Red roses hurt the most - Chapter 2

A Chapter by Bobby

The old man walked towards his home, taking the shorcut through the Widewoods, the biggest forest in the lands surrounding the capital. At night, the forest was dark and scary, and at daytime, it was full of people. While walking, he heard noises around him.

"Maybe I should have accepted a drive home," he thought. As he walked onwards, he saw a shadow in between the bushes that looked like a man. But a man had never died while walking in a dark forest, so he told himself it wouldn't happen. The cold autumn winds went straight through his clothing, and he shivered like an aspen leaf. The trees shook in a never-ending beat. Forwards. Backwards. Forwards. Backwards. Suddenly, he heard a loud whistle from his side. He jumped up, and stared out into the infinite darkness of the forest.

"Who is there?" he said out loud. No response. "Ah, who am I kidding. There is nothing there. Worst case it may be a kid." He laughed in hushed tones, but he didn't convince himself.

He knew he had gone wrong, because the trip never took more than maybe half an hour. It had already gone an hour. Something was wrong, and he was unsure of what to do. He was, for the first time in many years, scared. The loud whistle came again, and this time he wasn't mistaken. Someone, or something was out there. And something was wrong. A loud crack to his right.

"Hush, child. We don't want to scare him away," he heard someone say much closer.

"Who's there?" He was clearly scared. "What do you want with me?" He screamed now. "What is this madness?" That second, a shadow appeared in front of him.

"We want your life."The person behind him hit his head so hard, he fell to the ground. Lying on his back, shivering in pain, the shadowed person came in sight. A beautiful lady, though her hair was covered by a black hood. Her body was slim and covered in tight black clothes. Her huge green eyes were almost bewitching.

"Dad," the woman's voice was so soft, that combined with her eyes, the old man wondered if she was a witch of some sort. "I don't want to do this. I don't feed on them until they die. I take enough to stall the thirst." The old man had started crying in pain, when the other person came in sight. A shorter, old man, with grey hair, who was dressed in tight black robes.

"You have to," he said with the softest voice, though old. "The order won't like this. You're going to get killed." The man put on a black hood.

"I know dad, but I just can't kill a human." The woman was scared, and the old man, who was now a little calmer, actually felt sorry for the woman. He didn't know why, but there was something. The now hooded person looked at the old man.

"That has to be my job again. I'm afraid you're not going to survive for too long, child." The hooded man took up a knife and thrusted it into the old man's heart...

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