Neoma (1)

The former slaves looked dazed as the first rays of sun crept through the ruins of Cot. Everyone cleared away to their shacks as the man yelled out orders for moving to the nearest town.1

The girl had stepped back into one of the shacks and watched the women gather whatever they needed for the move. In the doorway appeared the guy she had seen last night. His eyes scoured the room for a few moments before he turned to leave.2

“Charles,” one of the women called out. The guy stopped in the doorway and turned around. “Could you take this to Calvin?”3

“Sure.”4

Funny, the girl hadn’t ever seen him before last night. It wasn’t odd though, Cot had had so many slaves that she was sure she had only seen a third of the actual amount. She stood up and followed Charles out the door, but turned in the opposite direction.5

She walked over to the front gates. The chains had been snapped last night and now they stood open, creaking at the slightest breeze. They were large ornate iron gates and the black paint was peeling off in many places. The girl stood in front of them sniffing the oddly fresh air blowing in from beyond. Freedom. Why was she still here, anyway? It was just three steps away from leaving Cot behind her forever...6

Wait. She bent down, her fingertips touching the dusty brown dirt she had lived with for almost her whole life. A figure had appeared a while off in the woods, approaching Cot. She watched it carefully, her eyes flicking back and forth. She took in every move from around, behind, and in front of her before leaping up and dashing forward. In seconds, a bat was darting towards the figure instead of the girl.7

The bat swiftly approached the figure, accelerating quickly. The figure stopped and turned in break-neck speed in a circle with his arms bent forward as if performing a magic trick; a faint popping noise was heard before the girl skidded to a halt in front of the figure. She was breathing heavily, her nose barely touching his chest.8

She blinked rapidly for a few seconds, not daring to breath. She could feel the man’s breath on her head. Her mind was whirling with what had just happened. He had to be a magician of some sort. The man stepped back and looked her in the eyes. He wasn’t that much taller than her, and he had very odd-looking eyes. They were almost black, but his irises were dotted with flecks of white and gray. He looked around nineteen, and looked like he had been traveling for weeks without stop and his black hair didn’t shine in the sunlight. He was different... but how?9

“Who are you, young vampire? And why are you attempting to harm me in broad daylight? You know you’re kind can’t do that.”10

The girl stiffened up, her eyes widened a little bit, and her right foot stepped backward. He was smarter than she had thought. Well, he had to be if he had stopped her bat form from touching him. He was right, though. She couldn’t harm him when the sun was up.11

“All right, then,” he sighed. “I’m here to look for some people who I need to talk to.”12

“The Master is dead. We revolted last night and killed them.” The girl snapped.13

“Congratulations for killing a human.”14

She glared at him. Why wouldn’t he go away? “Who are you?”15

“My name is Dmitri, and your name is?”16

She scowled. Fine. She’ll take him to the man in charge and let him deal with it. The girl had better things to do. She narrowed her eyes, turned, and began walking back to Cot. Freedom was horrible if it meant people like Dmitri.