Two worlds divided

Prologue

Run, if she wanted to survive then she needed to run like her life depended on it, because it did. She knew that those men would not stop, they wanted her dead and they would have her dead, no matter how long it took them.

Twigs, leaves, and stones tripped her up and all she heard was the feral pounding of her heart against her ribcage. The screaming of villagers and the sound of crying children met her ears and she looked back to find a bright light following her. That was a problem, she wasn't able to repel flames like this, they could kill her. She could end up dead in the next few moments or even worse... no, safety, she needed to get to safety.

Safety was nowhere to be found though, where could she find shelter away from the hoard trying to hunt her down to use her head as a wall decoration? She didn't mean to hurt her, it was only a gentle touch but her instincts had kicked in and now she was the number one criminal in the village.

As that flame grew brighter she realised that she had stopped on the edge of a large ditch, perhaps that would be a good place to sit and wait for them to turn back. It was now or never, if she didn't jump then she would be at the mercy of whoever found her first, but if she jumped then she could hurt herself and let them know where she was.

She jumped and her feet crumpled under her, specifically her left one. She had always felt pain in that leg and it caused her pain at the worst times, like now. Of course, she yelped, what person wouldn't? She didn't mean to but the pain shot through her like lightning and she was on the ground whimpering.

Stupid, it was a stupid decision. Now she was going to be killed and hung like a trophy like some animal. That's all they saw here as though, some kill that would grant them boosted status in the village and riches to last them until they died. She was just some creature of the night who deserved no sympathy and suffering and misery for all of eternity. She deserved nothing.

As she heard the shouting grow closer to her she couldn't find it in herself to cover up the noises she was making, she just let them find her. Maybe if she didn't put up a fight then they would let her go, let her wreak havoc in another village. She doubted that they would go easy on her considering that she had harmed one of their own.

They had been suspicious of her when she arrived in the village, they had sensed something wasn't normal about her and they were right. Of course, she wasn't normal, the standard, usual, ordinary, however, you want to put it. Human even, she wasn't human, she wasn't anything they had met before and they were all cautious of her.

She had enough of camping out, getting by in life by eating whatever poor whimpering creature had snuck into her territory. She had taken a small shack in the forest for herself, her home. She loved it but then some teenagers lit it up in flames one night and she had to leave. She had done enough surviving by that point anyway, she wanted to finally live.

Live she did, she once lived in the village, started a herbal remedies shop, and helped those who were willing to let her help. Mostly women. She lived a regular human life, she had a job, a home, friends and even almost became an honorary aunt. It was perfect while it lasted. Why couldn't she just have a normal human life? It was all she wanted, to just be human. Was that too much to ask for?

She noticed the men with their torches coming through the small gap in the trees that she had found and sighed, she was going to die today, there was no doubt about it. She couldn't even defend herself in her final moments. Go out with a massive fight and struggle for survival like her ancestors, she hadn't eaten for weeks and her abilities had suffered because of that. What was left of her was a sniveling little peasant girl due to her want for normality, it had killed her.

Stupid, she had been stupid, and now it had led to her death. She wanted to be a normal human girl like she once remembered being, but then it stabbed her in the back. She was going to go down in her family's history as the weakling.

She heard the chanted applause as one of the larger men pointed down at her. She ignored their voices as she was lifted by her collar like a kitten and she sobbed as she was forced back down onto rough ground. She looked up at the men as she sat there on her knees, none of their voices ever reached her ears as she just accepted her fate. Even as she was slapped and kicked she just took it, there was no point in fighting back.

She had disappointed creatures everywhere, she had disappointed her father, mother, brother, ancestors, but most importantly herself. She thought that trying to be as human as possible would help her but it just led to her death. Typical.

She braved to look up to find nothing but angered men staring back at her with disgust and disdain, she looked down and waited for someone to finally give her the final blow so that she could finally embrace the sweet relief of having the ever-present want of being something that she wasn't.

Then she felt it, that sword that one of the blacksmiths had been holding was now driven through her chest and she gasped as blood started to spill out of her mouth and she could feel her lungs failing, right through the heart, the best way to kill a vampire. They knew what she was.