The story that Simon told her had Melanie look at him with a look of disbelief on her face. Not because she doubted the story, he told her, but it was the information that was in there. There was no hint of regret in his eyes or words when he finished his story. There was clear detachment towards his family, whom he had himself killed in the name of being thirsty for blood.

  "You didn't spare any of them? Even your mother?" asked Melanie, feeling goosebumps rise on her arms.

  "No," replied Simon, pulling out a case which held cigarettes and light in it, taking one of the cigarettes, he lit it up. "Even if I didn't decide to let her live for that moment, she would have either died or would have been turned into a vampire herself. Now that I think about it, it would have been interesting to see my family live a life of being a vampire, the kind they despised."

  He didn't forget the look of disgust in his family members' eyes when they looked at him. When he was finished drinking blood from his father and his elder brother Jamison, he had enjoyed fear that danced in the rest of his family members' eyes, who were still breathing.

  "Why were they like that with you?" Melanie didn't understand why any person's family would treat their family member with indifference.

  "It might be because of this," Simon pointed his finger at his red hair. "My maternal grandfather and I are the only redheads in the family. I heard that my father wasn't particularly fond of his father-in-law. And it probably brought him memories every time he saw me."

  Melanie pursed her lips, believing that was no reason to treat anyone like that.

  Maybe this was the first time where Melanie believed Simon wasn't joking and that he was serious and being truthful. But then it wasn't the complete truth, she thought in her mind. For someone who had received no affection or love and had only been mistreated, she wondered how much pain Simon had harboured deep down in his heart. To an outsider, he was the calmest and the most cheerful person in the group. Someone who often smiled, while his eyes liked to dissect people until their very bones. And the other version was his crazy side.

  "You know the way you are looking at me right now, I am hoping to get a hug for comfort after revisiting the bad memories," stated Simon, and Melanie stared back at him.

  "I am sorry that you had a bad family," replied Melanie, with a subtle frown on her face. "No one deserves to be treated like that, especially from your own family."

  "You don't have to be," responded Simon, a crooked smile came to form on his lips. He said, "If they weren't like that with me, and if I didn't kill them that night, I probably wouldn't be where I am right now."

  "Is that what you truly believe?" asked Melanie, and Simon nodded, bringing his cigarette up to his lips and taking a puff from it. "What if your life could be much better with them if they were good?"

  Simon blew the smoke through his lips and then answered, "Maybe I would be dead like them. There is always the uncertainty of things not going through the way you plan for. For example, take yourself. You had dreams of spending your time with Conner, but here we are, with him unconscious and me stealing your time for myself."

  Melanie, who hadn't been able to figure out Simon until now, it was new to her that he had opened up about his past. Sharing the important details and the multiple murders of his family members. Previously she had seen him be an annoying vampire who held no regard for others feelings. But now…… she saw the young boy, who craved to be loved and cared for but had been denied such affections. And that had turned him into the person he was today, hollow and crazy.

  "Do you ever……regret it?" asked Melanie with a cautious tone.

  "For killing them?" Simon tilted his head to the side, "No, I am good with them gone. Every time I think about hearing their scream and begging me to spare their lives, it makes my heart go fluff as if I am in a garden."

  Yes, Simon needed counselling, thought Melanie in her mind. She doubted he was joking about what he just said, and it was a characteristic nature that had probably developed since he had turned into a vampire.

  "What's running in your mind, sweetheart?" Simon poked her, his green eyes intensely staring at her.

  Melanie shook her head, "Nothing," came her whisper. It seemed like Simon's emotions ran much deeper than she thought it did. She started to look at him differently, and she asked him, "Was it painful? The transformation from a human to a vampire?"

  "Strangely it wasn't that bad. For a moment, you will be dead. In a complete deep sleep, but then you wake up with this intense pain in your chest. It is an exciting process," replied Simon, and he added, "Who ever turned me, the person made it easy for me."

  "The person who turned you, wasn't someone from that group of rogue vampires?" inquired Melanie, and Simon clicked his tongue.

  "No. The person seemed to be in a hurry, or was probably a vampire who was passing by, and noticed the massacre that was going on in Veteris," replied Simon, before he continued smoking the cigarette. Even though that day his senses had lowered, he had got a glimpse of the person. But he had never crossed paths with that vampire. "I am just glad that I wasn't turned by the crazy rogues, or by the crazy Elders. Could you imagine the amount of torture that would be on my precious soul?"

  Silence filled up the place, with just the sound of the crackling fire, and the intensity of the rain had lowered as if it was ready to come to a halt.

  Melanie's thoughts went back to Simon's words before he had started his story. Of wanting to be loved, and she didn't know why, but somewhere it squeezed her heart.

  After a couple of minutes, Conner finally moved, and Melanie quickly moved towards Conner.

  "Where are we?" asked Conner, squinting his eyes. "What happened?"

  "You stepped near the electric wires that Luciano had placed around Veteris to stop intruders. Simon and I got you here, it isn't too far from the center of Veteris, but it is safe for some time at least," Melanie replied to Conner, and he touched his head.

  "I feel like my head is going to crack open today," murmured Conner, and to Melanie's surprise, he held her hand and asked her, "Are you alright?"

  Melanie nodded, an awkward smile upon her lips, "Yeah, I am good."

  Her eyes, for a moment, darted towards where Simon sat, and her eyes met his. Melanie didn't owe anything to Simon. Not her feelings, not anything else. Then why was it that somewhere deep down in her heart, she was feeling guilty. As if she was doing something she was not supposed to do. He didn't say anything and continued to blow smoke from his lips. Breaking her gaze from him, she spoke to Conner,

  "How are you feeling right now?" And before Conner could answer her question, she slapped his arm in anger.

  "What the hell, Mel?!" Conner asked, taken aback by her sudden action.

  "Didn't I tell you not to do something stupid without telling me?" Melanie raised her eyebrows in question. "What would have happened if we weren't able to find you? You could have died because of your irresponsibility, Conner! Do you understand what would happen after that? Why is it that you always do things you are not supposed to do?" she fired her questions at him without a pause.

  Conner raised both his hands in front of her, "Calm down, Mel. I am safe, aren't I? I was only looking around when Evans caught me and then that other damn blonde vampire appeared and took me to the dungeon. But at least now you know that there are vampires living here and it isn't safe for us to be here."

  "Quiet down," said Simon, turning his ear to the cave's entrance. "The guards are here," he alerted them.

  Simon moved towards the fire they had lit earlier, and he used mud and his shoe to extinguish it. The sound of the footsteps increased, and Simon stood up and quickly walked to the corner end of the cave, ushering Melanie and Conner to do the same.

  When Melanie moved to the shadows, because of the darkness, she didn't notice the sharp stone that awaited right behind her. Hearing the guards' footsteps increased, they moved back when Melanie bit her lip, feeling the stone nip her skin. Her heart sank in her chest because of the pain.

  "You're bleeding," whispered Simon, and he looked at the entrance of the cave, pushing Melanie behind him. "Take this and keep the wound covered unless you want us to be found," he handed her a kerchief. Melanie bent down and dabbed the little drops of blood that trickled down her leg.

  The guards who were holding the torched fire didn't step inside the cave completely and instead looked from outside, "It doesn't look like they are here. No one is an idiot to pick the most obvious spot to camp," said one of the guards.

  Once they left, Simon said, "We should get moving."

  Conner was quick to agree, while Melanie looked torn. She didn't want to go home like this, not when there was a possibility of Conner informing their parents to Veteris to fight with the Elder vampires.

  "Conner, there was something that I wanted to tell—" started Melanie, only to be stopped by Simon.

  "You can profess your undying love to Conner later, Mel. Right now we need to leave this place unless you want to be on the dying side," saying this, Simon smiled. And just like that, the trickster Simon was back to his usual self.

  Conner stared at Melanie, remembering he hadn't spoken to her properly for three days. Though they were best friends, Melanie had come looking for him, and it was enough to warm his heart in a way that had never been kindled towards her.

  "It wasn't that," came the rushed words from Melanie, her cheeks turning red, and she quietly glared at Simon for being such a jerk. "Let us walk."

  And when they started to walk, Melanie asked Simon in a low voice, "Do you have a death wish?" Simon might have dodged her parents and the other hunters the first time. But that didn't mean it could happen the second time.

  "Would you prefer for us to get caught by the Elder vampires, or to buy time so that we can see how to approach Conner with the sensitive subject?" asked Simon in a whisper, only for her to hear.

  At the same time, far away from them, Roman, Julie, Maximus, Olivia and Victoria walked on the restricted side of the forest. They were slightly wet from the drops of rain, but they didn't bother about it. So far, they hadn't come across any guards, but they hadn't found any trace of Simon or the two humans.

  Maximus asked Roman, "Did you know that Simon was going to help Conner to escape?"

  "I don't think he himself knew about it until this evening. Else I would have probably heard it," responded Roman, smelling something in the air that was different from the usual smell in the atmosphere. "I would have thought that he would leave the boy be. Considering his new goals."

  "There's something in the air," murmured Olivia.

  "I thought I was the only one smelling it," replied Roman, and Julie took a deep breath but smelt nothing but the smell of the wet mud around them.

  Several minutes had passed since they had left the Elder's mansion, and Julie couldn't help but worry for her friends. Even Cillian hadn't returned, and she tried to summon him back to her, but he didn't appear near her.

  Back where the trio walked, Conner walked in the front, looking for a way out, not knowing Simon knew the map of Veteris better than him. He slightly turned his head, noticing Melanie and Simon walking next to each other, conversing in soft voices. His ears then picked up a question the senior asked Melanie,

  "Did the stone hurt too much?"

  Melanie shook her head even though at that time, it had hurt and made her want to curse, "It is fine. It was just a little prick."

  "You hurt yourself, Mel?" Conner came to her side. He had been unaware about it, while Simon knew. "When was it?" he asked before checking her legs.

  "It was when the guards appeared. It was nothing much," Melanie assured Conner with a smile. She noticed the frown on Conner's face.

  A few seconds later, as if Conner was done with his thinking, he said to Melanie, "Once this thing settles down, let us go out."