ELLE
I suddenly woke up when my phone started ringing. I picked it up and saw that Dixy was calling, so I immediately answered.
“Hello,” I said lifelessly.
“What happened to you, Elle? Did someone die?”
“I just woke up. I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep here in the office. Why did you call?”
“Come to my house when you get off work. I have something to show you.”
“Is it about vampires? Sure, I’ll come over right away.” I was about to end the call when she suddenly spoke again.
“Wait! What’s going on with you? We haven’t seen each other for only a few days, and suddenly you’re already so interested in vampires.”
I couldn’t answer her question right away. Even though she was my friend, I still couldn’t tell her what I knew. She might freak out.
“N-nothing. Okay, I’m on my way. Bye!” I ended the call.
I looked at Sir Blade’s desk. He still wasn’t here. Where could he have gone? And who was this “special person” Ms. Jane said he went to see? Why was I even thinking about him? I only came here for work.
I had just woken up, and I hadn’t even realized that I had fallen asleep here in the office. I was the only one left, so it was no wonder I got sleepy.
I fixed myself and gathered my things. It was time to go home, and I would head straight to Dixy’s place because she said she had something to show me. I hoped it was about vampires because I still wanted to learn more about them.
I walked out of the office. It seemed like there was no chance Blade would come back to the company tonight. Ms. Jane was right—he had gone to meet someone special to him. Who could that person be? She must be incredibly special if Blade was willing to leave work just to see her.
I shouldn’t be thinking about Blade anymore. It seemed like what he told me before about liking me wasn’t even true. I was just stupid for falling for him so quickly.
But how could I get him out of my mind?
It was difficult, especially since I saw him every night at the company. It was even harder because, little by little, he was beginning to take up a space in my heart.
When I left the company, I immediately walked toward the jeepney stop. It was close to the company, so I waited there. There were only a few jeepneys at this hour, so sometimes I had to wait a while before getting home.
I was already waiting when the vehicles stopped because the traffic light had turned red. I noticed a beautiful black car in front of me.
I knew who it belonged to.
It was Sir Blade’s!
I didn’t know what to do when I realized it was his car. It looked like he had just gotten home and was on his way back to the office. I peeked through the car window, but because the windows were tinted, I couldn’t see clearly.
I could make out two people inside. I was certain Blade was driving because I recognized his build.
I looked at the person beside him.
It was a woman.
She had long hair, and she looked beautiful and sexy.
Was she the special person Ms. Jane was talking about?
Why did my heart hurt so much at that moment?
Was it really that easy for Blade to deceive me?
I didn’t understand myself. Why did I have to fall for him?
I quickly looked away when Blade turned toward the window. Thankfully, the traffic light turned green, and the vehicles started moving again.
It seemed like he hadn’t noticed me.
My heart felt as if it were being torn apart by what I had witnessed. Blade was happy with someone else.
Why was it that just when I was starting to fall for him, he wasn’t there to catch me?
I was startled when the jeepney in front of me honked. I forced myself to calm down because I might end up crying right there on the street.
I quickly got on the jeepney, and the ride was quiet.
I got off at the road leading to Dixy’s house. I tried not to think about what I had seen earlier.
Maybe I should just forget what I felt for him. There was no future for us anyway.
When I arrived in front of Dixy’s house, I removed my black high heels and immediately went inside. They knew me here, so I didn’t need to knock. Besides, it was already late, and I might wake her parents.
I went upstairs to the second floor and headed toward her room. I opened the door and saw Dixy sitting on her bed, watching something on TV.
“Good thing you’re finally here, Elle,” Dixy said.
She pulled me closer and made me face the TV.
“What did you want me to watch, Dixy?” I placed my bag on her bed.
“Don’t you remember that the killings around here stopped for a few days?”
“Yes. That’s a good thing. At least it reduces everyone’s fear around here.”
It was because of Blade that the killings had stopped for a few days.
He had killed that vampire.
“There’s another victim, Elle.”
I frowned at what Dixy said.
The vampire responsible for the killings was already dead, so this should have stopped.
“Watch this.”
Dixy pressed enter on her laptop, and the video began playing.
It showed CCTV footage from a restaurant near our neighborhood.
Two men dressed in black appeared on the screen. They were leaning against the wall of the closed restaurant, as if they were waiting for someone.
A few moments later, a woman who looked like she had just come home from work walked past them.
The woman stopped when one of the men spoke to her. We couldn’t hear their conversation in the video, but I could tell that the woman was starting to become nervous.
One of the vampires stared at her, and I clearly saw his eyes change color.
It only took a moment.
The woman suddenly stopped moving.
Then the two vampires attacked her, sinking their teeth into her neck.
That was where the CCTV footage ended.
What they did to those people was horrifying.
They didn’t even show any mercy.
“Did you notice the change in that vampire’s eyes earlier, Elle?”
“Yes, Dixy.”
“One of the abilities vampires have is hypnotism. Once you fall under their hypnotism, you lose control of yourself and become unaware of what you’re doing. They can control you.”
Dixy explained it to me, but I wasn’t surprised. I already knew about hypnotism.
“When will this end, Dixy? Won’t they ever stop killing innocent people?”
“I don’t know either, Elle. There’s nothing we can do right now because we can’t fight them.”
Dixy was right.
We couldn’t fight them.
We might just end up becoming victims ourselves.
But what if I were the one who encountered a vampire?
As far as I knew, their hypnotism didn’t work on me. It hadn’t worked when Sebastian tried it on me.
I still didn’t know why.
But what would I do after that?
Even though I was immune to hypnotism, I couldn’t forget that vampires were incredibly powerful and could easily kill me in an instant.
“We just need to be safe, Elle. Do you still have the potion I gave you?”
I scratched my head when she asked.
“Uh… I spilled it.”
“Oh, Elle! Good thing I made a lot of potions. I’m actually thinking about selling them so other people can have some protection too.”
“That’s a good idea, Dixy. Sell them so at least we humans have something to defend ourselves against the vampires.”
“I’m only considering it for now. I know it would be a lot of work.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
For now, it seemed like I would have to rely on Dixy’s potions for my safety.
Then I remembered what Blade had told me before.
Call me whenever you need help.
Was that really true?
Probably not.
Even though he had saved me from Sebastian before, I still couldn’t be certain that he would be willing to help me the next time I was in danger.
But then I thought of another way to stop the killings in our neighborhood.
What if I asked Blade for help?
What if I asked him to convince the other vampires to stop killing innocent people?
He could probably do it, right?
They seemed to know each other, and from what I had heard, Blade’s father was the one who ruled over the other vampires. Maybe Blade could talk to his father about it.
But how could I talk to Blade when I had been avoiding him?
There was nothing wrong with talking to him tomorrow, right?
Argh.
I had already made up my mind.
I will talk to Blade tomorrow.