"Anytime, princess," replied Simon, and it was enough to irk Melanie, but for once, she decided not to snap at him. "Let us take you back to your family. I am sure they will be very worried."

  Melanie, who was quite rattled by the turn of events, nodded before her eyes fell back on the vampire. "What about this person? We cannot leave the person here, can we?"

  She had made the call to reach out for help out of dire need. But now that she came to her senses, where she was no more in danger, she realized how her parents had made them sign and agree on the contract that they were not supposed to mention things to the outsiders. It was good that the person on the other side of the call took her to be joking,

  "Do you plan to use him for decoration?" asked Simon, and Melanie's eyes snapped to meet his eyes.

  He had bright green eyes that stood out in the existing darkness that surrounded them, and they looked at her with curiosity and intrigue.

  "Why would I want to decorate?"

  Simon shrugged his shoulders, "I thought that's why you wanted to carry him. Unfortunately, I am not that strong to be able to carry him," he waved his hand at the length of the body on the ground, "This weight, unless you are saying, you will carry it with me."

  He waited for her to say something, noticing how she was shaken by being cornered by a rogue vampire. He had stayed there in the shadows, following the hunters and taking a look around the place when the gunshots occurred. And he had seen her being strangled, gasping for air while the life in her threatened to leave her.

  "I will hold the legs, you can carry the upper half," suggested Melanie because she doubted leaving a dead body lying around in public was good for her family. Not to mention, her fingerprints were all over the vampire's face!

  "On your lead, princess," said Simon, trying to irk her more, and before Melanie could pick up the legs, she stared at him.

  "Can you not call me that? Melanie is good enough," she said with a light glare. Her eyes then fell on Simon's arm, which had a long cut as if he had injured himself while trying to kill the vampire.

  "Why not? You seemed like a princess a while ago, while trying to fend for yourself. I think it is only befitting that you are addressed that way," replied Simon, and Melanie shook her head. She didn't have the patience to deal with a person like him right now, and she decided not to discuss it and instead go back to her family, hoping they were all safe.

  She caught the vampire's legs, and Simon grabbed the hands before they lifted the creature. Simon had taken up sixty percent of the weight when it came to carrying the rogue vampire, while he let Melanie carry the rest weight, with legs on either sides of her body.

  "How do you know about vampires?" asked Melanie, and while she was at the front, with her back facing Simon, the red-headed vampire's eyes turned to red with a grin on his face.

  She heard him say, "My family were hunters. But they died too early, and were ambushed by vampires." And half of it was true, they were ambushed by vampires.

  "I am sorry about it," murmured Melanie, and Simon asked,

  "Are you?"

  "What?"

  "I asked if you really are sorry or if it is just an automatic response that comes on hearing someone's parents are dead," questioned Simon and Melanie's eyebrows furrowed. "If I am not wrong, you aren't so fond of me so your words come out to be insincere."

  It was just a few words… Why did he have to dissect it in such a manner? Asked Melanie in her mind. "Isn't it basic feelings? It's never a nice thing to lose parents."

  "Mm," hummed Simon, watching Melanie's head slightly turn to the right, and he caught her right profile. Sharp nose, full lips and long lashes that protected the black eyes. "Then it would be right to say you are fond of me, for offering such sweet and kind words."

  When a tired sigh escaped from Melanie's lips, the smile on Simon's widened. He enjoyed poking this little girl, who always tried to escape from his clutches.

  "Let us just not speak. At least until we reach where my parents are. I would truly appreciate it," said Melanie.

  "Okay."

  Two seconds passed. Five seconds. Ten seconds—


  "You should learn to use weapons if you are coming here to camp in the middle of the night," That was as long as the silence could last before Simon spoke to her.

  "Yeah, today was my orientation day. Half orientation day," Melanie murmured the last words. "Who taught you how to kill the vampires? If your parents died early."

  "You could tell I was taught by my uncle, but he is no more either. Died too and the rest I learned it by myself," replied Simon, spinning out tales of lies which Melanie believed. If vampires existed, it was possible for Simon to be a hunter too, and one-day frogs would rain from the sky, thought Melanie in her mind.

  Before they could reach the spot where her parents were, Melanie heard a sound and Simon said, "Let go of the vampire's legs."

  "What?" asked Melanie, doing as he said. The vampire was dropped with a soft thump, and when she turned around, she noticed the body quickly turned to ash and dust.

  "Rogue vampires die like this when they are staked with wood," Simon offered a little knowledge about vampires being staked, and Melanie took it in.

  When they reached the spot where her parents were, her mother and father quickly came to her while noticing another person walking next to their daughter—someone they hadn't seen before.