Their early departure the next morning was cut short when a blizzard pelted the small settlement. Vanessa suggested that Todd should go work with Darrel to get a snapshot of what their lives were like. Sasha was lucky enough to remain in the warmth of the cabin, but Todd wouldn’t complain. He was curious what the silent man’s routine was like.

It was a bit worrying for Todd that they hadn’t seen any other people living here. The multiple houses suggested that were at least a few people who used to live in the village. He would have to ask what happened to them when he returned for dinner.

Trudging through the snow Todd and Darrell went deeper into the thick forest. Darrel had an axe laying on his shoulder, probably for whatever task they were going to do. Todd had brought his sword with him, but didn’t think he’d need it.

Deeper and deeper they trekked. The journey to the undisclosed location was an arduous task. The snow was piled high and took a lot of effort to walk over without proper snow shoes. Eventually the trees dispersed leaving a small clearing in the forest.

“We’ll take a break before cutting down some logs for firewood. Let’s sit down on that log over there and catch our breath before we start,” said Darrell.

“”That sounds good,” exhaled Todd who was out of breath. He shuffled his way over to the white pine log, taking a seat next to Darrell.

Energy drained Todd’s body, leaving his body dizzy and fatigued. His vision blurred and two sharp objects pierced his neck.

Fatal Blow Activated:

Rolling… Success

Todd’s wounds instantly healed. Darrell, at this point, had already begun chopping wood, clearly thinking that Todd had been drained to death. There was an aura of vigor around Darrell, it was as if he sucked the life force out of Todd. The vampire happily chopped the trees at an inhuman pace.

Todd knew he probably only had one chance to decapitate Darrell. If he wasn’t able to the kill the monster in one blow, then he’d be up against someone far stronger than him. Quietly, Todd drew his khopesh from his side, angling the inside of the curved blade outward. Swung like a baseball bat, with all the force Todd could muster, the blade went straight threw the vampires neck. His head fell to the floor.

Now he needed to find his way back to Sasha, she didn’t realize the danger she was in.

“How are you dear? You’re quite the natural at this aren’t you,” Vanessa remarked.

“Anyone can get good as me, they just need practice,” Sasha replied. “I’ve been throwing knives in bars for years.”

“ I know we’ve been talking about this for a while now, but do you have any other talents.”

“No, that’s pretty much it. You haven’t been showing me anything you can do. Surely you’ve picked up some talents since moving out here. It would be very hard to manage life in the wild without picking up anything on the way.”

“Not much really. I’ve relied on Darrell a lot, so I haven’t had much work to do.”

Sasha had realized after hours of talking with Vanessa, that the pale women didn’t reveal much about herself. Vanessa would continuously bombard her with questions so Sasha didn’t have time to answer back. Whenever Sasha did ask a question, it would be carefully avoided or intentionally vague.

“Maybe, Vanessa had low self-esteem,” Sasha thought. Although she found it odd, she shrugged it off.

The night came to a close and Sasha made her way the guest bedroom. Vanessa had reassured her that, Darrell was frequently gone for days at a time so it might be a while before her companion Todd returned.