Jane didn't care when she looked into the mirror that morning. There was nothing noticeable, just two little holes the size of a needle, easily hidden beneath her shirt collar.
Until her clothes got messy by the perpetrator sitting right here.
"What!?! He nearly killed you? No, that can't be. Yes, Ryan may have some weird fetishes, but he is smarter than that!"
"I fainted from the blood loss, Amelia."
"Well, it has happened before, but they always know when to stop..."
"He didn't stop!" Jane raised her voice. Then she lowered her head. The scream she let out had drained her last strength. Her shoulder and hands were trembling with her words:
"When I woke up...there was no one. Only me… He was gone. I... I don't know where he went, or what happened to him."
She took a deep breath and looked Amelia straight in the eyes: "There is a possibility that something bad happened to him. I saw signs of a fight at the scene."
"That's impossible. The school is completely secure; no one can get in or out. He can't be hurt in here."
"I know. We can hope that he reappears in a few days... but if he doesn't, I will be the first suspect. His friend saw him chasing after me."
"So? Just tell the truth."
"I can't. I was the only witness. Who is going to prove what I say is true? They'll think I'm lying. And don't forget, you introduced us. They'll question you, too."
This was too big a mess, Amelia knew that. But Jane's gaze was an anchor, hooked deep into her fear, yet gave it a point to hold. The girl in front of her was an unexpected bomb; whether it would burst into fireworks or blow up in fire depended entirely on what she said next.
"What do we do now?" Amelia sighed, her shoulders slumping. If her mother had been there, she would definitely have gotten a smack on the back.
****
When Jane saw a group of people in black walking towards her classroom, she was ready. Still, she couldn't stop the sweat escaping through every pore of her body.
She knew they would come, just not this early. Her seat hadn't even gotten warm yet.
The chattering class went silent. It only came back to life after Jane was escorted out. What a great way to make a first impression.
"Please tell me what happened the night before," the man asked.
He was the scariest adult she had ever met, though he was trying his best to sound gentle. A human would have worked better for her, honestly. All the vampires had that strange, magnetic attractiveness about them, no matter their features.
"Well, I met him at the ball. I was eating when he came up and asked me to dance. While we were dancing, he said he wanted to play a game—you know, to make things more...exciting."
Jane glanced at the mam. The blush on her face emphasized her age, a nervous teenager caught doing something inappropriate.
Her thoughts drifted back to hours ago.
"Can I borrow your make-up?" Jane asked. In times like this, she really had to toss away her shyness, her ego, or whatever it was.
"What? Are you planning to seduce the interrogator?"
"Yeah. If he's into dead-looking people."
Jane shut her mouth, realizing it could actually be a possibility in this place.
"Anyway. I can't make him believe I didn't get bitten if I look this unhealthy."
"Fine. In that case, eat this too—"
"Please continue." The man's words pulled Jane back to the cold table.
"Yes. Uhm.... I ran into the forest to hide, then I fell asleep. When I woke up and saw there was still no one, I went back to the dorm."
"At what time did you return?" the man asked.
"I'm not so sure. I was so tired, maybe around 3 a.m.?"
"Can you describe the place you hid?"
"About a ten-minute run into the woods, near a hollow tree. Or fifteen? My sense of time is not that good." She wasn't lying with that last sentence.
"Thank you for your participation, Jane. One last thing—we will need to do a thorough check-up for any injuries. Enter this room." He extended his arm towards the door and bowed. "A female guard will be there to assist you."
The gesture was full of elegance but filled with authority. Jane wondered, if she said no, would he drag her there himself?
Just as the air seemed to freeze, a chain of footsteps echoed through the hall— rhythmic, steady, and surely getting louder.
"That won't be necessary."
His body appeared through the door, increasing the number of dead people to two. Jane never noticed how small and unbreathable this room was until now.
"She is a student of North Wing, under the same protection as any others. You are not allowed to touch her without a proper reason."
Same posture, same outfit. It was the one who announced the ball, the President of the Student Council, whose name she gathered from the crowd, Carl Alden.
Jane's eyes and mouth were wide open; the only thing that kept them from falling was the other dark cloud standing across her.
"Mr. Alden, Ryan Hasting has been reported missing. Miss Jane is the only one who was last in contact with him. She is a critical point in this case." The man in black said.
"He has only been missing for a few hours. Based on his reputation, he could be having fun somewhere and forgot to come back."
"Mr. James has already dismissed this theory, as they shared a plan this morning. Mr. Ryan never showed up."
"Performing a check-up on a student whom you have no evidence of is unacceptable. I suggest you stop wasting your time and find some actual proof."
"She is our only clue at this point. If I let her go today without a proper investigation, the Hasting family wouldn't accept."
On a battlefield where two guns wouldn't stop pointing at each other, Jane finally found a gap to slip through.
"It's okay. You can perform a search on me," she said, breaking the rising tension in this room. Her words caught both men's attention, though only one gaze mattered, and it wasn't the investigator's.
Not a muscle on his face was stirred, but she could have sworn she saw a flicker of doubt, or maybe annoyance.
Jane walked into the side room. The thought of undressing made her uncomfortable, no matter who was there.
"No…no, you don't have to!" the guard panicked as Jane's hand moved to the clasp of her bra.
"Oh. Sorry, first time." Judging by the argument and her own imagination, she had expected to be examined under a magnifying glass.
Jane spread her arms and legs, giving the guard enough space to do the job.
When she walked out of the room, there was only her investigator, still in the same seat.
"She is clean, sir. No scratch on her body," the female guard reported.
Earlier that morning, the talk with Amelia had led Jane to an unexpected realization: vampire bites left bruises with bite marks bigger than what she had in the morning. The healing took one or two days, thanks to the saliva.
For Jane, it was a single night's sleep.
Visually, she looked fine. Only she knew how aching her head and nose were from hitting the vampire with her own body.
So, she gambled that the marks would be gone by the time anyone wanted to check.
And it was a success.
The thrill, the adrenaline, burned through her head, something she hadn't felt in a long time. Good thing she was too broke to be a gambler.
Jane walked out of the room, trying to keep her feet on the ground. Her dancing eyes, however, betrayed the joy she tried to suppress – especially to the person waiting outside.
"Let's go," he said. Carl was already standing straight, ready to walk away the moment she appeared.
On their way back, it wasn't hard not to keep an eye on him; she was too busy keeping up with his pace.
The distance between them slowly narrowed until she finally caught up.
He waited for her, as expected of a gentleman.
The wind was gentle as they passed through the campus, to where? She had no idea. She simply followed his lead. There was something in the way he carried himself that made Jane believe he wouldn't flinch even if the sky fell.
"Thank you," she said.
He glanced down, waiting for her next words.
"... for helping me there."
"You didn't need my help." He shifted his gaze back to the road.
"Thanks for showing up then. You're a very good President."
It was the only way she knew to show her gratitude. Seeing him through the door earlier stopped her racing heart – not because of his title, but because of how calm he was.
Jane's eyes glowed with admiration. He was the ideal model her mother had always wanted in a daughter.
His face relaxed a bit. From Jane's angle, she could only see the reflection of the hallway lights on his glasses, perfectly balanced on a high, straight nose.
"Why do you think I help you?" He turned to the side to look at her.
Jane had been wondering the same thing. At first, she was flattered, then suspicious. Was this part of his duty, or did he know something?
Jane stopped herself before her thoughts spiraled into nonsense. If he wanted to expose her, he would have done it there.
"I don't know. Will you tell me?"
The way he threw the question left her no time to chase the riddle to its end; they were already at the door.
"Next time. When you need my help again."
****
Later that night, when human gave up their time for vampires to roam freely in their true shape and form, two men walked through the ancient architecture of North Wing.
Their clothes were unified in black, tailored like old-century suits but modernized to fit their occupation.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, eyes following the pair as they disappeared into the forest.
"Must be it, the place she mentioned. That girl gave pretty good direction, don't you think?" the shorter one said.
"Check the tree," the taller man replied, the same investigator that morning.
The young man approached the trunk, sniffing the air before taking one last deep breath.
"Surprisingly, I can faintly smell her. No trace of blood or clothing, though. Are we good?"
"Too perfect," the investigator said while scanning the area. "She is either a good liar or a lucky human. Let's check for another round."
His nose and ears were working like a radar, trying to catch any sign of an unnatural object.
Then he stopped, stomped his feet, and squatted down to the ground level.
"Come here. What do you see?" he called to his partner, who was leaning against the tree.
"The ground?" the younger one said, unimpressed. He should be out having fun, not stuck here with an ancient grandpa.
"Look closer."
The man pointed to a small flower – a white spring beauty with some pink veins, as small and insignificant as its sibling, except for one detail.
It was an ill-fated flower thrown arbitrarily. The stem and petals went askew, half-buried with torn leaves scattered nearby.
Once a flaw was spotted, others appeared. Grasses overturned, soil uneven. To most eyes, there was nothing worth a second glance, but these two knew exactly what it was.
"This place was dug up. Not long ago," the younger one said. He put his serious face back on until he realized who gonna be the digger.
"At least lend me your sunglasses, boss."
After several minutes of digging, they stood over a giant hole.
The silence was heavy.
What they found didn't need an autopsy to declare it was wrong.
At first glance, it was just a corpse: white and purple skin, touched with some greenish dots here and there. The more they looked, the more wrong it became. Eyes, nose, and mouth mixed together into a bowl of soup.
"Do I have to touch that?"
"Without a doubt."
The taller man watched, hands in his pocket, as his partner reluctantly reached in. A moment later, something metallic was pulled out – a silver dagger soaked in the liquid.
"Could this be related to the girl?"
"Hard to say." The older one took his time before he spoke again. "Witchcraft. I have seen one of these 'puppets' before, in Romania."
"Puppet?"
"Sewn dolls. Used to replicate their master. This one is dissolving, which means it has done its job."
He turned toward the distant school. Who would have thought he'd gain such a discovery at this place.
"Keep an eye on the girl."
Together, they disappeared as the first sign of dawn brushed through the trees.