Death. I’ve always wondered what death is like. Is it like sleeping? Is it terrifying? Is it peaceful? These are some of the thoughts I’ve had when I think about my dad. He’s not here, so does that mean he’s somewhere else? Is there a heaven, or is everything just black? What is life after death? Perhaps it is similar to life before birth. We have never been around for billions of years, and we don’t seem to mind. Maybe that’s the same for death. Perhaps the thing we fear the most about dying….. Is the unknown.

Chapter 8

Bloodhigh

“WAKE UP!”

The sudden loud voice rang through Haru’s ears, jolting him awake with a gasp for air. His eyes, wet and blurry, looked up to see a silhouette staring down at him. It could only be one person.

“Rise and shine!” Ryu’s voice boomed through Haru’s head. He wiped his eyes and tried to respond, only to be stopped by his croaky voice. It felt as if he had been asleep for days, but he knew it hadn’t been this long. After several attempts to clear his throat, he gasped out his question.

“Wha- *cough* What happened?”

“You lost a ton of blood,” Ryu responded, examining Haru’s wound. “But you are lucky to be a Vampire!. You were out for a few minutes. You’ll be back on your feet in no time!”

Haru pushed the ground to lift himself, only for a sharp pain to shoot through his stomach, causing him to squeal and drop back down. His bloody shirt was ripped up, but the injury seemed to have healed. It displayed a massive scar. It was mending, but the pain remained.

“How are you feeling?” Ryu asked, but Haru didn’t answer. Instead, he noticed that Ryu was holding his finger out. On the tip was a deep red liquid. It was runny, but Ryu would swivel his wrist to prevent whatever it was from dripping down. It was almost hypnotizing to Haru. He was unusually drawn into it.

Ryu noticed Haru’s mesmerizing gaze.

“Are you curious? This is Werewolf blood. I injured the beast pretty badly and got some of its blood!”

‘Werewolf?’ Haru thought to himself. ‘Wait, where is the werewolf?’

“If you are wondering, It escaped,” Ryu said, looking off in the distance. “That monster ran off when it knew it stood no chance against me in a fight. It probably ran off to find an easier target.”

Haru was just a bit too dazed to fully comprehend what Ryu stated. He again attempted to lift himself up, resisting the pain. But as he stood to his feet, his spinning head almost sent him back down before being grabbed by Ryu, who helped Haru stabilize his footing.

The pain was still overwhelming.

“Wha- What did you say?” Haru asked, still drowsy.

“Tsk. I said it escaped!” Ryu aggressively responded.

Haru’s fatigued eyes slowly lit up as he grasped the words coming from Ryu’s mouth.

“What! You let it escape! It’s going to kill people! Why did you let this– Argh!”

The pain was sharp. Haru couldn’t focus on anything else. He was still lightheaded and was only held up by Ryu’s grasp on his shirt, but he walked off and leaned against the nearest shipping container to gather himself. Ryu’s hand rested on his shoulder just in case Haru started to drift again.

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“Haru, we are not finished. We are going to find this monster and put an end to it!” Ryu was gleeful with his response.

Haru didn't like the sound of that. The pain, the fear, the terror. This monster was way too much for Haru to deal with, and it escaped Ryu. Haru doubted Ryu; maybe he wasn’t as strong as he let on. And it was getting later and later into the night. It would soon be midnight; that was when the Werewolf would be at the peak of its strength.

Haru looked at the moon above him. A crescent moon. Another indicator of a Werewolf's power was the fullness of the moon. This was a mere crescent moon. This monster he just faced was so weak compared to what he could be at his most total strength. It sent shivers down Haru’s spine.

“I …. I don’t wanna,” He faltered as he averted his eyes away from Ryu.

That urge to face the Werewolf again remained inside him, but the pain and memory of fighting the beast overridden any impulse he might have had. He was certain. He wasn’t going to do any more fighting; all he wanted was to be home.

Ryu knew there was no convincing Haru at this point, but he still had a plan.

Still, with his finger sticking out with blood on it, Ryu released Haru from his grip and grabbed his mouth. He started to squeeze Haru’s lips, trying to open them. With what little strength he had left, Haru resisted as hard as he could.

“Alright, Haru! You will taste some of this Werewolf blood, so don’t make a fuss!” Ryu said as he hoisted his bloody finger over Haru’s face.

Haru couldn’t respond with Ryu’s hand on his mouth, but he continued his resistance.

They wrestled for about a minute before Ryu’s tight grip started to hurt Haru’s face. He was too weak to put up a fight and gave in to Ryu’s demand.

“Fine, fine! Give me some,” Haru said, with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He had tried human blood before, but Werewolf blood? It was disgusting to even think about.

Ryu released his grasp, and Haru stuck out his tongue. A tiny minuscule droplet dripped down from his finger and splashed onto Haru’s tastebuds. It was a strong taste, so strong it caused Haru to reel back and wince as he comprehended the flavor. It was acidic yet very sweet. It didn’t taste anything like human blood. Even though only a tiny amount touched his tongue, it had completely taken over his tastebuds. It was intoxicating. Soon after, his head started to spin and spin until he started seeing double.

His head became fuzzy as his eyes dilated. His palms started to sweat as his nose began to bleed. His gloomy mood enhanced as his head thought a hundred thoughts per second. He felt numb, he felt tingly, and he felt giggly. This wasn’t ordinary blood.

The once black sky slowly filled with many different colors circling in the sky. Unfamiliar voices rang out from the twisting kaleidoscopic shades above as specks of light gleamed in the sky as it shined down onto Japan like rain. Haru saw Ryu speak, but nothing came out. Any noise was simply to muffled to hear.

What a high!

What an experience!

What a trip!

……Huh?

A blunt jab of Ryu’s finger to Haru’s forehead shook him out of his hallucination. Haru was still giddy, but everything had gone back to normal. As for the pain, it had completely subsided! Haru could still feel the pressure in his stomach, but the grueling pain wasn’t there.

Haru now felt unusually happy.

“How was it? Did you enjoy the sweet taste of Werewolf blood?” Ryu asked.

Haru struggled to answer, all he could do was muster out some giggles every time he spoke.

“Hehehehe ….. Yup!”

Ryu smiled. “Werewolf blood is unique to us Vampires. It’s like a drug to us. It also works like a painkiller as well, so any tough battles we have with any Werewolves we can ease the pain with some of thier blood. You should be —”

“I want more,” Haru interrupted with giggles.

Ryu raised both his hands and opened his palms to show that the blood he had was gone.

“Sorry! I drank the rest. If you want more, we need to find the Werewolf.”

Haru didn’t hesitate, nor did he stutter. He had more confidence in himself than he had at any point in the night. He knew what he wanted, and it was time to get it.

“Alright, Ryu! Let's go find that Werewolf!”