"Mel!" Mrs. Davis was quick to hug her daughter. Worry on her face while her arms wrapped around her. "I am so glad to see that you are alright. I thought something happened and you got lost."

  "I am okay, mother," Melanie patted her mother's back before she pulled away from her mother's embrace. "Are you alright?" she asked, and her mother nodded.

  "Yeah, we got a few of the vampires, but the rest fled. They shot Conner's father," informed her mother, and Melanie turned to look at Conner, who had just finished wrapping a cloth around his father's leg. "The ambush was so fast, I wonder if they killed the others and hid the body now."

  "We'll have someone else scout this place and check if they find any of our people. If not, we keep looking until we find these vampire's nests," stated Mr. Davis, and everyone around agreed to it. He then looked at Simon with suspicion in his eyes before raising his gun at him.

  "Dad!" Melanie quickly came between them. "He's the one who saved me from that creature."

  Hearing the word creature, Simon's eyes subtly narrowed that no one would have noticed except for himself.

  She continued to say, "The vampire was chasing me and also bit me, but he was the one who used this wood to kill him. He's a hunter too…"

  Conner stood up from where he had been sitting to help his father, and he said to Simon, "I didn't know you were a hunter, Simon."

  "You know the boy, Conner?" questioned his father and Conner nodded.

  "Yes, we study together in Veteris. He's in his senior year and also the person who has been helping with my project," explained Conner, and Mr. Davis finally dropped his hand to his side. The man then offered his hand to Simon, and Simon stared at the extended hand before he caught it and shook.

  "Thank you for saving my daughter," Mr. Davis offered his thanks, even though there was a hint of doubt in his eyes that only Simon caught.

  "It is the least I could do. To save our kind, we have to put ourselves in the line and do the best," came the solemn words from Simon, and Mr. Davis gave a slight nod.

  "True. I don't see anyone from your side. Did you come here alone?" questioned Mr. Davis and Simon returned a nod.

  "I was passing by this place, when I heard the sound of gunshots. I thought someone got shot or something and decided to come take a look. God must have sent me in time to save Melanie today. I wasn't even planning to take this road," Simon smoothly let the lies fall in the gaps so that the hunter wouldn't get to question too much.

  "Explains a little I think," said Mr. Davis, and he looked at Conner's father and Conner. "Let us head back home now. Get everyone who is hurt and the ones we have… lost today."

  "Do you have your vehicle around?" asked Conner to Simon.

  "Yeah, I parked it at the edge of the forest," replied Simon, taking a look at Conner's father's leg before his eyes moved back to meet his new friend.

  "What part of hunters do you belong to?" questioned Mr. Davis, and Melanie sighed, noticing how her father continued his suspicion on Simon.

  "That's alright," smiled Simon, and Melanie realized then that she had sighed. Her face turned rigid. "I don't have a group, Sir. My family was ambushed by the rogue vampires and I have been alone."

  "You should come join us then. Follow our vehicle which is parked at the edge of the forest too," said Mr. Davis, and Simon were more than happy to agree to it. "You also saved my daughter's life, it is only right that we become acquainted with each other. Let us go now."

  Simon took a look at the hunters who slowly started to walk, where Mr. Davis helped Conner's father in supporting him, and on the other side was Conner, helping his father. He heard Conner ask Melanie,

  "You alright?"

  "Yeah, I am good. Thankfully. How about you?" she asked him, and Simon noticed the slight hesitation from the boy before he nodded and smiled. His eyes subtly narrowed, making him wonder what that was about.

  Simon made his way to where his motorcycle was parked, and once he got there, he picked up his phone and dialled a number. The phone continued to ring until the person on the other end picked up and asked,

  "How is it going?"

  "I am getting there. So far it looks like Melanie's father has suspicion over me, but not as bad as I thought it would be."

  He heard Ms. Dante's voice, "That's good. Be sure to tread carefully and see if they find any information about the university or about us. One mistake will cost you your life."

  "Don't worry about it, Dante. I have been invited to go visit the family so I will talk to you later," smiled Simon with a peaceful expression on his face.

  "Alright. Keep me updated," said the woman from the other side, and Simon disconnected from the call. Getting on the motorcycle, he wore his helmet before following the hunters back to their homes.

  When they reached Greasy Corner, the hunters carried the dead bodies to their basement carefully, while Simon watched how they operated. "Come on in, dear," said Mrs. Davis, inviting him in, and Simon entered the house.

  "Is there something I could help with?" he offered Mr. Davis.

  "You are a guest right now. Sit down, while I go see how Rob is doing. We don't know what these rogue vampires have that can infect us humans. Silverwater sometimes is not enough to repel it," said Mr. Davis before stepping out of the living room.

  Melanie stood in the living room, watching her mother leave. She couldn't believe the last person she wanted to interact with was sitting here, in her house. She saw him looking around the room. Remembering he had hurt himself, she said,

  "You should go with dad and get the—" her voice trailed when she noticed the wound on his arm was not there anymore.

  "Get the?" Simon's eyes met Melanie's, where she stared at him.