The sun was high overhead, blazing down on the landscape like molten gold. It was midday, but the air had a cool bite to it. Sunlight poured over the rolling hills and mountains visible in the distance.
They still hadn't found any nourishment. Their stomachs were empty, and Zell's bloodlust was growing stronger by the hour. He could feel the thirst rising inside of him, threatening to overwhelm him. It was growing harder and harder to contain. He felt as if he wouldn't be able to suppress it for long.
His mind raced, grasping for solutions. Perhaps they would find food shortly? Maybe they could hunt something down?
But despite his hopes, time went by without any sign of it but then the group heard a sound from some nearby bushes. Someone called out, "Look, it's a rabbit!"
The group rushed over immediately.
Just then, someone else exclaimed: "There's more than one!"
A moment later, Zell caught sight of a second rabbit.
Everyone was overwhelmed by the cuteness of the rabbits. It was hard to believe that such tiny creatures were capable of surviving in such harsh conditions. Zell felt compelled to reach out and touch one, but he resisted the urge.
When everyone was distracted the cute rabbit's fur suddenly turned red and horns grew on their foreheads.
The students gasped and recoiled away. They fell silent.
"Wha-what'd happening to them?" someone asked.
Zell was confused by this development, but then the realization hit him. The rabbits were turning into demons.
He shuddered at the sight and took a step back. Noticing this, one of the students cried out, "Zell! What're you doing?!"
He ignored his friend and continued backing away from the scene. His friends did the same. Soon enough, no one was looking at the rabbits anymore.
After running for a while they were certain they lost the rabbit demons and they stopped to take a breather.
"So what do we do now?" the boy asked.
"I wonder what's going to happen next," someone said.
"We'll probably be attacked by monsters soon."
They waited silently for half an hour, but no monsters appeared.
Then they noticed something horrible, someone was missing. It was the girl who had gone to investigate the rabbits. They wondered where she was.
"She should be here by now," someone muttered, "but where the heck is she?"
"Maybe we ought to go look for her," someone suggested.
The group discussed whether or not to split up, but everyone agreed it would be best if they stayed together. So they waited. And waited. But no one came back.
The group was both terrified and sad.
Soon enough, the sun began to set. Darkness fell upon them.
The group huddled together, shivering in fear.
It wasn't long before a low growl sounded from somewhere in the bushes. They all jumped and stood up. Then they heard rustling sounds, like those produced when leaves brushed against each other. With that, Zell knew exactly in which direction the monster was approaching straight towards him!
Without thinking, Zell ran. He sprinted across the open field until he reached the edge of a thick forest.
Suddenly he tripped over something and landed facefirst on the ground, knocking the wind out of him instantly. Before he could recover, a creature leaped onto his chest and bit deeply into the flesh between his neck and shoulder.
Blood spilled forth and Zell screamed in agony. Without realizing what he was doing, he grabbed the beast by its throat and squeezed it. As it struggled to breathe, Zell tightened his grip further, cutting off the flow of oxygen completely.
For a brief instant, Zell thought he might succeed. But the demon managed to shake his hand free of death's grasp and escape Zell's hold, leaping backward through the brush like a wild animal.
Despite the pain, he picked himself up slowly, using only his right arm because of the bite wound. He staggered forward and stumbled deeper into the woods, searching for some means of defense—anything at all to protect himself.
Unexpectedly his wounds started healing at a rate visible to the human eye. A few seconds later, the cuts vanished altogether, and the puncture marks healed themselves. All traces of injury were gone!
That wasn't possible… Was it?!
Zell didn't have time to think about it since the monsters was still in the forest he need protection. He dashed deeper into the woods, desperately seeking refuge from whatever danger pursued him.
Finally, he located a tree stump that resembled a natural seat. Using that as a perch, Zell rested atop it, panting heavily from exhaustion. He was weak, tired, and wounded;
He finally had time to think. Zell connected the dots, he had fangs, a strong desire for blood and he could heal very fast.
He was a vampire!
Zell was relieved that he had come to this conclusion early on instead of waiting until he faced the enemy directly. If he'd done so, it could have ended badly. Now that he understood what kind of being he was, Zell realized how dangerous the situation really was. Vampires were feared throughout the world, and most people believed them to be evil. That made finding allies among humans extremely unlikely. But fortunately for Zell, he had friends already.
Come to think of it where were they?
He searched for them frantically. After a short search, he discovered his comrades... corpses! They lay dead on the ground, torn apart by sharp claws and teeth. Blood pooled beneath their bodies, forming pools of crimson liquid that oozed under the dying light of dusk.
Their eyes were wide open, staring vacantly at the sky above them.
Seeing blood this way was the last straw for Zell as he lost control over his bloodlust completely. In the midst of the chaos, he forgot everything except the taste of fresh warm blood. No matter how much he wanted to resist, he simply couldn't. At least he didn't lose consciousness though. When he saw his friends' lifeless faces lying beside him, he decided to give in to temptation. He closed his eyes tightly and sank deep within himself.
At once, a wave of euphoria washed over him. The sensation was unlike anything Zell had ever experienced. There was nothing quite like drinking blood, especially that of a living creature. This was his true nature!
All his fears faded away. He basked in the blissful feeling of having satisfied his bloodthirst. Everything seemed clearer and sharper now.
In fact, things became so clear that Zell was surprised there weren't tears streaming down his cheeks. He could see every detail of the surrounding area. Even better, he could smell everything around him.
But he was scared. He didn't feel anything about his comrades dying, he didn't want to lose his humanity completely!
Before he could finish this thought he fell unconscious.