Chapter 3 Missing Friend

I was startled to hear a loud boom coming from the direction of our far-off neighborhood. It originated at the home of the Leager Family, whose members include both werewolves and mermaids. I heard Fatima, the mother of my closest friend Faith, yelling from the front of their home. It seemed as if she had lost control of herself because of the way she was leaping. Her face was obscured by her shoulder-length blonde hair that had one strand of pink and blue highlights in it.

In addition, a swarm of people from the neighborhood had approached her and taken up positions such that they surrounded the home.

"Could you please help me?" She yelled while gazing around at each and every person in the area. She was being wrapped and soothed by her family members, but it seemed as if their comfort weren't doing enough to make her feel at ease.

I came to a halt in my tracks, and a frown formed on my brow as I became more puzzled by the circumstance. After deliberating for a few moments over whether or not I should check out the issue or simply go back home, I started making my way slowly in that direction while simultaneously elevating myself by pointing my toes on the ground. As soon as I started getting closer to them, I overheard a number of different species chatting to one another about how terrified they were by the scenario and sharing their own perspectives on it.

While glancing at Aunt Fatima's tear-streaked face, I saw that some of them were covering their mouths with their hands and staring wide-eyed at the grieving woman. "Oh my goddess! Has it already been a week since she last heard from her daughter? I suppose that this is one of those times when I shouldn't be letting my daughter attend her university classes!"

"Yeah! That is what I took away from it! The number of cases in which women are reported missing in today's society is, unfortunately, growing by the day. I can't help but question whether or not the kingdom had anything to do with this or perhaps if they are already doing something with the issue!"

"But, in your opinion, who do you believe the cause of those missing ladies is? Who treated those poor women in such a manner?"

"The vampires?" After hearing that they were referring to the vampires as a possible culprit in the matter, my breath seized in my chest, and I hurriedly glanced down while gulping. I attempted to persuade myself that I wasn't being impacted all that much by tapping my chest and lifting my head while doing so.

Come on, Chandra, you really need to take a deep breath and calm yourself before you lose your cool and risk drawing attention to the reality that you have vampire blood with you!

I pushed myself to take a deep breath and blow some air out of my lungs in order to stop letting those remarks from the creatures around me get to me. It's possible that each and every one of them is a hybrid, and if that's not the case, then at least some of them must have the genetics of a werewolf, mermaid, or another kind of species. In this universe, there was no such thing as a completely unadulterated creature. Perhaps there were some of them, but up to this point, there have only been a few of them discovered.

I turned my attention back to Aunt Fatima, and she is still unable to stop bouncing up and down, weeping, and tightly clutching the other members of her family. Her husband, George Leager, was able to keep her rage under control by constantly embracing her and caressing her back. While the other siblings of my beloved friend had discreetly cried and sought solace from our neighbors as well, they had gone near her and expressed their sympathy. Their eyes were wide with fear, as they most likely believed that my friend, like the other ladies, had also vanished without a trace. The father continued to try to reassure her by telling her to relax and that their child would definitely arrive home soon, but the mother continued to shake her head and refused to take his words seriously.

After the mother had sobbed her heart out without paying attention to the people around her, I couldn't help but cast my eyes downward and draw my eyebrows together as the pain in my chest intensified. I had also contemplated the predicament that Faith was in. That makes sense; so, this is the reason why I haven't seen her in a few days' time already. When she finally got back from her work, she was supposed to be helping me in my job search. What if it turns out to be true that she went missing at the same time?

If it turned out that a vampire was the cause of their disappearance, the thought that someone with blood similar to mine had committed another act of evil would kill me from the inside. Additionally, it would certainly ruin the already tarnished reputation that we vampires have had over the course of history.

"Chandra..."

Someone had yelled my name immediately in front of me, and I quickly blinked my eyes many times in response. As I raised my eyes, I caught sight of Faith's older brother, who goes by the name Frank. His eyes were reddened, and one could see tears pooling around the rims of his eye sockets. On the other hand, his cheeks were dry, which suggests that he had finished wiping the tears that had fallen down there. After hearing his words, I came so close to stopping my own breathing, and my soul came so close to leaving my body, that I gasped for oxygen and accidentally took a step backward.

"O-Oh... Frank..." In a fit of fear, I blurted.

Before proceeding, Frank coughed loudly for a few seconds. "I am sorry..." When he said this, it caused a twitch in my eyebrows. "I had no idea where he could vent out my worries," he added. I made a joke while pinching the outside of his elbows.

"Psh, quit saying sorry. As if we aren't friends," I pouted, elevating my gaze above the clouds before rolling my eyes at him. He laughed for a few seconds and then smiled at me, revealing his pearly white teeth.

Before returning my focus to his crying face, I cast a quick glimpse over his shoulder in the direction of his family. The disordered sensation I get from the situation, along with the fact that it has in some way agitated my vampire blood, makes it impossible for me to stop averting my gaze from it. If I stayed in this area for any more period of time, I had the distinct impression that I would perish here. Perhaps it was just my habit of dwelling on things in my thoughts too much that prompted me to consider it, which in turn drove me to just shake my head in silence and position myself directly in front of him.

"I am sorry for the news that happened to your sister. But, at this time, we do not know for certain whether or not she went missing. It's conceivable that she worked nonstop for a week in order to increase the amount of money in her salary or complete the several tasks that have been assigned to her, right? That is a possibility too," I attempted to persuade him and make him calm down by making this assumption, which I am sure does not persuade anybody at all. I attempted to build a smile inside my lips in the hopes that it might infect his downturned mouth and melancholy eyes, but he has not modified the look that he is now displaying at all.

He peered at his shoes for a moment before returning his sight to mine. He also managed to persuade himself, saying, "Well, I hope that's true." In the back of my mind, I tend to give myself a mental smack for bringing up such a stupid assumption as he was simply pushing himself to accept it since it was me who said it... For sure!

After some time had passed, we found ourselves in the midst of the forest strolling. The cheerful singing of birds filled our ears, and this helped to dispel the melancholy that had been lingering in our hearts. While we were out walking around in this area that was not too far from their house, Frank told me about how much he looked up to his younger sister despite the fact that he was the oldest of the siblings. I showed him my agreement with what he was saying by giving him a little nod.

During this time, after he had finished speaking, it was now my turn to bring up some topic related to my lost friend in order to prevent our spaces from seeming to be empty.

"What is the plan for your family if it seems like Faith won't be arriving in the next seven days? Or maybe, if she won't be there either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?" I asked while glancing down at the luscious strawberries in front of me.

Frank's response was delivered with an air of uncertainty. "It's likely that we'll report it to the kingdom as well..." I nodded. They may not have had any other choice than to report it because if they didn't, the information wouldn't be relayed to the people who are employed to find a solution to the issue.

"How about you?" I was told that my sister is expected to help you in seeking work there in the central city. Sadly, it seems that you won't be able to accomplish the work at this time due to the circumstances." Even though he had his hands tightly clutched together, he continued to sneeze at random intervals.

I raised my head and recognized that I could feel the breath of fresh air entering my nose. "At this time, I do not have any plans. My greatest concern is that I, too, may vanish without a trace, just like the others." Or maybe, if that doesn't happen, the gravity of the situation will make it such that my vampire blood gets exposed in a very short amount of time. And if I don't go missing, the palace might suspect that I am a vampire. Because vampires, if it's true that they have something to do with the problem, are the ones who are causing the disappearance of those ladies.

When I looked down into an empty area where grasses grow on the near side of us, I noticed traces of blood that disappeared into the air when the sun reached them. I observed these traces of blood by mistake when I gazed down into the space. My eyebrows knit together in thought as I pondered it, but Frank's heavy sighs distracted me and caused me to forget about the occurrence in question.

He turned his head towards the enormous river that was located a little distance from where we were. This river flows into a large waterfall that is located at the end. The sun's beams had illuminated the whole metropolitan region as well as the surrounding rural areas, which allowed the gorgeous natural scenery to show off its blooming flowers and the vivid colors they exuded.

While Frank looked out at the landscape, he whispered, "I hope my sister will return home and the mastermind who was responsible for the abduction of the women will be punished." He closed his eyes and let the cool breeze from the river's surface caress his face, as well as mine. I was transfixed on him as I mulled over what he had just said. Our eyes then came into unintentional contact, and we both broke into the warmest smiles we could muster for one another.

"Don't smile at me like that!" He suddenly giggled, looking away. I laughed at him while covering my mouth using my hand.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" I asked, kind of teasing him.

He pinched my cheek and chuckled, "You were so cute when you did that." The tone of his voice dropped and he looked at me with his softened features. I rolled my eyes at him and hid my smiles away from his sight. Hearing him complimented me in such a way caused my heart to race, which is a difficult confession to admit.

After a few seconds of laughing and smiling, he cleared his throat and straightened himself back to his gentleman posture. "By the way, I haven't seen your sister and grandmother this morning. Are they there as well in the middle of the city?" He abruptly asked. I wasn't anticipating that he would pick up on this at all.

Should I let him know that my sleepy-headed sister likes to get her sleep in the morning and stay up all night since she works better that way?

Ah, no! It would only serve to raise the suspicion that she is a vampire. She is the only one of the two of us that got more of the vampire blood gradient from our parents, which is why she has such a hard time surviving in the sunlight. If she does, she hasn't mastered it that much yet.

"By the way, I haven't seen your sister and grandmother this morning. Are they there as well in the middle of the city?" He abruptly asked. I wasn't anticipating that he would pick up on this at all. Should I let him know that my sleepy-headed sister likes to get her sleep in the morning and stay up all night since she works better that way? Ah, no! It would only serve to raise the suspicion that she is a vampire. She is the only one of the two of us that got more of the vampire blood gradient from our parents, which is why she has such a hard time surviving in the sunlight. If she does, she hasn't mastered it that much yet.

Our loneliness had been disturbed by the sound of the horses' hooves, which is what prompted us to feel agitated. Our nerves appeared to be on edge as we turned our attention to the source of the disturbance, which had caused them to rise off our senses. After that, Frank and I turned around and walked back to the residential side, where we gathered with the rest of the residents.

"A report that a large number of ladies have been reported missing in the central city has been brought to our attention. If you are a woman, please try to avoid going out to your houses more often. This request is made with the strongest possible intention. This instruction comes directly from the king, and as such, it must be carried out." The courtier of the royal family made the announcement as they were galloping across the region on horses in a short length of time.

The voices of the residents had collided in my ears, and I had accidentally opened my mind to hear what they had inside their thoughts. Given that, it added to the amount of voices I have taken inside my mind at the same time. I raised my shoulders up a little as I slowly looked down. I messed up my hair a little and divided the longest part of my hair at each side to cover my ears.

When one of the villagers, Jeremiah, who also happened to be Leager's cousin, shouted, "We want a quick solution from the kingdom! If at all possible, slaying anybody in every region of the nation who is carrying the blood of a vampire!" I heaved a breath and clenched my bottom lips. My fingers started to crack, and I slowly moved my hands up to my neck so that I could cover my ears and prevent myself from listening. I felt my blood heating, struggling to exclude whether attempting to transition into my werewolf form or the vampire one. As a result of this, I had unintentionally messed up the handling of the basket of strawberries that I was carrying.

Frank lowered himself to the ground and carefully replaced the strawberries back in the basket for me. However, he cast a quick peek in my direction and then gazed at me with his mouth agape as he saw my response.