• The moonlit night glowed a hazy yellow and fog littered the ground like miniature stratus clouds. The trees were hung over as if they were reaching out to grab me in their sharp, twig-like fingers. My breaths came out heavy and sharp, and they cold of the night allowed it to be lightly visible. I bent over into a crouching position and rested my hands on my knees. The pack strapped to my back was eginning to weigh down on me even though I hadn't been running very long. The pack was only filled with two bottles of water, a blanket, an inflatable plastic green pillow, and a whole bag of purple grapes.
    I had been running for approximately thirty minutes which for me, wasn't very long. And what had I been running from, all packed for a trip? My home. My home which was violent with frequent screaming and wall pounding. You see, my boyfriend had a secret, a very curious secret. He was a guardian. A guardian over me, the town, and the world. He was there to protect us all from the so called 'creatures of the night', which I thought were only mere figments of my imagination. But I was proven wrong, like I had been all through my life.
    We tended to fight once in a while, my boyfriend and I. I strongly disliked the fact that he waited to tell me of what he was. He had waited until the perfect time. And that was fivee months ago, when he'd gotten into a fight with what I thought was a gang. But it wasn't a gang. It wasn't a human. Nor was it anyone would believe of as real. It was a vampire, a male of twenty whom had come to the town in search of new blood because his previous town tasted all the same.
    Now this vampire had picked a fight with Ryan because, well, I don't really know. I think it was because he was a different 'race' than Ryan, or at least that was what I was told. They fought for hours, not laying a single scratch on one another. Then I happened to come along. Ryan tried to get me to leave but I just couldn't. I didn't want to leave my boyfriend in a fight. I didn't want to help him either. All I wanted to do was make sure it would end. Soon. I was planning on trying to have them talk it out or I would just have the police resolve the matter. But the vampire didn't think either idea was good. Apparently he could read minds and he did mine, so he just waltzed right up to me in the blink of an eye, chuckling like mad.
    It ended up that Ryan won the fight, after ripping the fellow apart. I just had to be a five minute distraction as he was getting ready so that he could get him when his guard seemed down the lowest.
    I didn't enjoy watching him kill the vampire. It was the most horrific thing that anyone could every see. He broke all of his limbs and dragged him to the spot I was now, out in the outskirts of town where no one went. The vampire was screeching, his panic and pain flooding my entire soul. He kept screaming words that I couldn't decipher. He was just so loud, high pitched, and somewhat deranged. After Ryan dragged him to the spot, he dropped him on the grond like a rock and started breaking trees and building up the biggest bonfire I had ever seen. After that, it was ripping and shredding. I had to close my eyes, my hands covering my ears. But that didn't block the yells. And the sounds. Oh, the sounds. You could stand five meter away and still hear it. The pale skin, ripping like plasticwrap, so easily. It sounded like ducktape being ripped and ripped and ripped. His screams became more shrill and from the marks on the floor, he was clawing at the ground and rolling back and forth.
    As cruel as it was, I still felt bad for him. I mean, no one wants to be burnt alive after being ripped to shreds, with only your head to your waist together.
    And I don't know if I ever could forgive Ryan. He told me that it was his job. But so what if that was his job? Why couldn't he have just shot him in the head and have it over with?
    My dark blue eyes grazed the ground for the body imprints. I found them next to the big brown oak. The dirt was indented where his fingernails dug into the earth and where his legs were. Blood was caked onto the dirt as well, but it wasn't easy to pick out. The bonfire was still there, along with his ashes somewhere mixed in on the ground.
    I sighed and turned my head. People were constantly fueding over things. Stupid things. But should this be considered stupid? I didn't know. It was all so confusing.
    Ryan would find me soon enough, so I just sat down, my back to the bonfire. And boy, was I correct. The leafless bushes crunched and broke. I didn't even turn my head to know who it was. His footsteps were four padding thuds that stopped behind me. Then a shirt landed on my pack, which I placed to me left. The zip of a zipper was heard and then a semi-tan hand picked up the white shirt. "Hey," His deep voice was soft. "Why are you out here?"
    Ryan sat down next to me, and I looked over at him, avoiding his eyes. I almost felt ashamed of running away, even more stopping at this spot.
    "I don't know." I paused. "Was what you did really necessary?"
    He cleared his throat before speaking. "I believe it was. They don't deserve to walk this earth. They ruin life's experiences for everyone they come in contact with."
    I wanted to roll my eyes. "Is that what you're really thinking or was that just something someone else said."
    He chuckled. "I'm serious. But, I guess it was kinda out of line. There isn't any other way of eliminating their kind that I know of. And you do know that it was only for your protection."
    I shook my head and eyed the paw prints on the ground behind us. "It still bothers me Ryan. I can't help feeling remorse."
    He wrapped his right around around my shoulders and shook me. "It's all a part of life. It couldn't have been helped." He shrugged then. "I don't really know what else to tell you. I'm sorry Sara."
    I sighed again and leaned into him. "Just promise me that you won't do it again. Have someone else do it."
    "I promise." He said with a full lipped smile.
    I smiled, but not fully. My heart ached. Was I weak or what?
    He unwrapped his arm and laid his hand on mine. "Now let's get you home, unless-" He tilted his head to the side and smiled wide. His brown, short wavy hair flipped over itself as he did so.
    "We can spend the night here, I guess. Though I'm sure that run didn't tire you out."
    He took a second the exaggerate his breathing. "Yea, it really did." He laughed. I rolled my eyes and laughed along with him. I guess the vampire's death wasn't really something worth worrying about. It was bound to happen again someday.
    "But I only have one blanket."
    "It's okay, we can share."
    "Fine." I grumbled. And in a moment I was laying on top of him, not really needing a blanket because of his major body heat. And then I fell asleep as he laid there, staring up at the stars.
    But we were both oblivious of the problems that were about to occur later, two years later. When the vampires would come in search of the werewolf that had killed their young prince Justin, the reckless son of their dying king.