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“Um, Skye?” Chirp calls out, cautiously crossing the bridge.
“Yes, Chirp?” Skye replies, turning back to her.
“This is… um, a bit dangerous, don't you think?” Chirp points out, eyeing the holes and gaps strewn about. “Should we really be out here…?”
“We'll be fine. Just watch your step,” Skye answers, almost coldly.
“...right.”
Chirp wasn't sure why she was following Skye again. Well, that was a lie, she knew why. Because Skye wanted to talk with her. She just… wasn't sure if she should be following Skye. That's what it was. Not the fact that Chirp is following, but if she should be in the first place.
Though Skye doesn't mean any harm, Chirp knows that. They've helped her through some of her conflicts, her inner turmoil. Sure, the messages themselves have been… strange, but they're a holy individual, somehow who follows the One Above. Maybe they just have a different approach to the scriptures, a different perspective. Maybe that's what it was, yes.
“Chirp,” Skye called out, pulling Chirp back by the arm.
“Oh!” She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going until now, and it looks like they're at their destination now. “S-sorry, I was just… thinking about things…”
“I didn't mean to be so rough with you there,” Skye said, letting go of Chirp's arm. “Sorry about that.”
“N-no, it's alright! I was the one n-not paying attention, after all.”
“...Very well.”
Now that Chirp was grounded back in reality, she took a moment to learn her surroundings. From where the two of them stood, there were ruined and torn walls all around them. The floor had become worn with age and decay, leaving some of the planks rotten, and off to the left were the remnants of some fencing, maybe for a farm? Or animals? Chirp couldn't say for certain.
Back in the main building, something sat elevated in front of them both. It looked like one of the beacons, almost like the one from the town. Before she could ask any questions, she watched as Skye hopped onto the platform the beacon sat, and rested their hand on it. The light began to change, yet instead of the warm, comforting orange that glowed from the town's beacon, it started emitting a dark, scarlet red, as the energy coming off of it began to crackle. The sensation Chirp felt from the beacon disturbed her greatly, it almost made her sick to her stomach.
“Hmm…” Skye hummed, removing their hand a moment after. The light faded back to its initial color.
“Wh-what was that??” Chirp asked, exasperated.
“A test,” Skye replied nonchalantly.
“W-why did it do that?? We're… we're supposed to be blessing them, aren't we??”
“That's what I was doing. It was just… a different kind of blessing,” Skye said. “We don't need to worry about it, though. You can relax.”
“Alright…” truthfully, Chirp wasn't exactly comforted by Skye's words, but at the same time… they wouldn't have a reason to lie to her, right?
“That's not why I brought you out here anyway,” Skye added, “I figured I'd do that when I had the chance, the opportunity just presented itself.” They then clap their hands. “Now then, onto other matters… how have you been feeling?”
“Huh?”
“How have you been feeling?” Skye repeated. “It's a simple question. Things have been a bit… scattered, lately, and I wanted to know how you were doing.”
“Oh! I've been…” Chirp trailed off, thinking, “doing alright. Just… fine.”
“You don't sound so certain there,” Skye pointed out. “You can tell me the truth, you know. There's no need to lie.”
“R-right! Of course… um…” again, Chirp trailed off. “Well, it’s… it's a bit more complicated, honestly…”
Skye nods, then gestures for Chirp to continue. “Go on…”
"I just…” she sighed, “I don't know what to do, Skye, I... I really don't. I want to make my folks back home proud, but—"
“You think they're coming for you? Still?”
“...yes?” Chirp replied, though she sounds slightly uncertain. “I mean, why wouldn't they—?”
"Because they sent you here to die," Skye stated firmly.
"I–" Chirp laughed nervously. "No, no they wouldn't. They... they wouldn't!"
"They wouldn't?" Skye questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"They wouldn't! And I k-know that!"
"How, exactly? What makes you so sure?"
"B-because... they're... they're..."
"Coming for you?" Skye finished, "You and I both know they aren't. We're trapped here, and if we're trapped here, I highly doubt anyone from the outside can save us."
"But... but then just means we need to–"
"Figure out a way? Don't be silly."
"Will you stop–" Chirp huffed, visibly becoming frustrated, "interrupting me??"
"I'm just trying to tell you the truth of the matter: they sent you here on a suicide mission,” Skye explained bluntly. “They probably knew about the town's... properties, and as a result, sent you here to die."
“No… no, that's–” Chirp shakes her head in disbelief, “they wouldn't do that! They're coming for me, it just… it may take them longer.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Skye questioned, as they approached Chirp. Chirp takes a step back, so Skye stops. “After what I just said, do you think they'll be able to come get you? To help you? Don't be so ridiculous. There's a difference between hoping and clinging to a lie, you know.”
“It's not a lie!” Chirp practically shouted the last part, now tearing up. “They wouldn't lie to me! They wouldn't abandon me! They wouldn't… they…”
“They what?” Skye said, as they took another step towards Chirp. This time, she doesn't move. “Enlighten me, Miss Mulberry… prove me wrong. Why wouldn't they send you to a desolate town, alone, for no other reason than to discard you?”
“T-they…” Chirp could hardly speak, as she could feel herself getting choked up on her own words, the first few tears now streaming down her face.
She wanted to believe that the mission group was coming for her, and that it would just take more time. But even then… it's been a few weeks now, hasn't it? Why hasn't she heard a word from them? Surely, they would've sent Chirp something, letting them know the others were coming. Maybe the strange borders were stopping any letters from coming through? Maybe that was it. Or maybe…
Maybe Skye was right. Maybe they weren't coming back for her. Maybe they needed a reason to get rid of her and saw this as the perfect opportunity. To send her to a ruined town, alone, with “backup coming soon”, so she could “build diplomacy and relations.”
Chirp's eyes widened, as she finally broke down, trembling. “Oh… oh god, no—no no no, please God, I—”
She didn't realize how close Skye was, until she felt their arms wrap around her suddenly, pulling her close and running a hand through her hair. “It's alright, Chirp… let me be your rock…” she hears Skye's soft, gentle affirmations.
So, Chirp sobbed into Skye's shoulder, gripping their jacket tightly. “S-Skye… R-Reverend, I– I d-don't…” she tried to speak, but it only ended in more choked sobs. “P-please, Reverend, I…” she didn't even know what wanted right now. She didn't know what she was begging them for, but she needed something. Anything they could offer her, Chirp would probably take it at this point.
“...I can give you something,” Skye said, then quickly adding, “A new path.”
It was almost like they read her mind. “Y…you can?” Chirp managed to get out, despite her voice breaking.
“Of course, but…” they paused, then pulled away from Chirp, which made her look up and meet Skye's gaze. It was… comforting to Chirp, in a way. “You have to be firm in your decision. I wouldn't want to lead you down a path you did not wish to walk.”
“...w-what is it?” Chirp asked, sniffling.
“I have… a gift,” Skye begins, as they back away slightly, keeping a hold of Chirp's left arm. “A gift that can bring you many things—a direction, a sense of purpose, a light to guide your steps. I have been bestowed this gift by the loving God Himself, and it is my duty to share it with others… as long as they allow me to, that is.”
“What… what is the gift?” Chirp inquired, her curiosity taken by Skye's words.
“My gift will allow you to prosper in life–to live to a greater time, to see many things, meet many people, and much, much more. You can do so much, be so much with it.”
“That… sounds great! But… is there a catch?” as much as Chirp wanted to believe, this was sounding a little too good.
“Ah,” Skye chuckled. “Observant one, you are. There are some… downsides, to this gift, but that is the thing about some of His gifts, no? They're like a challenge from Him, designed for us to figure out how He wants us to use them.
“Unfortunately, once you receive the gift, you will need to make… sacrifices. Like the days of old where they offered up the softest, purest of lambs to Him, you too will require their sacrifice. It isn't pleasant, needing to drain the life of His beautiful creation, but it is a necessary sacrifice. It is a temptation you can resist… but you shouldn't do so for long, lest it swallow you whole. You can't ignore the hunger forever.”
Skye paused there, as Chirp processed it all. This gift sounded… complicated, to say the least. Maybe that's why Skye said she needed to be certain? So she wouldn't have any regrets? This seemed like a difficult decision to make, after all.
“...what do you mean by… ‘draining’ their life, exactly?” there were dozens of things Chirp could ask about, but she landed on that as the most pressing.
“Aside from air, water, and food, what keeps most of His Creation alive? What circulates through us?”
“...blood?”
Skye nods. “Exactly that. That is what you need to survive… if you accept the gift, of course.”
“...how often would I… need to do this?”
“Not as often as you think. Unlike a normal person, who would need a lot of different foods and other things to survive daily, as a… gifted individual,” Skye's delivery sounded a little strange, Chirp noticed. “you don't require as much sustenance to survive. You could feast on a lonely cow and be fine for a few days.”
Chirp nodded, slowly. “...I see.”
“Again, I will only give you the gift if you are absolutely certain,” Skye emphasized. “After all a gift should be something you enjoy, not something you hate.”
“I…” Chirp considers Skye's “gift”, weighing the pros and cons they listed. “...if I accept the gift… would you help me?”
Skye appeared a little surprised, though they smiled after a moment. It felt… warm. “Of course. I would be more than happy to. Maybe we could… share it with others, together. Be the light that this dark world needs.”
Chirp also smiled, wiping away their dried up tears. “Y-yeah, maybe…”
“...as long as you accept the gift, of course.”
Again, Chirp thinks it over. Though, it's not as long as before, as she gently squeezes Skye's hand. “I… I think I'm willing to accept it then.”
“...are you absolutely sure?” Skye questions. “For as amazing as a gift this is, it is not easily obtained… one of the many challenges it brings, I fear.”
“I want it,” Chirp states, a bit more confidently this time. “I… want to do good for others. And if this is the way to do it… I'll take it. N-no matter what.”
“No matter what?” Skye repeats, brows furrowed.
Chirp nods affirmatively. “No matter what.”
Skye grins. “Very well then. You are doing a great thing for accepting this gift.”
That night, amidst the townsfolk, there was conversation and chaos. Some people were pointing fingers at one another, while others were trying to deescalate things. It was a terrible, messy time all around. However, they all stop when they feel the same, terrible sensation, as their attention is turned to the north side of town.
Beyond the walls of their small, salvaged homes, something sinister has occurred, miles away. As the castle beacon shone a bloody red. As dozens of bats scattered from the castle grounds.
And two vampires take off, soaring high in the sky.