The campus of St. Hubert Seminary Senior High School was a storm of activity. First-years surged toward the Dining Hall like a tidal wave of youth and urgency, cups and cutlery clutched tightly in their hands. There was no peace in the mornings at SAHUSS — only the thunder of hunger and the unspoken rule: hesitate and go hungry.
In the midst of it all, chaos found its embodiment.
A short boy with shaved black hair, baggy clothes flapping wildly, and a grin that could terrify a priest — Pius — darted through the crowd like a whisper of madness. His pace was unreasonably fast, like the wind had permitted him to cheat time.
No one stopped him.No one even tried.
The Dining Hall doors groaned open as he crashed through, just ahead of the swarm.
"Pius would at least walk for once?!" a senior barked as he entered.
Pius didn't miss a beat.
"And let you people eat my food?" he said, lips curling into a feral grin.
"You need deliverance.""I'm good as I am."
The exchange was routine. A dance between madness and mockery. But then the moment twisted.
From the crowd emerged a student clutching his elbow, a crimson trail slipping down his arm. His face was calm — almost too calm — as if pain was just a nuisance. He moved toward the tap, probably to rinse the wound. But as he passed, the air shifted.
Pius turned.He sniffed.His eyes flickered.
Red. Just for a breath.No one saw it.Except one student who lingered near the window. A boy named Kelvin.
Pius leaned forward, his voice low, confused, almost… delighted.
"Blood? Why does it smell like KFC?"
The senior stared at him.
"Huh? Did you say something?""Oh… it's nothing.""Sure."
But Pius's expression lingered — eyes too sharp, smile too wide, like he'd tasted something forbidden and liked it.
And then, without warning, a voice that did not belong to anyone around him slithered into his mind:
"What the fuck... Blood is beauty!"
It was seductive, dangerous. Velvet soaked in venom.
Pius blinked. Something cracked inside his soul, something old. Or maybe something not his at all.
Kelvin watched it happen. From the corner of the room, he saw not just a hungry student, but a shadow in disguise. A boy touched by something far more ancient and far more terrifying than anything St. Hubert had prepared them for.
And for a second, amidst the clatter of dishes and laughter and sermons waiting to be preached, the Dining Hall held its breath.
Because something had awakened.
...
"Another one," Kelvin muttered as he rinsed his cup and made his way towards his table. On the way, his eyes met Pius's own, and in that brief second, a conversation ensued.
'He's like me,' Pius thought as he saw Kelvin smile at him. A smile that was a greeting but of acknowledgment.
'A vampire? In Ghana? Are they even real?' Kelvin also thought. 'Something is fishy here. For sure!'