It was their first night in this new town, and yet, out of the hundreds of children who were brought here, ten of them didn't live to see the next sunrise.
Instead, they served the purpose for which they were brought here, to become nourishment for these bloodsuckers.
Jarek, who at this moment was fourteen, witnessed these ten lives being drained out of them, with a blank and vacant expression.
His reaction was different from the others, who were crying, vomiting, trembling, and fainting at the sight of such brutality.
The person who mattered the most in his life was forever gone, never to return.
He was overwhelmed by his emotions when a voice reached his ears, pulling him out of his daze.
"Jarek, what do we do now? I... don't want to die." Jarek then turned to look at Eira, who had tears running down her face, clearly frightened by what she had witnessed.
As Jarek looked into her eyes, he heard a familiar voice ringing inside his mind.
'Jarek... survive... please... and take care of Eira...'
As these words came into his mind, and when he thought of the times when he, his mother, and Eira spent together, his expression turned resolute.
'I still have Eira. I can't give up here!'
His eyes then turned extremely cold.
If anyone else had looked into his eyes, they would have been unsettled by the ferocity and hate his gaze expressed.
'Mother, I will survive! And I will protect Eira, no matter the cost. And I swear, THEY WILL PAY!'
Unlike the other children who had given in to despair, Jarek was filled with the determination to survive and return this pain, this despair tenfold against those who killed his mother.
So, Jarek spent his days observing everything that transpired in the massive room he was in with calm and calculated eyes.
After the vampires left, he didn't stay idle.
Once he was sure Thrain, Luneth, and Mir were gone, he immediately got to work.
He observed his surroundings, or more specifically, the cage in which he was trapped.
'How durable.' He couldn't help but notice how tough it was.
But that was to be expected.
Who would put someone or something in a cage they could potentially break out of?
But for some reason, he felt that there was more to the cage than what he knew.
And so, he decided to test something.
He looked towards Eira, who was to his left through the bars of his cage.
Eira looked at Jarek with a confused expression, unsure of his intentions.
It was only when he saw Jarek jumping slightly in his cage and pushing it towards her direction, she was shocked by his actions.
The cage had flipped to the side, and the bars were now facing the ground.
"Jarek... what are you doing?"
Jarek didn't say anything and positioned his feet between the bars.
His weight was no longer acting on the cage, and he proceeded to lift the cage.
'So light!'
He didn't have any problems lifting it.
'Extremely durable, yet also very light. This thing would be a very good weapon.'
Once he had this information, it was time to return the cage to how it was before.
Repeating his actions, the cage returned to its original position, the same way it was before it was flipped to the side.
The others who were observing his actions only had one thought running through their minds. 'Is he crazy?'
Even Eira, who knew Jarek the most, couldn't help but think along those lines as well.
Only Jarek knew the purpose of his actions.
He didn't care about what others thought of him.
Instead, he delved deep inside his mind. 'How do I escape? I need to get out of this cage.'
It was only when he looked at the cage again, and noticed the keyhole, and then remembered that the vampires indeed used keys to open the cages.
On the second day, he paid close attention to the three vampires and noticed something.
Each of them seemed to have a key of their own.
'So there are three keys.' He noted that, had not fully paid attention to the events that took place yesterday.
If he had, he would have noticed this.
Jarek then spent the rest of his days carefully observing everything, trying to glean anything that he could make use of in the short period of time he had left.
He had less than a month left to live, and so he had to make the best use of his time.
Sadly, it seemed like fortune wasn't on his side, as he hadn't found anything else that could be of use just yet.
It was a good thing that he was at the far back.
It would take some time for the vampire trio to reach him.
It was only on the seventh day did he heard an interesting casual conversation from Luneth and Mir after they had finished 'feasting'.
Thrain had already left, and these two were left.
*sigh*"If only we could capture more of them. Too bad there aren't enough cages to go around." Mir said as he looked at the many cages that filled the large room.
"Do you think these cages are easy to come by? The only reason the boss has so many is because he took them from the House. Even he would have trouble breaking free from one of those cages. They might amount to nothing in that place, but here, they are rare treasures. You won't find them in this city so easily and in such high numbers within a single force." Luneth spoke.
"Besides, even if there were more, you do realize that the boss will still be the one to enjoy the surplus, right? He was already plenty generous when he allowed us to enjoy some over the years, when he needed as much as he could get. So, be grateful, would you? He has already given you so much."
Hearing that, Mir turned silent for a moment. It was only a few minutes later did he started talking again.
"That Leif guy, although he doesn't openly show it, holds some form of contempt towards me. I can feel it in his gaze. Sometimes I feel like hitting that bastard. Who does he think he is with that attitude?"
This time, Luneth remained silent as he listened to Mir talk about a talented subordinate under Thrain's command.
Jarek, who was intently listening to their conversation, was confused.
'What does he mean by he needs as much as he can get?'
He couldn't understand what Luneth meant by what he said.
But this didn't mean that he didn't gain anything from this short conversation.
He had discovered something that would be the key to his escape later on.
'This will definitely be useful.'
The days went by quickly, as the number of children in the room continued to dwindle.
It was now the twenty-first day, and by now half of the children were already gone, and according to Jarek's calculations, he only had a week's worth of time left.
Lucky for him and everyone else, Lady Luck seemed to smile their way.
Thrain, who had finished his meal for the day, turned to face Mir, and then, as if he had just remembered something, he said, "Luneth, I and others will be out of town for the next three days for some business... So, Mir, I will leave the town in your hands for the time being."
Jarek, who was listening intently, was surprised at how open Thrain was, knowing that they would be able to listen in on them.
But he just said it casually without a care.
And why would he care when those who would have heard were his trusted subordinates and caged children who can't do anything?
And Jarek was thankful for this slip-up.
Though it may not be big or non-existent in Thrain's eyes, this was an opportunity he could seize.
'This is the chance I have been waiting for.' Jarek thought as he looked at Mir's back as he turned to leave alongside Luneth and his boss, Thrain.
'I will be able to make my escape soon.' That he was sure of.