Darkest Desire

You know what's hard? When you want to bring justice to your loved ones' deaths, but you can't. No one can help you because you are aware that you will not be believed. People are oblivious to the reality of the world in which they live.

How can they believe something they haven't seen? Something they'd never seen before. They are not yet aware that not only humans are coexisting with us. There are terrifying creatures that you wouldn't expect to see in real life. Creatures that everyone thought were just made up by writers' imaginations. A fiction. A myth.

My parents were murdered by vampires.

I tried to tell others, but I was not believed and listened to. They only believed the truth that they concluded and the truth that they wanted to hear, not the truth that I had.

I was bullied. I was called a freak and insane. I endured all of those. I just kept what I witnessed and knew as a dark secret until I grew up. Until I met a group of people and I joined them. We have one goal, one story. A constant victim of vampires.

I am Curse. Just Curse I have no identity. No relatives. And I am a member of Exiles 77 2nd generation, a group of hunters who seek and kill vampires. We all have no identity. We only have names, and we have no family to belong to. That is one of the Exiles 77 policies. And that's the only way we can move and get away from vampires who want to find us and return, so that they can never use our relatives or family against us.

If I have any remaining relatives, I have long ago abandoned and forgotten them. That's the only way I can do it to keep them safe and for me to succeed on this mission.

"Curse, the master is summoning us." I looked at the person who called me and it was Cupid. One of the closest to me in the group. He was also my training partner before.

"Why is there anything important we have to talk about? Do we have a new mission?" he shrugged as we walked into the hall.

"I don't know, but I don't have a good hunch." That was the last thing he said before we fell silent as we had entered the meeting hall. There are more than a hundred hunters, and we are the only ones they’re waiting. There was a very long maroon table, and I sat at the end facing the Exiles 77 master.

"Perhaps you already have a suspicion as to why I suddenly called you. You just finished your mission in the Green hills. Today, someone reached out to me with some bad news." Cupid and I looked at each other.

"The vampires' forces are increasing. They are taking over many towns. Mixing with people, and killing the weak, while converting people who are strong and useful for them to form a vampire army," I clenched my fist at what I heard.

"Master, I have a suggestion." I interrupted what he was about to say next. I knew he was about to lay out a plan, but I couldn't bear to keep my thoughts to myself.

"What is that Curse?"

"I want to have my own mission. Alone." The others gasped and looked at me. Even Cupid's reaction didn't escape my ears. He even tries to calm me down, but this is the only way I can think of to know every step he will take.

"And what is it, Curse?"

"I want to spy on Midnight Morgan." is considered the most powerful vampire, who rules them now. Midnight.

"Curse! Are you delirious? It's like you sacrificed yourself in front of a demon! Midnight Morgan is a powerful vampire who can kill you in just the blink of an eye. It won't do you any good to just rush in to his fortress to spy on him!"

"But that's the only way, so we don’t have to remain blind to the actions he will take. That's the closest I can get to defeating him! I will pretend to be on their side, I will be on his side. I know someone who can help me with how to enter Midnight's life."

"Curse has a point, but her plan is very dangerous and daring." Master agreed. I stood up and put both hands on the table before looking at them one by one.

"But this dangerous plan could bring us closer to him. What do you think can help us bring him down? This is the only way we can that we can do now. This group must have eyes inside the lair of Midnight. We need a sacrifice, and I will sacrifice myself." They looked at each other, and I could see fear in their eyes. Fear for me and my plan. But my heart is determined. I have been thinking about this for a long time. If I won’t make a move, we'll be groping under the scorching sun and blinding darkness.

Vampires are clever. They are also so knowledgeable now that they can pretend to be ordinary people. They can even run naked under the sunlight if they want to. As time goes on, their weakness decreases. Because now they can cope, they can keep up. They can do what ordinary people can do—with enhanced abilities. They can do much more than an ordinary people.

Another one that makes me more motivated is Midnight. I will kill him. There should be no one but me. He's mine. I will be the end of him. I made a promise to the lifeless bodies of my parents. I will destroy Midnight Morgan myself, using my very own hands. No vampire should live in this world. This is only for us—people. Not for them. They have no room to live in a world only for humans.

I didn't realize that my tears were on my face as I looked up and stared at the moon. It's been a few hours since our meeting ended, and the master has allowed me to go ahead with my plan. Tomorrow is my scheduled export to the city where I could find Midnight.

"Curse..." I looked at Cupid, who was beside me already. He’s wearing black coat with a gray shirt underneath and his black jeans and leather combat boots.

"Cupid..."

"Curse, I'm nervous about what you're going to do."

"I can do it myself."

"But... Curse, you won't be doing just any mission. You'll be facing Midnight himself. We both know what kind of vampire he is and what he's capable of. I'm afraid that he might only bring demise to you when you do it," he said worriedly. I held his hands and squeezed them a little before taking a very deep breath.

"Trust me on this, Cupid. I need you to trust me."

***

They did nothing more when the time came for me to leave the camp. I-I travel to the city where I could find Midnight.

Midnight Morgan is a well-known businessman, not only here. Even other countries know his name. No one knows he's a devil in disguise. He's damn rich and he has a lot of connections.

I'm coming.

I checked the message I received. I just got off the bus I took from the province where the Exiles 77 camp is. I only waited a few minutes before a car stopped in front of me. A man wearing a black three-piece suit came out and opened the door before taking my things, and the moment he rode inside, he glanced at me.

"My boss is currently attending an important event; he will need me later," he said. He’s my father’s friend and the only person I know outside Exiles 77.

"What job can you offer me near him?" I asked.

"He’s now looking for a new assistant," I frowned. What a coincidence. It was so close.

"What happened to his previous assistant?" I asked. He was silent for a moment, so it looked like I already knew.

"He killed her?" He didn't answer again. I knew it.

"You have to be very careful with your actions. And be smart. The assistant that he usually choose are the unique and smart ones. Don't ever make a mistake because you'll end up dead," he warned me. I know. I know this is a dangerous thing to do, but I have no intention of moving backward. I will do everything to get that position. That's the closest.

He took me to MKG Corporation. The company he owns.

"This is the nearest I could get. You’re on your own now. Just inquire inside for the interview. They don't just accept applicants, so do your best. The boss himself interviews his assistants, be wise." I nodded to what he said. He looked again at the very tall building.

I took my luggage and talked to the guard. I left my things with him and went inside carrying the papers. I approached the front desk to ask.

"Miss, I am here to apply as the President's new assistant," The woman stared at me, like she was examining my face.

"Wait a minute, ma'am," she said to someone on the phone before hanging up and looking at me again.

"You can proceed to the 26th floor, ma'am. Someone is waiting for you there to assist you. Mr. Morgan was still on his way," she simply said and I nodded my head still confused about why she didn’t ask me any further.

"Thank you."

I headed to the floor, she said, and just as I expected, a woman greeted me. But this time, she didn't like the girl on the ground floor. There is something special about her that only someone like me can discover. I noticed how her eyes shifted from black to red. That's fast, just a blink and it's back in its black color. Confirmed. She's a vampire. I looked around and there didn't seem to be any people on this floor.

"The President's still minutes away. I have already called him and informed him about you. I am sending you straight to the office, just as he told me." I didn't speak, not because I was okay with it, but because I was controlling myself from killing her.

I just followed her as we rode the elevator. This one's different. It seems that only a selected employees here can use it. She pressed the 88th floor, which I think was the top and last floor, where Midnight's office was. When I arrived, I suddenly felt cold. The temperature on this floor doubled the coldness of the previous floor I'd been on. The lady led me into a dimly lit office room.

"I'll leave you now, Good luck." I nodded my head as I sat down on the visitor's chair. I don't feel any fear or nervousness. I'm itching to face Midnight. This will be my first encounter with him. I only see him in newspapers, magazines, and TV. I wandered my eyes around his office. If you look at it, it seems that only ordinary people with a high social status use it. Everything is in order. There are trophies and medals as well as certificates placed on a single glass shelf.

I stood up and traced the edge of his table as I looked around. I got close to the glass wall and opened the curtain a little, revealing the city view outside. From there, I went a little further to see a hint of my reflection. I was simply wearing a black body-hugging knee-length pencil cut dress and 3 inch pumps, which are also black. This is what Samantha made me wear before I left. My hair was braided, exposing the back of my neck. I returned to the seat I was in earlier, and as I sat down, I felt a presence appear behind me. It was too fast. I didn’t notice it earlier.

"What is your name?" he spoke behind me. I could feel his closeness to me and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"I'm Curse," just Curse.

"Curse..." It seems like he wants to know my full name, and I remember the last name that Cupid and Samantha put on my resume.

"I'm Curse Corrigan," he suddenly disappeared behind me, and in an instant he was in front of me. He's wearing a black three-piece suit. He stood in front and sat down on his desk. He tilted his head and stared at my neck, which made me feel uneasy.

I couldn't immediately react by looking at his face.

"What is your heart's greatest desire, Curse?" He suddenly asked after a short silence of staring at my neck. He gradually raised his gaze to my face.

"Work," I said staring coldly at him.

"Work, sure?" he said with a smirk on his lips. It was a mischievous grin.

"Well, you're hiring. So I am here. That's my heart's desire." He straightened up and came slightly closer to me. He leaned his head close until I could feel his breath against my lips. I noticed him glancing at my neck before he suddenly disappeared from my sight.

"I love your neck; it turns me on every time I stare at it." A very deep, husky voice lingers in my ears as I can feel his warm breath against my skin. I hate to admit it, but he gives me chills.

I wasn't expecting to feel this way, especially with the creature I despised. When his warm lips touched the skin on my neck, I bit my lower lip without breathing. His razor-sharp teeth clenched into my neck. I grasped his tie while trying to suppress a moan. I felt like I was on fire as the heat crept into my body. The desire I feel has intensified. This is wrong. This isn't what I came for.

I didn't know where I got the strength to pierce the veil and uncover whatever it is that lurks within me—or maybe it was this demon’s doing.

He abruptly came to a halt in the middle of what he was doing to me. He was in front of me in an instant, holding my cheek and tracing my lips with his thumb while staring into my eyes.

"Tell me, Curse, what's your heart's deepest and darkest desire?"

As I stared into the depths of his red eyes, I drowned. His eyes embodied the blood moon's color. I feel as if my sanity is being robbed from me.

"To kill you."

"You're hired," even though I was surprised by what I said. I was even more surprised by what I heard from him. That fast?