Rain soaked the streets as icy winds howled through a small industrial district on the outskirts of New York city.
The rumbling storm in the dark skies above weren’t unusual for the time of year, and the city’s people had long since adapted to its ill tempers, leaving the streets empty.
There was no one around to notice the wind’s sudden shift nor the ethereal crack which echoed through an inconspicuous alleyway behind Tony’s laundromat.
A figure dropped from thin air, landing on his feet only for his legs to buckle as he fell to his knees.
He sat there, slumped over forward, unconscious and still as a corpse, silvery eyes peering ahead, unfocused and lifeless.
His naked and emaciated body was covered in dark tattoos that seemed broken and twisted. Randomly beginning one place and ending another with neither rhyme nor reason, like fractured puzzle pieces.
His build was wide-shouldered and looming at around 6’4 and dirty dark blond hair fell from his head in wet tufts down to his eyes.
The heavy rain poured down on his body, almost as if in retribution for daring to venture outside during the tempestuous storm’s reign.
His body suddenly shook, and he desperately heaved for air like a diver surfacing, fighting for oxygen.
GASP
My eyes focused as I scanned my surroundings for danger. I was running on instinct, barely capable of forming a conscious thought.
I threw myself to the side of the alley behind a heavy dumpster before peering out onto the empty streets ahead of me.
The pavement was cracked and worn down, and streetlamps lit the opposite side of the road with a warm orange glow.
Not seeing any activity, I carefully crept forward, my mind slowly catching up with me, informing me something was wrong and when I looked down, it took me almost a full minute to notice what it was.
“Clothes.” I thought to myself with a dull sense of necessity.
I looked around for something to cover myself with, noticing a small neon sign reflected in the storefront windows across the street.
Apparently, the building to my right was a coin-operated laundromat.
I looked over my should and found an alleyway service door leading into the store and quietly broke the metal handle with a sharp twist, careful not to draw attention to myself.
I listened for any activity and upon hearing none; I turned off the lights at the front of the store and started my search with only the light from the streetlamps outside to guide me.
After a couple of minutes, I found a basket labeled Lost & Found inside was a pair of worn sweatpants that fit me.
It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do for the moment.
Now reasonably covered, my mind started slowly waking up. I took deep, calming breaths and closed my eyes as the realization hit me.
“ I made it . I’m finally home . ” Relief and joy trembling in my voice.
“For now, I should keep a low profile and get my bearings, ending up in a lab somewhere with people trying to take me apart to find out how I tick wouldn’t be ideal.” I thought with a shudder.
I stepped out onto the streets, enjoying the chilly rain on my bare torso. My body ran hot enough that the cold didn’t bother me, quite the opposite in fact, as I found it quite pleasant.
Yet part of me... An instinctual part wouldn’t calm.
I felt its paranoid warnings as it scanned my surroundings, reacting to every little noise or slight movement, warning me of something wrong in the air, something which wasn’t supposed to be here .
I pushed it to the back of my mind and moved forward, following the scent of the ocean to a fenced in dock filled with shipping containers and large cranes.
In the distance, across a wide bay, I saw towers of brilliant light, skyscrapers reaching into the skies, chasing away the dark as if in defiance of the night.
It was a metropolitan city brimming with activity.
“I should start heading that direction, maybe find a shirt along the way.” I thought to myself, but before I could plan any further, a sudden high-pitched scream and angry yells tore me from my thoughts.
The heavy rain had distorted the sound, but there was no doubt it came from the shipyard in front of me.
“Child.” A dark part of me rumbled in my head, waking from its slumber.
I quickly scaled the fence and jumped to the nearest container, my bare feet landing on top of it with a soft thud. Wasting no time, I continued across the jungle of steel, my body warming up, readying itself for a fight.
I came to an abrupt stop at the origin of the scream, standing atop a three-high stack of containers peering down over the edge at the scene below.
Three men wearing expensive-looking suits and coats along with matching red insignias on their sleeves were cornering a little girl against a container, like predators surrounding their prey.
She couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven years old, a slight trickle of blood running down her lip and quickly bruising cheek, mixing with tears and the heavy rain.
She sat backed up against a container, as if trying to make herself as small as possible, while desperately clutching a stuffed animal in her arms for comfort.
She shivered from the cold and looked up, her brown eyes filled with fear as the three men closed in on her like predators stalking a wounded prey.
“Damned little bitch bit me! Let’s just kill her and be done with it!” the asshole closest to my stack of containers suggested, clearly finding a sick joy in the look of terror which flashed across her face.
“The boss said alive . The court of whores will do as they’re told, as long as we have this one,” the middle one reminded with contempt.
“And if they act up, we can always send them a finger or two.” he continued with a cruel sneer.
I felt fury build in my chest like a raging inferno, gritting my teeth to stay in control. Yet as I looked down, our eyes met.
The rain was too heavy and the night too dark for her to have possibly known I was there, but she did .
She looked up at me, her face filled with fear and anguish, eyes pleading for help.
Dark voices started whispering in my ear, begging to be let loose, pushing and straining against my control, but they were silenced by an inaudible snap.
All three men turned and looked up to where I’d been moments before, finding only empty space before turning to each other, confused by the sensation they’d all felt.
The right most man who’d stayed silent until now was the first to notice me as I came around the corner carrying a piece of rebar with a chunk of concrete on the end of it.
“VIN LOOK OUT!” he yelled, trying to warn his comrade in time, but it was too late.
I had already swung the twisted piece of rebar and connected with the side of his head, shattering the chunk of concrete, yet unexpectedly, his head only seemed to cave slightly from the impact.
His body fell limply to the ground, letting out wet gurgling sounds.
“Not dead.” Part of me noted in equal parts displeasure and confusion.
With the amount of energy I’d channelled through my body, I would have expected his head to disappear in a gory mess, but instead it had felt as if I’d struck a tree with a bat.
I had little time to ponder the man’s unusual durability as his friends were quickly closing in on me.
They looked down at their comrade at my feet in shock before doing something I hadn’t expected... They hissed . Each revealing inch long fangs, two above and two below.
“ Vampiris .” I growled, my voice coming out wrong, as I recognized what they were, and seethed with feral animosity.
The surrounding shadows shivered and shook, some in anticipation of the violence about to be committed and others fearing my anger might extend to them.
One of the vampires got startled and pulled out a handgun but was quickly halted by the other putting his hand on the barrel and shaking his head, still keeping his eyes locked on me.
“No guns. They would hear it and come.” He said with a grim expression on his face as he reached into his coat and pulled out a short sword. The blade about the length of his forearm, his comrade quickly caught on and pulled out a hatchet of his own.
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Both weapons were tinted black, and their edges lined with silver.
Groan.
The vampire at my feet stirred. It was unlikely that he would get up anytime soon, but deciding not to take that chance, I brought down my piece of rebar like a sledgehammer driving a stake into the earth.
Having learned from my first attempt, I channelled some of my power through the wrought piece of metal, glowing red runes spreading along its length just before impacting his skull.
This time, the impact had the desired effect. The two vampires halting in shock just outside my reach, as bloody bits of their buddy’s skull landed on and around them.
I straightened, pulling free my now smoldering and bloodstained piece of rebar before flashing them both a twisted, vicious grin, bloodlust tinting my vision red.
The one wielding a sword roared and charged me, swinging in the practiced arcs of a swordsman.
I had never had much of a talent for swordmanship, having had to make do with experience and brutality, a combination which proved quite lethal with my particular set of skills.
Yet as I walked forward to meet his charge, I realized with a frown.
“Something’s wrong. I’m not moving quite right.” I thought as I looked down at my own body in confusion.
It felt heavy and slow, like I was moving through syrup. Every attempt at trying to will any significant amount of power through my body stalled and fizzled out.
After closing the distance between us, it quickly became apparent just how impaired I was.
Every slow attempt at an attack I made would be skillfully countered. Deep gashes appearing across my body as he continued to push me back.
His confidence only grew as he sneered at my pathetic attempts to defend myself from his onslaught.
A dark part of me roared its wrathful indignation, demanding his life cease to exist for his arrogance and insolence.
His swings became wider and heavier, as he seemed to think he had all but won, needing only a finishing blow.
And he would have been right had his blade not struck the corner of the container I’d backed up to, embedding the blade in the steel.
I stepped forward and pressed the palm of my empty hand against the side of his face. He looked confused for a moment before noticing the smoke and sizzling sound of flesh.
He let go of the wedged blade, screaming as he clawed at his own face and fell to his knees, a glowing red rune of agony burning his flesh to the bone.
He looked up, one eye ruptured, leaking fluid down his face, just in time to see my swing impact his head.
I channelled a third of my remaining energy into the blow in an effort to overpower the impairment I’d felt earlier, the piece of rebar sputtering with sparks as it sheared half of his skull off at a 40-degree angle.
What remained of him fell as I gasped for air, desperately trying to steady myself while thick black smoke rose from my shadow, sealing my wounds in a substance not unlike dark carbon fiber.
My vision was blurry as I looked back to where the third vampire had been moments ago, finding only the little girl frozen in place, staring at me wide-eyed in shock.
Her eyes shifted to slightly behind me and instinct moved me to the side in time, making the first shot only clip my shoulder.
The second didn’t hit at all as I spun my body around and threw the now smoking piece of red-runed rebar like a javelin with everything I had left. It flew off as if fired from a cannon, and I vaguely heard the impact on steel as I fell to my hands and knees.
Backlash wreaked havoc in my body, demanding the price be paid for using something I shouldn’t have.
Trying to catch my breath while on my knees, I looked up.
The little girl was now standing about 6 feet from me, shaking in the icy rain and clutching a wolf plushie, staring at me with big brown eyes red from crying, her long curly brown hair soaked from the rain.
“She looks worried and scared, but not of me.” I noted strangely.
I stood up shakily and looked down at her, standing in the rain in her pajamas, still scanning our surroundings for any threats.
“She looks cold,” Part of me thought worriedly.
I looked around us for something to cover her from the rain and settled on the coats of the first two vampires, putting one on myself and wrapping her in the other like a blanket.
I knelt down and looked into her eyes.
“Do you know where your home is, little one ?” I asked her in as soft a voice as I could muster. She startled briefly, likely expecting the voice she’d heard earlier.
Her eyes got even wider, clutching her wolf tight as she gave a small nod and pointed towards the city, to a towering black building with large letters saying Eve.
“The building that says Eve? ” I asked, and she nodded again.
“That’s a couple of miles away... will I make that?” I thought to myself, the building being on the other side of the river. The nearest bridge had to be a mile away and it would be another three miles to the building.
“I sure as shit don’t have another fight in me. If another one of those vampires shows up, that’ll be it for me... Us .” I thought, frowning.
“I’ll take you home then.” I said before looking back at the girl, who now looked conflicted.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, trying to sound friendly.
“I’m not supposed to go with strangers.” She replied in a small and timid voice.
I made a show out of looking deep in thought before I turned back to her and spoke.
“A good rule to have. Hmm then, how about this?” I said, holding out my hand.
“Hello, my name is Aleks’Andros. You can call me Aleks for short.” I said with a friendly smile, like I hadn’t just killed three people in front of her.
“Three Vampires.” Part of me corrected.
She looked at my hand hesitantly for a moment before reaching out and shaking it.
“Hello Aleks, my name is Sasha Nikoleve.” she greeted prim and practiced, although with a hint of uncertainty.
“ Well then , now we know each other, so we’re no longer strangers, right ?” I said, very proud of myself.
Sasha Frowned and looked up at me like I was an idiot.
“That’s not how-” I scooped her up before she could argue any further, a small yelp of surprise escaping from the bundle of fabric and brown hair as she settled in my arms with an annoyed glare.
The exchange made me think the brave little girl had been far less affected by her traumatic experience than would be normal. However, that assumption was quickly dispelled.
It barely took five minutes of walking for me to realize I had severely underestimated how scared she had truly been, and still was, as she would tense in panic like a deer in headlights at every sudden noise or car passing us by.
“Can’t really fault her for being scared. I would have been too.” I thought.
“Sasha, have you ever heard the story of Roskva and The Fenris Wolf?” I asked, doing my best impression of an elementary school teacher.
Sasha turned her head to look up at me like I’d said something profoundly stupid again.
“No?” she replied.
“Great! Long ago, a young girl, much like yourself, was brought to the realm of the gods to be a servant. Her name was Roskva.” I quickly began as to not give her time to interrupt.
***
One day Roskva went to the great forest surrounding the city of the gods, to forage for nuts and berries.
The forest was so vast that you could not see its end, not even from the highest tower.
Roskva had been warned many times to never wander into the forest, as it was dangerous. She could only forage at its edge within view of the city.
But one day, frustrated with her small harvest, Roskva ventured deeper into the forest and eventually got lost.
Many hours passed as she walked through prickly thorns and over rough paths.
She finally reached a clearing with a great flat rock in the center.
As she sat down, she cried. The sun was setting, and the forest was dark and scary, and she was all alone.
But just as she was about to lose all hope, she heard the trees rustle and creak. Behind her, by the edge of the clearing, she saw a massive form.
A great enormous wolf as big as a house. It could have swallowed her whole.
But instead of crying out and fleeing, Roskva smiled, wiping her tears away.
This confused the Great Wolf. Everywhere it had gone, people would scream and run away, so it asked the little girl.
“Little one, why do your tears stop, and your smile bloom when you see me? Do you not fear me?” the rumbling voice of the wolf rolled over the clearing.
Roskva shook her head and spoke.
“I cried because I feared being alone and I could not find my way home. But now I’m not alone, because now you are here.”
The Great Wolf walked forward and laid down its massive body in front of Roskva and stared at her with eyes as blue as the sky.
“Then, little one, where is your home?” the Great Wolf asked.
“I do not know. I live in the halls of the gods in their city, but I do not know the way.” Roskva replied.
“Then climb onto my back and I shall bring you back home.” the wolf said.
Roskva smiled and climbed onto the giant beast’s back, laughing as the Great Wolf stood up.
On their way to the edge of the forest, the two talked and shared many stories. To whereupon reaching the edge of the forest, the Great Wolf felt saddened at the thought of never being able to talk to the little girl again.
“Little one, what is your name?” The Great Wolf asked.
“Roskva” She replied.
“Little Roskva, my name is Fenris, the Great Wolf of the plains, and upon my name I swear friendship with you. You may come and go in this forest as you please and never shall a thorn prick you or a path elude you. For you are my friend, and I am yours.” Fenris finished. The trees seemed to rustle in agreement, as if he and they were one and the same.
Roskva hugged the Great Wolf goodbye and would come to visit him many times throughout the years. And in all that time, none ever dared harm her, for she had the protection of the Fenris Wolf.
“And that’s the story of Roskva and the Fenris Wolf.” I finished.
Sasha had seemed resistant to the story until midway through and now seemed to consider something
“Did they stay friends?” She asked hesitantly.
“Always and forever.” I replied with a gentle smile.