Fabricated Death (1)

I walked out of Karen's room, couldn't bring myself to sleep at all. Perhaps the great amount of information that flood into my brain since the discussion needed more time so it could be processed thoroughly. As I've guessed before, Stuart and Shane, were twin. Some twist of fate brought them to an encounter with Zero. And somehow, they ended live together ever since. As if that wasn't surprising enough, the twin said they worked as vampire hunters.

"Hunter? Is that mean your job is to kill them?" I felt some urge to get a decent explanation.

"That's right."

"Then what about him?" Without I need to point a finger, everyone had already known who I mean. "Instead getting rid of him, you lived with him so casually. What, is he a special case?"

To my annoyance, Stuart chuckled a little. "You get it wrong. The ones we kill are bad vampires. So, you see, just like us humans, there are good vampires too. Zero is one of them."

For God's sake, he must never make such a terrible jest! I definitely needed more evident to call any vampire as 'good'. But, well, let's skip that for now. These hunters seemed to befriend their prey. For now, I decided to dig as much as information. After all, it wouldn't be realistic for me to go after von Blood on my own. I would have to take advantage these people, hunters or vampire didn't matter. I needed to utilize as much as resources I could get.

While I tried to get closer to Stuart, Zero was conversing with Karen. It seemed that Karen had piqued his interest by revealing her gift.

"How far can you foresee?"

"Um, about that, I actually not sure. It could be as close as several minutes. Yet it could also be as far as few years, or decades. I haven't been able to get a full grasp of it."

"Hmm …"

Zero seemed pondering on something while he rubbed his chin with an index finger. He clearly showed interest on Karen's gift. I got a bad feeling about this.

Karen herself was oblivious to this fact, so did the twin hunters. They casually chatted about Karen's gift. It picked on Stuart's curiosity.

"How do you actually see future?"

"Well, it was just like some random pictures flashed in mind. They look like short movies, lasting for few minutes only."

"Then how about the timeline?"

"I kind of depended on intuition for that." Karen seemed a bit flustered. She told me before that she had a hard time guessing the timeline of what she foresaw. Not only that, she might just realized by now that her future vision was liable to mistake.

"So, that's why it's difficult for you to read the precise time," muttered Zero. "Then what about the range? Did you also foresee random people?"

Karen shook her head. "It's limited to people around me."

"Does that mean we're included?"

"Yes. Although, I don't get future vision all the time."

Their conversation continued without anyone noticing a flicker light behind Zero's topaz blue eyes. Apparently, they easily trust her gift because they've known many people with gifts. There was even a special school these people attended. Students in this school were humans born with gift or special ability and vampires.

It sounded like a far-fetched story. One which not a single sane mind in world could believe.

Stuart and Shane told us that they've become hunter since they were twelve years old. The role as hunters tended to be inherited. In their case it wasn't really inherited since their parents died before they could pass their role to an heir. They were killed by a vampire to avenge her partner death.

"Is that mean, the reason you become hunters …"

"…was to get a revenge." Shane gave an answer before I finish my words.

He smiled slightly as he noticed a surprised look in me. Perhaps, just as I did, he found something in common between us.

"That's why I really know how you feel. But for now, you better held yourself and prioritized on recovering. It was the worst experience for anyone, the wound must be deep and painful. Both physically and mentally."

Couldn't argue, Shane was right.

When they learnt that I urged Karen to leave the house, twin welcomed us to stay. They said that as hunters, they couldn't ignore those who came to seek refuge from vampire.

"Besides, Zero is the owner of this place to begin with. So, he is free to bring anyone he willed too." Stuart added. "And now knowing your circumstance, we really can't leave you alone. Moreover, there was a high possibility that von Blood will come for you. If you're up to it we can even ask hunter headquarter for some guards."

"That won't do." Zero refused. "When they know that Key is in turning phase into vampire, hunters will not leave her alone. Instead of sending guards for safety, they'll take her as an experimental specimen."

Such a harsh comment. Yet, no one refuted him. I gulped in silence realizing that Zero stated a very likely scenario. Stuart even apologized for making the suggestion. He seemed willing to cooperate with vampire, but perhaps the rest of hunters were not so.

Still, I had to agree on one thing. This was the safest place I know for Karen and me. Rather than hiding alone or seek protection from human forces, this odd group consist of a vampire and two hunters seemed a better choice. They even said that they'll protect us from any vampire threats.

I haven't sure of why they seemed to care. Maybe it was because of their duty as hunters. Or it might be no more than an empathy. Or it was just a whim from kind hearted person. But, I guess, anything was fine by me. No matter what motive they had, as long as they could act as shield for us then I would make a good use of them.

***