NAPE - 57

Bibi, limp with exhaustion, lay sprawled out, gasping for breath. Her mind was hazy. She couldn’t even tell where she was. She heard a rustling sound, and then a damp cloth touched her thigh. Doyoon had taken out a wet wipe from his backpack and was carefully cleaning her up.

Bibi blankly looked up at Doyoon, then raised her head as a thought flashed through her mind.

“Hey, you’re going to drink my blood now, right, Doyoon?”

“Huh?”

“Our hearts connected. You said you would then.”

Doyoon’s eyes widened. He made a slightly troubled expression, then gave a vague smile.

“Let’s talk about it later. More importantly, Bibi. Stay here quietly. Don’t come out of the tent.”

Doyoon quickly got up and went outside the tent. What was that about? Bibi tilted her head. She wasn’t sure if Doyoon was avoiding the topic or if he had something to do. Either way, she just waited, then got curious and poked her head out of the tent.

“Huh? How did this happen?”

A completely different scene unfolded before her eyes. The gloomy trees, which had been haphazardly covered in leaves, were now laden with large, white fruit. There was no way the seasons had suddenly changed. What was going on?

Bibi rubbed her eyes and looked closely, then realized what the fruit was. It wasn’t fruit. These white things hanging from the trees were… skulls.

Dozens of skulls hung around Bibi and Doyoon’s tent like apples. In the black darkness, the moonlit skulls exuded a very bizarre atmosphere. Their black, gaping eye sockets were empty, and their exposed jawbones looked like they would click and clack at any moment, making a mournful sound.

The grotesque scene made Bibi feel terrible. Who on earth had done this?

Who had quietly hung dozens of skulls on the trees around the tent without the two people inside noticing? If it was the work of a living being, how long had they been watching? Had they been silently following, crouching low among the dark trees?

A madman constantly circling the two people in the tent and hanging skulls one by one. The intention wasn’t pleasant at all.

“I knew someone had been following us since earlier.”

Doyoon seemed to have noticed that someone was lingering around them a while ago. He put a cigarette in his mouth with a troubled expression and lit it.

“Not even Christmas, but they sure decorated nicely.”

He was surprisingly calm in this bizarre situation. Seeing his composure calmed Bibi’s startled heart somewhat. Bibi wasn’t scared of skulls in the first place. Vampires rarely felt the fear of death.

“It’s probably a warning to get out of the forest.”

“…….”

“We don’t need to put it off until tomorrow. We’ll move a bit faster. Get on my back.”

Doyoon bent his knees and offered his back. Bibi wasn’t a weak human. Her thighs were still a bit numb, but it was just a minor annoyance, not a restriction on her movement. She shook her head, touching his shoulder with a look that said she was okay. Doyoon reluctantly stood up again.

“Bibi. Take this.”

Doyoon took out a shiny metal object from his chest pocket. Bibi, instantly recognizing what it was, made a sharp, vampire-like sound and jumped back. Something she hated to even look at. Something painful. It was a gun used by hunters. Just seeing it gave her chills and made her fearful.

Bibi hid behind a tree and shot Doyoon a look that pleaded for him to quickly get rid of it.

“It’s okay. Nothing to be scared of.”

Doyoon soothed the wary Bibi. He raised the muzzle of the gun upwards and slowly approached with one palm open. Bibi flinched, but she didn’t overreact like before. She trusted Doyoon. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her.

“I’m giving it to you just in case. Here.”

Doyoon held out the gun handle to Bibi. Bibi very cautiously extended her fingers. She flinched at the cold temperature of the metal but finally grasped it. The heavy weight sent a chill down her spine.

“From now on, this will be something that protects you.”

Doyoon fitted a holster onto Bibi’s thigh.

“Release the safety catch on this side and aim. When you’re ready to shoot, pull the trigger. Easy, right?”

It was a simple explanation. Of course, it was easy in words… but Bibi didn’t like the idea of carrying this thing on her body at all. Her whole body tensed up as if she had wrapped a venomous snake around herself. She wanted to throw it away right away, but she reluctantly nodded, knowing Doyoon would probably pick it up and give it back to her.

“You’re doing well.”

Doyoon patted Bibi’s shoulder encouragingly, seeing her endure something she disliked. He stared down at Bibi for a while, then suddenly opened his arms wide and hugged her tightly. It was a sudden hug, but his broad, warm chest felt good.

“Let’s go.”

Doyoon, looking satisfied with this, headed forward. The two didn’t use lights while walking through the dark forest. Vampires had no need for such tools.

They hiked for another couple of hours. They passed tree branches that stretched like ghostly hair and old tombstones, continuing to move forward. It smelled of earth everywhere, as if it had rained, and the air was damp. Dew clung to their boots with every step.

Reaching the top of a hill, the place they had been searching for finally appeared before their eyes. In the darkness, on a desolate plain, the abandoned monastery stood tall under the moonlight in an eerie state.

The monastery, standing alone in the barren field, was a hollow shell with only its skeletal structure remaining, like the bones of a fish. The roof was gone, as if it had been bombed. Only the gaunt frames and foundations made of elaborately stacked large stones, and arched pillars stood. Moss and bushes enveloped the blackening bricks like mold.

Bibi thought this abandoned monastery resembled her. A place that had existed for a long time but was never found by anyone. Desolate, weathered and worn in the long years, losing its original form, but still a tenacious life standing upright.

“Let’s go in.”

Doyoon stepped into the entrance first. Bibi followed. More than that, was it just her imagination? It looked like someone was standing in that window just now….

The inside of the monastery was empty. Coming inside, the gaze that had felt like it was following them in the forest felt even more intense. It felt like they were completely inside someone’s camera screen. Suppressing her discomfort, Bibi looked around more.

But there was nothing particularly noteworthy. There was nothing here. Not even an altar. Just low brick walls to separate the priests’ chambers.

Could the lineage creator Doyoon mentioned really be in a place like this? Had they perhaps made a wasted trip? Would they have to return without any results?

Bibi felt vaguely uneasy. Maybe she would continue to live without knowing who she was, why she ended up in the trainer’s hands and lived as a hunting dog. Trembling with the fear that the trainer might come looking for her….

The thought of facing the trainer scared her. Imagining him yelling at her as a traitor sent a shiver down her spine instinctively. Bibi now wanted to get out of this place.

She wanted to quickly return to the comfortable civilization. Isabel’s bedroom was fine, the hotel in London was fine, even the place she had lived in Seoul was fine. Anywhere but here would do.

“Doyoon. Let’s go now.”

Doyoon didn’t answer Bibi’s call. He was kneeling down, intently staring at a stone buried in the dirt floor. Only when she went over and tapped his shoulder did he finally raise his head.

“Just a moment. Look at this.”

He held up his palm, asking her to wait a bit. Helplessly, Bibi stood next to Doyoon and looked around. Clouds passed by, and the dimmed moonlight became intense again. The black shadows of the pillars became even darker. So dark that she was scared a monster might be living and breathing inside that black illusion.

“...Huh,”

Was it her imagination? For a moment, the shadow seemed to wriggle…. Just as Bibi, feeling puzzled, took a step forward,

“Bibi, get down!”

With Doyoon’s warning, the black shadow rose from the ground and began to rush towards them at a terrifying speed. Bibi was stunned by the unexpected event. She had no idea where to flee. That was because the sound of footsteps approaching her wasn’t just one. Shadows were instantly gathering from all directions.

“Run!”

Doyoon, who had approached in an instant, wrapped his arm around her waist. Though flustered, Bibi displayed excellent reflexes, leaping upwards from the ground with him.

Bang!

The black shapes covered the spot where they had been standing just moments ago. The two of them had managed to jump up at the last moment, avoiding the attack. Bibi and Doyoon took refuge by a window and then narrowed their eyes, closely examining the black mass that had attacked them.

What had attacked Bibi and Doyoon had vertically slit pupils like a snake and stark white fangs. A glimpse of a bumpy arm was visible through torn clothing. It looked like a demon…. Not just a shadow. What had attacked Bibi was a vampire like her.