Bring her to me

In haste, Ellie walked out of the store, and away from the environs. She returned to the dark alley, and changed back into her regular clothes, making sure to check that no one followed her, before she headed home.

Her heart was thumping inside her chest all the way, only calming down the moment she was in the safety of her house.

As soon as she walked in and shut the door, a long sigh of relief left her lips. She shifted her gaze to the bed to check on Nick, and let out another breath seeing he was sound asleep.

Plopping herself down on the couch, her hand reached for the remote and she turned the TV on. It's already been more than thirty minutes since she left the store, and she knew the place would be flooded with security operatives and the media people.

Just as she predicted, the incident was already being reported as breaking news by different channels. She could see the attendant being interviewed, and he narrated everything that transpired.

While the report continued, she dug her hands into her pockets and pulled out all she took from the store. Being familiar with the store she just raided, she knew the worth of what she picked.

On purpose, she avoided the most expensive items because she knew it would be difficult to sell without getting her into trouble. These ones are just fine, though she would need to do this two more times to reach her target.

*Knock… Knock…*

Ellie's heart flew to her mouth and she dropped the chain she was holding due to the shock.

What the hell? Who could be knocking at this time? Did someone recognize her? Did they trace and follow her to the house? Was it the police? Did they think she was a vampire and was here to kill her?

All these questions crossed Ellie's heart in less than two seconds. Her brows pulled together as her piercing gaze almost bore a hole in the door.

At the sound of the third knock, she jumped to her feet, shoved all the jewelry under the couch, and slowly approached the door.

"Ellie, are you in?" A female voice Ellie recognized echoed from outside the door before she could reach it.

Her brows furrowed even further. The voice belonged to her old neighbor next door. What did she want?

Ellie pulled the door open only slightly at first, then opened it further after ascertaining that the woman was alone.

"Good evening, Mrs. Casey." Ellie greeted the old lady, who stood with a slightly bent posture, holding a small tray of cupcakes.

"Fine evening to you, my child. I know Nicholas must be asleep already. Can you give him this for me?" Mrs. Casey extended the tray to Ellie, and the latter accepted it. "I promised him some earlier, but I couldn't prepare them on time." The woman added with her soft, aged voice.

"Of course, I will. Thank you so much. He will appreciate it." Ellie flashed her a smile, relief washing over her once more as the situation was not what she thought it was.

"Did something happen to your eyes?" Mrs. Casey suddenly asked, narrowing her wrinkled eyes as she peered at Ellie through the lens of her glasses. "They used to be blue, but if my eyes are not deceiving me, I think they are on the red side now."

'Shit!' Ellie exclaimed in her mind. She had taken off everything but forgot about the contacts. She blinked rapidly, as she tried to find an explanation to give to the woman.

"Your eyes aren't deceiving you, Ma'am. They are indeed red, but it's due to allergies. Not to worry, I've used prescribed eye drops. I believe it will be back to normal by tomorrow." Ellie lied smoothly, and the woman looked like she believed the story because she nodded her head.

"Alright. I'll come to check on Nicholas before I leave in the morning. Have a good night." Mrs. Casey turned around and started walking back to her door.

"You too, Ma'am." Ellie wished her, then walked back into the room and shut the door. As soon as she did, she leaned against the wooden barrier and slapped her forehead for making such a mistake. She was only lucky because Mrs. Casey's eyesight was already failing. If it were to be someone else, no way the allergy lie would have worked.

***

A lone man, whose face was covered in a large grey hood, walked majestically up the highest hill in Alada, headed for the royal house which was planted on the top of the hill.

He approached the gate and as soon as he reached it, the huge metal barrier was pulled open from the inside, giving him unhindered access to the palace.

"Welcome, Master." Over ten voices chorused, and the owners of the voices lowered their upper bodies until their backs were a horizontal straight line.

The man didn't respond to their greetings, neither did he spare anyone a glance. His feet continued walking at the same pace and with the same elegance.

"Master Storm, there is something you need to see." A different voice, belonging to a man in a blue overall, echoed. He was part of those who greeted, but while the others were still in their bowing positions, he was already upright.

"Not now, Enrique. Save it for later." Storm responded in a nonchalant tone.

"This is important, Storm. It won't take much time. You need to see this." Another man, who just walked out of a small building by the gate, spoke, his voice, deeper and rougher than the others.

His words successfully made Storm halt, but he didn't turn around. "You better not waste my time, Seth."

Seth collected a large tablet from the first man called Enrique, then he marched toward Storm, coming to stand before him.

"This came in a few minutes ago," Seth uttered, then played the CCTV footage of a female thief pretending to be a vampire.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as they both watched the video and listened to the exchange of words.

"A vampire wannabe… I see…" Storm's voice echoed. "I think we found the first volunteer for our project. How long will it take you to find her?"

"A few hours, a day at most," Seth answered.

"Good. Find her and bring her to me."