The Van Helsing Conjecture – Excerpt No. 271

They collectively stopped, once the lead group was within fifteen paces. The man who lined up with the direction of bolts in her back made a sign with his arm to order them to halt.

“What are you doing here?” Asked a man who stood to the left of the one she guessed was the leader.

His voice was smooth as silk, and Clara heard the modulation in the voice. She was not sure how, but he somehow learned how to use their voice like vampires did. I’ll call him Silky.

“We got trapped in a fucking endless corridor and found this place.” Julia said.

The best lies were those based on truth, but her already high heart rate went up a tick. It was not much, but someone like Clara would pick up on the deception.

a dramatic, high-contrast, cinematic photograph of two young women with dark brown hair, walking side by side down a seemingly endless, dimly lit corridor, its walls and floor constructed from glossy black stone, with the woman on the left wearing a fitted, black leather jacket, and the woman on the right carrying a vibrant red backpack with worn straps, both women having a casual, relaxed stride, with a sense of depth and mystery in the atmosphere, captured with a shallow depth of field, emphasizing the subjects, and a subtle sense of motion blur, suggesting a dynamic, in-the-moment feel, shot from a low angle, looking up at the women, with the corridor disappearing into darkness in the distance.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.