— 5:45 PM
Checking the time at my phone, I only have 15 minutes, to get to Valentina's place.
I checked the location, which appeared to be in the outskirts of the town, near a forest.
'Does she really live in a dungeon?'
I thought to myself, though, it also made sense for her to live there as to not draw attention.
Also they would have better chances of escaping if the higher ups decides to step-in with the military.
"Are you sure son? You'll be heading in the outskirts of the town, don't you want a ride?"
My dad asked me a little worried. To which I refused, although I wouldn't mind the ride, I also have something important to do, before going to her place.
"Yes, dad, I'll be fine and I am already an adult. I could take care of myself, and besides I should be able to do this much at the very least."
I replied, which made my dad nod in understanding. As I was about to head out, I was stopped by my mom.
"Edward, be careful and again, you are job is to only 'teach' and nothing else understand?"
She asked me with an raised eye brow. I understood what she meant, as she thought I'll be fooling around with Valentina if the chance arises.
"Yes, mom clear as day."
I reassured her, but truth to be told, the only reason, I am headed to her den which is probably very dangerous and maybe even filled with vampires is because I have to keep them in check. Later I'll figure out a way to wipe them out completely.
"Shouldn't you be resting, you did fall down the stairs dear?"
My mom, asked again, I reassure her again and told her that since the midterms are only about 2 days away, I had to make sure that Valentina is ready for them.
As I stepped out of the house and hailed a taxi, I was greeted by an elderly gentleman with a distinguished air about him.
His weathered face bore the marks of years of experience, and his cap added a touch of old-world charm to his appearance.
As I settled into the backseat, the elderly driver spoke.
"Where are you off to, young lad?"
the taxi driver asked, his voice tinged with a thick local accent that added character to his words.
"I need to make a quick stop at an abandoned warehouse," I replied, surprising the driver with my request.
"An abandoned warehouse, you say?" he echoed, his curiosity piqued.
"Are you sure about that, lad? You're not up to anything mischievous behind your parents' backs, are you?"
I chuckled at his skepticism. "No need to worry, sir. It's just a brief detour. I'll even pay extra for your time."
The driver's expression softened, but his tone remained stern as he imparted some unexpected wisdom.
"Listen here, lad. I've seen my fair share of youngsters like you, sneaking around and causing trouble. But let me tell you, there's no good that comes from keeping secrets from your folks. They'll be the ones to stand by you, no matter what."
His words struck a chord with me, and I fell silent.
As we continued our journey, the driver stole glances at me through the rearview mirror, his gaze filled with a mixture of concern and understanding.
"Remember what I said, young man," he added before we reached the warehouse. "Don't let your actions bring harm to those who care about you."
With a nod of gratitude, I stepped out of the taxi and made my way towards the abandoned building.
Before closing the door, I turned to the driver and reassured him, "I won't let any harm come to them. This is for their protection."
* * *
"—Huuuuu"
I exhaled, taking in the smell of moss and old wood of the abandoned warehouse.
It's been two and half years here, before I went to search for my parents. I used to hide out here for a while.
Now the place appeared ransacked as it used to be filled with scraps.
The ground was also littered with shards of glasses, trash, used injections and buds of cigars.
I didn't mind as I took out a night vision goggles and wore it in my face, it was dark after all, or it will be in few minutes.
'I hope there isn't any homeless person living here.'
I thought to myself, if there was than I wouldn't like to freak them out.
As I scanned the place moving from room to room, it became increasingly clear that someone or multiple individuals are using the warehouse as a place for shelter.
I came to his conclusion, because I found pieces of breads lying on a neat and clean table, used cans that have retained their color compared to the ones that appeared discolored.
I also found a broken kerosene lamp, knife, a couple of blankets, magazines and a radio.
I did not know if I should be worried about running into them, soo I decided to quickly retrieve my belongings, that I hid here.
I than proceeded to look for a trap door, that leads to a pretty well hidden storage room, where I kept all my belongings.
Before I could head into the room, I saw a trail of dark liquid, leading into a room where I could hear strange grunting noises.
I looked at the dark liquid trail and can easily tell that it's blood, even when everything I saw was in a greenish tint thanks to the goggles.
I came to that conclusion because it smelled like iron and also it was leading into a room, with grunting noises.
Before entering the room, I grabbed the knife I saw earlier, as I did not want to confront whatever is in that room with the trap door empty handed.
I looked around one last time and saw large scratch marks everywhere, as if some one clawed through the wall like butter.
I wasn't scared but a little relieved to see those claw marks, because I wouldn't want to deal with a human who's armed with a fire arm.
That's right, I wasn't dealing with a human here, It's most likely, 'that' undead creature.