StagePlay

6 - Weakened

Elaine smelled a nice perfume mixed with a minty fragrance. She turned her head towards the nice scent and felt something hard. Her eyes abruptly opened after feeling that she was being carried.

"You're awake." Damien glanced down at her and smiled before facing forward. Elaine stared at him not uttering a word and made Damien conscious. "Don't stare at me like that. Are you okay? Your teacher said that you collapsed and you were at the infirmary for the whole day. She called your father to fetch you because the school is closing, but he couldn't answer because he was busy. So, I went in his stead." Damien explained.

Elaine continued staring at him and blinked when she felt Damien stopped walking. She came to herself and pushed Damien's body away and wiggled. Damien immediately let her go carefully because she might fall if she continued wiggling.

"Where is father?" She asked embarrassed at the fact that Damien was carrying her a second ago.

"I told you he was working--"

"I know, but dad works from home except... if it's about--" Elaine stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked around. After seeing that they were in front of Twilight, she turned and walked away without hesitation.

"Wait, you're still sick. You shouldn't walk for now. I know you won't let me carry you, but at least stay inside for a cup of tea." Damien grabbed her arm to stop her from going.

"I have to go. There's something I need to do." She shook his hands and ran towards the forest, so he wouldn't try to stop her nor follow her. She ran and arrived at the cabin. She quickly changed her clothes and ran out of the cabin to the warehouse. She knocked hurriedly and opened the door without waiting for a response.

She surveyed the whole room and saw her father polishing the sword she used yesterday. She breath a sigh of relief and approached her father. Noticing that someone was walking towards him, Milo raised his gaze to Elaine. He cleaned up the polishing materials and returned the sword on its sheath while Elaine just watched him gracefully worked.

He held the sword in one hand and pushed it to Elaine. She stared at her father for a few seconds before taking the sword from his hands.

"At the port, it usually hunts before midnight. You still have time, so change your clothes into this," Milo took a garment from the table beside him and gave it to Elaine, "it's a new item from the Holy Church." He informed.

Elaine placed the sword at the table and held the garment in front of her and saw that it was a suit. The suit was white one-piece clothing with a sun printed on the chest part and each on the inner wrist. "I think this will be hard to wear." Elaine commented after noticing the behind and the zipper in each side of the pants.

Milo chuckled after hearing his daughter's comment. "It's the design for women, there is nothing I can do about it." He explained and Elaine pouted.

"I wish you got the ones for men. I bet it only needs be zipped and done." She complained and grabbed the sword on the table with her other hand before turning and walking away.

"You don't have to go. Just rest at the house tonight and go the next evening." Elaine was about to open the door, but Milo spoke. "I heard from Damien that you collapsed at school. You still look pale and you could barely lift your arms. You know that you don't need to push yourself too hard, they won't be gone after a just a day."

Elaine turned to look at her father directly into his eyes. "I know, but I don't want any people here in the island to die because of them. It's better to finish them now than let them hurt anyone. We can't afford to have them become stronger as they already are, right?" Elaine smiled and went out of the warehouse.

Milo stared where his daughter disappeared to and heightened his senses to know if Elaine was truly gone. After a while, Milo spoke.

"Are you sure she will be alright?" He asked. A man revealed himself in-between the bookshelves and followed Milo's eyes.

"She'll be fine. After all she's herself." The man said solemnly, his golden eyes glowed from the darkness. He left without saying anything anymore. Gushing of wind, sounds of footsteps, rustling of clothes—none of them could be felt nor heard as the man left. He was like a bubble that pops out of nowhere and was gone before you know it.

Milo sighed and walked towards the table and opened the new file. He read the contents carefully and he be came anxious after reading the last sentence.

"A surprise is waiting for her at the port." He read aloud.

Elaine changed into the suit and went on her way. She didn't bother to say goodbye to her father beefsteak she knows that he will try to stop her again. The port was far from the forest it will take her an hour if she walked. But that was fine because the vampire that appeared tonight only hunts before midnight.

She was holding the sword to her chest pressing it hard to suppress the pain from earlier. She wondered what happened to her and why she couldn't bear the scent of blood when she see, hear, and smell something gruesome almost every night.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that she have arrived at the port. She continued walking shaded and she snapped out of her thoughts after seeing a child walking straight pass her.

"What are you doing here? You soul go home it's dangerous to be out here especially at night." She turned, before asking and advicing the child.

"Then why are you out here, Miss? Are you looking for the vampire?" The kid asked her back.

"Yes, I'm here to look..." Elaine stopped in the middle of her sentence after the child's question sank in her.

Before she could react she felt a child metal slicing through her back. She turned around to see who attacked her only to get licked on her wound.

"They said someone strong was killing vampires here. To think that you fell from that, you're not as strong as they say, huh? And also your blood taste so sweet. You're the only human whose blood tasted so sweet." The child smirked at her as she licked her lips.

"Weak." She glanced at her other side and saw another vampire holding two small knives in his hands.