Vampire Of The New World

"Celie told me that story, but not quite the same way as you did, Brent," Lisa said.

"I hope I didn't ruin it for you." Brent replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Let's just say that you have different point of views, but the events you recounted are largely the same," said Lisa, raising an eyebrow.

"Like the characters in Rashomon," said Steve, his face slightly flushed after finishing his two beers.

The waiters were clearing the table, a sign that the party was about to come to a close. Everyone at the table had finished eating their dinner although Nestie was still holding on his second plate of pastries.

"It's a nice story, Brent," said Nestie. "Maybe you can write about it and have it published somewhere. Wait, I think I've just experienced déjà vu. It's like I was in this same situation and hearing the same words," said Nestie holding his second plate of pastries.

"It's not déjà vu, Nestie. It's called remembering." Lisa laughed and addressed everyone at the table. "Nestie and I were at the home for the elderly earlier and there was a nice old man there who told us a story about the Devil's Sea."

Lisa then looked at Nestie and reproached him. "I didn't realize a scientist like you believed in déjà vu."

"Actually, my dear, it's called a prompt." Nestie mirrored Lisa's tone. He then took another bite of his croissant. "I wanted you to react."

"I think I know that man you're talking about," said Brent. "Are you referring to Toto?"

"Yes," replied Lisa. "Do you know him?"

"I do. I interviewed him a few months back when I was assigned to work on the disappearances at the Devil's Sea." Steve uncrossed his legs and sat up straight.

"Isn't that a myth? Like the Bermuda triangle?" asked Steve. "It has already been proven that there was nothing mysterious regarding the disappearances at the Bermuda triangle. I was thinking that the Devil's Sea was like that. Just a product of people's imagination and, sorry if this may offend you Brent, a product of sensationalism by the media."

"No offense taken," Brent replied to Steve. "The fact is there were indeed disappearances of vessels in the area. In recent years, however, the Devil's Sea may have gained some notoriety among sailors and as a result there were less disappearances."

"Because less boats crossed the area," continued Nestie.

"Correct," said Steve.

"Were there explanations given as to why the vessels disappeared in the past?" asked Lisa.

"At the height of the popularity of the Bermuda triangle, people got also interested in the Devil's Sea. There were scientists who went to the area and tried to look for explanations behind the disappearances. In fact there was one research boat full of scientists that went there."

"And the boat disappeared," Nestie said.

"Adding more to the mystery," said Steve, nodding his head.

"The boat was from the Institute where Lisa and I worked and we knew about the disappearance." Nestie emptied his glass of water. Upon placing the empty glass on the table, the waiter came from behind and immediately filled the glass with water. Nestie turned to the waiter and said, "Thanks!"

"Yes, we heard about that story. It became a cautionary tale for all researchers visiting the Institute," Lisa said.

"I'm sure if someone collects the data and analyzes the statistics, the numbers will reveal that there was nothing unusual in the disappearances. In the case of the Bermuda triangle, I think it would be safe to say that there were a lot of disappearances because there were a lot of vessels that passed through the area." Steve took out a handkerchief and wiped the beads of perspiration on his flushed face.

"For the Bermuda triangle, some explanations were suggested by scientists – bad weather, the Gulf Stream, methane bubbles, and even human error." Nestie used his fingers to count the possible explanations.

"You are all correct and I agree with you. As a reporter, however, I wanted to be able to gather information and for subjects such as these, present the information to the readers for them to decide for themselves. I wanted to have a balanced report from the perspective of science as well as from people who believe in the myth. That led me to Toto whom I interviewed for the story."

"I suppose he read from his notebook?" asked Nestie.

"Is he still writing his story?" Brent chuckled. "I have to admit that that was my idea. I told him to write down everything that he remembered from his experience so that people can read them. Actually, I also got interested and, who knows, maybe Toto can also gain something from it."

"It did give him something to do and he seemed happy having that purpose," said Lisa.

There was a shout coming from the front of the ballroom and the guests looked at what was happening. Celie's father was standing up and shouting at a security personnel. Celie's mother sat down and covered her face with a handkerchief. The mayor then sat down and placed a reassuring arm around his wife.

The security personnel left the mayor and approached a man in a tailored black suit sitting at the next table. The man in black suit stood up and followed the security personnel.

"What are they saying?" asked Nestie.

"Let me find out." Brent wiped his mouth with a table napkin and stood up. He went to a security personnel to ask him questions. After a few minutes, he returned to the table.

"I asked the security what was happening. He said that Celie was missing. She escaped from her own security," Brent reported.

Lisa knew that Celie would occasionally escape from her security, especially if she was bored. However, to leave her own birthday party seemed uncharacteristic of her.

"How about Renan? Isn't he with her?" Nestie asked.

"Renan was found inside the gazebo. He was kneeling down and seemed mad. He kept on repeating words that were unintelligible. The security did catch some words though."

"What?" Lisa asked. There was worry on her face.

"He's here… I obey…"