I don't remember how I got back.
One moment, there was darkness. Silence. The burning sensation in my chest — that alien orb tearing through every nerve, every vein, flooding me with... something.
The next... I was standing. Somewhere. Somewhere familiar but... not.
My vision was blurry at first. Too bright. Too sharp. The edges of the world were wrong. Sounds were wrong.
A dog barked — four streets away — but it was like it was right next to me. A car engine revved half a block down. Someone flipped a lighter in an alley — and I could hear the flint strike clear as day.
I pressed my hands to my ears. It didn't help.
And then... the smell.
I never noticed how alive the world smelled until that moment. The sour stench of garbage mixing with the metallic tang of rusted pipes. The distant sweetness of roasting peanuts from a vendor I couldn't even see. The musk of sweat from a man walking past — thick, salty, suffocating.
But beneath it all... something sharper. Sweeter. A scent that hooked straight into my brain.
Blood.
My stomach twisted.
Not the usual rumble of hunger. No. This was... different. A gnawing. A craving. A need.
My throat felt dry. Mouth... wetter than usual. My tongue scraped against something — sharp.
I touched my teeth.
Fangs.
Not long. Not fully. Just... sharper. Thicker. Hidden behind human molars like secrets waiting to snap forward.
I stumbled forward, gripping a wall. My hands trembled. My reflection stared back at me from a dirty glass window.
Red.
Still red. Faint. But there.
I wasn't dreaming. I wasn't crazy.
What the hell did you do to me...
I gritted my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut. "No... no... it's fine. Calm down. Just... get home. Sleep this off. It's nothing. It's... nothing."
Liar.
Every fiber of me screamed otherwise.
Every step I took, the cravings grew. My ears caught things they shouldn't. Conversations. Arguments. Footsteps from floors above me. Rats crawling inside walls.
And heartbeats.
So many heartbeats.
Fast ones. Slow ones. Strong ones. Weak ones. Some close. Some... too far for normal ears but I could still hear them.
The rhythm echoed in my skull.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
A drunk guy stumbled out of a store, nearly bumping into me. I flinched back instinctively. But his smell... it hit me like a punch.
Sweat. Alcohol. Blood beneath skin. Pulsing. Warm.
For a split second... I wanted to bite him.
The thought wasn't mine. Or... maybe it was now.
I clamped my hand over my mouth. Stumbled past him. Faster. Faster. Just get home.
But the city didn't let me go that easy.
A vendor shouted nearby. Two men argued over a tricycle fare. A woman laughed — too loud. Too sharp.
I felt... everything.
The hunger rose again. Not just in my stomach — in my bones. My chest. My tongue.
It wasn't food I craved. Not noodles. Not rice. Not water.
It was something thicker. Richer. Alive.
I nearly collapsed when I reached the gate of my apartment. Fumbling with the keys. Breathing fast.
Inside. Lock. Shut the world out.
I stumbled to the sink. Splashed water on my face.
Red eyes stared back from the cracked mirror.
"No... No no no..." My hands gripped the counter. "This isn't real. Wake up. Wake the hell up."
But the reflection didn't lie. Neither did the whisper in the back of my head.
Feed.
No.
Feed.
Shut up!
My nails scraped the counter — and for the first time, I saw them. Sharper than they should be. Black around the edges.
I stared at my hands. My arms. Veins darker than usual. A pulse beneath them — sluggish. Heavy.
I staggered back. Fell onto the floor. Clutched my head.
This wasn't just a nightmare.
Something inside me was awake now.
And it was hungry.
The smell of my own blood — the tiny cut on my palm from hitting the counter — was enough to send another wave of nausea... or was it desire?
I crawled back. Away from the kitchen. Away from... myself.
But the hunger didn't care.
It laughed. Whispered.
Images flickered behind my eyes — shadows splitting, mouths opening wide, fangs sinking into flesh, warm blood pouring down—
"STOP!" I slammed my head against the wall. Breath ragged.
And it did.
Silence.
For a moment.
Then...
A new sound.
Not heartbeats. Not footsteps. Not rats.
Breathing.
But not mine.
Outside.
Steady. Calm. Deliberate.
I dragged myself up, peeking through the curtain.
A man stood across the street. Hands in pockets. Hoodie up. Face hidden.
But I could feel it. The way the air shifted. The way the shadows bent slightly around him.
He wasn't normal.
Didn't move like normal people. Didn't breathe like them.
And then... he looked up.
Straight. At. Me.
I stumbled back. Heart hammering.
He turned away. Pulled a phone from his pocket.
I didn't need to hear him to know what he was saying.
"Found him."
He walked away.
No rush. No panic. Calm. Like someone who knew... the hunt had already begun.
My fingers trembled as I clutched the curtain. Breath shallow.
What the hell...
What the hell did I just get dragged into?