Derek now standing in an abandoned warehouse begin to look around at the horrific scene in front of him. " Is this really what my life has become now?" The vampires lay dead in front of him with their blood glistening in the moonlight from a broken window. " I wonder where I would be if I had walked away that night." ( One year ago) As the sun was just peaking into a young man's room his alarm clock began going off. His name is Derek a 17-year-old high schooler that lived in an orphanage. His parents had both died in a car crash when he was younger and the church had taken him in.
Derek started his morning like any other getting dressed and walking downstairs to the mess hall for breakfast to fuel his daily run. Upon arriving he begins smiling as he sees all the younger kids eating and laughing as they prepare for school. Walking to the line he is nearly knocked over by his best friend as he jumps onto his back laughing. John had come to the orphanage a few months after Derek and the two had become like brothers over the years. " You know today is the day I finally beat you in a race." John proudly stated with his chest out. " Are you sure you didn't hit your head rolling out of bed this morning John?) Derek said as he had a grin on his face.
Derek was one of the fastest kids at the school and orphanage. To look at Derek you could see he was in very good shape. His height was 5' 10" and had a well-defined muscular frame with short black hair that was spiky on top and buzzed on the sides. John was just a few inches shorter than Derek with long brown hair that he kept pulled back in a ponytail with a more lean frame. The two of them had finished their breakfast and soon headed to the back of the building to start their run. The orphanage was surrounded by a large heavily wooded forest that had many trails cut out for hiking. From the start of the trail back to the orphanage was 3 miles.
Both boys walked up stretching to the woods getting ready in their stances John yelled go. The victor was Derek yet again, as they started resting john had a worried look on his face. "Hey, Derek I will be 18 tomorrow and will be leaving from here. Do you plan on staying here to help out with the orphanage instead of joining the military with me when you turn 18?" Derek knew that John wanted him to join the military but deep down he never thought he would be able to take a life or fight in a war. " John I am sorry but you know how I feel about it. I'm going to stay here and help out with the kids. Besides it's not like we won't see each other again we will always have each other's back when we need it the most." This seems to put John into a better mood so they stoop up and went inside to get cleaned up from their run in the woods." So did you finally beat him in a race John?" an older man said. The man in front of them was the person that had cared for them and all of the other kids, pastor mike.
John put his head down in defeat once again while Derek just smiled saying " he will beat me one of these days." They all talk for a few minutes before the boys headed off to get ready for school. Derek never really got into school work that much just enough to pass his classes. At lunch, John had met up with him at one of the lunch tables. Discussing what plans they had for the night and after school." I don't have anything planned this evening, to be honest, I was going to check out that new trail tonight. Maybe even go for a swim in the river." said Derek. " Sounds like a great plan man, I'll come with you it's been a while since I went on a night run or swim." John happily said.
After the boys returned home they began helping out with the daily chores and getting the younger kids washed up for dinner. Once everyone had their dinner it was time for bed so Derek and John ushered the little ones to their room and down to bed. Pastor Mike and the rest of the staff cleaned up the mess hall and walked to check on the rest of the kids. after everything was done the boys had told pastor mike they will be back late tonight and explained where there would be. As expected he just smiled and told them to be careful. Soon Derek and John were off to the trail with the full moon shining down on the path through the trees. The cool night air filled their lungs while they jogged down the moonlit path. Peaceful sounds of the crickets chirping and water running over the rocks in the river filled the air.
About 30 minutes into the jog Derek could see the path open up to a meadow. As both of the boys stopped they couldn't believe how beautiful the view was. Derek walked up to the right side of the meadow where a runoff of the river had created a swimming hole. John started to build a fire and set up a campsite for the two while Derek was already planning to jump in. When diving in Derek couldn't help but smile as the water was crystal clear with the moonlight shining into the water along with the perfect temperature. Soon John was jumping in as well but, unbeknownst to them in the trees looking down on them were several shadows with eyes glowing a deep red.