She didn't hesitate for a moment and picked up the call. You could hear her mother's joy as she answered.
« Oh my darling, thank God. Are you okay? »
Yumiel didn't really know how to answer, imagining several possible responses: Hi mom, yes I'm fine. I've kidnapped a child who lives with me, and I'm a vampire drinking human blood to survive. Oh, and I'm being hunted by a madman they call a hunter…
Yumiel stayed classic, saying just the basics of a normal conversation: « Mom, I'm happy to hear you, I'm fine and you? » On the other side of the phone, you could hear her mother starting to cry.
« Oh my darling, if you only knew how happy I am to hear your voice and to know that you're okay. Your father and I will be home soon. »
That didn't sit well with her at all.
« Well… Soon? Exactly how soon? »
« Your father and I are currently in a bunker. He says that in about a week the situation will be under control, and we'll be able to come home. I have to go now, take care of yourself. »
Her mother hung up. At first a little dazed, Yumiel rushed upstairs looking for Jack. Not finding him there, she went into her room and saw Jack and Marie tinkering—Jack teaching Marie.
« Jack, we have a problem. »
She told him that her parents would be coming back soon. But Jack didn't seem worried at all.
« Indeed, that's a problem, and you won't be able to hide the fact that you're a vampire from them for long. I think the best thing is to let it be, we'll see when the time comes. »
After several minutes of thinking, Yumiel gave up, deciding to deal with it when the moment came. Checking her phone, the connection had returned. She called Mathis, but he didn't answer, then Morgane, who also didn't answer. She decided to leave a message asking them to call her back as soon as possible.
She wanted to watch the news, but training was essential to become stronger, so she made it her priority. Same concept as always: making blood come out through the spores on her skin.
Time passed, and it didn't take long to pull Yumiel out of her concentration. She heard heavy, dull noises, like someone was hitting a wall. Following the sounds, she arrived at her room, seeing Jack and Marie digging into the wall with pickaxes.
« What the hell are you doing? »
« Don't mind us, Yumiel. I'm building a hidden room where I can hide. It will also serve as an operations room and will be connected to an exit, so we can leave discreetly if needed. »
« Are you crazy? That's a great idea! By the way, if you could fix my desk that I broke, that would be great, and you can use the PC if you want—the connection is back. »
Jack waved his hand in a "okay" sign, continuing to dig. Yumiel went back to training.
It didn't take long for Yumiel's concentration to be disturbed again, this time by the front doorbell: « WHAT THE HELL, WHO THE HELL IS RINGING! »
Yumiel wanted to open the door and punch them in the face, but she couldn't because the daylight would hit her with UV. Finally, Marie and Jack went to open the door together.
In front of them was a woman and a child begging for food. Jack didn't even bother listening to them, immediately closing the door.
« Who was it? » asked Yumiel.
« A beggar and her child. »
« They thought we were a charity? Well, it takes some guts to ring people's doors asking for food. »
Jack went back to the room, and Yumiel resumed her training. She finally managed to make a few drops of blood come out through the palm of her hand. Once she got the feeling down, she wrote in her notebook:
« By concentrating, I am able to feel my vascular system. Then I just have to control it by deliberately creating a dilation of the capillaries. I must then redirect the pressure voluntarily according to the area where I want my blood to come out. For this, I just need to slightly increase the local blood pressure in the area in question (hand, chest, doesn't matter).»
Yumiel turned the page of her notebook :
« All I have left is to make my blood come out. For that, I modify my proteins. By reducing fibrin and inhibiting thrombin, I maintain the structure until it exits through the pores. »
Yumiel reread her thesis, imagining all the new possibilities this ability could offer her. Continuing her training, it only took her a few hours to fully master the concept.
Yumiel was now able to create any weapon in less than three seconds: one to redirect, two to release, and three to assemble and create. She tried different forms, like a full-body armor. It prevented her from making large movements, so she quickly abandoned this armor form, favoring instead small pieces of armor she could deploy to defend herself at a specific spot if attacked.
However, her control hadn't really improved. She could barely control more than four blades or other objects directly without using her senses. Yumiel kept training.
Controlling more than three different or identical forms of blood without using her senses was very difficult; it was like multiplying her consciousness into several pieces while keeping them connected to the main consciousness. At least, that's how she felt it.
A little later, Jack called Yumiel:
« Yumiel, I think you should come see this, » he said in an unsettling tone.
Yumiel followed Jack to his PC, noticing that he had repaired the desk. Jack showed Yumiel a document posted online by the new world confederation. The name of this confederation was The Coalition of the New World.