Chapter 20

The night was young in Zambia in the town of Kafue. The moon was out and the sky was clear. A little Zambian boy ran around was playing with his dog on his way home from the market. In his hand was a plastic bag of tomatoes and onions. He sang a happy tune as he trotted barefoot on the gravel road.

His dog suddenly stood still with its tail held up high and straight. It looked ahead and growled. The little boy followed its gaze in order to see what upset it. He gasped when he saw them.

Three suspicious looking men stood at the center of the road. They started to walk majestically towards the boy with grins on their faces. The dog boldly barked in response.

The boy shakily took a step back. His entire body trembled in fear and his big eyes stretched so wide that they could be seen from afar in the moonlight.

He knew that what was before him were not human. They were vampires! Better known as vibanda in nyanja; the local language of Kafue.

The blood thirsty creatures drew even closer and the boy dropped the plastic bag of tomatoes and onions in fear. He tried to make a run for it but he couldn't. His legs were frozen by fear. Not even his toes obeyed his commands. The dog barked so much but the vampires weren't bothered by it.

A pair of cold hands settled on the little boy's shoulders. He slowly looked up and cried at the fangs of the vampire behind him. He opened his mouth to scream but his throat was suddenly too dry.

"What a useless mother you have, sending you to the market this time of the night." one of them in front of him said.

"Aka kazankala kanga guys." the one holding him claimed. "You three have fed at least two times this night."

"No problem boi." another one said with a dark grin.

Upon hearing this, the vampire roughly turned the boy to face him. "Osayopa mufana," he whispered to him and the boy yelped. "You learnt about the food chain at school right? Therefore you should know that this is perfectly normal." the vampire licked its lips.

A scream finally made its way out and the dog shot into action. It was unfortunately pulled by its tail and slammed hard against a tree. The dog whimpered and weakly pulled itself up.

"Simba, stay down boy!" the boy cried and with so much pain in his heart, he faced up to the vampire. "Please, don't hurt my dog anymore. He is useless to you but he means the world to my sisters."

A soft chuckle graced the dark lips of the vampire. His yellow eyes beamed in excitement. "What a selfless boy you are."

His words were received with a growl. "Hurry up Tamandani." one of the other vampires expressed his impatience.

Tamandani got his fangs ready and the little boy closed his eyes - barely accepting his fate. To his surprise, Tamandani let go of him. The boy opened his eyes and saw Whitney holding Tamandani up from behind by the neck. The other vampires gasped at the sight.

"Let go of me!" Tamandani panicked while the little boy watched in amazement. He never imagined that he would ever see a vampire look so helpless. "Let go of me!" he repeated with aggression.

A bright red light appeared around Tamandani. It left him and made its way to Whitney through her arm. Tamandani was completely still whilst Whitney absorbed him. By the time his body turned dull and skinny, his eyes already disappeared. When Whitney finally had enough, she tossed what was left of him aside like it was garbage.

Whitney crushed the head of the vampire into dust with her flat black thigh boot. She flashed her glowing red eyes to the other vampires and they cut and ran into the hills at a super sonic speed.

"Fuck! I wasn't expecting to see a darkas god here boi."

"Just shut up and keep running!"

Melonina stepped out of the shadows the moment Whitney went after the vampires. Her pink eyes met the innocent brown ones staring at her in fear.

"It is safe now, little one." she warmly remarked and eyed the unconscious dog by the tree. "I hear some people approaching. I will wait for them with you. It's best they help you carry your dog home. I know you don't trust me enough to do that." she popped her bubblegum and faced up to the moon.

The boy ran to the aid of his dog. He brought its head to his lips and hugged it emotionally. "Zikomo," he said and received a thumbs up.

****

The vampires raced past the trees, blowing birds out of their nests. Whitney suddenly landed in front of them. The three charged at her immediately but she stomped the ground causing an earthquake. The vampires fell to the ground. One of them tried to get up but Whitney forced his head down and quickly absorbed the gamarax in him.

Seeing that, the other two got to their feet and turned to run away again. With quick and flash steps, Whitney appeared in front of them and grabbed them by their necks. She held them high and absorbed them.

"Damn it Akirexer, you should have left some for me." Melonina landed behind her with a thud.

"I'm sorry," Whitney respond with her back turned to her.

"So tell me, how do you feel?" Melonina smirked at Whitney with the cool wind blowing her pink hair.

Whitney turned around. Her eyes were still glowing red and for the first time her fangs popped out. The wind did the same for her maroon hair. Whitney brought her hand up to her face and balled up into a fist with a red spark. "I have never felt so alive."

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TRANSLATIONS

Aka kazankala kanga guys means this one is mine guys.

Boi means friend or buddy or pal

Vibanda means ghosts.

Osayopa mufana means don't be afraid kid.

Zikomo means thank you.

This language is known as Nyanja. It is a widely spoken language in the town of Kafue in Zambia.