Chapter 5

Ulfvaldr was walking through the forest between his new home, and the tribe. As he walked, he was listening to the various sounds of nature. The swaying of the grass, how it rustled when a small squirrel ran from one tree to the other. The pecking sounds from the small birds, pecking at the trees. The sound of a spider, eating a small bee. Ulfvaldr enjoyed taking these walks, in the shine of the moonlight, just enjoying nature. The animals had also come to know him. They didn’t fear him, and he was an expected appearance for the nocturnal animals of the forest

However, the same couldn’t be said for the tribe. During the last few days, they had come to fear him greatly. Every night, they would always find a new victim. Sometimes, even two. However, they had no idea what they should do. They didn’t even know what was killing them. They had tried sending out a hunting party, thinking it might be a sabre-cat, or some other predator. But after several days, they had still not found the culprit, and now, time was running out.

It had already been two weeks, and so far, twenty people had died. In fourteen days, they had lost an unprecedented twenty people. This was a third of their entire population.

But even then, Ulfvaldr paid them no mind. He would continue to feed, until they were no more. All that was important, was to eat. They hunted the animals of the forest; ate them. And Ulfvaldr was the one who hunted them. The only difference was that he hunted more, for every day, he would require a full person of blood. If he didn’t drain at least one person, he wouldn’t be satisfied.

Of course, he could go for several days without blood, but why should he? The humans ate every day, so why shouldn’t he? Thus, he walked towards the village, without worry; without a care. He only looked forwards to his next meal and enjoyed the night life nature. However, as he traversed the woods, he came upon something he didn’t quite expect.

A bit in front of him, was a young girl. She looked to be between fifteen, and twenty years old. She was about a head shorter than Ulfvaldr, and donned light blond hair, which was something Ulfvaldr had never seen before. The people of his old tribe always had brown eyes, and dark hair, but this girl had blond hair. However, her eyes were still brown, like all others.

Ulfvaldr couldn’t help but be a bit interested by this appearance,

‘Hmm, has a meal appeared?` He thought, with a glint of happiness, and even more glee. After all, a meal had just appeared before his eyes, all alone, and ready for the takings. However, he didn’t kill her straight away. Instead he decided to approach her. He felt a weird interest in this girl. Like a shadow, he disappeared from his spot, and somehow reappeared behind her, without making a single sound, or even causing the wind to flow.

“You, what doing outside?” He asked her, in a slightly broken version of the language he had heard the tribespeople speak in. He was quite surprised at how quickly he learned. He didn’t even have anyone to teach him, but somehow, he managed to understand the meaning of the words, after concentrating, and he quickly learned it. The girl however, was clearly surprised, as she jumped in fright, and quickly turned around. She was slightly shaking, but that wasn’t necessarily because of Ulfvaldr, because she had been shaking the entire time.

“Wh-who are you?” She asked back, looking at my face in fright, but there was also a fraction of happiness in her expression, as if someone had come to save her. However, she didn’t recognise this man, so he most certainly wasn’t from her tribe. It might be someone from another tribe, and then he might kidnap her.

“Answer question,” Ulfvaldr said, with an ordering, yet slightly monotone voice. It was he didn’t have any emotion in his speech; like he didn’t feel anything.

“I-I got lost… I don’t know how to get back,” she finally revealed. Ulfvaldr, however, just kept looking at her, expressionless. She truly didn’t know what to expect from this man, however, he somehow didn’t seem to have hurtful intentions. In fact, Ulfvaldr had already decided to keep her alive. He wanted someone to talk to, someone who could tell him more about the world. Right now, he was like a child, and didn’t know anything. Albeit, a very, very dangerous child.

“I see. Me cannot you help home tonight; you already wander far from tribe. I take you to home, in mountains,” Ulfvaldr said, then turned around without further ceremony. The girl stood still for a while, letting it sink in, but she quickly managed to catch up to him.

“Wait, you live in the mountains? I didn’t know anyone lived there? Are you alone? Perhaps a hermit?” The girl asked repeatedly, seemingly having lost most of her fear for this stranger. It was a bit naïve of her, but what could she do. If she stayed in the forest, she might get attacked by a night predator. Ulfvaldr didn’t turn his head, but still answered,

“I hunt, I live; always alone,” was all he said, not going further into his existence. The girl just looked at him weirdly, completely failing to understand this stranger she had come upon. In fact, she found him quite mystical. She hadn’t put note to it at first, but she had realized that he seemingly just appeared out of thin air. She hadn’t noticed him come upon her at all. She couldn’t help, but wonder just who he was. She was also quite excited to go back to her tribe and tell her friends about it.

However, she couldn’t help but worry for the both of them, as she knew there was a dangerous predator around here, somewhere.

After about an hour or two of walking, they finally arrived at the foot of the mountains. The girl marvelled at the sight, as she gazed upon the tall mountains, piercing into the sky. She had never seen the mountain range before, she just knew it was there. However, it still couldn’t be considered a large mountain range at all. The one that Ulfvaldr came from before, was a lot bigger.

“I forgot to ask, but what’s your name? I’m Tola,” the girl, Tola, said. Finally, Ulfvaldr stopped, and turned around to face her. He looked at her, for what seemed like quite a long time, and somehow, Tola couldn’t move, as he gazed into her eyes. There was something weird with those eyes. Something she had never seen before. She hadn’t noticed it before, but his eyes were red. And it wasn’t a normal red. It seemed so deep, like there was a whole world in his eyes, but there came a certain archaic feeling from it; a certain hunger.

As he gazed into her eyes, she couldn’t help, but to gulp. His eyes were truly intimidating.

“My name is Ulfvaldr,” he finally answered, in a suddenly much more compact language, before he turned around again, and continued walking. Tola was frozen in place again, but quickly calmed herself, and caught up again. Thus, they made the last portion of their trip, and arrived below a tall cliff, with a cave around the middle. Tola looked upwards in confusion, not quite sure why they were there.

However, before she could ask, Ulfvaldr grabbed around her waist, and directly jumped up, causing the poor girl to scream in fright. As they landed, and Ulfvaldr let go of the girl, she stumbled, and almost fell to her butt. Quickly, she crawled to the edge, to stare down. She gulped, as she saw the two dozen meters down, then looked up to Ulfvaldr, then back again, then finally back to Ulfvaldr,

“How did you do that?” She asked, not quite willing to believe what she just saw; what she just experienced. Ulfvaldr just gave her a nonchalant look, and said,

“I jumped,” then turned around, and walked deeper into the cave. Tola tried to follow, but the cave was pitch black. The only light that made its way into the cave, was the moonlight that entered through the small cave entrance. She looked around herself, nervously, but it didn’t help, since she couldn’t even see the walls of the cave.

“Um, Ulfvaldr? I can’t see anything,” She said nervously, her voice shaking a bit. Only a moment later, she saw two red, glowing eyes approach her. She was about to scream, but then she remembered Ulfvaldr’s eyes. And indeed, Ulfvaldr appeared before her, relieving her.

“How can you even see in here? Never mind, could you please start a fire or something? It’s way too dark in here,” Tola pleaded. She wasn’t really afraid of the dark; or at least not more than any other person, but she was a really big fan of being able to see. However, Ulfvaldr’s answer left her quite hopeless, as well as baffled,

“No, we can’t make a fire. If we do, the bats might not return come morning,” he said. It took a while before those words settled.

“What do you mean bats?!” She asked frantically, after processing the information. She started franticly looking around her, expecting bats to swarm at her, at any moment.

“Well, you know, bats. Small, furry creatures with wings. They go out flying at night, then come back to sleep during the day. Much like me. I quite like them, and they keep me company here,” Ulfvaldr said, as if there was nothing weird to it; as if it was completely normal to live with a swarm of bats.

“You mean to say that you live with bats?” She asked again, causing Ulfvaldr to get a bit annoyed.

“Yes, I do. But you don’t have to fear them, they won’t hurt you. But I have to go now. You can go to sleep or something; you’re probably not quite as nocturnal as me. I’ll be back before dawn, and I’ll bring you some food,” Ulfvaldr said, then turned around, and disappeared like a shadow. Tola just looked onwards, and once more, let all the information process. However, then she suddenly realized,

“Wait, wasn’t his speaking really broken?”

Even as much as she wondered and pondered, she realized that there was nothing she could do, and just went to sleep, with the hope of not being awake when the bats returned.

Outside in the forest, Ulfvaldr was once more quickly rushing forwards, towards the village. He had to be a bit quick now, since it was only a few hours until dawn. A few moments later, he appeared outside the village. There was a bit of an uproar going on, since Tola was missing. People were franticly searching around the village, hoping to find her; or at least her corpse. They didn’t doubt that it was the monster that had struck again.

Little did they know that the girl was still alive and well, and that she had actually met the monster they feared so much. Like a shadow, Ulfvaldr appeared inside the village, between the people. They didn’t seem to take notice of him at all. Then, he searched around, trying to find a suitable victim. Soon, he found a pretty girl, about the same age as Tola, but she wasn't as beautiful as she was. Then, he moved over towards her, and grabbed her. In an instant, the both of them disappeared, and reappeared outside the village.

She didn’t even have the chance to scream, before her throat was ripped out, and her body was emptied of blood. Then, he started his little plan. With a bout of strength, he hurled the poor girl over walls of the village, and watched as she landed in the middle of the village, surrounded by her tribe. A huge commotion broke out, and everyone gathered around her. Some people started crying, and one man in particular started punching and kicking at nothing in particular.

Ulfvaldr, however, quickly made his move. He zoomed into the village, and made his way over to where he had noticed they kept their food. The storeroom was filled with various dried meats and fishes, as well as some vegetable foods. He quickly took a piece of fur, and filled it with as much food as he could carry, which was quite a bit, then made his way out.

The reason for him stockpiling this food, which he couldn’t eat, was because he had no plans of letting Tola go. She could already be considered the first friend he had made in this strange new world, so he didn’t want to let her go back to the village. After all, that meant he would have to kill her one day. For now, he didn’t want that to happen.

He also made sure to grab some clothing, before he left. The furs that the girl had been wearing were already a little bit worn down, so she would be needing new clothes soon, anyway.

Then, as he was finished, he made his way back out again, without ever being noticed thanks to the mutilated corpse in the middle of the village. This day had truly been quite calamitous for the village. They had lost two young girls, capable of bearing children, in one day. In fact, a large portion of the people who had died in the past few weeks, had been young girls, due to Ulfvaldr’s personal tastes.

A bit before dawn arrived, Ulfvaldr had made his way back to the cave, at practically the same time as his nocturnal friends. Tola had already fallen asleep, but as the swarm of bats and Ulfvaldr arrived, she couldn’t help, but to wake up. And as she did, she screamed. She seemed to be a bit dazed, and didn’t fully remember the previous day quite yet.

As she screamed, Ulfvaldr quickly made his way over to her, and held her mouth. As he stopped her from screaming, she seemed to remember something, and calmed down.

“Ah, Ulfvaldr, you’re finally back! It’s quite lonely here,” she said, while holding his arm tightly, still a bit afraid of the many bats flying through the mouth of the cave. Ulfvaldr looked at the girl for a while, before he spoke,

“You can just call me Valdr, or Ulf. I think that’s what people used to call me. And you’ll get used to the bats, sooner or later. Also, I brought some food and clothes,” Ulfvaldr said. As she saw all the food, as well as the clothes, her eyes widened. There was really a lot! It would last her weeks, of not months. And it was all long lasting food. Dried and smoked meat, and such.

“There’s so much! Where did you get all this, and the clothes?” She asked, still shocked from the huge bundle, which Ulfvaldr had brought into the cave.

“I got it from the village,” he answered honestly.

“The village? How did you manage to get all this from the village? And didn’t you say that it was too late to go to the village? Also, why so much? Even clothes,” She repeatedly asked, again and again. However, this time Ulfvaldr didn’t mind too much.

“It would take too long to take you there. The sun would already be up, before we got there. On my own, however, I can make it quite quickly. Also, if you’re going to stay here, then you’ll need food right? And it was quite easy to get. I just killed some girl, then tossed her over the wall. While they were distracted, I went in, and took all the things you’d need,” he answered a bit too honestly, maybe even a bit proudly. And as he spoke, Tola’s eyes grew wider and wider, especially at the last part.

“You k-killed someone?” She asked, in almost a whisper, as she took a few steps back, staggeringly. Then a series of thoughts started flowing through her mind. All the deaths the past days, the stranger that appeared out of nowhere, his superhuman powers; his eyes.

“Y-y-you… a-are the one who’s been killing o-our p-people?” She asked slowly, as she backed further and further away.

“Yes,” Ulfvaldr answered without hesitation, as if there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, he was a bit confused at the way Tola was acting. She was clearly very nervous, and maybe even a bit scared. However, her reaction confused him even more. She started tearing up, then screamed, as she turned to run.

“P-pl-please, please don’t kill me!” She begged, as fell to her butt, and started crawling backwards. Her eyes were tearing profusely.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he answered in a matter of fact, kinda way, “I even brought you food. Why would I kill you?”

Suddenly, Tola remembered the food which he brought, and that he mentioned something about her staying there, with him. She just got more and more confused. She really didn’t understand anything, anymore.

“Then, why? Why did you kill them?” She asked, still tears in her eyes. She still didn’t stand up, but she wasn’t backing away anymore. However, this question was clearly confusing to Ulfvaldr. He was not a human anymore, and didn’t have much contact with them. All the memories of his past, had been sealed. He wasn’t much more an than animal, with higher intelligence.

“Why? The same reason you people kill? To eat, to live. Every day, I drink the blood of a human, so that I don’t starve. That is the kind a being that I am,” he answered.

“You, you drink blood? That makes sense, but why do you have to kill people? Can’t you just drink animal blood?” She asked. She really wanted to save her people from this calamitous beast.

“Animal blood? I prefer human blood. But, I’ve never tried animal blood, to be honest. It just doesn’t seem as attractive as human blood,” he said. However, after he finished speaking, the sun rose in the back, and sunlight shone in through the entrance, hitting Ulfvaldr in the back.

“Aaaaargh!” He screamed, and rushed further into the cave, greatly shocking Tola, who quickly rose, and turned around to face him. For some twisted reason, there was even a tinge of worry. It was like she had realized something. This beast which she had come upon, was truly innocent. It didn’t know better. It was like the animals of the forest; killing to live. It didn’t have a choice.

“What’s wrong?!” She asked, a bit afraid. As she saw the slightly burned side of his face, she was taken aback, but compared to the shock of when she saw those burn wounds rapidly heal, it was much smaller.

“Wh-what is going on?” She asked, once more. Ulfvaldr waited for his wounds to heal, then turned around, to face her.

“This is what I must live with; the reason why I dwell in the night. The rays of the sun have banished me, not allowing me to back into the sunlight, ever again. It is the curse of my power,” he revealed. Tola couldn’t help, but feel a bit sorry for this sad beast. To never bask in the sun, it wasn’t something she could ever imagine.

“Have you always been like this?” she asked.

“I don’t know… I don’t remember,” he said. He only remembered shattered pieces of his past; it was completely in shambles. However, he didn’t think he had been like this forever. Maybe, one day he would remember.

“You don’t remember?” Tola asked. She hadn’t expected this being to not remember whether or not he had been human before.

“No. I think I, too, was human once, but my past is in shambles. All I remember, is a world vastly different from this one. A world full of ice; ice as far the eyes could reach. There was nothing but ice everywhere. No trees, no grass; just ice and snow. I remember a lot of struggles, just to survive. I remember there being other people. But their faces, they’re all empty. There are no names. The only name I can remember, is my own,” he said, with an empty look, as if he tried to remember something, but simply couldn’t.

“A world full of ice? Like an eternal winter,” she mumbled. She had to admit, that was nothing like the world she knew. Even in the winter, there would be trees. However, after hearing his story, Tola had a determined look on her face. She wanted to save her people, and save this creature, once a man, turned beast.

“Valdr, you’re going to have me stay here, right? Why?” She asked. She had to know the reason why he wanted her to stay with him. There was a slight pause, as Ulfvaldr hesitated to answer, but in the end he conceded.

“I want someone to talk to, someone to teach me about this world. And you’re the first friend I’ve made,” he said, rather innocently. Even after everything she’d learned, she couldn’t help but to smile. He considered her a friend, so she was sure her life wasn’t in danger, at least.

“Alright, I’ll be your friend. However, if I’m to stay here, then I have a condition,” she said, with a determined look. Ulfvaldr was a bit surprised at this development, but didn’t really mind it.

“Alright, speak it,” he said. The girl took a deep breath, as if she was mentally preparing herself for something.

“Okay. If I’m going to stay here, then I want you to stop killing the people from my village,” she said, as her face turned stern.

“I can’t do that. If I don’t feed, I might die. And I’m not drinking animal blood,” he said stubbornly, as he gave her a glance that said it wasn’t up for discussion.

“Alright, alright, I get that, but do you have to kill them? Can’t you just, I don’t know, drink some of their blood, and leave them alive?” She asked again, determined to make him change his mind.

“Hmm, I guess I could kidnap a person from there, and bring them here, then feed of them for several days. That way the supply will last longer,” he said, thinking about it seriously, while Tola gave him a hopeless glance. That wasn’t exactly what she meant, but it was all she would get for now. Perhaps this one person would last months, before he or she died. That way, her village would at least be saved. That way she’d feel a bit less guilty.

“Alright, I’ll try to do that, but let’s stop speaking now. I’m going to sleep,” Ulfvaldr said, before turning around, and going to a corner of the cave. Tola sighed, then also went to sleep, as she was quite tired. After all, she didn’t get a lot of sleep, last night. Thus, the two of them slept, throughout the day.