PROLOGUE

When I was five, my parents died in a car crash in the middle of the forest. I was the only one who survived. I was just sitting there with a sorrowful look while the blood on my face kept drooling. I don't know what to do, don't know where to go, and I don't know what will happen. I pray that some angel from above will rescue me and set my parents free. But suddenly, a black shadow appears. A man with a black wavy hair and a black robe he was wearing. He was walking towards me, and I saw his face. A strong musculine jaw and powerful red bloody eyes.

He smashed the car window and pulled me outside from the car. I was about to scream when suddenly he opened his mouth and sucked my soul. A blood moon appears, and he is still continuing sucking my soul from my body. I'm starting to lose strength like there is no energy from me. When suddenly a man with a mask shows up, and fighted the monster. I fell down to the ground with my eyes blurred out. I can't clearly see what's happening, but I can hear their fighting. They're speaking different languages.

"I WANT THE CHILD!" The man with the black robe stated.

"Hyperion Aeferel!" The man with a mask chanted a spell on the spell book and moved his finger to control the human shadow, and used his full force to tear him apart.

After the fight, he came to me and grabbed my hand. I had no energy to stand up so I remained on the ground catching my breath.

"Hyperion Helilius" He chanted again. But this time, my vision is now clear & stable.

He took off his mask, and I can see his beautiful blue eyes. The red moon is still shining bright above, while the trees are dancing and the wind is breezing.

"Are you okay?" He asked me with a serious caring voice.

"I'm sorry about your parents' kid." He looked at me and I faced down.

I was about to stand up when I fell again. No strength, no energy. I continue to breathe but it's like my lungs aren't working anymore. Until my last breath, I didn't feel my heart's pumping.

"Kid? Kid?! Shit!" The man with a mask doesn't know what to do. He stared at me for a few seconds and looked up at the red moon.

He hid his spell book and grabbed me. He leaned on my neck and whispered.

"I'm sorry kid.." Those three words were the beginning of an awakening. He opened his mouth and his white sharp fangs came out and bit me on the neck. That venom spread into my whole nervous system and came into my heart. My heart and lungs were functioning again like I was reborn, but a new version of me.

*Twelve years later*

Third person's point of view:

People are having fun in the town square. Kids are playing tag, so many street foods, couples are kissing. There are tall colorful buildings with bright lights on the side, and a big fountain in the middle. A girl just standing there, watching the water flow.

"Here you go, Eve." A guy handed over a cotton candy to her.

"Thank you, Drake" She thanked him with a smile.

"Where's Cassius?" She asked while eating a cotton candy.

"Oh he's in an antique store." He answered. They waited on the bench and enjoyed watching the sunset.

"This place is surely pretty. But I can't believe that we're actually moving here, to start a new life. I just don't get it." The girl was downhearted.

"What?" The guy asked.

"I mean, everywhere we go is full of problems and trouble. The darkness will never leave us, Drake. So why would we move here, when we can still live a normal happy life at Hariston." She sighed and looked at the sun.

"Eve, you know this is for the best. Besides, I thought you want to go to a big school? Maybe this path is the way to your success." He assured her with a sweet voice.

"Hey guys, sorry for the wait." The other guy came back to them with a small box.

"What's that?" Eve asked.

"Oh, I saw this old watch and it has weird symbols on it." Cassius answered while showing the watch.

"Why did you buy it, when it has no hands too." Drake asked.

"Well, I love vintage so I bought it." Cassius answered with a smile.

"Well, we better go back to our apartment because it's getting dark." Eve said with a smile. The three of them started walking to their apartment.

When they got in the apartment, Eve took a hot bath in the bathtub. Drake started cooking in the kitchen, he was cooking Italian pasta that he learned from their hometown. And Cassius is fixing his things in the living room while watching TV. The apartment is cozy and has a lot of furniture. But the neighbors are too loud and you can hear the slamming doors every time they fight. You can also hear the cat meowing loudly and the chirps of the crows outside.

Eve was chilling and calming her mind while she was on the bathtub. She was staring at the light bulb above the ceiling. It was flickering. Her heart rate increased when she heard a howling outside from the window. She got up and dressed up quickly to leave the bathroom, so she could be with the boys.

When she got out, she hurriedly went to the living room to check on them. They were watching TV.

"Oh shit! I forgot the pasta." Drake hurriedly opened the top lid of the pot and turned off the stove.

Eve went outside to get some fresh air. She was on the balcony, and glanced at the stars. It was so quiet, peaceful, and so dark. She saw a crow landed on the street light, looking at her. Her eyes went down to the crow like they were competing like an eye contest. Two more birds landed on the balcony to see a closer look. She stepped away, but her eyes remained to them.

"What are you doing, my child?" An old woman appeared wearing a black dress. Eve was startled and looked at the old woman.

"U-uhmm, I-I was Just.." Eve didn't finish what she was going to stay.

"Don't you know that crows hold funerals for their dead? It is a dangerous child." The old woman said in a serious voice.

"What's going on here?" Drake asked and Cassius went outside as well.

"You three must be careful. This city is not as pretty as you thought. Lock your doors and windows." They went inside and locked the door and windows, as the old woman said.

"What the hell are you doing outside, Eve?" Drake asked with a worried serious voice.

"I was just getting some fresh air, and then there were some crows looking at me." Eve answered.

"Eve, this is not Hariston. That city is full of ashes now, like it or not but this is are life now." Cassius said in a serious calm voice.

"I know it's hard, but as long as the three of us have each other, nothing can go wrong." Cassius assured them.

"Let's eat, the pasta is done." Drake fixed the table and served the food to them.

They're laughing while eating dinner. They were talking about how soggy Drake's pasta is. But the taste is still delicious and the flavor. Cassius and Eve enjoyed it. The neighbors are starting to fight again, it's getting louder and louder. The slamming of the door is the worst one. It'll echo to the hallway and to the whole room. The owner of the apartment is trying to help but the two married couples won't listen.

"Damn, why would they just get a divorce or something if they're gonna fight every single day." Drake looks irritated.

"Maybe they really love each other. I suggest that they should see a doctor. A psychologist maybe." Cassius said in a serious voice while taking a bite on the pasta.

"One week before we go to our new school, huh. I just hope school is more peaceful than this is." Eve said before she took a drink of a glass of milk.

"Nahh, I doubt. School is more hell than this one." Drake stated.

"Hey Drake, Heads or tails?" Cassius holds a coin to bet who's gonna sleep on the couch.

"Tails!" Drake shouted. Cassius began to flip the coin and landed on his palm.

"HAHA today's not your lucky day." Cassius laughed and headed into the bedroom.

"Fuck it." Drake cursed and began to clear the table.

After Drake washed the dishes, he closed the lights and lay down on the couch and scrolled on his phone. Cassius is already asleep while Eve is wide awake in her bedroom. She can see the shadow of the trees from the door. She noticed that another crow was looking at her from the mirror. She stood up and looked at the bird, and closed the window with a curtain and came back to bed.

She is trying to sleep but the bed is not that comfy, and she still remembers how she was happy back then. She keeps turning left and right but it's no use. So she heads to the kitchen to drink a glass of milk. It was quiet and dark. The only thing that you can hear is the dripping of water in the faucet. After she dranked, she took a peek at Drake's and he was asleep. After that, she opens Cassius' bedroom, and Cassius is also deep asleep. Cassius is on the right side of the bed, and the left side is one of the books he was reading and his glasses on top of it.

Eve closed the door, and headed to her bedroom. Her eyes got wide when she saw her window open. She walked carefully and slowly to the window and closed it. She turned on his lamp and went to sleep.

When the sun was out, Cassius was gone to buy a new book at the bookstore near the town square. Eve woke up and checked herself in the mirror. Her brown hair is wavy and soft, she tied her hair leaving small bangs on the side. She opened the door and greeted Drake.

"Good morning." Eve greeted Drake in a polite way.

"Good morning, here I made you coffee." Drake greeted and passed the coffee mug to Eve.

While they are talking, someone is knocking at the door. Drake unlocked the door and opened it and the delivery man introduced himself.

"Hi I'm Paul, you guys are the new students of Redwood Academy right?" Eve and Drake nodded.

"Alright then, just sign this paper and these three boxes are yours. Have a nice day." Paul walked downstairs and Drake got the three big boxes inside.

"Hey look, a letter." Drake gives the letter to Eve, and Eve opens it.

"Dear new students, I'm the headmaster of Redwood Academy. And I'm happy to open my doors for you. We cannot wait to see new intelligent, smart, and talented kids. As a welcome gift, we bought you brand new school uniforms including PE. School supplies, & black and white shoes. See you on Monday!"

Sincerely, The Headmaster.

After Eve read the note, she quickly opened the box and grabbed the school uniform. She was amazed how beautiful the school uniform is. Drake was standing there and watching Eve smiling. He also smiled, because it was like the first time seeing Eve smile like that, ever since Hariston turned into ashes. Eve was touching bit by bit, from top to bottom. She looked at the box to see more stuff in there.

"Oh, look! They even got us this cute mug." Eve showed the mug to Drake. And Drake just nodded with a smile on his face.

"Hey I was planning to go to the market after this, wanna come?" Eve asked Draked.

"No, I'm good. Just buy me a fresh brewed Jam then we're even." Drake replied.

"Okay." Eve answered frugally.

Eve took a nice shower and dressed up to go to the market. She wore a light blue cardigan with a matching blue skirt and socks, and a blue beret in her head. When she was at the supermarket, she bought a lot of sweet fresh apples from the farm. There were a lot of people there, so many foreigners as well. The kids are eating some Ice gello and some are flying kites outside. Eve saw the Jams that Drake likes, she was about to go there when she didn't notice a motorcycle was on her back. She fell, and so did her apples. She picked them up one by one, when a stranger came to help her.

"Oh, thank you." She greeted him politely.

"No, it's okay. Are you alright?" The guy asked.

"U-Umm y-yeah. It's no big deal hehe" Eve answered.

"Here you go, Eve." The guy gave the apples to Eve, and her eyes got wide when he knew her name.

"H-how do you know my name?" She asked.

"You also dropped this." The guy gave the documents paper to Eve.

"Oh, that's why." Eve said in a shy voice. They just looked at each other. Eve noticed the big scar on the guy's eye.

"What happened to that?" Eve pointed to the scar on his face.

"Hehe, long story." He replied shortly.

"You were about to buy jams I see. Let me come with you." The guy insisted on coming.

"Uhmm, okay" She just gave him a smile and headed to the jam station.

There are so many different flavors of jams. There are strawberries, Mangoes, Blueberries, carrots, and many more. Eve doesn't know what to choose, they're all good but she can't decide what to buy.

"You're new aren't you?" The guy asked Eve with a deep voice.

"Yep, I just moved here two days ago." She answered.

"Well, you must try the Pomegranate Cranberry Jam. That's the best of the best." He recommended it.

"You like Jams?" Eve asked while she chuckled.

"Everybody loves Jams." The guy smiled at her.

"Okay then." Eve buyed the Pomegranate Cranberry Jam that the guy recommended.

After that, they headed to the town square to sit on the bench. They continued talking, and the guy gave her a small tour. When they sat down, four crows flew over to the ground and gave a stare. Eve seemed scared because of what happened last night.

"What's the matter? You're scared of crows?" He asked with a deep voice.

"Y-yes.." She answered honestly.

"Here, look." He lifted his hands and one crow flew over to his hand. He petted him and gave some corn nuts that he had in his pockets.

"See, there's no need to be scared. They are cute, soft and super smart." He slowly moved his hand to her, to see how crows are good.

"You're right. They're not so bad after all." She smiled and petted the crow.

She gave the crow back to the guy gently. Eve felt a sting on her left hip, so she raised her skirt to check it. And there were some open wounds, maybe because the incident happened earlier. Some blood is starting to drip so she quickly grabbed a tissue on her bag.

"H-hey are you okay?" The guy asked in a worried voice.

"Yes yes, It's not that painful." She replied while wiping the blood. The guy was acting strange, he was breathing hard.

"By the way, I never got your name." She turned her gaze back to him but he disappeared. She was looking everywhere for him but there were so many people at the town square.

"Eve, what are you doing here by yourself?" Cassius asked while holding a new book.

"I was talking to someone, but I don't know where he went." She was confused.

The guy that Eve saw was on the dark alley catching his breath. The Crows were watching him. He grabbed his phone and texted someone.

"I need help. ASAP!"