Ane moaned softly with very conscious horror that nothing in her body obeyed her will. Her muscles were tight.
There was strange electricity in the charged air as dusk filled with purple clouds. A storm was approaching. It was too difficult to maintain control of her breath with the fear she felt.
The screams still echoed from the big house, displaying a stage of terror. Painful chills ran through her muscles when the stranger dropped beside her, also panting.
And that was by no means human, nor was it what had attacked them inside the garage. The silence that came from thereafter the moans had stopped was even more frightening. She couldn't move her toes or hands with the numbness that radiated from her lower limbs, spreading incredibly fast.
Had that managed to bite her?
She couldn't make that much difference, could she? it was certainly just a wild animal that had come too close to the city limits. Only that creature next to her ...
Oh, God! It was not fantasying the reddish skin tone with nuances that now stood out in the darkness. The scream stuck in her throat.
-What are you? No ... I can't move my legs ...
Wide-eyed, the girl can see the hand that slid through the gate through the garage door as an ethereal shape and then gradually gain a solid and real appearance before them.
-My God! I did not see it. This is impossible! Her voice came out as a strangled whisper on her pale face.
Kory grunted, shifting his body very fast like any warrior rising and the hood that covered her face fell, showing admirable slanting eyes and completely red. Any hope of justifying his strange appearance lost all chances of justifying that he might be human.
It was the humanoid appearance of a man with defined muscles and terribly strong. Ane managed to widen her eyes in a trance. He was huge without the robes of the cloak that were now lying on the floor. The long, loose hair formed a mane like any dangerous animal, framing a pair of horns. The sword in his big hands seemed to take on a life of its own, becoming incandescent and bright in the dark of night.
The sword gleamed, radiating light around them. And again, the slow, prolonged hiss came low.
-What is it? - Ane tried very hard to getaway.
It was useless. His body seemed paralyzed from the waist down. More shadows slid across the night.
Slowly the shadow began to take on a monstrous shape, displaying prominent prey. His teeth gleamed in the darkness with his deep black eyes that resembled an endless hole.
Ane cried out in dread.
-Don't approach! - the stranger's order was furious and without hesitation. - I told you not to approach, beast.
She looked at him and the flaming sword in her livid hands.
That responded with a hideous, clear growl. Almost feline.
-Don't look in the eyes! - Stranger warned the human beside him with concern.
And the distraction was almost costly. He let himself be cornered by it with a muffled plague. gripped the sword hilt with renewed strength, the metal glowing majestic and red. Again the creature let out a howling cry.
Disgusted the creature retreated protesting and emitting its discontent in front of its prey, eyes fixed on the nearby fallen human.
Ane managed to put her hands over her ears, denying what she heard. They were inarticulate and inhuman sounds. They hissed with fury. She tried to swallow the saliva in her dry throat with the certainty that if it weren't for that man over there, it would have gone on her and perhaps done much worse than what had happened to the boys. Perhaps she would have ripped the pulsating artery in her neck and rejoiced in the blood that would gush from her jugular.
Such creatures did not exist. As much as the stranger had ordered his eyes, they were fixed on it with fear and horror. And even with the strange sword shining and making hissing sounds as it shone brightly, it leapt forward in an unbelievable leap toward him.
The weight of the impact stole all the air out of his lungs. Her fingers felt like claws in an attempt to reach her neck while she tried to protect her face. She didn't even realize that the stranger was struggling to get it off her. she paid attention to the threatening jaws and started screaming again.
-Take that thing away! Get this thing off me.
Ane screamed and her scream was to wake the dead.
The cursing stranger grabbed the neck of it, pulled it hard away and threw it against the floor. The creature moved with mind-boggling speed, its eyes wide and bright in its fury and its sharp teeth bared more.
-God, what the hell is that? What kind of monster is that? she asked seeing him raise his sword in the air.
The sound of a dull thud made Ane flinch and trance when something rolled to her feet. The scent of hot, burned meat ominously hung in the air as the headless body clattered, waving its arms and legs in disordered movements. In a moment he was writhing in pain and then everything evaporated, seeping through the grains of sand on the floor leaving Ane livid and breathless.
----------------------------------------------
-That scratched me! God! it scratched me. tried to bite me and ...
Kory rolled his eyes, leaving the sword beside him as he approached the worried girl noticing the eyes that popped out of their sockets in horror.
She was still very young. Little more than a child. All his efforts to take her in his arms and calm her down were futile. Her reddish face showed the first signs of contamination of the body with the poison of those creatures.
-Girl...
-Don't come near me. That scratched me. My God. That touched me, I could smell the breath ...
Kory put aside all caution. That human could compromise her position with the guardians. If they found out who he really was ... Firm hands held her scratched arm, watching the fabric darkened with the poison that spread with the strained expression.
-Curse! That tried to feed on you! - His voice was irritated. Why didn't you say before that it was scratched? Can you move to?
Ane stared at him, unable to understand the words mesmerized. All she wanted to do was run away and couldn't. Her legs gave the impression of being paralyzed.
-No ... I can't move ...
Kory saw her pale face more irritated with himself. Creatures like those used to scratch their fangs to keep them immobile after the paralyzing poison in their claws penetrated the victim's body. That thing was not just meant to satisfy hunger, consuming all the human vital energy. The failed attempt showed a desperate attempt to create more of those things through contamination.
Tense, he reached for the first aid kit on his tunic. He took out a small digital infrared pistol with a laser sight.
-You can't wait, girl. You need the antidote for the poison now! It will hurt, girl.
Ane didn't even protest. Her body contracted with a painful spasm that made her gasp for air. She was sure that her skin burned and stung. She tensed like an iron rod with tendons in agony protruding from her pale skin, biting her lips in agony. Tears and sweat were streaming from her dirt-stained face when she started to relax...
-What was that? - Ane whispered tiredly.
Kory closed his eyes, annoyed and furious.
Creatures of the Night were freaks who should have been under extreme surveillance by the guardians and not let loose threatening healthy guinea pigs. Somehow some had broken free and got out of control without anyone being able to explain the security breach.
-Just breathe and try to relax. Immunization works quickly. We need to get out of here and seek security. -She warned dryly.
-What are you going to do with me? Was that ... going to feed ...? How do you eat? Like a bloody vampire?
She was sure that was sinking into an unreal world of nightmares. Vampires did not exist.
- Not! - he replied with little desire. - Youngsters so young don't usually cause such a mess.
This thing is something else. Hybridization processes created an aberration. We would have no problem if it was just what you call vampires.
It was going to hunt and mutate. A predator in an ecosystem that would have no one to threaten it.
- What was that?
What? That was the question Kory asked himself. He disguised his puzzled smile by capturing the thoughts of the frightened girl beside him.
- I think that after so much work to save you from this thing, it would be a waste of time trying to kill her, don't you think?