The bunker fell into a suffocating silence. Jack leaned against the cold rock wall, his head bowed, as if trying to piece together the shattered fragments of his mind. From an inhuman, bloodthirsty monster, he now felt emotions. Guilt. Fear. Images of slaughter haunted his thoughts. And above all… the despair as he remembered his wife and child were in danger.
But at this moment—something else was changing too. Not Jack. But the old man. The quiet, emotionless man who had always hidden himself from everything… was now completely different. He was no longer silent. He was no longer evading. He stood up, took a deep breath, and declared to all the remaining people in the bunker:
"Everyone! I know a tunnel that leads us out of this fortress!"
"We must leave now, before this place collapses!"
A murmur arose. It wasn't joy. It was suspicion.
"What? Go with him? With a Vampire?"
"I'd rather stay here than go out there!"
"Exactly! If we surrender, at least we have a chance to live!"
"I don't trust that old man… The legend is true… wherever he goes, there is suffering!"
"I'm not going."
The words were like sharp knives, but the old man didn't refute them. He didn't get angry. Only a growing sadness in his eyes… No one knew how many times he had endured these words throughout his life. He simply turned his back slightly, his voice calm but resolute.
"Let's go, young man."
Jack looked up, scanning the faces around him. He could see the terror in their eyes. They didn't trust the old man. They didn't trust him. But Jack knew—if they stayed, they would die. Not a single person would survive. He had once been one of them. He understood well that Vampires would never show mercy. They wouldn't even get a spot in the Blood Farms.
"EVERYONE!!!" Jack shouted, his voice desperate.
"There's no hope! Please, believe me! Listen to him! This is your only chance!"
But… it was useless. He was still a Vampire in their eyes. A creature who had just massacred their kind before their very eyes. The louder he screamed—the more they recoiled. As if he were a monster. Jack clenched his fists, his eyes filled with helplessness.
"Let's go, friend. They won't understand."
The old man placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, pulling him away. Jack gritted his teeth, trying one last time:
"Everyone, please…"
SWISH!
The sound of cloth falling to the ground. A girl cast off her headscarf, stepping forward. Her voice was calm, yet it held a strange power.
"I'll go with you. We're going to die anyway… I want to die having tried my best."
The entire bunker fell silent. Then whispers broke out.
"Is she crazy?!"
"Going with a Vampire… My God!"
"Or are they accomplices!?"
But the girl didn't care. She looked directly at Jack, her gaze unwavering. Jack was stunned. This was the first time—a human wasn't afraid of him. She was very young. Only about eighteen. Long brown hair that reached her shoulders, her eyes somewhat cold… yet still radiating the gentle beauty of a young woman in her early twenties. A simple beauty, yet with something strong within.
The old man looked at the girl, then nodded slightly.
"Let's go. There isn't much time left."
No one knew why she decided to go with them. No one knew what she was thinking.