Chapter 10 Between Roses and Vampires

The heat was unbearable. Especially for a vampire accustomed to the cold, dark, cozy spaces of a castle.

But neither the heat, nor even the relentless sun, were as terrible as the popular music, which resounding at full volume through some rickety speakers, seemed to mark the erratic pace of the old and stinking bus, which clumsily took the narrow curves. of the unpaved road threatening to tip over every time.

Diane could feel every rock in the road dig straight into her buttocks, thanks to the non-existent cushioning of the bus. The seat was practically a sheet of metal with a millimeter of foam and a leather cover, really only in this type of situation could the comfort of a coffin be valued.

For the first time in all the decades of her life, she began to consider that dying might be an option, in fact she believed that dying in a bonfire would be better than staying in that vehicle. And only 9 hours of travel had elapsed.

The inside of the battered car was even worse than the outside. The chickens imprisoned in her cages swayed and clucked from where the suitcases should go, right over Diane's head, occasionally showering her with feathers and droppings. But the worst thing for her was the goat. The damn goat! that he did not stop chewing something at the same time that he had fixed her penetrating gaze on her for more than 5 hours.

Jack kicked the goat in the face, which sent the poor animal flying onto the roof of the bus, knocking it over and bouncing off the driver, nearly causing them to go off into the ravine.

Furious, the driver asked in a language that the boys did not understand "who the hell had thrown the goat at him?"

-sir- Víctor hastened to answer, fluently and perfectly, successfully imitating the accent of the city- my grandson slipped off the seat and accidentally hit him

-His grandson!- an old peasant woman stood up furiously- she will have to pay for my goat. Look at her, the poor thing, she doesn't even stop!

"Yes, of course," said Víctor, extending his hand to Diane, who took out a medium denomination bill and handed it over to her, "don't worry, we'll pay the bill."

-ohh- the old woman's face lit up when she saw the money- they are rich tourists, wouldn't they also want to buy the chickens?

Immediately afterwards, all the passengers on the bus tried to sell them everything from handmade jewelry to their own clothes. In the end Diane, Albert, Victor and Jack had to get off in the middle of the road

- so this is Arica? asked Jack sitting on his suitcase waiting for another bus to pick them up, in the middle of an unpaved road, surrounded by beautiful lush green forests.

In front of him, a gigantic ravine stretched hundreds of meters to become a plain that ended where a huge mountain range began.

- did you have to kick the damn goat? - Asked Albert, who with a scowl gave the boy a blow to the head, so hard that he threw him onto the road, then he stopped and took the goat's corpse and threw it into the ravine with anger.

-Hey, don't hit him- Diane stood up and helped Jack up- he only did it because the goat was bothering me.

In fact, it hadn't been like that, he had just stretched out his foot due to a painful cramp and accidentally kicked the animal too hard, of course it wasn't something he was going to confess.

-Anyway, - said Víctor taking his suitcase - if we follow the road we will reach the next town in about 3 hours, it is better than waiting for another bus to pass.

"If we go fast, we'll arrive in two hours," answered Albert, taking his suitcase and heading towards the town.

Diane took the luggage from her and hooked on Jack's arm with a beautiful and kind smile told him

- thanks for kicking it

Jack didn't exactly understand why she was thanking him, but he acted in the wisest way he could think of, simply returning her smile and nodding from her as she said.

-It doesn't matter

Diane released Jack and walked over to Albert, then asked him

- how do you track the statuettes?

"Ask the old man over there" answered Albert, pointing to Victor a few steps behind him.

"Well," said the old man thoughtfully, "I rely on myths and legends... I also follow the movements of the Seeds and the Vatican. Wherever they set their eyes, there is always something.

- and how many statuettes do you have? - asked Jack

Albert raised his fist and raised his middle finger from the fist, Diane didn't know if it was an obscenity or she meant just one.

- what statuette are we looking for this time? Diane asked Victor.

-we are looking for the statuette that corresponds to Santa Muerte, the legend says that this statuette is in honor of a man who murdered hundreds of thousands of people for not controlling his power, when he finally mastered it, he dedicated the rest of his life to healing people, trying to make amends for the horrors of the past.

- And you think I can do it? - Diane asked with a sad face- I don't think saving lives amended the fact of taking others

-I don't think I amended that- Victor told him paternally, while he caressed his head with his free hand, - but it's better to try anything, than to regret doing nothing.

"It's true," Diane agreed with a beautiful smile.

Jack for his part had reached Albert who with an annoyed face ignored him

- It will be dark soon - Jack said excitedly - I wanted to train my vampire skills

Albert, already fed up with that brat, took his backpack and handed it to Jack's face.

- do you want to train? Start by carrying my luggage too, maybe it's your fault that we have to walk.

Jack took it, and then he took the luggage from Diane and Victor, it was true, he had to make an effort and be useful to the team, even if it was only carrying everyone's suitcases. Albert couldn't help but give a smile, at least the boy wasn't lacking in desire.

It didn't take long until they finally reached the town, a place where most of the houses were made of mud and boards. It was obvious that it was not a place designed for tourists. However, it was a noisy and happy place, some canteens overflowing with locals who, tired of their exhausting workdays, drank happily, made Albert's annoyed face light up with joy.

- welcome tourists! - said a man who, taking the luggage of the group, put it in a taxi without asking

-Wait, leave those suitcases there- Albert yelled at him, the driver ignored him, until Albert began to lower the suitcases, immediately afterwards they both began a heated discussion.

Diane was a little more nervous than usual, as they got closer to the place, she felt watched, it was as if her instinct warned her of an unimaginable danger. Her hair stood on end and an irrational anxiety invaded her, her breathing was somewhat agitated, it had been a while since she had felt like this, her nose had caught a particular smell, the most terrifying that she could perceive.

She looked everywhere looking for where she came from, but to no avail. I focus all her senses to identify the person from whom that smell emanated, her sharp nose finally led her to some harmless roses a few meters from the group.

Despite only being some flowers, they caused her quite a bit of fear, so without taking her eyes off them, she walked away until she was behind Víctor.

Jack noted that Diane had been looking at those flowers with great enthusiasm. This time she wouldn't overlook what she liked. She would not repeat the same as with the goat.

From the way he looked at them, surely she was a lover of flowers, it would be the ideal gift to start getting closer to her. So she took a couple of bills that she had left and bought a bouquet when everyone was distracted, she wanted it to be a surprise.

Albert for his part, still discussed the man in the taxi. Who demanded a payment, while Albert refused to give him a penny, with good reason since he had not asked for anything.

Víctor contemplated the scene with resignation and, looking at the two young men, told them to follow him. After all, Albert would take a long time before he ended up paying.

Jack hid the roses as much as he could in her morale trying not to damage them, he looked at Diane who paranoidly moved her eyes like someone desperately trying to find someone. Apparently he was uncomfortable being in a completely unknown place. Or so thought Jack, who picked up her pace and started to walk next to her, but she seemed completely distracted, even a little scared.

-Jack- said the girl hugging her arm tightly, she was sweating, that surprised the boy. He had never seen her so nervous, something very strange was happening to her-her eyes were open-her voice sounded paranoid and scared, Jack began to worry even more about her-I have a bad feeling.

- what's going on? - asked the boy

- Don't worry- said the girl trying to smile- maybe it's nothing, maybe it's just that I don't like green places like that. But be careful will you? She squeezed him a little harder. Her look really was that of someone scared.

- Sure, is everything okay?

- yes, just you stay alert

-Don't worry, Ares is not us, remember he is invincible.

Unexpectedly, those words seemed to soothe her almost immediately and she returned an already calmer look.

-It's true that drunk can with anyone.

Jack smiled back at her, she was on a roll. First the goat and now the perfect comment, without a doubt the flowers would be the finishing touch for an excellent day.