"Peinaó" (A Scene from My Current Project)

God, it was freezing tonight.

I hugged my cardigan tightly, hoping to keep any warmth I had left from escaping. My teeth chattered as I stood next to Rayn in a line that should definitely not be this long. Sure, it’s a party, but it’s a party in an old, abandoned warehouse. How fun could it possibly be?!

Rayn was next to me, practically bouncing on her heels, her excitement radiating off of her. Her hair was pinned out of her face with little brown pins, which matched her brown short-sleeved dress that reached her ankles. The collar was a cream white with a small brown ribbon tied to it. She wore her normal worn-out black boots with uneven laces. She’d had them since her 16th birthday; now, she was almost 20. I was surprised they even lasted this long.

I glanced down at her arm, where bright red splotchy marks covered it entirely. It was an ugly rash, for sure, though she’d always gotten them. I asked her once as a child, and she related them to an illness she’d had since birth. After that, I never thought to ask again, though whenever I saw them, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for her.

Once we were near the front of the line, I noticed two men, no older than 18, checking each person as they entered the door. Why did an underground party put on by a couple of teens and young adults need such high security? I have no idea.

One of the men was tall, his dirty blonde hair long and slicked back into a low ponytail. His eyes were green, similar to mine, but they seemed to be a lot brighter under the moonlight. The other was short and stout, with fire-red hair that didn’t reach past his ears. He was the one mainly guarding the door, chatting up with incoming patrons.

We made our way to the two men, the shorter one looking us up and down before stopping on me—more specifically, my chest. I glanced at him awkwardly before following his eyes to where my cross necklace rested. I looked back up, noticing Rayn stepping in front of me and flashing something from her pocket to the man, causing him to take his eyes off me.

He stared at her for a moment, their eyes seemingly in a deep conversation, before he gave us a nod. He stepped out of the way of the door, allowing us to pass through it. He watched me as we entered, eyes unblinking before redirecting his attention to the next person in line.

Inside the building, I looked around, noticing we had walked into a giant, dimly lit room. Towards the back of the room was a band playing music, while in the middle of the room was what seemed to be a makeshift dance floor. Tons of people were talking and laughing as they all danced to the music. Off to the side of the room were a few groups of people sitting and chatting together and drinking. Suddenly, I felt Rayn latch onto my arm.

“C’mon!” she yells over the music as she pulls me to the dance floor.

Weaving through the crowd of wild dancers, we reach the front of the “stage.” She grabbed my hands, making me sway with her to the music. I couldn’t help but laugh as she did a twirl while holding onto me. We continued to dance together as the band started another song.

Her smile was bright, and her laughter was loud, almost drowning out our surroundings. There were days I hoped we would live a life where every day was like this, happy and content far away from the confines of the orphanage or the watchful eyes of the military in the city. A world where we don’t have to work every day with no future in sight. Moments like these make me think that maybe this world we’re in now might not be so bad.

“We must get a drink!” She yells loud enough for me to hear as she points past me.

Behind me was a man with short brown hair standing at a small table that I could only assume was a makeshift bar. Rayn practically skipped towards him, squeezing past a few dancers as I followed closely behind her.

Once at the bar, the man looked at us with a smile before it dropped when his eyes settled on me. He continued to watch me as Rayn ordered something I couldn’t quite hear. I shuddered a bit as I stared back into the man’s eyes, which seemed almost to glow.

After Rayn stopped speaking, he looked back towards her with a smile. He then bent over, grabbing a few drinks from underneath. He held one out to her, which she happily grabbed. Then he turned to me, holding a drink out to me. He studied me quietly as I reached out to grab the drink, causing our hands to touch. Out of nowhere, he flinched, yanking his hand away before I could grab the drink, which caused it to spill all over my shoes.

“What the hell, man?!” Rayn yelled in shock before pulling me away. “Let’s go find somewhere to clean this off.”

The man’s gaze followed us, keeping eye contact with me as he held his now red hand close to his chest. Rayn continued to pull me through the room until we found a small hallway. We walked down the long corridor.

A few seconds later, we found a door. Opening it led to a small, dingy bathroom. It smelled of mildew and was almost too dark to see anything. On the left wall were a couple of sinks and a giant broken mirror. Rayn pulled me to the sink closest to the door, turning it on. She grabbed a handkerchief out of her dress pocket and put it under the water. She huffed her cheeks out in annoyance, causing me to let out a laugh.

“It’s alright, Rayn. It was an accident.” I say, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “No need to burn the place down or anything.”

She looked at me, frustrated, before bending down to wipe my boots. I watched her do this for a moment as she aggressively cleaned my shoes.

“Is there… anything else bothering you?” I ask once she stands up, putting the cloth back under the water. Her eyebrows knitted together in thought. Her attitude was odd, even on her worst days.

“I just wanted to take you out to a fun night, and I’m worried that you aren’t having any fun,” she admits, her face filled with worry. I give her another smile.

“I’m having fun.” She looks at me unconvinced.

“Right, cheap beer poured on your shoes is a blast!” She throws her hands up as she walks around the room.

“Rayn,” I say quietly, touching her shoulder.

She says nothing, staring at the ground. She starts picking at her fingers as she looks around in thought. The rash on her skin is getting more red and irritated. I watch her waiting patiently for an answer.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, but-”

Before she can finish her sentence, a scream erupts from the hallway. We run out of the room, returning to the crowd of dancers. The building was filled with smoke, people running and screaming in fear.

Out of nowhere, a man emerges from the smoke coming towards us. His face was distorted, his teeth sharp and almost animal-like. He started lunging at us before Rayn yanked me back by the arm, kicking the man and sending him flying. Before I could even ask her what just happened, she ran, pulling me with her.

Gunshots and screams filled the air as we rushed out of the building. Dead bodies littered the floor; others were flailing around in a panic. Some even began acting almost rabid, attacking one another. An awful smell made my face twist in disgust.

My feet felt heavy as I trailed behind Rayn, her speed almost too fast to keep up. Her arm was lifted, covering her nose from the smoke crowding us. I nearly couldn’t breathe; my lungs filled with smoke and exhaustion. Then, I find myself falling to the ground, tripping on something. I wince in pain as I feel blood gush from a wound on my knee.

“Aelia!”

I hear Rayn yell from far in front of me. I look up to see her running back to me, a worried look on her face. Once her eyes land on my knee, her expression changes. Her deep brown eyes begin to glow, her face contorting into one I don’t recognize. Sharp teeth begin to protrude out of her mouth, and she grabs her face in a panic.

“R-rayn,” I said, concerned as I tried to stand up. She began to back away, a panicked look in her eyes.

“N-no, just… just stay right there, Aelia.” She mutters, standing there with her hands covering her face.

Then, out of nowhere, like a switch flipped, her hands fell from her face, and she began growling. Her glowing eyes stared at me like a predator watching its prey. I fell onto my elbows, trying to scoot back in fear as she stalked towards me. Right when she was about to grab me, a gunshot rang through the air. Looking towards the sound, I see a man covered head to toe in bright metal armor, holding a gun, watching us closely.

Suddenly, I feel a heavy weight fall onto me: Rayn, a pool of blood forming on her back. I gasp, grabbing her face and lifting it towards me. Her eyes were filled with tears, staring back at me.

“Aelia-” she croaks in pain.

My breath left me as I stared back at her, tears prickling in my eyes. The glow of her eyes began to dull as her face changed to normal, her hands weakly gripping my cardigan. I shoot my attention back to the man, yelling.

“Please help! She’s going to die!”

Instead of answering, the man slowly aimed his gun toward me, placing his finger on the trigger. I feel a strong hand suddenly grab at me, yanking me up from the ground. Rayn’s limp body fell to the ground with a deafening thud. A hiccuped gasped choked out of my mouth. The man then shot his gun, but before he could shoot, the force pulled me away.

“C’mon!” yelled the person from behind me.

I blindly followed them as smoke, gunshots, and screams filled the air. Jumping and tripping over dropped bodies as we ran deeper into the city. My legs and eyes stung from the pain. I had no idea where this person was leading me, and I knew better than to ask.

-

After running for hours, we finally slowed once we reached an empty alley. The person drops my hand as I double over in pain and put my hands on my knees. My breathing was heavy and uneven. My throat was dry from the cold air of the night.

Once I caught my breath, I looked up towards my savior. There stood a boy with dark skin, brown hair, bushy black eyebrows, and hair buzzed almost down to the scalp. His deep black eyes looked me up and down as he caught his breath while leaning on the wall.

“W-what was that?” I ask, my breath slowly coming back to me. He didn’t speak for a moment like he was studying me. Then he nods, almost like he answered some unspoken question in his head.

“Vampire hunters.” He said nonchalantly while still eyeing me.

“What? Vampire hunters?” I ask with annoyance in my voice. “Now isn’t the time to be joking, asshole.”

He laughs before pushing off the wall and beckoning me to follow him. I stand there momentarily, watching him walk down the dark alley. Once he hits the end, he turns to me.

“I’ll explain on the way.” He said with a grin.

A part of me wondered if I should just run the opposite way. This guy could be crazy, for all I knew, playing a cruel joke. But as I think back to what just happened. What happened to Rayn? I couldn’t help but give in. I made my way next to him, and we both started walking down the dark street of what I recognized as the shopping district.

We walked for a bit, neither of us daring to speak. I could feel his burning gaze as he watched me closely. As if he couldn’t take the silence, he quickly opened his mouth to speak.

“Julius.” He states, “My name. You?”

“Aelia,” I mutter. “What was that back there?”

“Like I said, vampire hunters. Called The Silver Knights. They do raids like that to weed out the vampires.”

“Vampire? Like fangs and fear of the sun kind of vampires?” I asked, my disbelief evident.

“Something like that. Your friend was one of them.” He replies as a matter of fact. “Me as well. They use these smoke bombs with a special kind of gas that can trigger a vampire’s hunger.”

“Why weren’t you affected by it?” I ask. He then reaches into the collar of his hoodie, pulls out a black cloth, and covers his face with it—a mask.

“It’s not entirely effective, but it does the job. Usually, I don’t go to those kinds of things, but my boss heard about it and told me to check it out. Sure enough, it was a trap.”

“Well, what about Rayn? She was fine until we made it outside?” He glances at me before returning to the road before us.

“She had better willpower, I guess. “He kicks a rock in front of him, continuing. “The sight of your blood probably is what set her off.”

We continue the walk, not speaking to one another. My head was spinning at the revelation. Rayn? A vampire? I’ve known her all my life. She had never had a sip of blood in her life. As children, she often played outside in the sun, and I have not even seen her act inhumanely. Could she have really kept this from me the whole time? My thoughts became jumbled as I recalled all our interactions, hoping to remember any signs. Yet, none could come to mind.

As I continued to be lost in thought, I found myself bumping into Julius. Looking up, I saw we made it to what I assumed was our destination. It was a stairwell lit only by a single blinking neon sign that said ‘Peinaó.’ I stared at it, not moving, and Julius looked at me with a grin.

“Welcome to heaven,” he said before walking down the stairs to the door. He turned to look up at me, nodding his head back and silently telling me to follow.

He then walked through the entrance. I stared at the sign for a moment longer, considering my next action plan. I could go home now, pretend this never happened, and go about my life. Then Rayn’s smiling face flashed in my mind, making my heart heavy. I felt that if I walked away now, I would be walking from her—her memory.

That thought made my eyes squeeze together tightly as I gripped the cross necklace still resting around my neck. I couldn’t turn away just yet. Not without getting some answers first. So, against my better judgment, I opened the heavy wooden door, stepping into the gentle warmth of the building.