Chapter 404: Chapter 404 RUN

Leonid had been walking through one alley after another, camera running, breath fogging in the cold air. He kept his steps light, trying not to disturb anything. He kept telling himself that he was ready, that he wanted this, that he was not afraid. But the truth kept slipping in every time he turned a corner and found nothing.

No movement.

No sound.

No vampire in sight.

He had been searching for almost an hour. The city felt too empty. Even with the police patrols around, it felt like the world was trying to avoid breathing tonight.

Leonid stopped and leaned against a wall. His chest rose and fell in long, sharp breaths. He rubbed his forehead with his glove and tried to think clearly. He needed to be smart. If vampires were real and they were hunting, then they would not be hunting in places full of police.

He looked around the quiet alley again and felt that familiar frustration rise in him.

If I were a vampire, where would I go?

His brain worked fast. Police cars were moving around the center of the city like hawks. The main roads were busy with patrols. The rich areas had more officers. Even the markets were being watched.

So where would a blood sucking creature go?

His eyes widened a little.

The slums.

It made sense. The homeless stayed there. They slept on cardboard and old blankets under bridges and in dead-end alleys. Nobody checked on them. Nobody cared about them. Even though they were the ones dying, the police still gave those areas the least attention.

Maybe one or two officers would be stationed there, but that was nothing. Not compared to the rest of the city.

Leonid reached for the bike beside him, tightening the strap of the camera on his helmet. It was already recording. Every step he took was captured. Every sound. Every breath. If he was right, then tonight he would finally get what he needed. Proof.

He climbed on the bike and pushed off the ground, pedaling hard at first. The cold night air hit him in the face, sharp enough to make his eyes water. His teeth began to shake. He wondered if it was the cold or his nerves.

As he rode deeper into the slums, he heard something faint. Almost too faint to notice.

A howl.

Low. Distant. Far away.

His heart skipped.

He slowed the bike and looked around even though he could not see anything past the streetlights. The sound was too strange, too soft. Maybe it was just a dog.

He tried to laugh it off and forced his voice out.

“It is just my mind playing tricks on me. Nothing to be scared of.”

But even he could hear the slight shake in his own voice.

He pedaled again, slower now. Every push on the pedals made the silence feel heavier. The deeper he went, the more the world felt wrong. It reminded him of yesterday. The same stillness. The same emptiness. Like the whole place belonged to something else.

He reached a narrow path between two old buildings. Trash was scattered everywhere. Crushed cans. Broken bottles. Wet cardboard. He moved slowly through it, his eyes scanning each corner, hoping to catch even a small sign. Anything. A shadow. A footprint. A noise.

Then he heard it.

Clang.

Metal hitting metal.

He stopped instantly and put a foot on the ground. His hands tightened around the handlebars. The sound echoed again, softer this time. Like someone had bumped into something.

He swallowed and raised his voice.

“Who is there?”

Nothing.

Not even a breath.

He shined his small torchlight ahead. The beam landed on an abandoned car with rust all over it. On the left side of the car, something moved. Something small. A quick shift, like someone pulling back.

Leonid felt his stomach twist.

There is someone there.

He jumped off the bike, keeping the torch aimed toward the car. His boots crunched on the ground as he walked slowly. His fingers brushed against the pistol on his belt. He was not a fighter, not even close, but fear made his hand move faster.

“I can see you,” Leonid said. His voice cracked a little. “Come out now.”

Nothing happened.

The shape behind the car pressed itself lower, trying to hide even more. The movement was strange. Too desperate.

Leonid’s fear sharpened into anger.

“Get out, you motherfucker.”

He pulled out the gun and aimed. His breath filled the air like smoke. He stepped closer. Closer. His shoes splashed lightly in something wet on the ground.

He paused.

He looked down.

A dark liquid ran along the concrete.

Blood.

His heart slammed against his ribs. He tightened his grip on the gun and took the last few steps toward the car. The smell hit him first, metallic and thick. When he reached the abandoned car and pointed the torchlight behind it, he almost dropped everything he was holding.

A policeman was sitting on the ground, leaning against the car with his whole body shaking. His uniform was soaked in red. His hands pressed against his own neck, but it was useless. Something had torn into his throat and ripped it open. Blood was pulsing out through his fingers. His mouth was covered in red foam as he tried to breathe.

Leonid froze. His legs felt weak.

The officer’s eyes lifted to him. Wide. Wet. Full of panic and pain. He tried to speak but blood bubbled out instead.

Then he forced one final breath.

“R… run…”

Leonid dropped the torchlight the moment the officer’s last word hit him. It clattered on the ground, the beam spinning wildly across the walls. His whole body froze. His breath stopped. His mind went blank.

He had seen dead bodies before. Countless ones. Crime scenes, accidents, suicides, all of it. But he had never seen someone right on the edge of dying. He had never watched the life drain from someone’s eyes, not like this.

His hands shook so badly he almost could not move.

Then he heard it.

HISSSSS.

A sharp, deep, animal-like hiss that cut through the silence and stabbed straight into his spine.

Leonid sucked in a breath and snatched the torchlight off the ground. He nearly dropped it again, but he forced his fingers to close around it and pointed the beam toward the noise.

The light hit something pale.

Someone was standing there.

A man at first glance, but when the light caught his face fully, Leonid’s blood turned to ice.

This was not a man.

This was a monster.

The man stood still, almost like he was posing. His eyes glowed bright red, not the kind of red from anger or exhaustion, but a burning, hungry red that looked alive on its own. Dark veins bulged around his eyes and neck, pulsing like something was crawling under the skin. His lips were smeared with blood. Fresh blood. It dripped down his chin in a slow, thick line.

He smiled.

Not a normal smile. Not human. More like a silent promise that Leonid already belonged to him.

Leonid knew instantly. This thing killed the officer. This thing hunted the homeless. This thing was exactly what everyone refused to believe existed.

His mind whispered the words before he could stop it.

Oh shit. They exist.

His legs finally responded. He spun around so fast he tripped on his own foot, but he caught himself and started running. His heart pounded hard enough to shake his whole chest. Every breath burned.

He had everything he needed. The entire thing was on camera. The vampire. The dead officer.

Nobody would doubt him now.

He slid across the ground as he reached his bicycle. He grabbed it with shaking hands and jumped onto the seat before his mind fully caught up. His feet slammed the pedals again and again.

Go. Go. Go.

He didn’t dare look back. If he did, he knew he would freeze again, and freezing meant dying.

“There is no way he can catch me, right?” he whispered to himself. His voice cracked. “He can’t outrun a bike. No way.”

He pushed harder, legs burning, breath slicing through his throat. The cold wind slapped his face, drying the sweat instantly.

Then it happened.

A breeze moved past him. Not wind. Not air. Something faster. Something heavier. Something too close.

Leonid lifted his head.

And nearly crashed.

The vampire was standing directly in front of him.

Same place. Same smile. Same glowing eyes.

Like he had been waiting for him.

Leonid didn’t even understand it. One second he was alone. The next the monster was blocking the road without making a sound.

How the fuck…

He jerked the handlebars, trying to swerve around him, but the vampire moved first. A simple kick. It didn’t even look like he put effort into it.

The bicycle split from under Leonid like it was made of paper. He and the bike flew through the air, separated instantly. Leonid’s body spun before slamming into the side of a parked van.

Crack.

His camera shattered on impact. His back screamed in pain so intense he could not breathe for a full second.

“Ahhggg!”

He shouted loudly, gripping the concrete as his whole body trembled. His lungs tried to drag in air but struggled with the stabbing pain.

Footsteps followed.

Slow ones.

Steady.

Careful.

The vampire walked toward him one step at a time, as if he had all the time in the world.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep