Susie walked beside them, but a little behind, stealing glances at both Ethan and Bruno.
Bruno brought up the rear of their small group.
Susie was the first to break the silence.
She slowed for half a step, then caught up with Bruno and asked quietly:
"You… really did it?"
Bruno didn't answer right away. He only exhaled, as if he had asked himself that question hundreds of times already.
"Yes," he said at last.
Susie lowered her gaze.
"You… loved them?"
Bruno let out a humorless huff.
"Of course," he replied.
"More than anything else. And I still do."
Ethan stopped. He didn't turn immediately. For several seconds he stood with his back to them, staring ahead toward the dark silhouette of Flash's apartment building in the distance.
Then he slowly turned his head.
"And are you sure…" he began quietly, "that it was the only way?"
The question hung between them. Bruno met his gaze and didn't look away.
"No," he answered immediately.
Susie blinked in surprise.
"No?.."
"I'm not sure," Bruno repeated, shrugging.
"Anyone in my place would have done the same…" He gave a faint, bitter smile.
"And now I live with it."
The wind swept down the street, tugging at Susie's hair and rustling somewhere in the trash.
Ethan took a slow step toward Bruno.
"And Flash?" he asked.
"Was he right?"
Bruno thought for a moment.
"In that moment, yes," he said.
"Is Flash always right?" Bruno shook his head.
"I don't know."
Susie wrapped her arms around herself as if she suddenly felt cold.
"It's… terrifying," she whispered.
"Yeah," Bruno nodded.
"You never get used to it."
Ethan lowered his gaze.
The black lines on his neck flickered faintly beneath his collar, and Susie felt it.
"He told you… to take revenge," Ethan said quietly.
"Yes."
"And you agreed," Ethan looked at him with a certain understanding.
"Yes."
"Why?" Ethan asked again.
Bruno looked forward. The building was already visible ahead.
"Because otherwise…" He paused, searching for the words. "All of it would have been for nothing."
He pressed his lips together.
"And I didn't want their death to be just that."
Ethan nodded slowly. He understood Bruno's story all too well.
Susie cautiously stepped closer to Bruno.
"You didn't do anything wrong," she whispered.
Bruno looked at her. For a second, something wavered in his eyes.
"You think that now," he replied.
Ethan gave a quiet, bitter chuckle.
"No," he said.
"She's right."
"Really?" Bruno narrowed his eyes.
Ethan looked at him and nodded.
"You did everything you could…"
Bruno said nothing, though his shoulders relaxed slightly.
Susie glanced at Ethan, then at Bruno.
"Maybe…" she said softly, "that was your greatest test in life."
Both of them looked at her.
"Everyone has one. And if you pass it, you become much better…" The wind tugged at her hair. Somewhere a door slammed.
Bruno exhaled.
"You're smart," he muttered.
Susie gave a faint smile.
Ethan nodded approvingly.
"Then we still have a chance," he said.
"As long as we don't make it worse ourselves."
Bruno snorted.
"We're pretty good at that."
From the shadows between two abandoned buildings, a tall figure in a black cloak slipped out. One of Gérard's elite vampire hunters.
"Hey, kids!" he growled, his voice like the scrape of rusted metal.
"Give me the blond one! Gérard wants him!"
Bruno instantly raised his pistol.
"Not another step!" he shouted.
The vampire only bared his teeth.
"You think I don't know what you're shooting with, little human?" he snarled and lunged forward with inhuman speed.
Bruno, despite his weakness, stepped forward, raising his gun.
"Don't come near them, you freak!" he roared with desperation in his voice.
"I'll give you some tea right now!"
Bruno fired. The bullet should have gone through the heart.
The vampire easily dodged and kicked Bruno aside. He slammed hard into the wall and slid to the ground, groaning in pain.
"Bruno!" Susie cried out, real terror in her voice.
Then she fired several times in quick succession. Two bullets hit the vampire in the chest, but he only jerked and laughed.
Clearly missed the heart.
"You're all going to die here!" the vampire roared.
"Especially you!" He pointed at Ethan.
"Gérard is coming for you…"
Ethan felt something inside him tear with monstrous force.
The voices in the stake exploded in a chorus. The black lines on his neck flared with burning pain. The stake trembled in his hand as if trying to break free and strike on its own.
Ethan growled through his teeth. His eyes began to darken. He took a step forward, raising the stake.
"No…" he rasped with desperation.
"Not now… please, not now…"
The vampire was already only two steps away. His blade flashed through the air, aiming straight for Ethan's chest.
"Come on, boy! Show me what your trophy can do!" he roared triumphantly.
Ethan swung the stake, but the blow was uncontrolled. The darkness inside him was breaking free, trying to seize control of his arm.
He felt himself slipping away, his consciousness drowning in a black, hungry roar.
Ethan tried to hold onto the stake, but it was already shaking in his palm like a living thing, thirsting for blood.
His legs buckled. He felt his sense of self dissolving, giving way to hundreds of alien voices.
The vampire was now just one step away. The blade flew toward Ethan's chest.
"Come on!" the vampire roared in triumph.