"Have you heard about the vampires terrorizing the village in the area west of here? The one everyone is talking about..."
My hand grabbed the cold glass, while I gazed disinterestedly at the red, shiny liquid inside.
The coolness of the glass was a clear contrast to the pleasant warmth of my hands, which I owed to the temperature of the room I was in.
"Yes of course, how could I not have heard about that?!"
Growled a deep, irritated voice.
That was the moment, were I became clairaudient and lifted my chin a little.
My eyes flashed unobtrusively to the person whose loud voice I just heard.
A fat, elderly man with a face far too red, tilted his head back and then poured his alcoholic beverage - as if it were a glass of water - down his throat.
A woman was sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.
She looked much younger than he did, she had probably drank so much, that she no longer recognized whose lap she was sitting on or had just let him buy her.
"It's not that far away from here, is it? I'm starting to worry about it, you hear that a lot lately..."
His rather quiet interlocutor replied, only to then close his eyes and absentmindedly mumble something to himself, which was lost in the music and the conversations of the other visitors of this spot.
A tavern - a place where people gathered and freely chatted about God and the world.
A supposedly good place to get information - in any case, the chances to pick up some useful things from the citizens ramblings were good.
Joy and desire but also fears and insecurity - alcohol was always a way that helped people to talk more openly about their feelings.
"Like I always said! The church is a bunch of incompetent bastards!!"
There was a loud bang, as the drunkard threw his empty glass on the wooden table in such an aggressive way that I had to flinch reflexively against my will.
"DAMNIT! THEY SHOULD HAVE ALREADY ERADICATED THESE BEASTS LONG AGO!!"
Some voices in the room fell silent and glances darted to the attention magnet, that was disturbing the peace of their late evening.
Jackpot.
An yelling idiot that had drank too much and could loudly reveal new information?
That was just right for me...
"Shhhht! Don't yell like that.."
Hissed his friend, who had not lost his sense of decency from the alcohol yet.
"But you're right.. what have we done wrong, that God allows something like that?"
"God?"
The fat man filled the inn with his ugly, booming laugh.
"Proof that God doesn't exist..!"
He took a short breath, as his lungs wouldn't allow longer sentences, before continuing theatrically;
"is the existence of these monsters!"
He grinned, pleased from his friend's indignant expression.
The clinking of a falling glass caught my attention, making me take notice instantly - leading my observing eyes from what had happened before to the source of the noise.
My eyes now fixated on a young man, sitting all alone at a solitary table - as I did - not far from me and the two gentlemen.
He was well dressed, looked well groomed.
Judging by his clothes, he did not really fit into this run-down bar any more than I did.
With his hair white as his coat and hat, and darker skin tone, he stood out in the crowd.
He had knocked over a glass - it had broken on the floor - and now he was staring into space, startled, as if something terrible had just happened to him.
After a few seconds, he regained his composure and sat up a little straighter to close his eyes and take a deep breath.
What was wrong with him?
He seemed kind of tense.
My eyes rested on him for a while, out of sheer curiosity, until they returned to the 'gentlemen', who kept discussing more and more loudly.
They were now joined by a waiter who did not looked too happy with his noisy, drunken clientele.
"Isn't it even allowed to speak the truth anymore?! Where are we??"
The dissatisfied guest snapped at the waiter.
"Think of your fellow human beings, we don't want to cause any unrest here, so I ask you to speak a little quieter Monsieur."
The patient young man replied calmly, but with a firm tone.
"Unrest?? Pftt.."
The old man put his arms around the womans body and laughed.
"Are you getting scared?"
"Huh??? What is this about?"
His girl friend now interfered with dreamy eyes and pressed herself more against him, not without an unsuccessful attempt to suppress her hiccup.
"Isss it about.... Vampires again?"
"It will always be about them, but nobody wants to see it!!"
He shouted at her wide-eyed.
The glasses on the table shook, as he banged his fist on the table, driven by his anger.
"Until the last of them is completely wiped out!!"
Great...
Unfortunately, the cellar's fear had now been fulfilled.
Troubled whispers and a uneasiness now filled the room.
You could literally feel the tension and the curious looks up close, it was really intense.
That's just how people were - prone to lose their composure easily.
"Enough!!"
A falling chair and a sudden yelp caused a moment - if only a brief moment - of complete silence, eventually followed by a surprised whisper.
It was that one remarkable, withe clothed man again, he had got up abruptly and was leaning on the table with trembling limbs, as if he couldn't keep himself on his feet in any other way.
Teeth clenched, he slowly raised his head just to glare at the troublemaker.
That olds man's difficult behavior must had bothered him surely much.
"Monsieur?"
The attendant spoke carefully but did not moved an inch from the spot he was standing on.
You could read the confusion on his face.
"How can you say something like that so completely unashamed?!"
The white-clothed man now addressed his words directly to the drunk.
"Huh?? What do you want now??"
The guy just blinked in confusion, craning his head over the back of the chair, as much as he could - given his short, thick neck.
"Exterminate? Monsters?? Are you serious?"
The white-haired narrowed his eyes and swallowed.
"Even if they are vampires, nobody deserves that."
"Ah? What are you talking about? Which mental hospital did you escaped from!?"
"Would a loved one of yours..which of course I wouldn't wish for you.."
He heavyly swallowed again, having a short time choosing his words, before straighten up to continue his monologue.
"If a loved one was inflicted with the cursed fate of a vampire, would you still feel the same way?"
"What??"
"Monsieurs, please!"
The waiter now raised his voice, his face darkened.
Some of the guests had already risen from their chairs or were murmuring horrified.
The scene was truly extraordinary.
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
Indeed, the mood was ruined, the people upset.
If this goes on, more than a few visitants certainly would leave soon and I would fully understand that.
When people's fear and insecurity builds up, there will always come a point where the thin line, to complete insanity and chaos will be crossed, and the broken facade of control will shatter down completely.
"No.. that can never be right..."
The eccentric muttered more to himself.
"You know what?"
He raised his voice again, directly confronting the adresssed person, pointing his finger at him.
"You! You are the real monster here!"
"Are you looking for a fight you freak?!"
The old man yelled, now visibly angry.
With a rough grip, he harshly pushed the woman off his lap.
She staggered and almost fell to the ground if the waiter had not supported her.
With heavy, swaying steps, the drunken approached the much taller man.
The white-haired did not backed away, but also was not making any move to react to this malevolence either.
He looked like, he just had to get the situation right first.
However, the aggressor did not get far.
The waiter, who was slowly getting fed up with all this fucked up, bizarre situation grabbed the man's shoulder and violently pulled him around.
"IT IS ENOUGH!"
"Don't touch me!"
The grandpa batted the staff's hand away and clenched his hands into fists, but he stayed put.
"Tzz.. arrogant wannabe do-gooder behavior ..!"
"OUT! Both of you and if you resist, then we are forced to call the police!!"
The young man waved to one of his workmates, who must have seen what had happened from a certain distance, and now came running to them.
She greeted the two gentlemen politely, but you could not oversee her nervousness.
"Monsieurs"
Luckily for her, the two men followed her to the exit without further trouble.
One cursed loudly and venomously, the other just hung his head like a scolded child.
With a just half-suppressed grin, I turned back to my now not so cold drink and swallowed the last sip, before slamming the empty glass down on the table and raising my hand.
"Garçon! I would like to pay!"