Souls vs Blood 5

Souls vs Blood 5

Harold ran all the way back to the portal. He jumped through it panting heavily. He went to find his mother.

The sun was rising... Slight rays were shining on his mother. She had been beautiful. Now she looked weak and frail. Harold wondered how long she would hold on for. He clasped his hands and rested his head on his knuckles.

"Ha... Harold?"
"Mum?" Harold looks up quickly.
"You're here~" Harold's mother smiled brightly.
"Did you sleep well?"
Harold's mother ignores his question.
"I haven't seen you in a while. You always come when I'm sleeping. You naughty naughty boy!"
She smiled as if everything in the world was fine.
Harold didn't want to ruin the mood so he followed the act.
"Sorry mum. But I'll tell you something interesting instead. I've got this meeting with a girl in three days."
"A girl?"
"Yeah. met her about two weeks back. I've been placing my mark on her."
"Your mark?" Harold's mother looked at her son, trying to read deeper into his expressions.
"Just last night she told me where and when to meet her next."
"Oh my...*silence* Do you like her?"
Harold blushes slightly. "I... I don't really know but I don't want to absorb her soul. I don't want to kill her."
"Well, have you?"
"I... I didn't want to but... I did. She came close to me when I was hurt the other day."
"Hurt?! When?!"
"I... uhh... don't get too excited mum. it's a bit of a long story..."
"Who hurt you?!"
Harold was getting worried for his mother. It wasn't good for her to get agitated.
"There is this vampire around the girl, he knows I've been following her--"
Harold's mother gasps, "Vampire!" She starts to hyperventilate.
Harold shoots up and shouts, "SARAH? ANYONE?" He repeatedly called for help.
At the same time, he tried to hold his mother still and calm her down for about a minute before Sarah arrived.
"Get off her Harold. You're making things worse!"
Harold grudgingly obliges.
Within seconds Sarah manages to slow Harold's mother's breathing.
"Thanks Sarah." Harold sighed in relief.
"Hey don't mention it. But you idiot, did you mention vampires in front of your mother again? Haven't you learnt your lesson yet?!"
"I... I'm sorry but..."
"The ones that caused your father's death and the ones that destroyed your mothers natural abilities of a soul sucker, were vampires. You, should feel not an inch of pity for them."
"But I--"
"Harold, we've been through this. Stop thinking of stopping the war. Whether we win or we lose, it's better than the conflict and tension we have had to go through for about forever."
"What if we--"
"If we lose, and are exterminated, so be it. Or worse still, if we become slaves and be discriminated against, then we will not stay down forever. Nothing lasts forever. Not even this period of tension that seems to be going on forever. Before the humans decided to forget about us, although we had some kind of harmony, it wasn't going to last. Not with those crazy soul suckers out there that like to absorb whole souls. No chance Harold. No one's perfect."
"Vampire's weren't forgotten...Not completely anyway." Harold ignored the other parts of the reply.
"Well, that's just how things turned out. No way to change it. And we can't approach humans without harming them. Vampires can."
Harold knew she was right. He abruptly ended the disgusting conversation and left his mother in Sarah's care. Sarah sighed rather loudly as he left.

He dejectedly went on with his mopey and dreary life, waiting for the next three days to pass quickly.
James on the other hand, decided not to let Alice out of his sight. He determinedly stalked her, brought her out, sat outside her door in the night and made sure he knew where she was. Alice was appalled. For once, she was not enjoying James' company.

"James! You have classes to attend! What are you doing in my class?"
"They aren't worth going. I'd rather be here."
"That's not the point!" *She lowered her voice into a whisper* "You've been tagging along me like a dog recently!"
*He whispered back in a voice meant to seduce* "Why, don't you like that?"
Alice would have blushed and become speechless normally. But this time, she barely blushed at all and retorted, "well mister, if I see your face everyday at home and at school, I will one day get bored of it! Move move move! Get on with your own classes before I get any angrier!", as she pushed him out of her classroom.
James made an exaggerated heartfallen face.
"Be a good boy!"
James relented, slightly disappointed, but not unhappily.
*FINALLY!* thought Alice. She didn't understand why James was suddenly becoming so sticky. Also, with James suddenly being so cuddly, she didn't know how she would be able to keep her promise with Harold.
On the night of the meeting, Alice stayed up and pretended to read a book, on the sofa outside James' room. She wasn't focusing. Couldn't even if she tried. James too was shuffling about. Well, can't blame him. He was a bit restless because he usually went hunting at this time but he didn't because he wanted to keep an eye on Alice. Soon, in order to try to stop himself from wanting to feed, he locked himself in his room and sat in front of the fan.
Alice took this queue and slid out of the kitchen back door which she had left open. She left the lamp on and placed her book on a cushion such that even if James opened his room door, he would see the corner of the book and hopefully not realise she was gone. She went to the back forest.
As she stepped onto the tall grass, she saw an interesting scene. It was 2.30am. Harold was squatting down further in the forest, and it was as if he were glowing. There was this sheer light coming off him as he smiled and played with a bunny. The bunny let Harold rub his face and comb it's fur. Alice stared on. There was still time before 3. About 5 minutes later, Alice changed moved into a different position and ruffled the grass about her. Harold's senses sharpened and he started looking warily around.
"It's only me."
Harold's expression softens. "Oh. Hi"
"Hello. What's your name?"
Harold looks at Alice for a while in silence. Alice felt a sweatdrop trickle down her forehead.
"Harold." He gave a curt reply.
"Oh my name is---"
"Alice" Harold cuts Alice off midway.
"Oh my. How did you know?"
"I do. *after some silence* I always did."
*since I first saw you. When your parents called your name as they passed.* thought Harold painfully.
They stood in silence. Harold replaced his mark even though it didn't really need replacing.
"Harold?" Alice decided to break the awfully awkward silence.
At the sound of his name, Harold started blushing. Thankfully, it was dark and Alice couldn't see Harold's bashful face that stared hard at the tall grass by his feet.
"Who... who are you? Do you... know me?"
"I... no I don't really know you."
Harold ignored the first question.
"Then why...?"
Alice feels embarrassed asking someone she didn't really know why he knew her name, and why he was around here the other day, hurt...
"Just be careful. See you around."
Harold didn't know how to explain anything. And he didn't like the idea of talking about his race. So he decided to leave for today. He had seen her face. It was enough. Apparently, Alice didn't think so.
"Hey wait!"
Harold stops in his tracks.
"Tell me at least why I should be careful?"
Harold turned around. After a bit of thinking, he said, "that guy in the room there." He took a hand out of a pocket and pointed in the direction of James' room. Alice turned to look. As she turned back, she asked,
"James? What about him?"
But Harold was no longer there.

Alice returned to her home dejectedly. She switched the lamp off and took her book with her to her room. James heard her climb the stairs. He quietly followed her up. Alice lay on her bed wide awake. James went back to his room once she closed her eyes. He hadn't noticed the mark had been replaced once again. It was 4am by then. James managed to sleep. Alice on the other hand, tossed and turned till sunrise. Harold... Needless to say, he sat by his mother's side, looking into nothingness and thinking of the girl he had been placing his mark on...