The only certainty of life is death, everyone proclaims. But what happens when you die and don’t remain dead?
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There was something different about Orilon that night.
Something lingered in the cool air, a strange scent that John Williams couldn't quite place his finger on. But he knew there was something.
As he walked towards Malcom's Shack to meet Sheriff Holland, a crow flew past him — close enough to bump into him. Startled, he fell backwards, his heart picking up pace.
Considering it to be a coincidence, he stood up, dusting the dirt from his clothes. Just then he felt an eerie sensation that someone was following him.
He turned around abruptly but nothing seemed out of place. The roads were littered with towns folk, going about their business.
Sighing, he kept walking and walked into Malcom's Shack. Sheriff Holland was already there, waiting for him, her feet tapping impatiently against the floor.
"Thank you for meeting me here, Sheriff," he said, taking a seat in front of her.
Isla Holland waved her hand dismissively. "No need for formalities, Detective Williams. Let's get done with this quickly, shall we?" she urged.
John Williams cleared his throat, taken aback by the sense of urgency in her voice. Placing his elbows on the table, he leaned forward and decided to approach directly. "I've looked into the case, Sheriff," he began, his voice low but ceased talking the moment he saw Eira approach their table.
She greeted him like she always did — with a wide smile but he noticed how it didn't quite reach her eyes that night. "What can I get for you today, John?" she asked him, her eyes darting momentarily to the milkshake Sheriff Holland was sipping.
John shook his head. "No, Eira. I don't need anything tonight. I won't be long," he said, motioning towards Isla Holland.
Subtly nodding, Eira moved away without another word. John wanted to know what was wrong with her but he knew it would have to wait. He had more important matters at hand.
Turning his attention back to the Sheriff, he said, "We can't dismiss it as an animal attack case. Bodies drained of blood? No animal is capable of doing that. Which doctor approved of this?"
"I assure you we had the best team carrying out the medical investigation of those bodies," assured Isla. "You've seen the pictures, John. Their bodies were mutilated."
"Why aren't you seeing what I'm seeing? Bodies drained of blood," he emphasised.
Detective Williams almost felt the sensation again—someone's burning gaze on his neck but chose to ignore it.
Isla sighed heavily, her eyes staring intently at the milkshake in her hand. Finally she commented, "Are you trying to say something supernatural might be at play?" Her lips were twitching as if she was trying to suppress a smile.
John knew how strange the people of Orilon were. They liked talking about witches — some even going to the length of proudly proclaiming that once indeed witches existed in their town. However, John was a logical man. He believed in science, not superstition.
"I want to see the postmortem reports, Sheriff," he said with determination in his voice.
"And you will certainly see them." After a pause, Holland stood up and mumbled, "There's a storm coming. Hope you've got an umbrella."
With a smile and dismissive wave of her hand, she walked out of Malcom's Shack, into the unending darkness of the night.
.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・
Orilon was now blanketed with darkness, the moon absent from the sky. The scent of petrichor danced in the air, hinting that rain would pour in soon, wetting the streets and anyone under it without an umbrella.
Eira Blake disregarded the news of the brewing storm. She did not care about a little rain pouring down her, she was drenched enough in pain and alcohol.
Somehow she had found her way to the cemetery earlier that night. Her sober self wouldn't have done it. That part of her feared darkness more than anything.
But a drunk person feared nothing. And that night, she had nothing to lose, except for her life.
"There you are, mother dearest!" she exclaimed upon spotting the tomb marked Dakota Blake. "Hope you're resting well. Seems like no one visited you," she observed, frowning at her mother's grave which was covered with dry leaves and wilted flowers.
In love and in death, Dakota Blake had given and received love from few. Eira was not included among those people.
John Williams, Dakota's only friend, was the only other person Eira believed had visited her mother's grave. Other than Melissa, of course. Melissa, Eira's other and more loved sister who had decided to pick the furthest town from Orilon to settle in with her new family.
Eira slumped in front of the tomb, sitting with crossed legs. "I thought it was high time you received a life update from me," she began, her words slurring. "First things first: your prediction came true. Caleb finally broke up with me."
Her phone rang up as if on cue, flashing Bella's name on the screen. She ignored it, knowing that a chat with Bella could wait.
After a pause, Eira chuckled to herself, covering her mouth with her palm. "Shocking, right? Although expected? Well, I'm not telling you the truth. You see, I was the one who broke up with him. Why do you ask?"
She paused, tearing up the blades of overgrown grass around her. Her heart sank, overcome with burden and a flux of emotions she had managed to keep at bay since exiting her apartment that morning.
Finally, she confessed, "He cheated on me, mom. With Hela. Of all people. You said you'd laugh at me when this would happen. Are you laughing now?" The emotions she was holding back escaped and broke something inside of her completely.
She buried her head into her folded knees and cried out. As loud as she could.
Suddenly, a crow fluttered in front of her and settled on her mother's grave. It let out a shriek, startling Eira.
She tried to shush it away as she stood up but her knees felt weak and she stumbled. But before she could fall face first into the ground, someone caught hold of her arms.
She looked up and found herself gazing into the bluest eyes she had ever seen.
"Yoohooo," the man said, a mischievous glint playing in his bright eyes. He resembled the crow she had been trying to shoo away, the crow that had mysteriously vanished. Eira tried finding it, but realised it could have been a figment of her imagination like this handsome man in front of her was.
He was dressed from head to toes in black and could easily blend with the darkness of the night.
"Hey, weird girl," he remarked. "You couldn't stop talking a while ago and now that I'm here in front of you, you've got nothing to say?"
Eira's mind was too occupied to make sense of his words, no matter how simple they were. She stared at him with a gaping mouth. She asked, "What are you saying?" She had no idea what she had just said, but whatever it was had made him advance towards her.
"You're creepy, huh? Talking to a grave at this time during the night," he said, taking another step forward.
"Stay away," she warned him, pointing her index finger at him as a warning as she took a trembling step behind. Her body swayed a little more.
He shook his head lightly.
Smirking at her, he closed the remaining distance between them. "Now that I'm so close, why would I stay away? Let me taste you." Then his eyes bored directly into hers. "Don't scream. Don't run," she heard the words echo in her mind although his lips never moved. Then he let out a sigh before grabbing her arms and biting into her neck.
Eira let out a painful scream, but that did not stop him. She tried to push him away, but that only caused his grip to tighten around her arms. She began kicking him, but soon felt her strength fading away.
The corners of her vision turned grey before darkness swallowed her whole.
*TWO DAYS AGO* The woods of Centaurus Forest stretched out before Damien, a labyrinth of gnarled trees and shadowy pathways. He had walked here several times before in the darkness of the night, the only time he could enjoy being outside. But that night, he did not feel any comfort. Every now and then he kept glancing back, his unbeating heart thrumming against his ribs. What he couldn’t do to feel that sensation again. Only now, he was glad he could move without making any sound. A moment’s distraction and he could find himself pounced upon by a large wolf or another one of his kind, a second’s skirmish and then a take jutting out of his chest. The image made him shiver, although his blood was colder than the winds blowing about. Damien wasn't one for regrets, but the memory of his recent actions gnawed at him like a relentless beast. He wished he could rewrite the past, reshape the outcome of his deeds. Yet, the past remained immutable, a heavy burden he bore alone. Joshua was
'While the people of Orilon were still trying to uncover the mystery behind the animal attack that resulted in two dead, they had to witness another incredible event last night.' The reporter cleared his throat and took a brief peek at the paper in his hand before continuing, 'Apparently, Orilon experienced a 'blood shower' but before any of you jump to any conclusions, we want to inform you that our town's renowned scientist, Rayna Cooper has done her research on the matter and she has figured out that it was all a result of a complex scientific phenomenon. We will come back with a detailed explanation after a short break.'Damien yanked the remote out of Nate's grip and switched off the TV. He briefly acknowledged that the flatscreen TV place in the living room stuck out like a crow in a flock of pigeons. The furniture from the 1800s didn't go along well with the modern-day electronics. The chandelier peeked at him from the ceiling above, polished as ever. He looked away and glared
The first thing Eira discovered when she gained consciousness was the pitch blackness surrounding her. Her eyes had only opened but her heart raced when she was greeted with the smell of rancid blood and rusted iron and she shut them close immediately.For as long as she could remember, she had feared darkness. It crawled over her skin like hairy bugs and roiled her stomach. Even when her eyes were closed, she still sensed her surrounding and shadowy, dark figures appeared in front of her inner eyes which she knew really didn't exist.She began sweating coldly even though her surrounding temperature was really low. Her skin shivered with fear while her hands reached around to find the switch and turn on the lamp but she couldn't find it. She usually kept it glowing throughout the night; it helped her sleep the night away. Even though Bella, her room-mate and best pal preferred to sleep in a pitch-black room, she would make an excuse every night only for Eira.With rising anxiety, Eira
Eira sat in complete silence on the metal bed, resting her palms on the edges on either side. She threw away the fear and panic and drew a blank expression across her tanned face, intending to keep it that way for the whole time until was asked to say something. Her heart however raced erratically, threatening to jump out of the ribcage. As her supposed kidnappers approached the cell she was locked in, the temperature around dropped several degrees. Her fingers began to shiver irrevocably but she couldn't be sure if it was them or the fact that she was horribly and absolutely afraid. Their faces were concealed in the darkness. She could only see faint outlines of their figures. Sounds of more footsteps hit her ears. "Did you place the candles as I asked?" One of the figures questioned authoritatively. He wasn't the one who had attacked her. "Yes." This one was. For a moment, silence lingered in the air along with the smell of three different male perfumes. Eira resisted the urge t
Josh crossed his arms slowly and leaned against the brick wall layered with moss, allowing Eira to absorb the information he had just passed. His back pressed completely against the cool, solid, age-old bricks but didn't mind the mud or the green patches on his freshly ironed, beige shirt. In fact, they only made him feel more attached to the source of his power—nature.Eira responded with a sigh and then followed cold silence, one that sent a chill down his spine. No words escaped her plump lips but her blue eyes shot a thousand questions at him. He wanted to answer them but fear kept him at bay. It was an unspoken and ofttimes a spoken rule by the vampire council to keep the secret to them.Josh rubbed the nape of his neck lightly while managing to maintain his calm facade, perceiving well that such a reaction was not completely normal for someone had been kept in the dark for too long. But he wasn't too experienced in the matters of giving satisfying, non-surprising revelations."Lo
Eira felt as though someone had pulled the floor from beneath her feet and she was falling—faster with each second into the depths of insanity. Her senses went numb for a while. A part of her still wished this was a joke or a dream and she would wake up soon but the other acted like a rebel, enjoying the thoughts of being in danger and facing death. But she was certain the latter was a result of her best friend's influence. The saner part regretted the decision of getting wasted and ending up at the cemetery. When Dakota was alive, she had only brought trouble into her life. Even when dead, she was doing a good job.The sound of a sigh greeted her ears as she saw Josh fold his arms yet again, "That is why I have this offer for you. You can choose to accept it or not. Remember, there's danger of death."Unfortunately, I can't reveal to you more about the supernatural activity in our town unless I know for certain you're on our side. If you don't accept the deal, I make you forget all
Damien noticed how Eira's blue eyes silently stared at him. She had put up a brave mask over her face but he could hear the frantic beating of her beat in his ears. That sound made him smirk. He strolled towards her lazily and his steps halted right in front of her. He could sense Josh's dark eyes on him."Did I scare you, little blood bag?" Damien asked with an amused tone, widening his smirk into a grin."I'm not scared of you," He heard her calm reply and his grin turn into a full-blown smile. His eyes moved to the bite marks on her neck and felt her breath hitch at the same moment.She remembers that. "You are, but if you aren't, you should be." He teased her and bared his fangs. She was trying too hard to appear brave and unaffected but silly girl didn't realise he could hear and smell the blood pumping through her veins. He craved to taste it. She somehow still managed to smell like strawberries after spending a whole night in the stinking dungeon.Unfortunately, he had no time
[JOHN]In the ten years that John Williams had worked as a special detective agent, the experience hadn't been close to relaxing for him. The cases were exciting, challenging to his brain. He found himself deeply pressurized for most duration of the cases he handled. And enjoyed the pressure. The race against time. It made him feel alive. But then, a year ago he decided to move to Orilon after his beloved friend Dakota's death and everything changed.Dakota Blake, his childhood friend had been a citizen of the town of Orilon for over five years. She lived with her daughters. While her elder one, Melissa married off with a rich person and got a child, the younger one stayed behind to complete her education even after Dakota passed away. Whenever he visited the town in the past years, Eira, Dakota's younger daughter always complained of her mother's unjust attitude. Sadly, it wasn't his right to tell the girl the truth. Eira was a beautiful little girl, with pretty blue eyes and a smile