We wait till the sunsets.

Mable walks out as she speaks, “Get a move on, bodyguard.” 

I follow her. I hear rough coughing. 

She stops in her tracks as her fist clenches tightly. When I look in her direction, I see a man in a brown coat drinking from a cup. His brown hair is tied back in a bun. 

Mable yells out, “You piece of shit! You fucking rat asshole!” 

The man is just sitting there alone on a bench, and yet this sets my tall guide off. She runs up to grab the lone man by the hair. 

“Wait!” The man yells. 

Mable slams him down onto the table. She pulls him up and down as she draws blood from his nose. 

What’s with her? I know she’s prone to violence, but I don’t think this guy was the cause of our problems.

I step in. “Give him a break, Mable,”

“Get my name right, at least!” She snaps back at me. She still clings to his head.

I grab her wrist. “Can you please stop and explain why you’re doing this?”

Mable doesn’t let go, but her eyes lock onto mine. “Fine, then. This is Noah Rubenstein. He is the biological son of that freak scientist who created Adam.” She turns her eyes away from me. 

The poor man speaks up, drooling from the mess, “You can let go of me, now… I can explain why I’m here.” 

Mable’s hand pushes against me, as if she’s desperately wanting to pull the human. Mable spouts out, “You can explain yourself to the pearly gates before you get sent to hell!” She’s straining herself. 

Nova speaks as he drools more, “Please! I’m scared. I’m sorry for intruding!” 

I’m not even using much of my strength, and her wrist is already starting to rip little by little. 

The human continues, “Look, I was around the block, and I got curious when I heard rumors of you being here! I had to see if Adam was here, too.” 

I can’t keep holding her.

The sad little guy says frantically, “I can get you anything you want, Eve!” 

She’s hurting herself just to get to him. “My fucking name is Sable!”  

I let go.

In that quick burst, she reels Nova back as she takes out her pistol. Her lower lip quakes as she speaks, “I’m gonna hurt your stalker brother by killing you. I can’t kill him because of that stupid fucking contract.” 

She presses the weapon against the man’s mouth. 

His eyes widen — stiffening his face. The only thing that moves from his body is a drop of sweat.

I look at my hand, already stained by Mable’s blood. The odor stings with that rotten sharpness that all undead carry — yet I smell a faint sweetness. My head… the world blurs for a moment. 

A human’s life is going to be taken. A life that I can’t be stripped away for petty revenge. I shouldn’t let this continue.

I muster the strength to speak to her, “You’re not going to kill a defenseless man. He’s not a threat to you—” 

“Don’t fucking try to stop me! I’ve already pulled the trigger many times. I n—need this…” Her hand unsteadies. “I—I don’t need this guilty mindset, Star. I’m getting what I want by taking control.” 

My hand quickly grasps the barrel. 

Mable yells out in frustration, “Y—You stop right fucking there! Don’t t—take this away from me!” 

I pull her gun up. The banging starts as an onslaught of bullets goes into my palm. Clicking. 

Mable spouts out, “You’re a c—coward! I know you are, S—Star!” She lets go of her weapon. She covers her face, turning away from me. 

I hold onto that gun, gripping this manmade weapon. I’m nothing more than this instrument of death. The human falls off the bench, crawling slowly. 

Mable drops to her knees, breathing heavily. I’ve never seen or heard her breathe ever. She digs into her hair, repeating one word, “No.” She continues at this. 

I watch this poor woman break down, inhaling and exhaling. The human crawls from a bit further as he wipes the blood from his nose. 

I get between them. My bloodied hand still clings to the barrel of the gun. I speak, “Elaborate.”

The human spits a bit of blood before looking up at me. Nova stammers, “Adam is a complicated situation. He’s an abomination like that woman. He was my father’s pride and joy.” The man pulls apart blades of grass from the sidewalk. “That bastard you see was created through a dark wish. When she rejected Adam, he went on a rampage. My father is dead because of these two…” 

Still on her knees, Mable bursts out in laughter. “Y—You… are blaming ME?!” Her laughter lingers. “Heh, so do you think I should’ve accepted that blabbering mess? That my autonomy doesn’t matter?” 

Nova digs deep into the dirt. He blurts out, “You should’ve never existed. You and Adam! You deserve to rot in hell together for taking away my father.”

Mable’s laughter breaks. Her breathing is becoming more ragged. “So I don’t fucking matter just because your old man is dead. Because I made my own choice. My first-ever decision that actually mattered!” 

The two still cling to the ground, facing away from each other. 

My tall guide continues, “Sure, let’s say I fucking killed your dear pops. I’ll accept it. That gives my decisions more meaning.”

Mable gets up. Her head tilts up at the twilight skies, refusing to look at either of us. She speaks, “I killed your father and everyone who got in my way. Pay attention to what I’m going to say next cause I’m not going to repeat myself.” Her breathing stops, and her voice regains its usual cold confidence. “I’m a killer. I killed the man who took me in because he dared to control me. His name was Richard Lodge.” 

A snicker slips through her mouth. Mable’s voice steadies. “I had a nice house and everything. I did follow his house rules until they started getting… weird.” Her hand twitches. My guide says, “There’s no way I’m sharing a room with that piece of shit, let alone a bed. So I took his life. Easy solution.” 

I listen to every bit of this. 

The silence floods the air as I stand there unable to respond to everything I’m hearing. I didn’t know what she was going through. She’s desperately clinging to power. I… I… I don’t know what to say. Nothing that I can say can fix what happened.

She’s defending herself. I know it. She’s just scared. They’re both scared. Mable and Nova. I only know what it’s like to be around Mable. I know many things haunt her.

She’s hurting. Those monsters….  It’s not her fault. She’s going through the lasting pain.  I know that pain that leads to wanting to take a drastic direction.

The way she describes Robert reminds me of… I told myself not to dwell on the past. I freeze. I can’t think about Dyna. Even if she’s still alive in this town, terrorizing the people.

The fog slips through my lips. My bloodied hand still holds onto that gun, Mable’s weapon. My lips instinctively move. “I’m sorry.” My mouth shakes. 

Mable slowly shifts as she parts her hair to meet my eyes. Her brown eyes glisten. Her mouth opens, struggling to communicate. 

I sink in this moment. I struggle to think of what to say next. Our eyes remain locked to each other. I’m scared. Scared of this being furthered. This cycle of violence needs to stop. That lack of true reflection reminds me of what I am — a vehicle of violence.

I’ve seen the eyes of many, humans and vampires alike. I know what killers are like. Dark Lord Hart taught me the difference between prey and predators. 

I try to forget his teachings. No matter what, I can’t help but notice the details. I look at her, and I know what she is, at least to me. She doesn’t fit a clear label — hitting somewhere in the middle.

She puts up a hard exterior and talks about being a murderer. But her eyes tell me that she’s fighting for survival. That she’s cornered, and I’m scared of how far she will push back to stay out of that corner. She hurt herself just to get to that Nova guy.

I drop her weapon as the bullets fall as well, stained in my own blood. I plead, “Please, don’t take his life. If this Atom guy shows up, I’ll protect you.” 

Mable turns away from me. Her voice turns cold with a hint of softness, “You don’t get it, Star… Fine, whatever.” She picks up her weapon without looking at me.

My guide steps away from the scene. 

The man on the ground slowly gets up, dusting himself off. He looks at me with those pitiful eyes. It meets Hart’s definition of prey, and it saddens me. 

His body shakes, inching closer to me. I try to dismiss the familiar smell of the red dripping from his nose. 

Nova coughs, spilling more of that iron. “Shit… Apologies, but I’ve been ill lately. Eck, it’s fine… Right?” 

That mortal sickness is a reminder of the distance between us. He sucks in that air. Despite everything, he’s willing to reach out — he outstretches his arms.

His lips quiver. “I—Is Star your name? You’re a vampire, yet you saved my life…”

I pause. 

My eyes return to Mable. “I’m a murderer, just not out of self-defense.” I walk towards my guide, leaving that human alone.

I feel bad for him. He’s a human unable to see his father again due to a monster’s reckless rampage. I’ve been there… I hope I never end up being that monster. For now, I have to hope I do enough for her.

We depart, our walk is quiet.

When we get to the entrance of the hotel, I break the silence. “Are you… Comfortable elaborating on your situation?” I open the door. 

She looks at me with those tired eyes. “No.” She takes the other door.

I enter through my side, respecting her wishes. 

When we get there, she pulls out my wallet. “Your stuff.”

She puts it in my hand. Mable then starts dropping many of my other items, leaving them on the ground with little care. 

I take whatever I can as she walks off. The phone. The many cards. The crayon drawing Jeremy Jr. gifted me. I’m missing something… I notice she didn’t even wait for me to say, “Thank you.”

Whatever that’s going on with her life… I just hope that she’ll find the better end of it. I feel awful. I don’t know what I can do to help. I shouldn’t be too concerned, but I can’t help it.

I need to move forward. I can’t worry about others when I have to find her. I need to see Maya. My happiness depends on seeing her, and then we can start over. The nightmare will be over.

It’s the way of life. You cling to the only good thing about life, even if it slipped once. I can’t make that mistake again. I have to grab that happiness.