Mankind's Last Hope, Leo and His Cute But Totally Useless Vampire Companion

Mankind's Last Hope, Leo and His Cute But Totally Useless Vampire Companion(18+)
by Bloodkin
Synopsis: The world has fallen to darkness. Vampires have taken over. This story follows Leo, a novice human hunter, who gets captured by the vampiric creatures of the night. After being made a slave and subjected to nonstop phycological torment, Leo gave up on any hope of escape. That would be until one day, he saw a girl with lilac hair floating down a river of blood. Leo's human instincts drove him to jump in and rescue her, the biggest mistake of his life. As mankind's last hope, Leo and his cute but totally useless vampire companion, must go on an adventure together to save both the world of the living and the dead.

 

Chapter 2 WELCOME TO HELL

It was night for humans but morning for vampires. Leo began to drag his feet, these vampiric scoundrels had them marching for hours. The dark creatures that resembled the shapes of humans were all in front with none guarding the sides or the rear. Any one of the captives could have just made a break for it but they were given a single warning, “you run, you die.” The fleeting red forest behind them grew more and more enticing with each step they took, and eventually, one of them gave in. A hunter near the rear of the line suddenly broke from the formation and started sprinting in the opposite direction, towards the distant red forest. Leo looked back at the front to see what the vampires would do, maybe this was it, maybe they could fight back here! Expecting a big alarm or a multitude of them running to chase, the vampires instead were… laughing? The creatures were laughing and exchanging coin? After a series of exchanges one of the vampires who had given coin disappeared before a scream was heard behind the group, Leo turned his head and saw that the one who disappeared was already killing the hunter who was now flailing his arms and legs on the ground while repeatedly being clawed at. Once he was killed… No, he wasn’t killed yet, his arms and legs were shredded and rendered unmovable, to which the fiend fed on him alive. The hunter’s skin started to dry up, his eyes sank into his head and eventually, his entire body turned into another dark husk just like Marcus. Leo couldn’t bear the sight anymore, returning his gaze back to the front of the line where he saw the other vampire’s continuing onward, uncaring and unfazed as this was a normal occurrence.

After seeing how fast that hunter was killed the group was completely demoralized and reality really began to set in on how outmatched they were. Any hope of ‘waiting for the right opportunity’ was extinguished in mere seconds. The speed and awareness of these things were inhuman, unfightable, unwinnable. Nobody else would attempt to escape from fear of sharing the same fate. The only remaining choice was to commit to this death march.

Leo was dreadfully thirsty, all of their weapons and gear were confiscated and the vampire who killed Marcus, who for some reason brandished a vydian cloak, sounded quite familiar to Marcus. Barking orders to the nightly parasites directing them which route to take through this deadened land. Maybe eating Marcus’s heart transferred some of his dialect. (“Damned monsters”) Leo thought to himself.

Eventually, they reached their destination, hell came into view.

The biggest gothic castle Leo has ever seen was floating and surrounded by black clouds. Nightly horrors flocked around the area mimicking birds. Rivers of blood poured from the castle’s windows forming what would be elegant waterfalls if they were that of water and not blood. Leo feared the fate of him and his group, he looked at some of the older hunters for reassurance and they seemed just as scared as he was. It wasn’t reassuring at all.

The group was led to a stockade just outside of the floating castle, near a blood river.

“Move it!” The vampire leader yelled at the group.

They arrived at their destination; the stockade contained wooden animal pens, outer walls made of reddened bricks that wrapped around the outer perimeter, and the middle of the stockade held a small white building on a hill. They were made to stop just at the bottom of the hill. Under view of the white building.

“Stop and look at me!” The vampire leader yelled at the group of captives.

When Leo made eye contact with the vampiric leader, he felt a cold sweat like he’s never experienced before. His thoughts ran adry, his body went numb and an increasingly stinging pain was felt in his neck as vision began to fade. Leo was a small sailboat trapped in a whirlpool as all the surrounding light, including his own gaze, were being sucked into the unbreakable orange eyes of the fiend. Before falling to the jaws of the gaze, one last attempt of resistance was made to shut the light out completely, Leo struggled, but the blinds that were his eyelids didn’t work. His brain had already been rewired.

He had no choice but to submit.

“Remove all your clothings, and line up for the quartermaster!”

He heard the voice echo in his head but witnessed not any movement of the vampire’s lips, nor could an objection be made. The order wasn’t his to resist because his body was no longer his. Possession took hold, controlled by a being far superior to him. With every strip of clothing removed, the foreign feeling of self-preservation was whispering to Leo in attempting to repossess the body, but that only increased the speed of completing his task. He knew this body was tired, exhausted, and thirsty but his needs didn’t matter. The order took priority over his basic needs; for that is the role of servant to a master.

Leo didn't even notice everyone else had been given the same exact order, they were eventually all standing naked, in line, right in front of the white building.

Shortly after, the ‘quartermaster’ emerged from his white reprieve. A short but sturdy looking man wearing a red checkered shirt with overall straps. Leo found solace in knowing his master was far superior to this ‘quartermaster’.

“Good haul. Where did you find them? That can’t be the whole bunch?” The ‘quartermaster’ of the stockade, who had a large list in hand, asked the Master.

“The Former Vampire Lord was hiding this lot in another one of our settlements.” The Master said.

“Is that so?” The ‘quartermaster’ showed a hint of disbelief.

“Yes, a pity that the Lord not only starves us but then allocates lots like this to himself.”

Was that a lie? Leo caught on but didn’t give it too much thought.

“Well how much quartermaster?” The Master asked as the ‘quartermaster’ was looking them over from head to toe.

“You are lucky, they are quite fed. Healthy too. Twenty bloodkin tokens each, thirty for the kid there.” he nodded at Leo.

“Sounds good.” The Master agreed and coin was exchanged.

“I’ll enslave them now.” The ‘quartermaster’ said, taking a few steps up the hill.

“Very well.” The Master nodded before issuing his final command.

“Look at the quartermaster.”

Leo’s eyes snapped to the ‘quartermaster’ whose eyes flashed orange. The hypnotic gaze was like diving from one whirlpool into another, except this whirlpool, resistance wasn’t possible. It felt as if a switch was flipped, this new power was instant, even invigorating.

“You will refer to me as quartermaster.” The quartermaster was way stronger than his former ‘master’. The fact that his former master was even resistible sickened Leo to his stomach. “Reclaim your clothing and walk into the empty pens behind you.” The quartermaster ordered, the order was so thorough and direct. As Leo hunched over to pick up his clothing a tear fell onto his clothes. A smile had formed on his face. He was happy, happy that his new master was so strong. The quartermaster's power felt like a wall that protected him from his vulnerabilities. His old ‘master’ could not even provide that. (What a pathetic excuse for a noble) He thought to himself. Leo didn’t know how he knew that the vydian cape wearing-piece of trash was a noble but he somehow did. Leo also smirked thinking (how much of a bargain they were given up for.)

---

A few days later….

Leo was chained in an animal pen by himself and it felt worse than jail, he was fed animal feed once a day and water twice a day. He felt awful.

Leo just laid on the floor of his pen drawing lines in the dirt. These vampires were smart, they would feed them just enough to keep them alive but not enough to let them care about anything other than food and water. Not enough energy to move, think, or escape. Not to mention the terribly powerful control the quartermaster inflicts on them. Maybe being killed was the merciful way out. He was starting to regret not fighting back in the red forest.

“Psst, yo Leo.” Leo heard someone calling through the wood of the pen. It was Jared, one of the hunters who got captured with him.

“Jared? What's up?” Leo crawled up to the wall, he could see through the gaps in the wood, Jared in the next pen.

“Don't ‘whats up’ me, we need to get the fuck out of here! I was talking with another prisoner and they said after a while they will turn us into thralls, zombie like monsters so they can feed on us over and over again. I don’t know about you but I won’t be waiting around for that. We are going to try and escape.”

“What's the plan?” Leo whispered through the crack.

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m telling you, help us figure something out, the guy next to me said that there are very important people coming tomorrow to ‘browse’ us. Heh, those sick fucks.”

“But Jared, the quartermaster, would be able to instantly stop us… Fine, let's say we managed to get out the stockade. Even if we were to make it past the walls, what do you figure we do once we are outside? Outrun them? They are too fast.”

“What are vampires afraid of the most?”

“I don't know, silver?”

“No Leo the sun, we wait till sun and escape then.”

“There hasn't been sun here for like 3 days man. Those black clouds around the castle are blocking the sun.”

“We just make it out from under the black clouds, and then they won't be able to pursue us for a couple of hours.”

“I guess…maybe there is hope. I’ll try to look for something. If I get the chance.”

“Good, that's all I needed to hear.”

 

Chapter 3 RIVER OF BLOOD

Morning rose, or night. Leo was unsure which since he was here. He assumed it was night since the vampires were “traveling” here. The quartermaster yelled at everyone in the pens to wake up and stand at each pen’s gate.

Leo got up and stood at the gate.

“Look at me!” The quartermaster yelled at the gates.

They were about to be mind controlled again. Leo looked away. He didn’t want to get caught by that spell again, it was absolutely terrible. Having your very body, thoughts and emotions controlled along with the feeling afterwards was a terrible experience.

“I said look at me!” The quartermaster yelled towards Leo. Leo looked back up at the quartermaster storming his way. This wasn't good, he was about to be punished. He started to tremble in fear before the quartermaster stopped at the pen to his left, flinging the gate open went in with fury. Leo sighed in relief as the person in the next pen, opposite the side from Jared, cried out. “No, please! I don’t want to be controlled again! It hurts so much!” His pleas were short lived, followed by screaming, then silence.

The quartermaster emerged back outside and announced;

“Anyone who refuses to put under control will be subject for days of nightmarish torture that only lasts a few seconds. Now look at me!” he commanded with anger.

Leo’s neck snapped upwards and his eyes flicked onto his, he could feel the quartermaster’s gaze, the forceful powerhouse that had owned him. Leo couldn't even feel his own thoughts, it was better this way, his hunger and health mattered not. All he cared about was listening. Not by choice, each of his commands felt like a fire that surrounded him like a cage. The only way of not getting burned was to listen.

“Walk out into your lines and stand straight up!” Leo and the rest of them did as they were commanded. Everyone emerged from their pens, walking in sync to their spots in front of the white building, in the middle of the stockade.

In just a few minutes a fairly large and fanciful carriage entered the stockade. From within the carriage a noble woman stepped off, followed by a few gentlemen. She didn't even look at them, she approached the quartermaster.

“Quartermaster, I heard you got a fresh catch of humans. You know me so well.” The wretch batted her eyes at the quartermaster, who was resistant to her seduction attempt.

“Madam I can assure you, if any other noble was in the area they would have been here first, count yourself lucky.”

“Aw you can't make me feel special for once dear?”

“The price is the price, no need for sweet talk.” Leo couldn't help but appreciate how firm his quartermaster was in dealing with this noblilic swine); it made him stand taller… No, why was he proud of him? The quartermaster was his captur. He was a prisoner.

“300 bloodkin tokens each?!” the lady shouted in surprise.

“This is the only haul I’ve gotten in 2 months Lisdisania. That’s the going rate.”

The quartermaster bought them all originally for about 20 bloodkin tokens each. If he upsold them for about 300 that would be an immense profit. Very bold and fitting business move on the quartermaster’s part.

“I was going to buy the whole lot. But it seems this price is absurd if I do say so myself.”

“Humans are bad for business nowadays. Just gotta buy what you need and nothing else.”

“That is ridiculous. Nearly as bad as the reselling laws enacted by the old Lord. Utterly.. Absurd!”

“It is my cattle, you can still resell it, but that is my price.”

The noble woman pondered a response, but seeing how unmoving the quartermaster was, she just responded with a shake of her head and surrendered.

“You win, I suppose. I will browse and buy “what I need.”.”

She strolled down the line of prisoners, examining each one.

“Do you have any woman on this lineup, quartermaster?”

“No, this was a batch of hunters who got caught in the crimson forest.”

That’s not what the vampire who captured them said a few days ago. In fact the fact that they were hunters never even got brought up and their weapons were never brought into the stockade now that Leo thought back on it. Did the quartermaster figure out that they were hunters?

“What about this one.”

She pointed at Jared.

“Just him?”

“At that price I want a sample.”

The quartermaster grunted.

“A sample, nothing more. Also, let me see your fangs.”

“Afraid I am pure fanged? I assure you unfortunately I was not blessed with such lineage.”

“Very well, take your sample.”

Jared looked nervous, he stood up straight as he was commanded too, but he was clearly afraid.

Leo barely was able to turn his head left. He was able to see that Jared was clearly resisting. Jared’s body was shaking and his muscles trembling as his neck slowly revealed itself in light of the woman’s fangs. She slowly opened her mouth, her teeth looked razor sharp and her jaw opened wider than normal, the feminine mouth quickly resembled a bear trap, and it had just sprung on Jared’s neck. Jared did nothing but breath heavily, as water streamed down his eyes and the blood was seen pulling towards his neck like it was magnetized.

“Aye! I said a bloody sample, nothing more!” the quartermaster cut the bite short as the lady released him”

The lady was breathing heavily herself as if that moment brought tense fulfillment to her primal urges. Like the whore for blood she was.

“Sorry dear, haven't had a fresh drink in a while, i'll buy him.” She said in between her panting, pleasure filled, breaths.

The coin was exchanged and with the cold snap of a finger jared was released from the spell. The lady walked to her carriage and beckoned Jared to come. Jared looked at everyone on line frantically before as if his mind was his own again and bolted up the hill into the white house. The sounds of things crashing were heard shortly after.

“Why didn't you take control of him Lisdisania, I’m about to charge you extra for this headache.”

“Sorry dear, I didn't expect him to run that fast, looks like I chose well.”

“You Just wanted to know if he was strong willed before you left, You will pay for any damages now.”

Lisdisania laughed

“Sure thing sweety.”

Jared finally emerged from the white house with a weapon, A steel blade.

“What the hell are you doing Jared!” Leo tried to shout but nothing came out. He was still under the quartermaster’s control.

“Lisdisania, take control of him already before I do.” The quartermaster sounded very upset.

“You can’t control me if I don’t look into your eyes!” Jared said, looking just towards the quartermaster’s legs. Jared then raised the sword, pointing it at the quartermaster. At the gesture Leo felt a flame of anger, not from the quartermaster. Not from Jared but from within himself. The act of Jared pointing a weapon at the quartermaster made Leo angry and afraid. He found himself moving to the quartermasters defense on some instinct and he couldn’t stop himself.

Leo said nothing as he ran straight at Jared, grabbing the blade with his bare hand.

“Leo what the hell are you doing! Get off me! I won’t be sold like some animal. Leo!” Jared kept yelling but Leo couldn’t control himself, it felt like someone was attacking his parents or sister. The quartermaster was bad, but he ‘had’ to defend him.

“You are damaging my property now lisdisania, take control please.” The quartermaster told the noble woman again in a more annoyed voice.

“Sorry, I like the spirit, it makes them fun to break.”

Leo was still wrestling with Jared on the ground before something started happening to Jared. Jared’s grip on the sword was weakening. Until a cracking noise sounded and Jared started screaming, stopping his resistance. Leo looked down and saw that jareds fingers were all broken and pulled in a bunch of different directions.

“Get your boy off my cattle now, quartermaster.”

Leo felt like touching jared was touching hot coals until he was forced to get off him.

“Come come, doggy. In fact, walk like a dog for me.” Lisdisania was beckoning jared over with a finger and seductive wink. Jared fell for the spell and began crawling on all fours. He whimpered at each step from the force he was putting on his broken fingers.

The noble woman drove away afterwards and that was that.

“Go back to your pen.” The quartermaster ordered all the captives.

Leo started to do what he was told but was halted.

“Not you. Come, I gotta stitch up that cut.”

Leo didn’t notice but his right hand was sliced open. He followed the quartermaster into the house. Once they entered the white house, they saw that the furniture was turned over and papers had been spilled everywhere.

“Fucking mess. After I stitch you up, do me a favor and clean this up here, got it?”

All Leo could do was nod. After the quartermaster stitched and bandaged his hand he left him alone in the office to clean.

After a few minutes the quartermaster’s influence felt like it was finally leaving him and he could think again. The first thing he felt was an explosion of pain from his hand that was now no longer being suppressed. Leo gritted his teeth and nearly cried looking at his freshly stitched hand. Once his mind adapted to the pain he still couldn't help but feel relieved, he could move his own body again. “God, that was awful. I can finally think again.”

This was his chance, he had to find something or learn something on how they can escape. This was the quartermaster's office. Had he wasted this opportunity, Jared’s efforts would have been for nothing.

“Leo quickly searched every drawer. Every chest, every closet. He found the weapon stash, but weapons would be useless. He needed information. He went to the desk and conveniently, right on the center of the table, was a report on his group's capture! Leo looked at the ground at all the other papers, then back at the report on the desk. This paper was one of the only one’s not thrown. Jared must have put this here.

On the report was a map of the location they were captured. The map showed the route they took and everything, this was literally the map back home. More importantly, this map showed the “sun ring” , the border between the black clouds and the sunlight. It seemed like a twenty minute walk to the sun ring, and then a ten hour march back home. His village was so close to this place, it made him wonder how they were not discovered for so long. He memorized everything on the map and put it away, before cleaning the room up.

After a few minutes, Leo felt the quartermaster returning, the closer the presence was the more he could feel his control slipping. Leo cursed to himself as his face relaxed into a neutral expression. His thoughts were dismissed.

The quartermaster entered.

“You cleaned this up quickly. Good cleaning sprout.” The quartermaster complimented him. Leo felt his brain release happy feelings from those words, giving him goosebumps. “Perhaps I shall allow you to do my burdensome tasks.”

---

It has been a few days and Leo had gained some favoritism with the quartermaster. Leo had the privilege of walking around for the most part to do petty tasks like move equipment or feed the actual animals. He was in a position to escape and had a rough plan. Leo knew the route, time of day, and the stockade guards schedule. All he needed to do was secure the key for the cages and make sure the quartermaster was occupied. And leave during the last guard shift during the day- err night. Vampire time was the reverse, which was surprisingly hard to wrap his head around even though he understood. It was just misleading more than anything. Either way, the plan was as follows:
1.Gain access to the cage keys
2.Open the cages the morning of the escape
3.Wait for the guards to leave their post right before sunrise
4. Distract the quartermaster.
5. Make a run for it.


To gain access to the cage keys would be a feat in and of itself but Leo had an idea but he needed the quartermasters approval. He approached the white house and entered. The quartermaster was writing on a long parchment, probably another list of supplies for trade.

“Quartermaster may I speak.”

“What is it?” The quartermaster said uncaring as he continued his writing.

“I feel as if it would be a waste of resources on your part not to put the other humans to work like you bestowed upon me. I know the group I arrived with were hunters and are quite fit for the job, perhaps reconstruction? It’s free labor.” Leo said his peace,

“Not a bad idea sprout. However, my answer is no.”

Leo felt the grip of the quartermaster had loosen, seemingly on purpose before his next statement.

“I know you are trying to figure out how to escape, it’s such a funny sight. But that isn’t the reason for this decline, the simple reason is that I can’t afford to feed the cattle more food than necessary to survive. Very difficult times.”

The quartermaster looked back up at him, Leo couldn't even hide the shock in his eyes.

(Did you think you could really escape?)

Leo looked back at the quartermaster who was now leaning on his desk with a smirk. That thought he just had. Was that?

(Yes, All your plans, The key, the time of day, the route, the sun ring. You have told me all of it already.)

“Why do you think I had you roaming around? My leisure? My petty tasks? No, no, you have been my trusty information sponge. Thank you for the reports.”

The quartermaster was looking right at his expression, taking it all in, enjoying this interaction way too much. Leo just couldn't respond, he felt as if he knew what he was going to do before he did it. What was the point of speaking if his thoughts were being read? He finally had accrued enough bravery to escape and once again was reminded how hopeless it was.

The fiend responded to his inner turmoil.

“Do you have any idea of how many humans I’ve traded? I have seen it all sprout. So many different plans, everything from turning my own beasts against me, sailing down the river of blood, mining tunnels, even trying to bribe the stockade gaurds with sex. It is fun to speculate what plans each set of humans come out with. But that's not the best part, the best part is, that no matter who the human is or how diverse the “plan” is, the reaction to this revelation is always the same. It cracks me up everytime.” The quartermaster emitted a dark chuckle and his lip curled into a vile smile.

“Why can't you just let us go then?! Are we really such animals to you!” Leo shouted back. His will crushed, all he could do was question this monster.

“I respect you sprout. You by all means are special. The first human who can read my mind back. Now you will be my personal pet.”

---

Leo lost track of the days. Most of his people had been sold. He was one of the few survivors left, almost certain the quartermaster refused to sell him just to torment him further. He tried to resist before but the quartermaster knew his moves before he could even think of them, not to mention the outright control of his body. He couldn't escape, he couldn't fight back. He was forced to just keep working.

Leo was looking at the river of blood that formed from the grand castle windows. This blood to his knowledge was undrinkable for vampires, a sort of watered down version of it. It wasn’t as thick so he typically used it to wash his clothing. Leo was tasked with washing some of the linen today, this river would have to do since fresh water was a rarity. As he was scrubbing the linen sheets something floated past him. He looked up and saw a girl with lilac hair floating down the river. She appeared to be unconscious.

“What a joke, now my mind's playing tricks on me.” He continued to scrub the sheet before pausing. “Wait a minute.” He looked back up, that was an actual person, and they were floating towards the steep drop off at the end of the blood river which led to a deep pit of jagged rocks and thorns. “Oh crap!” Leo jumped into the bloody river and swam after her, wrapping his arm around her and dragging her onto the river bank. He saved her from that fateful plunge.

The girl was unconscious but was still breathing. While he was holding her on the bank he got a closer look at her face. The girl had a cute little nose, pink lips and her eyebrows were strongly defined. Looking down at her he found her strangely hypnotizing, it was the first time Leo had ever held a girl like this and he didn't know what to do. He just maintained the blank stare upon her pale face before his eyes trailed to her lips. They appeared so enticing, so soft, so inviting. An urge that had been forgotten fuzzed all around his mind as he found himself lowering his head so that he could make contact with this absolute doll. He never kissed a girl before but a natural blueprint in his mind had been directing him on form. As he was inches away from making contact, the girl’s eyes opened, looking right back at him. Leo froze, the crimson eyes that reflected his unsure image flashed at him. He was granted permission through the silence. She wanted him, he wanted her. Her lips tightened as she looked just as driven as him. The mutual feeling of this interaction only increased the anticipation. He resumed his descent to meet her when her mouth shifted, slowly opening wider and wider, revealing the true nature of her being and her true intention.

Leo immediately snapped out of it and dropped her to the ground.

This girl was a vampire, with a bright set of silver fangs.

---

“Ow…” The girl was still dazed and confused. Her crimson eyes wandered across the ground before stopping at Leo’s feet then rising up to meet his own terrified gaze. “Did you just drop me on my head?!” Her dazed confusion had sparked into fiery anger.

Leo could only back up. This girl was short and around his age but she still was a vampire.

“No! I.. yes but.. Sorry! I belong to the quartermaster! Dont hurt me!” He pleaded, cowering his hands in defense.

“Stop.” The girl’s demeanor turned into that of a wolf, especially with the canine-like growl. “Come here!” She ordered.

Even though this girl looked no older than him he couldn't really contest a vampire. Leo did as she demanded and walked up to her.

“I’m starving! You can't just present yourself like that and then drop me, why the hell would you do that!” She yelled at him.

Leo didn't know what to say.

“I.. I got scared, you aren't human!”

“So? You should be grateful that I would bless you with such-” Her sentence trailed off before she spun around to look at the river of blood and then up at the castle. “Did.. did I come from the castle? All the way down here?”

“Well, I saw you floating in there so you must have come from somewhere.”

The girl suddenly looked happy.

“Yes! I escaped! Wow, I wouldn't expect a lowly human to pull me out, what are the odds of that!” She cheered.

“I'm not following…”

“Hey! Hey! Where are we at right now? My memory is really fuzzy. I don't remember much outside the castle.”

“A stockade outside the castle…”

“Well, Obviously this is a stockade! Where exactly, any other cities nearby?”

“I don't know! I just got captured here…”

“Well where are YOU from then?”

“I can't say...”

“Why not?”

“Because.. I don't remember.”

The girl was confused at Leo’s response. As she took a stare at Leo a sort of revelation came to her mind.

“Ah! I see, you're under control from a domination check.”

“Domination check?”

“The technique we use on humans to control them. It's called a domination check,” The girl turned her head sideways, “I can tell you are under a strong one. Your memories will start fading under reckless control like that… Here let me free you.” She beckoned him closer.

“You can?!” He quickly obliged and stepped right up to her.

“Yes.”

She stepped to his side and brought her face up to the side of his head.

“What are you going to do?” Leo questioned, still afraid of being made a meal.

“Just don't move.”

Leo could feel her brushing up against his side. She leaned in real close to his ear. Her warm breath hit his ear before she spoke.

“Ouy era ouy”

Her voice tickled his eardrum causing him to tremble. It was as if a fly had flown near his ear. The feeling didn't stop either, the buzzing feeling kept repeatedly vibrating his ear drum until he was just full on shaking his head.

“Ah, make it stop!” He covered his ears and after a few seconds the buzzing did stop, as well as everything else. The overwhelming sense of dread, hopelessness, and despair all faded away. His memories that were fading away all returned to him, he felt as if the connection he had to the quartermaster was broken. He was Leo again.

“I feel amazing, I'm myself again! Thank you!”

“I know, I’m the best.” She declared proudly.

“You're the first vampire who has ever helped me. My name is Leo, what’s yours?”

“You can call me Veya.”

Leo was still celebrating the broken connection, his restored privacy of thoughts and self consciousness was once again his own.

“Now would you tell me where you are from?” She questioned him again.

“I’m from a village past a red forest ten hours south of here. I was trying to escape but the quartermaster is too strong, and he knows everything I do. He probably knows we are talking right now.”

Veya considered his words.

“Ok, I guess that's where we will head.”

“Are you going to help me escape?!” Leo couldn't fathom the chances that he might have just found a vampire ally. If that was the case, his chance to escape the grasp of the quartermaster was increased multiple folds over.

Veya however, would enact her soon to be classic act of uselessness.

“Nope. That’s your job.” She smiled.