‘EHHH?’ The girl with black hair, who introduced herself as Alicia, suddenly stood up and filled the alleyway with her voice. Arlin immediately placed a hand over her newly-found friend’s mouth.

  ‘It’s best not to reveal your true identity here. With these many people, of which we know nothing about, who is there to trust and who is not there to trust?’

  ‘B-but, look at them!’ She pointed a finger at the passer-by. None were looking at them, nor were any of them stopping for a moment to do so. Everyone was just walking past them, seemingly not noticing their presence.

  ‘Humans are naturally born predators. Such pretense doesn’t require much efforts from them. However, even the greatest actor has his own flaws in his craft.’ Arlin said, turning her eyes from the girl to a butcher opposite the street. ‘Look! See how that man is suddenly cutting the meat suddenly?’

  ‘Nothing’s odd about that.’

  ‘You fool!’ She blurted out, sending shivers down the Alicia’s spine. ‘A butcher doesn’t butcher a meat so quietly. He’s obviously trying to get a gist of our conversation!’ She nodded silently.

  ‘And those traders over there.’ Her eyeballs rolled in the direction of a flower-stand with the seller and a woman was standing at. ‘They have been standing there, from the second you shouted. The woman, especially, was taking her own sweet time admiring the flowers, in which case is most suspicious, considering that there are only five types of flowers on display there!’

  ‘We should make a move then…?’

  A stampede of steel marching along the street could already be heard from where they were. There was no reason to look, because the sound itself, the clanking of the steels, has already revealed much of where they originated from.

  ‘Too late. The news has taken flight.‘

  She has read her thoughts before she could even put them into words.

  ‘The knights. ’

  All eyes were on the men in armors, displaying a mixture of both amazement, and fear. Their gloved fingers circling around the hilts of their swords at the waists as they scanned across the crowd gradually backing away at their presence. And there, before the knights, opened a path. ‘All these folks are cowards! Don’t you agree, Zed?’

  The knight riding the horse next to him, grinning behind his helmet, jokingly replied, ‘Indeed, Trevor! These trashes should be sent into the battlefield for real, instead of having us to protect them.’

  ‘You know what? Something tells me to doubl- NO! Triple their taxes!’ They laughed at the suggestion. To them, it was but a windfall but to the people here, it was but a proof of the corruption spreading throughout the kingdom.

  At that precise second, a voice cut in. ‘Shut your crap, you monkeys! We are here now, for one purpose.’ A knight larger than the rest of his kind, pulled at his rein and slowed the horse down before coming to a complete halt. Having drawn his blade that bore the design of a snake slithering around his hilt, an order was issued, shouted at the peak of his rough voice. ‘RELEASE THE KRAKEN!’

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Everyone was shocked at his words. Everyone but the knights who at once, rode off towards the audiences, drawing their blades and without a moment of hesitation, slashed down at them. That instance was enough to strike fear into the eyes that watched the death of the people standing by their sides. The crowd dispersed into various directions, screaming for their lives to be spared. Arlin and Alicia watched in horror the scene that unfolded before us.

  It was a massacre.

  Alicia said, ‘We should escape!’

  ‘We can’t.’

  ‘Else, death awaits us! We got to r-’

  ‘TO WHERE? There’s no escaping them! Even if we do manage to get to the next town, we will still die. Not just this town, but all the towns and villages will be pillaged and burnt to the ground! Nothing… nothing could be done.’

  Alicia’s face flushed with red then, taking a deep breath, she said with a glare fixed on Arlin, ‘YOU, IDIOT! You defeated three men earlier, and now, here you are, bound to your own fear and refuse to move.’

  ‘It was only three men then.’

  ‘So? Does seeing an additional nine to ten men turn your heart into stone; Your head into a mess? And you claim yourself as a vampire?’

  Her eyes widened at the mention of her race. How could she tarnish the name of it, fearing the lower creatures called human? ‘Don’t talk crap with me. Who said I was scared?’

  Vampires know no fear.

  ______________________________________________________________________

  Houses lit up in flames as clouds of smokes rose into the air. The loud screaming of the men, women and children alike slowly faded away with the increase in the blood splattered radius. Bodies laid along the streets with their eyes wide- opened and drowned in fear. It was clear from it that, they died after experiencing a tremendous amount of pain. A level of pain of which none would know nor wished to experience. Most of their chests were split open with a blade and their organs are stabbed at repeatedly, until all were so messed up that none could be recognised by sight alone.

  ‘A-are you sure this will work?’

  ‘What? Scared now after convincing me not to give up?’

  Alicia shook her head then, clapped both her hands on her face. ‘I-I AM NOT AFRAID!’ Arlin placed a hand on her mouth quickly.

  ‘Shush! Do you want to die so soon?’ She shook her head again. Arlin nodded in return.

  One of the knights was separated from the rest of them, striding his way past an alley, which not to his knowledge, was where both the girls lying in wait in. The horse were galloping slowly as the red- tainted blade scratched the ground beneath it, filling the air with deafening screeches. ‘No more pests already?’ he mumbled.

  3,2…1

  ‘Now!’ The knight had a momentary surprise after hearing the sudden outburst of voice. Alicia rolled out and pulling a rope together behind her, bound the back legs of the steed. Her heart was beating furiously as she did that for a second later would, without a doubt, led to me being sent metres away by the kick of those strong legs. The horse became wild and started to struggle its way off the rope. She held on tightly. With the horse unable to move, the knight was forced to act. He raised his hand, with the sword in it.

  ‘Die, bastard!’ The blade sliced down at her and her eyes stared in fear at the sharpened edge closing the distance between it and her face. God, make it in time!

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  Blood spilled from the gash on his neck. His armoured body fell off the horse, to her side and the blade escaped his grasp, clattering onto the ground. On his back, Arlin stayed crouching down over his neck. Her eyes instantly noticed the two broken glass shards penetrated into the flesh.

  ‘Just as I calculated.’ said Arlin. A smile curved along the girl’s lips for she had just barely escaped the jaw of death. And her friend saved her as planned before the attack. That’s right. Arlin has become her friend- her first friend in this world.