Chapter 2 Two

I stared at the gleaming blade, my mouth going dry as fear sucked the moisture that was keeping me alive. There was no point in me hoping that this blade was faux silver because the way it glinted in the dark was enough proof of its purity.

"Who are you?" The man asked me. Even though I was at the end of my strength, I could still see the rage in his eyes along with the thirst to kill me.

"Pl-Please he-help me." I hated myself for breaking down like this; loathed the fact that I no longer was as strong as I once was; and cursed the person who put me in this position that I had to beg a mere mortal for help.

A cry of terror escaped me when all of a sudden the man flicked a switch and bathed the once dark corridor in light. And that was when I got a clearer look at him and realized that I had landed myself in the worst situation possible.

There was no change in the man's physical appearance when I first saw him, however, I failed to notice the one detail that would now lead to my demise. The mark on his wrist was one which I prayed would not be there-that it would be a mere illusion. But no matter how much I tried to tell myself that it was not real, I had to accept that it was.

The mark that screamed danger for me.

The symbol of my demise.

The mark of a vampire hunter.

It started from the bottom of the wrist and snaked all the way to the elbow. This man was wearing a full sleeve shirt but I knew where the tattoo started and ended, and I knew exactly what it looked like. Two snakes knotted around an apple.

Out of the people in the world, why did I have to end up in the house of a vampire hunter? I wasn't ready to die yet but this curse and the man standing before me made me realize that I did not have a choice to anymore. If death had come for me, then it would take me regardless of what I wanted.

"I asked you a question. If you refuse to speak, then I have no reason to keep you alive and waste my oxygen." He raised his arm, the one with the silver dagger and got ready to strike me with it. One strike was all it would take; a single stab to end my existence.

"No!" I cried, hoping for one chance to save myself. "Please! Please, do-don't-" I couldn't finish the sentence as another bout of agony stabbed my insides. I needed to feed, but I did not want to die. The one thing was the source of my life had now become my kryptonite and I could not do anything about it.

"Why not? You are not supposed to be alive anyways. You are an abomination. So why should I let you live?"

Tears streamed down my eyes as I stared at the man who no doubt was looking for the perfect excuse to stab me with the silver dagger and end my life. Why did I bother trying? Nothing I would say or do would make this man budge, so what was the point of wasting the precious ounces of energy which I was left with and use it on this man? If I was meant to die, then I had no choice but to accept it.

"Go ahead then, kill me. You are going to do it anyways, so why not get it over with?" I stared him in the eyes as I said this, not wanting to show fear during the last minutes of my life despite the blistering pain coursing through my insides.

That made him pause, which pushed me into a wave of confusion. Just what was he up to? Was he fucking with my mind, so he could drive me off the brink of sanity and then kill me? Was this some new fucked up way these vampire hunters had come up with to kill off my kind?

"Now that you mention it, why should I do that? You, vermin go around doing whatever the bloody hell you want and you expect me to give you a swift and easy death?" He coughed up a bitter laugh before fixing me with a glare. "No, an easy death would be a blessing I cannot bestow upon you. You must suffer more than you are already suffering, and then if death chooses to come for you, then I can't do anything about it. However, I would love to see you in pain..." he came closer and bent down until his face was inches from mine. "...especially when I will be the one causing it."

I wanted to ask him what he meant by that but I forgot to breath as pain dominated my soul, forcing me to cry out, causing tears to stream down my face in rapid succession. I was going to die if I didn't feed, but what could I do? How could I feed when it would kill me faster than this pain would.

As I writhed on the floor in front of the man who vowed to kill me, I heard him whistle which was immediately responded by the pounding of a dozen footsteps. Before I could blink, I was surrounded by half a dozen men who looked as if they ate silver daggers for breakfast.

"Throw in the attic and lock her in and make sure she is not able to escape, " the man ordered.

Immediately, I felt myself being lifted by the men and dragged off to the attic. The anguish which my bones were protesting against was far louder than the rough handling of my body by the men who were tasked with dealing with me. How much longer would I survive?

The lack of energy along with the sheer torment left me unable to focus on my surroundings, which was why I had no idea where we were going and the only reason I knew where these men were taking me was thanks to my captor who mentioned the place where I would be left to suffer and eventually die.

"Master said he will be coming up shortly and we must make sure she is unable to fight or move when he comes." This order was given by one of the men who was carrying me and through the fog of excruciating agony I could barely understand what these people were saying, let alone make sense out of their words. What was the point of my captor coming and enjoying my cries of anguish when I would not be able to survive the night? With the way things were going, I was sure I would die tonight and then the one who cursed me would be able to live in peace.

In the far distance, I heard a door opening and then felt myself being flung over until a sharp pain exploded in my body as my bones made sudden contact with the hard floor. Why the fuck were they making it worse for me when I was going to die anyway? I understood that they were working for a vampire hunter who-for some strange reason-had not yet killed me, but that did not mean they had to treat me so horribly.

After they had thrown me in the attic, which had an incredibly filthy floor, the men left me, slamming the door shut on their way out. I should not even bother trying to check if the door would open so I could escape, because I knew it would be locked. I had to preserve my strength, however much I was left with.

Seconds stretched into minutes which stretched into hours as the pain intensified. I never thought I would fall weak so quickly, in less than a day of not feeding. I believed myself to be stronger than this-to be able to handle a few days without feeding; I'd done it before, so why was it so difficult now?

A moan escaped me as my body rode out another wave of paralyzing pain. It shouldn't be long now; death was almost at my doorstep. Soon I would say goodbye to this world and enter the next. Was there a next life for someone like me? Would I be welcomed by archangel Michael or Lucifer himself?

While I was busy thinking about which angelic being would welcome me, I heard the door opening once again, followed by the sound of footsteps. Who was it now? Was it my captor or one of his guards? Why was he here?

"You don't look like you are going to survive the night. Tsk. Tsk. What a shame, I was looking forward to playing with you." It was the voice of my captor, breaking through the haze of darkness which was starting to blur the edges of my vision. In the next few minutes, I would probably surrender to darkness and I wasn't sure if I would be able to wake up again, I forced a smile on my face, which took much more effort than I expected. "Yo-You sh-should be ha-happy. Yo-You wil-will not ha-have-" My lungs cried in pain, causing me to falter. "T-To de-deal wi-with me."

Before I could give in to the darkness and finally allow myself to be at peace, he placed a hand on my back and gently guided me to sitting position, not daring to let go. What was wrong with him? Why was he touching me when he abhorred my existence? Maybe he was going to make this kill personal by coming incredibly close to me and stabbing me until I was dead. It would be nice though, to die like this; he smelled incredible.

You are about to die and you are drooling over his scent!

There was no point in worrying about the inevitable, at least, being in his arms-even if they were the arms of the enemy-meant that I was not alone. No matter how strong and brave I was trying to be, I knew that I did not want to be alone when I died.

"If you think I will allow you to die so easily, then you are mistaken. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because I want to make you suffer; to cause you much more pain than you have ever experienced in your miserable life. And if you think you can get away with it, then you better think again, " he hissed in my ear, causing me to tremble under the weight of his words.

"Wh-Why do y-you wa-want to was-waste yo-your ti-time?" No matter how much he wanted to keep me alive for his own personal amusements, he couldn't because I was going to die tonight and this man had no idea what I was going through, so he could not prevent my death.

"Because I am cruel and sadistic. And making your kind scream and moan in pain brings me great joy. My physician will be coming in a few minutes and then I will decide what to do with you, " he said.

"No-Not-Nothing ca-can sa-save m-me." I closed my eyes, hoping to alleviate the burn which was simmering behind my eyes. But he shook me awake, and I swear I felt like he was rattling my bones.

"Don't you dare die on me. I will prolong your life no matter what! You don't get to die on me like this; you don't get die so easily on my turf, " he snarled, glaring at me.

"Well, to-tough lu-luck, Ch-Chief." I closed my eyes, not caring about what he said to me anymore.

"Master, the physician is here." I swore under my breath. Why, oh why, did this physician had to come? Why couldn't he be late and let me die in peace?

"Excellent. Bring him here immediately." He threw the command as if he were throwing out trash. Good God, what would he do to me?

With only a few ounces of consciousness remaining, I heard the physician come in before the man who would torture and kill me for his own amusement stepped and allowed the physician to take over.

"Is she..." The new voice was thick and hard, like this man wouldn't hesitate to snap my neck in two if I dared to provoke him. The world called me a killer, but over here I was surrounded by killers and I was completely at their mercy.

"I can't believe you are asking me this; of course she is vermin. Tell me what's wrong with her and if there is any way you can prevent her from dying right here right now, " the more familiar voice of my captor barked.

The next few minutes were spent with the physician checking me over and for someone so quick, he did a thorough job.

"Well? What's wrong with her?"

"If you are expecting me to give you a logical response, then I'm afraid I can't do that. The cause is supernatural, " the physician replied.

"Wh-What do you mean? What supernatural cause?" My captor asked.

"She has been cursed."

Well no shit Sherlock! I was sure even an idiot could've figured that out. Who the hell made this man a physician anyway when he had to go around giving such obvious remarks?

"What the hell? Are you absolutely certain that she is suffering because of a curse and nothing biological?" Why was it so hard for this vampire hunter to believe this?

"We both know there is nothing natural about vampires and with the way she is writhing in pain, I think it's best if I figure out what kind of a curse this is, so I can prepare a charm to break it, " the physician replied.

Well good luck with that. If only there was a cure!

But there was no point in telling him that; I was sure he would figure it out sooner or later. Although I had to give him points for trying.

"And how long will this take?" Came the voice of my captor.

"I'm not sure. I need to take a tissue sample in order to examine more so I can find the exact cure. And with the way she is looking right now, we better hurry, " replied the physician.

"Alright. You do what you have to do and take the tissue sample. And meanwhile, I will move her someplace else, " concluded my captor.

"And where is it that you will move her?" I wasn't sure I heard him right when he said...

"I will take her to my bed."