No way

Ellie readied herself to put the girl in her place since she obviously needed some sense knocked into her thick skull.

But before Clara could get to her, the guy that rushed out of the car came to stand between them, stopping Clara from reaching her goal.

"Let me go, Nigel. It's time I teach this bitch a lesson." Clara struggled against the arms holding her back from getting to Ellie, but the guy didn't let go.

"Calm down. You'll get us in trouble if you keep this up. Let's leave this place." Nigel started pulling her toward the car, but she struggled one last time and managed to grab Ellie's bag.

Alarmed, Ellie rushed forward and retrieved the bag forcefully, then started walking away in haste. A small crowd was already gathering and very soon, the police will arrive. She couldn't have anyone know what was inside the bag because of this pesky fly that decided to ruin her evening.

Seeing her walking away, Clara began to laugh. "Why are you running away? What do you have in there, junkie? More drugs? This isn't the last you'll hear from me. I'll teach you not to mess with the wrong girl. You hear me?" She screamed after Ellie, but the latter didn't respond anymore.

Ellie was furious. Her blood was boiling and she wished she could go back and release all her anger on the stupid girl who triggered them in the first place. She had no idea how or when she offended Clara for the girl to keep coming at her, both indirectly, and most recently, directly.

But that was not even her biggest problem. She was covered in beer and the strong smell was not doing her any good. She needed a bath so bad but she had no time to go back home.

Suspecting that Clara or someone else may follow her, she took a few unnecessary turns, branching into streets and alleys she didn't need to, before arriving at her destination.

After changing into her vampire outfit, she took several deep breaths to calm herself down and get in the right mood for what she was about to do. That nagging feeling prompting her to leave everything and go back home, returned to her heart, but she shook it off. She had already come this far, there was no way she would go back now.

Maline Jewelry Store, the second largest after her uncle's shop, belonged to a very good friend of her uncle. On several occasions, when their families were still on good terms with each other, she had visited the store, sometimes alone, and sometimes in the company of others.

Looking ahead at the store as she approached it, she could see through the glass doors that there were no customers inside. The attendant was standing behind the counter, and he looked like he was writing down something on a piece of paper.

The street on which the store was located was almost empty, and Ellie noticed the few people who set their eyes on her, hurried away as if something was chasing them, after strangely staring at her.

This told Ellie that whatever she does tonight, she had to be very fast and leave the place on time.

She pushed the door open and walked straight to the attendant's counter, paying no attention to the shock that registered on his face on recognizing who she was – the vampire that attacked yesterday.

"Put your hands up where I can see them," Ellie ordered, and although the man obeyed, he furrowed his brows.

"What do you want?" He asked, his voice only shaking slightly as he surveyed her face, an act which made Ellie feel uncomfortable.

"Shut your mouth or you'll regret it." Ellie barked out another order. With her hand, she gestured for him to walk out from behind the counter and again, he meekly obeyed.

"All phones here." She tapped the tip of her sharp nails on the top of the glass counter, and the attendant complied without a word.

"Good. Now, save yourself from being hurt, and just walk slowly to the restroom, and stay there for the next thirty minutes. If you come out any sooner, you won't live to tell the tale."

"Of course." The guy said, then started walking toward the back of the store.

Ellie pulled her brows together. The guy was visibly scared, but the strange calmness in his demeanor and voice sent warning bells ringing in her head. A strong feeling to leave that place washed over her, but once again, she shook it off.

She followed him from a safe distance until she saw him enter the restroom, and shut the door behind him. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned around to quickly get what she came for and leave.

However, as soon as she turned around, she heard the bathroom door open again.

The attendant walked out, with two other men beside him. He was armed with a rifle, while the other two had long wooden stakes as weapons.

Ellie knew it was time to run, and that was exactly what she did. However, luck was not on her side. A man in a black tailcoat walked in through the front door, blocking her exit.

Now stuck between the man in black and the three guys behind her, Ellie wished she had listened to that voice that was urging her to leave earlier. How was she going to fight four men alone?

"Okay, let's all relax and sort this out like reasonable —" Ellie started to speak cautiously, but couldn't complete what she wanted to say because the man in black suddenly disappeared from where he stood, and in a blink of an eye, he was standing in front of the three guys.

Without waiting to see what would happen, Ellie took the opportunity to run out of the store. Her heart was beating wildly, and all she wanted was to go far away from that environment.

While running at her fastest speed, she pulled the fangs off her canines, then skillfully removed the contact lenses. She was close to the alley and once she got there, all she would need to do was take off the outfit, the mask, change into her regular clothes, and go home.

She was so close to achieving her plan when the tailcoat man ran past and halted in front, facing her.

Ellie's feet came to an abrupt halt and her eyes widened. How did he catch up to her? And why were his eyes now red?

At that point, realization dawned on her. The speed, the mode of dressing, and the red eyes she was sure were not artificial because she had seen his eyes at the store and they were not red. In fact, now that she was looking at them, they were flickering between red and black.

'No way! It couldn't be. No friggin way she was standing before a real vampire.'

She took several steps back, then turned around to run in a different direction, only to meet face-to-face with a different vampire dressed similarly to the one she just turned away from.

A loud gasp escaped her lips, and before she could react, he covered her nose with a fabric, which knocked her out the moment she inhaled.