She can only shout, but no one will hear her. She regretted taking this route as a shortcut. Her breaths became shorter and shorter as her energy was drained from running. Fear overtook her heart, washing away the conscious of being herself. All she wanted to do is to run.

It was almost too late to leap another step into the darkness again. The shadow gave the girl a fierce tug on her long sleeve and she fell over. She is now trembling from head to toes and found herself looking at a pair of bloody red eyes.

I’m thirsty… the smile hinted, showing a row of neat sharp teeth.

The shadow pounced onto the girl and sank its fangs into her neck. Blood came gushing down, running along the girl’s smooth pale skin. She was so sure that she became a vampire’s dinner. She shook more and couldn’t let a sound out from her throat. Her eyes slowly closed together.

Let me free, she thought, let me free.

Then shall I grant your wish?

Her conscious regained as she shuddered, as if her body is trying to grab her soul back. She punched the man in the abdomen and he rose two meters into the air by that single blow. As the man fell down, not quick enough to dodge or even get up, the girl kicked his back of the neck with her left foot and, almost instantly, switched to her right foot to kick his face. The man flew heavily into the wall a few meters behind him.

The night sky was decorated with faded stars and a shiny full moon. With grotesque noises the girl’s body structure slowly adapted into that of a vampire’s. Her physical strength increased dramatically, and so did her speed.

The second the ashes started rising, the girl had already been waiting beside the shocked vampire. He gave her a furious glance and decided to dash for his life. With blood dripping from his head and back, he left a small trail of red.

As if seeking for revenge, the girl’s eyes flashed. She started tracking the smell of the vampire’s blood. She wasn’t that hungry yet, so she wanted to play with her food for a little. Pretending it was hide-and-seek, she started the game.

As she went along the small path, bins rattled and fell dead around her. She kicked them aside ruthlessly while maintaining her slow steps. She stretched her claws several times, cracking each of her knuckles separately. She could taste it: the terror of the man who ruined her life. After several hours of playing, it is now midnight. At last she had found him, hiding in a dark alley. She cornered him.

‘This isn’t supposed to happen,’ the bloody vampire trembled in awe.

‘Well, this is kind of convenient,’ she was dangerously close to him, ‘now I need to eat.’

The man pleaded for his life to be spared, but she didn’t listen. Death was taking small and dangerous steps closer to him. Once again, she seized the vampire and fastened her long, slim fingers around his neck.

A loud snap echoed through the alley. Before he could scream out, his last breath was taken. The girl didn’t give up on that last drop of blood nor the last piece of flesh. Her beautiful silk gown got dirtied with the beast’s blood, but she didn’t care. Still chewing on a bone, she bent down and picked up a useless looking blood-crimson bead. After a few examinations, she gave it a disgusted look, threw it into the darkest corner of the street and faded slowly, blending with the shadows of night.

With that, began Yochou…

She had always been an eccentric woman. Her intellect closely rivalling his; it was as if their brains were made of the same cogs and gears, all turning and ticking in the same direction at the same speed. She may be intelligent, but her ‘people skills’ were no better than that of a hippopotamus. Often, her observant eyes would see right through a person’s very soul, forcing her clients to feel uncomfortable in the eerie atmosphere. They become self-aware, monitoring every single one of their moves with extreme cautiousness and alertness, like their tiniest flaws could become the devil’s excuse to throw them into jail any second, even if they’re completely innocent in their context. It’s no wonder why she had always been alone.

She can only shout, but no one will hear her. She regretted taking this route as a shortcut. Her breaths became shorter and shorter as her energy was drained from running. Fear overtook her heart, washing away the conscious of being herself. All she wanted to do is to run.

It was almost too late to leap another step into the darkness again. The shadow gave the girl a fierce tug on her long sleeve and she fell over. She is now trembling from head to toes and found herself looking at a pair of bloody red eyes.

I’m thirsty… the smile hinted, showing a row of neat sharp teeth.

The shadow pounced onto the girl and sank its fangs into her neck. Blood came gushing down, running along the girl’s smooth pale skin. She was so sure that she became a vampire’s dinner. She shook more and couldn’t let a sound out from her throat. Her eyes slowly closed together.

Let me free, she thought, let me free.

Then shall I grant your wish?

Her conscious regained as she shuddered, as if her body is trying to grab her soul back. She punched the man in the abdomen and he rose two meters into the air by that single blow. As the man fell down, not quick enough to dodge or even get up, the girl kicked his back of the neck with her left foot and, almost instantly, switched to her right foot to kick his face. The man flew heavily into the wall a few meters behind him.

The night sky was decorated with faded stars and a shiny full moon. With grotesque noises the girl’s body structure slowly adapted into that of a vampire’s. Her physical strength increased dramatically, and so did her speed.

The second the ashes started rising, the girl had already been waiting beside the shocked vampire. He gave her a furious glance and decided to dash for his life. With blood dripping from his head and back, he left a small trail of red.

As if seeking for revenge, the girl’s eyes flashed. She started tracking the smell of the vampire’s blood. She wasn’t that hungry yet, so she wanted to play with her food for a little. Pretending it was hide-and-seek, she started the game.

As she went along the small path, bins rattled and fell dead around her. She kicked them aside ruthlessly while maintaining her slow steps. She stretched her claws several times, cracking each of her knuckles separately. She could taste it: the terror of the man who ruined her life. After several hours of playing, it is now midnight. At last she had found him, hiding in a dark alley. She cornered him.

‘This isn’t supposed to happen,’ the bloody vampire trembled in awe.

‘Well, this is kind of convenient,’ she was dangerously close to him, ‘now I need to eat.’

The man pleaded for his life to be spared, but she didn’t listen. Death was taking small and dangerous steps closer to him. Once again, she seized the vampire and fastened her long, slim fingers around his neck.

A loud snap echoed through the alley. Before he could scream out, his last breath was taken. The girl didn’t give up on that last drop of blood nor the last piece of flesh. Her beautiful silk gown got dirtied with the beast’s blood, but she didn’t care. Still chewing on a bone, she bent down and picked up a useless looking blood-crimson bead. After a few examinations, she gave it a disgusted look, threw it into the darkest corner of the street and faded slowly, blending with the shadows of night.

With that, began Yochou…

She had always been an eccentric woman. Her intellect closely rivalling his; it was as if their brains were made of the same cogs and gears, all turning and ticking in the same direction at the same speed. She may be intelligent, but her ‘people skills’ were no better than that of a hippopotamus. Often, her observant eyes would see right through a person’s very soul, forcing her clients to feel uncomfortable in the eerie atmosphere. They become self-aware, monitoring every single one of their moves with extreme cautiousness and alertness, like their tiniest flaws could become the devil’s excuse to throw them into jail any second, even if they’re completely innocent in their context. It’s no wonder why she had always been alone.