“Let’s reel back from the start,” K said, crossed her arms, and leaned back on the couch.The rustle of leaves blown by the wind outside the cabin gently laid to silence. The cabin turned into a vacuum for a little while, waiting for something to happen. Raverine ducked his head and rubbed his nape. Ember was the first to move and utter a word.“Before this web of tail-chasing and mask-hunting events, our department was bombarded with cases of missing persons and smuggling. You know that K, right?”K gave a subtle nod. “That’s why I told you that the smuggling cases weren’t transacted through the city, but it could be somewhere in the desert mountains.”“Yeah,” Ember continued, “Most of these cases went cold and if we look closely, there’s a similar pattern in demographics and location in these cases. I wanted to resolve it properly so I weaved all the pieces of information from these cold cases which even led me back to the illegal smuggling cases I handled. Eventually, I picked up t
“Raver? Are you nuts? What’s going on? Why did you leave Hiro and your team here all by themselves, working their asses and having to face Calil’s nuisance.”Raverine was too stunned to speak. He pressed the bridge of his nose and tightened his hold on his phone. All he could do was groan over the phone, frustration flooded his mind and there was no way of getting it all out immediately. Why, out of the blue, would Calil visit the restaurant—Raverine mumbled to himself—Calil has never been the one to publicize his hate toward his enemies, not even toward Raverine. Throughout his existence, that double-faced son of the Devil will never reveal his dark side to the public to keep his hands clean. Raverine knew something was wrong with Calil’s actions. Diego scoffed and went on to blame Raverine for what happened to his management and the restaurant. Although the after-effect of Calil’s actions has yet to spur the mass media and vampires of all kinds, Diego is worried about the next time
Ember didn’t bother asking what was happening inside Raverine’s head or the texts he’d been receiving before they left the cabin. After Raverine has a phone call from his restaurant employee or maybe someone else he doesn’t want Ember to know, he looks more like a criminal now than before their first encounter. His aura emitted an ominous feeling that changed the atmosphere between him and Ember. Raverone’s iced cold eyes melted to reveal his burning lust to kill. Ember looked away, she can’t tiptoe around him so she’ll act like Raverine’s sudden shift of mood is nothing but a child’s tantrum.K was the first to leave the cabin and drive back to their hometown. K said she will inform Uncle Felix first about their plans then she’ll go back to their must-be anxious Mother. The December family and their close-knit community are oblivious yet of the situation that Ember has put them and the supernatural presence of vampires that surrounds them. Who knows, Ember surmised, that more of thes
Another knock and finally the men outside of Uncle Felix’s office made their identity known. They said that they are the security guards of this hospital. Uncle Felix released the tension from his shoulders and so did everyone inide the office. The three of them—Ember, K, and Raverine calmed down and stood behind Uncle Felix. However, Raverine can still smell that badly hidden scent of a familiar kind from those men outside, he is sure of it. Uncle Felix signaled the three of them to move out of sight as he was about to open the door ajar.“Yes? How may I help you?” Uncle Felix asked with his usual work tone.“Doctor, sorry to disturb you but a skunk was spotted around the hospital…”“A skunk?” K murmured to herself in disbelief. Who reports such thing to the staff and residents here? A skunk, K was shaking her head in amusement.“Skunk, you say?”“Yes, Doctor. Just to notify you that he might come inside your office, so please do lock your windows and door while we secure the place.
“What happened in Vorkuta?” Ember asked again but Uncle couldn’t find the right words to utter and answer her right away. It was as if Uncle Felix had gone into a traumatic relapse. Ember already knew a little of what happened in that experiment in Vorkuta but what surprised her the most was her Uncle’s knowledge about it but they still chose to keep it a secret from her, so she played dumb this time to extract the story from her uncle.Uncle Felix removed his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and sat down. He began explaining, “I have grown to forget about this but I guess the past will always haunt those who witnessed it. Forgive me, I was taken back by a memory when I went inside the bombed facility where they experimented on smuggled babies.”Ember and Raverine looked at each other, and then Ember said, “What did you see Uncle?”“Well, everything was burnt to the ground but images were preserved. Bodies of infants are decapitated, dissected, and close-up shots of their veins
Uncle Felix started the engine and drove out of the hospital’s parking lot. He adjusted the rear mirror until he could clearly see his niece tailing behind them driving Raverine’s black sedan car. Then he felt Raverine’s questions fuming out of his ears, Uncle Felix let out a chuckle when Raverine realized that he had been staring at him for almost a minute.“He was wounded when he rushed inside the hospital which was still under renovation, he thought that maybe he could steal and tried to scare the nightshift employees—tough boy. Then because I was a military doctor so they sent him to me, thinking I could handle him well without dying first. It was long ago, I am sure Skotieno has forgotten that I was his doctor for a week when he rested in the hospital.”“I am not sure about that,” Raverine said, “But I am certain that he has a good memory for remembering such things. He spent a week, he must’ve remembered you.”Uncle Felix smiled and resumed, “Anyway… He was badly beaten up that
Vampires have always been lurking in the shadows even before the World Wars. They made deals with those who are in power in exchange to keep their existence secret. But no one could truly keep a big, dark secret. Hence, In 1914, the “im Dunkeln sterben” was carved into the tomb of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary when he was assassinated by a clan of vampires. The reason for the assassination was the threat made by the late Archduke for the vampires. The Archduke wanted the vampires to become his dogs or else, he’ll expose them to the world. The vampires weren’t pleased by his threat so he died in the darkness and by the poison of their fangs. And the one who took the blame for the Archduke’s death? The humans and to that day, The Great War began. Many years and battles after that, vampires in the late 1990s built a research facility hidden in Vorkuta to operate the modification of human blood… from smuggled babies. Due to the wars, evolution, and advancement of the
After shots of costly vodka and cheap talks, time seems to have left these two strangers craving for more than chips and drinks. The woman kept throwing her head back and forth, letting out her giggles as she leaned each wall and room door they walk past. She then pulled herself towards Raverine, who was placidly walking as if no one was with him and clung to his left arm. Raverine halted and turned his head to face her wasted look. He sighed and displayed his facetious smirk when he stared down at the woman’s chest rubbing close to his sleeves. She placed her chin on top of his broad shoulder and curled her lips outwards. "Hello, Reverend..." she whispered, trying to keep her eyelids up. Reverend, he ridiculed and scoffed. Raverine pulled his arm out of her embrace and run his fingertips through her cooper-like hair, amorously stroking her neck. His hands traced the curves of her youthful body but daring eyes are pinned to the woman’s face. Finally, he wrap
Uncle Felix started the engine and drove out of the hospital’s parking lot. He adjusted the rear mirror until he could clearly see his niece tailing behind them driving Raverine’s black sedan car. Then he felt Raverine’s questions fuming out of his ears, Uncle Felix let out a chuckle when Raverine realized that he had been staring at him for almost a minute.“He was wounded when he rushed inside the hospital which was still under renovation, he thought that maybe he could steal and tried to scare the nightshift employees—tough boy. Then because I was a military doctor so they sent him to me, thinking I could handle him well without dying first. It was long ago, I am sure Skotieno has forgotten that I was his doctor for a week when he rested in the hospital.”“I am not sure about that,” Raverine said, “But I am certain that he has a good memory for remembering such things. He spent a week, he must’ve remembered you.”Uncle Felix smiled and resumed, “Anyway… He was badly beaten up that
“What happened in Vorkuta?” Ember asked again but Uncle couldn’t find the right words to utter and answer her right away. It was as if Uncle Felix had gone into a traumatic relapse. Ember already knew a little of what happened in that experiment in Vorkuta but what surprised her the most was her Uncle’s knowledge about it but they still chose to keep it a secret from her, so she played dumb this time to extract the story from her uncle.Uncle Felix removed his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and sat down. He began explaining, “I have grown to forget about this but I guess the past will always haunt those who witnessed it. Forgive me, I was taken back by a memory when I went inside the bombed facility where they experimented on smuggled babies.”Ember and Raverine looked at each other, and then Ember said, “What did you see Uncle?”“Well, everything was burnt to the ground but images were preserved. Bodies of infants are decapitated, dissected, and close-up shots of their veins
Another knock and finally the men outside of Uncle Felix’s office made their identity known. They said that they are the security guards of this hospital. Uncle Felix released the tension from his shoulders and so did everyone inide the office. The three of them—Ember, K, and Raverine calmed down and stood behind Uncle Felix. However, Raverine can still smell that badly hidden scent of a familiar kind from those men outside, he is sure of it. Uncle Felix signaled the three of them to move out of sight as he was about to open the door ajar.“Yes? How may I help you?” Uncle Felix asked with his usual work tone.“Doctor, sorry to disturb you but a skunk was spotted around the hospital…”“A skunk?” K murmured to herself in disbelief. Who reports such thing to the staff and residents here? A skunk, K was shaking her head in amusement.“Skunk, you say?”“Yes, Doctor. Just to notify you that he might come inside your office, so please do lock your windows and door while we secure the place.
Ember didn’t bother asking what was happening inside Raverine’s head or the texts he’d been receiving before they left the cabin. After Raverine has a phone call from his restaurant employee or maybe someone else he doesn’t want Ember to know, he looks more like a criminal now than before their first encounter. His aura emitted an ominous feeling that changed the atmosphere between him and Ember. Raverone’s iced cold eyes melted to reveal his burning lust to kill. Ember looked away, she can’t tiptoe around him so she’ll act like Raverine’s sudden shift of mood is nothing but a child’s tantrum.K was the first to leave the cabin and drive back to their hometown. K said she will inform Uncle Felix first about their plans then she’ll go back to their must-be anxious Mother. The December family and their close-knit community are oblivious yet of the situation that Ember has put them and the supernatural presence of vampires that surrounds them. Who knows, Ember surmised, that more of thes
“Raver? Are you nuts? What’s going on? Why did you leave Hiro and your team here all by themselves, working their asses and having to face Calil’s nuisance.”Raverine was too stunned to speak. He pressed the bridge of his nose and tightened his hold on his phone. All he could do was groan over the phone, frustration flooded his mind and there was no way of getting it all out immediately. Why, out of the blue, would Calil visit the restaurant—Raverine mumbled to himself—Calil has never been the one to publicize his hate toward his enemies, not even toward Raverine. Throughout his existence, that double-faced son of the Devil will never reveal his dark side to the public to keep his hands clean. Raverine knew something was wrong with Calil’s actions. Diego scoffed and went on to blame Raverine for what happened to his management and the restaurant. Although the after-effect of Calil’s actions has yet to spur the mass media and vampires of all kinds, Diego is worried about the next time
“Let’s reel back from the start,” K said, crossed her arms, and leaned back on the couch.The rustle of leaves blown by the wind outside the cabin gently laid to silence. The cabin turned into a vacuum for a little while, waiting for something to happen. Raverine ducked his head and rubbed his nape. Ember was the first to move and utter a word.“Before this web of tail-chasing and mask-hunting events, our department was bombarded with cases of missing persons and smuggling. You know that K, right?”K gave a subtle nod. “That’s why I told you that the smuggling cases weren’t transacted through the city, but it could be somewhere in the desert mountains.”“Yeah,” Ember continued, “Most of these cases went cold and if we look closely, there’s a similar pattern in demographics and location in these cases. I wanted to resolve it properly so I weaved all the pieces of information from these cold cases which even led me back to the illegal smuggling cases I handled. Eventually, I picked up t
Ember rushed to meet K from the gate and prepared herself to dodge K’s attack in case K threw a fit at her and blew her with a punch in the stomach—she would think she deserved half of the pain though. K is leaning against her dark blue motorbike while chewing something. A celery? Ember questioned in her mind. It is indeed a celery that K has been chewing to calm her. K’s brows have never been buried into her glabella and her arms are tightly crossed beneath her chest. K approached Ember and spit the celery before Ember could come closer to her.Both of the sisters greeted each other with a tight hug. K patted Ember’s back and pulled her out of the embrace to get a better look at her face. Ember heaved out a sigh of relief.“I thought I could call you ‘sister’, but it’s better to use the ‘little sister’ once more. How careless were you, this time?” K began to berate Ember. “I would’ve understood if you got into a bloody fight but to drag the family into your mess. Ember, I taught you
Nightmares, thunder, and rain. In my sleep, all that is happening is occurring in a fast motion—the past, the present, and even the future move in a blur. There’s no story to follow in this dream of mine, it’s not a nightmare either. All I can see is the red and blue lights flashing before my eyes and the long noise of police sirens wrecking my eardrums. The incoherent, indistinct words whispered to me as I asked around the people in my dreams. My eyes opened abruptly. I awoke, not because of the dream I had that I could vividly feel and remember, but at the sound of breathing—soft and warm. His skin brushed against my skin. He is cold, awfully cold that his body will soon start crystallizing. Raverine huffed, then buried his forehead in my shoulder.“You are so warm,” he mumbled and snuggled his body closer to me.His feet were dangling on the other side of the sofa and his upper body managed to steal a good space, pushing me to sink deep into the cushion.“Get the fuck off of me,” I
I woke up and felt hungry when I smelled good food wafting around the place. I rubbed my face and caught a glimpse of Raverine’s back from the kitchen. He’s wearing an apron, probably making the breakfast that’s why the place smells like an expensive diner. I let out a low sigh and sit up straight on the couch, my eyes are still half-open.“Hey, morning,” Raverine greeted without turning around to face me.“Yeah, morning,” I replied, my voice is a little groggy.I yawned and stretched my body muscles before fixing my hair and opening my eyes completely. Once I was wide awake, a lot of papers scattered atop the small table stunned me. I grabbed a few of them and scanned their content. Most of the documents are the profiles of influential people and government officials. One document caught my attention and it’s the profile data of a presidential candidate this year. So, this person must be one of them, the vampires of Die Dark Clan. I heard Raverine coming towards me, so I placed the d