Chapter 27: Chapter 27

It was my first day back at work, but it was also my last. After talking with Nick, we agreed that the best way to protect myself was to find a day job. As Nick said, although most vampires could walk about during daytime, they were not at the peak of their powers and, therefore, less likely to attack. It would be hard to find a new one with the same compensation and perks, but I already accepted that trade-off. Staying away from vampires craving my blood was more important to me than getting a fat paycheck.

Unless, of course, I took up Nick’s offer of joining his own IT team. My specialty was computer graphics and animation, skills that wouldn’t really benefit him since his company was more into IT security and applications. But Nick brushed it off and said it didn’t matter, as he thought I would fit in well. Even though I got the feeling that he just wanted to keep a closer eye on me, it was still nice of him to think I was worthy of the job. The pay was good, he said, upping his ante. I said I would think about it just to keep him in suspense. I was already considering it before he even mentioned the salary. Nick’s company was a start-up with great potential and it would be a great opportunity to be a pioneer in something like that.

Strangely, my resignation didn’t surprise Greg. He said he saw it coming, even though he hoped otherwise. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had left the team. Kris resigned two days ago, while Jasmine and Roxanne hadn’t reported for work since Christmas. Greg theorized that someone had been pirating personnel from our company, offering better pay and benefits. He didn’t quite believe me when I said my reasons for leaving were personal rather than financial. His conclusion didn’t offend me. Greg was a pragmatic guy. It was only natural for him to think that people decided based on monetary gains alone. I wasn’t truly sorry to leave this place, but I felt sad when I said goodbye to Jenny. We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch.

My next stop was the flat I shared with Jan and Mel. Boris was surely trailing behind me, even though I couldn’t see him. I hadn’t expected to see the girls there, as they told me they wouldn’t be coming home for a couple of days. But they were there when I opened the door. This was when I truly cried. I spent the happiest days of my life here, and even though I knew this arrangement wasn’t permanent, I never thought I would be the first to leave. I would definitely miss this place. And I would miss the crazy girls who took me in when I needed them the most. When I told Jan over the phone that I would move in with Nick, she was heartbroken, but at the same time, happy for me. Now, saying my last goodbyes to my tiny room, Jan promised to keep it always ready for me, in case I needed to take a break from Nick every once in a while. Mel wasn’t so subtle. She promised to kick Nick’s ass if he ever made me cry and would take me back from him at the first sign of trouble. We hugged each other tightly before diving into the humongous pizza Mel brought home. We were just cleaning up and waiting for Nick to arrive and help me with my things when the doorbell rang. Thinking Nick had come earlier than promised, I ran to the door and happily flung it open. It startled me to find Kris standing outside instead of Nick.

“Kris? What are you doing here, girl?” I said, wondering how she found out where I lived. Did she memorize the address on my ID? Why? We got along fine at work, but we were not that close. Not close enough to visit each other at home, anyway.

“Hey, Mira. What’s up?” Kris said, smiling nervously at me.

Something was off. Despite the eerily over-friendly smile plastered on her lips, Kris looked like she didn’t want to be here. And there was a furtiveness about her that wasn’t there before. She also kept tugging at the red scarf around her neck, like it was irritating her skin.

“How did you find out where I live?” I asked, observing her reaction.

Kris looked shocked by my question, like I discovered some big secret she was hiding.

“Uh...you told me. Yes, you told me once. And I have an excellent memory,” Kris said.

Her memory might be good, but mine was better. I never told her where I lived. Not even once. I would’ve remembered if I did.

“Who is it, Mira?” Jan said, running up to me, probably wondering what was taking so long.

“It’s Kris, a friend from work,” I said, not taking my eyes off of Kris.

“Oh? Then why don’t you invite her in?” Jan said.

“Yes, Mira. Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Kris said.

The way Kris said it sent my spidey-senses tingling. My gut told me to hold off the invitation. “Why do you want to come in, Kris?” I asked.

“Maybe, so we can talk properly?” Kris said, smirking at me.

“Hey, Mira, what’s wrong with you? Just let her in, will you?” Jan said.

It was during this stand-off that I finally realized what was wrong with Kris. This wasn’t her anymore. Not the Kris I knew back then, not the Kris who loved to party and drink.

“No. I can’t invite you in, Kris. You’re not welcome here,” I said.

Behind me, Jan gasped in shock, but I ignored her. I was waiting for Kris’ reaction. If I was right, she wouldn’t be able to hide her true nature.

The smile that slowly curled her lips was absolutely macabre. Then it became feral and her eyes turned as red as her lipstick. She tried to grab my arms, her fangs glinting malevolently in the dim light. She was snarling and hissing at me in anger.

“You’ve always been an uptight, holier-than-thou bitch, Almira. You’re going to regret this!”

Jan screamed and pulled me back, putting as much distance between me and Kris as she could. Mel came running from behind us and with a shout slammed the door in Kris’s face, locking it up tight. When she turned to us, Mel’s horrified eyes were as big as saucers.

“Oh, my god! Who was that, Mira? What was that? Why did she have fangs?” Jan said, sitting shakily on the sofa.

Now, how was I going to explain everything to my two best friends without sounding like a total lunatic?

“Because she’s a vampire, you dimwit,” Mel said, sitting beside her sister.

“What? Are you nuts? Vampires aren’t real. They’re just a product of man’s creative imagination. They’re fictional characters! Aren’t they?” Jan said, turning to me.

Both of them were now staring up at me, waiting for an explanation I didn’t know how to deliver. Well, considering that Mel seemed ready to accept the existence of actual vampires, perhaps I wouldn’t have such a hard time telling them the truth. But was it the right thing to do? I somehow understood Nick’s problem before. It wasn’t too hard to say that vampires were real, because they truly were. However, would that knowledge be helpful or detrimental to them? Knowing my two girls, though, I knew they would rather face hard truths than live with convenient lies. In that regard, we three were very much alike.

I promised Nick that I would keep his secret. However, Kris already exposed Jan and Mel to his hidden world without meaning to. They witnessed something they wouldn’t ever be able to forget. And I couldn’t just keep the two people I loved dearly ignorant of the potential danger they were now in. I didn’t know if Kris would come back, but if she did, then I’d rather have my friends prepared to defend themselves. Forewarned, forearmed, as I always said.

Taking a deep breath, I sat on the coffee table across from my friends, determined to answer their questions as best as I could.

“No, Jan. Vampires aren’t just fictional characters. They’re real and they’ve been living with us for thousands of years. Possibly even longer.”

Jan shook her head while Mel nodded. The stark contrast between the two sisters couldn’t be more distinct than they were now. Both were dealing with the bomb I dropped on their laps in their own way. Mel was the more logical of the two and therefore had an easier time to associate fact with fiction. And the fact was that she saw Kris turn into a bloodsucking vampire right before her eyes. In her mind, the existence of vampires couldn’t be more factual than that. Jan was more romantic and idealistic. She couldn’t believe that creatures associated with evil could really exist in her perfect world.

“But...how can you be so sure, Mira? Maybe she was just playing a prank on you,” Jan insisted.

“Because she’s not the only vampire I know,” I said.

“W-what? What are you talking about?” Jan said, tears leaking down her cheeks.

“Listen, before I go any further, I need you to understand that not all vampires are evil. In fact, there are those who didn’t even want to be vampires. And there are those who capture vampires who kill humans.”

“Like vampire police officers?” Mel said, her eyes twinkling with unbridled interest.

“Er...yeah. Basically, they’re like that. And then there are those who don’t even drink human blood. Or if they do, they buy it from blood banks.”

Mel looked absolutely fascinated, but Jan was still dealing with her disbelief.

“How do you know all this, Mira? Are you one of them?” Jan said, looking at me with suspicion.

“No,” I chuckled, unable to control the laughter bubbling inside me. My mom used to say that I had the bizarre habit of laughing at the most inappropriate of times. “But I’ve met a couple of them. The good and the bad of the lot.”

“I-I...what? Oh, my god, this is so...when did this happen?” Jan cried.

“Remember when I didn’t come home for two days and told you I went out partying?”

Jan nodded, comprehension dawning on her face.

“I didn’t go out partying with my teammates. Vampires attacked me on my way home.”

“Oh, my god, Mira! How did you get away?” Mel gasped.

“I didn’t. But Nick saved me.”

“Nick saved you? How? Is he also a vampire?” Jan asked.

When I didn’t answer right away, Jan started crying. “Oh, my gods, Mira. I can’t believe this is happening. Have you gone out of your mind? And you,” Jan said, head snapping to her sister. “How can you accept all this so calmly?”

Mel glanced at me before answering. “Because I’ve somehow known all along.”

“What? How—”

“When we were in Cebu, I went out with one of my former classmates, right? And he told me something strange. He said that they treated two patients, one male, one female, bearing identical wounds on their necks. The male had lost a lot of blood, even though they couldn’t find any outward or internal signs on his body to warrant such loss. Except for the tiny wounds on their necks, neither had any other injuries. Both couldn’t remember what happened to them either, so they couldn’t draw any conclusions. This wasn’t the first time I heard about something like this, though. Remember when I volunteered at a Baguio hospital? During my short term there, I had seen at least three people brought in with the same condition. Excess loss of blood, but no attributable wounds. There were also a couple who ended up in the morgue. This was where I first heard the whisperings about vampire attacks. I thought it was just crazy talk, of course. But after today…”

“You never told me anything about this,” Jan said, taking her sister’s hand.

“You never would’ve believed me,” Mel said. “Even now, after seeing that girl with fangs bared, you still don’t want to believe. You’d rather think it’s just a prank.”

Jan seemed taken aback by Mel’s words. She shook her head and cried silent tears.

“I’m sorry...it’s just too much to take in. How can these people exist without us knowing?” Jan said, turning to me with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Mira, for not believing you right away.”

“It’s okay, Jan. I had a hard time accepting it as well. But, to answer your question. They work hard to keep their world hidden and separate from us as much as possible. So, they have people rounding up those who break the rules. Not all of them are blood-thirsty monsters, Jan. Some just want to be left alone.”

Jan nodded and smiled at me. “I guess I’m the one who needs to adjust to this new reality.”

Mel smiled encouragingly at her sister before turning back to me. “I have one question, though. Why are all these vampires suddenly coming out of the woodworks?”

“I wish I knew. All I can say is what Nick told me. And that is that there’s been a recurrence of attacks recently. And they’re targeting people with rare blood types.”

“Like us?” Jan croaked; horror written in her eyes.

“Yes, but more specifically, orphans like me.”