𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐀

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His sunny-side voice is abnormally gleeful, peppy. “By god.” He sighs. “If you know you have super hearing of sorts, please don’t yell like that.”

I crane my head to the side, examining the two figures a few steps away from me. The first being a bleeding vampire writhing in the dirt and noticeably missing an arm. Gradually, my eyes follow to the owner of the vampire’s gushing arm and the subsequent second, very familiar, figure.

He’s dressed in his long black deerskin coat and muddy brown slacks----every article of his clothes coated in a bath of vivid cerise. The whites of his hair have also been died into dark red, blood droplets staining his face. The moment his ashen grey eyes meet mines, he briefly smiles.  

Stepping with an aggressive stomp of his feet, he directly walks on top of the vampire’s head, smothering and grinding its face into the dirt as he takes a step towards me.  

Blades of wind cut through his snow-white hair with every encroaching step. “Hey, Nina.” Zayne waves with the vampire’s amputated, gushing arm. “Are you all right?” He stares directly at me, concern sizeable in his eyes as process me. With every blink, he asses the situation and settles on his conclusions as per usual.  

For a second, I might fool myself to be happy to see his ditzy face; his boyish grin that almost always dimly present even when he’s not smiling, his scintillatingly easy-going demeanor, and constant willingness to come scurrying to my side. Just for a second, I could fool myself. Just for a second.

But that second was over faster than it began.

Knowing what he is? There’s not a chance in all the 7 world wonders that I’d let that happen.

I grit my teeth and with a strained grunt; I try to rise. The muscles in my back tingle, as I struggle to bring myself to stand, much less even get upright.

“I suggested we not split up,” Zayne remarks, offering me a hand.

“And I said I could handle this one by myself.” I brush his hand away, fighting to my feet. All the while, I can feel every prickle and sting of the stabbing twinges bite into me. My blurred vision is still a cloudy fog of disorientation, but I find my dying strength.

“Don’t say that.” He places a hand on my shoulder, stabilizing me in place. “We’re partners, partner.”

“No.” I deadpan. “No, we’re not.” With a wince, I place my hand over my aching side and shove his hand off.

Almost immediately, the lack of pressure on shoulder causes my whole-body keels to the side. I stumble for a moment, a whorl of whiplash whacks me like a steel uppercut to the jaw. I nearly collapse as blood rushes to my head in a thundering burst of speed.

My eyes veer to the side, scanning Zayne from the corner of my eye.

“Well, we’re a work in progress, partner,” he says, stressing every syllable of the word.

“You need to focus on the task at hand.” My chest expands as I suck in the air and root my feet into the ground, a gnawing pain following every stretch of my muscles. Clenching my teeth, I shift my bruised hand from my side to my shoulder for stability.

I almost forget how much strength he has---it’s inhuman.

“Aye, aye, sir.” He gestures a salute with his index finger and middle finger. In a casual stride, he paces to the vampire who’s crawling on the ground, thrashing around in pain.

“Gugh…” The vampire gurgles out words, his fingers clawing at the nub of his arm. “My arm…” He growls, speaking through stifling wails. “How… did you…”

Zayne snatches him by the scalp of his skull. “By the grace and light of our divine Father, may peace and salvation forever be upon this earth, and any who seek to topple the balance of heavenly creation, shall be cut at the root and weeded out from the soil of this land---.” He pauses and rams his hand into the vampire’s chest.

“AHH!” The vampire screeches as Zayne punctures through his ribcage, tearing out an immeasurable deep crater in his chest.  

I can see the gleeful smile slithering on Zayne’s face as he thrusts his hand even deeper into the vampire's chest. So far he could likely dig his nails into the vampire beating heart.

“AHHH! AHH!” More screams erupt from the vampire, as Zayne plunges his hand further inside.

"If a man injures his neighbor---,” he says, grinning with lips curved into the sharpest sickle. “---just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so shall it be inflicted on him. And, the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man or monster that prey upon them----.” He’s interrupted by more explosive wailing screams.

“AHH!” The vampire writhes and in place, but Zayne’s grip on his skull keeps him engrained in place.

“---Shall be put to death.” In a forceful twisting yank, he rips his hand out, blood smashing against his face.

“AHHH!” The vampire screams so rabidly loud, that maybe someone could hear his screams out in this desert. Maybe.

“May the unrighteous meet their fate…” Zayne continues, something blooming scarlet red appearing sticky wet and of thick veiny muscularity rapidly beats and pulsates his fist.

It’s not hard to put the pieces together---it’s the vampire’s heart.

“And the righteous seek their right." He applies pressure in deliberate squeezes to bring about max excruciation, as he drives his fingers into the vampire’s heart.

Swiftly, I turn away from them, a severely harsh squelch sound reverberating into my ears.

SPALT.

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖞𝖊𝖙 𝖚𝖕𝖔𝖓 𝖚𝖘.....

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