Chapter 2: The Land of Bloodsuckers (Pt.2)

AFTER more than a day ride in the plane, Cyrille finally arrived at the Sibiu Airport.

“Finally!” she exclaimed in happiness, but after a split of seconds the joy in her face suddenly disappear. “Damn that long flight! I felt like half of my life had been taken away from me.” She whined.

She looked around and like what she read on the internet was right. It was just a vast space for an airway nothing more. She can’t barely see any trees or plants or anything that can impress a tourist by the time they get off the plane—it’s plainly a cemented path in outskirts.

“I thought this place will somehow impress me because it’s a place that faraway in the Philippines and it’s a foreign country with good economy,” Cyrille said somehow feel disappointed.

Cyrille took a deep breath in order to relax. “Nevermind. I'm not in this place to relax. I'm here to find out if vampires exist!”

After motivating herself, Cyrille immediately hailed a cab and went to the nearest hotel, where she had reserved a room for the time being. She left her belongings in her room and went out to begin her vampire hunt.

"There should be no throwing away of time. I should get started right away. I'm not sure where I'm going to find those vampires in this country," she told herself.

She went to the locations where there had been reports and traces of vampire incidents, but days had passed and she still hadn't given up hope of finding what she was looking for.

Cyrille's frustration and disappointment grew as the days passed with no progress in her hunt.

"Is there a vampire in this place, or did I just waste my money and time for nothing?" she asked herself in frustration, but quickly composed herself. "Where the hell are these vampires hiding, and I can't find any of them?" She grumbled to herself again.

Everything in her surroundings began to darken, and her body became more exhausted as another day of futile hunting seemed to pass. She gave up thinking about where she was going and just let her feet take her wherever they wanted. As she continued walking, minutes passed and she found herself close to the church.

She looked down at her feet. “Really? Did you really bring me here?" she sarcastically asked her feet.

She shook her head as she took a deep breath. Trying to gather her thoughts about what was going on, she looked at the church, which she finds creepy due to its grotesque appearance.

"Is this really a church?"

She kept staring at the church, still unable to believe that a church could have designed it in such a way.

"Anyway," she sighed, "maybe this is how they design their churches here. Perhaps this is a sign that I should take a break for today's hunt."

She began to walk inside the church, exasperated and overwhelmed by her emotions. Cyrille was taken aback when she saw the inside of the church; she couldn't believe how beautiful it was.

"It's definitely far from the churches in the Philippines," she exclaimed.

She sat at the back bench, where it was dark enough that no one could see her. She looked at the large image of Jesus Christ on the cross; even though she was in the far back, she could clearly see the image of Jesus Christ due to its size.

"The Philippines can't really compare to other countries; there are huge differences in everything," she said.

After that, she stood up and began to pray.

"Lord, I know how fascinated I am by vampires, but can't you make this vampire hunting journey easier for me? Can you please assist me in putting my curiosity about them to rest?" Cyrille prayed in desperation. "I don't asked to see a bunch of vampires; I just want to see one. Just let me see one of them, please. Please? Lord?" She pleaded, blinking her eyes like a child begging and asking their parents for what they want.

She decided to go outside after her heart-to-heart with Jesus Christ to clear her mind and feel the cool breeze of an autumn night.  

"Hmm...I'm not sure autumn's night breeze would be as soothing as this," she remarked as she continued to savor the night breeze on her pale skin.

She took a few more walks around the church while enjoying the night breeze before returning to the hotel to rest. But something caught her eye as she continued her walk. At the back of the church is a creepy and dark passageway.

"What exactly is this?" she inquired.

Her mind was filled with curiosity as she looked at the dark passage. She has no idea, but something tells her that she must investigate what's inside—something that must be discovered.

"There’s nothing wrong if I look inside, right?" she asks, her gaze fixed on the passage.

Her mind tells her not to go, but her desires urge her to. After a few seconds of arguing with her thoughts, she decided to go inside.

"I'll just check it. If there is nothing here, I will leave right away."

She turned on the flashlight on her cellphone and began walking inside. When compared to how she saw it from the outside, the place was drearier and darker. Cyrille can't deny that walking there gives her an uneasy feeling that a wild beast will attack her from the darkness of that passage at any time.

"This is creepier than I thought," she admitted, feeling both chills and excitement in her spine.

She walked for several minutes in that dark path until she noticed a sliver of light in the darkness. She followed the small light she saw, and after a few steps, she came across an altar with a beautiful man in black lying on it, lit by the moon.

"What on earth is he doing here?" she inquired, perplexed.

In her head, she is filled with unanswered questions, and unexplained emotions rush to her body.

"What exactly is this sensation? Why does it feel like I've already been here?”

She looked at the man lying in the altar, perplexed by what was going on.

"Has he died already? What is he doing lying here? It's cold in here, how can he sleep as if it's not?"

She takes two steps forward, wondering and concerned about the person in front of her, and places her finger near his nose to see if he is still alive. When she caught a faint breath from the man, she felt relieved.

"Thank God, he's still alive," she said with relief. "But why is he here? Has he been kidnapped and imprisoned here?”

But when Cyrille looked around, it appeared that the man had not been kidnapped or locked in that place, because if he had, they would not have just let him lie there without tying or putting some cuffs on him to prevent him from escaping.

"So, why is he here?"”

Cyrille's mind was racing with ideas and questions at that moment. While she was looking for answers to her questions, something caught her eye.

"A black cape? Long-sleeved white shirt? And a red bow?”

Cyrille's eyes begin to widen.

"This is how a vampire dresses in classic Dracula films!" she exclaimed. “Oh my—”

She couldn't finish her words and immediately covered her mouth to keep from shouting. She was overjoyed with the mixed emotions she was experiencing at the time, and she couldn't believe that after days of fruitless hunting, she'd have the good fortune to meet a vampire.

Thank you so much, Lord! Thank you for making my wish come true! I didn't expect wishes to be granted so quickly and expressly. Anyway, thank you very much!

Cyrille was overjoyed with the Lord's grace.

She returned her gaze to the man lying in front of her, but she was struck by a mischievous feeling.

"How come his face looks so familiar to me?”

As she continued to stare at the man, an odd feeling returned to her mind.

"Wait—" and then she returned her gaze to the man's face—he's the man in my dreams! She exclaimed in her mind, perplexed by what was going on.

And, just as she remembered in her dream, she can't deny how attractive the man in front of her is. She kept staring at the man until she noticed the crest on its bow.

"It's the same crest I saw in my dreams," she exclaimed.

And, out of morbid curiosity, she examined the ankh circa, but when she touched it, something pricked her finger and caused it to bleed, just like in her dreams.

"What the—" she exclaimed as she backed away and sucked her finger to stop the bleeding.

She returned her gaze to the man after making certain that her finger was no longer bleeding.

"I need to know if he is who I think he is."

Cyrille was about to check on the man when she heard footsteps.

"Damn it! Who is it? What brings them here?" She cursed under her breath and ran away.

After a few moments, she noticed two priests conversing.

"Nu este încă treaz? (Is he not still not awake?)"

"El nu s-ar trezi decât dacă profeția s-a împlinit (He wouldn't wake up unless the prophecy was fulfilled)"

"Ar trebui să încercăm să evităm pe cât posibil profeția, altfel va fi sfârșitul tuturor; îngrijirea puilor și a nou-născuților este suficient de stresantă; dacă el regele se trezește, ne va fi greu să ne descurcăm. (We should try to avoid the prophecy as much as possible, or it will be the end of all of us; taking care of fledgings and neonates is stressful enough; if he the king awakens, it will be difficult for us to handle.)"

"Atâta timp cât îl ascundem, nu va fi nicio problemă. (As long as we hide him, there will be no problem.)"

Cyrille couldn't understand what the two priests were saying, so she decided to leave before she was caught.

"It is not my luck to talk with him, but I will return here tomorrow. I'll make certain that I can converse with him and learn everything there is to know about him!”