Beneath Scarlet Shadows

First Meeting- I'm not dead?!

"Ack!"

Elias stumbled, his treacherous legs giving out beneath him. The world tilted violently as he collided with the hard ground. A sharp, blinding pain shot through his skull as his forehead slammed directly into the rough brick wall. The warm, metallic sting of blood immediately began to trickle down his brow, blurring his vision.

Through the ringing in his ears, a low, guttural growl vibrated through the damp night air. It was a hungry, rhythmic sound, and it was drawing closer.

From the absolute depths of the shadows, a pair of blood-red eyes pierced the dark, locking onto him with an intense, predatory fixation. There was no humanity in those eyes—only an undeniable, ravenous hunger.

"D-don't you get any closer! I'm warning you!" Elias gasped out. He tried to force authority into his tone, to sound brave, but the pathetic tremor in his voice betrayed his terror.

Desperate, his blue eyes darted frantically across the pavement. He scrambled blindly, his hands sweeping over the dirty, grit-covered floor of the alley, searching for a pipe, a broken bottle, a heavy rock—anything he could wield as a weapon. But the oppressive darkness offered no help, swallowing every shape in a sea of black.

The creature didn't pause. Driven entirely by instinct, the vampire closed the distance. The growling grew louder, a deafening rumble that seemed to shake Elias's very bones.

Elias’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs, the sound echoing loudly in his ears. His hands finally fell uselessly to his sides, the search abandoned. There was nothing to protect him. His wide, terrified gaze remained glued to those advancing crimson eyes.

I guess... this is it?.. he thought, blinking through the blood in his eyes with a surreal hint of confusion.

Of all the ways his life could have gone, he had never imagined it would end like this, cornered like prey in a forgotten alleyway. A strange, heavy numbness washed over his panic. Defeated, he slowly rested the back of his head against the cold brick wall, closing his eyes.

After a grueling, breathless chase, his body was spent. Shaking violently, the human lifted a trembling hand to his chest, tracing the sign of the cross— a final, silent act of total surrender to the dark.

If the circumstances were any different, the sheer cinematic cliché of it might have been funny. But right now, it was his reality.

The creature was over him now. The vampire's hot, putrid breath fanned against Elias’s face, and a thick drop of drool splattered against the sensitive skin of his neck. The razor-sharp fangs hovered millimeters away from his pulsing vein. Elias squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, bracing his entire body for the agony, waiting for the sharp, tearing sting of teeth sinking into his flesh.

Thud.

Suddenly, the weight crushing down on him vanished. A violent force yanked the hungry vampire backward, throwing the creature across the alley. The beast’s body hit the opposite brick wall with a sickening crack that echoed sharply off the wet pavement.

Elias’s eyes snapped open. He blinked rapidly, his mind struggling to compute the sudden absence of pain.

"I'm... I'm not dead?!" he muttered, his voice a breathless whisper.

Through the gloom, he watched as the pair of vicious crimson eyes on the floor began to dim, getting paler and paler before the creature scrambled backward and dissolved completely into the deeper shadows of the night.
But before his brain could fully process the rescue, a massive, imposing shadow loomed over him, blocking out what little ambient light remained. Elias swallowed, a loud, heavy gulp escaping his throat.

Slowly, agonizingly, he raised his head.

The absolute blackness of the alleyway was broken once again— this time by the steady, hypnotic glow of twin scarlet eyes.

Seriously, when is this night going to end?! Elias thought in despair, bracing himself for a second attack.

To his utter surprise, no beastly snarl followed. Instead, a voice cut through the silence— deep, firm, and chillingly calm.

"Get up."

Elias blinked. His wide, bewildered eyes remained fixed on the towering silhouette and the steady burn of those red irises.

"I said, get up."

The voice returned, tinged with a sharp edge of impatience. The sudden command snapped Elias out of his paralysis. He quickly clamped his jaw shut, realizing his mouth had been hanging open in shock. A flush of heat crept up the back of his neck, a sudden wave of embarrassment cutting through his residual fear. Scrambling to his feet, he stood up, though his gaze never wavered from the mysterious figure.

"Go home," the deep voice commanded again, calmer now but unyielding. "And... put something on your forehead."

Elias swallowed hard. His hand reached up blindly, his fingertips brushing against his brow. They came away slick and wet. Only now, under the stranger's gaze, did he finally register the throbbing ache and the blood painting the side of his face.
"Oh... Thank you," Elias murmured, his voice dropping to a soft, dazed whisper.

The gears in his brain were turning at a glacial pace, entirely overwhelmed by the whiplash of the night. He squinted into the dark, desperately trying to catch even a faint glimpse of his savior’s face. But the darkness in the alley was absolute, an impenetrable shroud that wiped away any trace of features, leaving only those mesmerizing, scarlet eyes.

Before he could look any closer, two heavy, powerful hands landed firmly on his shoulders. Elias flinched slightly, but the vampire didn't hurt him. With a measured, deliberate force—gentle enough not to knock him over, yet entirely unyielding—the stranger steered him backward, pushing him out toward the mouth of the alley.

Elias stumbled out onto the brightly lit main street, the sudden glare of the lampposts making him wince.

"What just..." Elias muttered, shaking his head to clear the fog. "Wait!"

He spun around on his heel, reaching back into the darkness.

But the alleyway was dead silent. There was no trace of his savior, nor any sign of the monster that had hunted him. Elias stood frozen on the sidewalk, blinking once, twice, thrice into the empty dark. He lingered there for a long, quiet moment, trying to stitch the pieces of the last ten minutes together.

Finally, giving up on logic, he forced his body to move. His legs took over, carrying him toward home in a mechanical, rhythmic stride, while his mind remained trapped back in the shadows—utterly consumed by the memory of those glowing red eyes.

_________________________

Hello there!
English isn't my first language,
so please tell me if there's
A Grammer/spelling mistake.

The couple in the cover isn't by me,
I just found that pic on Pinterest
and edited it a little. All credits to
the true owner!
(Couldn't find them)

This is bl/gay/mlm,
Which means man loves another man. Any unnecessary
comment is truly
Unwanted.

Notice: This chapter has been recently edited and rewritten for better flow and descriptive detail. The core plot, characters, and events remain completely unchanged. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story!