Chapter 10
The long footsteps clad in black pipe pants walked quickly; now and then, he looked behind him, worried that his face would be the target of another vampire. His breath rose and fell to the rhythm of his veins flowing so fast that a fight like yesterday would happen again. Moreover, yesterday, Stella killed and burned two vampires' bodies without feeling guilty.
William's antique watch hand shows eleven o'clock at night. The streets were a bit quiet even though the barking of the guard dogs could be heard shouting at each other. The moonlight seemed too shy to reflect its perfect light. William hoped that the moon would dim for a while if he remembered Stella's story about the peak strength of the vampires.
While looking for a solution to hide Stella's identity, William took the fox girl to hide in a small room in a church building far from the city center. The older man was sure that vampires would fear the holy place where God was.
The sharp-nosed girl who had saved his life was forced to be locked in the room, giving an understanding that the outside world was not safe, especially his status as a human who had just risen from the dead. It is so taboo and strange for some modern humans. Armed with a razor and holy water in a bottle, William took a bus to the library in downtown Hobart.
At least, he believes that vampires are humans who shouldn't be in the middle of life. They are just a group of dead people whose lives cannot enter the afterlife, so they seek peace by haunting and sucking human blood. Hence, the holy water from this church must have made them hot.
William's mind was divided; he didn't expect a creature that only existed in children's story books to appear before him. Like a dream, everything felt real; the image of the red eyes at the corner of the road was still so clear in William's head.
He shook his head; ancient stories about vampires and foxes from various countries were well known, but how could they appear and mingle with humans so quickly, especially vampires—anti-sun creatures that had survived until now? Why don't humans hunt and destroy these creatures? Why must there be an agreement between pure and supernatural humans when human life is tough?
The Bus that took him stopped at a bus stop, and William got off immediately; the Tasmanian public library was quite far from Stella's hiding place in the church. The sun, which began to crawl up the crown, made William chase with time. He tightened his jacket; the cold air of late autumn seemed to want to envelop his thin body. William hurried up, one step at a time, and greeted the librarian he knew when he brought Jessica here.
"Hey, long time no see," said the white-haired man with a big smile, shaking William's hand. "How are you, dude?"
"Good. I'm fine," William replied. "I'm a bit of a race against time, Hayley; see you next time."
Before the man called Hayley answered, William stepped into the most extensive library in Hobart, which was always busy on Sundays. He looked up, reading the signboards and looking for where to find the history and mythology bookshelves. His body moved to the left, tracing the towering bookshelves up to the ceiling of the vast library. Several children were seen climbing a ladder, looking for the books they wanted. William was silent, but his eyes did not stop to trace the book he was looking for.
For nearly three hours, William wrestled with hundreds of mythological books. None explained how to make a supernatural being disguised as a human. He almost gave up; most of the thick books only explained history and facts, including how to kill them in the past.
While propping his chin, William thought again; his eyeballs accidentally caught a book thick enough to be on the top right side of the mythology bookshelf. He stood up and climbed the wooden ladder carefully. The book looks very worn, every sheet of paper looks yellow, and the cover seems fragile. William hesitated, but this was a last resort, considering the title alone intrigued him. Carefully and slowly,
William's right hand took the book; he almost staggered backward as he pulled it. Fortunately, William's balance is still good in old age.
"Lucky," William muttered as he hugged the book and descended the stairs.
He looked left and right, ensuring his surroundings were safe, considering that the mythological and historical shelves were crowded with students. William stepped towards the corner of the forget-read with caution. He turned again with an irregular heartbeat, following the strings of words in the book's title.
Fifth-century Herbology and Mythology.
Simple title, William thought he opened, frail, yellowed booked. The smell was very damp and unpleasant, but reading the list of contents neatly laid out there made William's smile widen. He opened a chapter explaining supernatural life among humans, with illustrations drawn directly by the author's hand.
They disguise themselves as humans with some of the natural ingredients in the world. This is done to mingle and examine human social life even though, in the end, the humans themselves will be the targets. Not all supernatural beings use their human form to harm the human world; some find a better life.
A fox clan is a supernatural grsocializedlize with humans. With the help of their ancestors, they concocted a potion that would keep them going for about six months during the transition period at the full moon.
William smiled proudly, his heart filled with joy; being here for so many hours was not in vain. The ingredients listed there were easy enough for him to get; at least he could mix them up better than making a waffle. He rushed with the book and brought the hope that he would be the savior of both.
Stella set foot wrapped in brown boots in a place where many strange things had wings but were so stiff. The humans walked briskly carrying black boxes, their fair skin slightly flushed and thick, layered clothes. Now and then, a woman's voice echoes, making some humans step into one of the passages towards the winged object.
Stella was stunned to see objects painted in various colors carrying humans flying across the horizon, even though they weren't birds. William told her that the vehicle humans ride to travel far away through the air and the clouds airplane. Stella nodded enthusiastically to her that human does look bright. Unfortunately, some take advantage of their intelligence to extort other lives.
She still remembers when she was a child when she heard bangs and even screams from humans with rifles they called pistols. She doesn't know which god has possessed the human soul; when they quickly kill the fox, the father and mother can only stay in their hiding place.
“We can't go against pure human strength. They are too strong and cunning. If they know we can change shape like them, I'm sure humans will further deceive all of us for their benefit," said Julius Rogers, Stella's father, when he moved his habitat to the forest's interior.
Her slanted eyes stared at the sky that was so bright through the thick glass wall. From here, she could see the giant bird machines lined up and some flying away from where she stood. Inside, Stella wondered where fate would take her now. Leave their habitat and meet a new place that is so foreign. For a moment, she missed her family in silence.
Would this story still be the same if there was a father and mother? Thought Stella.
"Stella," William called, breaking the girl's reverie. "You must wear this."
William gave Stella a pair of sunglasses. The girl frowned while adjusting the position of her head cover, which William called a hat. He lowered his head, then whispered into the older man's right ear and asked,
"What is this thing?"
William held back his laughter for the umpteenth time. "These are glasses. To discover your of your eyes.” Then William helped put glasses on Stella's face.
"Why is everything dark, William?" screamed Stella frantically. “William, help me!”
William couldn't help but laugh out loud, making some people look at them strangely. William cleared his throat momentarily, then whispered, "Because it's made like that, they don't know that your eyes are different."
"Oh yeah, where are we going to live?"
“Rotorua. We'll live there, and you'll learn everything I know before you go to school."
"School? I don't think it's bad,” Stella said enthusiastically as she exited the airport.