Suddenly, the forest ended and it came to a sudden halt at the edge of a city. Visible now in the moonlight, you could see what looked like a man, hunched over, grasping his chest. Nervously he looked over his shoulder, as if to make sure he hadn't been followed. Then a big sign on a hill caught his eye. It told him that the city before him was Starlight Shores and then he knew just how far away from home he was. Just hours earlier he had been safe inside his room, getting ready for another night out in Moonlight Falls, almost all the way on the other side of the country.
He collapsed on the grass, brought down by violent images in his head and the guilt he felt for what had happened. The reason he had left his home, the same thing that almost claimed his life that very night.
All that blood, bodies everywhere. Everyone's dead. It's all my fault, I was the real target, not them. I caused this. The thoughts echoed in his head as they went around in circles. He wallowed in his misery for a while before he came to a conclusion and with that his entire presence changed.
I need to get stronger. I have to fight back. It's not a question of if they'll find me, it's when and when they do, I must be prepared to fight. They only won tonight because they caught the elders by surprise. In a fair battle the werewolves wouldn't have had a chance, with or without their precious full moon.
He got up on his knees and looked at the still dark sky above. The nervousness was gone but the pain and guilt remained. But he had more important things to do than to lie there and feel bad for himself. Preparations had to be made, but he had other things to do first.
The sun will be up soon. I need to find a place to stay for now, somewhere to rest, clean up and get some sort of plan together. It won't be good if someone sees me like this.
Getting back up on his feet he looked around after a safe place to hide. He had never been on his own before and wasn't sure about where to go. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pictures of werewolves tearing apart his companions and focus on the task ahead.
When he opened his eyes again he was staring at the ocean with a determined look on his face and eyes glowing with a will to live.
This was never about immortality, I knew that going in. It's about strength, it's always been, somehow I forgot that along the way and ignored my training. Now I need to start from the beginning. I just hope I can get strong enough before they find me. Although, time is the one thing I do have, as long as I can stay hidden. After all, vampires can live forever.