A DARK GIFT

A snow-white mist crept lazily across the jagged hillsides... Darkness was falling over the valley, where five hooded men appeared. Only when the first rays of the moon broke through the black cloud that hung over the ground did the men stir. A streak of silvery light streamed straight into the center of the circle they had formed. A large stone pentagram, overgrown in places with moss, could now be seen among the tall grass. The men crouched beside it and placed their hands on its surface. Then the pentagram trembled violently and rose above the grass... A faint, yet distinct, light emanated from the center of the cave. They slowly began their trek up the very old stairs down the dark cave...

SCENE I

This, my child, is the Long Night.

He had appeared among her friends relatively recently, but almost from the start, he had caused considerable embarrassment to all its members. She, too, was enchanted by him. She'd never met anyone so mysterious. Incredibly tall, with a strong build, extraordinary ash-blond eyes, and beautiful raven-black hair. He never wore anything but black and always kept to himself. To Akasha, he seemed to be observing them, as if searching for someone, but he was still hesitant.

Everyone, like her, accepted him into their group because he was completely new to their school and wanted to help him acclimate to his new surroundings. However, from the very beginning, the newcomer spent an extraordinary amount of time with Akasha's friend. This was nothing unusual. Saya was a truly beautiful girl with long, flaxen hair and sky-blue eyes, always smiling and cheerful. They weren't surprised, then, that the "newcomer" was so interested in her, if only after a few days, Saya had vanished without a trace.

Akasha was devastated; for the first week, she hadn't shown up for a single meeting, and when she finally arrived, no one could reach her. Saddened and frightened by all this, they didn't even pay attention to the boy, who, as was his custom, sat quite a distance away and began to stare at them.

She walked home alone. It was already dark, as their meetings usually lasted late into the night. She had no problem with that, and no one blamed her for it. She didn't have parents. They had died in an accident when she was still a very small child. She didn't remember them, but sometimes in her dreams, she thought she recognized them, that she knew what they looked like...

She breathed unevenly. The fact that on the way back, she had to walk through that strange park. She had no other option. Perhaps if she had gone with someone, but alone? The mere thought of how gloomy it was there at night sent shivers through her.

"Get a grip," she whispered to herself, and briskly set off down the dark park path.

To reach the house, she had to pass a very old stone monument, which formed a narrow vault above a raised platform, accessible by stairs. It reminded her of a dome submerged in water, as it was surrounded on all sides by a pond. Akasha looked in that direction, somewhat hesitantly, but suddenly she noticed candles burning inside the dome! She stopped and stared in amazement. She couldn't believe it when she realized that people were standing around the candles. Hooded people, just like the monks she'd only read about! She took a step back, shaking her head. It was too incredible to believe! Terrified, she ran as fast as she could towards her house. She wanted to leave this terrible place as quickly as possible...

Relieved, she closed the apartment door behind her and then turned on the light. It was very cozy inside, but at the same time, the feeling of feeling cramped was obvious from all sides. Books lined the shelves were mixed with magazines about the occult. She had one room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. That was enough for her, as no one visited her very often. Well, except perhaps Saya, who wasn't there anymore. The thought of her friend Akasha brought tears to her eyes once again, but she refused to cry anymore. She couldn't believe she was dead; she had to be alive! She automatically turned on the radio, then covered the windows with dark curtains and threw the duvet aside. She didn't even change clothes. Within moments, she was asleep.

The room was tiny. The windows were tightly closed, and only candles burning on the table, stuck in a wooden candlestick, were burning. A woman sat down at the table, and a moment later, a man with bright gray eyes approached her. He smiled softly at her and sat down at the table. The woman looked frightened, awkwardly fiddling with her car keys, but she kept glancing at her companion. He finally pulled out the knife and began to warm it over the candle flame. The woman watched, fear evident in her eyes.

"Roll up your sleeve, Claudia," he asked, watching the knife with a strange expression.

When she did as he told her, he reached for her hand, and when he grasped it firmly, he pulled her toward him with a strength she didn't think he possessed.

"A-are you sure you're doing this?" Claudia moaned in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry, I know..."

He set the knife down on the table for a moment and ran a damp cotton ball over the woman's skin. Increasing indecision was evident on her face.

"I wouldn't want you to say 'no' now..." he said quietly, looking directly into her eyes. "I'm thirsty... I need this, do you understand?"

Claudia nodded, swallowing hard.

"I won't back down now..." she whispered.

The man smiled and picked up the knife. After a moment, he placed the blade on her arm and cut it, not very deeply, but so well that blood slowly began to ooze, down her wrist. With strange eyes, she watched as he leaned toward her arm and licked the blood from it. She seemed to be in complete disbelief at what she was seeing, and worse, that she was participating in it herself. Meanwhile, the man sucked with increasing fervor, as if the smell and taste of blood had made him feel a much stronger hunger. After a few minutes, Klaudia felt her arm go numb. She didn't know if it was because her companion was holding her hand so tightly, or because she had already lost so much blood. She was starting to feel sleepy...

"Already?" she asked quietly. "It hurts, Amel! Please..."

But for a long moment, the man didn't respond to her plea. He didn't even move, leaning over her arm. She tried to pull it away, but he was too strong.

"Amel!" she moaned, nervously pulling a necklace from her blouse. "Amel, come to your senses!"

She finally managed to pull out the beautiful amulet that hung around her neck on a string.

"Amel!" She took it in her trembling hand and raised it to his eye level. "I'm one of the Kitras! Remember? Kitras..."

The man immediately released her hand and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He blinked as if he'd just woken up and looked at Klaudia in fear.

"Forgive me... I didn't mean to... did I scare you?"

At that moment, Akasha woke up. It was morning; outside the windows, she could hear the roar of cars and the shouts of people advertising their wares at the nearby marketplace, as was usual here... She wanted to get up, but she felt an unbearable fatigue in all her limbs. She had no strength. "What a strange dream..." she thought, covering her face with her hands. "I've never had such a vivid dream before." It all seemed so real, as if I were standing there next to them... I wonder if that guy was really a vampire...??

She got out of bed, stripped down, and stepped into the shower. Akasha had a strong but shapely figure. Dark, curly hair and blue eyes. Her skin was fair and so delicate that all her major veins were visible. After bathing, she put on a sweatshirt and jeans, and then made herself breakfast. She felt hungry, but after breakfast, she wasn't at all satisfied. In the meantime, she took a neighbor's dog and went for a run with him in the park.

She did this every week. She supplemented her income this way; after all, she couldn't support her uncle for the rest of her life. During the day, she wasn't afraid of the park at all. Only at night, it seemed mysterious, eerie, and therefore depressing. Usually, she gave the old monument a wide berth, but this time, she decided to see it up close. She jogged to the lake and skirted it to reach a narrow concrete path, set just above the water's surface. Then, she ran onto it, gaining entrance.

There was nothing out of the ordinary under the dome. No trace of candles or wax. This surprised her, but on the other hand, she chalked it all up to simple premonition. She slowly circled the interior of the dome, examining the floor carefully, and suddenly, to her surprise, she noticed a faint outline on the ground. She crouched down beside it and began to clean it, until a moment later, a large five-pointed star, engraved in a circle, appeared in the dome's floor.

"...Pen... Pentagram..." she whispered, astonished.

"I knew you'd know that symbol," a voice said behind her.

Suddenly, Akasha's neighbor's dog, so calm and docile until then, began barking and growling furiously at the boy, who, to Akasha's surprise, suddenly emerged from the shadows.

Akasha jerked upright, then with a nervous gesture, commanded the dog to be silent.

"I-Is that you?" she moaned softly, recognizing the boy as the "new kid" at school.

"My name is Khayman," he said, standing by the pentagram, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his long, leather trench coat.

"I didn't expect you... here..." she muttered timidly.

He looked at her, but his face showed neither approval nor rebuke. He simply stared at her. Then he looked away from her and upwards.

"Do you perhaps know what this sign is?" he asked, not looking at her.

The girl looked in the direction he was pointing. Indeed! On the ceiling of the dome was a sign almost identical to the one she had seen in her dream!

"This? I have no idea," she admitted after a moment. "But I've seen a similar sign before."

Khayman looked at her again but remained silent for a long time.

"Where?

" "Well, maybe this is stupid, but I had a similar dream." Akasha crouched down and drew the sign Claudia wore as an amulet on the ground.

The boy seemed a bit disconcerted.

"I didn't think you were already in the process of..." he replied, rising from his knees.

"Me? In the process of what?

" "Awakening... you wouldn't understand anyway." You're not aware yet, but I'm sure... - he approached her, casting a large shadow over her, and looked straight into her eyes - Yes, you're definitely one of us...

- Go away! - she moaned in fear, pushing him away - Go away, you're scaring me...

Khayman watched the girl run away. This time he let her go, but he knew it wouldn't last long...

As soon as she returned home, she ran to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She hoped it would clear her mind, but it didn't help much. She couldn't control her shaking hands; everything was falling from her fingers.

"Stupidity," she chided herself. "Stupidity... Even the simplest meeting and conversation unnerves me..." She ran a hand through her hair. "Stupidity...?"

She nervously walked to the window and gazed at the landscape stretching beyond the walls of her apartment. Almost across the street, a dingy, gray skyscraper towered over fourteen stories, blocking her view.

A single large drop, the first sign of a storm, crashed with a distinctive sound against her window sill. The sound nearly deafened Akasha, who cringed as she doubled over. Then the rain poured down in torrents, and the view outside the window blurred and grayed. The girl's hands, previously pressed to her ears, now fell to her sides, and Akasha lifted her head toward the sky. Dark, thick clouds raced across the sky, from which countless drops of water fell to the ground. Why did the sound of the rain deafen her so? Had her senses... become so acute?... She mentally reprimanded herself again for allowing herself to be carried away by her wild imagination too often lately.

"I'm thirsty... I need this, do you understand?"

...

"I'm one of the Kitras! Remember? Kitras..."

Still, those words... returned to her, even though she had never bothered with dreams before. Never before, no dream had returned to her during the day... With a nervous movement of her hand, she covered the window with dark, dark curtains and turned on the night lamp on top of the television. For a long moment, she couldn't find her place in her small room, but finally, resigned, she sat down on the bed and stared at the opposite wall. A poster hung there. It had never particularly impressed her, except that it had something captivating about it. Sometimes she'd stare at it for several minutes without thinking about anything, and then another day, it repulsed her. Once, she dreamed that she was the girl in that poster, naked and aroused, begging the man to free her, to extinguish her fire. She blushed at the thought, then whispered again softly, "Nonsense..." and waved it off.

Suddenly, it seemed to her that the black coat of the man in the poster fluttered in the wind. She blinked, but the scene repeated itself. To her horror, she heard the wind blowing in that dark land and what sounded like a quiet moan from a girl...

"It's... impossible..." she moaned, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

She looked at the poster again, and this time the cloak didn't stop after a brief moment of movement. It continued to flap in the wind, and the girl's voice grew increasingly louder around her, taking her breath away. Suddenly, the man turned his face toward her.

"N-no," she whispered, covering her mouth with her hands. "No..."

The man's eyes were ashen, contrasting starkly with the black of his clothes and complexion. There was something demonic in his face, something elusive, as if not of this world... As if the man on the poster weren't... human...