"After the stunt you did at Philip's trial, your father was very displeased. A lot of Church officials voiced that they want me removed from office, and sponsors threatened to withdraw donating funds to the Church if they don't do it." He said. "Then, in the middle of all that argument, the orphanage got blown up, which I'm quite sure was your doing."
"Yes. It was us." I confessed. "I couldn't think of anything else to stop the research."
"I know. I know that now." He said. "Back then, I was just so confused. I've known you since you were little and I know how much you love and cared for the children, so it didn't make sense that you'd blow it up just like that. Then I found out that the children weren't there that day, and I figured you must have known all along and that's why it was so easy for you to do it. Then, the remaining question was why. Why did you do it? There must be a reason." He took a sip of tea before continuing. "That morning after the orphanage burned down, I went to investigate myself. I went there before sunrise to avoid confronting the Knights who'd be there to investigate. It took me an hour or two, but I found the passage. I found the way leading to the underground lab. It was on the verge of collapsing but I wanted answers, so I went there. And I saw all those corpses."
I couldn't imagine how horrible it might have looked. They weren't human but I was still a murderer. I felt nauseous.
"I was shocked. I was in disbelief. I didn't know something was going on in the orphanage. It went against our morals, against everything the Church believes in. That afternoon, your father sent for me and I was dismissed. I wanted to confront him about it, but I didn't have the courage. I guess I wasn't as strong-willed as you." He said with a sad smile. "After I was removed from office, I was restless. I knew something was wrong, but I was too cowardly. The conscience was eating up on me and I knew I had to do something. I observed the Church's operations the following days. They cleared the ruins and the next thing I knew, the orphanage was already moved someplace else."
"What about the children? How did you find Maria?" I asked.
"I was tailing your father that day. I saw him leaving your house with a huge suitcase. I followed him then and drove for hours. Then, I saw him entering your estate."
"The summer house…" I muttered.
"Yes. At first, I thought maybe he only wanted to rest for a while after your sudden betrayal, as he called it. I wanted to leave him alone but my instincts were telling me otherwise. I snuck into the property and that's where I bumped into Maria. She was covered in dirt and she had plenty of bruises. She looked like she was beaten up, with her left arm swollen. I then recognized her as one of the children from the orphanage. I helped her escape from there and treated her like my own daughter from then on." He gave Maria a warm smile. "She told me about what were done to them after the orphanage was blown up. They were made into new test subjects. All the children were."
"Then how? Who are all these people here?" I asked.
"I took Maria in. And I trained her to fight. I wanted her to able to protect herself in case the elites come to take her. They never found her though." He sounded proud.
"I'm sorry Father. Fight? You taught her to fight?"
"Before I became a high-ranking official, I was one of the top Knights of the Church."
"All these people then…?"
"Yes, we slowly got them out over the years. The Church kept bringing in people and we kept sneaking them out, though just an unnoticeable number of them every time. We couldn't sneak all of them out without attracting unnecessary attention. Plus, there are those that were impossible to save."
"The ones turning into low-level vampires?"
"Yes. You see, everybody's body composition is different, so the effects of the drug injected to them will have different effects. Some people are compatible with it, others aren't. Those who were compatible and were strong enough to overcome the process of, should we say, transition will then become hybrids, as we call them, like Maria. Humans with vampiric abilities. Of course, they're still no match for true-blooded vampires, especially the purebloods."
"All those low-level vampires that had been appearing, were they released intentionally?"
"Some were. I have an insider in the lab. They wanted to keep the Vampire Council's hands tied up with all those low-level vampires coming out so they wouldn't be able to monitor the Church's operations. They're being cautious, in case the Council suspects." He said. "Some of those vampires however, managed to escape the lab." There was a hint of fear in his voice. "Low-level vampires are unpredictable since they've lost all reason. When handling them, you can't think of things in a normal person or vampire's perspective. They have none. You can't talk to them and you can't control them. And what's worse is they are growing in number. The Church intends to pull an all–out war against the Council. If those low-level vampires are released to the open, everybody in the capital will die."
"No." That would be terrible. "No way. My father wouldn't let that happen."
"Really? Then he shouldn't have started the research in the first place." Father Sinclair. "The fact that he proposed it and made it happen means he's willing to do everything to get rid of the vampires. It means he's prepared to make sacrifices."
It was too much. My heart was in turmoil. "Then what's your plan? Are you going to go head on against the Church? Are you going to let these kids fight against those monsters?"
"Kids? You sound like a grandma. You are only ten years older than me." Maria said. Most of us here have adapted to our new bodies. We can fight them."
"We are obviously outnumbered. You just said they have a lot of low-level vampires in their hands." I argued. It was ridiculous. It was a fight we wouldn't win.
"I know. We can't face them head-on, and that's why we need to get rid of at least half of them while they're still in the lab." Father Sinclair said.
"You mean…?"
"Yes. We sneak in the estate and burn the place down." Maria said.
It felt like déjà vu. "No. We can't do that." The thought of having more blood on my hands and the guilt I've been trying to push away was swallowing me from the inside. "I can't let you."
"But why not? It's a perfect plan. You know the estate more than anybody else here and you have done it before. We need you." Maria said.
"No. I can't blow up the estate. That summer house, the hidden garden. The place is full of memories with my mom." I said with tears rolling down my cheeks. "I can't let you destroy it."
Everybody fell silent. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I closed my eyes and got lost in thought. "There might be another way though." I finally said. "We can surround the estate and ambush them as they try to leave the property."
"You mean, after the Church releases them? That's too risky!" Maria exclaimed.
"Yes, but it's the best course of action. We won't need to sneak in and avoid confrontation with the staff and Church officials. Our goal is to get rid of the low-level vampires. If we blow the place up, everyone inside will die including the normal people there. But if we wait for the vampires to come out, we can get rid of them without worrying about casualties."
"Yes. But your plan would require a lot of manpower. The estate is massive so its boundaries would be too much for everybody here to guard." Father Sinclair.
"That's true." I stopped talking and thought for a while. I snapped my fingers and I saw the others getting surprised with my action. "There is only one way. But, it might be difficult."
"What is it?" Father Sinclair asked. The desperation was so clear in his voice.
I turned to face Kai and Jeremy who had been quiet all throughout the conversation. "We need to ask the Council for help."