The City Of Caves

That’s the thing about this city. There were many ways to enter, but only one to exit. There were many people, but it was deserted. There were children, but no laughter. There were people, but only robots. There was never a moment where something new would happen. There was only a repetition of day by day. Our story takes place in the past future. Life is currently peaceful, just like our wanted utopia. Everyone lives in peace, with no conflict nor arguments, in every place but Eroda. What was in Eroda that was so special, you may ask. It was the fact that the town had something that could pull you in, but push you out. Your heart could be magnetically linked to the house, but it would repel you, just like a magnet. Everyone wanted to live there. There was a secret, which no one knew. It was the City Of Caves. 

Yui was frustrated. Her whole life had been spent in the dark. Quite literally, actually. She was a vampire. The whole neighborhood on Eroda were vampires. That was where it got its name. They all lived in caves, which appeared to be houses. Her dad, the dentist of the neighborhood, was frankly, an evil scientist. He ran multiple experiments on all of the vampires during their “dentist appointments”. He injected them with garlic extract, thus helping them form immunity to garlic. You see, Yui’s dad, Eric, wanted to take over the world. He knew that humans believed that vampires were deathly afraid of garlic. So, by slowly building up their immunity, they could finally take over the world. “Why are you doing this?!” Yui shouted at her dad, who was maniacally approaching her with a needle. “Sweetie, it’s for your own good. Come on, don’t resist….” He whispered in a voice that could freeze thousands, if not millions of people.

Eric finally decided the time was right. In the weekly garlic extract injections, he had added a solution to brainwash the whole clutch. He announced it was time to open a portal and attack the humans. They agreed, all because of the injections. Yui was a different case. Eric had decided to give her pills instead because he knew she would never agree to injections after the first time. Even though he was crazy, he still cared just a little for his daughter. Of course, Yui never took the pills. 

The portal was finally open. The vampires flooded through every day, sometimes with human captives, sometimes not. One day, her dad came through with a girl. He said in a gruff voice “This thing is your responsibility. Take care of it. “ Yui groaned. “Seriously?! She is not a “thing”. You need to learn how to not do this. I will not.” Eric was flaring up. “You are my daughter. I don’t care what you think. You will listen to me. NOW!” Yui had enough. “No. I am taking the girl and going. I don’t care what you think anymore. You need to learn some respect.” And with that, Yui grabbed the girl’s hand from her dad and marched out of her house. 

The girl was scared. Yui could feel it. You see, as vampires, they could read people just like a book. Or magazine. Or dictionary. She gulped “Who are you, and what are you doing with me?” “I am Yui, and I am going to push you off a cliff.” “Really?” “Of course not. What are you, 5? What’s your name?” “Uh… My name is Jenna.” “Ok. Well here’s the plan. We are going to live in the shelter that I built specifically for times like this.” “Ok.” Jenna and Yui walked into a forest, and soon, Yui opened a trapdoor that leads to a slide. She said “Ok, here is the entrance. Go ahead and just slide down.” Jenna thought about it, then slid down. Yui soon followed. 

The shelter couldn’t be called a shelter anymore. More like a mansion. “You built this all by yourself?” “Yup. Now close your mouth. You’re gonna catch flies.” If you’re wondering why, here’s why. The house had five bedrooms, six bathrooms, each complete with a bathtub and shower. There was a handmade pool with bamboo walls and a pool slide. There was a kitchen stocked with every food you could ever want. There was also another room that was a playground. Yui was exceptionally good with her hands. “Why’d you build this?” Jenna asked. “Long story. I was kinda bored so I just built it, and I keep adding onto it now. If you’d like, you can help.” “Ok. But, I’m tired. Where do I sleep?” 

Eric was getting worried. It was midnight, surely Yui would be back soon. She didn’t mean what she said right? But somewhere in his heart, he kept telling himself that it was his fault. Maybe if he hadn’t started this. Maybe if he’d cared more about her, this wouldn’t have happened. But, he couldn’t back down now. He was the ruler of the kingdom, with humans serving them. He felt that something was off. Maybe it was he had no family left. But, it didn’t matter anyway. He had all the riches in the world. Right?

Meanwhile, in the shelter, Yui and Jenna were slowly becoming best friends. They both liked the same music, liked the same foods, and liked to cook. Eric was nervous. He was willing to give up everything for his daughter back. But, Yui didn’t want to go back. In fact, she wanted to move to another part of Eroda, where she’d already built a shelter/fort/mansion. It was almost a replica of the one they were living in now, just bigger and more luxurious. Yui and Jenna packed their bags and Yui opened a portal. They stepped through the portal and appeared on the other side of Eroda- the silent, dark, and lonely side. 

Eric didn’t know what to do. He missed his kid, but didn’t want to give up his wealth. What should he do?