I FALL IN LOVE WITH THE VAMPIRE KING'S DAUGHTER

Chapter 1 - 2

I feel confused by the incident that I just experienced. My head turned in all directions to see if the old man was still on the bus, but I still couldn't find it. What I couldn't help but think was the atmosphere inside the bus which had looked very quiet and I was the only passenger with the old man a while before but turned into busy and full of passengers in the blink of an eye. No matter how many times I try to think about it, there is no other possibility that I can conclude other than that it was just a dream, maybe it was a strange dream that happened because I was too anxious. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep again and forget about the strange incident that had just happened before.

A ticket clerk woke me up after the bus arrived at its destination, New York City. I stretched my legs a little before stands up and getting off the bus, I arrived in New York City just when the daylight turned into night. This is the first time I set my foot in this city, the sparkling splendor of the city makes me, who for a lifetime only see the simplicity of the suburbs, feel amazed and fascinated. In my heart, I thought that there would be many opportunities that I could get here and was certain that I would succeed here.

The first thing I went to was an inn with weekly rent that I had ordered via the internet a day before. I looked into the digital map on my cellphone to find out which direction I should walk and how far away I should walk from where I was right now. It turned out that the distance was quite far, about 20 minutes on foot. Well, it doesn't matter to me either, I can walk while enjoying the bustling city atmosphere at night.

The atmosphere in the city is very different from the countryside. If in the village at this hour you can be sure that the streets are deserted and it will be like a dead city at midnight, but this city is still very crowded even though it is nighttime and I'm sure this city is fully alive at night, 24 hours nonstop. The tall buildings that I only saw on my cellphone or television were now plastered in front of me, so extraordinary. I couldn't help wondering how someone could have enough money to build tall buildings like this, and it wasn't just one or two, but there were hundreds of buildings in this city. Maybe it's because I'm an old-fashioned kid from the suburbs that trivial things like this still amaze me as well as curiosity.

I've walked a few blocks and haven't been feeling tired at all. My friends are often amazed because my vitality and stamina are so different from them, in all physical sports, I will always be able to beat them easily. My body is like a teenager in general, not too tall neither too big, but somehow my physique is much stronger than other people. My athletic teacher once did some physical tests on me and she was surprised because my physical ability was comparable to an Olympic athlete and I was still a teenager at that time and I was still holding back. My teacher recommended I enter a special training camp for talented students but I do not agree with that idea, I prefer to live close to my family rather than going far away to be quarantined in a special school. Sometimes I regret my decision, maybe by now I have become a famous athlete and won several Olympic medals if I take my teacher's advice. But never mind, I have to keep looking ahead, there's no use burdening myself with something from the past, I'm sure I can achieve success with my own hands. 

There's only one block left before I get to the inn I booked, the Dandelion Inn, that's the name on the internet. I continued walking normally and see a Caucasian man with a headcover and a thick jacket standing under the lamppost and he looked strangely at me. I pretend not to see him but he just keeps his eyes on me, and actually, it's not just this Caucasian guy who looks weirdly at me, at least three people including him have been staring weirdly at me since I got off the bus and walked up here.

Negative thoughts began to haunt my mind, what if they were people with bad intentions? Robber or even worse, whatever it is I still have to be on guard. I often hear news about violence and crime in big cities which is in stark contrast to the countryside conditions which are calm and peaceful, now my intuition automatically tells me to walk faster and avoid this caucasian man, somehow he looks like someone thirsty for blood.

I accelerated my footsteps faster to get me as far as possible from the caucasian man. When I was quite far from the suspicious man I take a peek at the man's position and he was still standing under the lamppost looking at me from a distance which makes me even more sure that he wanted something from me. I only brought a little pocket money that was given by my uncle, do I look like a person with lots of money? Or maybe I look like someone new to town? The second possibility makes more sense because I've been walking curiously looking around the city and taking some selfies, maybe they know that I'm new to this city from my behavior earlier. Hopefully, I'm not a target for robbery or any crime.

I looked back at the caucasian man but he was not there under the lamppost where he stood earlier, I was a little shocked and tried to look around but I could not find it either. I guess that he had gone to the side of the building behind him when I looked away earlier, but it turned out that my guess was wrong, he was already in front of me. I was surprised because in the blink of an eye he could be in front of me, even if he ran earlier I should be able to see it, how strange, that's what I thought.

"Hello newbie, you're new in this city, right?" That caucasian man asked me.

There was a little feeling of fear inside of me, but I was able to get over it soon. I'm sure with the physical advantages that I have I can fight this guy if he attacks me, even several people at once I'm still sure I can win.

"Yes, as you can see I am amazed by this city." I answered the question casually.

"What's your name, son? Where do you come from?" that man asked again, it's a bit strange that he asked all of this but I tried to think positively that he was just trying to be social and friendly.

"My name is Aaron, err… Aaron Knightley, from Pawling." I lied a little about my name, no problem in my opinion.

“Ah, Pawling, it's not too far from this city but it's your first time here, right? My name is Dred by the way. " that person still kept asking.

"Yeah, I'm homesick so I can't get too far away from home," I just made up my answer. "Okay, sir, can I excuse you first? I have to go now." I tried to close this small talk.

"Yes, of course, of course, sorry for interrupting your time, young man. Ah, I have a little advice for you, you better be careful at night, never walk alone in a lonely place around here. Okay, I hope you are safe and enjoy your time here, Son. " Dred gave me some advice, and I gladly took it.

"Sure, Dred, thanks for the advice, and goodbye." I thank him for his advice.

I thought if maybe Dred was warning me about the criminals who often commit crimes at night in this city, and I think if that was a good thing. When I walked past him, he whispered something that took me aback.

"Watch out for the Night Walker." Dred said softly next to my ear that I almost can't hear it.

"Yes, what?" I asked to make sure I heard his words correctly.

"No, it's okay, I mean be careful with criminals who often act at night, okay goodbye." Dred said while walking in the opposite direction I was going.

That's weird, I'm sure he whispered about the Night Walker. Wait a minute, didn't the old man in my dream said the same thing? To be careful with the Night Walker? I was confused if that was a dream or not, I still have doubts. When I was about to ask Dred again, he had disappeared again and this time he does not come back to me even though I stood still for a while.