Ronald was lost, somewhere in a forest. It was dark, and he was running away from something. He couldn't see it, but he could feel its presence right behind him. He knew he could not escape, but was too afraid to turn around and face it, and so he kept running no matter how futile.

He felt as if someone was slapping him, followed by what appeared to be a loud voice. The forest vanished, and so did the creature which was chasing behind him. His tried to open his eyes, but his vision appeared blurry. Within a couple of seconds, Ronald was able to make out the outline of the person's face. He realized that the person who was shouting at him was a middle-aged man. He had sharp eyes and long sideburns. Although he appeared to be of middle-age, one could tell that he took good care of his body, as his muscles managed to peek through the bodysuit. The scars that run across his forearms must have had its fair share of stories to tell as well.

"Brat, stop screaming. It's very annoying," said the middle-aged man. He had a perplexed look on his face. "I am bad with kids, can someone just take over for me".

"It's probably your face Tony," said another man dressed in a similar bodysuit. "You have a face only a mother could love. Wait, Scratch that. You have a face only a blind mother could love," he continued.

"Rick, you are not one to talk, you gorilla faced idiot," said Tony.

Listening to the conversation between the men, Ronald had realized he was the one screaming. In fact, his voice had turned hoarse and did not sound like his normal voice anymore. He found out that he was outside now. He looked around, and what greeted him were ashes and ruins of his village, and corpses of villagers, some of which can no longer be identified.

The memories of what happened had rushed to him like a barrage. He clutched his head and started screaming again. He could not accept what had happened to be real. Everyone and everything he knew no longer seemed to exist.

"Boss, I think the kid has lost it. Shall we just leave him be and continue with our investigation?", said Tony.

"Stop fooling around you two. This is serious. Those bloodsuckers could be lurking around somewhere. I need a couple of you to go and make sure the perimeter is clear," said the person who appeared to be the leader. He was not the biggest among them, and could even be called short compared to the others, but he commanded respect, which was evident from the change in the expressions of Tony and Rick. He had a slightly tanned complexion, which one develops when constantly exposed to the sun for several years.

Tony, Rick and a few others immediately scattered in different directions as if they could read each others' minds. They moved so fast that to the naked human eye, their movement was no different from a blur. Ronald saw this, but he was in no state to admire the physical prowess of these men.

The leader suddenly looked in a particular direction, and he scrunched his eyebrows as if he was trying to peer into the distance, almost as if he could see something the others couldn't. He shook his head and then slowly turned his head towards Ronald.

"Kid, it seems that you just woke up. I have some bad news for you, you are the only one in this village who survived .... ", the leader continued to speak something, but Ronald could no longer hear anything after 'the only survivor'.

"Mom, dad?" Ronald was finally able to squeeze out some works. His own words sounded somewhat foreign to him.

"Everyone except for you is dead," said the leader. With a helpless expression indicating how clueless he was on how to console the boy, he continued "Kid, I know this is hard to accept. But this is the reality. I won't try to comfort you, and tell you everything is going to be alright because it will not." He wanted to continue but realized that he would just make things worse.

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"Kid, your right eye is covered in blood. Are you sure you are okay?" asked the leader.

Almost by instinct, Ronald lifted his right hand tried to look at it by closing his left eye. All he could see was darkness. He slowly let down his hands, but there was no change in expression. Going blind in one eye was nothing compared to what he had just experienced.

"Someone come and treat his eye, lest it becomes infected," commanded the leader.

A person with what looked like a green metal box made his way towards Ronald. He opened the box, which revealed what appeared to be medical supplies. He said gently "Boy, this may hurt a bit. Just tolerate it for a while." He continued "My name is Greg by the way. People call me the angelic Greg for a reason you know. Now that you are in my hands, I guarantee that you would be good as new in no time." It was clear that Greg was trying to joke and cheer Ronald up. But all he got in return was the same blank expression and silence. The sting, which would even cause adults to flinch, seemed to have no effects on Ronald.

"All done kid, you look way better now. I have to say I am impressed, you took it like a champ. These giant babies would have cried and blown up my eardrums if they were in your place," continued Greg in his vain attempt to cheer Ronald up.

The leader signalled Greg with his eyes to move aside. He walked up to Ronald and then got down one knee until he was at eye level with Ronald. Ronald also slowly raised his eyes, staring the leader right in the eye. His stare was fierce, like a wild animal who is ready to pounce at any second. The years of bloodshed that he has gone through has wiped away any trace of gentleness in his eyes. That said, the only thing visible on Ronald was the same vacant look.

After what seemed like minutes, the leader finally spoke "Look here, kid. I know this is not the best time or place to question you, but you are all we got. I need you to tell me what exactly had happened, and how you were able to survive," and just as he expected, a vacant look was the only response that he got. He knew any attempt at scaring the kid and getting him to talk but be futile, as little could top the carnage that surrounded them.

The leader still persisted "There is no way to bring back the dead, but we could possibly get a clue and catch the ones who have done this. Every second we waste, the farther they get, and less likely it becomes to catch them."

There was finally some reaction on Ronald's face. He widened his eyes, looked back towards his charred house, and back at the face of the leader. He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in order to collect his thoughts.

"It had red eyes," said Ronald, with every word he squeezed out dripped with hatred. "It barged into our house. My mom and dad tried to protect me," He said.

With the bloodied right eye and the sheer malice reflected on his face, it was difficult to associate Ronald with the innocence that one would expect from a child on his age.

"Boss, it was a damn vampire just like we thought," chimed in one of the men.

"Were to able to see its face?" asked the captain.

Ronald nodded. "It looked human," replied Ronald.

"Did it look grotesque, with veins visible on its face" further enquired the leader.

Ronald shook his head and replied "It was handsome,"

The caption nodded his head to himself as if he had confirmed something. He turned towards the other men and said "The particular vampire that attacked kid's family was definitely not a vampire ghoul. It would appear to be at least a true conversion," As if sensing the confusion in Ronald, the leader explained "vampire ghouls are nothing but low tier creatures, created by converting humans by pure-blooded vampires. They do not have the capability to think, and has no rationality. It is only left with an instinct of violence, and obedience to its creator. A true converted, or simply, a converted vampire is one that retains its human appears and has its rationality intact. It too possesses a great sense of loyalty towards its creator."

"Can you think of any reason why it would spare your life?" asked the leader. Ronald shook his head. "Maybe it thought you would die from the blow to your face," muttered the leader, as if he was quite unsure himself.

"I promise you that the creature would pay for what it has done as soon as I find it," said the leader.

Ronald went quiet for some time. He looked as was thinking of something, confused and unsure. But in a few moments, the doubt was replaced by a determination. Ronald said, "I want the creature dead, but I want to do it with my own hands."

Seeing the leader's expression, Ronald could make out that the leader did not take his words to heart. Ronald reaffirmed "I will." He spoke no more, but it was clear that he was quite serious, and not something one would say just on a whim. The leader wanted to say something more, but he suddenly changed in focus.

A few blurs suddenly converged from all directions. It was Tony, Rick and the others. Tony said "Boss, it seems that all the bloodsuckers have left. They have erased all trails that could lead us to them."

The leader furrowed his brows. He then instructed "Collect anything and everything that looks suspicious. I don't believe that they wouldn't have left a single clue that would lead us to them. Also, we will bury the bodies of the villagers."

He turned to Ronald and said "By the way, I am captain Sterling. What is your name?"

"Ronald," replied Ronald.

"After we are done here, we would be leaving this village. Since we can't just leave you here, would you like to come with us Ronald?" asked Sterling. Seeing the hesitant look on Ronald's face Sterling added "Didn't you want to get revenge with your own hands? If you come with me, I just might be able to give you the chance."

Ronald contemplated no more and nodded his head in affirmation.