Chapter 3. On the run

It was already dark when they stopped running. Maria couldn't stop looking at Alex for even one second.

She was scared. Scared of what he could be capable of.

They hadn't spoken a word for hours now and the tension was getting worse.

Nobody dared to make a sound, afraid they would get caught by a royal guard or a villager.

It was sure that the entire kingdom already knew they were on the run.

Killing a royal or a royal guard was the worst crime you could commit.

If anyone found them, they would most likely get a death penalty.

Maria sighed. Her feet were hurting. When she glanced at Alex for the 100th time, he looked back.

She quickly looked somewhere else. The girl absolutely wanted to talk to him, but she was still afraid of him.

"Maria?" The girl looked up at the mention of her name.

"We all need to talk right now."

Theo nodded his head , agreeing with Daniel. They indeed needed to talk.

The tension was so thick it was becoming extremely uncomfortable.

Only Alex looked at the ground. He was embarrassed.

Because of a stupid mistake he brought his friends in danger.

They would be sentenced too. If he remembered correctly, helping a murderer was a crime.

He felt so guilty and scared. He definitely didn't want them to get caught.

For the first time in his life, the young vampire thought about death.

He never actually minded the thought of dying one day. And ironically, that day is getting closer.

Maybe if he ran away from them he could still save his friends?

Nah , the Angels weren't that generous and he still holds a grudge against the creatures.

He wondered why the humans thought they were amazing.

When he finally decided to look up, everyone was already staring at him with questioning eyes.

The female vampire approached him with tiny steps, before pulling him in a hug.

"Thank you for saving me". It almost sounded like whisper but Alex heard her loud and clear.

"I'm Joanna. My master had been treating me like trash the moment he bought me.

He killed my parents in front of me and forced me to watch them die before my eyes.

Oh god, I never expected to be freed in my whole life."

Alex gulped, looking down. He had brought his friends AND a stranger in danger.

"You're not a dissapointment Alex."

He looked surprised at the tiny girl. How did she know what he was thinking?

"It's my ability". Oh, yeah it made sense. Every vampire has an ability.

Some have powerful ones and some have weaker ones. It just depends on the person's mentality.

If they mentally strong , they will be phisically strong.

This girl seemed pretty average. But still, her power was rare. Only 8% of the vampire population could read minds.

"What did I do?" Alex didn't mean to say this, but the words rolled off his tongue.

All eyes were on him. He could see that they were hesitating whether to tell what they saw or not.

"Ehm... Alex , are you sure honey?" , Maria said. She saw the scared look on his face, and her own fear faded like snow in the sun.

"Yes." He wanted to know so badly.

" Well..." Daniel looked around for confirmation of the others, who all nodded.

" We couldn't see it, it was in a fractio of a second and we think that you're not a vampire", he exclaimed with a heavy sigh.

"I..." Alex didn't know what to think or say. "That's impossible, how can I not be a vampire? Is there such a thing as changing your nature?"

This time Theo started talking. " I think it's not a change of nature. It's rather that you have never been a vampire at all.

Is that why you haven't been caught by the Angels? I mean, if you were one they would have noticed all along, don't you think?"

"Then what am I?" Alex looked at everyone for an answer, but they all shook their heads. They didn't know. Even the vampire girl couldn't answer.

"You're not a modern creature at all. Could you be an ancient creature?", Theo offered.

But Alex wasn't having any of it. "What the hell, man! I need confirmation , not just suggestions! God damnit!"

He ran away from the others without even looking back. He was gonna turn himself in. If he did, he could save his friends' lives.

He knew he shouldn't have screamed at hem, but it was the only way to stop them from following him.

If they were hurt or angry, they wouldn't try and save him. It was his best option at the moment.

Not the optimal choice, but better than the others.

He sighed heavily, he didn't even know which way it was to the palace of the king.

Maybe if he asked a villager, they would turn him in for the prize of his head.

Then he wouldn't have to figure out himself. His thoughts returned to what hey had told him.

If he wasn't a vampire, what the hell was he?

That's not possible, right? But Theo also had a point.

If he really were one, then why did he still have his wings and freedom?

That didn't make sense at all. But at the same time, the thought of being an ancient creature didn't make sense too.

His parents weren't ancient creatures. How could they have given birth to an ancient creature? There weren't any records of such an event.

Were his parents really his parents? Nah, of course they were. It was all on paper.

He longed to the warm embrace of his mother and the warm smile of his father.

Before the boy noticed, tears were already running down his face.

They were warm and salty. He truly didn't know what to do anymore.

But if he didn't turn himself in, his friends couldn't be saved.

Alex was even ready to beg for their freedom. They were the only people who actually stayed with him for being himself, and not out of pity or for his money.

The forrest was foggy and he couldn't see farther than 2 meters ahead od him. Squinting his eyes, he tried to follow the path.

But damn was this difficult. At this point the boy couldn't help but seriously wish for someone to actually find him.

As if his wish was granted, he heard a voice behind him. And he knew the owner of the voice damn well.

"Hey, little vampire boy, we meet again." He turned his head abruptly. "You?!"