The Wanderer

“So, you’re here again, wanderer.” A cracked, husky voice floated towards the ready ears of Akire Moshimoto. She turned her head slightly, to acknowledge the owner of the reedy tone. She kept her mouth closed though, refusing to be goaded. “You have not found what you were looking for, haven’t you?” Laughter cackled from the old woman’s dry and hunched back frame. She was the town’s madwoman who was also rumored to be a witch with demon blood.She has long white silver hair that cascaded over her face, partially hiding her one beady white eye and the other crimson.  She was frightening really, especially if you were a child running on the streets and stumbling over her makeshift tent of old cardboard boxes, newspaper and old cloth. “I warned you. I told you it was futile to go hunting in the wrong direction. I told you but you do not listen to the old hag!” She laughed again, this time fuller and lustier. Akire stood up from her spot across the narrow alleyway of her old hometown and stood over the old hag who was rattling her usual bones and dice. “What do you know of me, witch?” The hag’s face turned serious and the air shifted around both of them. She started muttering incantations, words with no meaning to Akire, and with one swift motion, the bones rattled into the bowl. Akire waited while patiently tasting the air around her. It used to be a beautiful city, thriving with life. Now, it lay waste and in ruins. A lot of things have changed after that dawn of darkness. She could not imagine coming back to this place where memories would haunt her forever. All the bloodshed, the chaos and lives lost. The ground and the air stunk of death and decay while monsters of the night prowled.  Humans have their place in this society. They were cattle; they were playthings and some even bred to be part of an army. Others resisted and died, of course. The fortunate ones had gotten out and settled in colonies far and wide, erecting walls and burning bridges to protect them from the hoard of horrors. Those who were rich and had resources were able to thrive and build new society, unrelenting to strangers unless they had something of value to trade. Those who did not have anything to their name wandered, sometimes aimlessly, waiting for death to swoop down. But mostly, all of them were blood banks to vampires and games to wolves. The city where Akire used to live was remote and has been considered a wasteland. Most monsters used the town as rest stops when journeying from one kingdom to another. Scavengers thrived in this dog-eat-dog town.  Most human inhabitants have gotten used to the comings and goings of creatures that they have organized a way to hide and equip themselves against surprise visits and attacks. A fight for survival.   Still, it has been years since the last raid and pillaging. With most monsters trying hard at convincing people to be a civilized society. Either people were too afraid to say no or they were stupid and in love with the fantasy these creatures offered. Akire was distracted from her musings when the hag hissed. Akire smelled the rusty element that was associated with blood. For an old woman, her blood was unusually vibrant. She listened as it trickled slowly unto the bowl. She heard the heartbeat that was its source. She felt a tinge of hunger but she was able to ignore it. “Ah, hungry aren’t we? You are welcome to my blood, vampire…” She teased, raising the palm that she slit open with a sharp, shaven wooden knife. Akire grimaced and shook her head. She was hungry but she wasn’t that desperate for the old woman’s blood. “Fear it might be poison to you? My blood is sweet, wanderer. Sweeter than most humans and it is magical. Yes, that I am –I am magic…” Akire did not have time for games and she asked the hag one more time about what she knew. For all her show and dramatics, the old hag turned pretty sober and serious. She read the bones and frowned.  Black news.  The Blood had turned black. “Not good… Death follows you. You are its weapon… A race shall perish by the sword or by the blood. But which race?” Akire shook her head in exasperation. The old woman had told her about this a few months back. Of course death followed Akire, she is a vampire and have to drink human blood now and then. Some of her victims were the sick and almost dying. She swore to never take human life while feeding and she would never feed on children. It was just as well that vampires were immune from human disease.   “No, you mistake my words, wanderer. You think yourself the bringer of death to those on the verge of dying by drinking from them and ending their misery. But no, this time you are blind…” Akire had to smile at the statement. Now, the witch was stating the obvious.  Akire is a blind vampire. She used to see when she was a child and until she was 18. Unfortunately, when the attacks happened, she was struck by burning wood across the face and it quickly destroyed her vision. Her face bore a mask-like burn over her eyes, disfiguring her beautiful features a bit. She did not mind the scar. She used it as a reminder that she should not have lived. She should never have fed on someone. But when a vampire had bitten her and forced her on that vein, there was little she could do. For all the training that her father had instilled in her as a warrior, she was helpless against the one thing she should have fought hard against. “That’s enough of your useless words, old hag! I do not think you’ve given me anything new to consider!” She tossed a coin towards the old witch and turned to leave. She gasped as cold, clammy hands snapped out to catch her wrist. She tugged but the old witch was surprisingly strong. “I am saying that you are blind beyond your eyesight, wanderer. You do not see that with this quest of yours, you will be unleashing a monster that can either decimate the human race or be its salvation.” “What are you talking about? I do not seek to give rise to a new monster! I am after the one who has turned me into such!”  She tugged harder and was able to shake off the cold grip. “So, unless you can give me an idea where to find that monster, I have no further reason to stay in this town longer!” The old hag remained silent as a stone, retreating into her makeshift tent. Akire waited, her frustration mounting. Then that’s when she heard the witch whisper. “Who are you in your heart, wanderer? You have to decide once the coming of abomination returns. Whether you will like it or not, the fate of two worlds remain in your hands.” Akire considered turning around and yanking the old woman out of her hiding place. She wanted to shake her into making sense or drink her blood to access her memories; thoughts of the past, present and perhaps the future. But she found herself walking away, step by step. She felt the comforting weight of her Katana behind her. She did not have to worry herself about abominations and demons. She was one, after all.  But, she will not stay this way forever.  Once she hunted down the vampire who turned her, she would gladly walk into the sun and burn. It was not about choices or saving the world; it was all about revenge.