The bunker fell into silence.
Jack leaned against the cold stone wall, head bowed low, as if trying to piece together the shattered fragments of his mind. Once a soulless butcher driven by bloodlust, he now felt… something. Guilt. Fear. The slaughter replayed in his head like a curse. But above all—he remembered his wife and child.
They were in danger.
Yet something else was changing.
Not Jack.
The old man.
The quiet, withdrawn figure who had always hidden behind silence now stood tall. No longer hiding. No longer running. He took a deep breath and raised his voice to everyone in the bunker.
"There's a hidden tunnel that leads out of this fortress!"
"We have to leave now—before this place collapses!"
Murmurs erupted. Not hope—but suspicion.
"What? Follow him? With a Vampire?"
"I'd rather stay and take my chances!"
"He's right. If we surrender, we might live."
"I don't trust that old man… The legend is true—wherever he goes, disaster follows!"
"I'm not going."
The words cut like blades. But the old man didn't argue. He didn't get angry. He simply turned away, sadness in his eyes… a sadness no one understood. He'd heard these words before—countless times. Quietly, he said:
"Let's go, boy."
Jack looked up. He saw the fear in their eyes. They didn't trust the old man. They didn't trust him.
But Jack knew—if they stayed, they would die.
He had been one of them.
He knew what Vampires would do. And these people wouldn't even make it to the Blood Camps.
"EVERYONE!!!" Jack shouted, voice cracking.
"There's no hope left! Please, believe me! Listen to him! This is your only chance!"
But… it was useless.
He was still a Vampire in their eyes.
A killer.
The more he pleaded, the more they recoiled—as if he were a monster.
Jack clenched his fists. Helplessness burned in his chest.
"Let's go," the old man said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"They won't understand."
Jack gritted his teeth. Tried one last time.
"Please… just listen…"
*Shhhhk.*
A cloth hit the ground.
A girl stepped forward, removing her hood. Her voice was calm—but powerful.
"I'm going. If I'm going to die, I'd rather die trying."
The room froze.
Whispers erupted.
"She's crazy!"
"She's going with a Vampire?! God help her…"
"They're probably working together!"
But the girl didn't care.
She looked Jack straight in the eyes—unshaken.
Jack was stunned.
For the first time, a human didn't fear him.
She was young. Maybe eighteen. Shoulder-length brown hair. Cold eyes… but still soft, like a girl on the edge of adulthood. Not stunning—but strong, in a quiet way.
The old man looked at her. Gave a slight nod.
"Let's move. There's not much time."
No one knew why she chose to go.
No one knew what she was thinking.