Small military detachments under the command of a mysterious leader, of whom no one has heard and whom everyone fears, are harassing the peaceful village. The terrified villagers' only hope is a castle on a hill. Entire families move there to escape the local terror.
It all begins peacefully. The villagers have brought with them supplies of food and warm clothing for the approaching winter. Wolves, completely subservient to the population, have taken up residence in the castle with them. Men train young boys to become soldiers, so that they may one day oppose the terror, while women take care of the "home."
December.
Cold, white snow covers the entire hill. The castle is completely cut off from the outside world. Here, life goes on at its own pace. Accumulated food supplies are stored in special pantries. Optimism fills the entire castle; everyone believes that with the end of winter, spring will come for all the people; they believe that the mysterious man who kidnaps children from the village and devours their tender flesh will disappear.
February.
Food supplies suddenly run dry. Water begins to run low. Winter becomes increasingly harsh. All the worst predictions come true... and worst of all, no one has a shred of optimism left. Life becomes a terrible ordeal.
March.
Winter continues to deepen. In the cold castle, only the strongest remain alive. A handful of blind believers, including five men and two women, along with their three children. The youngest, a woman of only 15, begins complaining of headaches, increasingly frequent and severe. She claims she hears and sees strange things in her dreams. No one believes her. No one even wants to hear about it.
Meanwhile, the pain and the terror of her dreams worsen. It's no longer just a slight ache, but a throbbing migraine that often leads to fainting and vomiting. The nightmares also cause the girl to wake up bruised. Something besides them is in the castle, and that something doesn't like the visitors.
Wolves begin behaving strangely. Every night, they howl desperately at the moon, prowling absently around the castle. A few days later, they disappear. They reappear a week later, gnawing at everyone except the young girl with a murderous glint in their eyes.
A mysterious voice tells the teenager that she has been chosen. That she is a force of power and authority. That if she fulfills the voice's demands, she will be queen of the world. The poor peasant girl, stunned by the events of the past few months, defends herself in a desperate act of protest.
One night, the peasant is visited by a mysterious visitor in a black cloak and an impenetrable darkness. The girl tries to escape, but the creature catches up with her and bites her neck. Then, he throws her to the floor and, in a strong, deep voice, says: "I have made you a power, I have given you the ancient power of vampires. Rise and do your part, and you will become the ruler of the world of the living and the dead."
The following night, the girl throws herself from the roof of the highest tower onto the medieval cemetery next to the castle. All this to free the world from the vampire curse.
270 years later, scientists choose Kisvarda Castle as the headquarters for an institute for research into a disease called telekinesis. The castle is restored and becomes a home for the scientists.
The institute is functioning perfectly. Thirty-three years after the institute's founding, 20-year-old Bogumił Stentor joins the staff and delves deeper into the castle's history. He doesn't fully grasp it, however, as a few years later he's appointed head of the department handling special cases.
The institute thrives, but unfortunately, in 1992, the president orders its closure due to lack of funding. To avoid losing his research, Stentor proposes turning the castle into a school for telekinetic children. The idea is accepted, and from then on, the old castle houses a school under the name of the TK Institute. The school's history, combined with the castle's history ,
certainly doesn't bode well. However, the bloody legend of the castle lord's vampirism has been largely erased, and today only the institute's old director knows about it. However, the director forgot about one person... who simply won't be implanted with cheap crap...
Nicolas and Ray sat in the stone courtyard, leaning against the cold wall, gazing up at the starry sky. They hadn't said anything for a long time, just staring, each trying to tame the wandering thoughts in their minds.
"Nick..." Ray began, not taking her eyes off the stars.
"Yeah?
" "You know... Chanell doesn't seem to like me."
Nicolas burst out laughing.
"How can she like you if you don't like her?" he asked after a moment
. "She started it!" Ray defended herself .
"Ray, don't be a child!
" "She is," the girl said indignantly. "And you're defending her.
" "Are you jealous?
" "Don't change the subject! You're defending her!
" "Because she's a student! Like you! I've defended you my whole life, isn't that what you're feeling?"
Ray looked at Nicolas reproachfully. Maybe he was right... and she was truly jealous... but of course he was right, and she was mortally jealous! But… how can you not be jealous when a true god is sitting next to you…
"I'm sorry…" she whispered contritely.
"You should apologize to her, not to me," Nick said, carelessly brushing away a strand of hair that obscured his eyes.
God… oh yes. Tall, muscular, a little pale, but that was forgiven when he took off his shirt. His shoulder-length black hair was unevenly cut, slightly curly, which irritated Nick, but in the eyes of girls… it was growing by the day. His delicate nose contrasted slightly with his masculine frame, yet it added to the charm Nick possessed in abundance. Delicate facial features, eyes as black as night, and that smile! Absolutely no girl could resist him. Nick, however, didn't exploit his beauty; in fact, he claimed it bothered him.
Ray sat next to this seemingly dark fellow and realized she wasn't just his friend. Ever since Chanell showed up, Ray has felt rejected, unwanted. She feels like Chanell is trying to steal Nick away from her. Except… Nico is just her friend.
"She's new, maybe you don't like her very much, but Ray… you can't hate her right away!" Nick explained .
"You're right, I'm jealous. I only have you here!
" "And tons of admirers!
" "Nico…
" "Isn't that right? Everyone likes you because you're a wonderful person… you're not alone, and you don't only have me. You have me, among others.
" "So I have nothing to hide behind to explain why I'm jealous?"
Nick gave Ray one of his dazzling smiles in response. No one said anything. They both gazed at the stars again.
Nick's whisper broke the silence.
"Maybe you should just talk to her?
" "I don't really feel like it…
" "Do whatever you want.
" "Nico…?
" "What?
" "Whose coat is that?"
"What kind of coat, what are you talking about..." Nick broke off, spotting a black coat carelessly thrown in the corner in the pale moonlight.
He and Ray exchanged frightened glances and reluctantly stood up. Nick walked closer to the lying coat and, as if to Ray, as if to himself, said:
"Where did you come from...? Nobody comes here...
" "And yet... it wasn't here yesterday.
" "The day before yesterday," Nicolas corrected the girl
. "Excuse me...?
" "The day before yesterday. We weren't here yesterday. Someone knows we're here. "
Ray picked up the coat.
"It's big... I think it's a man's..." Nick said
. "Yes, but it smells like women's perfume!
" "So you're suggesting it's a girl?
" "And I think I even know who..." Ray looked triumphantly at his companion. "I have a feeling she's not as saintly as you think."
It was almost 3 a.m. Nick couldn't sleep. He was constantly haunted by a terrifying nightmare in which the institute's students were burning in unimaginable agony. Their screams still echoed in his head. Every so often, he woke up drenched in sweat.
Now he sat on his bed, staring at his dark silhouette reflected in the mirror. He sat back and relaxed. These were, after all, just his nightmares.
He wanted to go get Ray and head to the courtyard together. But Ray didn't live alone, and he didn't want to wake Chanell, who lived with her.
The relationship between the girls wasn't the best. They often argued, and there were even major arguments, from which Chanell emerged unscathed. And although she instigated and fueled these tensions, Ray always got the blame, even though everyone knew about the French.
Chanell was the instigator of most of the conflicts that were increasingly occurring at the institute. Why did she get away with it? Well, Chanell's daddy paid the institute a lot to bail it out of financial trouble. The director—everyone's great friend, the eternally young one (as he was called)—was actually greedy and was very tempted by Chanell's father's money.
Life had changed drastically since Chanell arrived. Ray did everything she could to avoid her, tried to spend more time with Nick, but when Chanell noticed, she began to fawn over him like a kitten on a teacher. And Ray, Nicolas, saw him less and less often.
Right now, he really wanted to see her; it was nighttime and everyone was probably asleep; he could talk to his friend in peace. Just like before.
He cast one last, rebellious glance at the mirror that night. It looked menacing, blending into the darkness surrounding the room. There was something strange about it… or maybe it was just an impression.
Nick stood up. He put on his coat and quietly left his room. He stood outside his own apartment door when suddenly he heard soft footsteps. He could recognize every footstep; he and Ray had ambushed other teachers hundreds of times at night, keeping them from noticing the pair marching up to the fourth floor.
It was… a girl… a light one, because the footsteps were so quiet. It was definitely not one of the teachers. It had to be one of the students.
Nick peeked around the corner and saw only a piece of the coat disappearing. The figure was heading to the fourth floor. If it weren't for the fact that someone was heading to a forbidden place, he would have gone to Ray and ignored it, but… this was his place. His and Ray's.
He followed the figure.
He quietly followed her step by step, keeping her from noticing. She led him to the courtyard. Nick hid behind the door, watching the figure.
The girl crouched on the stone floor and, with white chalk, drew a large pentagram with a goat's head and mysterious symbols. She took off her coat. And as Nick guessed, it was Chanell. She wore only a black dress.
She sat down in the center of the pentagram she had drawn and, raising her hands above her head, began repeating some strange words Nick didn't understand. Nick guessed it was a prayer, but… to whom and why? To Satan…? Perhaps, but he still couldn't see the purpose.
The prayer had been going on for quite some time; it must have been an hour. Nick wasn't entirely sure, but his legs were aching, so a lot of time must have passed. He gave up spying on Chanell and took the opportunity to visit Ray.
He told her everything he'd seen and the dreams he'd been having for some time. Ray, sleepy, wasn't quite paying attention to what Nick was saying, but she tried not to let it show.
"You're not listening to me." – Nick said reproachfully.
– I'm sorry… you should have told me tomorrow when I wasn't sleepy, instead of coming to my room in the middle of the night and waking me up… if someone sees you here… I don't want to know what will happen.
– What have you become so saintly lately?
– I always was. You obviously didn't know me well enough.
– I didn't know you well enough… – Nick laughed. – Come on, I've known you for over five years! Have you forgotten we're friends?
– I think you forgot. – Ray replied sarcastically.
– Me?
– Of course you, who? You talk to that… that… tramp all day! What do you think you're thinking! You think you can just…
– Calm down! – Nick shouted. – Me? Yes? Me? And who's avoiding me? She doesn't come, doesn't talk to me like she used to? She doesn't bite!
– Of course you know that best! Besides, she's a vampire, so she bites! She's probably already bitten you…
– Ray, what are you talking about!!!
"So she bit you! She won you over, and now you're turning on me!" Ray shouted with tears in her eyes.
Nick was furious. He stood up, looking at Ray with pure anger, even hatred and disgust.
"You were right. I should have not come here. I'm wasting my time," he said, and left the room.
Ray called for him to come back, even though she knew he wouldn't. She sat on the bed and cried. She regretted every word she'd said to him today. But you can't turn back time...
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