C2 An ashen ray of hope

Ashrej sat in a candlelit room playing around with a rack of test tubes, only the ticking of the clock above the scanted doorframe giving the irregular clangs and puffs some semblance of rhythm. The old, crooked door behind her opened with a shy creak and an old man carefully entered, not bothering to close the door behind him.

The girl put down her toys and turned on her chair to face the man. His unshaven, wrinkly face looked at her with guilt. Ashrej glared back in with annoyance.

Drawing a lung full of breath, he told her, “I’m about to leave.”

She replied with a sighed “Mm-hmm” and turned back around with acted indignation to resume her activities.

“Are you coming or what?”

With a jerk she swiveled back around with a most genuine expression of happines, that only a child is capable of expressing. The old man stepped out of the door, waving her through as she happily ran past him. Not caring to put on her shoes, the girl threw on a heavily worn brown leather jacket and fled through the door into a green field of thigh-high grass which surrounded the little log cabin.

Outside beneath a carport rested an old but well-maintained Jeep, while a forest encircled the grassy area. An empty plain but for the gravel stretched itself long on the horizon.

A pair of dirt encrusted sneakers came flying towards Ashrej, who had already entered the Jeep and was jumping up and down through the open roof from excitement.

Gramps exited the hut. “Don’t break the car, Ashrej, or I’ll never take you out again and I mean it! And you won’t be able to guilt trip me then. Now put your shoes on.”

“The faster you get here the less time I have to wreck it,” she called back. “Get a move on, old man!”

“Thin ice, young lady.”

“It’s summer.”

“Stop talking back.”

“You stop talking back.”

“You started it.”

“I take it back to have called you old. Clearly I am the more mature one of us.”

“There is no way to beat you, is there?”

“Keep on looking, maybe you’ll find one. I wouldn’t get my hopes up though.”

Shaking his head and not further engaging into a fight he knew he could not win, Gramps took his place in the driver’s seat, gunned the engine and drove out towards the line of desolation outside of the crater inside which the hut lay.

With her upper body peeking through the roof, Ashrej laughed gleefully as she stood in the racing Jeep, Gramps trying his best to keep the vehicle under control as it skidded over the gravel.

Finally, before them appeared the outskirts of a thick greenish-purple forest, which, though it appeared to be dense and tropical at first glance, mostly consisted of fleshy plants the likes of wich would be more commonly find in arid places.

Without slowing down, the Jeep ascended its way up the incline out of the depression and cut into the thi cket.

“Sit down already! That will be no laughing matter if a branch hits you! Or do you suppose that getting scraped off a tree is fun?”

Ashrej obliged and continued to take in the view from the safety of the car, pressing her face against the window. Every few seconds her gasps of amazement at some passing object joined in with the revving engine and the splattering of thick-leafed bushes.

The deeper they went the muddier the ground and the more open the canopy became, eventually opening up completely to reveal a sky of purple filled with thick, purplish-grey clouds coiling around each other in the sky. They now entered grey, muddy marshland. Gone was the rich assortment of trees and creatures replaced by sparse patches of grass and purple cacti. Gone were the golden rays of sunlight spearing through the treetops, displaced by cheerless greyness.

Only now did the Jeep slow down, coming to a halt on a flat stone slab in amongst the polluted streams and foul gas pockets of themire.

The driver’s door opened and Gramps stepped outside, walking around the front of the car to open Ashrej’s door for her.

Before she could run off in excitement, Gramps ordered her to stay close to him

“The mud is dangerously nasty stuff, don’t step in it,” he explained.

Taking some sort of tool out of the car with which he scanned the plain, he then swiftly skipped across the bright spots of solid rock poking out of the ash grey sludge as if knowing where to head next. Ashrej stayed closely behind, following in his steps.

Inside a crevice of a big rock Gramps spotted a hint of green and made his way towards it.

Looking for any sort of foothold, he soon realized that he couldn’t reach the little plant, so he gave a leg-up to Ashrej. Once lifted, he described for her the different parts of the flower, which ones to pick and which ones not to touch. As Ashrej tried to pluck a petal just a bit further back, she lost her balance and fell towards a noxious swamp bubble. Just in the neck of time Gramps caught her by the collar of her jacket and heaved the shocked adolescent back onto solid land. Luckily, she’d held on to the delicate leaves and she presented them proudly; however, most had been squished beyond use. They would have to continue looking for more.

Gramps sat down, leaning on the boulder. “Ah, my old bones are killing me. Let’s rest a bit.” He patted the floor. “Sit down.”

“How about a no. The ground is yukky.”

“Says the girl that hunts for bugs around the house.”

She blushed. “You keep your mud and I keep my bugs, fair?”

“Don’t be like that. There’s enough dirt for the both of us here.” He threw a handful of tar-like mud at her

“Hey!”

“Come ‘ere already, you’re dirty now anyways.”

As she sat down, Ashrej kicked Gramps in passing. He ignored it and proceeded to explain to her the different properties and uses for the herb they had just collected. The recent indignation was forgotten in a moment, replaced by fascination for Gramps’ mud-sketch of a plant on the side of the white rock.

The girl asked if that was what he went out for all the time. He agreed. It was a dangerous labor but it kept them fed.

“So, the more we gather the longer we can afford to stay at home, right?”

“Yep. And if some is left over, I could teach you how to make potions. What do you say?”

“I say what are we waiting for? There is no time to waste. Huphup, let’s get going!” She pulled him to his feet and lead the way back to the truck all the while Gramps limped after her, complaining about his leg.

Back in the car, they continued their search through the swamp. Past a narrow pass they entered a secluded valley as desolate as the swamp prior, but the mud hadn’t yet reached it.

Once more they went out collecting for the Rocksprout, as the small plant was called. A hardy little thing that could grow on almost any surface like moss.

Little did they know that on the high walls surrounding them an armored carrier watched their every step.

The day slowly came to an end, and both Ashrej and Gramps enjoyed the dusk and the warm winds it brought to the valley as they dined on the Jeep’s hood. Strewn about them lay the colorful remnants of the instant meals’ packaging. Every breeze would pick up a handful of the crinkling foils and carry them off into the night.

“Is there a potion you always wanted to make but just never came around to it for any reason?” Ashrej asked.

After some contemplation, he pointed at the shining lights above and replied: “Starbrew, though it’s less of a potion and more a beverage with side-effects.”

“What is so special about it?”

“Aside from the incredibly rare ingredients, making it as hard to reach as the stars? It has also a taste so magnificent that it carries one’s soul high up to the skies before returning.” He sighed.

“When I was in education my teacher never let me make it and it has been so long since I had some to drink. The last time was back at… I can’t even remember.”

“Sounds tasty, if you go to such lengths to describe it, the stars.” She made a sweeping motion with her spoon. “Care to share if you do one day manage to make it?”

“It’s a bit peculiar, you wouldn’t like it, there are surely drinks more to your liking.”

“Speaking of drinks with great taste, I’m in need of a sip.”

“Already? Haven’t you have drunk 3 days ago?”

“Yes, but that was more for your sake than mine.”

“Oh, of course. Sorry about not wanting to drop dead.”

She spat into her palm and slapped him with the wet hand. “There you go! Feel better now? Never make such jokes again!”

He smeared the goo out of his face. The white beard below had turned a rich black. “You vampires are hard to love, Ashrej”

She huffed.

“But you’re harder to hate.” Gramps gave her a hug.

She let him, though being clearly discontented with being treated like a kid. “Are you about done?”

Gramps let go of her and stretched out his throat, exposing it. The vampire leaned in closer and counted up the jugulars arteries with a chant. “Up and down the humors flow around, around. Yellow, black, red and white…”

“Stop this freaky nonsense please, and get it over with.”

There was a chuckle from below. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“About my grand entry.”

“What entry?”

“For the day that I can come along to the city. All the people will want to know who I am, the eyes, teeth, astonishing beauty of course.”

“And what would you tell them?”

“They will be like: ‘Oh my, what an awesome human this Ashrej is. I like her so much,’ and I will be like: ‘Ha! Fools, I am so much more than human, I am a vampire! Give me your blood and be healed of every ailment, become immortal! Send me into darkness and I will find my way. I am above man.’”

Gramps broke out into laughter. “You’ll make yourself a lot of friends with that speech.”

“That’s what I’m telling you. What are you laughing at?”

Gramps answered, barely holding back tears of laughter. “I- I can’t… they’ll be like… and you will… bite down already!”

She opened her mouth with a hiss, exposing two sets of terrifying, drooling fangs, each an inch long, ready to bite down.

“Wait! Give me a second…I’ll never get used to that.”

“What now? First, I should bite then ‘eh’… then hurry up and put a sock in it, then gimme a sec. Have I begun to rub off?”

After swallowing hard and closing his eyes, Gramps faintly nodded, the signal for Ashrej to go on.

The bite was unpleasant, the puncture of the skin painful even, and Gramps voiced it with a guttural grunt.

At the same time the people from the pass were still spying on the pair from a safe distance through a telescope. Having seen enough, the scout, dressed in plate with a blue and white surcoat, signaled his companions of equal dress to get into positions and they obeyed. Two climbed back into the APC, the third strapped a bulky piece to his back and the scout with the telescope remained where he was, always keeping his eyes on the old man and the girl.

By now Ashrej had finished her vital snack and was busy with licking the remainders off her face and fingers. Once released, the old man, who now looked easily 10 years younger, applied some salve on the wounds, earning a questioning look from the girl. Without her asking, he replied, “Yes, I know that they will heal quickly but this is more for peace of mind than anything. You’ve missed a spot on the hand.” Examining her hands, she found the red rivulet racing down her arm, quickly caught it with her tongue and wanted to carry on with her feline cleaning procedure when a distant, high pitched whistle disturbed the peace. Both looked around, searching for the source.

“What is that?”

“Shh.” Gramps hushed her and listened in.

She took a look at the sky and spotted a shape in the far distance, followed by a thin streak of light. “There’s a large, glowing bird flying there.” She pointed towards it.

Gramps gave her a confused look. “There are no birds in this area, never. What does it look like?”

By now the shape had moved in closer and was easier to distinguish.

“Weird. It’s got limbs and there’s stuff flapping about. I don’t think it’s a bird at all, but what then? Looks like a person! A flying man!”

“Get back in the car, Ashrej,” Gramps ordered in a low voice, keeping his eyes on the advancing streak of light.

He himself hurried back inside the car, gunned the engine and started to drive out of the pass.

The whistling sound meanwhile had grown to a high-pitched revving sound akin to a jet engine.

The girl peeked out of the car’s roof again and could now clearly distinguish a human shape dressed in white and blue with cyan eyes glaring down at her.

Gramps forced her back into her seat. “I told you to sit tight!”

“What is happening?”

“Just sit back down and don’t let yourself be seen any more.”

Just as they were about to exit the valley, their way was cut off by the APC that had been stalking them from the top of the canyon walls.

Gramps tore the car around and sped off in the opposite direction.

“What do they want?” was all Ashrej managed to ask before the flying knight landed on the Jeep’s hood and punched at her, smashing the windshield in the process. He missed her by a hair. Before he got the chance to remedy his error, Gramps shook him off.

“You, obviously,” he answered.

The chase continued. Though the Jeep was faster than the APC, it still managed to follow them relentlessly. Above their heads the bird-man circled. Gramps had to realize that to run was futile. The setting sun threw long shadows across the plane and in one of them he spotted what seemed to be a hole in the cliffside. Left with no choice, Gramps took the chance.

“Ashrej, do you see that hole there?”

“Uhm… Yes, what of it?”

“Get ready to jump at the count of three.”

“Ready to what?! Are you mad? I’ll die!”

“Look there’s neither time nor choice. I’ll drop you off behind that boulder and pray that they won’t see it. While you hide, I’ll let them chase me for a bit. They are only interested in you; I will be fine. I’ll pick you up as soon as I can.”

“That’s insane!”

“You will have to fend for yourself from now on. Don’t trust anyone with such clothes or that symbol. Understand?”

“I can’t! It’s the first time I’m out here, how am I supposed to do anything without you? I don’t know anything about anything!”

She broke out in tears and glued herself to her seat. Gramps tried to calm her down despite not feeling well at the prospect himself. “Ashrej, listen to me. You can and will do this. You have all the skills to make it. After all, you are so much more than human, after all.”

Keeping his hand on her back, Gramps began to count down. “One.” He remotely unlocked the passenger door. “Two.” The flying man swooped down again, and Gramps evaded to the side. Disappearing behind the aforementioned boulder, he slowed down a little and pushed Ashrej out. “Three.”

She jumped with a shriek and only vaguely heard Gramps’ voice calling something after her. She struck the ground and it retaliated a hundredfold as she rolled over the loose bits of stone and dirt. Jeep, APC and bird-man rushed past in a cloud of noise and dust.

A pain she’d never known before flooded Ashrej’s body. She remained lying on the ground, crying.

For long minutes, maybe even hours, dusty tears rolled down the girl’s cheeks as she lay, now all alone.

Only once the worst of the pulsating and burning pain faded, she dared to raise herself up onto mangled feet.

It was a miracle that nothing was broken; she was just covered in cuts and bruises. After the long, thoughtless silence, Gramp’s words came back, ringing in her head now suddenly clear. “If you can survive this, you can survive everything.”

Ashrej carefully made her way into the cave to wait for Gramps’ return.

In what seemed like a calm spot by a lake, she slumped down to lick her wounds. Once finished, she cuddled herself onto her tattered jacket, feet dangling in the soothing water to recover a bit.

A mingling of voices woke her from slumber. In her daze she called out for Gramps, only to find that the voices had suddenly gone silent. A shuffling of feet from definitely more than one pair of legs had taken their place. Adding two and two together, the young vampire realized that her pursuers had caught up with her. This fact sobered her up quicker than a dip in the lake ever could have done. Taken by dread, she ran heedlessly deeper into the cave, farther away from the shuffling and shouts that urged each other to pursuit.

Thanks to her catlike eyes, finding her way through the caverns proved much less of a challenge than it would have for any normal human, but even someone with Ashrej’s abilities cannot run forever, especially if one does not know where to go.

A hunter caught her shadow in the beam of his flashlight. “I have found it! Close in on my position.”

Ashrej hit a dead end. Pouting from exhaustion and without a way to flee, she pressed herself against the wall like a cornered animal. A cone of blinding light slowly made its way around the corner.

Gripped by panic, she scrambled up the cave wall and clung to the roof, hoping that strength would not leave her before the hunter did.

With a swift jump, the hunter appeared in the tunnel that now appeared suspiciously empty.

Puzzled by his prey’s disappearance, he searched the place for any nook and cranny into which she might have hid, even going so far as to break some stalagmites behind which she might have lodged herself. As he came to stand below Ashrej, strength left her arms and she dropped right on top of him. He pushed her off of himself and drew a gun, but out of instinct Ashrej picked up a broken stalagmite and struck the hunter before he could shoot. He was slammed against the cave wall, slumping over unconscious. Ashrej poked him with the point of her makeshift club a few times just to make sure that he was out cold.

Finally, she had a chance to catch her breath and take a closer look at one of the people who had caused her such trouble. This one was a bearded man who could have been Gramps’ childhood friend judging by age, clad in bright plate armor with blue accents and a surcoat of the same style. It would almost be more appropriate to call him a knight or crusader, less a hunter but only almost. His coat of arms unmistakably depicted the fanged head of a vampire with a bleeding split down the middle. Half of the head was a normal vampire, the other the bare skull of one such creature, recognizable by the protruding fangs. This, together with the still clutched gun and the array of knives and other pointy objects strewn about his armor, made it clear that these people would not take prisoners.

A shiver travelled down the girl’s spine, repulsed by the imagery. Nevertheless, she switched off the flashlight in the fiend’s hand. Through the hunter’s intercom at his gorget came someone’s voice crackling with static. “Kurin, did you get her? Are you there? Answer!… Crap.”

Ashrej decided not to stick around until the speaker arrived to see after Kurin and so she took the next best tunnel deeper into the cave complex in the hope of not ending up in the same situation she had just escaped from. Fortune appeared to be on her side when she followed a continuous way ever deeper into the mountain’s bowels.

Feeling safe, she took another pause to catch her breath but the silence proved treacherous.

The knights, having cast away all pretense of stealth, came barreling down the tunnels only moments later, yelling and shouting to each other.

The hunt was on.

Whether they made all that noise just to keep in touch with one another or to further scare Ashrej, she did not know but if that indeed was their aim, they had achieved it. In any case, she was forced to run once more. They had to give up eventually. She hoped so, at least.

Like coursing game, the hunters chased Ashrej down the channels of the cave.

The strain was now taking its toll, making the girl become sluggish. Several times she tripped and fell, adding new scars to her recent collection.

Once she missed evading a stalagmite, tackling and breaking it with a loud crack. It barely hurt, but the reverberating sound of breaking rock echoing through the shaft together with her outcry of surprise pointed the hunters right to her position.

Yet again succumbing to panic, the girl ran with and through what little reserves of strength she had left, throwing care to the wind, tripping and throwing wild glances over her shoulder.

At the end of the line she saw thin rays of light shine through a round, man-sized hatch. What kind of hatch it was and where it lead to was of no concern, with the voices gaining on her and even flashlights visible in the distance. There was no time left for questions. She had to get that hatch open and fast. She leaned against it and slammed into it with all of her weight, but the hatch didn’t budge. There was a locking mechanism held fast with a chain. She clawed at it at to no avail. As the first shot hit the metal next to her she flinched, and out of desperation did what a vampire does best: she bit it. To even her own surprise, the heavy, metal chain was cleaved cleanly in twain. New gunshots hammered the metal around her and one or two ripped at her clothes. One last time Ashrej put her might against the metal and after what felt like an eternity it gave way, offended by such a vulgar display of power. Now even the last remainders of strength left Ashrej’s abused body.

The hunters got close to her just in time to witness her slump down the hatchway, tumbling down some 25 feet into an ever-shifting river of shoddy dressed people walking. There she disappeared amongst the masses like a drop of water in the sea.

“Damn it, we’ve lost her!” was all that the least exhausted knight could exclaim to vent his frustration. The others only stared down the chasm in irritation and panted.