C14 Leaving the Village Part 1

Clara walked quickly to her father's farm, so it took her only a short time to get there. Once there, she looked for the employee who fed her animal blood daily. The clerk frowned in surprise when he heard Clara ask for more blood. According to him, this was the first time Clara had asked for animal blood twice in one day, as this was not usually the case. But of course, he complied with the request of Clara, who was his employer's daughter.

Clara waited anxiously, giggling several times because she didn't see the clerk coming. When the employee finally appeared, Clara rushed up to him with a smile.

"Hm, Miss, how come you asked for animal blood twice when it's usually only in the morning?" the clerk asked when Clara stood before him.

"Y-Yes." That was Clara's only answer, and she was too confused to give a reason for this incident because there was no way she could tell the clerk the real reason.

"Oh, yes. Miss, I've always been curious. All this time you've been asking me to spare the blood of the animals slaughtered for you, what exactly is that for?"

Clara was taken aback. The clerk's question made her nervous and anxious at the same time. Her eyes darted back and forth as she searched for the proper excuse. "It's my business, please don't interfere. Just comply with my request," she said after she felt unsuccessful in finding the right reason to answer the question.

"Yes, Miss. I apologize for asking such a presumptuous question," the clerk said as he handed over the bag of cow's blood.

The farm slaughters animals daily because in addition to producing cow's milk and chicken eggs, the farm also produces chicken and beef for the Tussand Village market daily. The farm has been the Huston family's primary source of income for many years.

Clara accepted the bag and quickly returned to the cottage without wasting more time. There was only one thing on her mind now: to immediately give the blood to Cliff.

Arriving at the cottage, Clara's eyes rounded perfectly when she found the cottage door wide open. She cursed her carelessness for forgetting to lock the door. She ran into the cottage, her heart beating fast, hoping to find Cliff inside. But the bitter truth came to her when Cliff was nowhere to be seen inside the cottage.

"Cliff! Where are you, honey? It's Mommy. I've got food for you!" Clara shouted inside the cottage as she searched for Cliff's whereabouts. She looked in the bathroom, but Cliff was nowhere to be found. Looked under the table and the bed, hoping that Cliff might be hiding there, because she remembered that when Cliff was a child, he often did that to invite Clara to play. Her breathing became increasingly rapid when she did not find Cliff's figure in the places she had checked. The last time she looked in her closet, her eyes widened when she saw the state of her closet was very messy. She even noticed that some of her clothes were missing. Realizing that something terrible had happened, Clara ran away from the cottage. She thought of a place where Cliff might be.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the door of the Hustons' house open. She rushed into the house. She faintly heard a noise from the kitchen, immediately giving her a bad premonition.

Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw her father pointing a gun at something in the kitchen. Her eyes followed the direction of her father's gaze, and what she found made Clara almost unconscious from shock. She saw the figure of her son in the kitchen, snarling at her father, revealing sharp fangs with fiery red irises. Not far from Cliff, a middle-aged woman, who was none other than a servant in this house, crouched with both ears covered, looking shocked by the scene before her eyes.

Without saying a word, Clara ran into the kitchen. She stood before Cliff, blocking the son's body from the father's rifle, which could spit out bullets that could kill the son instantly.

"Clara, what are you doing? Get away from that thing!" shouted Harry angrily.

"Father, please don't kill him."

Harry frowned in surprise at Clara's behavior, trying to protect the dangerous creature suddenly entering his home, especially when he saw Clara tearfully pleading for the creature's safety.

"What are you doing? Why are you protecting it?!" Harry shouted again.

"He's your grandson, Dad. He's Cliff... my son," Clara replied quietly.

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief at Clara's answer. With just one glance at the teenage boy's form, Harry could already tell he wasn't human. Harry lowered the gun and left the kitchen without a word and seeing him relieved Clara. She was grateful that her father had granted her request and changed his mind about killing Cliff.

Clara turned her body to see her son's form. Her son was still growling, grinning and showing his fangs. Clara knew that Cliff's reaction was a form of fear because it was the first time he had been treated like this by someone else. She rubbed her son's face gently, trying to calm him down.

"Calm down, sweetheart. Mommy's here. No one is going to hurt you," Clara soothed with both hands that continued to caress Cliff's face.

"Miss Clara, don't go near him. He's dangerous. He just tried to bite me."

Clara turned to her servant with a shocked face. She couldn't believe that Cliff had almost killed her. She looked at the servant's finger, which seemed to have a few drops of blood. She understood why Cliff almost bit her. It must have been because Cliff smelled the servant's blood.

"He is harmless. He is my son. Auntie, leave here and treat the wound on your finger immediately."

"Very well, Miss."

The maid stood up immediately and left the kitchen without hesitation. In truth, she was already scared to death and wanted to get away from the creature she found so dangerous.

"Mother..."

Looking back at Cliff, Clara heard her son's voice calling her name. "Yes, dear. Why did you leave the hut and come to this house? I told you never to leave the cabin!" she snapped.

"I was bored and wanted to be free like everyone else."

That answer was enough to bring another round of tears to Clara's eyelids. She understood her son's plight. To Clara, it was natural for Cliff to want a simple thing called freedom, but at the same time, she realized that such a simple wish was impossible for her son to achieve.

"I'm sorry."

Those were the only words that came out of Clara's thin lips. Yes, only an apology was all she could give her son because the son's simple wish could not be granted at any time.

"Catch that thing and bind it!"

Clara was stunned when she heard her father yell, not realizing he was back in the kitchen. Behind her father, several of his servants burst into the kitchen with rope in their hands.

"What are you going to do? Don't hurt my son!"

Clara tried to block some of her father's employees from approaching Cliff. She stopped Cliff's body with hers, trying to protect her son.

"Clara, get out of the way. Get out of the way!"

Of course, Clara ignored him, even though her father repeatedly shouted at her, telling her to let some of her father's employees tie up Cliff's body. Annoyed by Clara's stubbornness, Harry walked over to Clara and grabbed her hand. He forcefully pulled Clara away from Cliff.

"Father, let me go. Please don't hurt him. He's your grandson, Dad," Clara pleaded plaintively, not forgetting the tears streaming down her face.

"He's not my grandson. He's a monster. What are you waiting for? Tie him up!" Harry ordered his servants. They immediately obeyed their employer's orders, approached Cliff, and prepared to tie him up.

The clever Cliff must have realized that he was in danger. He did not remain silent. He grinned and showed sharp fangs that made the adult men surrounding him shudder, even though some stepped back in fear of Cliff.

"Don't be afraid of him. He's just a 12-year-old kid. Catch him and tie him up!" added Harry, who seemed to have succeeded in eliminating the hesitation and fear in his employees. They approached Cliff, ignoring the fear of seeing a strange creature for the first time.

Cliff did not remain silent. He fought back by clawing at them with his fingernails, which had somehow grown longer by themselves. Perhaps his instinct as a vampire, able to sense danger around him, made one of his weapons to protect himself appear by itself.

Cliff managed to injure one of them, his claws causing a bleeding wound in the hand of one of them. The staff stepped back, hesitating to approach Cliff after seeing clear evidence that he was a very dangerous creature.

Harry was enraged at the sight of him, and his anger rose again. He picked up the gun again and intended to shoot Cliff a second time.