Beyond His Evil

               _____FLASHBACK_____

Six years ago...

Blood dripped from the vampire's fangs, a cruel reminder of the fate waiting for us. My dad shoved me behind him, a desperate attempt to shield me from the monster closing in, its eyes gleaming with wicked amusement.

I woke to screams, not my mother's warm kisses. Vampires had attacked us in the dead of night. Not just my family–every city in the world. The news said it was a coordinated strike, years in the making.

Nights were always dangerous when vampires were free from the sun's restrictions. But no one understood how they breached every city so effortlessly. Worse, they were stronger and faster, these vampires seemed unstoppable, leaving humans and hunters in chaos.

My dad was trembling as he stood between me and the vampire, a barrier of flesh and bones.

"Stay away from us," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

The vampire laughed, low and mocking. "Humans and their stupidity."

In a blur, the vampire was behind my dad, lifting him off the ground by the neck. His claws dug deep into my dad's flesh, drawing blood.

"No!" I screamed.

The vampire smirked. "Want me to drop your daddy?"

Thirteen-year-old me nodded, tears streaming down my face.

"Okay," he agreed, dropping my dad's lifeless body to the ground. My father's chest was torn open, his heart missing. I screamed.

                  __________________

                             KIRA

Present...

I jolted awake, gasping for breath. My eyes fluttered open, then slammed shut as pain coursed through every inch of my body. I couldn't move without pain.

"Call the doctor, she's awake," I heard a voice say, distant and muffled.

I forced my eyes open again, blinking against the harsh brightness. The ceiling above me was pure white, blinding in its emptiness.

Where am I?

My gaze shifted, and everything around me was white–the walls, the bed, the carpets. For a moment, it felt like I was in heaven, or some twisted version of it. I had heard heaven was supposed to be all white, though no one had ever seen it. But in this room, it felt wrong.

A voice broke through the stillness, soft and feminine. "Hello."

I turned my head with effort, and there she was: a girl my age, standing not far from me. Her long red hair framed her pale, oval face, but it was her eyes that held me captive–bright, burning with a force I couldn't look away from.

And then it hit me.

The village head. The chaos. The earth elemental. The pain.

My mother.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as memories flashed in violent bursts–my mother's voice begging me to run, the blood, the screams, the end of my village.

The door opened and a man entered, flanked by two other girls. They all shared the same fiery eyes and red hair, fire elementals no doubt.

The man looked human, though. His smile was kind, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice gentle.

I didn't return his smile. I couldn't. "Where am I?"