The Wounded Stranger Under The Tree

It was useless to beg for mercy from those hellish creatures.

Luckily for Aiden, these creatures were not very smart.

Driven by primordial bloodlust, the three rabid vampires lunged at the little boy at the same time and bumped their heads in the process.

Judging from the cracking sound, they must have caused some dents in their skulls. Not that they could feel or care for the pain in their pathetic state.

While they were recovering from the impact, Aiden already scraped up what little energy he got to crawl away. As soon as his legs regained some power, he started to run toward the bigger road.

He was hoping that some people were still on the way from work and could pick him up. Maybe drop him at a nearby hospital.

Unfortunately, the roads were empty. It was the last day before the Christmas holiday, so everyone rushed back home as early as possible to be with their loved ones.

Warm light emanated from houses in the distance, none of them would open their gates for a small child who was being chased by rabid vampires.

Aiden's despair grew with the passing minutes as he ran blindly along the road, looking left and right to search for anything that might help.

Just where could he go?

Who would take him in?

He had to hide somewhere, but where??

Where???

The poor little boy ran as fast as possible with a wounded knee. Despite the high adrenaline level in his blood, he was still a weak human being. Exhaustion quickly took over his body and Aiden started to lose focus.

He staggered to the side and fell through a bush. The edge of the branches was sharp and gave him multiple cuts on the face and neck.

Aiden was too tired to move.

He lay there motionless, protected by the thick bush, listening to his own breathing.

He had nowhere to go anyway, so he might as well stay where he was.

When some more rabid vampires came, he would have to run again so it was best to preserve his energy as long as possible.

"Hey, kid."

A voice suddenly spoke up from a near distance. Aiden opened his eyes in fright. In front of him, a man was leaning against a tree.

The man was unbelievably tall, with impressive long legs that were sprawled out carelessly at the moment.

He had dark brown hair with eyes the color of the deep sea. The deep blue eyes pierced into Aiden's soul, questioning his presence in that very location.

Aiden's heart thumped hard in fear.

At first, he thought that this man was a human being, but which human being, an adult, would be sitting around this late outside, disregarding the protection that a home had to offer?

Aiden's eyes slowly moved toward his clothing.

The man did not look like a homeless man. Homeless men did not last long.

Most of them got bitten at night and turned into rabid vampires eventually. No one could escape long enough to stay human.

The man in front of him was wearing an expensive suit. He must have come from a good family.

This expensive suit was ruined by a streak of blood across the man's chest, from his left shoulder down to his right waist.

It was a huge wound.

And yet the man did not look like he was dying.

Or panicked.

On the contrary, he was the very picture of tranquility. The tall stranger cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at the little boy in front of him.

"What are you doing out here?"

When Aiden opened his mouth, a hoarse voice unlike his usual voice came out.

He realized that he had been screaming a lot back when he was running from the rabid vampires. It was no wonder that his throat felt hot and burning with pain.

"I... I... I am waiting for someone to pick me up."

He was waiting. He had been waiting, but no one came.

His family should have picked him up. The butler was supposed to come.

Aiden did not understand why no one came for him.

Did the car leave because Aiden did not come out in time?

But he waited exactly an hour before he came out. The butler could have waited a few minutes if Aiden had taken long enough to climb out the window, right?

Did the car even come to pick him up?

Why was it that no one cared for him?

Why did no one search for him?

"Sob... Mommy..."

Aiden started to sniffle in front of this stranger. If his mother were still alive, his mother would have picked him up hours ago. They might even have time to pass by his favorite ice cream shop to buy him his favorite black currant vanilla sundae with cinnamon topping.

"Mommy... Mommy, wahhhhh... wahhhh..."

Aiden did not dare to cry out loud. He was afraid to attract unwanted attention, but at the same time, he was also unable to suppress his sadness. All of his repressed emotions flowed out like water through a broken dam in front of this stranger, who he did not know and who did not know him.

The man sighed softly.

"What a coincidence," he said. "I am also waiting for someone to pick me up."

Aiden stopped sobbing and looked at the man in front of him. A helpless grin spread on his face, and two vampire fangs came into sight.