Promises

She rushed.

Running and leaping over the stairs to reach the exit, however, before she could reach the exit of the building, something caught the back of her collar, pulling her into the shadow. She let out a startled yelp and she staggered backwards. The grip on the back of her collar unexpectedly loosened and caused her to fall back, bumping into someone. 

"Who—"

The person she bumped into also lost their footing and they both ended up crashing onto the ground. Luo Yi immediately thrust out her arms to avoid hitting the ground with her face. 

It was different for the other. He fell onto his back, the back of his head hit the ground with a loud thud. He groaned in pain. 

Hearing this familiar groan, Luo Yi lit up. 

"Luca! You are not dead!" 

Still laying on his back, Luca scoffed. "I really wonder whether I should be glad or offended hearing that."

Luo Yi whirled around, spinning on her knees to face Luca. She took his face in her hands, brushing the thick brown hair out of his face and patted his cheeks. She laughed out in relief.  

"But really, are you alright? How is your body?" 

She took in his face, the right side of his face was caked with dried blood that previously flowed from his head wound. 

Luca shook his head.

"The poison?" 

"It is mostly gone, the poison slowed down the regeneration." 

Luo Yi helped Luca into a sitting position. 

"The vampires found out about our weaknesses. This is not good," Luca said, sighing frustratedly. "Fuck!" 

Luca slipped one of his hands through his messy brown hair and pushed it back, letting out a strangled and frustrated scream. 

"This is bad! What should I do? This way, they are going to overpower us…!" 

In the grip of panic, wide eyes and pupil dilated, Luca brought his hand to his mouth and bit his thumb nail. A habit Luo Yi had known to have long gone. She was the one who broke this bad habit of his. 

"Fuck! I need to go back and warn them…!" Luca muttered, his sharp canines clattered loudly as they unexpectedly hit each other when he missed his nail. 

Luo Yi took hold of his wrist when she noticed he had nibbled it down past the point where the nail met skin. She eyed at his nail and took noted how it didn't regenerate as how it should. 

'The poison is still in effect, huh? That's a long time.'

"Stop it. I thought I had broken that habit of yours." 

"Sorry," Luca apologized. "I'm just frustrated right now." 

"Calm down. Tell me, were you alone all this time? Where is Won Shik?" Luo Yi asked. 

"You mean that old man before?" 

Seeing Luo Yi nodded, Luca sighed. 

"When I came to, I was being dragged to the top of this building, together with the old man in the cage, however, we were taken separate ways after that."

"Did you know where they are taking him?" 

"No, I am too busy killing the raiders and escaping before," Luca shrugged. 

Luo Yi simply hummed. Luca took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, he leaned his head back and finally took in Luo Yi's appearance. 

"The hell…! Why do you look like someone drenched you in blood?" 

Luo Yi looked down to check her appearance, indeed, she looked like she had bathed herself in a pool of blood. No wonder the captive humans were terrified at her. Humans… Oh!

This time, she gripped Luca's wrist and tried to pull him up. 

"Get up! You have to get them out of here!"

"Wha—?"

"Hurry and get up!"

"Who?"

"There are a total of fifteen humans held in the same cage-like Won Shik."

"What? Where are they?"

"In the canvas tent before, on the left side of the balcony, near the stage, there was a tunnel," Luo Yi explained hurriedly. "Hurry and bring them to your pack."

Luo Yi proceeded on pulling him to his feet and pushed him. "Get them out of the town."

"What about you? You are not coming with me?" Luca whirled around and looked at Luo Yi, narrowing his indigo eyes. 

"Don't wait for me. I will catch up when I can, I need to find Won Shik."

"Him? Why?" Luca questioned. "Give me one fucking reason as to why you are willing to go back for him?"

"I made a promise."

"With a selfish human like him? No offense, sister, but humans like him have no place in Eden," Luca scoffed. "I never knew you hold promises that seriously."

Luo Yi rolled her eyes. She had no time to deal with his childish antics. 

"Just… just go," Luo Yi sighed exasperatedly. 

"Did you hate me before? Is that why you left me at the border?" Luca asked, he clenched his fingers tightly and trembled. 

"Tell me, did I do something wrong? Why did you leave me before? You promised me that you will never leave me alone!" He cried out, his indigo eyes held unshed tears, boring intensely into her soul. 

Luo Yi felt her heart twisted at this sight. She never meant to leave him, but she had sworn to his dead father to leave him alone, to not let him associate with any vampire, and that included her, a vampire that could see colors in him. 

When she found out this particular sight, it terrified her. Not only was he a young boy at that time, but he was also a werewolf. Vampires and werewolves were like oil and water, they never mixed, and were sworn enemies. 

His father somehow figured it out and made her swore to never cross paths with his son anymore, however, she just couldn't leave a young pup— who had just lost his father and was ignorant and clueless of how savage the world survived alone in the maze of an apocalypse. 

Cursing her bleeding heart, she raised him, taught him the disgusting world, taught him how to fight, and watched him grow from a child to a young handsome teen before releasing him back to his pack. 

When he reached his teen, Luo Yi decided to leave him where she knew his pack usually roamed during full moons and cleared all the zombies in the perimeters. 

Leave him and forgot he existed, but who would have known...

"Was it because you are a vampire?" Luo Yi was brought back from her reminiscence. 

"You hid the fact that you were a vampire before, but I figured it out by myself, was that the reason?" Luca had stepped up to her, his eyes bored into her, pleading and searching. 

"I… I," Luo Yi stuttered and gulped harshly. "That's not it…!" She argued, closing her eye and exhaling loudly. "Look, this is not the right time to talk about this, you have humans to save, go."

"Don't try to avoid the question! You have to explain now!" 

"Next time, Luca!" She snapped at him and Luca flinched. Luo Yi had never raised her voice at him before and it startled him. 

"Fine, I will let this slide, you still owe me an explanation, sis," he warned. 

"I know, and I am sorry," Luo Yi apologized, stepping away from him. "Go, I promise I will catch up."

"Don't break them this time," Luca pleaded, he had a tortured look on his face. 

"I won't," She reassured him. 

With that, Luca rushed out of the building and ran towards the canvas tent, leaving Luo Yi.