Chapter 30 REMINISCENCE, PAST LIFE.

I woke up, remembering the executions I carried out last night. The creatures I killed were for the good of the town. Though many did not know about their existence and even thoughts them to be myths, I and my colleagues did all we could to ensure that those creatures stayed at Bay.
Today was a special day, we got a lead that strange activities were being carried out in the abandoned corn mill. The building was well built, steady and sturdy. A few mechanical problems with the machines had left it abandoned for now but the blood drinkers must have seemed refuge within it's walls.
I stared at my cobwebbed ceiling, lying down. Whistling away the little joy I had in life. Rackety taps on the window put my on alert, I rushed up to my feet, almost tripping over the empty phial that lay carelessly on the ground. I peered out my window, it was dark outside, I could barely see a thing except for the wagons that stood outside my neighbour's houses.
A horse pulled carriage passed by, the tired animal trotting with all the little strength it had. A dark figure appeared from the side, scaring the hell out of me. I jumped back and gasped, stepping on the small glass bottle and I felt the ground sway from under me. I fell hard, grunting on impact and that's when I heard the elated laughter of my younger brother.
He laughed aloud, tapping the window with his fingers again. I got bw k to my feet, feeling a slight wash over of embarrassment. I rushed to the door and unlocked it, pulling him by the ruff,, and dragging him inside.
He was still laughing.
"Yer can't be wondering like this at night," I said, keeping my voice low.
"Don't worry brother, nothing bad shall happen to me. Plus even if they did try to attack, "He said, leaning in closer to me like as if about to reveal a deep secret, "I got my handy silver pocket knife on me, yer see?" And he pulled opened up one side of his monkey jacket, showing me the glint of the candle light as it reflected off the tip of the small sword.
"Silver plated or—"
"Now do I look like a chap who gonna waste good money for a little pocket knife like this? He asked.
"And since when have you been the one ter make good decisions Syberus?"
Syberus had never made good decisions, even once almost selling off his horse for a few dollars with the hope of using the money to open a pig farm. I was older than him with only one year, yet it felt like I was older with a decade.
"Well..."
"Just as I thought," I said, contented.
"Now about that lead?" He asked, I was sure eager to change away from the previous topic.
"The abandoned corn mill at the north side of town, that's where we hit today."
"How are you sure about this lead?" He asked, looking rather sceptic.
"Because a number of children were found dead, just yesterday, in the mill, no one knows what killer them."
"Oh no, those poor children... We have to avenge their deaths," He said, slamming right fist, down, into his left palm.
"Now that's the spirit chap."
"Where are the others? Sybil, Jack, Ann, Mark..."
I thought about it, we were supposed to move in together. If they hadn't yet shown up that means that it's either they were no yet ready to go or they had already gone. But my colleagues never slacked, they were always on time, they should have stopped by my house and then Syberus' but they didn't.
"They must have left without us," I said
"Why?" He asked, indignant.
"I didn't know, but I have been getting a bad feeling about that silo ever since."
Rushing to my wardrobe, I pulled open the wooden doors. Termite dust fell from cracks in the wood and I could feel that soon this wardrobe will be reduced to a pile of termite dust. I pulled out my most favorite black monkey jacket and put it on. Next, opened the last drawer of my cabinet, carefully extracting the delicate phial bottle. I peered into one, holding it up to the candle holder, the liquid inside swirl as I swilled it.
I Put them in the special holsters made into the jackets exterior, and tightened my black boots I removed from under the bed. I was already in black pants. We needed to blend in with the night, so that's we wore all black.
"Let's go," I said at last, after removing my silver plated sword from the hatch in the ceiling and stowing it in the special holster at my left side.
We got outside and onto mounted the black stallions. The horses grunted in response.
"Good boy, good boy..." I heard Syberus whispering to his horse as the animal snorted loudly, probably irritated by its disturbed nap. We kicked their sides, waved the reins and the horses started off, galloping with all their might. We passed several houses, some of them torches on while some off. The torches were said to repel the creatures, they didn't like light. I glanced at Syberus, he wore a determined face.
He always enjoyed the feeling that came with killing another demon. "Each demon killed is ten human lives saved." He'll say.
He was determined and had the mental skill to do the job. We approached the edge of town and I could see the top of the silo. No houses were located near the structure and it had been functional for six years, until one day—a few months back—the men who worked there were mysteriously killed, their throats ripped out. The people thought that it must have been wild animals from the nearby forest but I knew that I was those demons. The church had been recruiting and training people to kill these demons for a very long time, yet many people did not believe that such demons existed, thinking that it was wild animals that were evading our town at night. Yet with every one of them we killed, two more appeared.
There was a period of time that the mysterious disappearances in the town had stopped. I was convinced that they were finally gone but people started disappearing again shortly after, and we were the only ones who could stop these demons.
We stopped a distance away from the silo and Syberus tied his horse to one of the poles that supported a small shed the workers of this silo would rest under after work. He did same to mine and I took out my pocket telescope, peering through the glass I looked at the high windows of the silo. It was dark, but then I spotted a glint of light and then we heard a high pitched piercing scream.
"What was that Jereum, what was that—"
"Ann's last words," I said, coldly.
"Oh, no. He said."
But the rest of them were still in there, they could still be fighting.
"We are going in there," I said, and I stood and made towards the building. Syberus gripped my wrist, a worried expression on his face.
"Non of our colleagues have ever fallen, and we've faced these things timed over..."
"What is your point Syberus?"
"What if it's different? You know... Like the one that killed—"
"Don't you dare say that!"
Our parents died—or were killed ten years ago. My mother stayed at home mean while my father worked in this very silo. One day my father did not return from work, it was very late and she was getting worried. My father would stay late sometime but this time we different, he was supposed to come back early because it was my birthday. The cake was on the table and Syberus was getting more and more impatient.
After a few more hours of waiting my mother decided to go and bring him home, told us, "Be good boys and no fighting, I'll be back with your father before you even know it." She beat the reins and we watched, from the window as she rode off... To her death..
We had no sign of her them and eventually tired out, slept on the chairs. It wasn't till the morning that our Aunt Tia brought the need to us. Syberus wept for three days but I was in shock. The thought of never seeing my parents again had scarred me deeply. Aunt Tia had a house of her own but she stayed with us most of the time, feeding us, clothing us, taking care of us until she gave birth to her daughter Tia the second.
By then I was nineteen and Syberus was eighteen. We could take care of our selves. We went to work in a large oil mine, the owner of the mine went way back with my father so he gave us the jobs with ease. We raised enough money to buy horses, fix up the house and gave our parents a proper funeral after seven years.
As time went on my urge for answers became stronger, I had bottled it up for years but now that I was ok enough to speak for myself I needed to know how it happened. The church were the ones who took the bodies so I went to the priest and asked him to tell me the truth. I begged him with weepy eyes and he agreed to tell me under the condition that I join them in the fight to destroy the demons. I agreed without a second thought and he told me all about the blood drinkers.
At first I thought it was a lie, I was so desperate for closure no only wanted to believe what seemed possible. He too me to the under chambers and should a pale, frail looking human. He told me that he had somehow survived the attack of the demon and was changing, becoming one of them. I didn't still quite believe him, but the person had red eyes and long teeth.
The priest sprayed holy water on the person, murmuring some indistinct words and I saw, to my horror, as the skin of the person blistered and burned away into the air. It hissed and growled, looking even more devilish. I was stupefied by what I had seen.
"The transformation process from human to demon is excruciatingly painful, but don't feel pity for him. His life was over the moment he was bitten."
I dragged Syberus the next day to the chambers and showed him the creature right before they staked it with a silver pole through the heart and the demon dissolved into the air. The priest told us everything we needed to know about the creatures, they could not tolerate sunlight, they were incredibly strong, fast and if one was bitten and not killed, the person would become one of them.
We were both determined to bring an end to these unholy creatures so we joined in and that's where we meet our squad colleagues, we were called demon killers.
We trained with them and rid this town of these wretched creatures. But the priest had told me that the creature that killed our parents was different, he said that it didn't rip apart their throats like the other cases; he said that seemed to be more in control of itself, more stronger than the rest. His words were pasted to my mind ever since.
And I had had in it me the will of killing this creature one day.