The Garden of What Once Was

CHAPTER SIXTY

Screams of anguish replaced anger, fangs sunk deep into untouched skin, blood flowed into a parched mouth, and tears trailed down red-painted cheeks. This was what the death of a true blood was like. It was a sin to nature itself, as not even the cruelest predator out there would wish this grueling agony upon their prey. But, Reynard was not cruel. He was a vile, corrupt creature that had been shunned by nature since the day he was born.

And so, he found no fault in his actions. Drinking blood from a wailing human who began to beg for her life was not something that could phase him. He had seen, heard, and intended to do much worse in his lifetime.

"Don't, don't do this!" She cried through the pain in her burning throat, unable to resist the impulse to beg for her diminishing life. "Let me...let me live! I'm begging you! If you have just an ounce of humanity left in you, let me live! Please, please...I can't go, not like this!" Her voice cracked, growing weaker with every word that left her mouth.

As her blood began to flow out from the corners of Reynard's mouth and onto her cold skin, her eyes fluttered, almost closing shut for good. The only thing keeping her from slipping out of consciousness and into the inviting abyss of darkness was one person.

"I can't leave without seeing him. I can't leave without seeing Reed. Please, please..."

As if her pleas were finally answered, Reynard ripped his fangs out of her skin, earning an ear-piercing shriek from Ember as she threw her head back against the floor in pain. He watched her writhe around, clutching her bleeding neck while he licked the blood off his mouth and chin. The taste was almost irresistible, but he refused to give in to his instincts that told him to kill her. However, this was not done in kindness.

He stood, carefully stepping over Ember as he made his way to the door. "Go on and crawl to your High-tier," He taunted her whilst pulling open the door with a grin, "He'll finish you off. That is if everyone else doesn't get to you first."

Ember forced herself to take control of her pain as she rose from the blood-covered floor. Though she was only able to limp and almost narrowly fell one too many times, she began to drag herself to the open door that Reynard had just walked out of, determined to catch him in his escape.

She wanted him to see her standing, to see that he had not won. And, as she stepped out of the dorm, turning to the left, she opened her mouth, only to have nothing come from it. The haughty words that had meant to be said were nowhere to be found. For, the person she had intended to say them to was gone. In place of him was a hoard of red-eyed, fang-bared vampires that instantly locked their gazes onto her. Already, all of the vampiric students of Lunette had roused from their sleep, trekking toward Reynard's dorm to hunt down the human whose blood smelled so irresistible.

Now that they had found that human, they had become monsters, eager to quench their thirst. They all launched toward her as she ran back into the dorm, quickly scrambling out the window and through the gardens. She stumbled through flower beds, accidentally stomping on a few flowers in the midst of her desperate run for survival. She jumped over low-lying shrubs, just barely making it over each time. She ducked under trees, all in an attempt to ward off the vampires trailing her. But, she found that no matter what she did, the footsteps behind her remained present. It seemed that there were only two options for her left. One: stop running and allow herself to be at the mercy of her vampiric classmates. Or option two: continue running and...Well, there's no point in finishing that, as option two was already in motion and its entirety would be revealed soon enough.

She took a sharp turn out of the ivy gardens, narrowly avoiding getting caught by the out-reaching hand of a vampire. Her feet pounded toward the school, only stopping for a brief moment when she had to yank open the doors. The door did not close behind her, as one too many bodies were shoving through it. Those bodies continued to crash through the doorway as Ember wound her way through the school, running through the halls, and eventually, reaching the stairs. She stumbled up the steps, taking them two at a time, then three at a time as she realized the group of vampires were gaining on her.