With white hair on his head, wearing a white coat and black pants, an old man in his sixties stood there. “I haven’t found a person for the test in a long time,” he said with a smile.“Why have you left us hanging like this?” Jack asked.“I’ll lower you down. I will definitely lower you down. You are my guests. I needed you very much,” the old man replied.“We’re of use to you?” Jack asked, his voice filled with astonishment. “What are you going to do with us?”“I will, a lot of things. You will understand everything later,” he said.Then, the old man grabbed a wheel mounted on the wall and gave it a pull. Immediately, they started lowering down. But they were still bound at the hands and feet.“Who are you?” Jack was about to ask when the old man spoke first. “I’m Dr. Steve Watson. You must have been wondering that.”Jack was stunned. “How did you know?” he asked.Dr. Watson smiled. Stopping his laughter, he said, “This isn’t hard to understand. I could read a person’s mind just by l

Dr. Watson, holding the syringe of the Vampire virus, slowly moved toward Alissa. Just as he was about to inject the needle into Alissa’s hand, someone hit Dr. Watson on the head with a glass jar. He immediately fell to the ground. The syringe flew out of his hand.“Who? Who hit me on the head?” Dr. Watson shouted.But there was no answer from anywhere. Again, Dr. Watson screamed like an animal. “Who’s here? Who hit me on the head?” Then he was silent for a moment.He picked up another syringe with the Vampire virus and moved toward Sandy. Just as he was about to inject the needle into Sandy’s vein, someone hit Dr. Watson on the head again with a glass jar.This time, he became extremely angry. He started pacing back and forth from inside the room to outside. But he received no answer about who was attacking him. He came back inside the room and firmly shut the door.Then he searched the entire room thoroughly. No one was there. He couldn’t see anyone.After staying silent for a while

Within moments, they reached home. James let out a deep breath upon entering. He sighed in relief and said, "That was a close call. I completely forgot today was the waxing moon." However, no one else was able to understand James’s demeanor. Everyone frowned and stared at him. "What are you talking about?" Jack asked. In response, James said, "You all live in a developed country like America. It’s natural for you not to know about these things." Max stepped forward and said, "This is all going over our heads." He placed a hand on James’s shoulder. "Could you explain everything in detail?" "You won’t believe it when you hear it." "Just tell us first," Jack said, losing patience. "We’ll decide whether to believe it later." "Alright then, listen," James began. "There’s been a curse in this area for many years. On nights of the waxing moon, bloodthirsty monsters emerge. Anyone who crosses their path gets their blood drained by these creatures. To avoid them, every year, on the thir

Luna drove the jeep. Sofia sat next to her in the passenger seat. The rest sat in the back. Jack placed his hand on James's shoulder and asked, “What’s wrong, James? Why are you crying?” “The lottery is today,” James replied in a detached tone. “What lottery?” “Didn’t I tell you? Every year, on the third night of the waxing moon, a virgin girl has to be sacrificed. The selection is done through a lottery.” “Oh! But why are you crying over it?” “I don’t want to lose my sister.” “Nothing will happen to Sofia. There are other girls in the village. They’ll pick someone else.” “No, there aren’t many left. There were eight girls in the village. Four had already left. And today, Lily died. Now, only three girls remained, including Sofia.” “Don’t cry,” said Max. “We won’t let anything happen to Sofia.” James didn’t seem comforted by Max’s words. He kept crying. “So, when did this whole sacrifice thing begin?” Jack asked. “Thirty years ago.” “Who came up with the idea? I mean, who

"What happened?" asked Jack.No one answered. It seemed like no one even heard him. "Someone tell me, what happened?" he said again."Sofia.." With just that, the maid, Teresa, started crying.Jack understood from Teresa's words what happened. Still, to be sure, he asked, "Was there a lottery?""Hmm." Teresa nodded. "Sofia should be informed."With their help, James and Sofia learned Italian in just two days. Jack learned a little more than the rest, which is why he had no trouble understanding Teresa's words.Meanwhile, James wrapped his arms around Sofia and started crying. Amelia had lost consciousness. Luna was pouring water over her head. Mr. Michael sat quietly. He seemed like a statue, frozen by grief. Everyone was silent. No one spoke a word.The whole house seemed to be under the shadow of sorrow."Sofia will be fine. We won’t let anything happen to her." Jack said, placing a hand on Mr. Michael's shoulder.In response, Mr. Michael hugged him and started crying.Jack looked a