Artwork by Matthew Watts

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Chapter One

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Ajax had always been thankful for the ash clouds. While the others in his clan usually paid them no mind, he was well aware just how much of a boon they were to him. Less sunlight meant daytime hunting was possible. Less light in general made him less visible to humans. His past few hunting trips were fruitless, and the clan's blood supply was running low. If there were a time for ash clouds, this was it.

While the others had made camp in a warehouse, Ajax was miles away in search of food. Normally he would never stray so far, especially during daylight, but the clouded skies presented an opportunity the clan desperately needed. If their blood bags ran dry, they were miles from any city that could help them. The thought of starvation clouded Ajax's mind as he crept between abandoned cars and piles of rubble. Armed with a compound bow and covered head to toe in thick black clothing, one could almost mistake him from a human at a distance. One close look would dispel any doubt, however. His pale skin, ash white hair, and sizable fangs told all there was to tell.

Humans in general, as well as vampires, tended to stay far from these old cities. It had been decades since any edible food had been scrounged from the decaying buildings. The larger the city, the more likely it was to be radioactive. Radiation meant no humans, and no humans meant no blood. Ajax knew that if he was going to find anything, it wouldn't be substantial.

Indeed, this had been his clan's way of life for several months. With little to trade and humans growing increasingly scarce, his clanmates faced starvation if not for his efforts. The image of sunken-eyed, gaunt clanmates turning on each other, driven mad by hunger and desperate for whatever blood they could find haunted Ajax's memories. He shook his head, pressing onward. For just a moment, he wondered just how much of the ash clouds above him were former vampires, driven to violence by thirst and either abandoned or killed by their companions.

Enough. He shook his head once more to clear his thoughts and pressed onward into the city, his senses heightened as he crept slowly between the wreckage.

He came to a standstill at the sound of shattered glass, a few blocks away. Quickly ducking behind an overturned truck, he knocked an arrow, and slowly peeked around the vehicle to get a better look at where the sound came from.

Three shapes hunched over a body. Drained, they called them, the vampires driven to ferality by bloodthirst. Any semblance of humanity was wiped from their forms. Each was covered in a leathery skin, with patches of thin, grey hair adorning their bodies. As they fed, they tugged the body in different directions, fighting over the scraps.

Ajax quickly looked over the top of the truck, focusing on the chest of one of the Drained before letting an arrow fly. The Drained only had a moment to react before its body began to burn as its heart was pierced. Skin, muscle, and bone turned to ash almost instantaneously, resulting in a small explosion which pushed the other two Drained from the body. Ajax had already knocked another arrow, but the Drained appeared wounded from the death of their companions, and retreated into the ruins, crawling over rusted metal and charred concrete.

Keeping his bow at the ready, he approached the body. A pool of dark blood began to form below it, causing Ajax to hasten his approach. Not a single drop could be spared.

The human was frail, and unarmed. A foolish decision if he had ever seen one, Ajax thought. Retrieving a syringe and blood bags from his backpack, he began draining as much as he could. It would only be a little, but it was bound to be better than nothing.

This blood would not last long, especially considering the condition of the human it was taken from. He appeared malnourished, and his blood had already been partially fed upon by the Drained. Ajax took some of the blood that had pooled on the road and wiped it up with his glove, licking up whatever he could get. It tasted bitter and sour, but it would give him the energy to make it back to his people.

When he finished drawing whatever blood he could, he took to searching the body for valuables. Digging through numerous crumpled pieces of paper, he managed to retrieve a few items of value; a bottle of lighter fluid and some small silver coins, which burned his fingers despite his gloves. The item which caught his attention the most was a small hand crank radio, a small red box with a crank on the back.

The radio and coins gave Ajax a pause for thought. There had been rumors of organized humans, and this all but confirmed it. Humans were known to operate in tribes and caravans much like vampires, but anything but small groups was exceedingly rare. If this human carried things like this, perhaps he wasn’t far from home, a source of fresh blood.

Ajax quickly turned, leaving the bloodless and looted body behind on the asphalt. He began to run, hastening his long journey back to his clan. Perhaps they were few in number, but if there was a human settlement nearby, they had no choice but to try. Their only alternative would be starvation.

Today was a perfect day for ash clouds.