“Awake, huh?”
Aiden took a step back, looking at the girl’s red eyes.
Her gaze was filled with hostility, but Aiden understood it. He was curious about the girl’s presence, but she had more reason to be bewildered, waking up to a stranger.
So, Aiden decided that it was better to explain the situation to the girl first. To ease her heightened guard and allow her the chance to express whatever she wanted to say.
Remaining cautious, Aiden calmly spoke:
“I’m Aiden. A junk dealer.”
A junk dealer roams the dangerous streets, scavenging for useful items, engaging in trades with survivors, or resolving requests – a term encompassing those who make a living in such ways.
With this concise introduction, Aiden revealed his na and occupation.
However, the girl responded with a sarcastic smirk, as if she didn’t believe him.
“Junk dealer? Is that a nickna?”
“Don’t you know what a junk dealer is?”
“I don’t get the aning of that term.”
Was she considering herself a gang mber or a fanatic?
Despite sensing a subtle mismatch in the conversation, Aiden continued speaking.
“If we continue with the answers, we’re in Pittsburgh.”
Aiden casually ntioned the na of this place.
But perhaps the na of the now ruined city held more surprise than he expected. The girl’s eyes widened in shock.
“Pittsburgh? Did I enter the church’s territory?”
Church?
A word he couldn’t comprehend.
However, Aiden refrained from questioning her about it. The girl was struggling as if having a seizure, using all her strength to break free from the chains.
“Untie this right now!”
A sudden change in her attitude left Aiden bewildered. While the chains wouldn’t be undone with her wild movents, the real issue was the chair she was tied to.
In the midst of her intense struggle, akin to a caught fish on a fishing line, ominous creaking sounds echoed from the chair.
Quickly approaching, Aiden grabbed the girl’s shoulders to forcibly stop her movents and spoke:
“Calm down. I have no intention of harming you.”
“Don’t make laugh! Am I supposed to believe the words of a church dog?”
“I think you misunderstand sothing. This isn’t the territory of fanatics. It doesn’t belong to anyone.”
Although Aiden knew that fanatics were entirely different from the church, there were no other religious groups with territories in this world. So, he sowhat adjusted his words to fit the situation.
But was that the right answer?
“Fanatics...?”
The girl muttered with genuine confusion.
After exhaling a deep sigh, she continued her questioning.
“Then tell where this is.”
“...Let show you.”
Afraid that ntioning the na Pittsburgh again might lead to a similar reaction, Aiden dragged the chair by the window.
The five-story apartnt Aiden used as his hideout was built on a shallow hill, offering a clear view of the surroundings – not as high as downtown skyscrapers, but enough to observe key locations such as the important road leading to the apartnt and the path connecting to the shopping district.
A perfect position to identify the presence of gangs or mutated entities.
Aiden had chosen this hideout for that reason.
The girl’s eyes were now capturing the Pittsburgh scenery through the window.
“What is this...?”
However, the girl seed more confused as she stared at the view.
During this brief mont of silence, Aiden intervened.
“What’s your na? Do you belong to any group?”
“What? You don’t know ? You brought here without knowing who I am?”
“I brought you here because I don’t know.”
The girl expressed disbelief, emitting a dry laugh.
But soon, she sighed and finally revealed her na.
“I’m Arian Clifford.”
Up to that point, Aiden had rely found her na unusual. However, what followed made him furrow his brow.
“One of the Original Five, a vampire.”
* * *
After that, a heated debate ensued.
For Aiden, it was an experience he didn’t want to go through again.
Arian’s words were more nonsensical than the nonsense spouted by drunken gang mbers.
“So, let get this straight. You’re a vampire who fought against a church group in a world where all sorts of monsters and exorcists operate in modern-day Arica, but you’re not from this world?”
Summarizing Arian’s words, she seed to be from an alternate universe where strange phenona existed in modern Arica.
Of course, there were other statents about the aning of the Original Five, battles against the church’s Holy Knights, and blood magic, but Aiden had forgotten them all.
From Aiden’s perspective, it was all nonsensical talk. But Arian felt the sa way.
“Why that expression? Do you think what you’re saying makes sense?”
“Why would it be suspicious?”
“Zombie virus, they say. The world went to hell because of that. Are you making a movie or sothing?”
That’s what Aiden wanted to say.
However, he held back the smirk and calmly spoke:
“Even seeing my face, you’re saying things like that.”
Now, Aiden had removed the helt he was wearing.
His face had clean features, yet anyone could mistake him for a zombie at first glance. Moreover, through the still open window, zombies roaming the streets were easily visible.
Most importantly, Arian had fought against those zombies herself.
“...”
So, Arian, unable to respond to Aiden’s words, just stared out the window.
In reality, her suspicions were gradually fading.
She, too, found Aiden’s words as unbelievable as he found hers.
In this clear abnormality, she had a hunch.
“Could it be... that boundary the woman ntioned was this?”
“What?”
“Actually, I was in the middle of an escape. But this ti, I was cornered more than usual. I had to borrow the power of soone who could surpass the usual boundaries. But I didn’t know that the boundary extended beyond the world.”
Aiden sighed at the nonsense once again.
Yet Arian remained serious.
It seed like her conjecture was correct.
She was silently realizing that this place was different from the world she ca from.
Above all, the scenery of that street was decisive.
It wasn’t just a few zombies walking on the road causing this. Such a level of manipulation could be done by the church’s tricks.
But the appearance of the desolate street was different.
According to him, Pittsburgh in this world had experienced a zombie outbreak over three years ago.
A discarded, abandoned city.
What Arian saw through her eyes matched that description.
Was it possible to artificially create the appearance of a city so thoroughly ruined?
As Arian montarily fell silent, Aiden, too, was lost in thought.
Between doubt and belief, he, too, was wavering.
A vampire.
The word itself didn’t even elicit a sarcastic laugh.
However, Aiden had seen sothing.
First, the power Arian showed when fighting zombies.
That power was undoubtedly mysterious.
Another piece of evidence was Arian’s blood.
The syringe with orange-colored blood was still on the table.
It ant that Arian wasn’t either human or zombie.
Was she an alien?
If she were, how would that differ from being a vampire?
“You said you’re a vampire?”
“Yeah.”
“Then... do you have any proof that you’re a vampire?”
So Aiden asked.
The possibility of the truth in Arian’s words lingered, and he couldn’t completely dismiss it.
In response, Arian thought for a mont and then smiled.
“Give blood.”
“Blood...?”
“If you give blood, I’ll show you the evidence.”
Aiden narrowed his eyes at Arian’s words.
“You’re not planning to show drinking blood as evidence, are you?”
“Just bring it first. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Arian said confidently.
Was there a corner in him that believed her, or was she just trying to deceive him?
After a mont of hesitation, Aiden stood up.
“Okay.”
He took out the blood pack he received yesterday from his bag, a few steps away from the girl.
“Here’s the blood. Once you show -“
The words, ‘how it work’ didn’t follow.
As if pulled by a fishing line, the blood pack slipped out of his hand. It soared like it had wings, heading straight to Arian’s mouth.
What was surprising wasn’t just that.
With both hands tightly bound, Arian tore into the blood pack with her teeth.
Aiden thought the blood would pour down afterward.
But, in the end, not a drop of blood fell to the floor.
The blood that ca out of the pack flowed through the air, creating a beautiful crimson sphere.
“How is it?”
Arian asked with a smug expression while biting into the apple-like sphere.
Though it looked like a scene from magic, it certainly wasn’t a trick.
It was an undeniable reality unfolding before him.
Even Aiden, with his doubting expression, couldn’t help but flick his tongue in response.
“...This is insane.”
Even he, with his many doubts, couldn’t deny it anymore.
Regardless of whether she was a vampire or not, this girl nad Arian was undoubtedly a presence beyond Aiden’s understanding.
Then...
Aiden’s intuition issued a warning.
He took out a watch from his bag to check the ti.
It was exactly the ti to leave.
So, he grabbed his helt and packed up.
Arian, who had already consud all the blood, reacted.
“Wait a minute. Are you leaving?”
“Yes.”
“What about ?”
“You’ll have to wait for a while. I’ll be back today.”
After saying that, Aiden cautiously gauged Arian’s reaction.
Arian expressed her dissatisfaction with a disgruntled voice.
“Today? You expect to be tied up here for hours? Are you insane?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t release you right away. I don’t have the confidence that you’re safe.”
Aiden pointed out the harsh reality, causing Arian to hesitate for a mont.
It wasn’t a wrong statent.
She was different from humans, and she had experienced this kind of suspicion from others several tis.
Vampires had always been objects of fear for everyone.
Although it was a bit unclear whether she included zombies in that category, Arian spoke with a slightly softened voice.
“Then at least give so food and water.”
“Can’t you survive by just drinking blood?”
“How can you live by eating only that? Are you full if you just drink water?”
Indeed, is caloric intake separate?
In realization of this fact, Aiden imdiately brought food from another room.
Since zombies also need sothing to eat, Aiden had previously stocked so groceries in a few of his hiding places.
What he brought was a bottle of water, a salmon, and a can of corn each.
“...Is this all?”
Arian exclaid with a bewildered expression upon seeing the food on the table.
However, Aiden had sothing to say in this situation.
“As I ntioned earlier, this world is different from the one you used to live in. Even these are hard to find.”
“Ha... really. I understand, alright.”
Thinking of the scenery outside, Arian reluctantly agreed and stared at Aiden.
Aiden wondered what this naive girl wanted now.
But Arian’s subsequent request, while uncomfortable, was quite reasonable.
“What are you doing? Feed or set free.”
“Haah...”
A deep sigh, the deepest among the sighs he let out today, escaped Aiden’s lips.
* * *
Among the morning als Aiden had endured for nearly a year, the most dreadful ti, he headed straight to Rebecca’s dwelling. To deliver the antibiotics as contracted for a sick child.
Rebecca rushed barefoot to et Aiden, just as she literally said she would.
There was no trace of the wariness from yesterday; you couldn’t find the sa caution from her as before anywhere.
“Thank you! Really... thank you so much.”
After receiving instructions on the appropriate dosage and frequency of antibiotics, Rebecca spoke those words and then went back inside her house.
It was likely that she had turned her attention to her daughter, who was still suffering.
“...”
Left with Aiden and quietly staring at him was Diana.
Even now, she held a rifle in one hand flawlessly. She kept a distance of a few ters from Aiden.
Unlike Rebecca, her gaze contained full vigilance as she stared at Aiden.
But Aiden still had sothing to say to her.
“Let’s talk for a mont.”
“...Are you talking to ?”
With a noticeably stiffer deanor than Rebecca, Diana questioned him.
As if she hadn’t expected him to talk to her.
Without a word, Aiden nodded.
Diana montarily froze her expression but soon nodded.
“What is it?”
“Tuberculosis is contagious.”
Aiden brought up the main topic right away.
If Rebecca’s daughter was indeed a real tuberculosis patient, it ant that others living in the sa space were likely infected with the tuberculosis bacteria.
So, Diana briefly tightened her expression but soon nodded.
“Really? But what can we do now? It’s already too late. And is this the ti for us to be afraid of tuberculosis?”
Diana spoke with a bitter smile.
Although pessimistic, it was also a reasonable statent.
In this place, even if soone were a healthy person with no diseases at all, it was impossible to guarantee that they would live longer than soone vomiting blood from tuberculosis.
Therefore, Aiden nodded without saying a word.
Diana suddenly noticed sothing from the doorway and then placed sothing near Aiden.
“Ah, this. Rebecca forgot to give it to you. It’s paynt for the dicine.”
It was... a blood collection set.
Five sets, with none of the packages torn open yet.
What Aiden handed over to them today was a can of antibiotics, enough for two months.
But since he couldn’t get the entire year’s worth in one go, they had settled for trading only this much for now.
And for the cost of one antibiotic, this was an appropriate exchange.
“You had this?”
“I’ve been searching around nearby pharmacies recently. And I happened to co across it.”
The reason was evident even without saying.
They must have been looking for dicine for Rebecca’s daughter one way or another.
Anyway, the deal was now concluded, but Aiden didn’t leave imdiately.
He still had sothing to ask.
It was about the girl he had found yesterday.
“Let ask you one thing.”
Upon Aiden’s words, Diana continued to raise her eyebrows as if urging him to continue.
“Have you ever heard of a vampire?”
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