#vamliy

Hex always saw the sun as an oppressive force, forcing those under it into submission with heat and pain, so the loss of it was no big issue. Hex listened to other vampires wax on and on about how much they missed the sun and how it felt upon their skin, but Hex never had any sympathy for them. Everyone was enslaved by the rays of sunlight, they just didn’t know it yet.

Hex saw themselves as being contained now, rather than forced into submission. The night was a box that kept Hex safe, protecting them from becoming a slave. Even the city itself felt the same. Sure tourism was strong in New Orleans during the day, but the city never felt more alive than at night, when the air was slightly cooler and being outside wasn’t as dangerous.

When Hex was first turned, they did not realize the extent to which the sun harmed them, and it was fatal. Hex had tried to continue to live with their family, since they were still in college. Hex didn’t want to lose their family and was naive, like every new vampire, a lesson that was hard learned.

Hex had been sleeping in their room when their brother, Samael, opened the door and tried to wake them to go out on a shopping trip. The beam of light struck Hex across their arm with a hiss and the world turned red.

When other colors started to come back, Hex was covered in blood, their skin bubbling in the areas the sunlight had touched them, the body of their brother laying on the bed, bleeding out. It was dark outside now, the sun long gone.

Hex tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late, and Hex was too young to know how to make another vampire. Their sire had warned them this would happen, and Hex had insisted they would be fine. They slowly realized they had also fed from Samael and Hex started to feel sick.

Blood splattered on the top of Hex’s shoe from the tears seeping down their face. Wiping them up was a hopeless endeavor with the amount of blood in the room. There was only one thing they could do.

Run.

Run until they couldn’t run any further.

Hex ran to the ocean shore, the light from the moon rippling on the waves as steam liners traveled to the dock yards. They couldn’t return to their old life any further, not after what happened.

Hex woke to the sound of the church bells ringing. The light was shining just enough where they could tell it was getting close to sundown. Hex was groggy and didn’t want to get moving too early, otherwise, they would be stuck inside, unable to do anything.

Listening again to the bells, Hex suddenly realized they were not the normal church bells that rang out in the night. These were the bells of years ago, the night of the fire that swept through New Orleans and destroyed most of it.

‘Shit'

They quickly move through their haven getting ready for the night, even though a fresh change of clothes was all they really needed. Their space was small, a rental apartment on the top floor of the house, a place where they could have some privacy. The landlord did not enter the apartment without asking first, and Hex always paid rent on time, so no need to worry about what happened up there. Hex kept a small altar where they would keep their offerings. They kept blackout curtains in the windows and the door was decently locked. It wasn’t going to keep out someone if they really wanted to get in, but most break-ins happened at night, so Hex was fairly comfortable they were safe.