Chapter 61 - Midnight Hunt In The Forest

Julie stared at the words that were written in the text message. Of course, she knew she wasn't at her home because she didn't have one, or more precisely to be told, it had turned into a house of horror for her. 

'Julianne.'

Reading the line over and over again, Julie's hands slowly started to turn cold, and her face turned pale as if blood drained from her face. It couldn't be, said Julie in her mind. The only person apart from her who would go to that house was her father. She locked the phone, putting the phone down on the bed, she sat down to stare at it.

Her father was in prison for killing her mother. 

Julie's phone beeped again, the phone screen turning on and off, letting her know that she had an unread message waiting for her to read. She opened the text message—

'Where are you?'

Unsure of who had sent her, if it was someone from her previous school who was trying to bully her again by trying to know about her whereabouts, Julie called up her uncle as quickly as she could. She heard the line continuously ring for a while until it was picked up. 

"Julie? Is everything alright?" asked Uncle Thomas from the other side of the phone. "How are you?"

"I am doing well, Uncle Thomas. How about yourself?" she returned the question in a polite tone. 

"Just the same work on Sunday in the garage. You know," Julie heard Uncle Thomas' hearty laugh. "Are you coming here? I will have the room prepared for you."

"No no," replied Julie quickly and then she said, "I actually had something to ask you." 

"Yes, tell me?" 

Julie took a moment, trying to frame the sentence before she said, "I was wondering if you recently went to meet my father."

"..." Hearing the silence from the other side, she softly gulped while holding her breath. Uncle Thomas then said, "I haven't gone to meet him, Julie. I haven't seen him since the time the officers took him from the court."

"And the house?" she asked him. 

"Well, the house is still there and right now in your name. Have you decided to sell it?" asked Uncle Thomas, and this time it was Julie, who went quiet. It was the home that was left vacant since she moved to her uncle's house and then to the Dormitorium. 

It was the very house where she had lost her mother. Also, a house that was filled with her mother's memories. Memories that were precious to her. Her mother wasn't alive, but Julie treasured every corridor and corner of the house. It was the last remnants of her mother, something she had clung to and didn't want to part with it. 

A memory that was both good and bad. 

"No, Uncle Tom," came the quiet words from Julie's lips. "I don't think I am ready to sell the house just yet."

"That's alright, dear. Take as much time as you want," said Uncle Thomas, and Julie stared at the wall that was in front of her. "What did you want to ask about the house?"

"That, if anyone else had the key to it?" asked Julie, wanting to confirm. 

"I don't think so. There was only one key, the one that you have," informed Uncle Thomas, and after a pause, he asked, "Are you planning to go to visit there?" 

"Not anytime soon. I was just wondering and thought to ask you about it," said Julie, putting up a smile on her face even though he couldn't see it. 

"You don't have to worry about it. I will make the arrangements to have someone come take a look and clean it, maybe next time when you come and visit?" asked her uncle. Realizing she would have to go and meet him, Julie said, 

"No no, it is fine. I wouldn't want to trouble you, Uncle Tom." She cleared her throat and then asked, "If you can, please do let me know, if you hear anything about the house or… about my father, if he is being released from the prison." 

"What your father did, he will never be released from the prison, Julie," assured Uncle Thomas, and Julie nodded her head. 

"Thank you, Uncle Tom. I really appreciate it," Julie thanked her uncle before adding. "I hope your weekend goes well." 

"Yours too, Julie. If you find time, we would love to have you here to have dinner together," she heard Uncle Thomas' words from the other side of the line. "We already miss you. I hope everything is going well with you at your university?" 

When he asked about Veteris, Julie wondered if her uncle had received the report letter today. The more surprising part than her detention was that Veteris had a special delivery service of letters, even on Sundays. She was sure that the mail truck belonged to Veteris, who had the time to distribute the letters concerning the students. 

"Julie?" her uncle called her name. 

"Yes, Uncle Tom. Everything is going well. Please don't worry about me," said Julie. She hoped to be more truthful like 'I got into detention', 'I am in a theatre play in the university, but none of it left her lips. "If you ever get any letters from the university, you can keep it to the side. Once I come to visit you, I will go through it."

"Alright. I will keep that in my mind," replied Uncle Thomas, and Julie hoped in her mind that he wouldn't think badly of her if he were to find out about her detention. After all, those report letters were dedicated to her uncle. 

"I have to go now. Sending lots of love to everyone at home," she said, hearing him return the words before she cut the call. 

She stared at the phone, deciding to ignore the text that had been delivered to her a few minutes ago. It was best to ignore it, thought Julie to herself. Going to sit on the edge of the bed, she stared at the phone before putting it aside. In the beginning, when she had found out the cave-like rules of Veteris, it had made her feel uncomfortable at the fact that she would have to cut off the connection from the outside world, but now the same thing had turned into a cocoon that made her feel safe. 

After she finished eating Mrs. Davis' dinner at night, which was nothing less than another feast, Melanie's family was warm, and she hoped it would continue to stay so. Julie went back to the room. She now laid on the bed with just the side lamp turned on. 

She recollected the day she had spent, which was mostly around Roman. 

It seemed that Roman had decided to upgrade her position from being an apprentice to being his friend. It had been an innocent question, where she hadn't realized she had stretched her hand towards the kind that took her kind as nothing but a meal. 

Somewhere Melanie's words returned to Julie's mind— 'Roman was flirting with you.'

Julie laughed softly, why would Roman Moltenore like her. She was far from the type he often hung out with, or who hung around him would be right. And even though she didn't believe it right now, her friend's direct words and Roman's actions had sparked the possibility in her mind. 

She remembered his gaze, those black eyes that stared at her. Unlike the times when he used to look at people as if he could see through them and they didn't exist. But with her, he looked straight in her eyes as if he had somewhere been between listening to her and wanting to watch the movie. Julie couldn't strike the thought that the boy was rude when dealing with certain things with his devil-may-care attitude. 

Roman did what he liked, without caring what others thought or would tell, it was obvious that that was how he lived until now, thought Julie. 

Earlier, while standing in the front of the bowling lane, Roman had hidden her by standing right behind her. At that time, Julie had tried to focus on hitting the pins, but now that she went through it over and over again, she softly gulped at the emotions that had started to sprout within her. They were emotions that she wasn't familiar with. 

Julie came up with reasons how Roman wasn't flirting with her, and though it might have been true, Roman had invisibly marked her so that people like Dennis would stay away from her and get the point through the thick skull. 

Pulling her phone again, she typed a message to Roman— 'Did you reach near Veteris?'

Her phone screen blinked after five minutes, and when Julie checked the message, it read— 'In the forest.'

Noticing the short reply, Julie wondered if he was busy. People did a lot of things in the forest, but it was nearly midnight. What was there to do in the dark forest? Julie asked herself. 

'Okay, stay safe,' sent Julie before closing the phone and pulling her blanket close to her. 

On the other side, far away from the Greasy Corner town, a forest was located. Roman and his friends had not lit the bonfire, as it would only draw in more attention to themselves, and they wanted to stay low. 

Like his friends, who stayed in the shadows while sucking the blood out, Roman had sunk his fangs into a woman's neck, drawing the blood out and drinking it. The warm blood seeped into his fangs, coating it with the liquid, which was what the creatures of the night survived on. 

The woman had been compelled to stay still and not to move, letting her know that there was nothing to be scared of and everything was going to be okay. Once Roman had drank near to the limit, he pulled back, running his tongue over his bloody lips.

"Haven't you been leeching on Melanie and Conner today," commented Olivia, sending her human back, who had come along with her inside the forest, hoping he could have some fun with her, but instead, she had used him for his blood. 

Simon was taking his own time with the human in front of him, playing with her hair, where he had only half compelled the human while letting the taste of fear trickle into the blood. He offered a sweet smile, "I didn't know you were watching me. Have you finally taken an interest in me, Olivia."

The vampiress rolled her eyes at him, "As if. When you go clinging like that, it makes not one but many of us question what you are thinking."

Simon licked the human's neck to remove the traces of the blood so that it wouldn't turn sticky. Turning around, he said, "You doubt my good intentions dear." Maximus started to cough before composing himself and smiling at Simon's words. "If you insist, I want to see how both of them taste. I realized that I have never taken a bite from them. Is that a good enough reason?"

"How about you, Rome? Have you planned when to take a bite from the girl?" questioned Olivia, wanting to know more about Roman's interest after seeing him teach the human how to bowl when they were in the arcade. 

"I haven't," stated Roman, leaning against the bark of the tree. 

"Haven't decided to drink from her or to not drink from her at all?" questioned Victoria, who had been mostly quiet the entire day. Maximus, who had been busy with another human, pulled his head from his prey's neck. 

"I will drink when I want to," stated Roman, his eyes looking straight at Victoria, who stared back at him. "When I am in the mood, I will drink from her."

"Good," said Victoria, nodding her head. "Hopefully you won't forget the difference between us two kinds. That we are the vampires and they are our pr-"

Suddenly Roman threw a sharp stone close to her head that went and got stuck in the tree far behind her. He said, "Don't try to lecture me on things that I already know."

"I only say it because I see the change, Rome," said Victoria, with her eyebrows knitting together. "If I weren't your friend, I wouldn't. All of you are taking it as a joke, but when the Elders come, this will not only cause an issue to you, but also the human whom you are getting attached to."

"Is trauma catching up to you, Tori?" asked Simon in a joking tone, but Victoria stared at him with a serious expression on her face. 

"Relax, Tori," said Olivia from where she stood, "It isn't like any of us haven't spent time with the humans to feed blood on. We all have been intrigued and bored at some point of time."

Victoria shifted her gaze from Simon to Olivia before settling on Roman, "Are you sure that is all here? Because from what I see it is rolling in a different direction."

Maximus, who was the only one who knew that Roman was exchanging letters with Julie, watched Roman bring out the cigarette and his lighter as if the conversation that was going on wasn't about him. 

Roman placed the cigarette between his teeth, lighting up the tip of the bud, and he took a calm breath before releasing the smoke through his mouth. He then said, 

"What I do, or how I do things, it shouldn't concern you. If it is going to roll or fly," said Roman, holding the cigarette between his teeth and one corner of his lips pulling up.

Watching the little exchange, Olivia said to Victoria, "It isn't like none of us know about the consequences, Tori. Rome knows it the best, and we keep humans next to us as a passing time, after all, they had a limited time before they walk past us."

"More rightly to be said, they die," added Simon, without being subtle about it. "Are you feeling jealous, Tori?" he chuckled while taking a dig at his friend.

"I am not someone to grovel. I know when I am not needed," replied Victoria, crossing her hands across her chest and supporting her body by leaning against one of the trees. 

"Ah, so that's why you didn't react when Rome was teaching Julie. I applaud you for giving up on hi-" Simon was cut off with Olivia, who said, 

"That's enough, Simon."

Simon raised both his hands, a smirk on his lips, "It feels like you all are turning more humane than staying as vampires. At least we know that mixing humans and vampires in Veteris, there's one benefit. To join the mortals as if we are one too."

"It is a good way to camouflage," stated Roman, tapping on the cigarette and the ash that had formed at the tip fell on the ground. "It is why we are taught to make friends with the humans, before we go drinking their blood. If I didn't make it clear before, none of you will touch a drop from Julianne Winters."

"So possessive," hummed Simon and gave a nod as he was already aware of it. 

"Keep her all for yourself," said Victoria with no interest. 

"I didn't have any plans. I feel bad, when I drink blood that belongs to the ones who are innocent," commented Olivia. Maximus gave a small nod, already having given up on the Junior who was fresh in the university. 

Roman hadn't just taken Julie in his territory, but he wanted to keep the truth from being found out. About Julie's ability to deflect compulsion. This way, he would be able to keep an eye on things. 

"I should probably get one of them for myself, treasure the blood. You know what they say, blood can taste nothing less to an aging wine," Simon grinned with a thoughtful look on his face. 

"You will be the first one to drain the human leaving not a single drop of blood in the body," stated Olivia, looking at him with narrowed eyes. 

"What can I say, I appreciate my meal until the very last drop. And it isn't like I am the only one here. There's Rome too," laughed Simon. His eyes fell on Roman, who was finishing his cigarette. 

"We'll get to do that more once they are here," said Roman, his eyes looking at the trees in one direction, which held nothing but darkness in there. The word 'they' was for the Elders. Attached to the human? He questioned, taking the last puff before dropping it down and stamping the cigarette. He was trying to save her neck by keeping her out of trouble. 

Roman hoped that none of the Elders would get suspicious about the issue with her compulsion. He wondered if it was too late to get her kicked out of Veteris. It would take him just two minutes to get her kicked, but knowing how she had nowhere to go put his thoughts in quite some trouble. 

Even though right now she wasn't in front of him, she was still troublesome. 

He remembered the way the unbridled smile appeared on her lips, something he hadn't seen before. Crazy little thing, thought Roman in his mind. 

After squashing the bug in the game, he doubted Dennis would be coming near Julie for the next few days. He hadn't planned to teach her until Dennis had mentioned teaching Julie. Remembering the surprised look on her face, his lips twitched. 

In the bowling alley, when he had come to stand behind her, he had been able to pick up the flowery smell again. He had moved to the side so that she could hear him over the music that was being played there. He remembered how delicate her hand was when he had gone to hold it. 

Coming back to the present where they were still on the deeper side of the forest, Roman caught the sound of the air whistling as if something was making its way and noticing in which direction it was coming, he pushed Olivia on the ground he fell too. 

By then, the others had turned alert, and Simon gritted his teeth, "Hunters! Erase the memory of the humans here!"

"How the fuck are hunters in here?!" questioned Maximus, glaring in the direction and trying to judge the distance. "I thought Greasy Corner had no hunters."

Both Simon and Maximus took hold of them, but before Simon could completely compel the human he was drinking, two more arrows flew right at him, making it impossible to finish the compulsion. Maximus compelled the girls, "Run in the right like your life depends on it until you come to see the road. Go back home."

The humans started to run in the other direction as ordered. 

"We cannot fight them, can we?" questioned Simon.

"Disperse right this instant!" ordered Rome, pulling Olivia on her feet. "There are more than ten of them. We'll be meeting Mr. Tarts shop after two hours. Split!" 

The hunters were smart enough not to use guns right away as it would not only echo in the forest but bring the other curious humans to come and see what was going on. Roman held the arrow that had pierced through his arm. 

The footsteps were quick on the ground, stamping the dried leaves, and the humans were closing in. 

Pulling the arrow from his arm, Roman started to make his way through the trees like the rest of them, who split up while being chased by the hunters, and they dodged the arrows. He took a sharp turn, making most of the people follow him so that the others could get time to escape from here. It seemed like someone knew that the vampires were in town and had been waiting for them. 

To not let them escape, finally the hunters pulled out their guns, and when the gun shot was heard, Roman turned in time to dodge it, but the weapon was faster, and when he tried to deflect it, the bullet pierced through his palm. He cursed, feeling the burn of the silver. 

The hunters continued to chase them, but the vampires had a better speed than them, and in no time, they escaped from the forest. "Where did they go?!" asked one of the men, who was in his late forties. 

"Escaped of course, we didn't make enough planning. We cannot let them leave!" said another. 

Another hunter bent down, touching the blood that had dripped down. "How many shots did we get?" questioned the woman. 

"Just two of them," huffed a young man, catching his breath. 

"Have the exits closed and check the medical shops," said the woman. "They won't have gone that far. We can catch those blood sucking creatures tonight. Go!" 

The humans who carried crossbows and guns in their hands dispersed from the forest to hunt the vampires who had to be staked. 

Roman didn't know where the others were, but it was better to avoid the open space even if it was midnight. Blinking his eyes, it turned back to his usual black eyes.  Blood dripped down from his arm and his hand. Walking up the pharmacy would only alarm the person, and there were more than two people in the shop that he stood nearby. 

Bringing his hand up, Roman noticed how the residue that was in the bullet was trying to spread across the entire palm and slowly moving towards the fingers.