Vampire Greek: The Burning King

Roman would swear at the top of his lungs if he had any air in them. He was laid out on his back in the middle of the street, gasping for air. Roman didn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense. Almost every person in the club was a monster, and Roman couldn’t smell any of them. He didn’t sense anything was wrong and everyone appeared normal at first. Everyone except the girl.

Managing to sit upright, Roman tried to control his breathing while staring at the hole in the club wall. The girl he met inside emerged from the front door and made her way towards him.

“Are you okay?” She shouted.

Roman didn’t have enough power to protect his voice, so he waited for her to get nearer.

“Does it looked like I’m okay?” His voice came out cracked.

“I told you not to fight him.” She bent down and helps her hand out to him but he glared at her.

“What are you? How did you know what they were?”

She watched him quietly as he scrambled to his feet without her help and looked back at the club door entrance.

“They aren’t going to come after you. They are actually good people, you just killed the mood.”

“And how would you know?” He asked her. “You looked lost while you were in there.”

“I can just tell. They didn’t attack me when I came after you.” She tried to inspect him for injuries, but he was looking at the blood on his hand. Chris’s blood.

He popped his knuckles and closed his eyes. After breathing deeply in silence for a second, he looked up and said,

“I need a drink.”

“I’ve seen a few liquor stores this way-”

“I don’t need to drink alcohol.”

Roman started walking in the opposite direction of her, just to get some distance. As intriguing as she was, she couldn’t be trusted. Still, in the middle of the street, he reckoned getting hit by a car would be better than dealing with an unknown creature. Whatever poor sap ran him over would instantly be dinner and boom, problem solved.

“Wait!” She called after him.

“What are you?”

Roman kept walking.

“I asked you the same question a minute ago. At least my form is naturally like this. I am a vampire. A murderer, a killer, a bloodsucking freak with no remorse for my victims. Whoever you are, whatever you are, go home. Go back to the club. Just stay away from me.”

“Is that supposed to scare me?” She called after him.

No. He thought to himself. It’s supposed to boost my own confidence. As far as Roman knew, she could be a half horse person too, waiting to stomp him to death at the first chance. He had no intention dealing with monsters he couldn’t even detect. It was time to find easier prey.

“Don’t go! Please! My name is Aubrey, Aubrey Gibson. And I.. I am...” Roman stopped walking, and she faltered.

“And what, Aubrey?” Roman said, turning around.

“And... I’m a goddess.” She said, exhaling as if it took a lot of effort just to say that.

Roman smiled, and it looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” She snapped, feeling offended.

He walked back to her at a fast pace and put his hand on her shoulders.

“Did you get hit in the head at the club too, or were you just born special?”

Audrey pulled away from his touch.

“There’s nothing wrong with me you jerk, I’m telling the truth.”

Roman actually laughed this time.

“Really?”

“Yes! Really.”

“Look at me. Um, Aubrey, was it? Look into my eyes. I have never heard of a god or goddess with a last name. You sound dumb. I didn’t see you drink anything, did you drink something at the club tonight?”

“I’m fine and I’m completely sober! I have a last name because I wasn’t born a god. I was a regular human, like you.”

Roman shook his head and bared his fangs in a smile. “I haven’t been a ‘regular human’ since I was 7. You’re nothing like me.”

“Okay, fine.” Aubrey had given up on the argument.

“What is your name? You never said it.”

“My name’s Roman.”

Aubrey’s face changed a little when he said it. Was that disgust?

“What?” He asked. “What’s wrong with my name?”

“It’s nothing really, it’s just that I am a Greek goddess, and your name is literally Roman, it’s kind of weird.”

“Oh yeah?” Roman remarked. “the Greek goddess of what?”

“I... I don’t know yet.”

Roman just stared at her blankly.

“Stop wasting my time.” He turned back around and continued to walk again, this time vowing not to stop.

He heard Aubrey’s pleas and was about to tell her to shut up when a sharp smell struck his nose.

Blood. Lots of it. Blood freshly ripped off of some poor defenseless idiot, Roman could smell it clear as day though he sensed it was a few miles away. Just the scent alone disconnected him from the outside world.

He stopped hearing Aubrey and began to imagine what he would find it he followed the trail. From the scent, he can tell that someone wasn’t just killed, someone was bitten too. There could be multiple people at the scene. Multiple vampires and multiple victims. Even if they weren’t willing to share, Roman was going to see this for himself.

Some dumb thug that tried to rob the wrong person, maybe. Or some foolish girl that put too much faith and trust in one guy. Whatever it was, when he got there he was gonna-

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” A loud horn from an 18 wheeler snapped him out of his daydream while Aubrey took him by the shoulders and pulled him out of harm’s way. It may be more appropriate to say flung because he was lifted off his feet and sent flying to the sidewalk.

“Pay attention to where you’re going! Haven’t you been wounded enough tonight?”

“No. Now I’m about to go find a bloodbath.”