2 - Dried Roses

The next morning...

"HELP... THERE'S A CORPSE!"

A woman's scream echoed throughout the Tulip Apartment, drawing everyone to gather and see what had happened. The commotion grew even louder when they found the body of a man lying on the ground, his skin pale. What was even more terrifying was that there was a dog and two rabbits lying dead around the body.

All four had mysterious bite marks on their bodies, sparking numerous theories among the onlookers.

Soon, the police and an ambulance arrived. Several reporters also rushed to the scene to cover the incident for the media.

"I knew this would happen," Ezra muttered, watching from his apartment window, unwilling to join the commotion below.

Grace faintly heard the commotion and opened her eyes, startled awake.

"Am I still alive?" Grace murmured, touching her body to ensure she hadn't met the same tragic end as the two rabbits the night before.

"Ah, you're awake," Ezra smiled warmly at Grace.

Grace flinched when Ezra's hand reached out to her. She stared at him sharply, ensuring that the person in front of her was Ezra, not the terrifying creature in disguise. After all, the last time Grace remembered, that creature was closing in on her, ready to pounce.

"I'm not being inappropriate, Grace. I just wanted to check your body temperature." Ezra immediately clarified, defending himself from Grace's negative thoughts.

Grace laughed softly. "Ah, thank goodness you're Ezra," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What do you think I am, huh? Besides, what were you thinking, sleeping on the side of the road?" Ezra scolded.

Ezra touched Grace's forehead and felt relieved when he realized her body temperature was normal. Because when he found Grace unconscious, her entire body felt extremely cold.

Despite still feeling afraid because what she had seen last night was still vivid in her mind, Grace didn't dare tell Ezra about it. She was scared she was hallucinating because she had gone home after drinking a few glasses of beer after work.

"Ezra, what's all the commotion downstairs? It's noisy," said Grace.

"Someone found a corpse."

"A rabbit's corpse?!" Grace guessed aloud, trying to convince herself that what she had seen last night might not be real.

Ezra nodded slightly. "Two rabbits, one dog, and an older man. You might recognize the man's body because I heard he lived next to you."

Grace could only swallow hard. No matter what, Grace tried to think as positively as possible to deny her conclusion that what she had seen last night was just a dream or a hallucination. But hearing Ezra's story, it was all real.

What Grace had seen last night was a vampire!

Whether she believed it or not, Grace had to admit that the vampire's appearance was identical to what she had seen on television.

"Did you faint because you saw something scary, Grace?" Ezra asked when he noticed Grace's body trembling slightly.

"N-no. Last night I came home drunk and... I thought the two rabbits I saw were just a dream." Grace laughed softly, trying to hide what she had seen from Ezra.

But Ezra wasn't someone who had only known Grace for a few weeks. Grace's face looked pale and frightened, making Ezra sure that she had seen Lucas in the midst of being consumed by his murderous desires.

Grace got up from her bed, intending to get ready for work. She hoped that if she focused on her work, her fear would disappear quickly because her attention would be diverted when she concentrated on one thing.

"You can take the day off if you're not feeling well, Grace," Ezra said.

"I'm fine," Grace replied, but she stopped when she noticed many dried rose petals on the floor of her house.

"Ezra, what's this?" Grace asked, picking up one petal and sniffing it.

She had felt the scent the night before when she saw the vampire. She was sure her sharp sense of smell wouldn't mistake the memory of a scent.

"All those dried roses were in your hands last night when I found you lying on the side of the road," Ezra answered.

"I don't remember picking dried roses."

There was nothing Ezra wanted to ask because he also knew that Lucas was identical to the scent of those dried roses. Lucas might have done it on purpose, as if signaling that he might target Grace as his next victim. Ezra had to be even more vigilant.

A vampire is still a vampire. Even though Lucas came without the intention of hurting humans and only to fulfill his punishment, as Lucas said, he would never be far from his strong desire to kill. There would be nothing good about a vampire living among humans.

"You were drunk, Grace. Maybe you don't remember." Ezra tried to convince Grace that the dried rose meant nothing.

**

Grace and Ezra finally left for work together. However, upon arriving at the office parking lot, Ezra's gaze immediately scanned the entire area around the office because he sensed something that made his heart uneasy.

Meanwhile, Grace felt frustrated because she felt like she had brought the memory of the scent of dried roses to her workplace. She intended to forget it, but her thoughts haunted her.

Everyone in Grace's office seemed to gather and whisper excitedly, especially her female friends.

"Hi, Grace. I'm glad you're okay. I heard about what happened in your neighborhood." When they noticed Grace, her friends greeted her with worried faces.

"Yes. The news spread quickly," Grace replied with a forced smile, as the scent of dried roses grew stronger.

The scent itself wasn't foul. It was just the memories associated with it that were unpleasant.

Grace placed her bag on her desk, but her attention was drawn to a man beside it. He seemed wholly engrossed in the documents in his hands, unaware of Grace's arrival.

"Who is that?" Grace asked one of her friends quietly.

Grace's hand was immediately pulled away. "He's new to our team. He's so handsome!" her friends whispered to Grace.

"What's his name?"

"We haven't asked yet because he was already sitting there when we arrived."

Hearing himself being talked about, the man stood up and said, "Good morning. I'm Lucas." He introduced himself.

Suddenly, the sound of a pile of documents falling to the floor echoed loudly. Everyone turned toward the door of their division's office, and it was Ezra. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at Lucas, his mouth agape.

Ezra was the most surprised by Lucas's presence as a new employee at his workplace.

"Hey, Lucas. Why aren't you in the mirror?" asked Grace when she suddenly realized that Lucas was not visible in the mirror hanging on the wall directly opposite where Lucas was standing.