001. THE BEGINNING OF HATE

From where Cassian stands frozen, her eyes are glued to the scene playing in front of him, fire paints the night sky as blood soaks the floor beneath his feet.

He can’t move. He can’t breathe. All he can do is watch. Maybe it's because his mother tells him to stay hidden or maybe it's because of the fear that surges through every vein in his ten years old body.

He watches as people run for their lives, their screams loud and bloody, getting away from the blood suckers, creatures of the night—the monsters.

Then he sees his mother—trapped under the claws of a vampire.

His eyes are wide as he watches her fight back, screaming, kicking, scratching but the creature is too strong, as it lifts her like she weighs nothing.

Then suddenly, her eyes find Cassian through the smoke and chaos. “Run!” she shouts, voice breaking.

But he doesn’t. He can’t. It's like he's struck, he watches as the vampire sinks its fangs into her neck.

Her scream cuts through the night like a knife. Cassian watches as the light fades from her eyes and her body goes limp in the monster’s grip

Then suddenly, everything feels loud, the fire crackling, the shouting, the sound of people running. But inside Cassian, there is only silence.

And then he jolts back to reality.

“Cassian,”

Cassian returns to reality at the sound of his name, finding Thalor snapping his fingers in front of his face, sporting a worried face.

“Are you okay? You completely backed out.”

Cassian doesn't respond, he looks down and finds his dagger buried deep in the throat of a deer, his kill. Oh right, they are hunting.

“I'm fine.” Comes his flat response as he pulls the dagger out, blue eyes lingering on the blood as it drips to the muddy ground, it’s warm. Too warm and too real, the cause of his blackout. He shakes off his thoughts and shoves his blade into his hip pocket.

Thalor doesn’t buy it, taking a step forward and reaching out to touch but Cassian takes a step back. He pauses and hesitantly lets his hand drop to his side. “You spaced out again. Was it another daydream? You seem to be having those quite a lot lately,” his voice oozes with concern but Cassian doesn't spare him a glance.

He lifts the deer off the ground and flips it over his shoulder, turning and heading back to the village.

Thalor sighs and follows after.

They don't get far before Cassian hears the sound of his name from a distance and then, a villager comes running into sight, panting for air.

“The chief—he wants to see you. Now.”

Cassian frowns. “Did he say why?”

“He didn’t say, just told me to find you.”

Cassian glances at Thalor, then at the dead deer still bleeding out into the dirt. The chief wanting to see him meant only one thing.

His eyes harden and he dumps the deer on Thalor and sprints towards the village.

~

The world has changed in the past two hundred years.

The world has gone past the time when humans were in control of everything, when humans were superior but now, the remaining humans are like rats, they hide and are forced to change positions every five years so the vampires won't sniff them out.

This is the new world. The vampire world. They rule the cities now, humans are no longer citizens; they're sports—they're prey—they’re blood bags wrapped in flesh, waiting to be drained.

And Cassian hates vampires with every fiber of his being.

He arrives at the chief's home, a tiny cabin at the edge of the village , uncaring how his clothes and boots are covered in blood and mud.

“You didn't have to come so soon,” the chief invites him in, taking him to his office.

“Why do you wish to see me?” Cassian goes straight to the point, his voice cold and empty, matching his blue soulless eyes.

“You've been selected,”

Cassian’s breath hitches and his heart drums in his ear but he doesn't speak, waiting for the chief to continue.

“I know you might not want to, after your brother, Soren was sent two years ago and he hasn't return, just like the others-”

“I want to,” Cassian cuts him off. “Since my brother left, I have spent every minute training and I'm ready,”

Every year, someone is sent and it's been two years since his older brother was sent into the maw of the vampire city, a sacrifice in their desperate gamble for information and just like everyone else that has been sent in the past 15 years, no one has returned to tell the tale of what they saw. A fool's errand, Cassian calls it but it's for the good of the remaining humanity.

The chief sighs and steps forward, placing a hand over Cassian's shoulder. “I’ve watched you all grow and it pains me, it feels like I've been sending the last remaining humans to their deaths,”

Cassian ignores the thick lump in his throat. “When do I leave?”

“When it's dark, Thalor will escort you to the drop point, where you will meet the guide. I want to believe you will be the last person we’ll send to that god's forsaken place. Find the others and bring us good news, Cassian,”

~

Since the day he lost his mother to those blood suckers, Cassian has lived everyday dreaming of when he will get his revenge and as he grows older each day, his hatred for vampires grows deep into his bones and since the day his brother was sent, he has lived every minute training to become stronger.

“So this is it,”

Cassian abruptly comes to a stop and he realizes they have arrived at the drop point. He slowly turns to Thalor, his eyes cold as his heart, his backpack over his shoulder. “I can continue from here,”

Thalor looks like he's about to cry as tears stings in his eyes. “I spoke to the chief, he won't let me go with you.”

“You know only one person is sent each year. Don't be stupid,”

“But I don't want to lose you,” driven by emotions, Thalor grabs Cassian's hands but the blue-eyed male forcefully withdraws his hands, as if Thalor’s touch burns.

Thalor's hands fall to his side in defeat. “I guess you still don't see my love for you,”

Cassian sees it plenty but he chooses to ignore it. His heart is as cold as ice, his soul is only filled with hatred and vengeance, he doesn't deserve another person’s love.

It will be a complete waste of both of their times. He turns his back to him. “Goodbye, Thalor,” he says and then he walks away.

“I will come find you next year, stay alive!”

Cassian doesn't turn, he continues walking ahead till he vanishes from sight.