Chapter 55

At the Sliver Reservoir, Annabelle and I arrived in my car. I whine down the glass, gazing at the building. It was sealed with danger tape. Annabelle voiced her concern, "If he's here, does that mean Jade is here too?"

I recalled, "He had a hiding near a reservoir back then too. It was his net, where he would capture his victims and keep them."

Memories flooded back of centuries ago when I found the vampire inside a cave and ended his existence. I snapped out of the thought and focused on the reservoir building. Grabbing my small sword, I handed it to Annabelle.

"Keep this just in case. Don't hesitate to stop him if you're in danger," I urged.

Annabelle hesitated, refusing to take the dagger. I asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

She confessed, "Well... the thing is, I've never used one before."

I scoffed, trying to encourage her, "You can do it. You've taken many lives before in your previous life with your precious sword."

Reluctantly, Annabelle grabbed the dagger from me, retorting, "Just give it to me and cut the nonsense!"

As she stepped out of the car, I followed suit, retrieving my own weapons. Together, we walked towards the reservoir. I peeled off the danger seal tape, revealing a locked door with a sticker reading 'Closed for Renovation'.

A voice came through, asking, "Who are you?"

Annabelle and I glanced back and spotted a security guard approaching. I directed my question at him, "Are you the only one here? Is there no one else?"

He responded, "We're closed due to construction. This place has been vacant for some time now."

My heart sank as I looked at Annabelle. "I don't think he's here," I murmured.

Annabelle's expression fell, but then her hand started trembling again. Slowly, she turned towards the building, pointing. "He's here inside," she declared.

With a surge of anger, I used my hand to break the chain locking the door. The security man was taken aback. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

Breathing heavily, Annabelle questioned, "What the hell?"

Without hesitating, we entered the building. Just then, Mr. Thomas arrived outside, hastily exiting his car. "What's going on?" he shouted.

Inside, I scanned the surroundings and spotted a hefty security guard upstairs, peering down at us. Annabelle rushed to my side, panting. As soon as the guard saw us, he bolted, prompting me to give chase.

Mr. Thomas, from outside, called out, "Did you find him?" He attempted to enter the building, but the first security guard stopped him, demanding, "Who are you people? I'm going to call the cops!"

Mr. Thomas intervened, producing his ID card. "I'm a cop. You don't need to report this," he asserted, striding past the guard and joining us inside.

The security guard looked bewildered as Annabelle pointed towards the fleeing vampire. Mr. Thomas followed our gaze and sprinted after us. The vampire darted into a room with a pool and locked the door behind him.

I tried to force it open, but it wouldn't budge. The vampire's laughter echoed, taunting me as he made his way towards the pool.

With anger fueling my actions, I smashed through the door and entered the room. In the distance, the vampire confronted me, demanding answers. "How did you know I was here? Why did you interfere?" he queried.

Ignoring his questions, I continued advancing towards him. Frustration evident in his voice, he pressed, "Tell me why you are after me!"

I responded firmly, "I'm here for the woman you kidnapped. Where is she?"

The vampire explained, "He promised to hand over that woman if I kept her sister captive, Black Soul deceived me."

Before I could apprehend him, he leaped into the pool, swimming downwards. His body morphed into a black shadow, but I used my eyes to track his movement.

Suddenly, Mr. Thomas rushed in, demanding, "Where is he? Where is that bastard?"

The vampire resurfaced, surprising Mr. Thomas. He began swimming towards Mrs. Thomas, prompting her husband to try pulling him out of the water. However, the vampire grabbed Mr. Thomas's hand, causing him to scream in agony.

Reacting quickly, the vampire reached for a nearby rod, intending to strike Mr. Thomas. I intervened, grabbing his hand and then his neck, lifting him with ease.

He screamed in pain as I demanded, "Where is she?"

Despite Mr. Thomas's cries, I remained focused on extracting information from the vampire. The situation was dire, but I couldn't afford to let up.

Quickly leaving the monster behind, I rushed to Mr. Thomas, who believed his arm had been torn off. Holding him firmly, I urged, "Pull yourself together. It's not real. It's a memory from your previous life."

Despite my reassurance, Mr. Thomas continued to scream in agony. I shook him, emphasizing, "Look!" I shouted, "Look! You're okay. Your arm is intact."

Mr. Thomas opened his eyes, the pain subsiding. He inspected his arm, murmuring, "It hurt like hell just a few seconds ago. What happened?"

Looking around, he inquired, "Where did he go?"

I glanced back but saw no sign of the vampire on the ground. "He's back inside the water," I responded hastily.

Meanwhile, Annabelle raced around, desperate to find her sister Jade. She flung open different doors, hoping to discover Jade inside one of them. As she ascended the stairs, she reached a locked door.

Knocking frantically, she shouted Jade's name. Spotting a fire extinguisher nearby, she seized it and used it to break down the door. Bursting in, Annabelle found Jade tied down, tears streaming down her face.

Rushing to her side, Annabelle began to untie her. Jade sobbed as Annabelle asked, "Are you okay?"

Jade nodded weakly, replying, "No," amidst her tears.

Assuring her, Annabelle vowed, "I'll get you out of here."

But as they conversed, something caught Jade's attention. Behind them, the vampire loomed. Jade's voice trembled as she whispered Annabelle's name.

The vampire approached, declaring, "I finally get to meet you."

Annabelle met his gaze, her expression firm as the vampire continued, "I've been wanting to kill you."

With a blood-curdling scream, he lunged towards Annabelle.