The moment I stepped into the church... I felt a bit unwell. It wasn't that the church itself was affecting me. No, it was just me. Back in my world, we also have churches. Their job is to recruit more priests and hunters, who will fight against us. They are bestowed with holy powers, which are the weakness of a vampire... but not mine. Why? We will talk about it later.
Footsteps echoed softly against the cold floor as we walked inside. The door itself was a reminder of how old the church was. A faint, stale smell of the wood made it evident. Also, the benches were made up of the same wood.
"How old is this place? Didn't they ever thought of renovating this place?" I asked.
Nathan replied, "It's apocalypse, Master. I don't think anyone has time to think about renovating this place."
"Call me by my name for the given time. Both of you. I think we have company," I whispered, low enough for them to hear.
"There are people here?" hissed Leonard.
I moved my fingers over the wooden benches before sitting on one of them. "Sit here," I ordered.
Before they could move, a voice made its presence known.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" A man around his 50s, was glaring at us with a gun in his hands. He was wearing a priest's robes and a cross was hanging on his neck. Along with him, there were two more priests who were looking at us with suspicion.
I stood up and said, "We are here to seek cover for a night, Father."
The man lowered his gun. His expression softened softly. He asked, "And you are?"
"Valeria Cooper, Father," I lied.
The man nodded, "I am Father Killian." He pointed at the men one by one and introduced them.
"Introduce yourselves," I whispered.
Nathan straightened his collar and opened his mouth. "My name is Nathan, Father. It's nice to meet you."
"My name is Li... Leonard. We are very grateful that you lowered your guns," joked Leonard.
"Young man, it's not a joke. We might have shot you," said Father Holler. He had a very serious look on his face. His moustache was too big, even big for his face.
Father Ozef asked, "Any of you infected?"
"They don't seem to be," said Father Killian.
Shaking my head, I replied, "We are not, Father. God has been kind enough to us! Because of him, we are still unaffected."
A soft smile spread across Father Killian's face. He asked, "You think this apocalypse is God's work?"
"Punishment, Father," I corrected him.
He nodded slowly and said, "You have a good eye, Valeria. No many humans believe that this is our lord's punishment for us. They call it a 'virus.' How could they?! They still don't understand!"
Father Ozef put his hands over his shoulders to calm him down.
"You can stay with us for the time being. There are many people like you, who are leaving here," said Father Holler.
Father Killian nodded, "We can assign a room for each of you. Our lord's teachings forbid us from denying help to fellow humans."
"Can you assign us a single room? They are my brothers, and I don't think... it would be good for us to stay apart... after we lost our mom and dad, this morning," I said. I had a sad look on my face, while my hands were pinching Nathan and Leonard's waist to prevent them from saying anything.
The pained look on their faces told me that they understood, and they were going to keep quiet.
"I see... it's a very sad thing to hear. Amen, may their souls rest in peace. Dear God of mercy, please make them comfortable in your fatherly presence," prayed Father Killian. The other two prayed as well.
Leonard leaned toward my ear and hissed, "You are lying!"
"I know that. Also, can you cry a bit? Your faces are already filled with pain from all the pinching... maybe we can use this to our advantage," I suggested. Should I increase the pressure.
"Mas... er, Valeria... can you stop pinching us now? I think they have already bought your lie. So, please... stop pinching," requested Nathan.
He is correct. Those priests have already bought my lie. As soon as I released them, my servants took a deep breath of relief. Their hands were rubbing their respective waists, while giving me a blank look.
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"So, what's the plan? Apparently, you are my sister now," Leonard pointed at Nathan, "and he is my brother. The one, who I slept with yesterday. You are a big liar, aren't you?"
I shrugged, "I can lie, though it's called acting." I was sitting on the bed, observing my nails.
"Aren't they supposed to be god's messengers or something? How could they not know that you are a vampire?" yelled Leonard. He immediately slammed his hands over his mouth, preventing him from saying anything further. But he was a bit late.
I smiled at his words. Did he think I am a fool?
"Did you hope that something would happen to me if I entered the church?" I looked at Nathan, "I am asking something to both of you. Answer me."
"No, Master... I mean, Valeria," refused Nathan.
He wasn't lying. So, this means one thing. My servant, Nathan is... kind of an idiot.
"What about you, Leonard?" I asked.
Leonard didn't answer me and looked away. A wave of anger washed over me as I grabbed his throat. I showed him my fangs, making him go pale with fear. His eyes reflected my true form as I showed him my claws.
"Did you think you could fool me? A church, really?" I threw him on the floor.
"I am sorry!" Leonard squeaked, trying his best to get up on his feet. But an invisible force prevented him to stand up.
I smirked, "Leonard, next time make a good plan. Don't make it obvious. Besides, there are a lot of things in this world... that can't kill me. Also, you don't know anything about me, do you? Maybe next time... you won't be lucky. I am not a merciful creature. Also, freshen up. They have asked us to come to the dinning hall before 7 PM. I don't want to be late."