It was one of those rainy nights when the city was holding its breath.
Not storming. Not loud. Just a gentle drizzle that softened the skyline and misted the neon into watercolor smudges on the wet streets. Everything felt on hold, like the world was waiting, watching.
Elias Vale was behind the wheel of his Aston Martin, its low growl barely breaking the silence. It was warm inside, motionless but his thoughts weren't. The windshield wipers swished back and forth in a rhythmic motion, sweeping away the endless procession of raindrops vying to make it to the bottom. He stared through them, his jaw clenched.
He didn't know when the downfall had started. Only that he was already at the bottom.
The memory of the boardroom branded the back of his eyes: frozen faces, venomous words, betrayal in designer clothing. Rothman's voice echoed in his mind.
> "You're done, Elias. The investors want to cut their losses clean. Thirty minutes ago, they voted you out."
His name signed away. His reputation dragged through the mud. And no one blinked.
He'd built the company. Killed himself for it. And they'd gutted him like he was nothing.
He exhaled, low and slow, trying to bleed off the anger.
His phone buzzed.
Miranda.
> I have proof that you have been framed, quickly lets meet.
For the first time that night, something stirred in him not anger, not bitterness hope. Feeble. Flickering. But alive.
He started the car, tires slicing through the rain-soaked streets. The city blurred around him in distorted lights, a dream melting around him.
---
Miranda had always been sharper than the rest. A legal analyst with a spine of fire and eyes that missed nothing. They'd had something, once too brief, too complicated. But the loyalty had remained.
She had attempted to warn him about Rothman last year. He hadn't listened.
And now? She was all he had left.
He drew up in front of her building. The motor idled. His heart raced with a combination of fear and hope. Maybe this was it. The moment of change.
The lobby was empty. The air stifling. His footsteps echoed as he took the stairs, two at a time.
Then he stood face to face with her door open.
A sense of alarm traveled down his spine.
He pushed it open.
Pandemonium within:.
Papers covered the floor files, contracts, printouts of emails. Transaction records. Each one damning. Each one… what he needed.
But Miranda was gone.
He whispered her name. There was no answer.
Then the slam of a car door outside.
He sprinted to the window.
A black sedan was parked across the street. Its headlights winked on.
His instincts screamed.
He burst through the lobby doors and into the rain just as the driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Tall and well build. He wore a Hooded jacket concealing his face
Elias slowed, fists clenching.
The man glanced up.
> "Rothman wants you dead."
And then the attack came.
A hook toward Elias's head fast. Trained.
Elias ducked and countered, slamming his shoulder into the man's belly. They stumbled backward. Water splashed around them. Fists flew again.
This time Elias initiated a punch to the ribs, and a knee to the stomach. The man grunted, stumbling. But he was not done.
An elbow caught Elias on the jaw. His vision fuzzed.
Elias returned the favor with a headbutt. Solid. The man stumbled. Blood exploded from his nose.
> "Not tonight," Elias scoffed.
The hitman wiped his face and grinned. "Should've stayed in your tower, Vale."
He rushed.
A leg sweep took Elias's feet out from under him. He fell hard onto the pavement.
He hadn't had time to stand CRACK.
A brutal stomp on his knee. The sound of bone breaking was deafening.
Agony tore through Elias. His scream was primal, raw.
The world spun. The rain fell harder. Every breath was like glass in his lungs.
He tried to crawl, but his leg was bent, twisted. Fire burned up his spine with every move.
The hitman crouched beside him, breathing hard now Elias had hurt him too.
> "You fight better than they said," he growled. "Pity it's wasted."
Then, closer: "You're here for that bitch Miranda right? She's dead"
Elias's fury surged. He reached for the man but the hitman set his foot on Elias's broken leg.
He screamed again, tears mixing with the rain.
There was a click.
The barrel of a gun, cold against his chest.
A thunderclap Then came Darkness.
---
Hours later…
Rain fell softer now, more a mist. The trees surrounding the hitman were still, nearly respectful.
He dragged Elias's dead body through the underbrush, grunting with the effort. Blood smeared on the ground, mingling with mud and rain.
"Could've just dumped him in the damn river…"
He knelt in a clearing, digging with gloved hands, cursing under his breath. The earth was soft, the roots shallow. Rain hissed against the leaves above, mixing with the sound of breath and shoveling.
Then he paused.
The world had gone silent.
No birds.
No wind.
Even the rain seemed to hold its breath.
The air grew heavy, like a storm waiting to break.
A shadow moved.
The hitman turned, eyes narrowing
Too late.
Something was already behind him.
Too fast to scream.
Too strong to struggle.
A blur unnatural and fluid slammed into him. Fangs and Claws digging into flesh Eyes glowing like embers in the dark. The forest echoed with a wet, tearing sound as the man's body hit the dirt, twitching.
Blood spilled freely, steaming against the cold earth.
The thing no longer pretending to be human drank deep, greedy gulps of crimson as the hitman's life drained away. His gasps choked into silence. The light left his eyes.
And then, without pause, the vampire rose.
Silently that is only broken with the crunch of leaves beneath his Barefoot.
It moved to Elias's broken body, still crumpled in the brush.
It studied him for a moment not with malice, but hunger tempered by something... curious. Like a predator choosing which part of the carcass to taste.
Then it lifted him.
Effortless.
The vampire bit. Drank. Not as savagely this time but slowly, rhythmically, like savoring a rare wine.
When it had its fill, it released him. Elias's body slumped back into the mud, a smear of blood trailing from his neck.
The vampire vanished into the mist as if it had never been there.
Only two bodies remained.
One lifeless.
The other... not quite.
---
Elias stirred.
A twitch in his fingers.
A flicker behind closed eyes.
Then a gasp.
Pain surged through him. Cold fire raced down his limbs. Something ancient now moved through his veins. Not just blood. Not just power.
Something older than the trees.
Colder than death.
His broken bones snapped back into place. His chest rose and fell once, twice before going still again.
Then
His heart beat.
Once.
Twice.
When Elias opened his eyes, they were no longer human.
They burned.