The Red Rose

Chapter XIII

I quickly burst out while Juanpi and Sebastian jumped, unable to keep up with my movements with their eyes. Desperately, I looked from side to side in the alley and subtly sensed the scent. I was sure that at least one vampire was close to where we lived.

I calmed down, closed my eyes, didn't hear any buzzings, but did hear certain subtle murmurs of the sea wind, telling me where I needed to go.

Juanpi and Sebastian burst out towards the door and looked at me, quite alarmed. Sebastian asked, almost demanding an explanation:

"What the hell is going on? Come on, Micky, say something!" Juanpi also seemed to insist on an explanation.

I deliberated whether I should go or not, whether I should leave them or not. Juanpi broke the uncomfortable silence that increased as I thought about what to do:

"Come on, Micky, this is something that concerns all of us."

I took a breath and decided that yes, Juanpi was right, this was something that affected all of us, so I confessed:

"I smelled a vampire nearby, it's subtle, but I can sense it. My sixth sense also tells me where it went; it seems like it hasn't left for a long time."

Sebastian went inside and while searching for things shouted:

"Grab the keys, the weapons, and the flashlights! Let's go! To the jeep, my bloodsucker hunters!"

With UV flashlights, machetes, the Gram sword and other gear, we all got into the jeep. While I stuck my head out trying to follow the scent, Sebastian drove and Juanpi seemed to adjust two flashlights, one in front and the other behind a helmet he was wearing. He also wore thick clothing and was covering his neck with some sort of plastic, looking like some kind of miner mixed up with a baseball player with plastic armor.

Sebastian looked at him and simply shook his head, then asked me:

"Which way, my bloodhound?"

"Turn here, and then right!" I said.

We went through several alleys, then gradually left the town, beginning to enter the nocturnal desert:

"And now, Firulais?" He asked again.

"Straight, on the main road!" I insisted. And while Sebastian accelerated, I began to smell a strange burning odor.

"Turn now! Follow those car tracks!" I exclaimed.

Suddenly, Sebastian made a sharp turn, causing Juanpi to be thrown to the right of the back seat and hit the seat door, unharmed but with a comical sound.

"Ouchi!" He smiled, with his feet in the air.

The burning smell grew stronger and mixed with the sweet, familiar scent of a vampire. Sebastian accelerated, and the jeep began to bounce across the desert as we passed over rocks. Seeing a steep hill, he smiled and said:

"Hold on, my brave ones, we're going up!"

The jeep started climbing the steep hill, and I held on from the top of the car, keeping my head outside. Juanpi was bouncing around in the back seat like a ping pong ball, looking like a stuffed toy inside a washing machine.

As we neared the top, we saw a light that looked like dawn, but it was still 3 AM.

"We're almost there, my dear Firulais!" Sebastian shouted as he shifted gears and pressed the accelerator. Reaching the top, we could see what was emitting the light behind the hill.

"Whaa, what the hell?" Murmured Sebastian.

We both recognized the car; it was the same strange car that the two tourists, who I was sure were vampires, had been traveling in across the desert. The color, the peculiar black windows, the wheels for desert travel, everything. The car was completely on fire.

Juanpi finally emerged from the back compartment and said:

"I think I'm going to vomit... I'm going to open the window for some fresh air."

Juanpi stuck his head out, and Sebastian and I decided to get out of the car, keeping a safe distance.

"Let's not get too close yet, Micky. The car might explode..."

And just as he said, the car exploded in flames while Juanpi vomited behind the jeep. After waiting a moment, we slowly approached the scene, illuminating it with UV flashlights, with Sebastian carrying a fire extinguisher.

As we reached the area, I sensed the characteristic smell of a vampire, growing stronger as we neared the still-burning car.

A few meters away, I tried to focus more on the scents I was detecting and recognized the smell of both vampires, the girl and the guy from the inn where I had been with Sebastian.

"Look, guys, down there. Isn't that a...?" Said Sebastian, astonished.

"A head..." Murmured Juanpi, covering his mouth.

We got closer, and it was the guy's head. It appeared partially scorched on one cheek, and his expression was one of complete shock. To confirm, I took one of the flashlights and pointed it at him; his face began to burn quickly.

"Well, the UV lights seem to work," said Juanpi, gagging occasionally.

"They were actually definitely vampires, but who could have done this?" I wondered aloud, examining the deep scratches in the car, like claws , and while Juanpi covered his nose, Sebastian said:

" Or what? We're going to find out."

He then started using the fire extinguisher on the car, quickly putting out the flames. I understood he wanted to extract some information from the car, perhaps documents or a particular object, and while he was doing that, I realized also there were holes, like someone would have punched it hard through.

"Maybe I can see the manufacturing of the parts, or we can find out where it comes from by the license plate."

I thought it was a good idea, but I was really intrigued by who could have killed this couple, and at night.

Once the flames were out, Sebastian began inspecting the engine and parts. Juanpi was taking photos of the license plate and scanning the surroundings with his special binoculars. I got inside the car to see if anything had survived, while still trying to pick up any strange scent or texture that might lead to the killer of this vampire couple.

"Miguel..." Juanpi said, looking back at the burnt head of the vampire. "Is this the natural speed at which vampires burn?"

I frowned and watched what he was doing. The vampire's head was indeed burning very quickly, almost like a powder keg igniting.

"While they are weak to UV light, it seems this one is particularly sensitive. I don't remember seeing them burn so fast. It could be due to the direct exposure of the flashlight, I'm not sure."

Juanpi started thinking and said to me, "Could it be that there are vampires with different properties or natures? After all, each folklore has its own interpretation."

"Hmm..." I thought. "I don't know. All the ones I've seen seemed to have the same smell and relatively similar characteristics, but maybe there are... grades?"

As I continued searching, I accidentally touched the burnt arm of the vampire woman:

"Gross..." It turned to dust at the touch.

Sebastian laughed and said, "Barbecue, ready to savor, hahaha!"

In the end, we didn't find much. There were no documents or anything that could have been salvaged. Finally, we got back into the jeep and headed home. Looking at the stars, I began to recap all the smells emanating from the car—the typical sweet floral smell of vampires, the burnt smell of flesh and metal. But then I recognized a strange scent, a weird mix, a smell that seemed similar to honey and intertwined with the sweet scent of the vampires.