Re-Vamp

Chapter 24: Investigation

"A barter?" Without understanding what the little boy was referring to, Lola raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with horror and disbelief at the child's words. Again, she remembered what she had listened to, a moment ago. A chill ran down her spine thinking about what he was implying.

"Destroyed... some men? With his hands and mouth?" she repeated in a thin voice, feeling her pulse quicken.

Arturo nodded solemnly, not taking his innocent gaze off her.

"Yes, with his big hands like this," he gestured as if tearing something apart. "And with his long teeth. Ar is a very strong monster who protects Juana and me."

Lola was struck speechless, the words caught in her throat. Could that...being that had left the chilling "offering" at her house be the same "friend" the little boy was talking about? It couldn't be true, there had to be a mistake, it must...

"Arturo, sweetheart. How long have you been with that... Arnaud?" Juana asked at that moment, her expression darkening.

The boy tilted his little head, pensive.

"Hmmm since he took me out of the village where I lived before," he replied simply. "He took care of me and brought me things to eat when I was alone. We slept during the day in a den underground because he can't go out in the sun."

Lola let out a muffled exclamation upon hearing that last part, memories of the fantasy books she read as a child swirling in her mind.

"He can't go out in the sun? Please..." She stood up abruptly. "Then you're going to tell me that this Arnaud is... a vampire?!"

Arturo blinked in confusion at hearing her, tilting his head without understanding that term. Instead, Juana paled suddenly, arriving at the same realization.

"Oh, Virgin Mary..." she murmured, raising a hand to her chest. "Explain everything Arturo, what else have you seen of this Arnaud?"

The boy shrank slightly at their reactions, frowning in bewilderment.

"Well Ar is my friend. He saved me when they killed grandma Maria and stayed with me because I didn't have anyone else," he explained with a dismayed look. "Sometimes he growls a lot and only eats raw meat when he's hungry or talks weird, but he would never hurt me..."

Lola shook her head, both shudder and disbelief in her expression.

"No, Arturo. That's no friend, he's a lunatic, a degenerate who drinks blood and... thinks he's a vampire!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists.

The boy frowned, wrinkling his little nose indignantly at the woman's words.

"That's not true! Ar is not a degererade, he always protects me!" he rebuffed stubbornly. "He killed the men who killed grandma Maria because they're evil!"

Juana hurried to intervene, placing a hand on the little boy's shoulder in a conciliatory gesture.

"Shh, there, there honey. We mustn't get so upset, you have to understand this is for your own good," she told him gently. She looked up at her friend with an urgent gesture. "Lolita, try to calm down. I don't deny that this... Arnaud could be dangerous from what Arturo tells us. But we can't jump to conclusions, maybe he has an explanation for his behavior, maybe he was born..."

Lola could not believe what she was hearing, pursing her lips as she shook her head frantically.

"How can you justify him, Juana? That spawn could have hurt us and I don't know why he didn't!" she shouted with growing hysteria. "He's a sicko who tore those men apart with bites, Arturo himself said so!"