"We're here." Yiannais said when they arrived. The entrance was covered with trampolines and on looking around, Zuriña could still see some black patches here and there, still indicating traces of the fire.
Those pieces of memories were there.
Everything started inside that place.
"Ten years ago, there was a major fire incident at the Clifford market and gangsters killed the residents. But it was a made up story the government came up with simply to escape responsibility."
"I know. The place where the vampire incident first occurred. I came here so I can understand the story more clearly."
"Then you came to the right place. Why don't we start the story then?"
"Is this really the right place?" She asked once he had opened the trampoline.
"Buy three side dishes and get one free." An old woman said.
"Fruit sale, closing soon. I'll give you at a cheap price."
"5% discount only for today."
She'd been expecting to see a deserted place not a place where people traded. People rarely revisited fire sites as they could never forget what had happened there and things at that scene never went back to the way they were.
"You must be surprised since this place is different from what you imagined." Yiannais said. He'd probably seen the surprise on her face.
"Well, even though there was a major incident, this place still operate normally.After the incident, the people here are working hard to sustain the market."
"Oh, I see."She replied as they walked through the market. "In my vague memory, I only remember the hazy figure of my parents and this Clifford market. Why were we here?"
"Seems like you've lost a lot of your memories." He sighed and she turned to him.
"What?"
"Zuriña, you used to live in this place."
She was surprised. "What?...I used to live here?"
"You used to live over the..."
She interrupted and she started heading for nowhere in particular. "Let's go there."
"Wait..."
Hopefully, if she looked at the place she used to live, she might remember.
"Here?" She asked when they arrived.The house she'd been so eager to see was this place? She wondered, looking over the old derelicted building.
Yiannais suspired. "The house has been long gone."
There was nothing. There was no proof that she used to live there or any sign of her parents. Even though she's hoped to find something, no matter how little it was...
Her heart started thumping faster and she found herself short on breath. What was going on with her chest? It was the same thing that happened after battling with Ash.
Yiannais must have noticed as he walked to hold her. "Did you manage to remember something?"
She straightened herself with a fake smile. "No. Not yet."
"I don't know if my memories will help,but I was there during that incident."
She looked at him. "What? You were here?"
His faced looked ghastly, like he was imagining the scene again. "When I finished shopping,this place was already a sea of blood. Whether they were parents or children, they were all helpless and attacked by vampires...The entire place of this market was filled with screams and cries of help. It was like hell and in the midst of that hell,...that person killed your parents. That person...I don't even want to remember.There was a guy whose entire body was covered in flames, and he was giving his blood to the people who were there."
Zuriña gasped. It was Master.
Tears welled up in his eyes. "But Riña, I... After I saw the eyes of the people who were dying, I got scared and ran away. I didn't want to die...If I hadn't run away and evacuated the people back then, the world wouldn't have turned out this way. I'm really sorry, it's all my fault."
"This isn't your fault, Yiannais. The man who caused the incident, the first to create vampire, the man who was covered in flames, he's the 'Master' I'm looking for." She said.
She felt like she was getting closer to them. They couldn't take anything from her, not anymore.
"Because of that man, this country was destroyed, he... killed my family and the people I loved. I'm going to find him and take revenge."
Her cheat thumped faster and she raised her hand to her chest, as she found it difficult to breathe.
"Zuriña..."Yiannais called as he strode over to support her and she clutched to his arm as the ground gave way beneath her feet.
"Zuriña."
That was the last thing she heard before she passed out.
Kaiwan sighed as he looked around the neighborhood one more time. He'd back from the repair shop hours back and he'd been puzzled not to find Zuriña anywhere around.
"Where did she actually go? She left her phone too..." He unzipped her bag and discovered her crown of thorns was inside. "She left this also. Sometimes, she's too careless."
He spotted Yiannais carrying a figure in his arms from afar and his eyes narrowed to realize it was Zuriña.
"Zuriña?!"
What happened? Why was he carrying Zuriña? Did something happen to them? Fuck, he shouldn't have gone. He thought to himself as he rose.
He paused and gave it another thought. It wasn't that he had any special relationship with Zuriña, and they weren't formal with each other, either. If he suddenly interrupted, he'd be awkward with her.
He was about to return when he thought about something. Zuriña fainted and she was being carried around by a stranger. How could he let him do that?
But, he was just a co-worker to her, a part of him told him. After all, they were just colleagues. He had to give up.
"You bitch." The grandma with the dog snapped as she ran towards them, as so did her dog, growling as he did.
"How dare you seduce my husband?”
"Grandma, stop it." Yiannais protested.
The grandma's dog furiously at an unconscious Zuriña and Kaiwan, unable to stand the scene anymore walked towards them.
"I knew you were interested in him, from the moment I saw your sparkly eyes." The grandma was saying as he walked up to Yiannais, with folded arms.
"That's exactly what I want to ask. What exactly happened between you guys when I wasn't there?"
"Riña passed out when were chatting."
Who was he trying to deceive? He thought. "What? There's no way Zuriña would have passed out just like that? What were you guys talking about before she passed out?"
"We were not talking about anything that would hurt Zuriña. Please don't misunderstand."He replied and he took some steps forward.
"Misunderstand? You better hand Zuriña over before you start talking."
Yiannais rolled his eyes as he scoffed. "Why are you threatening me? Don't tell me...Did I seem impolite because I was carrying Zuriña?"
Kaiwan was about to say something but stopped when Zuriña groaned. She was probably coming around.
"Ugh...my head."
"Are you okay?" Kaiwan asked as he glared at Yiannais.
"I feel dizzy."
It was already late and there was no motel around so Yiannais suggested they spent the night at the nursing home. Kaiwan looked like he was opposed to it, but didn't say a word.
Yiannais talked to the grandma about Zuriña spending the night in her room while he would sleep with Kaiwan. Grandma didn't like the idea but when Yiannais asked if she's be comfortable with her sleeping with him, she opened the door of her room without hesitation.
"Don't even think about doing anything to my husband." Grandma was saying that night when they went to bed. "He only comes on the weekend and yet, you came to disturb us. And why does the bike engine arrive tomorrow? If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't let you sleep here..."
Zuriña smiled."Thank you."
"Go to bed. And tie your hair, so it won't fall out."
"But it's just eight pm..."
"Go to bed." The grandma scowled and Zuriña zipped her lips and her mind went back to her conversation with Yiannais, earlier that day.
The man shrouded in flames.
That memory was supposed to be stuck in her head, but she didn't remember anything.
Where was that being called 'Master' and what was he doing as at that time? She had to find him as soon as possible.
"Today, that pureblood visitedthe market. Get ready."Master said, a huge mask over his face.
"Yes sir."
"For the past ten years, I've been preparing for this moment. When the offering for the 0101 project is ready, we can finally leave the darkness." He said as Levi walked over to the trampoline.
"Then, I'll open it." She bowed and opened the trampoline. Master and a troop of other vampires walked out of the Clifford market and Master raised his head to look at the full moon.
"This is what I've been waiting for...The day that the one she holds dear will be sacrificed in front of her and today, the pureblood will be perfect."