Chapter 3: Chapter 3 – Pig

"Nothing?" Raphael asked.

The two vice-captains, Paul and Sam, shook their heads.

"Sorry, sir," Paul said. He looked away and pressed his lips closed.

Raphael caught that and knew that Paul was hiding something. "What is it?"

Paul and Sam looked at each other as if they were having a silent conversation with their eyes.

"Spit it out." Raphael crossed his arms. His patience ran thin. He was frustrated that his choice to stay back and dispose of the remaining vampires probably led to missing out on the golden opportunity to kill the Vampire Queen.

Sam sighed heavily. "D-don't freak out, Raphael."

Immediately, Raphael's brows furrowed.

Sam, in response, screwed his lips shut.

Paul finally stepped in. "We searched the castle and found that a whole clan was probably living here for a ...while now."

Raphael's spine straightened. A trickle of sweat formed on the back of his neck. "Well, that makes sense. If the Vampire Queen were here, then so would her clan."

His chest tightened, and his hands grew clammy. He couldn't believe a clan of Vampires lived not even ten minutes away from the village. How long have they lived here? How many have they killed?

Vampires were categorized into two groups.

Variants and Clan.

Vampires in the Variants category indicated that they hunt solo and usually live amongst the humans. They were generally weak and could be quickly dispatched by a lower-ranking Vampire Hunter.

Vampires categorized in the Clan category were a whole different story. It was rare to come across a group of Vampires as they are not known to hunt in a group. Instead, they tend to be stronger and smarter. Their attacks can easily wipe out a village or even a city off the face of the map.

To think a Clan was living here.

Raphael looked to his men. He brought twenty-five soldiers to this expedition. How stupid was he? If the whole clan was here, waiting for them...

He bit the inside of his cheeks. A metallic tang assaulted his taste buds.

The body of Frank's missing head flashed in his mind's eyes.

How could they still call him a captain when he was ill-prepared for the worst?

"-ptain? CAPTAIN? RAPHAEL!"

Raphael's shoulder jerked back, and he looked up.

Paul and Sam looked at him with worry etched on their faces.

Awkwardly, Raphael straightened his back and cleared his throat. "Apologies. Continue."

Paul and Sam glanced at each other before they, too, settled their sights back on Raphael.

"We came across their feeding room." Paul's voice lowered into a harsh whisper.

Raphael's eyes widened. He already knew what to expect.

With a watery voice, Sam said, "The villagers that sent us the tip of the Vampire Queen are...in there."

"Are they...?" Raphael started before biting his tongue.

Paul shook his head minutely.

"I see," Raphael said.

"We should give them a proper send-off, Captain," Paul said.

The frustration and self-directed anger vanished from missing the chance to kill the Queen.

The villagers would join his fallen men today.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The scent of stale blood assaulted his nose upon entering the dining hall.

No matter how often he witnessed the vampire's carnage, he could never get used to the sight of mutilated bodies and blood-drenched from the ceiling to the floor.

These bastards did not spare a single villager. Not a woman or baby survived their bottomless feeding frenzy.

"If we came earlier-" Sam started.

Raphael stopped Sam's train of thought. "You were taught never to look back." He levelled his eyes to Sam's murky green eyes. "So don't start now."

"Yes, sir..." Sam mumbled.

A hack and the sound of watery slop hitting the floor echoed in the hall. Raphael noted some of the soldiers ran into the corner of the room, hacking up their stomachs. For some, this may be the first time they witnessed this scene.

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A severed head was tossed carelessly near the wall. A young woman with ginger hair braided into two pigtails.

Despite telling his men never to look back, a heavyweight of self-loathing settled on his chest. If he killed the Queen today – if he didn't hesitate to leave the fight – if he didn't... if he wasn't so damn weak!

His nails dug into his palm.

"Forgive me," Raphael whispered.

Calming his riotous heart, he began to help his men haul the bodies with their future cruelly cut short.

"Captain!" Paul called out.

Raphael let the soldiers carry out the deceased and then turned to Paul.

Paul scrunched his face and pointed at the head of the table.

It was a pot-belly pig with its stomach cut wide open.

"What about it?" Raphael raised a brow.

Paul nibbled on his thumbnail, a bad habit he formed when he was deep in thought.

"It's just odd. You never see animals during their feeding frenzy. Could it-"

Raphael raised his hand. "I wouldn't think too hard on that. There's no point in trying to understand these..." He brought up as much disgust as possible and spat out, "monsters."

"I disagree, Captain. We should keep note of any unusual-"

Raphael forced a laugh. "Keep note?" He scoffed. "What does it matter they have a few animals here and there when they brought the whole damn village in here and slaughtered them all?" Raphael stepped forward, encroaching into Paul's space.

"Raph." Paul tried again, but this time he signalled that he wanted to talk as friends. "We need to try and understand-"

"There is nothing to 'try and understand' these monsters. Our job is to kill every single one of them." Raphael narrowed his eyes. "Understood, soldier?"

Raphael never pulled his rank in front of his friend. But the frustration of failing handed him an ugly mask. It was easy to lash out than to self-reflect.

Paul opened his mouth, ready to debate, but quickly clicked his teeth together. "Understood, captain," he gritted out.

"Good." Raphael nodded curtly. "See to it that you do."

The sun dipped below the horizon by the time they buried their comrades and villagers outside the castle.

The air was quiet and sombre save for the gentle breeze carrying their silent prayers up to the heavens.

There were quiet sniffles here and there. Some covered their eyes with their hands and hung their head low.

Frank. Joel. Thomas. George. Dean. Chris. Dallas.

Raphael closed his eyes and brought his hands together. "Thank you for your service. May you rest in peace."

He stared at the badges they had collected from his deceased soldiers. Each badge would go to their respective household. Despite dying for an honourable cause, Raphael knew that not everyone would see it that way.

He raised his eyes to see the rows of raised dirt carrying the departed. 'I promise, your death won't be in vain. Until my last dying breath, I will put an end to this.'

"Captain, we should set up camp here. We will be heavily compromised if the vampires attack us in the forest during nighttime." Sam said. He lightly patted Raphael's arm, a small show of support. 

"Alright." Raphael nodded. "We'll depart right at sunrise."

"Yes, sir." Sam saluted.

Raphael expected Sam to leave, but instead, Sam lingered around, awkwardly twisting his hands together.

Raphael sighed before rolling his eyes. "What is it?"

Sam jolted. With a sheepish smile, he scratched the apple of his freckled cheek. "W-well... I just want to ask if something is going on with Paul?"

"Is he still on about the pig?" Raphael exhaled sharply in disbelief.

"The pig?" Sam pursed his lips and furrowed his brows.

"Never mind." Raphael dismissed. "I'll talk to Paul later."

Sam's lips dropped. "O-ok." He searched Raphael's face, clearly wanting to know more. After all, Raphael, Sam, and Paul were friends since they were children.

Raphael clasped his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Rest for tonight."

"You should as well, Raph," Sam said, almost in a plea.

Raphael forced a small smile. "I will."

Sam didn't believe him.

Raphael didn't believe himself either.

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