Vampire Bond

1. Fearless

In the small town of Willowbrynn, winter had just begun and every year in that season, the sun completely disappeared behind the heavy clouds.

The town was a place with old buildings and cobblestone streets, nestled in the rolling hills of the Victorian countryside.

Though it was a peaceful town and the residents lived a simple and quiet life, just beyond the town's borders was the mysterious and dangerous forest.

It was believed by the townspeople that the forest had strange and supernatural forces lurking within them.

Despite the dangers, the forest also possessed a strange allure which drew in those who were curious and daring.

But all those who had ever ventured too far into the forest, were never seen again.

With no sunlight filtering through the dense canopy of leaves, the forest always seemed and felt even darker. 

On a particular day, three researchers had just ventured into that forest and moved along the path that made its way between the towering trees on either side, their branches intertwining high above to create what seemed like a ceiling.

The three of them were dressed in several layers of clothing, their breath turning to mist.

Among them was a young man, only twenty four years old, Arthur Robinson. He was far much younger than the other two men, who were in their late forties.

Their team was being led by Mr Smith, who walked ahead of Arthur and Mr Walker.

Though Arthur Robinson was the youngest, he was never one to shy away from speaking his mind whenever he needed to stand up for himself.

Mr Smith had the map in his hands and looked down at it as they walked further, but suddenly, he stopped and shook his head a few times.

"No, this can't be right," he said, with a look of distress.

Mr Walker and Arthur looked at each other and then at Mr Smith.

"What's wrong?" Mr Walker asked.

Mr Smith lowered his head to get a closer look at the map and said, "Just by looking at this map, we're in the wrong place. We shouldn't even be here. I've heard that terrible things happen here. I just didn't realize this was the place. We're going back."

Mr Smith furrowed his eyebrows in uncertainty as he fixed his scarf. He quickly turned around and went past Mr Walker and Arthur.

"Let's go," he said to them.

With no objections, Mr Walker quickly followed behind Mr Smith and they only took a few steps when they realized they couldn't hear the other set of footsteps they were expecting right behind them.

Mr Smith was the first to turn around and Mr Walker did the same.

With a sigh, Mr Smith crossed his arms as he looked at the young man, who stood there with a blank expression.

"Why are you still standing there, Arthur?" Mr Smith asked.

Arthur clenched his jaw and shoved his hands in the pockets of his long coat. He was displeased with Mr Smith because he never addressed Mr Walker by his first name.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't address me by my first name," Arthur said. "It's Mr Robinson to you. Let's keep things professional between us."

Mr Walker's jaw dropped in shock at Arthur's audacity to speak to Mr Smith in such a manner.

Offended, Mr Smith scoffed and whispered under his breath, how annoying it was to have to work with the young man.

As he shook his head, he slowly approached Arthur and when he was close enough, he poked Arthur's chest with his finger as he spoke to him.

"I'll address you however I want, Arthur. It won't change the fact that I'm in charge."

Slightly raising his eyebrows, Arthur looked down at the finger poking his chest, then looked back at Mr Smith.

"And addressing me however you want won't suddenly make you brave," Arthur retorted with a raised chin.

"Excuse me?" Mr Smith narrowed his eyes, feeling disrespected again and it made him clench his fist.

Mr Walker only stood in the same spot, watching as the other two researchers exchanged words and he could feel the tension.

Despite the age difference, Arthur had already tolerated enough of Mr Smith's disrespect that he didn't hold back at that moment.

"You only want to leave because you're afraid," Arthur said to him. "It's not even about this place being dangerous. You're using that as an excuse. Before we entered this place, you knew where we were going because you studied the map but pretended that you've only discovered it now. You just don't want to be here."

Even after Arthur had just said all that, he feared nothing. He stood in place, observing as Mr Smith clenched his jaw as a way to control his temper.

After letting out a huge sigh, Mr Smith took a few steps back, his eyes still on Arthur.

"In that case, stay here and enjoy yourself," Mr Smith said to him, then turned around and approached Mr Walker. "Let's go. I'm tired of dealing with this boy."

Arthur scoffed, raising his voice as the two men walked away.

"You just can't handle the fact that I'm the youngest here yet, I'm the only one who won't bow down to you or do everything you say."

Mr Smith quietly looked back at Arthur and it was obvious that he was fuming but soon, he turned back around and continued walking.

Because Mr Walker was loyal to Mr Smith, he quietly followed behind him.

When Arthur was left alone, he ran his hand through his silky brown hair with a scoff.

"What a bunch of cowards," he said quietly, then paused for a moment to cross his arms. "Unlike them, I fear nothing."

At that moment, a figure crossed his path within a second and that made him take a few steps back with wide eyes and he panicked.

What was that? Did my eyes deceive me just now?

As soon as he questioned what he had just seen, the figure crossed the path a few more times and his eyes darted back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on and what it was, but he couldn't keep up because it was too fast.

Finally, the figure stopped right in the middle of the path and he could only part his lips as he marveled at the sight before him.

On the other side stood a young lady with pale skin, her face covered with a black veil that only left her red lips and chin exposed. She wore a sleeveless red and black ball gown that cinched at her waist, the lower half of it dominantly black.

Frozen in place, Arthur was at a loss for words as he tried to make sense of what was going on.