Melanie felt the slight glare that came from Simon, and at that moment, she didn't know what had made her switch glasses. But now that she had already switched it, she didn't know if she should switch it back. Maybe Simon having some kind of disease would be the most possible approach to think through, but he seemed perfectly fine if he weren't staring hard at her.

  Still holding the glass of juice in her hand that she had picked up earlier offered to him by her mother, she made her way to the main door and opened it.

  "Good morning, Mel," her father greeted her, stepping inside the house, and he kissed her cheek.

  "Good morning, dad," Melanie returned his greetings while keeping the glass away from his gaze. "How is Conner's father?"

  "He doesn't look that great. Rob has caught a fever because of the pain and also, it looks like he had gotten clawed by the rogue vampire," her father let her know about it.

  "What does that mean?" asked Melanie, a little worried, and while they made their way towards the kitchen to meet her mother, her father's eyes fell on the juice that she held in her hand.

  "What did I tell you about drinking and eating while being away from the table? It's bad manners," her father's face held a small frown, and Melanie nodded her head.

  "I was in a hurry and drinking it, it slipped from my mind. I won't do that again," she assured him, and her father gave her a nod. On entering the dining room, she took a seat at the table while not letting go of the glass from her hand.

  Her mother turned from the stove and gave a look to her father, something Melanie wasn't able to comprehend as the action between them was subtle and went nearly unnoticed.

  "Rob is currently suffering a high fever and he's resting in his bed. But I wouldn't say that it's looking good for him," her father said seriously, and Melanie frowned.

  "Isn't it better to take him to the doctor or some hospital and get it checked? Maybe get a shot?" suggested Melanie, not knowing what else could help improve his condition.

  "The claws of the rogue vampires are not good for us humans as it is infectious. Sometimes it can turn a human into vampires, or sometimes injure them heavily or sometimes it just leads to the human's death," explained her father, pulling the chair next to her, he sat down while her mother started to serve breakfast for the three of them. "Right now we'll have to wait and see if Rob's health will deteriorate or if it'll get better."

  "And if it doesn't?" asked Melanie, holding her breath, and her eyes moved back and forth between her parents, who didn't answer her question right away.

  "Then we kill him."

  It was Simon who answered her, and he picked up the juice that was in front of him, taking a sip from it before placing it back on the table.

  "You must be joking. He is, right?"Melanie looked at her parents, but her parents didn't deny it.

  "The vampire's existence is like a spreading infection and none of us want anyone else to catch it," sighed her father, shaking his head. "All we can do now is pray for his better health. The rest he will have to fight it. The vampires are ruthless creatures, they will suck the blood out, and leave these rogue vampires rampant, without caring about others."

  Melanie bit the inside of her cheek in thought, her lips set in a thin line.

  "Don't worry, Mel. Rob will get better. Maybe you can pay a visit to him and also make sure Conner is doing well," offered her mother, and Melanie nodded.

  "Yeah, I will do that," replied Melanie, and when her parents continued to speak about yesterday's hunt, her eyes carefully shifted to look at the glass that originally belonged to Simon.

  She could sense his gaze on hers, and the more seconds passed, the more unnerving it turned. He was healthy, and no one threw up something black into the glass. She had done it on impulse, but after hearing about the condition of Conner's father, she wondered if she should perhaps tell the truth to her parents.

  That there was a blood-sucking creature sitting at the table, having breakfast with them.

  But would that go well? Asked Melanie to herself. The only weapons present here were forks, knives and other utensils for her mother and father's defence, while a vampire didn't need those things, as he already had strength. What if Simon snapped one of their heads without any remorse.

  Maybe she could ignore him so that he would ignore her. But she had seen the blood, and he had seen her catch sight of it.

  "I remembered I have a report that needs to be emailed. Give me two minutes," Melanie excused herself from the table along with her glass. Going to the room, she locked the door and went to the sink. She poured the juice, which first was the fruit juice as it was lighter in density before she caught sight of the black liquid that spilt into the sink. "Oh God," she whispered to herself.

  How could it be?!

  Melanie paced front and back in her room before she stopped walking and softly gulped. How could Simon be a vampire? She knew something was very odd about him, and the most she had considered was that he was a secret sociopath or psychopath. Vampire was something that had not even danced near the edge of her mind.

  That is why he was there in the woods last night. It wasn't because he was walking by, was it? He knew about the rogue vampires… but he had saved her. Vampire killing another vampire?

  Pouring water into the glass, she rinsed it before keeping the glass there at the side without taking it to the kitchen.

  When she stepped out of her room, Melanie tried to keep a straight face.

  "Aren't you going to complete your breakfast, Mel?" asked her mother, who caught her walking past near the living room.

  Melanie stopped her feet, turning to briefly meet Simon's eyes, that looked at her in the same cold manner as he had earlier. A chill shiver ran down her spine, and she doubted she had ever been this scared of someone before. But then, the person in question had never been a bloodsucking creature.

  "I don't think I can eat now while I am worried about Uncle Rob. I will come back soon," informed Mel, and before either of her parents could say something, she stepped out of the house.

  "Conner and Melanie are very close, it is understandable that she lacks an appetite," remarked Simon, finishing the entire cup of juice, and he noticed how the woman's eyes fell on his lips as well as the glass which was now empty.

  Mrs. Davis nodded her head as if confirming that Simon was not a vampire and he was one hundred percent human. With a bright and welcoming smile, she said, "Yes, they are. They did grow up together after all, and they have always been so close to each other. I was sure that they were going to get into a relationship by now, but I don't know what's taking them this long."

  "Oh, honey. You worry about it for no reason," said Mr. Davis, picking up his teacup and taking a sip from it. "We have already mentioned to her that they are destined to be together, after all we hunters move together and bringing in a new family is often very difficult."

  Simon offered his politest smile, and he heard Mrs. Davis offering him, "More juice, dear?"

  "Sure," replied Simon, handing the glass to her.

  Melanie walked as quickly as she could to Conner's house, turning her head over her shoulder to make sure she was not being followed early in the morning. Making her way to the house, she rang the doorbell for the door to be opened.

  Simon was nowhere close to her, and him being the vampire, there was no way she could talk about what she knew. While Conner was her best friend. Only if Julie was here, she could have explained it, but she wasn't here, and how was she going to tell that there was a vampire running in the unive…. Wait, thought Melanie to herself.

  Could there be more than one vampire in Veteris? It was possible, right?

  "Hey, Mel. Come in," Conner greeted her, noticing how Melanie was consumed with thoughts and didn't react right away. "Mel?"

  "Conner," Melanie smiled on seeing her best friend. "I heard about your father, I—"

  Before she had the opportunity to complete her sentence, Conner stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her body, hugging her closely. It had been long since they had hugged each other like this, without words and holding each other in silence. The last time they did, it was because Conner had gotten his letter from Veteris sooner than her, making them believe that they wouldn't be studying together. Wouldn't be next to each other like they had in the past.

  But this time, Melanie didn't feel that same feeling when Conner hugged her. She brought her hands up and rubbed his back.

  "Everything is going to be okay, Conner. You don't have to worry about him, he will be okay soon," Melanie tried to console him, feeling his silence heavier than the truth she came to understand.

  Conner shook his head. He dropped his hands that had held her, he pulled back from her, and she noticed the evident dark circles around his eyes.

  "Everything feels so different, Mel," said Conner with furrowed eyebrows, "Like everything is changing so quickly and if I try to catch hold of it, the time is slipping past through the gaps of my fingers. He looks bad."

  With Conner's mother who was out of town, it was just Conner and his father here.

  Conner led her inside where his father was resting in the bed, and when Melanie's eyes fell on the man, she held her breath. His skin… it was turning to be different from the last she had seen. His skin was turning similar to the rogue vampire she had come across yesterday in the forest.

  "Who is it? Mel?" asked Conner's father as if he was too tired to open his eyes and see.

  Leaving Conner's side, Melanie walked to the bed where Conner's father was resting, "It is me, Mel."

  "Oh, it is you. I was wondering if there were other hunters, who had come to take a look at me. It would be troublesome if they did," said the man, and Melanie tried to muster a smile.

  "Isn't it good that the others come to see you? It only tells that they are worried about you," stated Melanie, and the man lightly chuckled before he coughed. Something spilt from his lips, and Conner quickly appeared to his father's side with a napkin.

  "You should rest, father," suggested Conner, worry coming to lace his face, and he dabbed the napkin on the corner of his father's lips.

  Melanie, who stood right behind Conner, noticed the similar black looking liquid being spewed by his father. She knew what this meant, and if her father had seen, he already knew it, and so did the man lying on the bed.

  "I will be fine, Conner. You should go have your breakfast," said the man, but Conner seemed reluctant to leave his father's side.

  Melanie offered to her friend, "Why don't you go and fix yourself and I will be here next to uncle?"

  Conner looked between them before giving her a nod and leaving the room.

  "Thank you for coming by, Mel," said the man, and he took a deep breath before exhaling the air out through his lips. "I didn't get to ask you how your night went during the hunt yesterday. Enjoyed or was disgusted by the creatures?"

  Even in his current state, Melanie could detect the dislike the man had towards the vampires. She parted her lips to speak, "It was shocking. Hard to see you like this. Did my father say anything about it?"

  "He doesn't have to say anything, because I already am aware of how things might go if I don't get better and my health deteriorates," said the person and Melanie frowned on hearing this. "It is why we kill the vampires immediately. If you see one, you stake them. Do you follow me, Mel?"

  Melanie nodded, not sure if she should stake the vampire who was sitting under her roof.

  "Always keep the stake ready. You never know when it might come in handy. Your parents and I, we made sure to keep you both safe. Got you to a place where there are no vampires, and also made sure to medicate you with things that would avoid you from compulsion."

  "Compulsion?" asked Melanie, and she heard the man hum in his feeble voice.

  "Yes," he affirmed. "Compulsion is where a vampire can control and manipulate a human by his eyes and words, like hypnotism. Only that this is hard to break. It is what these filthy little creatures do. They erase our memories and then they rewrite it, making use of the information or making one forget…"

  The rest of the words turned into a blur as Melanie came to realize something.

  Conner… he had been compelled. It was the latest event where he had caught sight of a vampire, and now he believed he didn't see one that day. He had spent the entire time with Simon, locked in the room, and he had told her that they were working on the project, but there was no project talk was there? She asked herself.

  What about her? Questioned Melanie, and just the thought of someone trying to erase her memories made her angry. Her hands clenched.

  "You alright there?" asked Conner's father, and Melanie gave him a nod.

  "I just cannot believe that the vampires can go so low as to remove people's memories and change it," she remarked.

  "We have been trying to get as many as we can, but there are some main vampires, older vampires you could say, who keep turning the humans into their own kind and it has been a mess in controlling it," he started to cough. When he turned to the side, picking up the napkin that Conner had left him, Melanie caught sight of the roots like veins that popped on the nape of his neck. "I will take a nap. You should go check on Conner. He's barely eaten and worried."

  Melanie decided to give the man some space without having the need to hover around him as if he were a child.

  "Take care, Rob," wished Melanie, putting up a smile on her face as she left the room.

  When she stepped out of the room and back into the living room, she came to stand in front of photo frames that had Conner's family. There was also her, where both Conner and her were around seven, and they held hands together.

  While she stared at the picture inside the glass case, she noticed something red reflecting on the surface. Melanie quickly spun on her heels, turning to face Simon, who stood before her.

  She tried to step away from him, her eyes trying to find a possible stake. Switching glasses in her house was on spur, but after seeing what vampires were capable of doing, she didn't believe them to be anywhere good. And Simon was not a normal person to save a person. This was a possible psychopath case, and only he would know what he was up to.

  "W-what are you doing here?!" asked Melanie, fear subtly coating her voice, and she saw Simon offer her a polite smile.

  "I didn't get to thank you earlier for your polite gesture. I came here to thank you of course," responded Simon, and he took one step towards her, while Melanie took two steps to the side. "I am surprised you haven't exposed me yet. Are you slow or are you so in love with me that you decided to save me?"

  "I thought you needed your head examined before. But now I understand that it is your whole body…because you are not a human," she whispered the last words in a rushed voice.

  Simon raised his hands with the same smile plastered on his face, "You are free to examine me. Tell me the place and time and we can start with it."

  "Just get out of the house," said Melanie, not wanting to stay near a vampire, who could kill her with one snap or do anything to anyone.

  "How rude. But you have always been so guarded, I wonder why," remarked Simon, who barely lost his cool…… "Looking for something to kill me with?" he tilted his head.