On the full moon night, her eardrums trembled from the screaming and clashing sounds of metal. Screams of desperation and pain numbed her perception. As in a nightmare, a mighty wall was brought down. Wall fragments fell to the ground like stars, adorning it like sand on the sea. Monsters poured through the collapsed wall like an unstoppable tide, crashing into the ranks of the people wielding swords and shields, trying to somehow stop the advance. More and more buildings gave way under the intense fighting.
The air began to crackle as Luna heard a loud whirring sound on the battlefield. It became faster and faster. She turned to identify the source of the noise. A fourth moon gleamed upon the ruined city she stood in. It got brighter and brighter until she was no longer able to look into the light of God. Blades of weapons that fell to the ground decked the night with renewed despair. Soldiers shattered by war kneel on the ground to pray.
Dozens of red lights flew into the sky, exploding light fireworks, but they still could not surpass the judging light of the moon.
"Areas 4 and 5 are under attack! Take cover!" yelled a tall man in a white cloak. Runes glowed on his clothes and enveloped him in a divine light. She watched as he jumped behind a wall. It felt too real for a dream.
Luna was confused, and without giving her body a command, it reacted and pulled a woman with dark brown hair behind a building. Everything seemed so unreal as if she was watching a movie about herself in the cinema.
The whirring got faster and faster, and the moon made the night brighter than the day. With concentrated pressure, a blue light illuminated the battlefield, causing the runes supporting the walls to glow under heat. Most walls seemed to be holding up under the shacking earth and powerful light.
The first runes melted from overheating. People taking cover were crushed under the walls as they collapsed on all sides after being rendered defenseless or pulverized as the light touched their bodies.
As quickly as the light came, it disappeared again. Only destruction remained. She had no idea what was going on, as everything around her was shattered and enveloped in the night again.
Suddenly, cracks formed in her vision. She saw the woman she had pulled to the ground get up. Her face was drenched with sweat and matted with hair. Only her dark brown hair, which was tangled with dust and small rocks, hung down her shoulder. Luna looked into her blue eyes, still shining with confidence. Then everything collapsed like a window before her eyes. She didn't even understand what was happening.
***
Luna shot out of her bed, gasping for air. Her pajama was soaking wet. She tried to find the light switch but struggled with her disorientation. After a couple of seconds, the lights went on. She looked straight into the wall, trying to calm herself from the nightmare that ripped her out of slumber; after a couple of seconds, her glance wandered to the left side into an empty room. The door was closed, or at least she assumed it was. Next to the door, she saw a trash bag that still needed to be taken outside.
It took a while before she calmed her mind and finally got up, only to be greeted by a sharp pain that went through her head, causing her body to tremble. Groaning under the pain she touched her forehead.
'I'm already having fever dreams; it seems I have to go hunting again.' she thought as she got a little concerned.
Luna went to the window, pulled the handle to open ,it wide and let fresh air into the room. A soft and warm wind was breezing over her skin. As she comfortably shut her eyes, she thought about the nightmare. Everything in the dream looked like an apocalypse, although she couldn't remember any battle that had taken place like this. She frowned as she remembered the woman with blue eyes. She seemed so familiar to her. The chirping of birds in the distance woke her from her thoughts.
While Luna walked into the kitchen, she thought about what breakfast she would prepare today. She decided to take cereal out of the cupboard and milk from the fridge. After preparing breakfast, she turns on the TV to watch the news. It took the old box a while to start. She changed the program with her remote control. A man in a suit stood behind a large table and announced the latest news.
"The secret service and scientists still face a mystery. Cases of so-called vampire bites have been found repeatedly over several years. Scientists believe that it is an unknown species of bat that also sees humans as prey." As the moderator started to speak, Luna was partially listening, as she wasn't fully awake.
"The cases are still rare, so it is hard to verify this hypothesis; scientists exclude that an actual vampire is behind those cases. We have started a poll on our website where you can let us know what you think is the cause."
Luna looked out of her window. A sigh escaped her lips. She didn't like the development. Her bites are becoming increasingly popular in the news. She hoped to be able to leave this reality soon. She felt lonely without her friends, who had accompanied her for centuries. Nothing in this world piqued her interest, and neither family nor friends tied her to this place. She looked back to the TV.
"Today, Professor Grim has also come to tell us something about the bites; he is a professor at the University of Biological Sciences in Leipzig. He is the head of the genetics department, which primarily specializes in genetic modifications, and we hope he can answer some questions for us."
On the screen, Luna saw an old man with grey hair and many wrinkles on his face. He had a boring look that said he'd rather be somewhere else.
"Grimm, many people are worried that, like cat bites, a serious infection can develop. What are your thoughts about that," asked the moderator.
Luna's eyes turned red instantaneously. She was angry that someone would compare her teeth to those of a cat. Her mouth wasn't a cockroach nest that would cause infections.
"That is truthfully an engaging question. In the last years, we only got a hand full of bites to analyze due to their rareness. While we can say with certainty that none of the cases studied developed an infection so far, I still recommend everyone to seek medical attention if they got bitten, only to be safe," Grimm replied in a grave tone. But it didn't seem he was concerned for the people's safety.
"So what makes it so hard to study those bites," asked the moderator.
"First of all, all victims of an actual bite attack don't seem to remember that they even got bitten and when it happened, making it even fewer people to research." It was known to the public how rare said bites were. And without people reporting about it either, even fewer got recorded.
"The other cause is that those wounds heal at an unnatural speed, which makes an in-depth analysis almost impossible. These healing properties are simply amazing and seem to come from a unique protein that always self-destructs at the end of the process. We did isolate these proteins a couple of times, but they almost immediately self-destruct if removed from the wound tissue."
"Those proteins could become a unique medicine because the body doesn't treat them as foreign bodies for some unknown reason and doesn't produce antibodies to attack them," replied Grimm, who seemed frustrated. It was exceptionally tedious to isolate a specific protein, and when this exact protein went into self-destruct mode, it became even more annoying for the scientists because they could do nothing about it.
"How much do you think this will advance cancer treatment in the future?" asked the moderator.
"One thing we noticed during our research was that the DNA in the wound got reinforced with so-called telomers that sort of act like stiff bits at the end of shoelaces. Those stiff bits get shorter every time your cells divide. So you can say that the area around the wound is more resistant to cancer and aging, making it more healthy overall. If we can isolate the responsible proteins, new therapies will develop and save millions of lives," Grimm exclaimed excitedly.
Luna stood up, carrying the bowl to the sink to wash up. After that, she quickly went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change clothes. She undressed her pajama, revealing her pale but soft skin color. After washing, she slipped into jeans and a black shirt before she looked in the mirror. Her brown-red eyes still smiled beautifully in her direction. She brushed her pointy teeth, bound her shining black hair with a red ribbon into a ponytail, returned to the living room to turn off the TV, and saw that the interview was almost over.
"I would like to thank you for taking the time today, and I hope you will soon be able to tell us good news about this miracle protein; after this exciting round of questioning, we now turn to the weather."
Now that the TV was out, she went to her wardrobe to put on her favorite black Jacket, slipped into her shoes, and grabbed the trash bag. Luna opened the door to the garage, only wrinkling her nose in the vile stench; throwing the bag into the garbage container, she quickly made her way to the bike, trying to escape the stench and make her way to work deep in thought.
It's now been around a month since she last sucked people's blood, and a single thought is causing her entire body to tremble. She just had to get through today. Her desire had already started to rampage again, and a soft voice was constantly whispering in her ears. She had to go out at night if she didn't want to lose control and give the sleeping monster in her the opportunity to take control.
It was a wonder they didn't get on her tail just yet with all those cameras hanging around; it would only be a matter of time until her secret was found out.
Still deep in thought, Luna reached her space of work. She parked her bike, checked if it was locked, and only then went into the building. It was still early morning, and Luna's boss was absent. She began to take out plants, putting them outside to present them to bypassing customers. Her boss would most likely come during lunchtime to check if everything was in order.
At 14 o 'clock came the first customer.
Today was a relatively quiet day, which was good in her current condition.
Luna suddenly heard the bell and went to the front to take a look, which was indeed a bad idea. A tall man with a black suit, red tie, dark brown belt, and short boxed beard was standing in the room. A mobile phone in his ear showed that he was talking to someone. She hoped it wouldn't become a problem.
Trance overtook her body as she saw and smelt the person in the room.
'He looks deliciouesssss.' As her consciousness slipped more and more out of her hands. She saw the blood flowing under his veins. Her mind was filled with a seductive voice that charmed and seduced her into giving in to her craving for blood.
"Yeah, I checked into the hotel, but my room looks tasteless...Just give me a couple of minutes to buy plants. After that, we can meet at the hotel." With that, he put his phone away, turned around, and looked at the plants without even noticing her.
Luna's mouth started to fill with water as the desire began to burn in her chest like an erupting volcano, making her heart go crazy. She made her first step toward him, drooling like a child that got his favorite ice cream.
"Excuse me; I want to buy those plants. Is that possible?"
Luna froze. The moment she regained her awareness, she shook her head to get the urge out of it, and the voice vanished.
"That would be no problem," Luna said, looking him straight in the eyes.
They stayed like that for a couple of seconds before Luna averted her gaze and began concentrating on the plants he selected as if nothing had happened.
"That would be 63, 05€." The man forcefully ripped out of his trance and didn't understand what she said.
"Pardon?"
"I said that would be 63, 05€. The plants you wanted to buy," Luna repeated.
"Ahh, sure, I was just lost in thought."
She smiled at him while collecting the money.
"Thank you for your purchase. We look forward to seeing you again."
One last time, Luna looked him straight in the eyes before going into the storage room. She only heard the bell ring when he finally left the shop after a while. "That was too close; I almost jumped on him like a feral beast. I would have sent him to the afterlife if I went berserk her."
The sun was slowly falling and would shortly end the day. Only a few other visitors came, and she could focus on controlling her inner voice. She was able to get her desire under control for the rest of the day. On the way home, she constantly got distracted by the voice. As Luna reached her apartment, she locked up the bike in the garage and jumped upstairs. She had to be quick now because she noticed that her vision had already started to blur. There were still a couple of hours left before it would reach a critical point. But she knew not to challenge luck unnecessarily.
She unlocked her door and quickly put on black clothes, taking her mask; and changing her boots. She opened the window to take a look at the outside. The streets were empty, opposite houses had lights, but Luna could see no one through the windows. Luna climbed out of the window; the cold wind was breezing over her skin. She closed the window behind her and quickly climbed up the wall to the top of the house.
'Hopefully, no one saw me climb up the wall.' With that thought, her hunt was going to start.
