The dagger snapped off in Wu Rensu’s chest. Vines burst out of the wound, flinging the broken end back at Duke before knitting the hole shut. His videheart implant was reacting faster than Duke had anticipated. The implant must have had several years to mature, leading to his miraculous healing, and now Duke was frustrated with himself for believing that a sneak attack would be enough to finish him off.

As Wu Rensu ripped off his sunglasses, his faded eyes flared with anger. “That stupid hair of yours! Why didn’t I recognize you sooner?!” He sputtered a spree of curses in Cantonese as he held up his sword defensively. “You betrayed your own kind!”

So this was the bastard that stole away Duke’s life on that bus. “I am a human, sir. It is you who have turned your back on what you were.” He also held up his broken stub of a dagger, aimed to defend himself from the next strike.

But he was all talk. Wu Rensu was no doubt more skilled and experienced than Duke was, and he was certainly better fed. His doubts were doubled as Wu Rensu’s blade began to glow with an ethereal light, and he had little time to block as the jiangshi darted forward with his sword held high.

Duck went to block with his forearm. His theory was that the jacket would protect his arm, but the enchantment burned through the cloth. The wood made contact with his flesh, and there was a thud as the lower half of Duke’s arm landed on the ground. He hissed through his teeth from the pain he felt, and sap was dripping out of the wound.

And of course his own videheart couldn’t be bothered to react as quickly. He hopped backward as Wu Rensu launched his next attack. The broken dagger was dropped as he picked up the parasol. This was followed by a spree of curses as he struggled to get it open with one hand. Duke settled for using his teeth, cracking a few in the process.

The now open parasol was thrust forward several times as Duke aimed to hide behind it and confuse his enemy at the same time. He also began to shout random grunts as he stepped forward and back. His body was cracking and popping with every movement, and he could feel his dry skin stretch and tear from the stress.

“Have at thee!”

Duke jumped up on one of the gravestones as he tossed the parasol at Wu Rensu. He used his jump to propel himself into a kick, slamming the top of his foot against the back of the jiangshi’s head. Spinning through the kick, he fell into a roll behind Wu Rensu, then he snatched up the remainder of the broken dagger.

He sprung into a stand and stabbed the stub into the side of Wu Rensu’s neck. The jiangshi retaliated by jamming his sword straight through Duke’s chest. Letting go of the dagger, Duke grabbed onto the jiangshi’s wrist, keeping him close as he bit at Wu Rensu’s throat. Wu Rensu was forced to let go of the blade in order to push Duke back.

That would be his downfall, as Duke managed to push the sword out of himself by slamming his back against a nearby gravestone. He found himself on the offensive, diving after Wu Rensu as the jiangshi fled. Not knowing how to make the blade glow, the weapon thudded Wu Rensu’s limbs. Eventually, Duke struck true, piercing Wu Rensu’s neck a second time, and wedging the blade in so that it decapitated the jiangshi.

The head slumped forward while the body fell back. Vines curled out of the neck hole, seeking to grasp onto what they could and make the jiangshi whole again. Duke kicked the head away. Wu Rensu’s body twitched, while his mouth opened and shut, and his eyes rolled every which way.

Duke couldn’t bring himself to care. He found where his arm had fallen, and began to thump the detached limb to his nub. Nothing happened. He cursed to himself. All he had was sap dripping from his wounds, but at least the videheart didn’t seem injured. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe there would be a way to reattach it later.

His night was spent taking care of the children as they hatched. In theory, the majority of them would be out by morning. Duke’s transformation had taken a day, so he didn’t know. What he did know is that whenever he saw the dirt stir, he would be ready.

The majority of them were feral, much like the mindless jiangshi he had first encountered when he awoke. A few others gave him problems, and he suffered more injuries in the process of taking them down. It wasn’t like the last time, where they had only turned men, and thus there were more to deal with.

Duke began to feel numb. These weren’t people. They were monsters. He had to keep telling himself that. Even if they cried out in pain, or pleaded for him to stop, he couldn’t allow for more of his kind to walk this world.

But his body was about to collapse from his injuries and weariness. He caught the sight of something shuffling behind a gravestone and dragged himself towards it. One of his feet dragged behind the other, and he could feel his strength leaving him.

There was a girl hiding from him. At the sight of his horrid self approaching, she clamped her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. She was so frightened that she couldn’t bring herself to move. With Duke’s mangled appearance, he couldn’t blame her. He stared at her for a moment before sitting down on the ground.

“The fence is warded,” whispered Duke as she attempted to crawl away. “There isn’t a way for us out of here.”

The girl’s eyes studied Duke. He had bite marks on his face, his teeth were chipped and broken, and what had happened to his brand new suit was certainly a shame. Duke glanced over to his scarf, where he had tied it up to a marker in order to keep it safe. If he had any strength left, he would put it back on.

“There.” He pointed to it. “Would you fetch that for me?”

She was understandably hesitant. “... Alright.” She stood up and untied it. When she returned, he dipped his head forward, and let her tie it about his neck.

“Thank you,” he muttered.

The girl looked around. She wrapped her arms about her body. “What’s happening?”

“What’s your name?”

“It’s uh,” she hesitated again. “It’s Elyse.”

Duke nodded, but he kept his gaze on the ground. “What is the last thing you remember, Elyse?”

“I was invited to a party, and everything seemed normal. I didn’t take any cups from anyone I didn’t know, and uhm…” She shook her head. “I started to feel ill, and I was scared that someone had slipped something into my drink. Someone started to scream that the doors were locked, and then all the lights went dead as though the electricity went out. Then I was here.”

Duke nodded again. “Because you’re dead. You’re dead, I’m dead, we’re all dead.” She audibly gasped, and when he glanced up, she had her hands over her mouth again. “This isn’t hell. We are vampires. Cursed to remain in this world a little longer than the rest.”

“Then… Then I’m fine?” She began to nod to herself. “Of course I’m fine. A little blood here and there, and night classes, and I’ll be fine. That isn’t so bad, right?”

“We’re the type of vampires who must harvest energy directly through humans. The back of the neck is the easiest spot, and mouth to mouth will grant you more. However, the best source is had by consuming their organs before they have had a chance to go cold.” Duke frowned at the thought. “The hungering I have for a liver is the oddest thing at times.”

Elyse stared at him, clearly in shock by the news. “I’m a zombie?”

Duke sighed heavily, then coughed up a sputtering of sap and… He stared at the leaf he had coughed up, then shook his head. “Yes, whatever. A zombie will suffice as a description, but it is an improper one.” He struggled to stand up but flopped back down again. “... We should finish you off.”

“No.” She shook her head. As he struggled to stand up again, she took a step back. “It’s only a little energy, and you said it’s as easy as touching someone’s neck.”

Giving up on standing, Duke made himself comfortable against a gravestone. “There isn’t a need to fear death. You have already done it.” Elyse took another step back. “For now, you will feel okay, but your body will begin to decay soon enough.

Your eyesight is what dulls first. Those around you will begin to notice that your skin has become pale, and it will begin to sag over time. It will become harder and harder to move around as your joints stiffen up. You will not be able to tell the difference between hot and cold, arousal is an impossibility, and not even the calm touch of another does anything to bring comfort.

Then the hunger will set in. Your hubris will tell you that you will be able to survive off snacks, but your mind will start to confuse what is right or wrong. Maybe someone homeless, or someone that is a criminal, but eventually you will think of the ones you loved in life. You begin to believe that partaking of their flesh is proof of your love because their energy will always be alive within you.

But you will never get far.” Duke closed his eyes as he leaned his head back. “You were murdered and bred to be a monster. Those who hired your killer will be returning in the morning. They will force you to feed on a human life and subjugate you to experimentation before selling you off to the highest bidder. That is the only future you will have if you choose to carry on.”

He struggled to open his eyes again, only to see that she wasn’t paying attention to his ramblings. His attention fell on following her gaze. She was looking towards the road within the cemetery. Her eye was twitching, and she was chewing on her lip. The feral part of her was already starving for her first meal.

“You should work harder to maintain your wits about you,” he whispered.

Duke needed to move. He needed to grab that sword and finish her off before she attacked someone. His body was refusing to obey him. Suddenly, he was blinded as arcs of lightning swallowed up Elyse, and she was screeching out in pain.

That was enough for Duke to muster up the strength he needed. He moved to the other side of the tombstone, cowering until Elyse crumpled to the ground. There were a pair of voices, a man and a woman’s, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. His hearing was beginning to go as well.

He couldn’t understand why he had chosen to hide. His body had moved before his mind had willed it to. Perhaps there was some instinct for self-survival buried deep within him. Despite his vengeance being complete, and the fact that he was a monster, a part of him couldn’t bring himself to go.

A loud click made him look up. There was a woman in front of him, with a suit and dark hair, but the features around her were hazy. Yet there was an odd familiarity about her. It wasn’t the violent aura she was radiating or the fact that she was pointing a pistol at his head, but the way the air tasted about her. How it tasted of sunlight.

“S-Suni..?”

Her hand wavered slightly as he called her name. She grasped onto the gun with both hands in order to steady her aim. Suni didn’t say anything. The man walked up to talk to her, but his features were even more fuzzier than hers. Duke still couldn’t make out what he was saying, and he struggled to raise his voice above a whisper.

“Suni… I… I-I…”

The man raised his hand, and gold lightning charged down his arm and out of his head. It felt like fire, electricity, and bliss all at once. Duke felt like he was burning, yet at the same time, his soul was being ripped out of his body. A quick tug and he felt himself flying, barely catching a glimpse of the cemetery below as the darkness above consumed him.