The Subic Murder Case (Part 3)

Evo's POV

"Who are the strangers that came into my territory?"

We couldn't see the man who spoke in the darkness. Their phones, as well as my watch, emitted light. However, I didn't see anyone, and we could hear rustling around.

"He is afraid of the light," I spoke quietly.

Bella ignored me. I looked around for a weapon in case the man attacked me. I saw a pipe and took it right away. Kaycee glanced at me and laughed a little.

"You won't need that," Kaycee said. "I can swish him away."

"Of course, you can," I said. "You have kinesis."

Kaycee smiled at me and waved a hand. The floor sticks floated like they were alive. He looked away from me and waved his other hand. Other wood and stones on the floor floated to the opposite side. We heard a crackle from behind us, and Bella's phone immediately lit up, even though I was on the other side of the room. It would move quickly, giving the impression of a real vampire in motion. From behind me, the piece of wood in the air turned around and quickly flew towards the man, but it dodged all of them. The wooden fragments collided with the wall and other parts of the room.

"You didn't hit," I said.

"I know," said Kaycee.

"I am not hitting him; I am scaring him."

"Huh?" I frowned and inquired.

Kaycee giggled. "I cannot hurt him. Besides, there are policemen up there, so they might catch us."

"Haist, instead of explaining..." Then Bella looked at me. "You're a man, aren't you? What can you do to catch him without hurting him or us?"

"Umm, he's not a real vampire, right?" I asked.

Kaycee and Bella looked at me. Then we heard footsteps. We turned back around. "Is there anyone with him?" Even though I couldn't see anything, I asked abruptly and kept looking around.

"He is not with anyone," Bella said. We follow the sound of every step he takes to see if anyone is with him, but the weight of his foot stays the same, and he moves so fast that Bella's flashlight misses him.

"He is so fast," I said. "Wouldn't he be a real vampire?"

We were all surprised when the man grabbed me from behind, just as Bella was about to respond. As the man grasped my neck, I began to feel frightened. I slammed the pipe I was holding right into the man's head. Kaycee put up her hand, but the man disappeared from behind her. Bella and Kaycee were looking around.

"He's a vampire. He could be a real vampire; if so, we're dead."

"Your mouth isn't helping," Bella told me. I couldn't hold back my emotions. Every time something fell or a strange sound arose, I couldn't help but jump. I was really scared. I felt the man's cold hand on my neck earlier.

I thought something was touching my neck, so I grabbed it. I felt something sticky and wet on my finger.

'Shit! Am I bitten?' I believed.

My thoughts felt as though they were a torrent of cold water. "Why do you not want to show up? Talk to us." Kaycee said.

I turned to Bella. She also saw drops of blood on the old wooden floor. She sees that termites have also caused holes in the bottom. There was a bit of dried blood there.

"Just tell us your name. What do you do? Why are you hanging here in the dark?" Kaycee inquired again as she lit the area with her phone's flashlight.

There were no more steps. I was about to move forward, but Bella and Kaycee stopped me by putting their hands up. The whole area became quiet. We listened quietly, getting a sense of their surroundings.

"My name is Nikolas, and I'm a vampire," he said.

"Nikolas, how old are you if you are a real vampire?" Kaycee asks.

"Age of 350." His cold voice gave me goosebumps.

"Hmm, I don't understand why you killed the girl. If you kill her, will she become a vampire?"

"Yes. The ceremony marked the beginning, and the woman was about to make a comeback. Tomorrow at midnight, the ceremony will transform her into a vampire, just like me. I won't be alone anymore!"

While Bella was talking to the man, I blocked the light from Kaycee's phone to practice seeing in the dark. I searched for the voice's origin. To understand his thoughts, I looked into his eyes.

After a while, I could see the image just behind the wooden post. A bright red seemed to be hiding eyes that were watching us.

"I've thought of a way for us to catch him," I whispered.

"What?" Bella asked in surprise. Kaycee looked at me.

"I want to be a vampire, too," I replied. "Can I join the initiation, too?"

"Are you crazy?" Bella whispered to me, but I kept talking.

"I want to be a vampire. Aren't you immortal? I want to be like you: rich and young. I don't want to get old. Additionally, vampires are strong and move quickly. They're incredible."

Kaycee slowly turned off the flashlight on her phone. We were all surprised when, suddenly, a man was behind me. When Kaycee was about to move closer to me, I stopped her by putting out one of my hands. The man was standing behind me. Strangely, I could hear the man's heartbeat.

Nikolas has a cut on his forehead because of what I did earlier. Nikolas's mouth also seems to have a small amount of blood. I gasped when my hands went up to touch the man's face. When Nikolas looked into my eyes, I saw blood. His breath smelled of rust, and his mouth tasted sick. My stomach almost flipped upside down.

I was surprised when Kaycee suddenly appeared behind the man and raised her hand. A few seconds later, the man lost consciousness. It fell to the floor, and a door opened from above.

—

Kaycee's POV

The police put the unconscious man's hands behind his back and tied his feet so he couldn't run away. The other policeman took the man.

"Before I throw you in jail, tell me how this man is the suspect and what evidence you have," the police officer asked. "Well, what about him? What happened to him?"

I looked at Bella. She understands what I am trying to say. The orphan is between 45 and 60 years old. He has a disease called vampirism." Bella explained.

"What? Vampirism illness?" the police asked.

"He was involved in a car accident when he was young and orphaned." He was the only survivor, but he had a big cut on his side and a gash on his head. It's not uncommon for childhood trauma to lead to the development of psychological disorders, but he had it so bad that he could taste his blood streaming from his head to his mouth."

"But he is a doctor," the police said. "He was a surgeon. And how did you know about it?"

"Sorry, but I can't answer your question about personal matters. But yes, that man was a doctor. I noticed Nikolas's heightened arousal when he saw the blood before him. He might have given up his job as a doctor because of this."

"What happened after the accident?"

"He found refuge in an orphanage but left because he felt confined. After living on the streets, he became ill. Believing that blood was the only cure, he ended up eating a dog."

"What?" said the three police officers in shock.

"Is that serious? A live dog?"

Bella nodded. She felt sorry for the man instead of being afraid, according to what she saw. Nikolas has no desire to contract a rare disease. He was just unlucky. That is indeed his destiny.

"You will not win the case because he has a mental illness."

"We need to do a background check on him," the officer said. "He also has many wounds on his body. First, we'll take him to the hospital."

"We helped you," Bella said. "As for the reward, let us go."

The officers exchanged looks. "This has happened before, of course. Did you also know anything about it? My father was handling the case, and they dismissed it because of a lack of evidence. Did he have anything to do with the crime?" the police asked.

"He had nothing to do with it. The case you're discussing involves a rape incident. Someone dragged the woman here and raped her. Nikolas witnessed it." Bella turned to the unconscious man on the floor. "But he was too young at that time."

"So that's the story?" the police asked.

"How did you know? How did you know that Nikolaus was in the basement? How did you know his past? How...."

"Officer," I said. "We're just teens. We are useless, right?" The police were dumbfounded. "Let's go, guys," I said as we left the house.

—

I looked at Evo when we were walking away from the house. "I'm impressed with what you did."

Evo smiled at me. "Do you think I can join your team?"

"Kaycee, don't give him hope," Bella said.

I giggled. "You know he has potential. Admit it. He came up with a brilliant idea earlier, which prompted us to approach him. I spoke, but Bella didn't hear me, so I turned to look at Evo. "Okay. Where were you going to take us earlier?"

"Ah.." Evo looked down at his wristwatch. "Hurry up. We may be late."

Evo grabbed my and Bella's hands and quickly pulled us to the shore. We ran in the sand together.

After a while, Evo stopped running, and we also stopped. We're now standing in the sand near the shore. I looked at Evo as he let go of my hand but kept holding Bella's.

She let go of his hand.

"What are we waiting for here? Tsunami? Was it Snow's or Captain Hook's ship that passed by?"

Evo chuckled. "You have a wide imagination."

Bella still needs to answer. I experienced a prickling sensation in my chest as I listened to their conversation. I looked around and wondered what we were waiting for at the beach. Bella turned to Evo.

"I am astounded that you would wake me up solely to compel me to stand and gaze at the dark sea."

Evo chuckled, then looked at his wristwatch. "Anytime now..."

Evo turned to Bella to say she needed to look at the sky. I immediately looked away from Evo and moved slightly away, but he held my hand and smiled. When he touched my cheeks and looked up at them, I was surprised. I didn't expect to see the sky so beautiful. It was full of meteors that lit up the entire sky.

In movies and science centers, I used to only watch meteor showers. I raised my hand to the sky as if it were just mine.

"Damn, it's beautiful," Bella whispered as she watched the sky with a smile.

I turned to Bella, but I noticed a smiling Evo staring at her.

"Yes, nice," Evo said.

I took a deep breath. "Ask a meteor, and your wish will come true," I uttered.

"Do you think my wish will come true if I ask for those meteors?" Bella asked.

"Well, with so many of them, it's impossible for them not to hear your request."

Bella smiled, took my hand, and looked at me.

"Shall we pray for the meteor?" Bella replied, smiling at me.

I just nodded and didn't speak. I closed my eyes and then mouthed my wish.

'I hope Evo notices me. I hope he likes me as much as I like him.'