Perdita ran as fast as she could to her little home where she lived with her only brother and remaining family.
Their family was among those caught in the crossfire between humans and the vampires, and unfortunately, they were killed. Their parents, aunties, uncles, and cousins all died leaving the two of them to keep their generation going but now, it might not be the case because their secret might be leaked and they could get killed because of it.
Perdita bit hard on her lower lip and it almost bled because of her sharp canines. Her throat was not the only place that itched, even her fingernails started to itch and her skin turned pale with green veins popping out.
Luckily for her, the villagers were at the market and only a few of them were seen walking in the streets and some in their houses.
Reaching their small house made of mud and thatched roof like other houses in the village, she reached inside her skirt pocket and took out the key to their home. Her hand shook uncontrollably as she tried to insert the key into the keyhole. After many attempts, the door opened with a click, and Perdita rushed in before closing and locking the door behind her.
The first thing that greeted her was the slight darkness in the room but she didn't dare open the curtains or the windows for fear of being discovered. Her legs shivered and she slumped to the ground breathless.
⁂*⁂*⁂*⁂
In a construction site away from Perdita's house was young Marco the brother of Perdita.
He worked at a construction site where he carried bricks used in building one of the King's mansions.
It was said that the king was building it for his sister who was getting married soon. Though the marriage has not taken place, he was preparing the mansion as a gift to her and her husband.
Marco came here every day since the work started almost three months ago, and the pay he got was big compared to other work he did. Of course, it will be big, it was the king's work after all, but that was not the case when it came to him. He worked more than other young men making him earn double what they earned. The young villagers always marveled because of his strength and agility.
If only they knew, he would think each time they praised him.
It was still late afternoon since they started the day's work and he had worked far more than other workers as usual. He was almost done completing his job before going to another one when one of his friends ran to him.
"Marco!" The young boy same age as Marco, shouted as he ran towards Marco.
"Marco!!" The boy was breathless when he reached the construction site. He had run from the market when he saw Marco's sister running home after what transpired between her and the vampire.
"What is it, Jeff?" Marco asked slightly annoyed that he was being distracted when he could have completed his job and should have started another one.
"Your sister…" Jeff still out of breath tried to get the words out of his mouth.
Marco immediately turned alert and dropped the brick he was holding. He asked, "What happened to her?" His voice was no longer as angry as before and it became stiff making him sound hoarse.
"Your sister. In the market. Vampire man" Jeff spoke in a disoriented way because of his heavy breathing.
Marco did not wait for Jeff to finish speaking and ran off. The only words he heard were sister, market, and vampire man before he ran in the direction of the market.
Jeff couldn't finish his words and he saw Marco run off with a blinding speed he thought was inhuman. He brushed the thought off saying he was only worried about his sister and had run like a wounded lion. Who wouldn't be? After an encounter with a cursed bloodsucking leech. He shook his head and realized a mistake he made. He didn't tell him her sister had gone home.
He sighed and scratched his head because of the silly mistake both of them made.
Marco continued running without stopping until he reached the market. He had reduced the speed at which he ran so he didn't raise any suspicion but it didn't stop some villagers from looking at him.
He immediately rushed to Perdita's stall and saw it was closed and empty. Dread filled his heart, and panic coupled with fear took over his being. He imagined the worst scenario he would find his sister with a vampire and the thought made his hands terribly shake.
He stood there watching the shop and forgot that people were looking at him. It was when one of the villagers approached him did he realize his mistake.
He quickly put his hand inside his trouser pocket to hide his hand that had turned pale where tiny green veins popped out. He turned to the villager and asked,
"Have you seen my sister? Her shop is closed which I find unlike her." Marco acted as if he had no clue about what happened.
"Have you not heard?" The villager was surprised but he like others brushed it off that he was busy with work and did not know what happened. The man filled Marco in on what transpired between his sister and the vampire.
Marco thanked the man and rushed off to look for his sister and prayed she was at home and safe.
After Marco left the market, one of the villagers who was none other than the same man who suspected Perdita with the vampire, looked at the boy's back in suspicion. He didn't believe what he said, that he didn't know what happened. If his memory was right, Marco worked at a construction site and it was located between the border of their village and another village. He concluded that someone must have told him, but how could he have come so quickly to look for his sister? It takes two hours to get there and vice versa. If his friend arrived there in two hours, how could he have come so quickly?
The man continued to ponder over what happened and remembered that Perdita had also suddenly closed her shop and ran home after that vampire said something they couldn't hear to her. What could he have told her? And what was there to run and hide from a vampire, all she could have done was to throw the burnt buns and bake another one.
The village man shook his head and walked away while finding everything amiss.
Back in Perdita's house,
Her throat itched so badly that her fingers scratched the wooden floor and it left marks on it. She couldn't remember how long she stayed on the floor and now everything blurred in her eyes and all she could think of was blood.
She jerked her body up and made her way into the other room in their house. This was her brother's room where they kept their important stuff.
Dragging her feet along, she knelt near the bed and raised it. Under it was a hole covered with a brown board.
Perdita shifted the bed aside to have more access to what she was looking for. She removed the brown board, reached inside the hole, and brought out a cage.
The cage was big and black and it had many cats inside it. The cats began to scratch the metal of the cage and it made Perdita annoyed. In anger, she hit the cage to quieten them. The last thing she wanted was for the villagers to find out they reared so many cats and raise suspicion about who they were.
The itching in her throat intensified seeing the cats and all she wanted to do was snap their necks to drink their warm juices. She hastily opened the cage and took out a cat with white and black fur.
The cat felt warm in her hand and she smiled. She raised her other hand towards the neck of the animal to snap its neck. But before she could kill it, the front door of their house burst open and she heard a voice scream.
"STOP!"