The crows scattered in every direction. It turned around and whimpered in pain as it leaped toward where the sound came from. A tall man in a leather jacket met it head on, giving it a heavy kick straight to the chest. It flew back and hit the old oak tree, its shoulder bleeding all over the moss. 

“I guess you need another shot,” the man growled and aimed his long, silvery rifle. 

It snarled and lunged toward the man, no concern for the rifle aimed straight at it. Another blast as loud as thunder resounded. Ellie stood frozen, watching it writhe in pain on the forest floor in front of her before it slowly started turning to dust. Was it a vampire? She couldn’t look away, she kept staring. Its limbs became dust, one by one. 

“Are you alright, little Miss?” The man approached, resting the strange rifle on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s good and dead.” He glanced around, searching the trees for any others. How strange to find one this far out of Dawn. 

She blinked and looked at the man, light brown hair reaching his shoulders, his golden eyes seemed to twinkle even as the sky went dark with clouds. “Was he a vampire?” Ellie asked, trying to hold back her excitement. 

The man chuckled, “You don’t seem very scared? Have you seen them before? Well, technically I’m supposed to explain this all awa-” 

Ellie cut him off, “It’s my first time seeing one. But I’m not surprised at all. I always knew there was more to this world. What else is real? Magic? Dragons?” Ellie couldn’t help but burst into her excited self. 

“I should probably let you figure that out for yourself. What are you doing out here on a school day anyway? Where are your parents?” He asked with a concerned expression. 

“I was climbing the tree, and then I found a… The skull! Where is it?” Ellie started searching around frantically.

“A skull? Hey, kid. I think you should be getting home now.” He glanced at her, wondering what she was doing. 

“I- Uh- my dad is not home anyway. I found a skull. But I threw it at the vampire? It was a vampire, right?” Ellie stopped and looked at the man. 

He didn’t deny that it was a vampire, but he didn’t confirm it either, “Let me help you find this skull, and then let me walk you home, alright?”  

“Fine. But you have to tell me if it was a vampire or not,” Ellie huffed and started searching again. 

The forest was getting darker and darker, the crows settled back down on the branches of the trees, watching Ellie intently. She desperately searched for that skull, not wanting to lose the find of her life, shuffling through leaves on the ground near where she had thrown it. Or at least she thought this was the direction in which she had thrown it. 

“Is this it?” The man lifted the dirty skull up from the forest floor. 

Ellie’s eyes lit up and she beamed, “That’s it! My skull!” 

The crows started cawing and fluttering their wings again. The man glanced at the skull, raising an eyebrow as he saw the fangs. It couldn’t be, could it? He shook his head, vampires don’t leave skulls. They turn to dust, don’t they? This one was surely some cheap prop left in the forest. 

Ellie snatched the skull from him, “Whoa there, little Miss,” he chuckled, “Come now, it looks like it’s gonna rain. Let’s get you home.” 

Ellie nodded and tucked the skull into her backpack, “Fine fine, it’s this way.” She skipped ahead, grinning wide at the events of the day. She might not have climbed the highest branch, but she did see something quite unbelievable. 

She abruptly stopped, dizziness hit her. The fact that she had fallen from high up in the old oak tree had completely escaped her until now. It had been quite a fall, even if her backpack had braced most of it. Her head felt like it was being lifted off her body and flown away up to the treetops. Ellie lost her balance, tumbling backward. 

The man caught her, only to notice that she had passed out. He glanced down at her, plucking a couple of leaves out of her hair before he lifted her up and carried her. 

“I guess the events were too much for you?” He walked toward the road, he knew there was a house on the other side of it. Perhaps that was where she stayed. 

Raindrops started falling, lightly at first, drizzling down on his hair and nose. He let out a sigh as he reached the old derelict house and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked a few more times with no luck. 

“Hello?” He called out, his eyes searching the murky windows for light. “This house looks pretty run down…” He noticed the peeling paint and the broken shutters. 

Slowly he placed Ellie down in a wooden chair that was next to the front door, and placed his leather jacket on her. He couldn’t leave a kid all alone, it didn’t feel right to him. He was a father himself, and knew that he wouldn’t want his own kids to be all alone, especially after seeing what she had just seen. 

“Hey kid.” He nudged her gently, “Wake up.” 

Ellie stirred and opened her eyes slowly, “Is it morning?” 

He chuckled, “No. It’s still mid-day. You fainted there… Feeling alright?” 

Ellie stretched, smelling the leather from the jacket, “I’m fine. I might have hit my head when I fell from the tree. Maybe. I don’t know.” She glanced at the man, feeling confused for a moment. 

“You fell from a tree? Sounds like you need to be a bit more careful there… I’m Kerrick by the way. What’s your name?” He knelt down in front of the chair. 

“I’m Ellie. Was that really a vampire?” She asked again, suddenly remembering everything, ignoring his concerns. 

He gave her a small nod, “Come, let me buy you some food and a drink at the diner down the road, and I’ll tell you more about it, deal?” 

“Deal!” Ellie exclaimed all too excitedly. 

Kerrick turned his back toward her and motioned her to climb onto his back,”Come on. I don’t think you should do any walking, little Miss.” 

Ellie nodded, climbed up, and held on tightly, wearing his all too large leather jacket, excited by the prospect of learning more about vampires. The rain erupted from the sky when they were half-way to the diner, Kerrick jolted down the road as fast as he could, but they both became soaked. Ellie felt the rain pour down onto her hair and face, she loved the feeling of it. If she closed her eyes it felt as if she was in a waterfall. 

The bell of the diner door made a loud ding as they entered. The woman who worked there stared at both of them with scowling eyes. 

“Hi, Mrs. Cooper,” Ellie smiled and waved her hand. 

“You’re soaking wet, dear. Let me get you a towel,” Mrs. Cooper said with a half-smile. 

“Sorry about the water,” Kerrick muttered as he set Ellie down, “Quite a downpour today…” 

“I’ve seen worse,” Mrs. Cooper said and handed them both a towel each.

Ellie placed herself on one of the seats after wiping herself thoroughly. She lifted up the menu and stared at it, what did she want? Pancakes? And an oat milkshake? Her lips curved into a smile again as she showed Mrs. Cooper what she wanted. 

“I’ll just have a coffee,” Kerrick remarked with a smile and handed her two silver coins before she wandered off.  

“Tell me…” said Ellie, “...about vampires!” 

Kerrick squinted his eyes, “You’re awfully nosy aren’t you? I have kids about your age, a little older maybe, they’re not even half as nosy as you,” he joked. 

“Do you hunt vampires?” Ellie asked, insisting on finding out more. 

“Yeah. I do. It’s my job I suppose. Secret job. This is all very secret, alright?” Kerrick leaned in, he was not supposed to tell these things, but there was something about that little girl that made him want to share a thing or two. He wondered if she could have Maní blood like him. 

Ellie nodded, “I can keep secrets.” 

“Alright then, that thing was a vampire, though not an ordinary one, it’s what we call a Sorrow. He had lost all humanity, consumed by his thirst for blood.” Kerrick stopped to observe her face, she was listening intently, not fazed at all. 

“So normally vampires are not like that?” Ellie questioned. 

“No. And I’ve already told you too much. I shouldn’t tell you anymore,” Kerrick said firmly, “Listen. I’m gonna give you my number, if you ever need any help, call me. Or if one day you find out more and perhaps you want to discuss career options.” 

“Career options?” Ellie glanced down at his card, ‘Kerrick Dellinger’. 

“I’m joking.” He grinned wide, “I have to go, check the forest for any more Sorrows. You should eat and perhaps stay inside for a couple of days just in case. They like to go in groups so… Better safe than sorry.” 

“Your jacket, don’t forget it,” she handed him the leather jacket, “And, um- thanks for saving my life.” 

“Until next time, little Miss,” Kerrick gave her a nod and walked out of the diner, into the rain. 

“He didn’t want his coffee?” Mrs. Cooper asked as she brought the food and drinks. 

Ellie shrugged, “I guess he changed his mind, you can have it then.” 

She quickly peeked into her backpack, eyeing the skull again. It was dirty and most definitely needed a wash, she had found animal skulls in the forest before and knew exactly what to do. This skull was old though, there was no flesh or anything left on it, only dirt. She imagined the vampire again, the Sorrow, as Kerrick had called it; its eyes red like blood. The thought of it made Ellie shudder.