Veins of Desire

CHAPTER 13

It was yet another day for Haliya with a headache and another place she didn't know where. She held the back of her head and touched a bandage. "Goodness! I'm so done!" She groaned and sat.

When Haliya lost consciousness, Xavier didn't know what to do. He was startled when Haliya touched his arms, and when she fell down, he didn't even catch her. She watched her fall to the ground and hurt her head once again. When they finished talking, they went straight to Quin's Mansion. Martin brought Haliya while Wendy tended to her needs and bandaged her wound.

"She had hit her head so many times. Beats me that she is still in her right mind," Wendy commented, looking at Haliya, peacefully sleeping. All the rage she had from her was gone after knowing from Martin that Haliya didn't actually ruin their plans since it was already ruined in the first place. They just didn't expect her to be there and have the most extraordinary blood scent they had ever smelled.

"Did Xavier figure out what she is exactly?" Wendy asked, facing Martin.

Martin sat quietly, remembering his conversation with Xavier. He told him about Haliya and how the venom reacted to her body. He had a hunch that Haliya was something extraordinary in her DNA, possibly because of the venom inserted in her body. "Either way, we have to figure out what it is since both could threaten our lives."

"We still don't know anything. He doesn't know too. She became one of our concerns, but it will be hard to figure out her case abruptly since we are onto the next step of our plan."

Ever since they got to the mansion, Xavier had been busy going around to look for possible supporters for their cause. He was also making time to figure out Haliya's case while letting Martin and Wendy rest for a while and connect everything they found at the hospital.

Haliya held her head and looked at her surrounding. The last time she woke up, she was in a room underground. But now, she was in a Victorian-style bedroom. She was on top of a huge bed with a heavy comforter. The room was spacious, but it had many furniture inside. There was a massive white cabinet plated in gold. A thick carpet covered the floor with a pattern of red flowers. There were two windows adjacent to one another. Curious, Haliya pushed herself to look out the window and saw the beautiful sea with seagulls flying around. It was an astonishing view like the place was a high-end hotel, and to have that scenery just beyond her window was extraordinary. Then, she moved to the other window and saw an extended field of greens and trees.

"Where am I this time?" Haliya huffed. She rechecked the whole room and noticed the chandelier adorned with crystals that had been shining since it was morning, and the sun had already set. She pondered what to do for a moment, feeling the softness of the carpet beneath her bare feet.

Afterward, Haliya saw a door and decided to go and check what was in there. She covered her mouth upon discovering the massive bathroom with complete toiletries. Using the mirror in there, she checked herself and made sure she didn't turn into something like Wendy. She was relieved to see that her eyes were still as beautiful as she remembered it, and her lips were just dry, but it was red, and she had no fangs. She also checked her nails and tried to scratch herself to see if it became longer.

"Where is she?!"

Wendy had the responsibility of checking up on Haliya, and even if she didn't want to, she had to since Xavier gave her the task. So when she found out that she was not lying on the bed, she was horrified. She ransacked the whole room immediately and then was only able to catch her breath when she found her in the bathroom, sticking her tongue out in front of the mirror.

"What are you doing?!"

Startled, Haliya's eyes widened, and she immediately shut her mouth close. "Where am I?" She asked Wendy. "What's the day today? What time is it? Can I go home now?"

Wendy shook her head. "You're at Quin's Mansion. It's Friday, around ten in the morning. No, you can't go home. Not now, not anymore." She rolled her eyes and pulled Haliya back to the bedroom.

"Friday?" Haliya's eyes widened even more. "But! It was just Monday yesterday!"

Wendy shook her head. "Stupid. It was Thursday yesterday. You're unconscious for three days. We brought you to the underground base by Monday evening, and we were attacked by midnight and fled here early Tuesday."

Haliya's mind got confused for a second. "My mother! I have to leave! She's probably looking for me!"

True to Haliya's statement, Vivianne was indeed looking for her.

Vivienne was worried about Haliya since she wasn't home for three days. As a mother, she cannot help but overthink where Haliya had gone because she was unlikely to leave without telling where she would go. Haliya was a kind and understanding daughter, too understanding for her sometimes that she couldn't understand what was really going on inside her head.

Just when a day Haliya was gone, she could not wait for her any longer. She tried going to Haliya's friends, asking if they had seen her, she also tried going to the hospital, but then they told her she was not there. She feels like going crazy. First, her husband left without saying anything; now, it was her daughter. She was devastated. Tears ran down her eyes as she sobbed in between her breaths. But she knew she had to be strong, she had to trust her daughter, and she just had to believe that she would come back to her.

Vivianne couldn't eat properly in the three days that Haliya was gone. She had already filed for a missing report, but there was still no update from the authorities. Her daily routine was home, salon, and random places she thought Haliya would be. But three day days had passed very slowly for her, and there were still no signs of Haliya.

The other people in the salon were worried about Vivianne's condition. They already printed pamphlets to post anywhere they would go just to help her. They also asked every customer if they had seen the girl in the picture.

"She works at Johnsen Hospital?" One of the customers said. Vivienne nodded, continuously blow-drying the hair of the woman that spoke. "You know, that hospital had started to creep me out ever since they became the largest hospital in the City."

Vivianne's keenly listened to the woman.

"Before, it was just small, the service was good, and there was no bad news about that hospital. But as it grew, there were many rumors about that hospital. They say it is haunted. Some said that there is an anomaly going in there. Lost staffs, questionably claimed dead bodies, sudden deaths of patients."

Vivianne felt like the oxygen in her body did not reach her head. She almost fainted and held onto the customer's chair for support. She didn't want to be paranoid, but she would surely go back to that hospital and find out where her daughter was!