I

“Nonsense.” he said, chugging from the wooden mug.

“Oh, but you don’t know a thing, old friend.”

“Maybe. But I do know one – vampires do not exist. Not anymore.”

“Is that what you’re led to believe? That a force so powerful, so high and mighty would just, what? Disappear? Even you aren’t gullible enough to fall for that.”

“Blast you. I saw with me own eyes the final embers dance on their scorching flesh. It gleamed in the sunlight so brightly that I could barely look. We eradicated those things, and you’d best keep quiet lest you wish to dig them up from the grave.”

“Then call me a gravedigger. For these things are not mere humans. They do not live temporarily, nor do they die eternally. Their shadow is etched into our lands, a shadow as immortal as their cursed souls.”

“Go on, then. Dig. But don’t go a-screamin’ when you bring some ill upon yourself.”

“Ill? My friend, this entire country is ill. Ill with a single disease – vampires.”

“Pha! The last time I saw them, they were nothing but dust in the summer wind. The only disease they could cause is a pollen allergy!”

He snarled through a grotesque laugh, loud enough to echo through the tavern.

“And if they come back from that, we sure should have gone instead.”

“Sure indeed.”

Both sat there in a brief, awkward silence only broken by their surroundings. Drinks came and went, each table soaked in the endless flow of ale. The people’s laughter, song, and indistinct chatter breathed life into this otherwise dull place.

“Well, it is time for me to go.” he said, standing up.

“Sit yer arse down! I’ve only downed a couple; you haven’t even started yer first! What’s a man who goes home sober on a summer’s eve?”

“I apologize for this transgression. However, I must still insist on my leaving. It’s getting dark, and I’m not fond of enjoying it inside.”

“Enjoying the dark, eh? Always were a different breed, you.”

“What’s there to say? The Sun never had my love. It just burns the eyes and reddens the skin. I prefer the shade, the beautiful light of the moon. The people fall in love beneath a starry sky, not scorching heat.”

“Haha!” he growled, laughing. “Prefers the shade, he says. ‘ates the Sun, he says! Are ye one of them vamps you speak of? Lads! We ‘ave ourselves a vamp among us. C’mon, turn into a bat! Or, better yet, show us those ugly teeth of yours.”

The crowd burst into laughter, likely oblivious to what was even said.

He cast a sly, pearly white smile that glistened under the torches.

“Now that’s a smile one can hardly resist.”

“I always keep myself in good order. Farewell, friend.”

And with that, he upped and left, elegantly walking through the door. He couldn’t help but catch the sight of all his peers. Not a single one glanced anywhere but his way. Dressed in perfectly dark and red velvet attire, he carried a sense of nobility with him. In a village stricken with vamp scares, such a carriage was often considered barbaric. It stood out too much, and the folk were never fond of anything strange – not after what they’d endured.

II

The full moon shone high on the violet heavens. The tavern grew quieter with each passing moment and, at the very last, saw its final guest leave for his home. Stumbling over his feet, the drunken fool swayed from side to side, like a ship rocking on the tempestuous waves. Somehow, step by step, he advanced on his way. Unsure was the scarce observer if he’d ever reach his destination or if he even knew where it was.

The moon, though bright, slowly became obscured by the thick clouds passing by. So sudden was this change that he immediately lost track. From a sun-like bloom to abyssal gloom, the drunkard’s world was enveloped in darkness. But on his adventure of figuring out his location, direction, and a general sense of self – he reached an alley, somehow even dimmer than the night.

Mindless, he walked into the alley, situated between another tavern unlike the one prior and a high wooden fence of some better-off villager. Not many of those were left; the war saw their deaths first. Though their countenance spoke differently, those who survived were nothing more than mud-stained wretches.

As soon as he had entered, he became the alley’s prisoner. Met with a dead-end, with deathly darkness eating at his mind, he stared bewildered at the wall before him. The hairs on his back raised up sharply, and a terrible chill went down his spine. Behind him stood something, or rather someone. He could feel it, but as he turned around – nothing.

Not even a silhouette of whatever nightly creature stalked him. Unable to think, he could not even brush it off as any animal or rodent just happening by. He stared blindly into the blinding void.

“However did you end up here, old friend.” spoke a sudden, soft voice. “One could find themselves on the wrong end of something sharp in these hours.”

“W-wha-? W-who goes there? Show y-y-yerself!” he replied with a trembling, drunk voice. Each word uttered was followed by a swift hiccup—any ability to conjure up a sentence longer than a few words was entirely gone from his person.

“Oh, don’t hurt me. Do you not recognize my voice? Have we not spoken more than enough for you to know?”

“W-w-hat are ye doin’ ‘ere?”

“Nothing much, out on a moonlit stroll. Didn’t I tell you I just loved the starry skies?”

He stared into the nothingness, barely blinking.

“I spent some time pondering our conversation, and I’m afraid I made a few conclusions, none of them good.”

The man didn’t reply but only looked on.

“Did you ever wonder why the living defeated the dead? Has it ever crossed your little pea-brain? How does life strike down death and vanquish it for eternity? Is the otherwise not true instead?

“The answer is it does not. Life is but a servant, a quick slave to death’s timeless reign. Draining – drying like a leaf on the desert heat, it inevitably is vanquished, continuing its mortal enemy’s conquest of the world.

“And now you may think – how did life defeat death if the odds were as I claim. Well, death defeats death. Or, should I say – keeps it at bay.”

The man continued his gaping gaze, slightly sobering.

“D-death? Life? What are ye – what the b-bloody ‘ell are you on about?”

“You still don’t get it, do you. Your pitiful human ignorance outmatches you. A whole race of vermin, competing in stupidity and idiocy. And here I am thinking vampires were the disease.”

“What’s all this, then?” the man, now sobered, burst into a yell. “Ye walk in the shadows, creep behind me back, and now all this talk about some blasted, bloody foolery! One’d think ye really are one of them wretches – acting like one like you are!

“Are ye? Are ye one of ‘em blood-sucking beasts? Or are ye just some damned idiot thinking yer so slick and smart as to toy with me ‘ead? Perhaps I should put some sense in ye!”

“I have already said, if I well recall, that vampires are a disease on this land—filth spoiling every inch of the good soil. But I also spit on ignorance; in particular – yours.

“Do you conclude, then, how you ignorant bastards were able to defeat a foe a hundred times your strength? Knowledge. Only by stripping away the human mind of ignorance and perpetual darkness could we aid them in victory. And who better to do so – than a vampire.”

“What? So ye are one of ‘em! Damn ye cursed monster! Guards! Guaaards!” the man was screaming at the top of his lungs, but the everlasting veil around him soaked up each syllable he uttered. Sounds escaped his mouth, but not a single one had found the alley’s exit.

“It is a shame. Seeing a species you’ve enlightened with the knowledge of a thousand years become decadent; forsaking yourself for the advancement of humanity, and yet seeing primates like you take a piss on all you’ve done – let’s just say it makes me sick.”

“You hunted yer own kind. Pfft!” he spat in his direction. “It is I who should be sick. Sick of speaking to a brother-killing bloodsucker.”

“My good old friend. Your humanity protrudes from every pore. I cannot do a single thing to change what was, nor what is to come. Thus, I hope this short charade has opened your eyes. I would feel great shame in letting a human die unknowledgeable.”

“Merciless scum. Have at ye, then. These ‘ands have put the last of them to the cross; one more’d be an honor.”

The heavy veil exploded, echoing a deafening sound through the village. A thunder of dogs barked in the summer eve, and the clouds released the imprisoned moon. Its gleam shone strong, illuminating the land and turning night into day. The last brightly rays fell on the dim alley, glistening on the crimson walls.