Her whole body ached as she stayed slumped in the corner of the cold dark trap. This was definitely no way to be spending her birthday but here Mia was, whimpering in the most ridiculous pain, wishing she that it would be all over.

The sound of cracking bones filled her head until it was became a sound she feared. Her weak human body was turning into something with so much power that nobody could handle, but her.  

“Aaah” she screamed out. Her jaw cracked and dislocated as her one normal sized teeth bared sharp canines that were designed to kill. As soon as they retracted, a new overwhelming feeling over came her. Her insides twisted and crushed into themselves. That’s what it felt like.

The intense hunger was overpowering and she wondered how long she could possibly last before passing out with hunger.

Her ears pricked up and her nose picked up a suffocating scent. Heechul’s head popped round the once locked door of the dungeon. His irritable smirk was the last thing Mia wanted to see.

“Sounds like you’re making progress” he remarked.

Mia breathed in heavily. Her hair was a mess and her skin was covered in a faint sheet of sweat. As her chest heaved up and down, she scowled at the man stood before her.

She had nothing to say to him. Nothing she wanted to say at all. He could rot in hell for all she cared. She knew Myungsoo would come for her. Either way, she would get out of this place.

“Still sticking to the silent treatment huh?” Heechul said. He laughed, “You must be hungry though, right? Two days without any solid food and now,” He pulled out a packet of blood and stuck a straw in it like it was a juice carton, “without any blood.”

He took a long sip, knowing Mia would watch with great interest. Heechul wiped his lips and sighed in satisfaction, “Mm, freshly squeezed blood from a pathetic human; what more could one ask for?”

Mia’s eyes followed the bag of blood. It only made her hungrier.

“You want some?” Heechul said. She tore her eyes away from the bag and looked at him. As much as she wanted it, her stubbornness would overpower any sort of feeling she had in her.

“I’d rather die” she spat out.

Heechul scoffed, “Alright, we’ll see how long this lasts before you start begging for it”

He left the room, looking the door with reinforced locks, now that Mia was almost done with her transformation.

Heechul burst into the room where the witch was. Jae’s face feigned with tiredness but with no true set of emotions. She just worked away till her fingers bled with having to continuously handle the pages of every spell book she could find.

“Come on then, have you found it yet? And don’t give me another pathetic response” He demanded. The witch put the book down. Her eyebrows met at the middle in a frown as she read a small passage. She began reading it out aloud to herself.

“Witch, don’t ignore me!” Heechul cried.

Jae stopped reading and looked up. Her bloodshot eyes were the result of having stayed up all night at Heechul’s command.

“I’ve found it.”

Jiho tucked a wooden stake in his belt before pulling on his leather jacket, “Remember to wait for my signal. Once the entrance is clear, then we can get through the others.” He told the others.

“He’ll be keeping her in the dungeon if I know him well, so Myungsoo can go in that direction. The rest of us need to find the witch and Heechul” he directed. The other vampire nodded in understanding, all gearing up as well, ready for the war that was coming up.

“Why do you know him so well?” Sungjong questioned with a hint of suspicion.

“That’s none of your business” Jiho stated in a firm voice.

“We better get going” Taeil intervened, knowing that Jiho would get worked up if anything else was said. The men filed out the door, following Jiho as he led the way to wherever Heechul was at.

Kangin body was flung across the huge hall in Heechul’s home. He groaned in acute pain as his back collided with the hard wall.

Heechul’s smirk never left his face; he relished in the moment of being able to tear apart Kangin.

“Heechul! What the are you doing?” Kangin spat out.

Heechul laughed, his feet stepping closer to the other vampire, “I’m doing something that I’ve wanted to for a very long time. And with you out the way, guess who’ll be the top vampire around here”

Kangin groaned and picked himself up from the floor slowly, “You think you can beat me?” he scoffed in great sarcasm, “No one can beat me”

“I’d really beg to differ” Heechul clicked his fingers. A rusty looking soldier came marching in the room. His robotic steps made its way closer to the two vampires. The soldier came to a halt and it dawned to Kangin when he was the ancient inscriptions tattooed all over the rotting being.

“You...” Kangin stuttered, “What have you done, you crazy idiot?”

Heechul laughed manically, “Something that will make history” he turned to the soldier, “Kill him”

The soldier moved his arm to the side, the spear made from the deepest pit of hell followed with his movements. With one swift movement, the spear struck Kangin’s heart with precision. Kangin took a final strangled breath in as his skin became pasty and cracked until all that was left was dust.

“Good work.” Heechul complimented, “Round up all the other soldiers around the castle; I’m very sure we have visitors coming here soon.”

The set of vampires halted not so far from Heechul’s castle. Jiho watched cautiously as soldier after soldier crawled out from the opening to hell. Rows and rows of them surrounded the castle.

“We’re too late” Jiho muttered.

Myungsoo pushed passed hastily, shoving past Jiho, “No! We can’t be. Mia’s in there, we have to get her”

Sunggyu placed a hand on his friends shoulder, “Myungsoo, there’s no way we can get through them without getting caught”

“What do we do now then?” Jihoon pondered aloud.

“We need a new plan” Jiho stated.