Chapter 12: You are Special

The news about Rae's existence spreads like wildfire. It even reached miles and miles away from where he was found. One from London, England, and the other from Transylvania, Romania. It will focus on the latter to find out what happened to the last vampire who attacked the said to be son of the vampire queen.

In this region, known for it's medieval towns, lies one of the greatest mansions inspired by Gothic designs that no one would suspect as den of vampires in this period of time.

"We have brought him, Master Edward." Said one of the vampires in black cloak.

They showed the shadow vampire and made him kneel on the floor.

"Welcome back, Shade. How's the world outside this mansion, dear brother?" The vampire, whom they called 'Master Edward', took a sip on his glass of blood-wine while sitting comfortably on his sofa.

"I saw it! The rumors were true, big brother! The vampire queen indeed has a son! I saw it with my two eyes! If you didn't stop me, I should've killed him!" Shade, known as the shadow vampire, claimed like a mad man.

Edward's ears perked at the news he heard.

"Oh, is that so?" He placed the glass on a small table and stood up.

He went closer to his younger brother.

"I thank you for such a viable information, my brother." He gently smiled but it quickly faded as he grabbed his brother's neck.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed me."

"F-forgive me, brother... Ack!" Shade begged as he can't breathe.

"Pardon me." A vampire with a long blonde hair wearing a lab coat appeared, "But it would be useless to kill one of our kind at the state we're in."

With his suggestion, Edward let his brother go. The shadow vampire coughed vigorously.

"Put him in detention... And, give him the most suitable punishment." He made an evil grin.

Shade shook his head, "No... have mercy, big brother! A-anything but that! Please don't!" The vampires dragged him out of the chamber.

"I never thought the rumors will come to life. And Shade looks awful after facing that vampire. What do you think, Edward?"

"The fact that he made Shade behave like that makes me want to meet him more. I want to know if he's worthy to be the next ruler among us." Edward said and drank the remaining blood-wine on his glass.

"In that case, please allow me brother. I want to investigate his capabilities." The vampire with blonde hair bowed his head.

Edward smirked, "Do as you wish, Damien. But... don't you dare kill him." His eyes turned bright red at his warning.

Damien fixed his glasses and chuckled, "As you wish, dear brother."

He snapped his fingers and suddenly, three vampires in black cloak appeared behind him.

Then, he grinned devilishly, "We'll never disappoint you."

Back to the country of Philippines, where the protagonists can be found; few days after the cleaning day happened, a certain girl is still awake late at night.

"Don't open it... the ghost might be in there!" She mumbled as she stared intently at the screen.

She held her plushie real tight as her heart kept on pounding nonstop. Even she's scared, she can't take her eyes off of the screen because she's looking for answers on what might be the ending of the story.

What made her jumped on her seat was not the jump scares at all. No, it's not time for that.

What made her surprise is when she suddenly heard a loud knock from her window covered with a peach curtain.

"W-who's there?!" She wished to say loudly but her fear overtook her.

She took few steps backward as she saw a shadow figure behind the window. She looked around her room.

Luckily, she found a broom. This might be enough to defend herself.

The knock came once again and beads of sweat started to fall from her forehead. She tightened her grip on the broom and took a deep breath.

'Be brave, Yana! You can't always count on Rae. You have to face this all by yourself!' She said as if encouraging herself even her knees won't stop shaking.

She slowly crept in as she comes nearer and nearer on her window.

"H-here goes for nothing..." She mumbled and gathered all her strength and courage to pull off the curtain.

"Hey Yana!" A silver hair that shines from the moonlight with blue sapphire eyes and a bright smile greeted her while here she was, in a position ready to smack whatever that nearly gave her a heart attack.

Not to mention, she had this expression of someone who's ready to risk their life to live with wide eyes and mouth agape.

After that long pause, she went into the corner and sulked. That was indeed embarrassing.

Rae opened the window and went inside her room.

"Sorry for the intrusion." He said and glanced at Yana, "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul about what I saw to--" he didn't get to finish what he's going to say when Yana suddenly throw her pillow at him.

Being an athletic he is, his reflexes are good enough to dodge the pillow. But Yana didn't stop from there, she grabbed another pillow to hit him. But Rae used his arms to shield himself from the attack.

"I get it! I get it! I'm sorry for scaring you!"

"Not only that! Because of you, I missed the ending!" She scolded and pointed out on the T.V. which shows the credits of the movie.

With that, Rae bowed down with his face on the floor, "I'm really sorry! I promise I'll make it up to you somehow!" He said.

Yana stopped hitting him and took a deep breath. Why she can't seem to get mad at him?

"What do you want this late at night?" She finally asked and seem to have calmed down.

Rae raised his head and looked at her in the eyes, "Please let me stay here for the night."

"Ha?!"

"I said, please le--"

"Not that! What I mean is why are you going to stay here?"

Rae looked away before answering, "I... ran away from home..."

Yana blinked few times after listening to his response.

There are times that you wanted to slap the hell out of your friends even if they are precious to you. And this is exactly how she feels right now.

She held his shoulders, "Rae, you're well aware that my house is just few meters away from yours, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why bother? If you're going to run away, at least go somewhere farther than this!" She scolded him once again.

But then, his eyes drooped, "But I... have nowhere else to go... You're my only friend..." He said gloomily.

With that, Yana felt a bit guilty for scolding him. Even he's famous in school, you can't actually tell them as friends. Besides, she's the only human who knows his secret. So she's the only one he can rely on.

The lass heaved a sigh, "Alright. You could stay, just for tonight, okay?"

Rae beamed a smile, "Oh thank you, Yana! You're the best!" He jumped and hugged her all of a sudden. She felt her heart skipped a beat once again.

But this time, it's not because she's scared. It's... something else.

She tried to brush the feeling away by pushing him gently,

"Yeah, fine. You sleep on the floor. Here's an extra blanket." She said as she took the blanket from the drawer and gave it to her friend.

She turned the T.V. off and sat on the bed when she heard him chuckled.

"What?"

"I just realized I'm so lucky to have a friend like you. No wonder I'll fall in love with you someday."

Yana felt her cheeks burned at what he said, "W-wha-!?"

"Just kidding!" Rae blurted out with a smile. And that made her throw the pillow on his face.

"Silly Rae!" She turned her back on him and laid down to bed.

She closed her eyes but can't even bring herself to sleep knowing there's someone else around.

'Why is he staying here? Why did he run away? Did he have a fight with Cal and the others?'

Rae, knowing her thoughts just said, "I'm sorry Yana. But I promise to tell you someday when I'm ready."

"I'll be waiting." She smiled, he haven't forgotten his promise and that's enough for her.

And without knowing it, she slowly fell asleep.

Morning came and Rae wasn't there in her room anymore.

'He must be back.' She thought and started doing her morning routines before she goes out for school.

"Good morning Yana!" Rae greeted him soon as she closed the gate.

"Is there any moment that you won't give me heart attacks?" She said who obviously flinched at his sudden greeting.

He chuckled, "Sorry, I'm just feeling excited."

"Excited about what?" She asked as they started walking.

He shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe for today's lessons?"

Yana heaved a sigh, "Rae, you're the only one I know who's excited for school."

He just giggled like a kid playing pranks on her.

The traces of sadness and weakness he showed last night can no longer be seen.

'Is he pretending to be happy? Why would he put an act in front of me?' These are the thoughts that kept roaming her mind as she observed her friend while in shool.

"Earth to Yanaaaa!" Ella called as she waved her hand in front of her friend's face.

Yana blinked, "Oh sorry. What was that?"

"I said, if you would be so kind to stay a little longer later. Can you help us decorate our booth for the upcoming festival?" Ella placed her hands together, "Pretty please?"

Yana nodded, "Yeah, sure."

"Thanks! You're a life saver!" She held her hand in glee.

She can't really say no to her dear friend.

Like any other schools, they also celebrate its founding day through festivals. And each club is required to have a booth on the said event.

Being the president of the Literature Club, Ella can't seem to escape this kind of pressure and stress. How can she not help her friend in need?

Right after class, Yana went and looked for Rae and told him that she can't go home with him today and told the reason behind it.

"It's okay. Are you sure you'll be fine?" He confirmed.

"Yep. I'm sure." The lass nodded with an assuring smile.

"Alright. I'll be off." He waved his hand before he turned away.

It's the first time that he went home alone. But it's never the first time that he felt alone.

Since he was a child, he was always kept inside the house. He didn't get the chance to study in schools, have classmates, and meet new friends. All his life, he spent it inside the four corners of his spacious house.

Yes, he have Cal, Primo, and the triplets. They always take care of him. But even he treats them as family, they still felt so distant from him. That's what "alone" means for him. If he didn't ask to study outside as a gift on his 16th birthday, he might be spending his high school life inside dark rooms. He wouldn't be able to meet Yana and experience this kind of freedom.

And yet... even how lucky he was for having good meals, having extraordinary abilities, living a good life, and having friends; he still felt like something is missing.

Ever since he fought that shadow vampire, it felt like a hole has been torn open inside his chest, his heart. And there's one question that kept ringing inside his head. A question that's harder than any math problems he solved. A question that he asked Cal so many times but can't get the satisfying answer that he needs to hear.

Because he, himself, doesn't know how to answer that question. And that question is...

"Oh Mr. Helsing, hello there!" A familiar voice said and that's when Rae realized that his feet unconsciously brought him to the school's church.

"What brings you here?" Father Stephen asked while holding a broom stick. Looks like he's sweeping the fallen leaves around.

"Ah, could it be you're here for a tea? Perfect timing, I was just about to prepare for myself. Let's come inside."

Rae was about to decline but a promise is a promise so he has to keep it. Besides, the priest already went inside excitedly and he doesn't want to disappoint this kind fellow.

He followed him inside the church as they went to a room that can be found at the back.

"Have a seat." The priest said as he took the kettle and start warming the water.

Rae slowly sat down as he looked around.

It's like a small apartment: with a small bed, a lamp shade, a ceiling fan, a round dining table, two chairs, a wooden cabinet, and a small refrigerator. The narrow kitchen, set apart by the wooden cabinet and the small refrigerator, where the priest is preparing the tea. There's also a door in the kitchen which he assumed to be the bathroom.

"So, how was your school?" Asked father Stephen before he sat down as they waited for the water to boil.

"It was good." He replied the most common response any student will give to that kind of question.

The priest chuckled, "Really? You don't seem like enjoying it." He said as if he can see right through him.

Rae sighed, "Am I really that bad at lying?"

He laughed, "Nice try, kid. But lying is not good. Pretending is another, depending on its reason."

"I didn't mean to trick you... even Yana." The lad looked down.

How he wished to pat the young lad's back but the kettle gave an eerie sound which means the water is already boiling.

"A moment, please." The priest stood up and switched the stove off.

He started preparing the tea afterwards. He poured the two cups and served it on the table.

"Here." The priest gave one cup to him.

"It smells nice... and sweet." Rae said as he took the cup.

"It's chamomile, it's good to relax your mind."

"Perfect." The lad smiled before drinking the hot tea.

It's indeed soothing. For a moment, he forgot what's bothering him since this morning.

"Feeling better?" The priest asked with a gentle smile.

"Better than earlier." He replied and took another sip. Then, there's a moment of silence fell upon them.

"Father..." He called, "Have you ever felt lost? Lonely and... empty?" Rae asked out of nowhere.

"I have." The priest replied without hesitation.

Then the lad glanced at him, as if checking if he's telling the truth. But his expression doesn't seem like he's bluffing.

"Father, I'm a vampire... your mortal enemy and yet, why didn't you kill me back then?" His perplexed expression is evident on his face.

"Tell me, Mr. Helsing. Have you killed any human being?"

"No, I haven't."

"Then I don't have any reason to kill you." The priest took a sip of his tea.

"But I-I'm a vampire. I might lose myself and kill innocent lives like what we're supposed to."

"What YOU'RE supposed to?" Father Stephen repeated, "Why? Are you planning to be like those cruel vampires?" His expression became stoic, the gentle face he showed earlier was gone.

"N-no..." Rae looked away, "I don't. It's nothing like that..."

"You're the only one who can answer whether you'll a cruel vampire or not. You should know that by yourself."

"But I don't even know who or what I am!" He suddenly bursts.

The priest was surprised so was the young lad.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... It's just that..." He sighed, "I know that I'm a vampire, my extraordinary abilities show it all. I've also been told that I'm a child from a vampire woman. But I've never met her once, let alone my father as well. I kept asking Cal but... he always changes the topic. It feels like... I'm existing but behind my mother's shadow... without my own identity..." The lad confessed as tears started to well up his eyes.

"Who am I?" He mumbled.

The priest closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stood up and gently patted the young lad's shoulder.

"Follow me."

At first, Rae was hesitant. He was deeply troubled and all he could say is to follow him.

It doesn't make sense but still he followed the priest. They went out of the small room and went straight the altar aisle. Father Stephen stopped in the middle and Rae stood a few meters away from him.

"Mr. Helsing," he called and turned to face him, "You said you're a vampire. Yet here you are, standing in the altar, well and strong."

The lad seems perplexed at the priest's words.

"You know what this means? No vampire can withstand any church. They might not die instantly, but they'll feel weak. And you don't feel anything, right?" Then, the priest smiled gently, "You're special Rae, and no one can take that away from you."

"About your identity, well... you always have the ability to find the answer for yourself. At least, you know, you're a half vampire. I guess that helped a bit." The priest made an awkward laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Father Stephen..." That's when the young lad came to realize the little things about himself.

Why he didn't think of it all this time? He's been so affected by what the shadow vampire told him that he forgot to look at the little things that makes him for who he is.

Just as when he was about to open his mouth for gratitude, the windows suddenly crashed.

"Finally, we found you!" Damien said with an evil grin together with the other vampires in black cloak.

The three vampires jumped downwards: one behind the priest, the other from Rae's right side and the other one on his left. While Damien, remained outside as if he was watching a thrilling show.

"Surrender... or die!" The vampires removed their cloaks and each of them showed off their weapons.

The one on his right has a huge iron ball with sharp spikes. The chains around his arm serve as the control over the said iron ball. While the one on his left has a spear with long pointed blade.

And the one behind the priest has a chainsaw. What's more with these vampires, they entered the church without the slightest trace of being vulnerable. In fact, they're all grinning menacingly like they're already imagining how to feast with their blood.

But it wasn't enough to scare the him.

"Surrender? Dying? Why don't you try?" He said but of course, not with his own but his vampire self.

Few minutes earlier than the ambush, Yana and the others are finally done with their work. They're all on their way home when Yana noticed that she forgot her phone inside.

"You can go ahead of me."

"Are you sure?" Ella confirmed.

Yana nodded, "Yes, I am." She said before returning to the classroom where they worked.

"There you are! My mom will kill me if I didn't notice I left it here." She sighed in relief and was ready to leave the premise when she heard the crashing of windows from the church.

And that's when she saw black figures entering the altar.

"Oh no, father Stephen!" She ran towards the place without even thinking of the danger she might put herself in.

"Me? Surrendering? I didn't even think of dying. Why don't you try?" Rae smirked as his hair grew longer and became bloody red. His eyes glowed in bright red and his fangs appeared.

Damien was surprised, "So it's indeed true... the son of the vampire queen does exist!" Then he laughed, "Interesting! Show me what you've got!"

At his signal, the vampires begin to attack.

"Watch out!" Father Stephen exclaimed and Rae dodged the two vampires' attacks effortlessly.

"You should mind yourself, old man!"

"O-old--hey!" The priest was about to complain when the other vampire attacked him. Good thing, he managed to dodge it.

"Tch! You're right. I should finish this first." He mumbled and held the golden cross necklace he's wearing.

He then began to pray:

"O Heavenly Father, give me strength to fight the evil ones. Bless your servant to carry out this mission according to your will. I summon thee, O Holy Weapon!" And suddenly, a golden light shone brightly that startled the vampires. With his hand, a golden sword appeared.

"This priest..." Damien mumbled as he frowned, "He's one of them!"

While they're still blinded by the light, the priest made his attack. But since they still have their senses, one of the vampires countered his attack with his weapon.

And the fight restarted until Rae and the priest stood side by side, guarding each other's backs.

"I've been wondering all this time..." The priest said, "They're vampires and yet they're using weapons. They must be level-C vampires." He informed, referring to those vampires who doesn't have any special powers like the elements.

Rae scoffed, "It's irritating that you're also into riddles like someone I know."

Father Stephen chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'm not like you guys, but I've noticed the glowing chokers they've been wearing since they appeared. I don't know what's that for but I've got a feeling that I want to destroy those." He added and the priest agreed as he noticed those chokers too.

Then, the vampires attacked once again but some only gave shallow attacks on Rae just to keep him wounded.

"That attack wouldn't be enough to kill me!" He grabbed one of rhe vampires neck and threw it on the wall near the door.

Just in time, Yana came and pushed the big door.

"Father Stephen!" She called and the vampires noticed the scent of a human.

They know for sure, if they drink her blood, they'll have enough strength to take their target down.

All of those vampires ran towards her at once.

"No, Miss Yana!"

Knowing their plan, Rae suddenly had this feeling: his blood rushed all over his head and felt like something's going to burst. In a blink of an eye, he ran towards Yana's side and protected her from those vampires.

"Get... away from her!" In such a speed, he kicked one of those vampires as hard as he can.

The other, he punched strongly. And the other one, he grabbed on the neck and destroyed the choker with one hand.

The vampire moaned in pain when the choker was removed. As if his strength was also removed from him as well. Looks like their protection comes from the choker after all.

'What an unbelievable agility! I've never seen such vampire rushed as fast as that!' The priest was still in shock of what he witnessed just now.

When Yana opened her eyes, she saw the familiar figure with red hair.

"Rae? What are you doing here?"

"That's my line, stupid! Why are you still here!?" He scolded.

"Hey! Don't call me stupid!"

Another vampire was about to attack them when Father Stephen rushed in and countered its weapon.

"I believe this is not the time for lover's quarrel."

"We're not lovers!" Both of them said in unison.

The priest chuckled as he enjoyed teasing them, "Alright, if you say so." He swings his sword and cut the vampire in half. Then, it turned to ashes.

"Don't get too confident, old man!" Rae rushed to the last vampire and killed it with his hands in front of the priest.

Like a slow motion moment, his sharp bright red eyes, long bloody red hair, and his bloody hands suddenly reminded him of a memory from long ago. And like the flash of lightning, the memory ended.

The priest held his head, "Strange... you suddenly remind me of someone I know..."

Rae looked at him in disgust, "It must be your imagination, old man."

"O-old man?! Hey, I'm not that old!"

"Yeah, right." Rae teased.

"Hey wait!" Yana rebutted, "I believe I saw another one from up there." She pointed the part where the windows broke and the vampire with the pale golden hair is now gone!

Not to mention that the weapons used by the vampires were gone as well.

"Tch! That nerd!" Rae mumbled in gritted teeth. He was about to go after the vampire but then, his body slowly returned to his human form.

"Rae!" Yana grabbed him before he could fall from the floor.

"It's getting late, Miss Yana. You'd better go home with Mr. Helsing." Father Stephen said.

The lass nodded, "I'm sorry for the mess, father." She placed Rae's arm on her while grabbing his waist to support him.

"Don't mention it."

Before they leave, Rae weakly lifts his head, "Father Stephen... thank you..." He smiled faintly as he finally said what he wanted to say earlier.

And that made the priest smiled as he watched them walked away.

"You're indeed special, Mr. Helsing. And what makes you stronger is because you have someone to protect..." Then he turned his sword back to a golden cross necklace.

He stared at the necklace and held it tight, "Astrid..." He softly called.

'If I were stronger that time to protect you...' He pursed his lips with a bitter expression as he recalled someone's face.

But then, his solitude got disturbed when he noticed someone's presence behind him.

"What brings you here, gentlemen?" He asked as if he already knew who visited him.

Two men; one who's taller and bigger than Stephen, and the other who's smaller than him with a body like a teenager, wear in white robes with a golden cross symbol on their shoulders.

"I'll cut the chase", said the bigger one, "The Ministry asks if you have any news about the son of the vampire queen? Rumor has it that he has sharp bright red eyes and bloody red hair like his mother."

His ears perked at what he heard. Rae immediately came to his mind.

"Well? What do you say?"

"No, I haven't seen the infamous son of the vampire queen." He lied.

"Is that true?" The smaller one said, "You know what happens if you betray the Ministry." There's a tone of threat to those words.

The priest turned around to face them, "C'mon! I've been working all these years for the Ministry and you still don't trust me?" He smiled and patted the smaller fellow's head. Suddenly, a gun was pointed on his chin.

"Answer."

"Y-yes, I understand." He nervously said and the gun was put away.

"If you find any vital information about the child, don't hesitate to let us know. Don't you dare forget what the Ministry had done for you." The bigger fellow said before they left without even waiting for his response.

And that leaves the priest with his stoic expression.

Back to Damien who's currently staying at a condominium, is now having a phone call with his brother.

"Looks like Shade isn't lying at all. The vampire queen's son is an interesting fellow!" He delightfully narrated to his brother.

"Was the show interesting for you?" Edward asked.

"Yes, very much! Especially when I got some memento from the show I've watched." Damien smirked as he took the blood left from the weapons used by the vampires earlier and placed them in test tubes.