The Beginning of an End

I grasp the Rosary that Adalia gave me, a symbol of the love we used to share. I wipe the tears that have formed. I have to stay strong for her, I can't be weak now. I can't afford it. No, my team can't afford me to be weak, I used to be a captain, I can't let them see me weak, that'll lower their confidence.

I look down at the city, the sound of the kids screaming fills me with hope. We have to fight for these kids, to give them a life where they don't have to fear vampires. "What're you doing up here?" I turn around to see Amelia standing in the doorway. She looks at my glossy eyes, instantly I can see the worriedness on her face. "You better not jump,"

I give a little laugh and grasp the Rosary harder, "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it," I say giving her a little smile. "Let's go, shall we?" I say as I walk towards the doorway. Amelia closely follows behind me, "Who was she? What type of person was she?" Amelia asks.

"She was the kindest person I knew, whenever we sparred I would always win but, she never gave up, she kept on getting up with a smile asking for a rematch. She was smart, she would always come up with different tactics to take out the vampires. She was the love of my life." I say, letting my voice tighten up. "I loved her, all she wanted was for this world to go back to being normal. Instead, he killed her, he stabbed her repeatedly. She was barely conscious when he drunk her blood."

"I-I'm sorry to hear that," Amelia replies in a soft voice. I feel tears fall down my cheeks, I quickly wipe them away, "Hey, let's get going," I say, walking out of the building.

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Amelia and I are the only one at the front gate, there's about fifteen minutes left till we go. The rest of the squad better get here, fast. "Man, I can't wait till I'm fifteen, then I can enlist in the Imperial Army and get the most powerful weapon there is."

I smile and walk up to the kid, "That's a good goal kid, what's your name?"

"Elijah," He replies.

"Elijah, I'll remember that name. I'm Captain Henry Zariath, you need anything just ask for me, okay?" I say as I take my hat off and give it to him. His face lights up, "Thank you Mr. Zariath!" I turn around to find the rest of the squad looking at me. Amelia says nothing but gives me a smile. The rest of the squad is glaring at me. That's gonna have to change soon, we can't be arguing. "Well, let's get this done," Amelia says and opens the gate.

"We're taking the horses. You know how to ride a horse, right?" Asks Amelia.

I sigh, "We'll see," I say as I mount the horse.

I'm so glad I wasn't cocky, the damned horse threw me off the saddle. It wasn't fun either, the squad damn near fell over from laughter. "If you don't know how to ride a horse, I wouldn't mind if you rode with me," Amelia says handing me her hand. I take it and walk over to her horse. She mounts the horse and soon I do. "Alright, let's get this done."

It feels nice to have the wind blowing in my face. It doesn't feel so nice to have Amelia's hair in my face though, although, it does smell nice, I just don't like having hair in my mouth. "We have about three more miles till we get to the vampire's base," Amelia shouts. Good, I can rest my eyes for a bit.

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I wake up with my face on Amelia's shoulder, I instantly feel my face warm up. "Hey, we're there," I yawn and get off the horse and stretch. "Really, sleeping on the job?" Atreyu says in a sarcastic manner.

"Atreyu right? Listen, rookie, when you get the chance to sleep, you take it. The last thing you want is to be exhausted when you're fighting on the battlefield, especially against the Elites." I retort. Atreyu says nothing but gives me a cold glare. "Now then, let's get this over with," I say, ignoring the glares I've just received.