Balance

Sighing once more I continue to look at the beauty that is the world. Slowly being destroyed by the humans.1

Stupid beings they are. They are oblivious to the effect they have on our sweet mother earth.2

Breaking myself away from such thoughts that only serve to make me mad I turn a bit and notice a human walking around on our very backyard.3

Hissing and spitting profanities under my breath I stalk towards the door, out of my room, down the stairs and out of the house. 4

As I go out the back door I feel the light summers breeze on my face and in my hair. Playful. That is my way of explaining it.5

I am slightly calmer but when I turn my eyes on the intruder again I feel fury filling me up. I stalk towards her, quietly. I can see her more clearly now. Black hair playing with the wind and pale skin peeking through the tresses. This girl, or young woman by the looks of it, is wearing a long black coat with multiple chains and straps.6

Very stupid when there are vampires around. Oh yes. Stupid humans.7

Suddenly a bird flies into the sky with a screech behind me. The girl spins around and the first thing I notice is her brilliantly purple eyes. The next thing I notice is the axe she holds in her hands. 8

Strange. I didn't know they recruited girls nowadays. Oh well. All the more interesting. 9

Perhaps I should explain who and what I am. I am Jasper Compton, born as a human in England. Since then I have lived in many places, used many names. Now I am back to Jasper. For the time being. 10

I am a being that is said to be awake at night and sleep during the day. We are thought of as monsters. Bloodsuckers they would call us. Vampires. 11

The reality is that yes, we do crave blood. Yes, we do choose humans as our main food source. But are we monsters? I do not believe so. We simply keep the humans from being too many. They are like vermin, constantly reproducing to fill this earth to the brim. We are here to keep the balance in our ecosystem. 12

We live as any human, except we don't eat and we don't sleep. We are awake at every single minute of the day, hiding from the vermin.13

We keep to ourselves, and keep them out. The only time we hunt them is when there are too many in the town. We take the old and the ones in the middle, and children. A little bit of every clique in society. That way they are kept at an acceptable number.14

And now. There is a vampire hunter on my backyard, looking for me and my family. She is too late. 15

My family has left for a new place. I choose to spend my last decade here. We can only live for a few decades so that we do not break the balance we are trying to keep.16

People are turned every now and then and then we need to teach them about the balance and then we kill ourselves or let the Vampire hunters do so.17

Vampire hunters are nothing more than humans who have come across victims of the balance. People who have believed in the tales of monsters parading the earth for blood and glory.18

Us vampires cannot be killed, we have to kill ourselves. So why don't we kill them all? All the humans. We don't because we are keepers of the balance. If vampires were to rule the earth we would be no better than the humans, we would be destroying our sacred home by eating all the animals. The death of all animals would bring destruction as the plants need their nutrition.19

Dead animals equal nutrition for plants. Animals eat plants and the circle goes around. Destroy the circle, destroy the earth.20

MANVS MANVM LAVAT. One hand feeds the other.21

Shall we focus on what is happening now? Yes, let's.22

She is glaring at me. She is quite breath taking, or would be if I had any. She is raising her axe and storms towards me. I simply step aside and she falls forwards, unable to catch herself in mid air.23

She is quick, I have to admit that. She throws herself towards me again. This time I cannot move away fast enough, but I manage to raise my arm and grab a hold of the axe. 24

She was strong, but I managed to get the axe from her hands and threw it over the field.25

She started running for it but I caught her and carried her into my house.26

She didn't seem frightened. Strange, the vampire hunters usually are.27

I'm beginning to become curious about this one.28

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I tie her to a chair in my bedroom. Then I go downstairs to the kitchen to fix something for her to eat. I find salmon in the refrigerator and some pasta in a cabinet. Seems someone fed their meal before eating once. I managed to cook the food without destroying it and then brought it up to my, guest.30

She turned her head to look at me when I came back, a resigned look in her eyes as if she had accepted her fate. What fate she thought it was I don't know. 31

I lift the fork and put a bit of food on it and bring it up to her mouth. She looks at me strangely and sniffs the food before opening her mouth and accepting the food.32

I continue to do this until she is finished. Then I throw the plate and fork against a wall. The pieces fall down on a blanket and then silence rules once more.33

I sit down in front of her. Watching her as she watches me.34

"Why are you here?" I ask.35

She laughs. "Why do you think I am here?"36

"To kill me." 37

She laughs again. "Correct."38

"Why?"39

Now she looks at me with round eyes and an open mouth.40

"Why? Are you asking me why I want to kill you?"41

"You are upset."42

"No shit sherlock."43

"I am sorry if I have offended you."44

"Yeah, right."45

"I really am. I don't know what I did to offend you but I am sorry."46

"Who wouldn't be upset when someone believes that they can go around murdering people, drinking their blood, without us taking action."47

"I am simply a keeper of balance."48

"What?!"49

"I am a keeper of balance. Without us vampires the world would be destroyed, just as it would be without you. Humans would destroy our sweet mother earth if they were alone here on this earth. The same for us vampires. We are power hungry and egocentrical. But at least we vampires work for keeping the balance between us and co-existing. We vampires kill ourselves when the time is right or when there are too many vampires. 50

Now, at this very moment, 10 vampires are killing themselves to keep the balance. It is a fact that we are fewer than the humans, but we manage that simply through our extra strength and other helpful qualities. We are spread out on this earth and we keep the balance."51

After this speech I leave through the door and walk out on the grounds again. Better let her think about this than to continue arguing with her.52

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When I come back the girl looks like she has just found out the greatest conspiracy in life, and I don't doubt for a minute that she has. 54

"I will let you go now. You can decide if you wish to kill me or let me live the rest of my last decade."55

I cut her loose and lead her to the front door.56

"This is where we say goodbye for now."57

She nods and leaves.58

That was the last I saw of her for many, many years. 59

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Ten years later...61

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I sit on a sofa in my house when I hear the door creaking open. There she is, as beautiful as ever. 63

She comes to me and hugs me to her as if we are saying goodbye again. Then I hear the sound before she even has a chance to move away. She is crying. She looks me in the eye and I see what I am too afraid to smell. She has been turned into a vampire. And she came running here to save herself. To take my place in this part of the world. She is going to be taking my responsibility as a keeper of balance. 64

And a vampire hunter had followed her here.65

I stand up. I gently peal her off of me and walk out of the house. The hunter following me.66

He and I both know what is happening now.67

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Girl pov69

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I felt it before the sound reached my now sensitive ears. He was gone. 71

Time to face my teacher and learn my lesson.72

My lesson of balance.73

I thank he who opened my heart and brain to the possibility of grey vampires. Not good, not bad.74

And now I say good bye.