Being a plain-spoken person, I wasted no time telling Uta I needed to know what was happening at the Institute. It was only fair Uta should tell me everything. I’m not holding my breath, though.

“Haven’t you been told it’s rude to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation?”

“Don’t like it, bite me!” I snapped, annoyed he was whining about it.

The stranger was in front of me next to no time. I inhaled when he stepped towards me. Beautiful! So beautiful! His bewitching eyes looked like Amethyst, and his voice, terrifyingly familiar.

“Well, don’t you have a lot of attitude to burn.” A half-amused expression broke upon Yasu’s striking face.

Uta stepped between us and pushed his friend away. He turned his brown marble eyes on me. “This is Yasu, a friend from the Institute. Yasu meet my girlfriend, Ji-Hye Von D.”

Yasu narrowed eyes at me with a peculiar expression.

“What are you staring at?” I questioned.

“That’s quite a name.” He stressed, and something strange happened inside of me. “Please to meet you.”

“Wish I could say it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Yasu smirked while Uta sulked at our bickering. I moved to the couch. Uta was at my side before I knew it. Yasu sat crossed-legged in a chair across from us while removing his jacket and set it aside. Albeit the turtleneck sweater fit too close over his arms, though he seemed arrogant enough to like it that way, its dark red colour complimented his skin tone and ablaze his already intense eyes. I must have been staring a moment too long because when Yasu looked up, he held my gaze and cocked an eyebrow. Embarrassed, I looked away.

“Have we met before now?” I stared, unblinking.

He seemed wild and mischievous, with a wicked gleam in his dangerous eyes.

“You think we have?” He looked at me with something like delight, then his face turned dark.

“I just thought…” I shook my head. “… um… There’s something familiar about you.”

“Oh?”

When I met Yasu’s eyes again, they drew me in. They were just so beautiful and unusual. I got a mysterious feeling from them.

“When you figure it out, let me know.”

“You don’t deny we met.”

He raised his brow, annoyed. I’m sure of my accusation. I let it drop for the time being and focus on the problem at hand.

“Are you fellows going to tell me what’s going on or do I’ve to drill it out of you both?”

Both vampires stared at each other, deciding whether to tell me. But I eavesdropped on their conversation, left them little choice but to tell me.

“So…?” I asked. “What’s wrong with the vampires at the Institute?”

“Sectobola is a virus human carry, and it’s dangerous for vampires,” Yasu began.

“I don’t know about Sectobola.”

“Take it you read little or pay attention no in class then.”

“And yet, I don’t feel half as bad as you were hoping.”

I think I saw him smirk, though I couldn’t be sure. But I smiled a little myself.

“It put vampires in a bloodthirsty rage.” I looked at him, wide-eyed. “Fine. Most of us are already bloodthirsty. Point is—it continuously makes infected vampires thirsty. Thirstier they are the more blood they crave. It doesn’t matter the amount of blood they consume, it’s never enough, hence they continue drinking. For a vampire to get infected with this virus is a mortal’s worst nightmare.”

Well, isn’t that great news!

“They become uncivilised and hold no form of right or wrong, and will kill to have blood,” Uta finished.

“What does Sectobola do to humans?” I asked.

Uta held my hand in his, trying to comfort me, or perhaps to get me to remain calm.

“In humans, common symptoms are terrible sore throat, headache and general discomfort. Like any small virus, your system will fight it off over time,” Uta explained.

I felt a terrible weight on my shoulders, as if a giant rock was laid on me and I couldn’t straighten up or catch my breath. I could feel the thud-thud in my chest as nervousness took over. The pressure from my hand on Uta’s only got harder.

If things got worse at the Institute and any vampires freed, Forest Edge could become a site of vampire massacre. I felt like I’m in a nightmare. I couldn’t bear the horrific images colliding in my head. I tried to focus on my immediate surroundings.

“I thought vampires couldn’t get infected.”

“Everyone has a weakness. The virus is as poisonous for us as kryptonite is for Superman,” said Uta.

“My question: aside from vampires in town… how many more are walking among us?”

I was thinking about the tragedy that could rain down on humans should things get out of control.

“Did you know Governor Wade is a vampire?” asked Yasu.

My mouth dropped open. “Stop lying!”

I couldn’t believe it! That was major breaking news. I would see his face on magazine covers, over television, and he often appeared as a young man who does nothing directly.

“There are bloodlines existing for decades with even greater numbers of vampires. There are towns where only vampires dwell. Do you see? I cannot put a figure on our numbers.”

“Oh, wow! I didn’t know.”

“Is that so? Strange.”

“What is?” I pouted.

“Sorry. I was thinking aloud.”

Something like that didn’t seem like his style.

A deep frown furrowed Uta’s gorgeous forehead when I looked over at him, and he shot Yasu a look that dismissed the conversation on the topic.

I would have never got this information out of Uta.

A numb feeling spread through me. He met my gaze and his lips turned up in a private smile; it didn’t reach his eyes. I tried to force a smile, but my face felt frozen. I wished I knew what was haunting Uta. I suppressed my curiosity.

“We’re supposed to search for a cure if it exists?” I asked them.

“Yes,” Uta answered.

“Where do we search?”

“I don’t know,” Yasu replied. “And I don’t what it could be.”

“How can we find something when we don’t know what we’re searching for?”

“We’ve to at least try. My uncle’s life depends on this.”

“Where do we look?”

“Research,” Uta answered. “We start from there.”

A mysterious cure for infected vampire. Sounded like a myth.

“I guess it’s a start,” I murmured.

Uta ran his hand along my back as if to comfort. “And a start is all we need.”

“We all have to pitch in and do our part,” Yasu said and smiled, but it was dark like he knew something Uta and me didn’t.

I sighed. “Teamwork, huh?”

“Is there a reason you keep looking at me?”

It took longer than it should for me to realise Yasu was speaking to me. “Huh! Um… Sorry. I didn’t realise I’m staring.” I lied, feeling mortified I’m caught.