Chapter 115

Chapter 115
Elly's POV

The exchange with Principal Legrange should have made me feel stupid. It stung like the bite of a hornet.

"It's too late," she said. I wanted to believe she was wrong, or just playing a mind game on us.

We finally got past the gate. For a while, it felt so good to step out into the real world again. As we went farther, part of me felt homesick. Weird feeling.

I exhaled and kept my head straight up on the road. I would find Aidan, whatever it took.

Jimmy and Adrian joined us after the confrontation with Principal Legrange. Professor Rockwell saw no use of them staying around to cover up for us. I didn't either. Everything was out in the open now.

An old, grey pick up truck was waiting for us outside.

"I borrowed this from my cousin," Professor Rockwell said.

Adina was already seated at the front seat, peeking out at us.

"She is your cousin?" Jimmy asked, grinning.

"No. That's Adina, the priestess.

Jimmy nodded, “Come on, I was only messing with you.” He chuckled.

We stepped into the car, all four of us squeezing into the back seat while the adults took the front seats.

"I don't remember the last time I ever had a car trip," Jimmy said, smiling.

"Me either," I replied and stared out the window, watching the school drift away as the car accelerated.

Forty minutes of a silent drive later, we were in town. Professor Rockwell stepped on the brakes when we all spotted a bright signboard with "Three Lucky Stars" designed with stylish red and golden prints.

We stepped out. I scanned the area for a second. It was nice. The Chinese restaurant itself, although small, looked so elegant.

People did pass by, but they didn't care too much about our presence. I almost forgot about that part of reality — no one gives a damn.

We found the alley, just at the corner of the restaurant like Ryan had said. I ran into the alley first and Ryan followed.

I checked between the trash bags and the large trash dispenser. Ryan did the same. Professor Rockwell even strolled down to the end of the alley with Adina. Adrian helped with the search too, while Jimmy scanned up, down and around.

"Are you guys sure this was the right alley?" Adrian asked, kicking over a broken, red bucket.

"You think Aidan would hide behind a bucket?" Jimmy said, grinning.

Adrian shrugged.

"My senses couldn't have failed me. This was it. I'm a hundred percent sure," Ryan replied, still looking around the dumpster.

Ryan was right. His senses couldn't have failed, but I was beginning to think it did. The alley smelled nothing like Aidan or a werewolf. It smelled... weird.

"He must have left," Jimmy chipped in.

"What? To where?" I asked, disagreeing with his point. "He was shivering, confused and lost, like Professor Rockwell said. There's no way he would have moved."

"Something probably made him move. Look at the scratches on the floor," Jimmy said, pointing at the ground. There were claw marks on the floor.

Could he have transformed?

Ryan knelt where the mark was and placed his hand on it. He closed his eyes and did his thing.

While he was at it, I felt the strange scent filter into my nostrils again. I wiped my nose, and just then I noticed Adina did the same thing.

"I smell a vampire around," she said, looking at Rockwell.

"Ryan is a vampire," he replied, nodding at Ryan.

She shook her head, "No, I have registered his scent. This is not him."

"Yeah, I smell it too," I added, looking around.

"He must have fought one," Jimmy pointed at the mark again. "Maybe he left because of that."

"I doubt," Adrian chipped in, "Aidan won't scurry away because of another species."

We went silent for a second or two.

"There was a vampire here," Ryan broke the silence.
He stood up slowly and turned to us. "I picked up my father's scent. But I can't find Aidan in any of my senses."

My stomach dropped and my heart sank.

"Your father?" Professor Rockwell asked, looking around.

"What the hell would your dad be doing around a dumpster?" Adrian asked, shocked as the rest of us were.

"They now have noble meetings in the most un-noble places? Man, a lot of shit be going on, I swear," Jimmy joked, but with a sad look.

"We should leave this place now," Professor Rockwell said in a tone that suggested danger was around.

We strolled towards the truck, but before we could get to it, a group of men blocked our path.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Jimmy asked, stepping back. I had the same question in mind.

What was more weird wasn't their sudden appearance, it was the fact that the vampire scent intensified.

"They are vampires," Ryan confirmed my suspicion.

Just as he did, I heard a growl from behind. I turned to see more of them charging at us.

My claws shot out without stress. I could feel my adrenaline shooting high. My canines grew longer and part of my skin grew hairy. It wasn't a full transformation, and that was a good thing.

Adina had also gone half-wolf. She swung her claws at one of the vampires who was about to grab Professor Rockwell. The bloodsucker flew, slamming into two others, and crashed into the wall. I lurched at one, tearing its face with my claws. It staggered back, recollected itself and attacked again.

I dodged as it jumped to bite my arm, and drove my claws into its heart, ripping out the rocky heart that was hidden. It collapsed and turned into ash.

Ryan and Jimmy attacked the rest in front of us. Ryan held one by the arm as he reached for his neck. He broke its arm in one twist and caught its neck, snapping it away. It fell, forming a heap of ash.

Jimmy sprayed fire from his mouth like a fucking flamethrower. Adrian couldn't do much, but I saw him grab a stick beside one of the trash bags. Ryan spun one vampire to him and he drove the stake into its heart, turning him into human ash.

The more vampires we tore down, the more they spawned out of thin air. It was like we were stuck in a loop.

"Kill them and pave a path to the car," Professor Rockwell said. Five of them levitated in the air in front of him. As he clenched his fists, their bodies erupted. Bits of them fell on the floor like rocks.

I ripped out more hearts, so did Adina, as we approached the boys. With more force at the front, we eliminated the vampires that blocked the car.

The other chased after us. We hopped into the car but Professor Rockwell didn't.

He turned to the vampires, pointing his open palm at them. They bumped into thin air like there was an invisible wall.

"Go now. I need to find the root of these monsters."

"But sir..." I was about to convince him to get in the car, but he cut in.

"If we let them follow us, the humans out here will be at risk. Go!"

Adina shifted to the driver's seat and turned on the engines.

Professor Rockwell was right; he was always right. And Jimmy was right too.

Aidan must have left because of these vampires.

They must be after him to kill him. But why?