Chapter Text
She couldn't remember when she fell asleep. She opened her eyes, uncomfortable with the dull, yellowish glow of the room. She hadn't even turned off the light when she lay down beside the bed to check her ammunition.
She got up from the floor, her back aching, regretting not using the bed when, for once, she could. There was a window beside the bed covered with old, moldy cardboard and curtains that had once been white. Huntress tried to peel back a corner of the board to look outside. The sky was painted orange and pink. Huntress had never seen anything like it, it was wonderful. The fantasy books she used to steal to entertain herself, feeling guilty for wasting her precious time on such childish things, had talked about it. She thought it was an invention to create dreamlike landscapes impossible to recreate in real life.
She didn't have much to do and couldn't afford to go out; she'd probably get sunburned too. She didn't know how long she'd have to wait until the sun had completely set, but she wasn't hungry again yet, so searching the whole house for a book seemed like a good idea.
She checked the entire room before going to sleep. Consumed by the fatigue of all the recent events and the feeling of finally being able to rest after so long, she didn't pay much attention to it. She simply closed her eyes, not caring about anything else.
But now she was rested and could give it the attention it deserved. The walls were wood-paneled and covered with a layer of white wallpaper with gold embossing and designs.
It seemed to have belonged to a wealthy family, with luxuries. Most of the furniture was painted a cream color, the paint peeling at the edges over time.
In the room, there was a single tall but thin bookshelf, filled with books of different sizes and colors. Huntress approached and took one from the shelf.
“Dracula by Bram Stoker,” she read on the spine of the cover. She put it back, uncomfortable with the coincidence. She picked up another book, read “Hamlet,” and placed it on the table next to the bookshelf to remind herself that she should read it.
She continued browsing through them one by one, looking for anything that might interest her, until hunger took over. She went to the kitchen, calmly hoping to find something to eat, and noticed that all the red cans of beans were now faded.
She didn't remember eating so many last night. She searched the entire kitchen, but not a single can was spared. A little distressed, she went to look for something else. The whole hallway was empty, so she didn't stop there; she looked in the living room.
She entered the living room. There was a bluish, plastic-covered sofa, covered in dust, a glass table with chipped white wood, and on the far wall, a huge, square, dark gray object with a shiny glass top. Next to where it was attached to the wall by a black cord was another, smaller bookshelf. Among all the books, there were only two red ones.
With a racing pulse, she ran towards them and instinctively sank her teeth into one, greedily absorbing the color. Still not satisfied, she grabbed the other and swallowed all the red. Her mind cleared, and she was startled by the small outburst.
She put the books back: an English dictionary and a book titled "History of the Resistance in Europe."
She realized she should leave the house. She knew that at some point it would have to be this way, but although she was afraid to admit it, she was afraid of how the world would react to everything that had happened recently.
Noises had started hours ago, and she refused to reveal their source. They were probably humans eager to fight any vampires left after the great sun shone once more in the sky.
At least night had fallen again, so she only had to conceal the terrible fangs that split her lip.
She returned to the room where she had taken a nap and gathered the things she had left on the bed: her belt full of stakes, her quiver and bow, and a knife.
She took a green scarf with a floral pattern from the coat rack, dusted it off, and draped it around her neck and mouth. Once ready, she prepared to leave the house.
Outside, it was dark, an overwhelming darkness, cloudless, broken only by burning trash cans and barrels on every corner.
But that wasn't what frightened her; it was all the humans surrounding each burning area. So many, so very many. Huntress couldn't remember ever seeing so many people in one place.
At the end of the street, in front of the fallen Vampire King's castle, there was a raised platform made of furniture stacked to form a stage. On top of it stood a woman with ash-blond hair, shouting to get their attention.
"Listen to me! This isn't over!" She projected her voice confidently. “There are still vampires out there, waiting for this darkness to emerge from their hiding places and attack! Keep your eyes open!”
Huntress Wizard hadn't come out at the best time, that's for sure. She felt a wave of terror wash over her, but she avoided drawing attention to herself, joining the others and approaching the makeshift stage with them.
“Alright, now. To protect ourselves tonight, every two family groups can each occupy one house. There will be enough, at least for now. Tomorrow at sunrise, we'll meet again,” she explained. “It will be in order of arrival, so take your time…”
Huntress realized that the house she had claimed as her own just a few minutes ago would no longer be hers. She was lucky she had taken what little she had with her.
Even so, she wanted a place to continue hiding, so she joined the others in line.
The woman gave each person a number corresponding to the number on the house doors.
Little by little, people dispersed to check on their new homes. She was one of the last.
“Hey.” She heard someone call from her left. She tried to ignore it, pretending it wasn’t her.
“Hey, lady. Are you alone?” the man said as he approached. Huntress realized she couldn't pretend she didn't hear him anymore.
She turned to look at him. He was a boy who looked about her age, wearing an aviator jacket. On his head, he wore a white fur hat that resembled a bear's head. Huntress could tell his hair was blond because of the small, greasy strands on his forehead.
“I help my mother. Will you need a place to stay? Meals?” he said without looking at her.
“A house is fine.” she conceded. He smiled back. “Well, if that's the case, follow me.”
He started walking, and Huntress followed, ready to stab him without mercy if he did anything to her. “Mom, house 143!” she yelled to the blond woman who was still standing on a table.
They started walking along the path, Huntress trailing behind him. A few minutes passed in silence.
“So… I’ve never seen you before,” the boy remarked. She suspected it might be a trap and simply nodded in agreement.
“I mean, my group was big, and we were really close, and it’s great to see more new people joining us. To protect them… and stuff.” The boy’s words trailed off. Even so, he tried again when he saw she wasn’t going to say anything. “My name is Finn.”
She wouldn’t give him her name back; it would be his downfall. She hoped he wasn’t going to ask her. She made another sound in response.
The one-sided conversation was interrupted by several shouts. Two large groups of families, with several children and teenagers, were yelling in the middle of the street.
“It’s not fair! This house belongs to us!” shouted the father of one family. The woman from the other group yelled back. “What’s not fair is that you have a bigger house than us!”
“It’s not my fault, it’s what the leader said!” the patriarch retorted. The voices began to mingle as more members of the groups joined the fight.
Finn, the blond boy, watched this with a puzzled expression, seemingly wanting to approach, but Huntress wouldn’t let him. “Lead me,” she demanded.
They continued on in silence, encountering more street fights and people arguing. One particular incident stuck in Huntress’s mind: accusations of vampirism being hurled at one another.
Things didn't look like they were going to get any better for her.
They turned a couple of blocks, noting the house numbers until they reached 143. It was a quaint house, with a dry dirt front yard.
The walls were yellowed, and the door was boarded up. She went over to remove them, took out her knife, and pulled out each nail, helped, against her wishes, by the other boy.
She kicked the door open and went inside, raising a cloud of dust. Behind her, the boy, Finn, spoke.
"Well! Looks like you've got somewhere to stay tonight," he said happily. "Hope to see you again!"
Huntress hoped not.
"Come back to the center of town tomorrow. We'll talk about supplies and food," Finn said before leaving, giving her a sideways smile and turning awkwardly back toward the center.
Huntress remembered why she had come in the first place and hoped this house had more red things to feed on. She was full, so she hoped she wouldn't need to eat much until tomorrow.
She stared as Finn left and slammed the door shut, stepping into the darkness.