Chapter 20: Death

The thugs rushed the attack, unloading weapon after weapon on the seemingly defeated vampire. Arnaud crouched behind the corpse, shielding his head with his arms as his body was further shredded by the hail of bullets.

Suddenly, when the guns ran empty and he was barely conscious, Arnaud decided to drink the blood of his shield. The vampire let out a harrowing howl and stood up. His face was a twisted mask of exposed muscles and bones, while several of his limbs dangled at grotesque angles. But his eyes burned with a supernatural fury as the blood soon began to regenerate the missing parts.

He lunged at the terrified group like lightning, shattering and destroying everything in his path. Within seconds, all lay dead or grievously wounded on the floor. Arnaud staggered towards them and began devouring their blood avidly, the wounds closing and his strength renewing with every gulp.

Finally, the last of the underlings fell lifeless to the ground. The leader noticed and turned towards him with a confused, frowning expression. It was then that Arnaud decided to fully reveal himself, emerging from the shadows like a lethal specter.

His face was fully restored and he walked upright once more, as if he had never been injured.

"Who the hell are you?" the man yelled, trying with shaking hands to reload his empty gun, his eyes bulging with surprise and fear.

Arnaud fixed him with a gaze laden with mortal threat as he began advancing towards him.

The vampire gave a slight sinister smile before responding in a deep, grave voice:

"The night, death... hunter of evil men."

The man backpedaled cursing, his gun wavering as he aimed it at the vampire with trembling hands.

"I don't know what the fuck you are, freak, but I'm going to blow your head off!"

Before he could do anything, Arnaud lunged at him with a roar, moving so fast he was a blur. A second later, he had him pinned to the ground, an iron claw-like hand around his throat.

"Ugh...no! Let me go, you bastard!" the man gasped in a strangled voice as he struggled uselessly to break free.

Arnaud's eyes blazed with a supernatural glow, his entire being flooded with a frenzy of protectiveness for Arturo. The words echoing in his mind over and over:

"No, I don't want to! I want to go with you!"

With a renewed feral growl, Arnaud threw back the man's head and sank his fangs into his throat. He drank eagerly, savoring the delicious flow of blood and life between his lips.

The leader of the band emitted a strangled gurgle as his struggle gradually weakened. Finally, his entire body went limp in a sign of surrender.

♢♢♢♢

"Oh my God, Juanita! I can't believe those ruffians threatened you like that," Lola exclaimed with a frown as she served her friend a glass of water with tense hands.

Juana nodded with an afflicted expression, her eyes reddened from crying. Arturo was sitting on the couch hugging his knees, watching them in silence.

"It was horrible, Lolita. If it wasn't for Arnaud..." She paused and shook her head, tears threatening to spill again. "He risked his life for us. I can never repay him. Plus what I said to him..."

Lola frowned more at those words, taking a seat across from her.

"So... This 'man' you're talking about, tell me everything about him," she insisted gravely.

Before her friend could respond, Arturo jumped up from the couch, eyes wide.

"Look Miss Juana, look! The magic box has people inside it!" he exclaimed, pointing at the television.

The two women turned to look at him, open-mouthed, marveling at the moving images on the screen. Juana frowned in confusion.

"It's not real people, honey. It's just a box that shows pictures and stories," Lola explained, half-smiling at his innocence.

"Pictures?" Arturo tilted his head and stepped closer, eyes wide. A moment later, he let out an exclamation of delight: "Little blue man!"

Lola's smile widened as she heard him, touched by how the TV and its children's programs had managed to captivate the little boy. The child sat down on the floor just inches from the device, enraptured.

Had he never seen one before?

"Arturo, honey, it's better if you don't get so close or you'll hurt your eyes," Juana chided mildly.

But the little boy paid her no heed, too marveled by the colorful moving images before his incredulous eyes. He even stretched out a little hand to touch the screen, fascinated.

"Now I understand what Ar meant when he saw the cars. This is... magic!" he whispered, enraptured.

Lola couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. Even Juana gave a sad smile, her eyes brimming with tenderness as she watched him.

"It's technology, darling. A very ingenious machine, no magic," Lola explained gently. "It's called a television and it broadcasts images through the air waves."

Arturo turned to her with eyes bugging out in amazement, as if she had just revealed the secrets of the universe to him.

"Oh come on!" Juana scoffed incredulously. "Lolita, you can't expect this little one to understand all those complicated devices. I don't even understand them myself, that's why I don't have them at home."

She shook her head and settled back into the armchair with a resigned sigh.

"Let him marvel in peace, he'll have many years ahead to understand those things."

Lola smiled again and nodded, her expression growing more serious.

"You're right, as always. Now you're going to tell me all about this Arnaud without omitting a single detail." She gave her a meaningful look.

Before Juana could respond, Arturo interrupted excitedly again.

"Juana, Juana! This magic thing has more buttons!"

He jumped up and ran to a small tablet-shaped device on the coffee table. He picked it up with a reverent gesture.

"Ooooh!"

Suddenly, the tablet came to life with a soft hum and dozens of apps lit up on the screen. Arturo held his breath, enraptured, and began tapping the icons at random, causing music, images and texts to appear in disarray.

"Oh no! Arturo, careful!"

Lola rushed to take the tablet away from his little hands, frustrated. But a few giggles escaped her lips when she saw the look of utter delight on the little boy's face.

"It's like there's a whole world inside there!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Juana shook her head, though she smiled at his rejoicing. But then, as if suddenly remembering what her friend had asked her, her expression darkened again.

"Ay Lolita... It's all so confusing. I don't know how to explain exactly who or what Arnaud is."

"Try," Lola urged seriously. "Just tell me what happened. Is he really... well, that strong?"

Juana swallowed hard. Arturo, still excited about the technology, decided to chime in:

"Arnaud is a very strong monster, Lola! He saved Juana from the bad men and destroyed the ones who killed Grandma Maria with his mouth and hands. Bang!"

Lola's eyes widened as she heard him, feeling a chill run through her. Those words were not making sense.

"Destroyed... with his mouth and hands?" she murmured, feeling her pulse quicken.

"I don't know if I can believe it but..." Juana added in a somber voice. "The boy has a thirst for blood that I don't know if he can control. He almost... killed those thugs with his bare hands. For a moment I thought I saw he had long fangs."

Lola let out a muffled exclamation, memories of that night swirling in her mind. A humanoid creature, fierce and fast as lightning, with glowing eyes and abnormally long fangs, coming out of her house leaving a horrible bloody offering.

"The entity..." she whispered, raising a hand to her mouth. Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in her mind.

"Oh my God, it was him! That Arnaud you're talking about! I saw him come out of my house that night!"

Juana tried to understand Lola's words. Arturo, without fully understanding, intervened with a huge smile:

"Yes, yes! One day Ar brought clothes for us. Were you the one who bartered for the fresh catch with him?"