Ravenblack... Much like New York, it's the city that never sleeps. The sun sets, and yet the lights are still ablaze. A place where some seek solace, to start over and reinvent themselves. Ditching their old life to become something else entirely... In some cases, that statement is quite literal. Deaths happen every night, people go missing, and the law enforcement brushes it all under the rug. But beneath the exterior of neon signs, greed, gluttony, and red light lust is the true heart of it all hidden in the shadows. The real reason behind those deaths and disappearances, where the gutters run red and mercy is only in the kill.
I never questioned my parents strict rules while I grew up, assuming, logically, the high crime rate was their reasoning. High school had just begun, my goal in life was to graduate and attend Carnegie Mellon to pursue my life long dream as an artist. I was too involved in my own life, my friends, that I didn't pay attention to much else.
I was fifteen, and at a party. The jocks were celebrating their big win against the Redhawks, a rival football team from a school on the other side of the city. Cosmo was that mysterious transfer student, and more 'in' with the popular crowd. So it was much to my surprise when he came to talk to me that night..
We wandered the yard for hours, talking about... Well, anything really. Our likes and dislikes, plans after graduation. Over time, our friendship blossomed into something more, and eventually we made things official. Blissfully unaware that in the coming years my life was about to change and my perspective on reality to shatter.
You see, hidden in plain sight are things we can't explain. People who sprout wings, feed on the blood of the living, change shape. Myths became reality in this uncharted city.
And I was completely oblivious that Cosmo was one of them.
His lineage stemmed from Greek Mythology. Of gods from mount Olympus, a bastard son of Hades. A man who suffered too much misfortune that he sought help from the Sisters of Fate. They foretold a prophecy, how Cosmo and I were bound to be together, but at a cost. They claimed that Cosmo would have a direct hand in my death. As prophecies go, it was pretty vague. He knew the risks, but the temptation of finally finding happiness was too strong to ignore. Our meeting at that party was far from coincidence.
Graduation was only a year away, and the time of the prophecy drew near. My looming 'fate' scared Cosmo, and in attempt to protect me he altered my memories. Erasing his entire existence from my life. Thinking he found a loophole to keep me safe, Cosmo put as much distance between us as he could and vowed never to interfere with my life again. But fate wasn't quite done with us. I was pregnant, two months in the first trimester when he left. To fill in the holes of his existence, Cosmo fabricated memories of another man who broke my heart shortly before he transferred out. The lie he created was so convincing, I was upset with a man that never existed. I never questioned any of my friends at school about it because I wanted nothing to do with 'him'. As far as I was aware, he just got me knocked up and left so he wouldn't have to take responsibility.
On the night I gave birth, my parents were acting strange. Normally, a woman at my age should have been scolded for a having a child so young and (or) forced to give it up. Instead, my parents placed my newborn son in a crib they bought some time before and watched over him while I slept for a few hours to recover.
When I woke up, he was gone.
My parents claimed my baby was having trouble breathing and went to bring him to the hospital while I slept. 'They did everything they could'. We held a discreet funeral with 'its ashes' inside an ivory urn and I tried to move on with my life, but it wasn't without its struggles. I was diagnosed a year later with depression.. Heh, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. Still, I managed to make it to graduation and with high grades and a grant to get into my dream collage. It was time to try and turn my life around for the better.
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Every year for the holidays and summer break I'd return home to spend time with family and friends. Catching up on how our lives had been, what we've missed. I even had a boyfriend I met on campus for almost two years then. Things were finally starting to look up, I thought, until one late evening I lost track of time. I was hanging out with my friends around the city, shopping and grabbing a bite at our favorite restaurant. As I hurried home it started to pour and my car was parked in the driveway, so I took shelter in a local café called 'The Cat's Eye'. The man I met there was dressed all in black, and I could swear I saw a glimmer of green in his eyes. He smiled at me and introduced himself as Viral Shuukakshamaru Ashenvale. We talked for a while, keeping each other company until the rain stopped. Then he offered to walk me home, at least to make sure I made it there safely. I should have called my parents, but Viral was such a sweet guy and I was more naïve than I thought. Away for so long that I had forgotten about high crime rate this city had a reputation for.
His arm went around my waist and I was swallowed into the dark depths of an alleyway that ran along the side of the café building. He pulled my hair to the side and white hot pain seared my neck and shoulder. My screams muffled by his palm, his body flushed to mine to keep me in place so I couldn't struggle. I felt cold seep into my bones, my vision blurred, and I barely registered it when he let go. My legs gave way, too weak to stand on my own and I fell to the wet pavement just waiting for Viral to finish me off.
That's when he knelt to my side and pressed something to my lips.
"Drink.." Viral urged, and when I opened my eyes I realized what he held to my mouth was his bleeding wrist. I thought this guy was some sadistic, twisted prick, but in a desperate move to survive I did what I was told to do. My stomach revolted at the taste that painted my palate and when he pulled his arm away I felt like I was going to wretch at his feet. My body started to shut down and I couldn't do anything but curl into the fetal position and wait for it all to finally end.
Hours later I woke with a burning sensation in my throat. My teeth ached and the slowly rising sunrise was blinding to my eyes. I ran home hoping that I might get there before my parents realized I was gone, but I was too late. They berated me, chastised me in their claims of what a horrible daughter I am to make them worry. My emotions spun out of control.. Anger, pain, hatred. It overflowed and grew to a physical strength and hunger I never thought possible. My canines grew to sharp points, and my eyes flared like embers. My father cussed and my mom burst into tears, but the looks they both gave me brought suspicion that they've seen something like this before. It was confirmed when my father retrieved what could only be described as a crossbow he had hidden in the house and he aimed it right at me.
I ran from home in fear with no where to go. I couldn't tell my friends about this, or my boyfriend back on campus. I didn't want them to see me like this either. The only thing I could focus on, was the rage I felt toward the man that did this to me. Furious, I returned to the café later that night to find him, intent on revenge. What he offered me instead was a new home and I new life where I could start over with people like me... I couldn't return home now. What choice did I have?
And thus, a new chapter of my life began.
