Live To Die Everyday (1)

Stench of burnt fuel, metals and bodies lingered in the air. Stench that made one puke out everything within themselves and then more, or so Raoul thought. He knew he should have covered his nose, try not to breathe the stench in but truth be told, that's all he wanted to do – breathe it all in.

For all he could breathe and taste in the air was the sweet metallic taste of blood, taste that gave a jolt of energy in his tired and exhausted body, a sense of focus that no human could hope to achieve, a reaction that heighted his senses and abilities to be more than his enemies, more than what he was once.

Raoul's kind - the hemarins, or Vampires as they said ages ago; were known for their heightened senses and quick fluid moments. But for all their heightened senses and focus and increased abilities, when they were hungry, it all led to one thing - Blood.

Their nose discarded all the scents except blood, their ears didn't hear anything except the blood pulsing through veins, their tongues tasted everything but blood as dirt. And he was no exception to it, yet he restrained himself as he learnt to do so over the years, to not let the urges take control of him.

Walking around looking for what he wanted to find, he instead saw Seline sitting down with a broken mech for support, her red hair covering the face buried in the nape of the man she held in her arms. "Couldn't you wait for all this to be over first?" Raoul said, breaking her from her feeding session.

Humans had always referred to his kind as monsters, demons, scums of hell brought onto this paradise called earth; and some days he'd argue that it's just a little misunderstanding on their part.

But how could he argue with the sight in front of him? Dark eyes filled with lust for blood, that same blood trailing down from the corners of the lips that was smiling with no remorse. Hell, even our tears are like blood leaking out of our eyes.

"It is over, Raoul. We won. Don't be a grumpy old man, not today at least." She said, spreading her arms with glee on her face. These younglings, always eager for blood.... Although I can't blame them, even I was like that once. It's sometimes difficult to control their urges even for a 1000 year old hemarin, let alone a 150 year old youngling like Seline.

He still remembered the rush he felt whenever he had even a simple drop of blood, the feeling of being alive again. No, that feeling transcended even that. It had taken years and years of self-control and a number of attempts to dull down his urges.

"I'm not being grumpy, just telling you to have a little control. It'll help you later." To which the only response he got was rolling of eyes.

Sighing, Raoul looked around and saw that she wasn't the only one indulging in her pleasures. Dozens, or maybe even hundreds, of hemarin taking their spoils of war.

Many of the other hemarins were scavenging parts from mecha, some taking the wounded as prisoners, some who were severely wounded with no hope to survive for more than a few minutes were given away to be fed upon.

He sometimes wondered if the cause for lack of concern for human life was due to their own deaths.

That, perhaps, experiencing the end to their own life somehow made them numb to the whole point of life in general.

In his own case though, even now when Raoul tried to relive the memories of his death, they still managed to send shivers down his spine. "Pedro is taking a headcount of our survivors. I suggest you go there unless you want to be counted as dead." Seeing her about to say something, he added "And yes, I know you're already dead, not the first time I've heard that."

Seeing her leave, albeit a bit reluctantly and not without pouting, Raoul's gaze fell upon the man Seline was feeding on. A blonde man, maybe in his forties, laid down on the ground, blue eyes wide open staring into the unknown. Amidst the wet blood dripping down his neck and forehead, a golden light managed to sneak its shine out.

Raoul crouched down and took hold of the golden pendant snaked around the man's pale neck. It had the letters "Nolen" engraved on it. His name perhaps? Raoul thought. He once knew a Nolen too. A kind Hemarin, always ready to help others, even if those others weren't his kind. I wonder if you were like that too.

Pressing a button on the side, the pendant opened up to reveal a picture within it. A picture of some family. The man in the picture was certainly the one in front of Raoul, although a bit younger. Standing next to him was a woman, one of golden hair and same blue eyes, and sitting in front of them was a child. A girl, sharing her father's red hair and blue eyes.

They all looked happy.

They all looked content.

And now they won't.

The picture threatened to bring back the memories he worked hard to lock away. Tried to pry open the box of painful memories he kept locked away. Even that little attempt distracted Raoul enough to lose his focus.

The sweet scent of blood invaded his mind, sharp fangs growing and tearing apart his gums to make room for their increasing size. Just a little taste maybe, to satiate him. He thought, inching closer to the pool of Nolen's fresh blood.

But a certain image of a golden haired woman stopped his moment and gave him back his focus, No, this is not the time for that. I need to find her.