Maya looked at the flames rising high enough to touch the sky. Her vision was washed with a vivid palette of rosy orange, mixing with hints of deep purple. The air carried a soft but distinct floral fragrance.

A figure stood in front of the radiant backdrop, reduced to a shadow by the brightness. It was a raven-haired girl holding a small, delicate, bright magenta flower. As Maya approached, she tossed it into the fire and watched it be swallowed up and disintegrate into nothingness.

Turning towards Maya, the girl spoke in a voice laden with sorrow, "Will you abandon me too?"

A sharp pain pierced Maya's heart as she watched the girl slowly being devoured by flames. She stood there unmoving, silently waiting for her response. However, Maya was unable to answer, no matter how hard she tried.

A miserable smile remained on the girl's face, mixed with disappointment and anticipation. She seemed to know that the answer she yearned for would not come. And soon, she crumbled away before Maya's eyes.

In her hand, Maya discovered the magenta flower. It was then that she realized that this was a funeral.

As she tried to make sense of it, everything began screaming. The flames, the flower, the ashes of her loved ones — all were screaming. Blood-curdling screams filled up her whole being, and Maya awoke.

She shivered in the dark. Her body felt heavy. The temperature outside was below freezing, and here it wasn't much warmer. Maya stood up to stretch her legs and looked at her friend's body lying on the surface of old appliances.

Elena's skin was cold, and Maya felt restless. She kept shivering uncontrollably, uncertain if it was from the cold or stress.

'She's only sleeping,' Maya tried telling herself.

Maya couldn't face the fact that it was her friend's lifeless body. She needed to think, to figure out what to do next, but was unable. Her brain was reliving that moment when she died, over and over again.

She felt Keith's gaze, knowing he was waiting for her to make a decision.

"You're the only one I can trust with this," was what Maya had said to him out there.

She couldn't imagine any of her friends would know how to handle the situation.

It was rather funny, she said that to someone with whom she didn't share that deep of a connection. Her relationship with him was solely defined by his association with Elena. Yet, in this situation, he was the only person she could place her trust in. Never had she felt so alone, not even after losing both of her parents.

When Keith found her frostbitten, sitting on the ground, caressing lifeless Elena's hair as snow blanketed them, he found himself facing an impossible situation. What compelled him to comply with her request not even he knew.

Keith quickly redirected the guards, who followed suit before they discovered them and helped Maya hide the body. He had keys from the laundromat building nearby where he worked. There was a basement accessible from the outside where they kept the discarded old machines, so nobody ever ventured down there.

They carried her here, laid her on dusty old machines, and here they were, remaining in silence, trying to figure out what to do next.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Maya had exhausted herself by crying that the unnerving brief dream that swallowed her didn't feel more frightening than the current reality. Keith must've let her rest for a bit because she was apprehensive. She couldn't call for Leo, and Elena's spirit never appeared.

The last words the vampire directed to Elena didn't feel final, so Maya hoped they could find a way to reverse the situation.

Keith was against it. Although dealing with sorrow himself, he insisted they say their goodbyes and holler up a guard to deal with it.

"Maya, this… this isn't right," he pleaded. "We need to get her to the morgue."

"No," Maya's words were barely a whisper, but she stayed stubborn.

"Look at the blood… she… she might turn. Someone should deal with it quickly."

"I can't abandon her!" Maya yelled out.

Keith was taken aback, staring at her at a loss for words.

"I—I promised…" Maya sniffled.

At this point, Maya was unsure of what she even promised, but Elena's own terrible prediction about her demise kept lingering in her mind.

'I didn't believe it could happen… I thought it was only her pessimistic outlook…'

Elena lived each day as if it were her last, often neglecting her own well-being, and they often clashed about it. Maya, a firm believer that no one was ever truly lost, couldn't meet eye to eye with her fatalistic outlook. Yet, they found common ground; Elena spurred Maya into action, while Maya kept Elena grounded to prevent her from drifting away.

'I shouldn't have left her alone.'

Maya blamed herself for failing in her role.

'I sensed something was off, but instead of probing into it, I envied her powers. I knew this world was more than it seemed. I could have asked Maureen for guidance, consulted Anastasia… But I chose to ignore it all, even becoming irritated by Elena's erratic behaviour.'

Maya couldn't stop blaming herself.

'I neglected my friend when I should've been decisive and tackled the underlying problem, simply because it was inconvenient.'

She avoided conversing with Anastasia out of fear that she would confirm the conspiracy. She also refrained from having a proper discussion with Elena, who was dealing with the aftermath of something Maya had coveted, delegating her to Keith's care.

"I don't know what you promised, Maya, but it's too late now," Keith said, investing a great deal of effort to keep calm.

"If…if we just wait a little…" Maya uttered, "She'll return…"

"She's dead!" This time, Keith raised his voice. "Gods have taken her into their embrace. The only thing that can return is not Elena!" He was desperately trying to put some sense into Maya.

"But there's a chance!" Maya countered.

"No!"

"There are cases…" Maya ignored his response. "…miraculous cases when they are healed instead of turned."

"Maya, her neck is broken! There's no coming back from such an injury!"

"How would you know!?"

"Have some common sense! She will either turn into a monster or decompose before our eyes. There is no middle ground!" Keith cried out. "If you want to keep her here, we should at least stake her heart."

Maya was horrified, "How can you write her off so easily?"

Keith was dumbstruck. "I'm not writing her off! Do you think I like this? Do you think I wanted her dead?! This is breaking my heart, but I don't want to see her turn into something grotesque and horrifying!" Keith turned away, wiping his face with his palms.

Tears started rolling down Maya's cheeks. She knew Keith spoke reason, but in her heart, it wasn't easy to let it go.

"Vampires are vicious and vengeful. If we let her turn, the very first thing she may do is kill us."

"I know…" Maya's voice was smaller than a whisper. "I'm sorry, but I can't… I can't let her go. Tell me there is another way," Maya was sobbing.

Keith slowly turned to look at her. From his expression, she could tell he had no suggestions to give.

Maya sniffled and took a deep breath. "Give me some time, Keith," Maya pleaded. "If I don't think of a solution, we'll do as you say."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.