Luciano

Chapter 20

Ethan held me with a tight grip for several moments as I stood still in complete silence. Compared to Luciano, I could feel the warmth of his body despite the cold weather he had stumbled in from.

Ethan pulled back with his hands on my shoulders as he squeezed tightly, staring at me with those wild eyes.

"They're all dead!" Ethan suddenly gasped as he searched my eyes, "-those things killed them! Oh Grace it was real, they're real!"

I didn't expect Ethan's sudden change from his usual persona and I didn't respond to him immediately. Judging from his appearance, the creatures that invaded the town we're getting restless.

Perhaps tonight was the night. The ultimate death of the town.

"Oh God, oh God," Ethan said in a panicked tone, eyes glassed with a thin layer of water.

Even though I didn't have the capacity to feel anxious about the looming death threat upon us, Ethan's hysteria made me frown slightly. Although with a blank stare on him, I inched my head a little to catch his eyes when they wavered off in fright.

"Easy," I said blankly and uncertainly, "-what are you doing here?" I asked as he raised his hands, clutching both sides of his head.

"I, they, I mean, the very few left alive they wouldn't open their doors for me Grace," he said in a voice that sounded like pure agony. Ethan shook his head slightly and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to react," Ethan said with his voice lowered and still wavering, "-this is all too real and we can't get help, Grace, I don't know what to do, you're the only one who'd let me in. Thank you Grace thank you so much," he anxiously spoke.

His whole aura screamed pure terror and it made my thoughts uneasy. I could only imagine the bodies of almost the whole small town dead and drained of blood.

My thoughts drifted off as a piercing chill filled the room making me shiver.

I stared as Ethan froze up, eyes widening in what looked like familiarity.

I gazed over to my right and looked at Luciano. He still leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and he stared straight ahead, the side of his face to us. His head was lowered slightly, dark locks resting on his forehead.

The chill had instinctively made me look towards him.

Ethan followed my sight and remained silent for a second.

"Who is that?" he asked in an uneven tone.

I mimicked Ethan's silence before answering him.

"Luciano," I replied as the name come out in a much more hushed tone.

I paused. Voicing out his name wasn't something I did often.

Luciano in hearing his name, lifted his head, eyes piercing into mine making me exhale steadily.

"How do you know Grace?" Ethan interrupted with the same uneasy tone and I watched as Luciano didn't move his eyes away from mine, nor did he respond to Ethan.

Ethan, seemingly forgetting about his intense fright, turned to face Luciano with a weary frown.

It was then Luciano inched his head to shift his gaze at him.

"I'm more curious as to who you are," Luciano said lowly his calm posture not shifting.

Ethan spared a quick glance at me, before staring back at Luciano.

"I'm Grace's friend," Ethan tried to voice out composedly through his fright, "-and you?"

Luciano continued to stare at Ethan not bothering to answer him in any kind of rush.