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"See you, Sua!" one of her coworkers called.
At around six o'clock, Sua pushed open the door and waved back. She was off for the day, finally free and able to go home. It wasn't that she didn't like her job, she just had a long day.
Sua emerged out onto the street, a slight chill catching her skin. The wind picked up. She tugged her jacket tighter around her.
She glanced across the road.
She had time and it wasn't too dark. She could cut through the park.
Sua turned. Truthfully, the sun was going down rapidly, leaving the park in shadows. It would be mere minutes before it properly sunk beneath the horizon.
But Sua liked the park.
And that was a mistake.
Days and days, she'd walked through the park and nothing had happened. The worst thing that ever happened was a drunk yelled at her for being so pretty. He hadn't yelled nice or flattering things but she'd be able to quickly move on.
Today was different.
Sua hummed to herself as she walked down the path.
A street light flickered until it shattered completely, bathing that section in pure darkness. Surprised, she glanced up. The bulb was gone.
"Hmm…" she mused, pausing to look at it.
Odd. She'd never noticed a light like that. The lights here were usually pristine condition due to the newness of them. They'd been installed less than a month ago.
"Hello…" a voice said and Sua jumped.
A man stood in the shadows by the lamppost. He'd been so still she's completely missed him. If he hadn't spoken, she'd never have noticed he'd been there.
Sua smiled politely. "Um… hi." She didn't like talking to strange men this time of the night. There was no one good out and they didn't lurk in shadows. She needed to move on as quickly as possible.
"Ah, there's no hurry," the man laughed, stepping away from the pole. He was large, arms corded with thick muscle.
"I'm just going home," Sua said with a forced smile.
"Home?" he said. "What a shame. You truly do believe that."
"What-?"
Before what he'd said had registered, he lunged.
Sua shrieked as he connected with her, raising arms to defend her face. Nails dug into her shoulders.
"Help!" she screamed. "Someone help me!"
But there was no one around to hear her.
He bit her.
Sua arched her back, trying desperately to throw him off. Somehow, he pierced skin and her blood started flowing.
Was he drinking it?
"Oh… you're delicious," he crooned in her ear, a clawed finger caressed her cheek. Blood dripped down the front of his face, her blood .
Sua thought she was going crazy. His teeth dug into her neck and he started to drink.
I'm dying.
Sua struggled but her strength was waning. He drained it from her, along with her soul.
"Been a while," he murmured, bloody finger caressing her cheek. "I missed the taste of humans…"
"You… you're sick…" Sua choked.
Her throat was cold, wet. She couldn't breathe properly. His teeth were in her.
"So sweet," he crooned as he pulled back. "So fresh and innocent…"
Sua stared up at him weakly as she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. His eyes glowed a sharp red. His mouth was coated with her blood, turning his smile a sickly red.
"What… what are you?"
He chuckled, licking his lips.
"Get away from her!"
Someone shrieked.
And suddenly someone crashed in from the side.
Sua was thrown to the ground where she just lay, weak and unmoving. She was dying.
She distantly heard the snarls and thuds as someone fought around her. It didn't matter. She was so cold.
Sua reached up with trembling fingers to touch her neck. Her hand came away coated red.
I'm dying.
Sua dropped her hand and tried to focus on breathing. She was bleeding out of her neck because he bit her. It was crazy. He was crazy. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she tried to keep it together. Amazingly, it didn't hurt. But her vision was getting fuzzier. The world was a cruel place.
"Hey!"
A familiar voice.
Sua stared up at the night sky and saw stars behind the broken street lamp. They were so pretty.
"Sua? Oh no, oh please-" Suddenly a blonde head leaned over hers.
Sua blinked. Jiu. Her and (Y/N)'s next door neighbour who she'd grown friendly with recently. She liked Jiu. She was funny, kind, charming—if a little weird.
"Run…" Sua rasped. "Not safe…"
Jiu smiled and it was then Sua noticed her mouth was stained red. Not a lot, and it wasn't just her mouth. Blood trickled from open wounds down her arms, from a long scratch along her collarbone. She didn't seem to notice.
"It's okay," Jiu murmured as she reached for her. "He's gone. I promise."
Whoever he had been. Sua chuckled weakly.
"You're in bad shape," Jiu admitted. "Can you stay with me?"
Jiu was hesitating, didn't seem to know what to do.
"I don't think I can…" Sua admitted.
Her head was spinning as the darkness threatened to claim her. She couldn't fight it.
Jiu's expression shifted. "Sua. Please. Do you want to live?"
What sort of a question was that? Sua had a good life—she liked her life. She didn't want to give it up.
She tried to nod but flinched when hot pain seared across her skin.
Jiu stilled her by cupping her cheek. "Then please, Sua. Trust me."
Trust her? They were friends. Not super close yet, but good friends. (Y/N) didn't know. Sua knew Jiu was kinda a weirdo and wanted to see what she was like before introducing the two. Now she might not have the chance.
Sua smiled. "I don't have any other option."
Jiu tilted her head. "You don't. But you still should."
Sua almost made another quip back but all thoughts drained away when Jiu's eyes sharpened to a glowing red. Just like his.
Sua tensed in panic but Jiu was already moving in.
Her bite was different.
Where as his had been draining and vicious, uncaring, Jiu held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. Fingertips with unusually long nails dragged a soothing pattern over her skin.
Then Jiu pulled away, mouth lightly stained from her blood.
"Jiu…"
Jiu leaned back a second, moonlight catching off her blonde hair. She was beautiful. Beautiful and covered in blood.
Jiu lifted her own wrist to her mouth and tore into it.
"Drink."
Sua stared at her like she was crazy.
"Do you trust me?"
Maybe not as much anymore.
"Sua, please." Desperation creeped into Jiu's voice and her calm demeanour broke. "You can't die, please, I'm begging you."
Sua's hand closed around her wrist as she stared into those sharp red eyes. "You are crazy." Then she lifted her wrist to her mouth and started to drink.
She expected the sharp metallic taste of blood to fill her mouth—and it did—but it was different. Something about it was sweet. Sua sat up, pulling Jiu closer to drink more.
Jiu winced. "Ah. Relax. Slower."
Sua couldn't. It was like her body was betraying her. She wanted Jiu's blood more than anything else right now.
"Enough." Then Jiu was pulling away.
"Hey!"
Sua lunged her again but Jiu was quicker. Sua collapsed onto the ground, shaking.
"What's wrong with me?"
Her body quivered, spasms spreading like she had a violent fever. She wanted to cry.
Jiu knelt down next to her, blood still dripping down her wrist. "It will be okay. You should want to sleep now." A hand touched her forehead before sliding down to close her eyes. "Let it take you."
Sua's eyes closed and the darkness rolled in. It was like a wave of black, pushing her under. And Sua let it.
The last she felt was Jiu lifting her. Sua groaned and made no more noise. Her body went limp. She died.
Sua opened her eyes to darkness. She blinked but nothing changed.
There was a weight on her chest, on her legs, everywhere. Surrounded by cold, she couldn’t move. Sua hated small spaces, liked being free to move and dance. She started to panic.
“What-?!” she spluttered but the moment she did, she tasted earth.
She’d been buried alive.
Sua thrust her arms up and the earth gave. She didn’t have much time. Very quickly she’d run out of air and then suffocate a horrible death underground.
Sua burst through the ground to fresh air.
“Sua!”
Jiu sprang to her feet.
“You!” Sua hissed, grabbing her by the front of her shirt. “You tried to kill me!”
Jiu’s eyes widened. “Wait, no! Sua, I-”
There was still blood on her shirt. From when she bit her. Her wrist had stopped bleeding.
“What the fuck were you doing? Either of you!” Sua dropped her and sat back, groaning. He’d bitten her, almost drained her completely dry. She’d been dying. Until Jiu stepped in and finished the job.
“I wasn’t trying to kill you. I saved you.”
“Saved me?” Sua looked back at the hole she’d emerged from. “Um, sure.”
“No, please, just listen to me. I know it will sound crazy but you have to believe me.”
“You’re a vampire.”
Sua laughed. “Oh, wow. People said you were weird but like I didn’t believe them. This is too far.”
Jiu didn’t budge, didn’t smile, only stared at her with cool dark eyes. “Think about it.”
Sua really didn’t want to do that.
The man had bitten her and drank her blood to the point where she’d almost died. Then Jiu drank from her and… gave her blood. Which Sua had taken.
Her gaze flicked back to hole. Jiu had buried her underground. And then she’d woken up.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That’s ridiculous. How could I be a vampire? That would mean you-”
Jiu arched an eyebrow.
“Vampires don’t exist.”
“Unfortunately, that's not true.”
Sua sat back down. "No. You're lying." Her voice shook.
A vampire? Really? Was that what she was to believe? Sua wanted to cry. It was bad enough she'd been attacked and almost killed but to be told she was now a vampire… she almost lost it.
But Jiu knelt in front of her.
"Hey. We're still friends, right?" Jiu asked softly. "I still care about you. I'm going to help you, okay?"
Sua looked back up at her to see the ring around her dark eyes glow a faint red. She wasn't lying. They really were vampires. And that meant… Sua's life was going to change forever.
"... what now?" she asked weakly.
Jiu's expression softened. "I don't know yet. But let's get you inside. We have a lot to talk about."
Jiu offered her a hand and Sua took it, well aware that hers were still covered in dirt. She'd dug herself out of the ground. What a weird night. Sua tried to find strength in herself but it wasn't easy.
Sua stood up and dusted herself off. "Okay."
Jiu laughed and she opened the door to her house. "It isn't that bad, I promise."
Which was, of course, super encouraging.
Sua put on a brave face and nodded.
She was changed forever now.
Sua glanced at the house next-door, knowing that (Y/N) slept inside with no knowledge of what happened to her. She couldn't go back home, not like this ever. So what she had to do was disappear forever. Her heart ached.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
"Sua?"
Sua cast one last longing glance before she headed into the house next-door.