I am the first.

And yet, I am the last.

There will never again be one such as I.

Me. I am the unnatural one. An abomination.

What am I? You do not want to know.

But I shall tell you.

If you wish to read on I shall tell you my story. What I am. Who I am.

If you are prepared for the truth – the real truth, not what you believe to be the truth - then read on. I don't care if you believe it or not, it is your choice. I cannot - will not - choose for you.

This is my story.

I

Interitus

Blood.

Blood was everywhere.

As was death.

Slowly, I turned, blankly surveying the scene around me. I ignored the mutterings coming from the platform. It was their fault, not mine. This was the result of their tests.

I was Death itself. It was both my name and who I was. Morana. Death.

Something trickled down my cheek. Reaching up, I caught it on a pale finger and glared at it. Blood. Not my blood. It was the blood of one of the people lying on the forest floor around me.

I sniffed. It was Šiwa, her blood, not mine. What did it matter? It was her fault for being a part of this test.

No. That was not right. It was their fault. It was their test. They made me like this. My head snapped up. It was them. Those things grouped together, muttering – afraid of their own creation. Me. Morana. Death.

Šiwa. Life. Why had her life not been longer? I paused, contemplating - Life itself is what gives birth to Death. Naturally it made sense for Life, the mother of Death, to die by my hands. Morana. Death. To die by Death's hands.

"Her own mother..." I could hear the anguished whisper. I could hear everything.

"Monster..." Monster? Who was the monster? You were the ones who created me.

Their fault.

I took a small step towards the crowd. Their fault. Everything was their fault.

They noticed my movement, minor as it was. They were quite advanced. Not like humans. They were – more. Stronger, faster, smarter. The Ahkbar. But if they were so much more intelligent than the humans, then why create me? Could they not invent more fearsome weapons than the humans' own?

Ha. They thought they could win this battle without destroying the planet with nuclear warfare. Perhaps they could, but this was not the way. I could not – would not - forgive them. It was their fault that it has come to this. Their fault that Šiwa was dead.

My eyes narrowed as I saw them begin to flee. No. I would never let them escape.

They were more, but they were not enough.

Their legs were longer, but mine were faster. I caught up to them in seconds. Their screams echoed in my ears as I tore them apart. How irritating. They had no right to be screaming, begging for their lives – they had ended so many themselves. They had ended mine.

I made quick work of the crowd - they were easy prey. Only once I was finished did I realize I was drenched in their blood. I narrowed my eyes, having their blood on me disgusted me.

Suddenly, an agonizing pain burned its way down my throat.

Clutching my throat, I picked my way through the bodies, searching. There. Šiwa. I made my way over to her body. To my surprise, she was still alive – barely.

"Morana..." her lips barely moved, her eyes cracked open. She was dying. "My Morana... My baby..."

I tilted my head. I felt no attachment to this broken creature before me. This was not my mother. Šiwa was stronger than this. This thing was nothing. Slowly I bent over her, as if to whisper in her ear. Her eyes fluttered shut before snapping open in pain as I sank my fangs into her neck.

"Ugh," she moaned, holding back her pain. She knew what was happening. She knew that she was going to die – it was inevitable. Only her blood was not tainted. She was the only one among the throngs of bodies piled around us. I knew the pain she was feeling right now was unbearable, but at the same time, I knew that she simply accepted it.

I drained her. She was dead before I finished.

A thought struck me as I raised my head. It was not only their fault, they wished for peace – in the beginning. The humans were the ones who insisted on this foolhardy war. It was the humans' fault.

I stood. There was no point in being here any longer. Taking care not to touch the pools of blood surrounding me, I slipped through the bodies, heading through the trees.

I would judge for myself whether the humans deserved to survive.

I was heading towards civilization.