A pupating vampire by the name of Anthon tells his horrific story: The news spread quickly, the favorite and first-born son of Kain was thrown into the Abyss, the execution ground for traitors and weaklings. No one imagined what was about to occur next. A few days later I was walking in the Town Square when I heard their screams, I could smell their blood. I ran as fast as I could towards the screams, then I stood there in shock as the Melchahim and the Rahabim assaulted my fellow clan members, most of them were unarmed. There were hundreds of them; we could do nothing for we didn’t expect an attack from our own brethren. I went in an alley to hide, as I was running I felt six claws drive into my back, It was a fledgling of the Melchahim, I could smell his putrid flesh even through the skin he had taken. 

       “I want your skin “brother!” And I shall take it.” He whispered in a shrill voice. 

       “You picked the wrong vampire you wretched parasite.” 

       I stabbed him in the neck with my claws and ripped him off of me then threw him to the ground in front of me; I finished him off with a fatal slash of my claw to his chest, right in the heart. My hands were stained with vampiric blood. I ran out of the alley then snatched a spear out of a dead vampire’s hand and began attacking anyone that wasn’t Razielim. I killed one vampire then another as I began running out of the city. I met up with my older brother and a small band that were trying to escape. Then we saw the Zephonim, then Dumah‘s clan; I killed another and another and another as the group and me were trying to escape. We slowly made our way to the edge of the city when Dumah impaled my brother; there was a flash of pleasure in his eyes. There was nothing I could do for him; we were so outnumbered. We fought bravely enough, but what was the use, we were outnumbered. It was pure anarchy and terror as our numbers were decimated in a few short minutes. Never have I seen such atrocities acted upon a vampire by another vampire. 
 

       There was a hunt when the clans fell upon the city. The small group and I joined up with the party leader who led us to a ridge to see our people being attacked by their own kind. They were killing fledglings and ancients alike. The ones that escaped from the city were being attacked by the Turelim, there was nothing this small party could do. We had to wait and watch in horror for the attack to end so we could gather with others. If only Raziel was here.
 

       “We must gather together what is left of our brethren, we have to go back and help them.” Said Raken, the group leader and ancient. 

       Just as he said that a wooden arrow came out of nowhere and struck a vampire standing beside him. It was vampire hunters, they must have also known about the assault. The group’s numbers went from seventy-five to twenty-three in one battle. By now the rest of the clan was scattered across Nosgoth trying to escape Kain’s rage. 

       Raken lead us to the boundaries of Melchahim’s territory. The small group was starving to death, but we had to stay on the move for fear of being tracked by the vampire hunters. Clinging to our retched existence...hoping that others survived the attack we traveled back to the city. There were heads and impaled vampires on stakes surrounding the city, as a sign of warning at what happened. I came across my brother’s body, dangling there; his blood was drained from his body.... I envied him. The city was ransacked, there was nothing left. The once great clan was reduced to nothing. We left with the sad reality that we may be all that is left. A few miles out of the city we came across a group of humans, just sitting there.... As bait.

       “This is too good to be true. It has to be an ambush.” Someone said.

       “We must attack, even if it is an ambush we have to take that risk” said Raken.

       Anthon then shouted “but it is so obvious. We are too weak to take such a great chance...” 

       Raken cut him off “That is why we must strike, for the continuance of the Razielim. We haven’t feasted for three months; starvation is our greatest threat now. Be it vampire or human that lie in hiding we must strike...we must.” 
 

       I could hear the desperation in his voice. We attacked in two waves to hide our numbers; I volunteered to go with the first twelve. Just as everyone expected it was a trap, and we were ambushed. The group was in actuality vampire worshippers, in their sightless allegiance to their vampire masters they would do anything for them, revering them as gods. Carrying staves or knives as weapons they kidnap other humans or give their own blood or lives to feed their vampire masters. In this case they were willing serve as bait. I couldn’t tell which vampire clan it was but there were many of them. I killed one of the humans so we could walk away with something if we could walk away. The second wave came to back us up, but it was useless. I escaped with a female fledgling and the ancient Raken, I dragged the human body and the fledgling on my back, she was injured during the ambush. I don’t know if others escaped. We feasted like animals; there was no point of saving blood for later, there wasn’t going to be a later. One body isn’t enough for three vampires, and hunger soon set in. Being on the other side of the spectrum, being hunted instead of hunting, was bleak and dismal. We moved deeper and deeper into Melchiah’s territory. When you’re on the run there is no time to rest or eat. There was no hope for the future or us. The ancient vampire, Raken, our leader and the strongest one among us died. Now it was just I and the fledgling, I didn’t even know her name. 

       She was a good warrior for someone so young of age. Our last hope of food was a vampire hunting party, there was about eight of them, this wasn’t going to be easy.

       “There is no way we can do this. I’m not that hungry.” She said

       “I still have my spear, I can impale two at a once, cut ones throat with my claws, and you come out of the shadows and throw your two daggers. That only leaves three for hand-to-hand combat.”

       “Only?!.... Your mad...they have crossbows, it not going to work.”

       “But it will! It has to.” Now I was the one sounding desperate.

       It was the best plan we could come up with, but it worked to a certain extent. The taste of their blood was rejuvenating after not eating for so long. But the victory could not be celebrated long, the eight humans were part of a larger group of twenty-five, there was still seventeen more that we didn’t know about. And for killing their comrades they came down on us with unrelenting rage. I grabbed my spear and was ready to die, but the fledgling took it from me. 

       “I shall kill you vampires.” One yelled from a hill. 

       “Run, I’ll hold them off, you have a better chance of surviving than I do. You have to try and find others.” 

       “I can’t do that.” There are no others I said to myself, so I stayed. 

       “Then we fight together. It’s odd; I never knew your name.” 

       These were the last words she said to me, her screams echoed through my head as she was tackled then held down by four of them and burned with a torch.

       The rest were still on top of the hill. I looked over to see the flames coming off her body. I could smell her burning flesh.

       “You want me...come and get me.” 

       “You shall pay for what you did to my friends! I’m going to enjoy burning you and your friend you blood sucking leech!”

       “I have nothing else to live for. Everyone I know and care about are gone. I have been through more pain and torment then you can put me through. I have died once and I’m not afraid to die again. In the name of the first born lieutenant and his kin I will not surrender.”
 

       They ran down the hill as I threw a rock killing one, then another jumped at me but I ripped his heart out of his body. I ran to the fledgling to get them off of her but I was shot with a crossbow. I fell to the ground...then I felt the burn of white-hot fire. The hunters laughed as the fledgling and I screamed in agony. In a last effort to save her I grabbed the flame-thrower and caught two on fire. I ran over to the four men that was attacking the fledgling and burned one and killed one with a fatal jab with my claw.

       “RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!” 

       She broke free and ran into the night as I turned to delay the group from chasing her, the flame-thrower was out...I prepared for the end. 
 

       The hunters captured and then tortured Anthon by dunking him in a river and pulling him back up before the water’s acidic touch completely killed him. The two vampires were among the few left of the clan Razielim, but eventually it was completely erased off the face of Nosgoth... The fledgling’s name was Adriana.