Bloody Memory

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Right, Navalm is made based on Kyuubi, more from Naruto's view other than others. Sorry for not posting for long enough, but I post five chapters all for one! I'm surprised by myself o.0
You know, sometimes I think the characters are walking and making their own schemes by themselves; they're just borrowing my hands to type it over into this story, mwahahaha XD
I like to think them as my friends as real as my real friends are, especially Scarlet and Vermillion.

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Chapter Eight

“...—ly bad. This is massacre—”
“...—just what’ve happened here? This place is completely mess—”
“...—bout Wilkins, is he okay? He had injured on his gut, man!—”
“...—others are fine. Both Johnson and Barrymore are just getting scratches—”
“...—and this one? He looks like a teen for me. Is he injured?—”
“...—found a huge sword, Sir. We suspect it as ‘killer’s weapon’ and we’ll take it to forensic—”
Scarlet felt like a mush. His head was painfully throbbing so much. He vaguely heard commotions around him, but he ignored them. However, one statement said by someone that his Navalm would be taken from him successfully made him jerked and awoke. He snapped his eyes open and quickly sat up; ignoring his head ache; and then he immediately looked around to locate Navalm. He recognized that he was laid down inside an ambulance. Fortunately, everybody was busy outside and he was left alone. He tried his best to mentally speak to Navalm, which fortunately succeed.
He heard a ruckus of yelps and screams across his position right now and knew that the source might be Navalm, which now flew away, right towards his person. He opened ambulance’s door and stretched his right arm, catching Navalm on his grip. He noticed that people, mostly paramedics and cops ran towards him, while the commotions seemed to increase.
Scarlet didn’t care. All he wanted to know was Jamie’s safety.
He recognized Sarah Stoke who ran to him beside a big black man wearing a suit; the man waved his hand and shouted to the others around him to dismiss. He didn’t know the man, but he guessed that the man might be someone important, looking from the way people around him talking to him, including Sarah. He waited patiently until Sarah reached his spot and asked slowly, “How is Jamie?”
Sarah looked at him and the black man back and forth; her expression was anxious. She replied tightly, “Arthur is wounded and he is on his critical now. Both Allan and Tyler are all right—”
“I’m asking you about Jamie, not them! How is he?! Is he safe?!” he snapped, irritated. Hell, his head was getting more and more throbbing painfully.
Sarah grimly shook her head. “The silver vampire took him away.”
Scarlet gawked at her. “HOW COME—?!”
“Well, he gravely wounded Arthur and smashed Tyler and Allan. I was, well, I was worried about Arthur’s condition so... that wasn’t much I can do, against him...”
“AT LEAST YOU SHOULD HAVE DEFENDED HIM WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH!! STUPID HUMANS!!”
“WELL EXCUSE ME, MISTER VAMPIRE BRAVE!! IT WASN’T ME THAT HAS MISERABLY PASSED OUT ON THE FIRST PLACE!!”
Both of them glared at each other. Scarlet finally regained his composure and mumbled an apology. Sarah humphed and gladly accepted it. She turned her attention back to the black man who wisely kept his silence during the time they had yelled at each other.
He eyed Scarlet suspiciously, being aware of his feature; Scarlet’s fangs and claws were clearly visible, not to mention his massive blade on his hand; and nodded to Sarah when he heard the woman asked him something. He stepped forward and introduced himself.
“My name is Nathaniel Jameson. I am Wilkins’s higher-up and his team’ supervisor. Officer Stoke had told me about you and your circumstances. So, I guessed that ...mess was yours?”
The young vampire just nodded in silent. He offered his right hand, which Scarlet ignored. Recognizing his refusal, the black man pulled back his hand; his expression was undisturbed.
“Well, I like to say that I dislike your messy works. Do you realize what you have done? You killed people, no... You MASSACRED them! It’s not like that I disagree about killing enemies when we have to, but... your way is wrong.”
“I don’t need any lecture from human for what I should and shouldn’t do. They attacked me, I killed them. That’s natural.”
“Yes, I know, but your method...”
“My method isn’t your concern, Mr. Jameson.” Scarlet snapped coldly. He began to get angry, again, to this insolent man.
“Well... I guess it is, Mr. Scarlet, right? This is HUMAN’S territory, not YOURS, it means that YOU have to follow the rules here, not just swinging around your claws and blade, and bit down your fucking canines on every neck you’ve found!” he raged.
Even Sarah surprised hearing those harsh words.
Scarlet just glared back at the black man and shoved him aside to walk towards the other ambulance parked across his own ambulance. Sarah quickly followed him, ignoring loud, angry yells Jameson had blurted out to them. She patted him softly on his shoulders, as if she apologized and spoke slowly, “He is always being a jerk.”
Scarlet let a small smile crept upon his face. “Nice to have companion to share with.” Sarah just smiled back.
He stopped in front of the opened doors and studied the humans before him. Allan and Tyler paused from their activity (chatting lightly each other); looked fine and alive with minor injuries, and eventually they stared at him; while Arthur was laid unconscious on the bench inside the ambulance. They raised their eye brows looking at him and Tyler finally managed to ask, “You’re okay?”
Scarlet frowned. “That’s not even a question.”
“Well, yeah... kindda. I thought you have been beaten hell-a-shit out there.” He smirked playfully and quickly added seriously when he saw an irritated expression on Scarlet’s face, “Oops, no offence.”
“Sarah has told me about Jamie.” The young vampire sighed and looked down in distress. “I’m useless... again.”
Both male cops stared at him with strange expression. Allan scoffed first. “Hell no! Don’t you dare to blame yourself for that!! You’re some freak kickin’ agent I’ve ever known! And being one, you even still have some weak points!”
Scarlet’s eyes got widened in surprise.
“You’re young, and being young, you’re lacking of experiences than your opponent back there. His name is Opal, isn’t it? I saw that he was some friggin’ vampire bastard, not to mention terrifying foe and a strong one. No questions why you are lost to him, though.”
Scarlet gazed at the bulky cop and suddenly snapped back to reality, slowly murmuring his gratitude for his fancy compliment toward his person. Allan laughed heartily looking at the vampire slightly-embarrassed expression.
“Yes, he’s strong. He is one of elder vampires back there; no wonder his power isn’t something you can deny from. Well, we’ve known each other before.” Scarlet glanced towards Arthur and nodded. “Arthur did know him too.”
“We could see that. Anyway quit with the explanation about his own fucking butt; we’ll go straight to the problem. What should we do next? Arthur was passing out here; we can’t rely on him somehow. And we have to move fast. Jamie might be in danger.” Sarah said bitterly. Scarlet nodded in agreement.
“Even though so, I doubt that Opal will do any harm to him, at least for now; the guy has pride and dignity toward himself. He will likely keep him hostage, for how long I don’t know; neither do I know if he wanted to demand a ransom nor not.” He chuckled lightly, earning some questioning looks from his companions. “I think he’s not going to demand any ransom. He’s a vampire, after all.”
Tyler shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Well, any idea? I have one. We’ll track down a link from short radio contact they had from earlier attack; I saw that one of the men sent here had the device. I bet it will send us to Callahan’s lair.” Allan blurted.
“Nice idea. But I think better.” Scarlet agreed and moved swiftly into the ambulance; he got Navalm leaned against the ambulance’s door. His companions watched him in confusion.
“We need our complete team before we get ‘ransack’ on anyone’s place.” He smiled slightly and looked down at Arthur. He studied him for a while. The older man was looked very pale, mostly by blood loss, and Scarlet could figure that his wound was so much deep. He trailed his fingers through the blood-tinted bandages around his waist. He felt Arthur stirring from his touch. “I will heal him.”
Everyone gaped in surprise.
“You can do that?!” Sarah almost squealed in joy and relief.
The crimson haired vampire nodded slightly. “Not as good as healers do, but I guess, I can prevent the worst.”
He rolled his shirt’ sleeves and stretched his left arm above Arthur’s face. He lowered his wrist and slit its vein with little effort using his sharp nail. Dark crimson blood oozed out from the slit, trickling down his wrist, directly poured down to Arthur’s slightly-opened mouth.
Sarah and the others gasped in shock. “What are you doing? Are you intending to turn him to be a vampire?” Allan squeaked.
Scarlet just shook his head. “Nope, that won’t do. You have just watched too many cheap craps of horrors. We won’t do something like that nor is even the effect occurred.”
“You mean you won’t be a vampire by drinking vampire’s blood, true?”
“Uh huh. We are born as vampires. If humans mated with vampires, well, their children are born as vampires. There are no such terms as ‘half breed’ or ‘half vampire’. At old ages, there were wards or slaves, literally, yes, but we didn’t and couldn’t turn them into our kind. That’s just bullshit.”
“I see... so what’s the effect of your blood you’ve given to him then?”
“I just gave him a favor back for helping me last time, with the first aid blood.” Scarlet tilted his head slightly; his wrist started to throb for losing some amount of precious blood. “Vampires do have rapid ability of injury-recovering, you know.”
Everyone raised eye brows in understanding.
Scarlet nudged his bloodied wrist firmly to shut the flow off. He moved his arm from his previous position and murmured, “This must be enough. He’ll wake up soon.”
As if it was confirming his words, Arthur’s eyes started to flutter in their attempt to open. Slowly he opened his eyelids, cringing slightly from the dim light he was exposed with. He abruptly sat up and looked around in confusion and bewilderment, before he locked his eyes with Scarlet’s. The young vampire just smiled, rarely, wide and somewhat comforting, and nodded.
Arthur tasted something tangy and salty inside his mouth, actually, over his mouth and tongue, and finally managed to croak out, “What’s this thing in my mouth?! It’s tasted horrible!”
Scarlet scowled. “Well, sorry if it tasted horrible, you jerk. It’s my blood you have tasted, by the way.”
Arthur’s eyes almost popped out from their sockets in shock. “And what’s on earth the reason I have to taste, no, DRINK, your blood by any chance?!”
Scarlet shrugged nonchalantly, suddenly looked tired. “You’re wounded so badly. I just passed my ability to recover rapidly to you, by my blood as catalyst. Say it’s my payback for your helping last time. But still, you need to get some proper medications, not to mention, blood transfusion due to your blood loss.”
Arthur blinked for a few times. He checked on his waist and rubbed the place under bandages where his wound supposedly existed. It was healed almost completely; he still felt the scar although he didn’t feel the pain anymore.
He understood fully now and surprisingly stroked the younger vampire on his head, ruffling his hair almost affectionately, showing his gratitude. “Thank you.”
Scarlet, flabbergasted, only nodded and leaned back on the corner bench.
Arthur turned his attention back to his subordinates and asked about their current situation. He inwardly shocked when he learned that Jamie had been taken as hostages by none other than the silver vampire, Opal himself.
“...both Frank and Emily now are under Jameson’s authority. We’re no longer responsible for them; although we’re still included on the group that is out for Jamie.”
“I doubt Jameson will track through Callahan’s area. He’s afraid of him. Furthermore, he owes him and most likely, will do anything Callahan tells him to do. Such an ass...” Arthur snorted in disgust.
“So what’s the lead? Allan suggested an idea by tracking them via short radio link Callahan’s men have left behind, hoping that it will lead us directly to the lion’s den.” Sarah asked.
Arthur shook his head in disagreement. “Nope, I won’t take that. It’s Opal we’re talking about. Even if he said he was in the same side with Callahan, I doubt he even brought Jamie directly to him. Callahan wants the Ainsworths to be dead. Kidnapping one child isn’t his trait this time. I suppose Opal has some hidden plans, you think so, Scarlet?” He turned his head to look at Scarlet.
The crimson haired vampire closed his eyes, somewhat looked ill; he didn’t respond to Arthur’s question nor did he show any sign that he heard him. Arthur frowned and went to shake him when Scarlet suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him, only replied shortly, “Yes, I do so.”
Arthur observed him for a few moments. “You’re okay?”
“...Just feel a bit dizzy after that shock of attack and giving you my precious blood wasn’t helping anything, thanks a lot.”
“Well, I didn’t ask you to heal me in the first place.”
“Yeah, that was my own decision.”
Arthur smiled slightly. “Any way, thanks.”
Scarlet gazed at him; his eyes were unreadable. He just nodded and pursed a faint smile.
“Well, I don’t have any idea right now about his plans.” Arthur muttered thoughtfully.
“He just wants to lure me out.” Scarlet blurted.
“Really?”
“He was ordered to kill me any way...”
“Who was ordering him to do so?” said Tyler, curious.
“...Him, mostly...” Scarlet trailed off. His eyes went dimmed; something Arthur didn’t like to see about him most lately.
“Him?”
He kept silent.
Arthur cleared his throat and retorted. “I know him just by name. He is called Black Diamond; some others refer to him as Black Lord.”
“Black Diamond? Black Lord?” Both Allan and Tyler asked in unison.
“He is the most powerful vampire elder from The East Region. You know, I’ve explain to you that almost all of Symbion vampires live on North and East Regions of this continent. The area which we previously called as Canada and Alaska, along with East Shore like New York, Philadelphia, even D.C., are their territories.
Some humans are also lived inside these regions, but as minority population compared to them. Well, the president keeps himself within D.C. as the city is the capital, but I do think that he and the Parliament already knew the damn facts about vampires. Oddly, they successfully manage and keep themselves hidden from mortal’s public. I still think curiously how, looking from their rapid movements of... err, feeding.” He glanced at Scarlet and mumbled apologetically. “I don’t mean your coven though...”
“It’s easy with political influents.” Scarlet added plainly. His eyes still dimmed, although the sparks within were slightly back to life. “Especially The East Coven as HIS coven. He is politically educated though, that son-of-a-bitch bastard abomination!”
Everyone but Arthur shocked with Scarlet’s harsh choices of words. Its tone was full of hatred and vengeance-like feeling.
“...Well, I won’t deny your hatred to him. Still, get a grip, Scarlet. The fact that he wants you dead is less shocking, any way you have to remain calm. He’s not a cheap-crappy-woo-hoo of foe you want to face one-on-one with...”
Scarlet scowled, angry. The memory of him always successfully made him raging madly within.
“There are two large main coven of Symbion vampires remained, distinguished from their own preferences of regions. Scarlet’s coven is The North one, PHANTOM Coven by name. They are mostly passive mannered and compassionate ones compared to their counterpart of coven, The East one, EX APOCALYPTO Coven. They are ruthless and somehow brutal; albeit their elders are well mannered, they’re still less compassionate toward humans than the Northers.” Arthur sighed. “Opal is one of the Easters.”
“The code names we received within the coven are different, depend on our first agreement. PHANTOM from the beginning gives its occupants the code names based on the name of colors. For example, Scarlet is my code name, looking from my hair and eyes colors.
On the other hand, EX APOCALYPTO gives its habitants the code names based on the names of gemstones. Mostly considering from their eyes colors, they’re named over which gemstones they are most suitable with. Opal, for example, is given code name over opal gemstone, based on his eyes colors. You’ve seen him, you understand that, right?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Well, shortly, we know Opal is trying to kill you because it’s order from-- who?! Black Lord? Yes, him. But, I’m still curious; why? Also you seemed to hate him so much...” Tyler asked Scarlet carefully.
“...~Evil Stream... he is the one who control it...~” Scarlet murmured in Symbion vampiric language.
“Pardon?”
Scarlet went silent. His eyes grew dimmed again, this time successfully looked blank and void after all. Tyler stared at him, confused and startled when Arthur snapped at him with stern voice.
“That’s sensitive case for him, Johnson. Don’t ask.” Arthur knew how to speak vampiric tongue; he learned that from Vermillion; so even slightly, he understood Scarlet’s previous murmur. He glanced at the young vampire and sighed heavily.
“Now, our main goal is to retrieve Jamie back. I’m worried about Frank and Emily sanities when they don’t get their son back ASAP.” Arthur concluded, indirectly dismissed their explanations about certain dark lord. He also began to get worried for Scarlet. The vampire teen was maybe the one who was on the edge of sanity considering his own predicament of his terrible past.
“...I can locate Opal’s scent.” Scarlet said flatly.
“That’s suicide! He intentionally lures you—”
“Then I will comply with his will.” The crimson haired vampire rose from his seat and moved outside the ambulance. “Jamie’ safety comes first. It also saves time, true?”
“But—”
“Don’t contest any stubbornness with me, Wilkins!” Scarlet snapped. He already made his way to the closest paramedic he saw. It seemed that Sarah previously told the paramedics and cops around not to disturb them while they had their conversations.
Scarlet stopped in front of the man and spoke coldly, “Captain Arthur Wilkins is now fine. He just needs some blood transfusions and maybe some ointments for his itchy scar. As for the others, they are just fine and sound. For me, I want you to give me some fresh blood ampoules. I want to feed from fresh bloods if I could. If you couldn’t comply with my request within an half of hour, then I will feed on you by myself.”
The young man trembled from head to toe. He quickly ran on his feet, telling his higher-ups about Scarlet’s request.
“Scarlet...” Arthur somehow had managed to crawl out his spot within the ambulance, supported by Sarah. Allan and Tyler trailed behind him, looked worried. “Don’t do something reckless...”
Scarlet glared at him. “I will do I deem worthy to do. Jamie is the most important matter now. I’ll do anything to save him.”
“But that doesn’t mean you have to throw your life away by coming directly in front of Opal’s nose! That’s crazy!”
“~Since when I do still have my life? I lost it when Vermillion died...~”
Arthur’s head jerked up straightly hearing Scarlet’s words. Sarah and the other men looked at them back and forth; they didn’t understand the words Scarlet had spoken of in his own language.
“...~Vermillion absolutely doesn’t want you to die nor to waste your life. Jamie also won’t want you to die for him, on the first place...~”
“...~But I have to...~”
“No, you don’t goddammit!!” Arthur snapped angrily at him, speaking back with common language. The others looked at him, shocked by his sudden rage. Scarlet also stared at him, flabbergasted. Other people around them started to notice their own commotion.
“I’m tired of your claimed weaknesses, you—you—you vampire moron! You always act as if you alone who suffered from your terrible past! You don’t think for once that everyone around you also suffers the same?!” Arthur panted now. Sarah supported him with much effort, due to his swayed motion.
“You... how dare you call me mo—”
“~’Cause you are really true moron, you jerk!!~” Arthur yelled in vampiric. He glared at Scarlet who did the same to him. “~You closed your eyes tightly, refused to look around your narrow world of sorrow, refused to see that other people also suffer the pain same like you, even though their pains are maybe different from you and from each other.
I’m suffering too, you know that?! Vermillion was once my comrade, maybe my best friend ever; my heart and soul were ripped away when I saw his death ...on your hands! And even if I could have any grudge against you, I didn’t! Why?! Because I know that you suffered more than me, that you didn’t deserve this kind of misery!! I cried, I fell in desperate, I was drowned in my agony, but I decided to move on!
And you—you even don’t think about yourself! Your suicidal tendencies, your cold and distant demeanor, and what I’m most loathing are your dimmed, blank, and void, lifeless eyes! I feel sad to see you like that, Scarlet; I pity you for that...~” Arthur stopped for breathing. Sarah, Allan, and Tyler gawked at their captain, at his sudden blurting-out words, spoken in strange language. People started to make circle around them, fascinated by their own ruckus.
Scarlet gaped in disbelief at Arthur. He tried to retort, but he didn’t find even a single word. He just stayed still gaping, didn’t believe on his own ears. He realized the crowd and noticed that Jameson bastard walked towards them in somewhat angry stomps, but hell, he didn’t care at all. All he did care were Arthur’s words; they were painfully stabbing right in his heart, and stayed like echoes. He could hear them over and over. Somewhat Scarlet knew that the words were true despite his own refusal to accept them.
Scarlet felt his earlier dizziness back and with final glare, he muttered bitterly, “~Fine. I guess I have decided my movement now... without you, and your stupid team, off course.~”
He shoved Arthur aside rudely, taking Navalm which was leaned against the ambulance and walked away from the site, successfully breaking the crowd. He didn’t even care about his meal that he previously requested to the paramedic. He only thought about Jamie.

***

After several times away from Arthur and the others, Scarlet stopped abruptly when he felt the dizziness growing more painfully. He covered his face with his palm tiredly, shocked when he found wetness on his cheeks. He barely realized that he was crying!
He leaned his head against a tree and cried in silence. He sobbed faintly and recognized emptiness within him. His dizziness was overwhelming; his head was now throbbing painfully. He groaned weakly, slowly sat down still leaning to the tree, and suddenly coughed violently. He covered his mouth with his hand while he coughed to stem the sound; and when he looked at his palm, his eyes got widened, alarmed.
There was blood on his palm, his own blood.
Scarlet stood motionless, staring at his own taint of blood. He could hardly think nor even breathe. He felt dizzy, painfully throbbing dizziness within his head. He knew it wasn’t ordinary sign of blood loss. No, he even didn’t have any threatening wounds. So, what was this blood?
He barely heard sounds calling for him when his world suddenly went black and he fainted out of consciousness.

***

Arthur realized his mean words instantly after he confronted Scarlet. He stood in his own dismay looking at the young vampire’s shocked face. His expressions were contorted from shock, regret, wounded, and last one, deep sadness. When finally Scarlet spoke to him, his face had gone impassive and cold, but he could see beyond that, the tears that threatened to burst out from the corner of his crimson eyes.
He turned away to run after Scarlet when he shoved him aside only to find that the crowd of people, mostly his fellow cops and paramedics, had grown larger. Arthur noticed Jameson coming with angry expression towards him and his team, and he quickly gestured Tyler and Allan to go after Scarlet. Both men complied in silence and went away.
He turned to face Jameson and calmly received whatever hell things he barked about. He didn’t really listen to them though. Sarah glanced at him and recognized his absentminded.
“You hear me, Wilkins?!” Jameson barked angrily.
Arthur’s mind snapped back to reality. “...What?”
“Fuck! You aren’t even listening to me all the time!! What the hell are you thi—”
“Well, I’m very sorry, Sir, that Arthur has barely awakened from his unconsciousness. He still under drugs and needs some rests. Please save your words for later.” Sarah simply retorted before retreated and walked back to the ambulance.
But Arthur grabbed her shoulder and whispered, “Let’s follow Allan and Tyler. I’m worried about that kid; he is definitely not well... and I also want to apologize for my mean words...”
Sarah smiled. “I know, but you have to stay here and wait instead of running by yourself like that. You don’t want Jameson gets suspicious, do you?”
Arthur sighed in defeat and mumbled his agreement.
Some times later, the crowds had been decreased. Their former paramedic had come back and gave Arthur what he had been told to bring before by Scarlet. He also told that the captain still had to be medically treated in hospital along with his team. Arthur politely refused and explained his reason; he also showed his healed wound to the confused yet terrified young man.
Suddenly they heard rushing sounds and found Allan and Tyler in front of them, panting and looked terribly exhausted. Allan held the fainted Scarlet within his arms, while Tyler brought Navalm within his embrace. Arthur stood up in shock looking at the scene.
“WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO HIM?!”
“We—we saw him leaning to the tree not far from this place and it looked like he—he was ...crying or something! Suddenly he coughed violently and—and it was blood he had coughed out! We called him over and over, but he didn’t seem to hear, and suddenly—he—he fainted!” Allan stammered while explaining.
Arthur’s face paled. He barely remembered about something; and this thing he had heard from Vermillion was the one he feared most to happen to Scarlet right now.
“...God... mind-breaking wave attack...”

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