Reminded that I had never yielded to cowardice, I clasped the side of my cloak, making a shell for my knuckle. I might not stand a chance if Kael turned out crazy or worst, my perception had fooled me for another who resembled him. But the very least I wouldn't go down without a fight.
Robust steps stomped towards me, cracking the surface of waste lying around. I counted each one, and on three, he reached the estimated arm length. Balling my fist, I punched. But before it touched his face, he caught my hand, choosing to use the flesh instead of the metal one which glistened under the light. It was him!
"I advise you target somewhere else. My face is off-limit. The last one who did this" —angling his cheek where the scar resided— "didn't end up pretty." He dismissed my failed attack without any counter, smirking with a look of amusement.
I took the chance to bring my knees to his crotch. The surprise strike made him grimace, yet no single flinch. A heavy sigh fled from his mouth, running from the scene of fear I still refused to acknowledge.
"Why are you attacking me again?" He asked sternly, flicking one brow up.
While looking at his victim, my words were stuck. I contemplated, should I call him out bloody murderer and willed the possible outcome? Yet, it seemed he got my answer without my saying.
After a slight hum, he uttered. "Oh, her."
"You... You were sucking her blood, You kill-" I sputtered. Although the lady wasn't nice to me, nor to anybody I had seen at the bar, it wouldn't justify Kael's act. Was it even humane?
His laugh bounced off the walls of the deserted alley. "I'm a vampire, how else should I do it?"
For a moment, I engaged in his titter, surged by disbelieving and ridicule. What kind of fool was I to him? But the diversion took only a serious look from him to pass. Out of a sudden, the enclosing felt chilly.
"Demons are not real," I reprimanded the chasm of fact and fantasy. Alas, the stench and liquid dripping down Kael's lips were siding with one. The so-called thruster under my chest was pounding on Newton's third law levelling a drum.
"They're not." He smiled smugly. While wiping his mouth, he closed in on me. His speed was unmatched for me to evade; reminding his unusual trait. Under a blink I failed to make, he reached the wall, trapping me. "What do you think? Am I an imagination?" He rasped to my ear. The visible heat grazing my neck compelled his point of reality.
Yet I was sensible to keep denying. "Maybe- Maybe I'm still strapped somewhere sleeping. Under coma."
"Look again." His green eyes skimmed toward the lady he had just ripped apart. Although her head was not attached to her body anymore, her limbs were still slinking. In my believed facts, anything alive wouldn't last that long after decapitated, even nerve stimuli. The gruesome validity on my part after experiencing near expire was supporting the subject.
I shook my head. "No. I must be imagining things."
He moved his face closer to mine, making me stiff. I heaved but put a calm facade. Furthermore, if he wanted to harm me, he would've done it already.
Shining emeralds demanded my vigilance, its spark of hues combust under the piercing gaze. "I'm real, " he voiced, transmitting tantalising sensation to my spine. "Vampires are just galactic exiles, taking refuge on earth. Their molecules couldn't maintain under gravity, so they host human bodies. Eventually, they bred with human and walla, immortal, the undead, mumbo-jumbo whatever you want to call it sh*t."
"Vampire are aliens?"
"Bingo! And here I am... Your prince of the night. " He stepped back, palm to his chest as he made a somewhat charming bow. "The one but not the only."
"That doesn't answer why you ripped off her head!" I spat. Fictional and mythical stories were my base on understanding the situation. Hence, killing her wasn't necessary.
Shrugging it off was his hint of refusing the subject. He patted his leather jacket and turned on his heels towards the narrowing dark hall. "You're coming, darling? Or you'll try on my diet to ease your hunger? I suggest you think quick before she grows another head."
"She who?" Just then, a grumble came from my stomach, protesting against my idea of refusing his offer. The decapitated head not far from me had turned into a puddle, and its body had stopped shaking. My jaw dropped when the body rose to sit. It took no more argument on my end to chase after Kael who was already far ahead.
"She's alive. " I muttered in confusion.
Kael who kept walking on his pace slowed down, head-turning a quick 60° angle. "What? You thought I killed her?" Without so much of a care for my answer, he resumed his stride.
Minutes spent under pressed mute on the sound field of construction and air dwellers until clutter of voices took over. The light coming at the end of the alley let known of the open space. Kael stopped, turning to me while loosening his belt.
"Pet, don't forget your leash, " he said smirking, instantly earning a scowl from me.
Crossing my arms, I growled at him. "Call me that again, and I'll scratch your face. "
"You want to eat or not?"
Blaming my unruly stomach, I relented and held out both my hands. Kael's buckle coiled around my wrists in a single loop, and thankfully it was loose than the last time. He didn't say another word as he started towards the intersection.
Stepping out of the alley, I met with a busy site; it was a street market. Stalls made of scraps lined the left and right, their vendor screaming some words I couldn't capture. The state without exhaustion made everything around me more apparent than my last clash with the crowd. Creatures out of my imagination filled my sight. Some of them were as tall as three Kael put on top of each other, and some were so small they sat on a machine to manoeuvre. There were also like me, tied on a leash following their assumed master. But the ones looking human looked rather strange, they had a void expression.
"Keep close, and don't talk to anyone. I don't want to lose you again, " Kael whispered.
Something unseen seeped into my heart following his words. It made me feel safe and warm without knowing the reason. We wandered through the array of stalls, passing strange looking things; mostly, they were goods for spares, junks and disgusting stuff. Then there was a booth selling herbs which was a contrast to the others. No one seemed to pay them any kind of interest. As I walked by, a flower stole my attention, such beauty beyond wonder. Its petals were rosy velvet, the stem showed more life than anything growing from Terra's ruin, and what entices me most was the green on its crystal-like leaf. It reminded me of what I once called home.
"Boy! The Olielle for your beautiful android!" The vendor who had an extra pair of eyes called, stopping Kael with their hand. I couldn't determine their proper pronounce. Their voice was soft like a female would, but their clothing was what I identified as male.
Keal ignored them, pushing aside to continue his stride. Persisting, they hovered to me, holding out the flower. "A gift for you. You and Olielle belong together."
While I hesitated, they smiled at me. All four eyes were flickering hope. I was tight-lipped, disappointed as Kael pulled on the leash. But they rushed to me, put it into my hand and whispered, "We know what you are. Our planet is no more. But yours could still be. Take it, child."
Lips still pressed shut, I could only look at them with sadness. The flower sat on my palm, so small and fragile. Carefully I put it into my pouch and hid it under my cloak.
On our round back, Kael stopped at a booth with a tentacle drawing but had nothing on display. The vendor looked like a squid humanoid. I assumed they were out of supply until they flopped one limb on the table. With a single slice, they chopped off their tentacle, not even flinching when dark colour ink gushed out.
My eyes couldn't blink until Kael pulled me to start moving. "They'll regenerate faster than Asteroidea, don't be so dramatic, " he said.
"What is an Asteroidea?"
"That aqua life you once had with five pointy ends."
"A starfish?" I questioned.
He raised a brow then swivelled. No more conversation arise during our walk. After some time inside the maze of scattered alleys, we arrived at a hidden inn. The keeper kept scrutinising me through his exchange of words with Kael in a language I couldn't understand. The way to the room was no less tricky. After taking so many turns along the corridor, we reached a ladder.
"You go up first, hold on tight, " he said.
Nodding, I reached for the bars. Unbeknownst to me, the mechanism started to rise upon contact. The abrupt speed made me lost my balance and slipped. But Kael caught me, caging me in for safety.
"I told you to hold on tight!" He chided.
"Well, you didn't tell me the ladder would—" My argument ceased by the drumming of his chest on my back. His hot breath made me want to escape, but I had nowhere to go. The exact moment external force set the inertia to motionless, I jumped off at the new floor.
From then onward, I put a gap between us, feigning interest with the view outside on every passing window. But all hope of distance gone the second we arrived at the room. It was practically the size of a trunk. The rolled-up mattress and folding table attached to the wall was enough to make it looked crowded. My mind couldn't even calculate any proximity for personal space.
Removing my ragged shoes, I sat at the corner. Kael put the still moving tentacle and his bag on the table then flopped next to me. Without caring, he pulled off his jacket, revealing the scars on his burly body.
"I warn you, I have sleep hugging," he started.
I gulped. "As long as you don't bite me."