Sorry, kid

Outside the village, on the outskirts, a modest wooden cabin stood at the edge of the forest. The night sky was alive with distant twinkling lights, the faraway glow of other settlements and cities. This was home to Alfred and his mother, Violet, a woman of humble means.

Alfred approached the cabin, still following the tracks left by Nelly, the lost goat.

The door creaked open, and there stood Violet, her face radiant with love and concern.  "Welcome home, my son," she said, her voice a soothing melody.

A wide smile spread across Alfred's face as he ran towards his mother, his hand holding the vegetables he had collected. "Look at all these vegetables that I just got," he said with excitement, holding them up for her to see.

Violet inspected the vegetables with pride. "Oh, these will make a delicious soup," she remarked. 

"That's what I was thinking too," Alfred replied, and they both laughed, their bond evident in the shared joy they found in the simplest of things. 

"But where did you get them, Alfred?" Violet asked, knowing there was more to the story.

Alfred hesitated, not wanting to lie to his mother but also reluctant to worry her. "It was a gift, kinda," he said.

His mother's gaze was scrutinizing, but she knew her son well. One of the special powers of a mother is knowing when something is amiss with their child. "Something happened in the village, didn't it?" she gently probed.

Alfred couldn't hide anything from her. "I just helped a kid out," he admitted.

Violet's eyes softened with understanding and concern. "You can't help everyone, Alfred. People are suffering horrible acts every day." 

"But when I grow up, I will save everyone," Alfred declared with determination.

Violet smiled warmly at her son's noble ambition. She placed a tender kiss on his head. "You are just like your father, Alfred, and I believe in you. But remember, you can't bear the weight of the world on your shoulders alone."

Alfred's smile widened. "Oh, I almost forgot. Old man Doug gave us a goat, but I lost her. Her tracks lead into the forest," he explained.

Violet's eyes twinkled with reassurance. "You will find her in the morning. The night is too dangerous for you to search. For now, cut some wood for the fire, and then come inside to eat some soup."

Alfred agreed. He walked to the back of the cabin, where a stack of logs awaited, and he set to work chopping wood for the fire.

As he worked, he couldn't help but glance back at the softened soil where the goat tracks remained. He hoped Nelly was safe.

****

In the moonlit clearing, the gentle rustling of leaves and the soft murmuring of the forest creatures created a serene ambiance.

Nelly, the lost goat, wandered aimlessly, nibbling on the sweet grass that covered the ground. The moon's silver rays bathed her in a celestial glow, making her appear almost ethereal in the peaceful night. 

As she grazed, little did Nelly know that danger lurked nearby. Unbeknownst to her, the very creature that the headsman, Talos, had been fighting, had found its way into the same forest.

Belze, the vampire, emerged from the shadowy depths, his breathing heavy from the pursuit.  The vampire's eyes locked onto Nelly's form, and a mixture of frustration and fury washed over him.

His long, pale fingers curled into a menacing fist as he lifted his arm, ready to strike.

Nelly, oblivious to the imminent danger, turned her head towards the shadowy figure approaching her. "Meh?" she let out a soft and curious bleat, as if questioning the presence of this new visitor.

The shadow of Belze's hand loomed over Nelly, engulfing her small form in darkness. The goat's chewing halted, her body tense with fear as the realization of the imminent threat dawned upon her. 

The tranquil night was shattered by a bloodcurdling bleat that echoed through the forest. The woodland life stirred in response to the harrowing cry. 

**** 

As the wood cracked under the weight of his axe, Alfred's keen ears caught an unsettling sound emanating from the nearby forest.

He stopped mid-swing and turned his head to the left, his gaze fixated on the dark and mysterious woods.

Silence hung heavily in the air, broken only by the distant hoot of an owl perched on a nearby tree. The haunting sound caused a momentary shiver to run down his spine, but Alfred quickly regained his composure.  "Come on bird, time to go to bed," Alfred called out to the owl with a smile, attempting to dispel the eerie atmosphere.

To his surprise, the owl responded with another hoot, almost as if it understood his words. Alfred chuckled softly, finding comfort in the simple exchange.

However, his moment of tranquility was short-lived. Another sound, far more distressing, pierced through the night. A woman's voice echoed in the distance, pleading for help. It was his mother's voice, and it was filled with terror and desperation.

Without a second thought, Alfred grabbed his axe and sprinted towards the cabin, his heart pounding in his chest. The world around him seemed to blur as he focused solely on reaching his mother. Adrenaline surged through his veins, driving him forward.

Finally, he reached the cabin, and his heart sank at the gruesome sight before him. Belze, the relentless vampire, had his mother trapped in his grip, his fangs deep in her neck, drawing life-sustaining blood from her body. The grotesque slurping sound was sickening, and Alfred's eyes widened in horror.  "Run Alfred, run!" Violet's desperate cry reached his ears, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding before him.

"You said I have to protect everyone!" Alfred's voice trembled with determination as he charged at the beast with all his might, swinging the axe with force. But to his dismay, his axe bounced back from his opponent's back, the weapon barely left a scratch on Belze's tough skin.

Alfred attacked the monstrous creature again and again, each futile attempt yielding the same heart-wrenching result. Helplessness coursed through him like a deadly poison, and terror etched itself deeply onto his sweat-soaked face. In the harsh, flickering light of the dimly lit room, his eyes reflected the stark realization that he stood no chance of saving his mother.

A feeble whisper emerged from his mother's trembling lips, barely audible amidst the chaos of their struggle. "Run, Alfred," she implored, her voice laced with a mixture of fear and determination.

"I need to save you," he muttered. 

"You can't!" Tears welled up in his mother's eyes, glistening with a desperate plea. Her voice rose, fierce and urgent. "Run!" she shouted.

The heavy axe, which had once felt like a weapon of salvation, slipped from his trembling grasp. Desperation drove him to abandon it, and with raw determination, he reached out with his bare hands in a desperate bid to pry his beloved mother from the beast's nightmarish clutches.

His muscles strained and tensed, the sinews of his arms standing out like cords as he grappled with the hideous creature. 

After what felt like an eternity, Alfred managed to lift one of Belze's nightmarish arms a mere few inches away from his mother.

Hope flickered for a moment, but in that moment, Belze's eyes, filled with malevolence, locked onto Alfred's strained, perspiration-soaked face.  "Pesky thing," Belze swatted him away effortlessly. 

Alfred lunged back and flied out of the house, hitting the ground hard. From the slap, he received a scar from the left corner of his lips all the way to his ear. A deep, gushing wound from the vampire's claw.

As Alfred struggled to his feet, blood dripping from the deep gash on his face, he turned his head to see the figure riding towards him - a black-clad rider on a powerful horse.

It was Talos, the headsman, who had been still chasing Belze, the vile creature that had attacked his mother.

Belze's ear moved as it registered the hooves sound. Empowered by the blood he had consumed, he grew formidable wings that allowed him to escape through the cabin's window just before Talos could apprehend him.

Talos halted his horse, "Sh*t," cursing under his breath, and tumbled out of the saddle to the ground.

Alfred rushed to his mother's side. Violet lay there, covered in blood, her life slowly slipping away with every heartbeat. She gurgled weakly with each breath, her eyes reflecting a mixture of pain and love for her son.

"No, mother, you will be fine," Alfred said, his voice trembling as he fought back tears. He held her in his arms, desperate to somehow save her. "You're strong, you'll make it through this."

Violet managed a faint smile, her voice barely above a whisper. "Search for your father, he will teach you. Become the Omega, the strongest headsman who will save humanity. That was your father dream too"

"But I couldn't even save you, mother," Alfred cried, feeling the weight of his failure pressing upon him.

"You did, my dear," Violet whispered, her strength waning. "When God gave you to me as a gift, you saved me from loneliness. You brought light into my life."

Alfred shook his head, unable to accept the reality before him. "No, mother, don't leave me alone. Wake up, please."

As he clung to his mother's lifeless body, a rifle cocked sound interrupted the heart-wrenching moment.

Slowly turning his head, Alfred saw Talos standing there with his weapon aimed at Violet's chest.

"Sorry, kid," Talos said with a heavy heart. "But your mother would turn. This is the only way to prevent her from becoming a monster."

Alfred's grief-stricken eyes met Talos's gaze, and he saw the torment the hunter carried within him. It was a burden shared by those who had lost loved ones to the darkness of the night.

Before Alfred could react, Talos tossed him aside and took aim at Violet's chest.  The gunshot shattered the stillness of the forest, echoing through the night.