I THOUGHT I was going crazy. My mind was about to explode from all the sudden events that were happening in my life. Bah! Who was I kidding? There were no events. It was just one event! And this one event was enough to make me lose my sanity!
However, I did not. I was glad I had it in me to be this strong, despite the unbelievable things I had seen ever since Brittany locked me in this dungeon. And mind you, it had only been hours since then.
Sighed.
"How come you're still alive?" I asked, staring blankly at the torch outside our prison.
I need to talk.
I need to converse with someone.
Otherwise, I would definitely lose it. Maybe it had something to do with me not being alone that kept my mind together.
"You're calmer than I imagined," she replied. Yasha turned to face me, so I did the same. "I think you're not that stupid, or, at least, not the type of person who denies everything she couldn't understand." She smiled again. And this time, I finally noticed — she loves to smile, but her eyes never change their emotion. They were blank, like an empty sheet of paper. "I am not human, and so are the people outside this dungeon."
Oh. Would it be weird if I said I already noticed that?
I leaned on the wall even more, almost merging with it. I felt comfortable when I did so. "Then, what are you?"
"What do you think?" she teased.
My eyes narrowed as I tried to answer. "A vampire?" Nothing comes to mind except this word at the moment.
Yasha chuckled. "Those people outside also believe I'm one of those creatures," she said. "But let me tell you a secret." Her upper body moved closer as she continued, "I'm one of the Undead."
"What's — what's that?" I asked, stupefied. I never heard of that race, not even in a novel. But I kind of imagined a zombie when she said that word. Though, she didn't look like one. Or the movies might be wrong about zombies. Maybe they weren't some rotting creatures that stink. Instead, they were beautiful beings. Still, it was hard to believe that zombies looked normal since we were used to seeing monstrous ones.
Anyway, who said that the undead were zombies? I should stop jumping to stupid conclusions.
"Creatures that never die," she said, sitting comfortably. "Unlike the vampires, who could die from losing their hearts or heads, my kind lives eternally for real. You saw what happened earlier. My flesh," she spread her arms, "which was taken by those filthy creatures, returned after a while. They think I'm a new species of vampire — a very interesting one." Then, she shrugged. "We do have some commonalities, though."
"So," I said, "you really don't die?"
"I don't," she blinked. "But we feel pain."
I pursed my lips for a second before saying, "I don't like pain." It was true. I didn't mind dying. Death would never scare me. After all, who among the living wouldn't die? But I was terrified of pain. Endless pain. When I saw them skinned Yasha torturously, I thought death was such a blessing. I wonder if she believed the same.
"I don't like it either. But over the course of time, you'll get used to it." She leaned her head on the wall. "You know, we've been talking nonstop, but I haven't heard of your name."
"Oh. Yes, yes," I smiled. "I forgot. I'm Tatia."
She smiled again. Then, there was silence.
The dungeon was filled with silence for almost an hour, maybe. Well, I couldn't track the time anymore. Staying in this dim and dirty dungeon felt like forever. It was longer than the time I spent touring around the town.
I wonder how Aseyana was. Did she notice I was missing? Or did she think I returned to my hometown already? Or maybe Brittany took care of everything, telling some stupid alibis so no one would look for me.
As for my mother, she only knew that I would be back once the wedding was over. She won't be looking for me around this time.
I still couldn't believe a friend would betray me. That Brittany would, someday, put me in this situation. I should've listened to my instinct, as well.
The next time, if I ever pass this ordeal, I would definitely listen to what my heart was telling me. This was a lesson learned.
People really speak the truth. We, humans, do learn the hard way.
I was about to sleep out of exhaustion when I remembered something important. I immediately opened my eyes and stared at the sleeping Yasha.
"What's my purpose here?" I quickly asked.
Fine. Brittany was part of the supernatural world, or whatever they called it. But why was I here? For a ritual? Again, fine. Maybe I just happened to be the unlucky one to become the chosen sacrifice. But for what?
"Well," Yasha opened her eyes, "I hate teaching and giving people information. But since you're such a lovely companion, I will gladly tell you the meaning of your existence and why we are here."
—
"Do you know how delicious you look right now?"
"What?"
Yasha took a deep breath. "I'm an 'Undead'. Hunger's not part of our desire. So, you don't have to worry about me suddenly losing my mind and jumping into you to take a bite."
I suddenly wanted to hide.
"But the witches seek your blood for successful rituals. The vampires thirst for it because your blood is enough to fill them for years. While the werewolves and mermaids hunger for your flesh and organs. Apparently, every part of you is essential. They don't just fill those creatures' desires, you can give them an insurmountable power as well."
I shivered. In short, I was a walking food?!
"That's the life of a bloodling."
"What's exactly a bloodling? To give food to these monsters? I was created to become their food?!"
"Maybe?" Yasha raised a brow. "Bloodling is a direct descendant of the first human," she added. "Every firstborn in each generation carries that blood. But only a few are chosen to become one. Unfortunately for you, you're the chosen one."
I didn't respond. I needed time to process this newly found information that science couldn't explain. However, Yasha continued her information sharing.
"And you're here as part of a ritual. So am I. They will take my heart and your blood to get what they want."
"What is it?"
"A second chance mate."