"Mai! How is the kid?" Everett asked.
"He is up Master Everett, he is eating now if you would like to meet him," Mai noted.
"Great! So the medicine Titus gave worked well then!" Everett smiled.
In Alex's small room he sits up with Chara by his side, she sat down a small basket of fruits on his nightstand pulling the ribbon to dig her fingers into the wrapping extracting an orange from the inside.
Handing it to Alex he happily peels and gulps it down, Chara laughed.
"You have an appetite it seems," Chara stated.
"Alex, are you feeling okay today?" Everett asked.
"Yes, I am! Can I ask what happened?" Alex questioned.
"You had a rare new veiler reaction." Everett explained, "Look, Alex…"
"Rosalie, where is she?" Alex challenged.
"She is gone, Alex…"
"What do you mean gone?" Alex shouted.
Alex gets up from the bed in shock hearing his childhood friend had been kidnapped, he recalled the features of the man immediately in a panic. Thinking how he was slammed against the wall knocking him unconscious again.
"Please calm down little one!" Chara said, "We are looking for her, we promise!"
"I have to go after her!" Alex shouted.
"No! You are only a human Alex!" Everett scolded.
"I can't stay when my friend is in danger!" Alex added.
"And what will you do?" Chara asked.
Sitting on the edge of the bed he thinks to himself for a few moments, Shimon scared him unreasonably by thought alone. Despite Shimon's appearance, he had immense strength after taking his blood.
Everett raised his hand to his chin looking at the brown-haired kid with a look of disbelief on his face. A grin curled on his lips walking over to his guest, smushing the hair on his head he hunched down looking straight into Alex's eyes.
"What will you do to get her back Alex?" He inquired.
"I don't know…" Alex replied.
"Do you even know where you are?" Everett asked.
"I think Chara told me the veil?" Alex responded.
"Well it is beyond the veil, but this region is called Merdea. We live near humanity in general so we most likely never will never pass past this area." Everett explained.
"So Merdea…I don't even remember how I got here." Alex stated.
Perching on the corner beside Alex, Chara hoisted her hands in the air listening for something unseen in the atmosphere. The boy tried to talk but was stopped before he had the chance.
"She…" Chara spouted.
"Yes, Chara?" Everett noted.
"She is in a crowded place surrounded by guards in a room with a handsome man…" Chara added.
"Handsome man?" Alex blushed.
Chara's eyes pop open, shaken by what she has seen, she gathers her thoughts before pressing forward gawking at Everett and Alex.
"He knows I was observing…" Chara stated.
"No more Chara!" Everett argued.
"Who are you, people?" Alex asked.
"Vampires of course," Everett said boldly.
"W-what?" Alex shouted, "Don't tell me that's what I met in the alleyway?"
"Humans always doing these stupid things." Everett sighed.
"Someone screamed, am I supposed to ignore it?" Alex disputed.
"Yes…" Everett puts it plainly.
The phone rings mystifying Alex, he had never seen such a device before in his life. Chara takes it quickly, handing it off to Everett.
"Titus tracked the address, Alex." Chara smiled.
Pacing back and forth Everett could be heard making conversation with someone on the device, Alex sat in the silence of observation of the strangeness of Merdea has been to him. Snapping the phone shut he turns to Alex.
"We will meet Titus in a couple of days to rescue your friend," Everett affirmed.
"Why so long?" Alex quarrelled with Everett.
"Because right now you have some things to think about." Everett pointed out.
"Like what?" Alex asked.
"You are deathly allergic to cyprdrenite making it impossible to go back through the veil, so why don't you stay here with me after you rescue your friend?" Everett offered.
"What is cyprdrenite?" Alex pondered out loud.
Chara takes a small red gem from her pocket in a sliver before placing it back in her apron.
"I don't remember taking that," Alex said, confused.
"You wouldn't be here otherwise, somehow he got you to consume it." Everett clarified.
"I placed some clothing on the stand here Alex, please get dressed and come down to the dining room. We have donors who you might like to meet." Chara said.
"Donors?" Alex asked, "Of course, someone would be right?"
They were instantly gone, Alex was baffled how they fled so quickly. He noticed right away what he was wearing. Gathering the clothing he finds it less than flattering.
He pulls on his jeans first, lazily dropping the patterned shirt over his chest patting away the wrinkles. Coming out of the room he stretched, an itch in his throat had him gagging, coughing and hacking into his palm.
"I am so confused…is this blood?" Alex whispered.
Kneeling down he wipes it on his new pants thinking nothing more of what occurred, on the other side of the corridor he finds the residents waking from their slumber. Looking across from him was an attractive blonde.
She is dressed in a white tunic and pants, her hair in a messy bun. Alex followed her to the dining room. She pats the seat next to her.
"Hello, are you new here?" She asked.
Alex could feel his face redden, unable to think an audible thought, she laughed letting her hand slide on the top of his.
"H-hello!" Alex shouted.
"Are you nervous? My name is Brynlee." She answered.
"I-I am Alex!" He yelled.
Not able to control the pitch of his voice, he breathed in and out, clearing his mind first.
"Brynlee! Are you doing okay?" A voice cried.
In excitement she ran into the man's arms, his black hair was tied into a ponytail, a big green bow secured to the back, he wore a very tasteful black blazer with a long tail that caught the air when he walked. His pants were plain black, Brynlee was spun high in the air.
Her laughter rose high, she kicked her feet outreaching the ground softly.
"The two love birds are at it again it seems." Dominique gagged.
"Please, you are jealous." The man said.
"Like I would be jealous of you two, you are my friend!" Dominique stated.
Chara brings out large trays of foods for Alex's first feast at the compound, cooked whole potatoes, a cooked goose, and fried rice decorated with cut-boiled eggs decorating the sides, flavored colorless jelly.
An abundance of victorian treats Alex not in his lifetime would have been able to afford to consume now lucky enough to, Chara spared no expense in the dishes she put her heart into making Alex's mouth water.
"Eat up, newbie!" Brynlee smiled.
"It's been a while since we had someone who enjoyed eating, generally donors are light eaters, but Everett told me what happened to you," Chara explained.
Alex became too busy to chat or acknowledge what was told to him, he was so hungry he took huge helpings of each dish, scarfing them down, lifting soups to his lips without even looking, taking large sips.
Chara helped him retrieve sweets and fruits after he was done and full with his dinner, Everett finds his way to the table admiring Alex's ability to eat. You could hear him smack his chops together.
"Alex, do you have time to talk?" Everett laughed.
He lets the plate hit the table caught off guard, facing this stranger who took him into his home and feeding him.
"Of course!" Alex said excitedly.
"Would you like to become a vampire?" Everett asked.
"Like fangs and stuff?" Alex answered.
"Yes, you want to save your friend right?" Everett challenged Alex.
"I do…"
"Then please let me help you."