When they finally emerged from the forest and approached the house, David sank onto the porch, leaning his back against the wall. His face was gray with exhaustion and blood loss. The wounds on his shoulder and leg were still bleeding.
"Did you write it down?" he asked, looking at Gina.
She nodded, clutching the notebook to her chest.
"Good," David exhaled.
"This book now belongs to you. Every new monster, a new page."
He fell silent and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Ethan and Gina stood beside him, also completely drained.
Inside the house it was safer. They entered and locked the door with every bolt. Gina immediately sat down at the kitchen table, turned on a dim lamp, and continued writing.
Meanwhile, Ethan brought the first-aid kit. He silently treated his father's wounds, first the shoulder, then the leg. After that, he tended to his own injuries: small bites and scratches left by the Grindylow.
The smell of burning from the destroyed house still clung to their clothes, soaked into the fabric, hair, and skin.
Gina, without lifting her head from the notebook, said quietly:
"Grindylow… breed in stagnant water and near corpses… afraid of salt and fire…"
Their father sat leaning back in his chair, silently watching both of them.
"Kids, it's time to sleep… I'm very tired. Good night to you both, and just in case, turn the ward toward the window…"
As soon as their father wished them good night and went to his room, closing the door behind him, they heard him heavily sink onto the bed. It was already well past midnight, but no one felt like sleeping.
Ethan and Gina slowly climbed the old wooden staircase. The steps creaked quietly under their feet. Ethan's bedroom door was directly opposite his sister's. They stopped in the small second-floor hallway.
Moonlight from the window fell on the floor, painting pale stripes.
Ethan paused at the threshold of his room. He looked at Gina, who had already grabbed the handle of her door. She looked exhausted.
"Gina…" he called softly.
She stopped and turned to him. In the dim light, her eyes seemed darker than usual.
Ethan took a small step closer and asked almost in a whisper, so their father wouldn't hear:
"What are we going to do tomorrow? And… do you even like this?"
Gina was silent for a long time. She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe and looked toward the window, where the forest was visible outside.
A complex mix of emotions crossed her face, exhaustion, stubbornness, and something else Ethan couldn't quite read.
"Tomorrow…" she finally answered quietly.
"Tomorrow we'll heal, clean our weapons, and write down everything we saw. Dad will probably want to check other suspicious places, especially tomorrow. As for whether I 'like' it…"
"Yeah, why not," she said softly, looking at her brother.
"In the next city they found a strange case. Looks like another incident.Dad decided to take us with him. So get some proper sleep and stop asking stupid questions. This is our job, helping people."
Gina pushed off the doorframe and had already grabbed the door handle when Ethan finally asked:
"And you… do you really believe in this? That we're helping people?"
Gina froze. She turned to him and stared for a long time, not looking away. In the dim hallway light, her face looked older than usual.
"I believe that if we do nothing, we'll all be finished," she answered at last.
"Someone has to do it, and I prefer that it's us."
Gina opened the door to her room, but before entering, she glanced back once more.
She looked at her brother.
"And you?"
Ethan lowered his gaze to his hands. There was still dried blood on his fingers.
"I'm scared. But when we were there… when I was pulling you out of that puddle… I realized that if I don't do anything, I'll just go crazy if something happens to you or Dad. So… I guess I'll keep going."
Gina gave a weak smile and reached out, ruffling his hair.
"Good."
Gina sighed and looked toward the window.
"And if we touch the vampires… then the war won't be against a couple of creatures in the forest anymore. It'll be a war against the whole city."
She looked at her brother wearily.
"I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying this is what we have, and it's better to mind our own business."
She tiredly rubbed her bitten leg, wincing, and lowered her voice to almost a whisper so their father definitely wouldn't hear:
"And because they now have rights," she said, looking her brother straight in the eyes.
"The Pact protects them. Hunters are officially forbidden from touching vampires unless they break the rules. You can only defend yourself. And if you start hunting them first, you'll be declared a criminal. Or an 'enemy of society.'"
She paused for a second, as if the words were difficult for her.
"People know that vampires exist. It's no longer a secret. But they don't need to know about the other monsters. Grabbers, forest folk, cursed pillars… for most people, they simply don't exist."
"Officially, it's easier this way to keep everyone in check. People are only afraid of what they're shown. And vampires… they're already part of the system."
Ethan stood motionless, staring at his sister.
"So we can burn Grabbers because they're wild?" he said quietly.
"But vampires… we can't. Even if they drink the blood of our neighbors under the guise of 'cooperation'?"
Gina nodded, not looking away.
"Exactly. Because vampires are civilized. They pay taxes, have documents, sit in the mayor's office. We can't do anything, even our father… can't…"