Running with his gaze fixed forward and mind blank, Aiden's concentration was fully occupied in trying to correct his chaotic breathing. Unconsciously, he had determined that this was the most important thing. Stopping for anything is a mistake, that he understood. Not even for the sudden pulse in his leg, sharp and painful, which made him limp every so often. In those instances, Aiden would jump with his right leg, dragging the other one, until his willpower could take over or the phantom pain got numbed.
He crossed the empty streets surrounding the outskirts of the commercial district. Mostly warehouses and merchandise storage from all kinds of stores and small buildings that were mostly empty despite it being not even 8PM; such were the benefits of automation and self-managing facilities.
A few meters behind him, there she was, chasing him. Normally, she would have caught up to him almost instantly, but the girl was in a similar situation to his; panting and twisting slightly from time to time, which only increased her hunger.
It was strange, however, that despite being a non-busy street, even for a relatively distant area, there were no guards or lights on in any of the buildings turning on as he ran past sensors. Such things would have caught anyone's attention, but, as we know, Aiden was not fully lucid at the moment.
Because of this, he did not notice the irregularities on the ground. Since there were warehouses, heavy vehicles frequently travelled the area and the wear and tear would cause faults and bumps on the road. On one of his jumps, he landed badly on uneven ground, causing him to lose his balance. His weight was propelled forward without any possibility of recovery. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and softened his fall with his arms and upper body muscles; essentially saving himself from receiving a blow to the head. Unfortunately for him, this gave her the opportunity she had been waiting for.
—Don't worry. It will only hurt for a second —she could already taste it, wetting her upper lip and then her lower lip—. I'll be careful, I promise.
Her gaze was focused solely on the defenseless boy, who was trembling for his life and cursing inwardly.
She was about to pounce on the subject that she could only see as food, when out of thin air, a blast flew her way; perhaps it would be more correct to call it a sword, a flaming sword was thrown at high speed and precision at the dangerous girl.
Of course, fast or not, the surprise attack had little to no effect, as it was easily avoided. Her instincts kicked in and with one leap, she retreated 5–6 meters.
—You have been such a problematic little thing, evading us all this time, but it all ends here. The Lord is wise with the tests he puts us through.
—Target confirmed. Please, Priest Benjamin, quickly end the mission to go for the next one, I request.
—The night is young, dear #601. But who am I to refuse? I am not a man, but a worm; a tool that fulfills its purpose. If that is the will of the Lord, so be it.
A couple of eccentrics was the best way Aiden found to describe them. A man, and a girl, had appeared and saved him by a hair. The tall man, very tall, in his late twenties or early thirties, had a large circular hat, somewhat crushed; the hair split in half under the hat that extended to touch his poorly shaved chin was of a peculiar color: an ashy gray that was once black like his tunic, as there were tiny remnants of those days and both had burnt and tattered tips. The tunic itself, from the waist down to the ankles, was loose enough and torn so as not to interfere with movement. Underneath, he wore simple black pants and dusty boots. The top of the tunic, on the other hand, gave the sensation of being tailor-made, accentuating his figure, with neatly kept buttons that ran down the middle from the waist to the clergyman at his neck. On his shoulders, a black ash leather shoulder wear, and over this, he carried the purple stole like a scarf despite the rough summer heat; there you see the fanaticism, thought Aiden reflexively.
The man dipped his jaw into the stole and whispered some words, then a sword of fire shot out.
—Do you not give up? —said the girl, gracefully evading the new flaming blade.
—To surrender or to not, it has nothing to do with it, dear —replied the man referred to as priest by his small companion.
From a glance, she looked like a nun, but it certainly was peculiar that she couldn't be more than 13–14 years old, at most she was the same age as Aiden, but probably younger. Being kind, she could be called expressionless, but her gaze was more lost than that, as if she had just awakened from a long sleep. Her long hair, down to a little beyond her shoulders, was gray like her companion's, only that hers was even more whitened; it showed no impurities and appeared to be better cared for.
The habit was essentially composed of three pieces: interior, exterior, and accessories. The interior consisted of a white long-sleeved dress with golden lace borders reminiscent of a tunic; the only difference was that it reached up to her knees where it meets dark nylon high stockings, and further down simple black sneakers. The exterior was a similar piece to the interior, the differences lay in that it was black and shorter by a couple of centimeters in the chest area, and the sleeves only reached the elbows. The most peculiar, however, were the 15-centimeter diamond-shaped holes, exposing the white fabric in several places: navel, under the armpit, and high back; this latter was covered by the black exterior and white interior veil that extended to the low back of the girl. She also had small accessories here and there, but the one that stood out the most was the three crosses hanging at different distances from her neck over the cloth neckline. The largest was carved from oak, in a sober but beautiful craftsmanship, and the tip was alarmingly sharp; the second cross of impeccable silver reflected everything perfectly; and finally, the last one was a small, brilliant gold cross hanging inches from her long, conical neck.
The little nun remained silent, watching her companion continuing with the hunt.
—I just do my job while taking a walk on this simple, but lovely summer night. I exterminate monsters like you from Monday to Monday. It's just business, an opportunity that the Lord facilitated by taking Sunday and giving space for abominations like you to appear. The vermin of this world that I, holly venator Benjamin, will be responsible for exterminating in the instead of God!
—I am not a monster! —the red-haired girl exclaimed from the depths of her chest, but her voice fell on deaf ears.
The man who introduced himself as Benjamin continued his barrage of attacks. The girl's emotional reproof was lost in the night, the summer wind carried it to oblivion, to the end of the world, to be dissolved without reaching anyone.
Or so she thought; no one important or strong, no hero heard her suffering, but of all the people in the world, there was one who heard it. One person had received the message, and it just so happened that he was there present, watching the events unfold.
—You're not the first vampire to say that, but I can almost believe you. The "high class" are truly frightening —said the priest, and acting hangman, and added between his teeth—. They almost seem human, unlike those mindless zombies from before.
—Time is crucial. As it's not the only one, I propose, let's finish quickly —added the little nun.
Agreeing, Benjamin nodded his head. He was about to continue with the frenzy of attacks and then noticed the distraught boy getting up stealthily to avoid detection. Unfortunately, he couldn't evade the instincts of a hunter.
—What do we have here?
—A victim, I conclude. The odds of it being infected are high. I cannot confirm with the available information.
—More problems? I'm not a fan of small inconveniences.
He rested his chin in the stole and, without hesitation, recited the chant. The blazing sword formed in the air in front of the priest, who then shook his arm, and the projectile travelled at such speed that Aiden could not have evaded it on time. Before receiving the impact, he was saved by the same person who had tried to harm him before. Carrying Aiden as if he were a princess, the red-haired girl, Mina Neri, returned a fierce look to the pair of "clerics."
—This boy has nothing to do with this! Assassins! I don't know what they're talking about, infection or whatnot, but I haven't bitten him. Shouldn't you ask first before attacking?
Aiden still couldn't quite get the whole picture. She had saved him, but before she had tried to kill him. He was turning it over and over in his head, but time wasn't on his side this time. The man in the peculiar cleric attire interrupted his line of thought.
—Don't judge me, monster. I am following the most logical course of action, nothing more, nothing less. It's suspicious to show so much effort in protecting someone you were feeding on. Will he become a "high class" too? Is that it? Never in my guard! #601, nobody gets away from here!
—Recalibrating barrier —she said in a near monotone voice—. When you're ready —followed it putting her hands in a prayer position and buried her face behind them, left knee kissing the ground.
The priest took #601 by the neck and placed her between his arms, never taking his eyes off his prey. A sphere of light with a soup of Latin letters burst forth, projected over the area of the girl's belly, where the rhomboid slot was. It looked like a crossword puzzle, forming omnidirectional phrases. With his fingertips, Benjamin skillfully alternated and reconfigured the order of the words. As soon as he did, the environment became a bit more erratic and heavier, as if they all were inside a winter dome and it had shaken.
—Go, quickly. I will try to stop them on my own, it's your only chance to escape —said Mina, and her hypnotic eyes acquired contrast, inside the black eye socket two red points lit up like a lighthouse.
Aiden shuddered seeing her like this, but strangely as it was, he thought it looked beautiful, and her eyes were even more captivating than before for different reasons. It was like a frog seeing a snake; paralyzed under the gaze of a predator.
She slowly let him go from her arms and instantly lunged at her attackers, who had also finished their preparations. The little nun retreated, taking cover behind her trustworthy companion; while he, after a firm shake of his arm, advanced with a confident smile on his face and a fan of flaming phallic objects formed behind him.
Aiden didn't waste time either, the young man ran in the direction of a main street in the commercial district, where he was sure he would find more people going about their daily lives. I'll be safe there, Aiden thought, and made haste with all his might, not without first giving a final good look at the girl who had saved him.