The Red Rose

Chapter VII

We set out at dusk and began to venture into the desert. Juanpi seemed to be testing some kind of binoculars, and Sebastian had a camera. Both of them carried a pair of compressed air pistols and a rifle of the same style.

Sebastian recounted how he used to enjoy hunting animals with slingshots when he was little. As they began exploring caves, mines, and abandoned houses, carrying compressed air pistols was a good way to deter any crazy person who might try to attack them without resorting to lethal weapons; neither of them knew how to handle firearms.

"I always have to keep an eye on this goofball because he gets distracted trying out the gadgets he buys online," Sebastian complained.

Juanpi mentioned that they had kinetic, heat, and infrared cameras. He also had what seemed to be an electromagnetic field meter.

"We won't need this one here, I think," he said.

Along the way, we spoke with one of the locals, who told us his story on his small, humble farm. Sebastian thought it would be a good idea to make online videos to get views, but Juanpi hated the tedious work of editing and valued his anonymity. I realized this because he always used aliases, hardly ever gave out numbers, used fake accounts, and kept his social media private.

"Miguel, tell us if you feel something; we're gradually entering the zone," Sebastian said.

The last sighting seemed to have come from the outskirts of a bay called "Cifuncho," which was popular for camping. According to witnesses, a humanoid being walking on all fours and very thin was seen, and this being was already beginning to show interest in the people camping at night, which is why Juanpi asked me to deal with the chupacabras first.

"Haha, look at the ghostbuster!" Sebastian said, seeing Juanpi with the rifle and what appeared to be night vision binoculars; it seemed the binoculars were a bit too big for him.

"Shut up and check the perimeter with the camera Slimer, or I'll tell Miguel about your Carmilla's fan arts," Juanpi replied to Sebastian.

"Oh, look at this guy! Are you trying to be funny? Nothing personal, Micky, just art. Okay?" Sebastian joked, looking at me; I just laughed.

Sebastian had a professional video camera. He used it to record himself playing the guitar, but since it had a night mode, it was perfect for long distances.

"Alright, no worries, I'll grab some beers and we'll make a bonfire," Sebastian said, opening a can.

While we were making the bonfire, Juanpi told me about what he had been investigating on his computer.

"When you told me about the emails from Carmilla and that guy Dragon, it all seemed very familiar. The guy must have known too much, and I started digging deeper. On a deep web forum, I found some kind of copies of those same letters; it seems like they had been found and archived in a museum, and some museum worker took photos of them and leaked them. Miguel, they left nothing of you, nothing at all. If you traveled to the past, they made sure to clean up everything, out of fear of that Dragon guy. Do you know why?"

I paused and replied, "He seemed interested in my blood. Somehow he knew that the interaction between my blood and Carmilla's, and her blood, altered my system, nullifying my invulnerability and allowing her to drink my blood."

Sebastian had already lit the fire, and we sat down. Then he added, "Wow, Miguelito, what else might she have drunk from you, tough guy? Hope she didn't got chest bursted!

Juanpi replied, shaking the cold beer can as he explained, "Come on, Seba, this is serious! Miguel almost died of tuberculosis."

As he opened the can, the agitated beer sprayed towards the fire, instantly extinguishing it.