[Cyrene]

It's dark, even with the moonlight. . . it's still dark. My eyes are having trouble adjusting. 

Pero hindi dahil sa dilim. Bagkus ay dahil sa mga maliliit na insekto, simpleng paggalaw ng dahon, ang pag-usog ng liwanag ng buwan. Bawat simpleng pagkilos, nagpopokus ang mga mata ko.

Pasimple akong naningkit. My eyesight is too sensitive at the moment, and I can't control it yet. Fortunately, even though it feels like my throat will burst any moment now, I can still control my thirst. Hindi pa 'ko nababaliw.

Hinihiling ko nga lang na wala akong makaharap na kahit sino hanggang mag-umaga. Hindi ko alam kung makokontrol ko pa ang pagkauhaw ko kapag nakaharap ako ng tao katulad no'ng nakaharap ko si Ark.

Hindi ko rin sigurado kung may makakapigil sa akin kapag nagkataon.

Humigpit ang pagkasasara ng kamao ko. For now, I need to find a place to hide. . . and if possible, to stop this thirst without hurting someone-

Nahinto ako sa paglalakad nang may naramdaman ako. Before, I can feel visible presences 100 meters away from me, 150 at most. Now. . . 

1? Maybe 1.2. . . kilometers away from me.

There are four- no, five of them.

Moving at full speed.

Tumalim ang tingin ko. They're not hiding their presences. As a matter of fact, it feels like they're showing off their bloodlusts.

With their speed and presences, I can assure that they're not humans... they're vampires.

I didn't changed my pace. Maliban sa alam kong mag-aaksaya lang ako ng oras kapag tinakasan ko sila dahil wala rin akong lakas makipaghabulan ngayon, gusto ko rin malaman ang dahilan ng pagpunta nila rito.

For food? They may have thought that I'm a human. But with those bloodlust they're giving off? I'm sure that they have an idea on what I am.

Hindi ako nagkamali ng hula. Ilang minuto lang ang tinagal nang maramdaman ko ang mga presensya nila, bigla itong naglaho ng parang bula. Their presences disappeared. . . because they're already close to me.

And just like that, in this dark forest, even though they're sneaky and sly— I can see every move they make.

There are indeed, 5 of them. One female, and four males. All of their scarlet red eyes are piercing through my skin. Pasimple kong inipit sa loob ng damit ko ang nag-iisang armas na meron ako, ang baril ko.

Hindi ako huminto sa paglalakad, deretso ang tingin ko na para bang hindi ko pa napapansin ang mga presensya nila. They're not attacking me, perhaps, they're examining my movements.

I thought that they're just going to watch me until daylight, until one of them appeared almost 4 meters away from me. Huminto ako sa paglalakad at walang buhay ang mga mata kong umangat sa kaniya.

With just a glance, I've already inspected his whole physical appearance.

6'2 to 6'3ft height. Ruby bronze hair, slightly long for a guy. His physical appearance looks like he's on mid 20s, I honestly look more mature than him. I can't really tell his age by now, since he's already a vampire. He stepped with his right foot, the right part of his body is dominant.

With that, his body is not that big, but I can see his biceps through his fitted black shirt. He's looking down at me, it shows that he has confidence. They're not high ranking vampires, but not ordinary also. They're give off an irritating vibe. Specially this one in front of me.

This guy. . . is dangerous.

"Oh, it looks like a Nate," aniya. Lumalabas ang pangil niya kada bumubuka ang bibig niya.

Hindi ako nagpakita ng emosyon at nanatili akong kalmado. Pero napaisip kaagad ako. Nate?

Naglakad siya papalapit sa akin, pero hindi gano'n kalapit. Kumurba ang labi niya sa isang ngisi. "Anong ginagawa ng bago rito? This is our territory," may pagbabantang sambit niya.

Naramdaman ko ang paglibot sa akin ng iba pa niyang kasama. Agad akong naging alerto. I can't take them now, not like this. Should I shoot them?

I silently took a deep breath. I should calm first. They're still not doing anything.

Bumaba ang tingin ko. "I'm sorry. Hindi pa gaano katagal mula no'ng. . . nagbago ako. Wala pa akong alam," marahang sagot ko. "I hope you'll let this pass for now, I'll remember what you've said."

I tried to avoid conflict as much as possible. Inunahan ko na silang gumalaw at inakma kong umalis nang humarang ang lalaking kaharap ko sa dadaanan ko.

His expression changed. "You went to our turf, and you expect that you can leave just like that?"

For some reason, the atmosphere changed. I can feel the pressure weighing me down. Sinubukan kong habulin ang mga mata niya, at nang magtama ang tingin namin ng ilang segundo, namilog ang mga mata ko nang makita itong nanlilisik sa akin.

Why? What did I do? Did I messed up? As far as I can remember, vampires doesn't really care about territories that much, unless they're under a pureblood.

Are they?-

"I'm just passing by," kalmadong sagot ko. "I didn't know this is your territory-"

Hindi ko natuloy ang sasabihin ko nang mabigla ako sa biglaang paghawak sa pulso ko. Hindi ko inaasahan ang agresibong paglapit sa akin ng lalaking kaharap ko. Namimilog ang mga pula niyang mga mata sa akin.

"Just passing by?! YOU'RE EXPECTING ME TO BELIEVE THAT?!"

I bit my lower lip. What is his problem?! I'm really just passing by!

"I didn't-"

"You're expecting us to believe a Nate, to just pass by?!" Humigpit ang pagkahahawak niya sa pulso ko. "A NATE— NEW BORN LIKE YOU? SA TINGIN MO MANINIWALA KAMI, NGAYONG NAKIKITA KA NAMING GANIYAN?!"

Natauhan ako sa sinabi niya. Doon ko napagtanto. Kaya nga hindi sila naniniwala sa akin. . . 

I'm just a new born. . . yet, I'm not acting like one. Hindi ako sabik sa dugo at nababaliw, bagkus ay kalmado pa 'ko. Inaasahan nga nilang. . . nakainom na 'ko ng dugo.

Napaismid ako at pwersahang inalis ang pagkahahawak niya sa akin. It's really hard to believe it, even I myself can't believe it too.

But I'm different!

Because I...

"I was bitten by a purebl-"

I stop midway when I felt a thin, yet cold sharp thing pass through my neck. It happened so fast, I didn't even got a chance to react.

Déjà vu.

Sunod ko na lang natagpuan ang unti-unting pagbuka ng leeg ko. Napaluhod ako sa lupa, nanatiling nakaangat ang tingin sa lalaking mababa na ang tingin sa akin ngayon. Dumudugo ang matulis niyang kuko na ginamit niyang panghiwa sa leeg ko.

This asshole didn't even gave me a chance to explain.

His cold eyes met mine. "I'm doing you a favor. You won't survive as a vampire, just die," malamig na sambit niya habang pinapanood ako.

Lumabas ang mga dugo sa leeg ko dahilan ng paghawak ko rito.

Fuck. It hurts.

It hurts like hell.

It fucking hurts.

Kada lunok na ginagawa ko ay ang paglabas pa lalo ng pulang likido sa leeg ko. Nagsilabasan na rin ang iba pang kasama ng lalaking kaharap ko, para makita ako nang malapitan.

Napasipol ang babae, hindi ko na masyadong maaninagan ang buong itsura niya. "Come on, she was about to explain, Hunter," sambit niya sa lalaki.

The guy named Hunter didn't react, he just looked at me before turning his back at me. "Let's go, let's look for the person she killed."

Hindi sila sumagot. They obediently followed him, leaving me behind. Naiinis akong pilit na tumayo. Paniwalang-paniwala sila na may pinatay ako, ni hindi man lang nila 'ko hinintay na magpaliwanag.

Tsk, stupid blood suckers.

Kahit kumikirot ang leeg ko, hindi tulad no'ng unang beses na mangyari ito, kusang sumasara ngayon ang sugat. Inaamin ko, nakapanghihina ang masugatan, pero kahit hindi pa 'ko nakaiinom ng dugo, nagagawa pa rin gumaling mag-isa ng sugat ko.

That crown. . . her venom. . . is really different.

Hindi pa nagagawang makaalis nina Hunter nang huminto rin sila sa paglalakad. Saktong pagtigil nila sa paglalakad ay ang pagtayo ko mula sa likuran nila.

Hunter faced me with a furrowed forehead. Hindi maipinta ang mukha niya nang makitang hindi pa 'ko nagiging abo.

"How- I'm sure that I almost cut her head!" naguguluhang sambit niya.

Imbis na sumagot, nagawa kong ngumisi. Tuluyan ng nagsara ang hiwa kong leeg. I stretched my neck.

My scarlet red eyes met theirs.

If I was a human, I would be already dead by now after receiving that hit. But. . .

I'm not.

I'm already one of them. A vampire.

"Gya, gya, gya. You should learn some manners. When one is talking, you should listen first."

━━━ † ━━━