Episode 3

    You scream at the top of your lungs in fear as you quickly move away from the coffin. It lands on the lid, cracks forming along the wooden surface. Your heart begins to pound painfully against your ribcage while panic overwhelms your senses. You go to run away, but your foot gets caught on a piece of broken tile. Gravity takes a hold of your body and you land on the floor head first. Pain plunges into your muscles, hearing a loud thump landing directly at your feet.

You bite into your lip hard enough to draw blood as you turn around. Your (e/c) orbs lock onto a Level E standing over you. You try to lash out at it, but it grabs your foot. You scream for Zero to save you while kicking at its wrist multiple times. It finally releases you, hissing at you in pain. You push yourself up to a sitting position and scramble backwards toward the exit. It suddenly starts laughing hysterically, a distorted sound echoing off the wall. Adrenaline pumps throughout your veins and you reach back to feel the muddy ground beneath you. Relief latches onto your brain for a moment, it quickly pouncing on you when your guard is down.

It grabs your shoulders as it shoves you back to the ground. It digs its claws into your skin, you struggling to break from your captor. It pins you to your spot while leaning forward. It automatically sniffs you, it's expression twisting into surprise. You continue moving around and blindly reach out. Your fingers wrap around a piece of broken concrete, your knuckles fading into a white shade. 

    "My master will be very happy to have you. You're the only remaining living child in your pure-blood clan. You'll make a wonderful prize," it says, grabbing your chin to hold your head in place. You snarl at it like a feral animal in warning as it lifts your chin upward. It stares at your neck, drool dripping out of the corner of its lips. You quickly hit it right on the face while twisting your shoulders free. It cries out in pain, it's head snapping back on impact. You shove the creature off of you and scramble backwards until you accidently block yourself against a gravestone. It swiftly regains its composure, approaching you rather quickly. You spot the piece of stone stuck in its right eye socket and realize you made the hunt more exciting for this feral predator. It somehow manages to dislodge the object from its eye, blood dripping from a black hole in its head.  

    "You little brat, you're going to pay for taking my eye," it demands and reaches out. It scrapes its claws along a nearby headstone, the sound making your ears ring.

You instinctively cover your ears with your palms as your muscles burn from the fresh bruises forming on your shoulder-blades. It slowly approaches you, a twisted expression carved into its messed up facial features. Suddenly, a blurry shape moves in front of you while you watch it hit the ground with a sick thump. You blink to clear your blurry vision, spotting a tree branch lodged into its forehead. Someone carefully takes your shaking hands and snaps their fingers in front of your face. The ringing in your ears finally stops, your terrified gaze coming face to face with Zero. He must have heard your cries and came to your rescue. He probably stopped it from attacking you by lodging that branch into its skull. 

    "(Y/n), are you okay? It didn't bite you or anything. Come on, snap out of it. There's probably more of them on their way. We have to move, right now," he states matter-of-factly as he cautiously glances around. You nod your head to let him know you're okay, letting him help you to your feet. He wraps a protective arm around your shoulders while he quickly leads you away from the graveyard. 

    "I'm sorry...you had to do that, Zero. I should be able to take better care of myself. Don't tell anyone I fell by being clumsy. Akatsuki would never let me live it down," you mumble, trying to break the heavy tension. Zero rolls his eyes at you and halts at the makeshift bridge leading to the path near your mansion. 

    "Yeah, you're right. You can't stay out of trouble and you definitely can't take care of yourself," he says, slightly laughing at your dumbfounded expression. You hear racing footsteps heading your way as he tries to calmly tell you how to cross the log. You take in a breath, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. 

    "One of the tombs are empty. I read the label on it. I think it spelled out Rido. We gotta tell my parents and the night class about it when we get back," you continue talking to him to keep yourself distracted from the awful event currently happening.

Suddenly, the log snaps in half while a random level E slashes the bark with its razor claws. Your feet slip, your body struggling to stay balanced. You slide toward the icy water and quickly brace yourself for unbearable coldness to overwhelm your already shaking frame. Zero grabs your right arm, pulling you to solid ground just in time. You sigh in relief and stand by his side. You glance around to see at least five level Es are closing in on you both like a deer about to be murdered by a group of wolves, Zero's vampire hunter knife flashing in the dim atmosphere. A level E charges at you as it leaps into mid-air. You see the flash of its fangs, Zero dragging you behind him. He swiftly slices the blade across its neck while keeping a-hold of your wrist. It's body immediately explodes on impact, dust flying in every direction. 

    "Zero, we gotta leave, now. Do you know another way around the river?" You ask and quickly move out of the way of another level E pouncing in your direction. It hits the ground head first, snow splashing onto your legs. It growls like an untamed animal and quickly gets back on its knees. He stabs the knife into its head, the blade plunging deep into its brain. It's body goes completely still and busts into dust just like the other one. 

    "Come on. I knew where a shortcut is," he responses, beginning to drag you away from the scene. You both race between a group of trees as the monsters give chase. You continue running, your heart pounding loudly in your ribcage. Adrenaline pulses throughout your circulatory system while you feel the icy wind blow against your cold face. He tightens his grip on you, snow spraying behind your feet. You glance around and your (e/c) orbs grow wide in shock. He's heading for your old clubhouse not too far away. A wooded area is on both sides of you, dawn dying the atmosphere a mixture of bronze, orange and yellow shades.

Suddenly, a shadowed silhouette falls from somewhere above your head as you feel a heavy weight land directly between the two of you. Pain soars throughout your body, both of you hitting the ground with a loud thump. You push yourself to a sitting position and panic automatically latches onto your muscles. You bare your fangs in hatred, quickly regaining your composure.

The crazed vampire picks up Zero easily by his jacket collar as it smirks wickedly. His body hovers inches from the ground, the creature shaking him roughly like a rag doll. He struggles to break free while glancing at his weapon buried in the snow nearby. You charge forward, grabbing the vampire's arm. You try to pull him away from Zero and end up being knocked down. Gravity quickly pulls your body downward, your (s/c) skin fading to a purple-bluish shade. 

    "Well, this is interesting. You're the remaining child of the vampire hunter family. This is about to be a-lot of fun," it states matter-of-factly and begins laughing hysterically. It sniffs him, drool leaking from its parted lips.

You stand upright as swiftly as possible, running for the knife close by. You land on your kneecaps, beginning to blindly shift the snow to your sides. It leans closer to Zero's face while it's eyes examine his neck. A glint reflects against steel, an object temporarily blinding you. You pick up the weapon by its handle and the smell of thick metallic fills your nose instantly. Your heart sinks, your entire body becoming paralyzed. You hesitantly turn around as you hear Zero's heart pounding loudly. You bite into your lip to let the pain distract you, focusing on your powers. You hold your breath while the vampire continues latching onto his neck. Electricity flickers along your fingertips, blue sparks covering the blade like a blanket. You lift up your chin and lock eyes with the disgusting animal. 

    "Hey, freak. Let go of my friend!" You shout at the top of your lungs, tossing the knife in its direction. The blade buries itself into the side of its temple as a shocked expression twists into its facial features. It immediately explodes on impact, dust splashing onto your body.

Zero's tall frame collides with the ground while a pained expression slips through the cracks in his mask. You race up to him, carefully lifting him up by his shoulders. 

    "Don't worry. You're going to be okay. I promise, you'll be fine," you mumble in an attempt to keep both of you calm and place his upper half in your lap. You spot two fang marks stabbed into the side of his neck, blood dripping along his skin to his collarbone. He goes to say something as you carefully unwrap your scarf from around your shoulders. You quickly place a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking, pressing the fabric against his injury. You cautiously glance around while silently hoping someone would find you soon. Tears cloud your eyes, making you keep pressure to stop the blood flow. You hug him tightly and place an outstretched hand on the side of his head. You lean your forehead against his, holding him just like the way he does you when you get scared.

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