The party was in shambles. Vampires were rapidly flying all over the place to get out. Those that were indisposed were crawling sickly around, calling out for help. It was a horrific state of affairs and my adrenaline was pumping. I staggered outside where the rest of the party were flowing outwards to get as far away from this nightmare manor as possible. The front garden is littered with people unable to move but none of them are Ryker from my near sight. I wished I could use this opportunity to run away, though I'd have nowhere to go and wouldn't survive a night full of terrors. Maybe I could awaken another Nosferatu…
No way. I already have one lingering around with other motives at play against me.
I see the carriage we arrived in further down and I trot down towards it, my heels digging into dirt and ultimately flicking upwards all over my dress. Despite my initial reaction, I'm not so thrilled to see it be ruined. The horses show no sign of distress and only stay as put as loyal soldiers, unaware of life around them outside of Ryker's orders. I fling open the carriage doors once I reach it and my sight is objected by a woman straddling a man amidst a heated make out session. Her lipstick is smeared and the man's hair is overly disheveled and his top is long gone. He's placated and barely conscious as he stares ravished by the woman.
"You daft girl, what the hell are you doing!?" The woman hisses.
"This is my carriage!" I rebuttal. "And people are dying all over the place!"
I don't bother explaining further and shut the door on their stint.
That idiot has most likely flown home and left me here as punishment. It's an unwritten rule in our marriage to be cruel to each other and it's no surprise. Before I can curse out loud, a dry hand clamps around my mouth and drags me backwards with unrivalled strength.
"You're coming with me, sweetling." An eerie voice gasps in my ear.
I kick out and attempt to plant my heels to stop myself from moving. My captor is too strong and my view becomes obstructed by tree branches as I'm moved further into the forest. I twist and turn but it's no use. Whoever has got me, cackles loudly at my weakness. Suddenly I'm shoved backwards and my back hits the hard ground and I groan in agony.
A girl with a shaved head peers at me hungrily. She's dressed in a three piece tux, her claws elongated and her eyes have been dilated to black. She's licking her lips, fangs ready for the kill. The ruckus of the party is distant and I don't bother calling for help. This is the least of anyone's worries.
"Get the fuck away from me!" I use my hands and feet to shove myself back along the ground. It only causes the girl to think of this as a game as she steps slowly towards me, cracking her neck as she does so.
"I'm going to kill you while I can. Damn rules stopping us vampires from doing what we do best: ripping you all to shreds."
She steps on my torso to stop me from moving.
"Ow!" I cry out, tears beading at the corner of my eyes.
She obviously has no remorse and revels in my pain.
"Stay still, you insect." The vampire harshly spits. I don't budge, scared to have something broken if she decides to stomp down harder.
"W-who are you?" I question to delay the inevitable.
Luckily she takes the bait. Something about the question makes her proud.
"I'm part of the Depraved." If I wasn't in a life or death situation, I would have laughed at the irony.
"The Depraved?"
"Yes." She drawls. "A return to greater havoc." The heel of her leather shoe digs deeper into the sensitive area of my stomach.
I toss and turn the cryptic message in my head. Is this related to what's just happened in the manor?
"The havoc of w-what?"
"Moral order amongst the generations!" She complains.
"There's a growing disformity amongst our kind and too many sickly hands are changing the way things that must be done naturally."
The vampire quivers and a guttural sigh escapes her dry lips. "I've had to drink rats and find drunk men to survive. Now…now I get something tasty."
My chest heaves as she steps off and stalks around me, ready for a feast. It allows me to breathe clearly again but I'm a deer caught in the headlights, my useless life flashing through my mind.
A branch snaps nearby and it causes the vampire to switch her stance to fight.
"Who the fuck is there? This one is mine!" She growls and surveys the area.
She sniffs.
"You're good at masking yourself but I have a trained nose!"
"R-Ryker!" I whimper and I get a blowing kick to my side. I cry out in pain. It hurts. It hurts so much. I don't realise it but my cry syncs with that of the vampire. I crunch into my side in a fetus position from the grating sensation and I'm unable to see what's happening. Another figure has made its way into the arena and a strangled screech tears through the air. I'm vaguely able to see a body collapse to the ground in a lump and a hand instantly smooths across my cheek. My breaths are shallow and I squeeze my eyes shut.
The night is quieter and I imagine the rest of the crowd have cleared out by now. I conclude in my haze that something must have been wrong with the blood wine if only vampires had been affected and the spout of nonsense of a rebellion brewing. The dry leaves from the ground start to evade my senses and the ground's dewiness from the colder climate seeps into the fabric of my dress and clings to my skin. If I'm not dead by the end of this, I'll certainly be sick.
"P-p-please…" I beg.
The hand brushes my locks away and pulls upwards on my jaw. A finger traces around my pulse and I realise that I haven't been saved. It's just another vampire taking the kill. Glowing green eyes meet mine before I feel a sensual breath on the skin at my pulse. Teeth lazily drag over it and my hand reaches to limply push at the stranger's chest. It does nothing and instead acts as a signal for the vampire to sink their teeth into me. Everything goes dark.