It was a time of peace, when the humans and the vampires lived in harmony. Our country was being run by two governing bodies. The Church leads the people, while the Council leads the vampires. Despite the long-standing pact, there were certain rules to follow. First, we weren't allowed to share the teachings we learned. Everyone, the humans, was obligated to go to Church once a week to listen to the teachings. Like the olden days, we were taught about the contents of the Bible and exchange ideas of interpretation. Aside from the usual, in an hour or so, we were taught everything about the vampires; everything from their physical abilities, their innate sinister instincts, and how to protect ourselves from them in case of emergency. Humans and vampires have lived together for years, but there were always cases of slaughter on both sides. At this same concept, the vampires gather twice a week as well. Nobody knew what they discuss during their gatherings since it was taboo to talk about it. But our leaders were suspicious, and rumors have been circulating that the vampires were planning an uprising, a massacre to be exact.

The second rule was that humans and vampires can only interact with each other in public places. You'll see vampires and humans eating together in restaurants, or having a picnic in the park, or playing football on the field, but they cannot meet in private. When your vampire friend celebrates her birthday, the only thing you can do is hand over your gift and wish her a happy birthday. Then the next day, you'll be listening to all the amazing things that happened at her party. A lot of teenagers have been punished because of this rule. You can't blame them. They're at the age when their friends' company means so much to them. Since they can't invite their friends over at their house, the kids would meet each other in abandoned buildings or beneath the bridge, some even at the sewers. Both governments have tightened night security after an incident a week earlier. A few kids were having fun at night in an abandoned part of an oil factory when they came in contact with a group of low-level vampires. Five human kids were severely injured, two died. Their three vampire friends were also in grave condition when brought to the hospital after trying to protect the humans in the group. The incident created a ruckus, and despite their injuries, they were given punishment.

Lastly, humans and vampires can't cohabit. They can't fall in love with each other. Just looking at vampires, there's nothing special about them. They look like humans too, except for the red eyes and fangs, but there's something about them that attracts humans. It's like they're constantly releasing pheromones and you can't help but get mesmerized. That's why humans and vampires of different genders don't usually socialize; it might just be an avenue for trouble.

As a daughter of the Church, I grew up with those rules inked on my mind. But that last rule, I couldn't stop myself from breaking...