A Beautiful Saviour

Chapter Five

The noise of battle died down, the snarling and spiting and gulping of blood all died down. Joseph, who was laid on the floor, took a look around. The high he had just experienced as he had won them their battle suddenly disappeared as he took a look around him.

                The ground was scorched from the bomb. The remains of vampires lay scattered everywhere, their bloodied dismembered limbs and bodies flung everywhere. Their faces in death lost their animalistic sheen to be replaced with the human face of one who could be mistaken as asleep. Until you saw the wounds that is. Their pale faces covered were in tiny scraps and scratches, their necks held the marks of fangs. Trails of blood ran down the skin of the dead and the whole seen looked barbaric, vicious. Pure hellish.

                The stench finally hit his nose. Two days, or well nights to the humans, had been so hectic he had barely given much thought to the familiar smell but now it clogged his nose and made him want to gag. The heavy smell of blood clung to the air where it dried and putrefied on the ground and it was disgusting. He coughed a little and stood up. The smell of sweat hung around everyone, they had not washed, instead they had fought to such an extent that sweat beads still clung to their foreheads. And now in the dirty battleground the stale, sickly, salty smell started to burn his nose. He could smell it even on himself. His eyes went back to normal, his fangs shrank. The hair on his body lay flat once more and he looked at his very skin. His bare feet should have been muddy from walking on the ground but instead they were coated with blood, dried blood that was thick and sticky on him. It would not come off easily. And the splashes on the backs on his calves – they also travelled around to the front. His legs were covered in the blood of the dead that lay around him and he suspected that his back and hair would also be covered in it as well having just fallen backwards on to it.

                He felt repulsed at his own appearance and then the damage he had inflicted on his own kin; the vampires that had attacked him. Brothers in a sense, they shared some genetic makeup. They to had fought for a cause they felt strongly about, just like him. Usually he felt nothing after battle, usually he turned and walked away leaving his ‘side’ to clear the fields while he merely cleaned up and showed up for the honour funeral before leaving to go to another battle.

                He didn’t know what exactly changed, all he knew was that for the first time he wanted to be anywhere other than the battle, he was struggling to even remain composed for a minute, let alone the hours it would take for the funerals to begin. He wanted to go back to Elsa but the thought of her in her clean dress and her infectious laughter only shamed him more as he thought of his shaming state in comparison.

“Joseph, thank you for your aid. It is thanks to you that we won this battle.”

“You are most welcome.”

                He relayed his rehearsed speech, the one he always said so they did not feel bad about asking for his help. Usually he didn’t mind, he had known no other life than fighting for others, now however he did mind. Now he wanted to get away and never be asked again.

“You know you are needed on the east coast two weeks from now. There is to be another battle and our kin there are sorely under soldiered. We are travelling there in three days’ time to join them if you wish to accompany us.”

“No I have business elsewhere I must attend to. Thank you for your offer though.”

                Dragging him to war was not his idea of thanks at that moment.

“You will be there though, Joseph?”

“Of course I will be there. I promised their leader I would be, many weeks back. I do not go back on my word.”