Go to the church

You didn't know much about vampires and this Brandon seemed to do. You believed that paying him a visit right now was a good idea.

"Fran, I, uh... I need to go to the church on California Street and meet with someone first." You found Fran mixing the drink at the counter and approached her.

"Okay... That's a bit far away from here." Fran didn't seem to understand your sudden change of plans, but she respected it, "Well, you could go to my place when you're done. You know where I live."

"Yeah... Thanks. Bye." You smiled at her before you left. And she nodded in reply.

You arrived at the church at around 9 p.m.. The more closer you got to the door, the hotter you felt. But you managed to reach it and knocked anxiously. Several seconds later, a mid-aged man wearing a black suit answered the door. He seemed to be shocked to see you.

"Mr. Wilson! I'm glad you're still alive. Please, come inside." He happily opened the door and led you in. His voice sounds familiar, you thought.

"You must be Brandon. Are you a priest here?" You asked curiously while following him. You felt your strength was losing as you went deeper into the church.

"Yes. But I'm afraid that we don't have much time to chat right now." Brandon guided you to a room and indicated that you should rest on the bed, "The vampire blood is still inside your body and it's being rejected by the holy ground. It's killing you. Please wait for a minute."

You sat on the bed as you couldn't keep standing anymore. The heat in your body was spreading so fast that you felt like you're burning. You twitched and slightly groaned in pain. Seconds later Brandon returned with a cup of water - at least you thought it was water - in his hands.

"What is this?" You felt like you're afraid of it and stayed back for a bit.

"Holy water. You must drink it to cure yourself, otherwise you'll turn or die in a few minutes." Brandon stepped closer.

You managed to suppress the unreasonable fear and drank up all the water in the cup. As soon as the cool water flowed through your throat, the heat inside you was quickly cleansed in a few minutes. You twitched painfully on the bed and groaned for several times, but you endured it. The pain has come and gone, and you felt energetic again.

"Congratulations, Mr. Wilson." Brandon sat next to you by the bed and smiled, "You came here in time. The curing process could be much more horrible if you were to come later."

"I feel better... Thank you." You stood up from the bed and shook hands with him, "Could you please explain what's going on?"

"Just like what I've mentioned to you before, you've drunk vampire blood and you're turning into one." Brandon spoke calmly, "Normally the time required for a victim to turn varies from minutes to hours, a day tops, based on how much they've drunk and how much blood they've lost prior. You lasted for more than a day. It's a miracle."

"So... the holy water actually works."

"Yes. Holy water can cleanse the vampire blood in your body before you turn." Brandon continued to explain and led you outside, "It works only in the church. That's why I must ask you to come here."

"Only in the church?" You couldn't believe what you heard, "How?"

"The blessing expires in 3 minutes outside the church. Since the moment the veil of corruption began to lift, all divine blessings on subjects will diminish quickly outside the holy ground." Brandon helplessly shook his head, "I can perform a ritual to bless the water outside, if necessary, but it takes about 10 minutes and I can't be disturbed."

"The veil of corruption? What is that?" You wondered.

"It's just a myth. We don't know what exactly happened, but after some point of time in the past, all kinds of monsters became real and came to our world. Vampires are just one of them."

"There are... more of them?" Fictional images of werewolves, ghosts and many other monsters flashed in your mind.

"So, Mr. Wilson. I have some questions, too, if you don't mind." Brandon led you to another room where he usually lived, "A vampire sneaked into the city about a week ago. He was responsible for the cases you were investigating. I killed him when he was feeding on a victim, and I'm sure he hasn't turned any fledgling yet. So, where did that vampire who bit you come from?"

"The police found some blood on the last victim." You thought for a second and continued, "It's probably from when you killed the vampire, but we didn't know back then. So I asked Olivia to examine the blood sample. And... Olivia told me that there was a voice in her head telling her to drink it..."

"That... that's impossible..." Brandon was shocked, "A drop of vampire blood couldn't do that..."

"Okay, so how do we kill vampires?" You anxiously asked. You couldn't just wait for Olivia to show up again. You needed to be prepared.

"Decapitate them, stake their heart and burn them with sunlight. I think that basically sums up." Brandon replied and frowned, "But I'm afraid that neither of us could deal with that vampire alone. And we don't know how many vampires she has turned."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"I've contacted Vatican and asked for reinforcement right after I called you. Elite vampire hunters of the United States will be coming tomorrow night and taking over my position." Brandon began to pack his things, "Let the professionals do their work."

"That's... comforting..." You felt relived.

"No, it's not. The most conservative plan for you would be leaving the city with your loved ones before the war started, while you still can." Brandon sighed, "I'm leaving tomorrow night, you're welcomed to come with me."

"Thank you. I'll think about it." You nodded in respect.

You exited the church and breathed the fresh air of the night. You felt much better than before. But the dire situation Brandon just mentioned upset you right away. You're just an investigator. Fighting supernatural monsters, which you just knew that they existed last night, was not your job.

I should get back to Fran's. Perhaps I should convince her to leave the city with me tomorrow. And I should warn Sergeant Ashton about the vampire situation, too. Thinking about what you had to do next, you went to the main road and hailed a cab.