Chapter 13: Painful Memories

Rebecca Hudgens, the elite vampire player, reflected on her actions earlier as she made her way back to the territory of the vampires.

She did what she had to do to remove the threat to the vampire initiates.

She couldn’t stand the likes of Inuk the Clever, who only thought of saving their own skin, although she uses just the same methods as the half-human orc she left to die.

She didn’t want a repeat of what happened in the past.

The memory was like a bitter stain that she found hard to erase, no matter how hard she tried, or what she did to forget.

She still remembered that day, as if it just happened yesterday.

She was still a newbie vampire who just passed the vampiric initiation.

The ancient war between the werewolves and the vampires still raged on that day, and everyone was on high alert.

She didn’t know back then that the vampire-werewolf war was instigated by the goddess of death, Morrigan, to prevent the vampires and the werewolves from rallying to the side of the dragon god Orochi.

And that’s the same war that almost killed Rebecca on that fateful day.

It was a full moon that day.

She was out in the woods back then, traveling home from a birthday celebration, accompanied by another vampire, whom she mistakenly thought was a close friend and ally back then.

It was exactly 11 pm, an hour before the werewolves fully turned into their wolf forms.

“Why are we here? We’re currently enemies with the werewolves.”

Rebecca said, with a hint of concern in her voice.

They could hear the groans of werewolves who are obviously in pain while in the midst of their transformation.

“Don’t worry, Rebecca. I’m here to protect you. I’m older than you. “

Celeste Adachi, an elite vampire older than Rebecca, said to her soothingly, while mind-controlling her.

Little did she know back then that Celeste was plotting something sinister and dangerous.

Rebecca, who was naïve back then, obediently followed Celeste until they reached the deep part of the woods, where they could clearly see the werewolves already transforming into their wolf form, their human faces becoming beastly.

Without warning, Celeste suddenly tied Rebecca securely in a seated position beside a tall tree, wounded Rebecca’s legs and arms, then vanished from the scene, attempting to flee back to where they came from.

Also tied securely to the trees beside Rebecca are her fellow newbie vampires, already unconscious and bleeding.

Then midnight struck, and the werewolves just finished their transformation.  

Rebecca tried to break free, but the ropes that bound her were far too strong.

She glanced at the situation and panicked when she realized she got tricked in a well-planned set-up.

She screamed in terror at the sight of the hungry werewolves, their jaws drooling at the prospect of an instant meal of wounded vampires right in front of them.

The werewolves crept closer and closer, their jaws open and dripping with saliva.

Their nostrils could also pick up the delectable scent of vampire blood, thanks to their enhanced hearing.

She couldn’t stop her screams and cries for help.

Just when it seemed that all hope is lost, her cousin Lilith rushed to the scene, accompanied by the hybrid werewolf Raymond Collins.

Raymond Collins held off the werewolves, while Lilith rescued Rebecca.

A few months later, she heard that the vampire Celeste was killed by the werewolves in the same spot where she attempted to eliminate Rebecca.

Celeste was also left to die while tied down securely to a tree, in a seated position, with wounds on her arms and legs in a full moon.

Celeste got torn to shreds and eaten by the werewolves after being killed.

She knew in an instant that it was Lilith who arranged to have Celeste killed in revenge.

She also heard the news that right after she got rescued, her fellow newbie vampires got killed and gobbled up right on the spot.

When she heard the news, it hurt her so badly that she refused to train for a few days, before finally accepting the fact.

That day had such an impact on Rebecca that she underwent a total personality change.

She worked hard to turn into a cold, dangerous. the smart and tough-as-hell vampire who manipulated others.

She also became somewhat protective of the newbie vampires, since she had close relations with those that got killed by the werewolves.

She snapped back to reality when she noticed that she is already back in vampire territory.

“Hello, Leopold. How’s the training of these initiates going along?”

She waved in a greeting to another vampire who is also another elite player.

“You took care of the spy and that traitor elf faster than expected, as usual. There have been a few hiccups with the training, but otherwise, the training went well.”

“That’s good to hear, Leopold. I’ll be in my room to uh, sort out personal things. See you when I see you next time.”

“Take your time, Rebecca. “

Then Rebecca went to her room. 

She locked the door and opened up a chest box filled with personal items her fellow newbie vampires gave to her back then.

She couldn’t bear to throw away those personal items, as she felt that those personal items held a lot of sentimental value to her.

Whenever she unlocked the chest box, old memories flooded over her again.

Memories that she wanted to experience all over again, but she knew to be impossible.

She could have them necromanced, but she knew the risk of waking up spirits of the dead who had a lot of questions and might even pose a danger to her if she didn’t satisfy their questions.

She knew that they got killed all because of her, and all because she trusted the wrong vampire whom she once thought is her ally and closest friend.

She wished that she could go back in time, or else find a way to communicate with the long-dead vampires, and ask for their forgiveness, but she couldn’t.