Harker quickly held Mina's hand. "Stay close to me. Something's not right, this hospital has a generator even for incidents like this. "
Mina's fangs instinctively got out at the first sign of danger. "Maybe the lights will go on eventually but…. I don't like this feeling I have. I can smell something strange."
Harker can smell it too. And not just figuratively. There was a sort of acrid and earthy smell wafting its way towards them. The cold breeze outside was beginning to slowly slip in since the air conditioning and ventilation controls had also died. The people around them were in a state of panic.
"Does anyone have a flashlight!?"
"Mama!!!! Papa!!! Wahhh!!!"
"Everyone please calm down! The generator may just be taking a while to operate, I'm sure this is just a brief interruption and the power will come back soon!"
Mina and Harker made their way in the dark through their enhanced senses. Harker doesn't exactly have night vision, but Mr. Xi's perception was very high as a Snake demon. He can instead sense the thermal energies so he doesn't bump with anyone.
Mina does almost the same thing by detecting vibrations and air movements just as fishes do underwater. They managed to breeze past the people and had reached an empty hallway leading to the Intensive Care Unit.
"The smell is getting stronger." Harker said. "Hold on, I will reach out with my hair to see if there's something else."
Harker was glad that he had eaten a piece of Mr. Xi's heart earlier ever since Chloe lost consciousness. He doesn't know why, but he had a bad feeling. And his intuition might be right seeing that the electricity in the hospital and nearby areas just got cut off.
He extended his hair in the dark, reaching out to the windows and doors as well. It was crazy how he could still have that thermal sensing in his hair strands alone with the Enhanced Snake Ability.
"Dad and the boys seem to be moving away from Chloe's room. They came from there, and now the boys are pushing him out. Listen, I could actually hear his voice a little."
Mina pressed her ear to the walls. "He's looking for doctors or anyone with a flashlight. He's worried that the loss in electricity might affect Chloe's condition."
Harker realized that he must have gained some of Mina's superior hearing after that…. very sensual kiss. But it was much less now that time had passed, and he's not as good at detecting and making out voices than she was.
They went to Chloe's room by following the hair's path. Harker then transformed it back to normal, as he approached the room with an open window.
It was a full moon, and it directly shone over Chloe's bed. His sister was asleep, as pale as the moonglow. It was like all her life had been drained of her body….
And made her a corpse.
But Harker can sense that she was still alive. He went by her side, wishing he could ease her suffering. To wake her up….
"She looked like she won't be waking any time soon. And whatever this dangerous situation is, I need to get her out of here. All of them." Harker thought. "The machine was still running in residual power. But if the electricity doesn't go back soon, it might go off."
"What should we do?" Mina asked worriedly.
Harker bit his thumb. He was so anxious that he bit too hard, and his mouth was filled with that iron taste of blood.
His eyes widened in realization.
"Chloe and I have the same blood type…..."
Mina's blue eyes also slowly enlarged. "Are you…. Are you sure you want to do this? You're going to give her your Shapeshiting Ability?"
"Just a little bit, so she would heal her wounds and wake up." Harker told her. "But I don't know if she will suffer the same way as your transformation. She's human like me, and our blood is compatible. So hopefully it will have better results…."
Mina looked unsure, but took something from the bag she was carrying. She pushed aside the small metal flask of blood that Roland left for her so she could inject it to herself tomorrow morning, and took the syringe.
"I hope she does get better." She said.
As she handed the syringe to Harker, she squeezed his hand a bit to comfort him.
Harker's gaze softened. "Me too."
He found his median cubital vein, and took 5ml of blood from there. Unsure if it was enough, he took a bit more to become 10ml. He then went on Chloe's side….
And injected some of his demon lord blood to his sister.
There was no reaction at first. Then…..
Chloe started convulsing again, her eyes opening to reveal pure white.
"Her condition's getting worse!" Harker exclaimed. "We need to call a doctor!"
He rushed out to the door, full of regret for taking the risk. He never should have done it. He should have just taken the safe route of taking Chloe to another hospital, but….
The true reason why he wanted to try it was because he wanted to know if his blood could cure her lupus disease.
It was his curiosity that caused his sister's detriment.
He sensed someone walking in the hallway about 50 meters away, and he hoped it was a doctor. He was about to call out when—
"Harker?"
He stopped, unsure whether it was really his sister's voice that he heard.
"Who are you?" He heard it again. Chloe was now awake!
He rushed back into the room, and there she was, looking at Mina. She had sat up, and color had returned to her cheeks. She was frowning at the blonde girl.
"You look familiar…. Have we met before?" Chloe asked skeptically.
"I'm Roland's cousin." Mina told her. "Mina Murray."
"So you must be from the mother's side…. You're not George Gordon Faust's daughter, are you?" The 10 year old girl scowled at the name.
Mina shook her head. "No. Who is that?"
Harker rushed to his sister's side and embraced her. "Chloe! I'm so glad you're awake!"
"Harker…. I feel weird. I felt like I had drunk too many sodas and now I can't go to sleep. I can sense….weird things." His sister looked really uncomfortable with her new abilities. "How did I know you were outside when it's really dark and I can't see you?"
Harker shook his head. "It's nothing, Chloe. It will be gone soon. We need to get you, the boys and Dad out of here, I have a bad feeling…"
Chloe clutched his sleeve. "Me too. Harker, you need to know about G.G. Faust. I think he had placed a curse on a letter he gave Mom, and I have read—"
They suddenly heard footsteps.
They were very slow footsteps, possibly 4-5 people. It was hard to be sure, because Harker could not sense much of their body temperature. Was it because of the walls? Because if not….
Their bodies must be abnormally cold.
"Grraa…." The three of them had heard low groans and moans from these people.
Suddenly, it seemed that the whole hospital was filled with this ragged wailing. The rancid stench was unbearable now, and…..
Soon, someone stood at the door. It was the one that Harker had sensed earlier.
This person….
Was a man who's half of his face was completely rotten, with worms and bugs swimming in his flesh. He was wearing a black suit, like he had just attended a funeral….
Or more accurately, that he had his own funeral just recently.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l