NOVEL WEB Chapter 13: Snowfall Before the Departure
The snow was falling quietly that night—gentle, almost like a whisper. I could hear it tapping against the thin glass of the bus stop shelter, as if the sky was trying to tell me something, but it had forgotten the words.
Yuria stood beside me in silence, wrapped in the scarf I'd given her—black wool with fraying edges, one I barely wore but couldn't throw away. She didn't seem cold. Vampires never did. But she kept adjusting it like she was pretending to be human. Or maybe… trying to feel like one.
The streetlamps flickered, casting shadows that danced like ghosts on the pavement.
Neither of us spoke for a long time.
It wasn't awkward silence.
It was... the kind of silence that only exists between two people who understand what the other is thinking without needing to ask.
> "We leave tonight," I finally whispered.
> "There's no turning back now."
Yuria didn't answer with words. She looked at me with those moonlit eyes—silver, but soft—and simply nodded.
She understood.
We were running away. From the curse. From the city. From everything we'd both known. Not because we were afraid… but because we had *nothing left to lose*.
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### 1 ◇ The Bus to Nowhere
The old midnight bus hissed to a stop in front of us. Only two dim lights lit the inside. There was no driver in sight. I stared at the dusty entrance, unsure if this was real or just another part of the strange dream I'd been living since the night she bit me.
Yuria stepped forward first. "Come on," she said quietly. "It won't wait for long."
I followed, and the door creaked open like a tired sigh.
Inside, everything smelled like rust and forgotten time. The floor creaked beneath my shoes. There were only three other passengers, all lost in their own worlds—an old man asleep against the window, a girl sketching something under her hoodie, and a man in the back who never looked up.
We took our seats near the middle. Side by side. Close—but not touching.
The engine groaned back to life.
And just like that, the city began to fade behind us.
---
### 2 ◇ Her Voice in the Snow
I didn't notice how tense she was at first. But after fifteen minutes, I felt it—her fingers were trembling in her lap. Yuria was staring out the window, eyes blank, jaw clenched.
> "Are you okay?" I asked softly.
She didn't answer.
> "Yuria?"
She turned toward me suddenly, eyes wide. "Someone's following us," she said in a whisper.
I sat up. "What?"
She pointed to the snowy forest outside. For a second, I saw it too—a tall shadow running parallel to the bus through the trees. No face. No features. Just *presence*.
My throat went dry.
"Inquisitor," she murmured. "They found me."
---
### 3 ◇ You Shouldn't Have Come
We couldn't fight. Not now. Not here.
Yuria slumped into her seat, pulling the scarf up to cover her face. Her voice trembled—*not with fear, but guilt*.
> "You shouldn't have come with me, Ren," she said. "They'll hurt you too. They'll think you're like me."
> "I *am* like you," I replied.
> "No. You're still human. Still free."
> "Then let me use that freedom to choose you."
She looked at me, lips parted like she wanted to stop me. But instead, her fingers found mine under the seat and held on tight.
---
### 4 ◇ The Letter She Never Sent
Somewhere between the silence and snowfall, she pulled out an old folded letter. The paper was wrinkled, yellowed from time. She didn't say anything—just handed it to me.
I opened it slowly.
> *"To the boy I'll never meet…*
> *If you find this, it means you got close enough to see the real me. I don't know if you'll run… or stay.*
> *But if you stay—please remind me what it means to be alive. I've forgotten.*
> — *Yuria*."
When I looked up, she was already crying—but the tears didn't fall.
Vampires didn't cry the way humans did.
But somehow, it still broke my heart the same.
---
### 5 ◇ The Clock Strikes 2:00 A.M.
The bus began to slow. We were far into the woods now. No buildings. No signs. Just endless snow-covered trees.
The driver finally turned and looked at us for the first time.
> "End of the line."
> "There's no stop here," I said, confused.
He didn't answer.
Just pointed to the forest.
We stepped off the bus, into the cold. The snow fell harder now, covering our footprints as quickly as we made them. Yuria didn't speak. She just took my hand and pulled me forward.
The path into darkness had already begun.