I wanted to. We had been ambushed, caught by surprise. What was going to happen now?

"MARKUS!"

I recognized that voice, but I simply could not respond to its anguish.

"Markus, no! Markus!

Somebody began to shake my body vigorously, their sobs ringing my ears.

"Markus, wake up, please. Markus, God man, WAKE UP! MARKUS!"

No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't respond to that voice. No matter how important it was to me or it, I couldn't do it. Why? Because I was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if I did. Afraid of the consequences of what I would become. I was afraid for Landon and I was afraid for us. And I hated it.