A New Family

My World Has Fallen Apart

We walked though the streets of Sanguinem, following the directions of the map Mika had stolen from Lord Ferid. I was holding Haruka's hand and trying to calm her down.

"Sachi-chan, I'm scared," she whispered in a shaking voice. I squeezed her hand and smiled reassuringly. 

"Don't be scared, Haru-chan! We're getting out of here, okay? No more stupid vampires, no more livestock clothes, no more blood draws!" I enthusiastically explained. "We can all live together somewhere and eat whatever we want whenever we want!" She smiled a bit and seemed to get a bit of pep in her step. I got the sudden urge to look up and found myself facing the gate that was supposed to lead us to freedom. I heard Mika and Yuu start to talk quietly.

"I'm worried. Don't you think it was too easy to find this gate? Are you sure this leads outside?" Yuu questioned apprehensively. 

Mika nodded. "Yeah..... At least, that's what the map says," Mika responded in a tone similar to Yuu's. "Plus, I don't think the vampires really expect us to try to escape, with the virus and destruction and all that."

"This is still way too easy," Yuu murmured. I decided to jump in.

"Cows and pigs don't leave their pens even if they're full of cracks. That's how they view us as well," I interjected. The boys looked at me and nodded slightly. God, what a depressing thought. "But we're going to get out of here!"

"We're not livestock," Mika started. "And I'm a genius." The kids all started laughing and making it known that they were all geniuses as well. 

"Come on, let's go," Yuu announced. Mika and I smiled at him and nodded. 

"Ahahaha," someone laughed from the gate. Lord Ferid stepped out from behind one of the pillars and smirked menacingly at our group. "I've been waiting for you, pathetic lambs."

All the blood drained from my face. No...... It was a trick....... Oh my God.

"That expression," Ferid sang. "The expression humans make when all their hopes get crushed. That expression is why I never get tired of this game."

Suddenly, I saw one of the children fly backwards; I looked over to see the girl in Ferid's arms as she was getting every drop of her blood drained. "Aw, only one gulp and she's already dead." Ferid dropped her dead body to the ground. I grabbed Haruka and forced her face into my side so she wouldn't have to witness the terrifying scene unfolding in front of us.

"Die, you bastard!" Yuu screamed, pulling a gun out of nowhere and shooting it at Lord Ferid. He dodged the bullet with a sinister grin.

Yuu grumbled under his breath and cocked the gun again. "Yuu-chan, it's useless. You'll never be able to hit that monster from here!" Mika yelled.

"Hey, isn't that my gun?" Ferid asked. "So, you didn't only steal my map, but my gun as well." He looked over at me. "Sachiko-chan, did you have anything to do with this?" I was in too much shock to do anything but stare at him. "Anyway, let me renew your hope just a little bit. That map is accurate; the outside world is on the other side of the path that starts at that gate."

"Run! Get out of here!" Yuu screamed urgently. The kids slowly backed up. Yuu looked me in the eye and somehow I understood that he wanted me to get the kids away from there ASAP. I nodded as tears filled my eyes and corralled the children away from immediate danger. I suddenly heard a whisper in my ear: "Not so fast."

Before I knew what was going on, all the children except for Haruka were laying on the ground in puddles of their own blood, Akane included. "Stop it!" Mika screamed from somewhere behind me, tears evident in his voice. Ferid ignored his plea and turned to look at me.

"Ah, Sachiko-chan. That blood on your face really brings out your absolutely lovely eyes," he mused. "Too bad the light will fade from them soon." He sprang forward and was about to grab me when something stopped him. Or should I say, someone. Ferid was holding Haruka in the air by her neck. "Hm. Not who I aimed for, but this little girl works as well."

Haruka struggled to look behind her to face me. When she did, a small smile adorned her bloodied face, almost making it seem like everything was okay. She flinched slightly when Ferid tightened his grip, but she still managed to regain her angelic smile. "I-I'm so-rry, Sachi-chan. I lo-love you," she stuttered quietly. "K-keep living......f-for me." Then Ferid snapped her neck.

"How heartwarming," Ferid cooed.

I dropped to my knees and roughly gripped my head as if trying to keep it from exploding. No.......... Haru-chan was like my little sister.... No, she was my little sister. She was the first one (other than Mika) to make me forget about my parents. She kept me sane whenever the world got to be too much for me. Her sweet demeanor made me smile every day. She calmed me down whenever I woke up from nightmares. She was forced to grow up too fast, but she chose to stay a kid for as long as possible..... God, I couldn't stand to live without that little girl. But I had to stay alive for her sake, if nothing else.

I silently sobbed as Ferid approached my pathetic form. "Awww, would you look at that. Poor little Sachiko-chan is all upset because her little friend is dead. Shall I take away your pain?" he said. "Or should I keep you for your blood?" he whispered as he knelt down in front of me.

"Just kill me," I whispered despairingly. "Please..."

"Ahaha, would you look at that. She's begging me to kill her," Ferid laughed. "As you wish, my little flower." He flashed behind me and sunk his teeth into my shoulder. I gasped in pain and arched my back slightly. "Hold still, livestock," Ferid muttered. He roughly grabbed my other shoulder and squeezed so hard that I felt my collarbone snap, forcing a strangled scream from my mouth. He suddenly released me and ran somewhere behind me.

"Mika!" Yuu screamed, making my blood run cold once again (what was left of it, anyway). I slowly turned around, only to see Mika getting stabbed through the chest. He still managed to aim his gun at Ferid, only to have his right arm sliced clean off. Everything faded away except for my best friend, laying on the ground and bleeding profusely. Despite my injury and extreme lack of blood, I sprinted over to Mika's side and grabbed his only remaining hand, too shocked to cry. Mika stared up into my teal eyes with his tear-filled blue ones.

"Sachi-chan," he whispered hoarsely. 

A gunshot echoed through the room as Yuu shot Ferid in the head. Yuu then joined me at Mika's side. "Mika!" he yelled. Mika's eyes slowly made their way to his face.

"Yuu-chan, Sachi-chan, you have to run. Take the map, get out of here," he rasped. 

"No!" Yuu retorted. "You're coming with us!" He wrapped his arms behind Mika's shoulders and under his knees. "We're all leaving together!"

"There they are!" someone yelled from down the hallway. "Ferid-sama is down! Get them!"

"Get out of here!" Mika ordered as he shoved us away from him.

"But I finally have a family," Yuu sobbed. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Hurry up and go, you idiot!" Mika screamed. "Take Sachi-chan and leave!"

I looked down at my best friend yet again. Tears had finally spilled over from my eyes. I wouldn't leave him; I couldn't. "Mika......I'm not leaving you," I whispered hoarsely. "You're the only reason I'm alive..."

"Sachiko, go with Yuu. Protect him. You know how much of an idiot he can be," Mika whispered. "Keep an eye on him for me, okay?"

"Alright..." I squeezed his hand one last time and stood up. I grabbed Yuu's arm and pulled him away from the scene. We sprinted up the stairs to the gate. Once through the hall, we found ourselves staring out at the human world we'd been taken from all those years ago. The only difference was that this world was without 2 of the most important people in my life.