I didn't sleep that night.
Couldn't.
Every time I closed my eyes, the city didn't fade away like it used to. No. It got louder. Closer.
I heard things I wasn't supposed to hear.
Footsteps two floors down. Breathing from the street. The soft heartbeat of a stray cat sleeping near a garbage bin half a block away.
And beneath it all... the hunger.
It gnawed at me. Coiled like a beast just under my skin. Not in my stomach — deeper. Bone-deep.
No noodles, no water, no rice... none of it would satisfy this. I knew it. Felt it. Fought it.
But something else gnawed harder.
Fear.
That man. The one watching me last night.
I peeked through the curtain at dawn. Gone.
But that didn't mean I was safe.
It meant the hunt had already started.
---
Morning blurred into afternoon. Into evening. I barely noticed. Locked inside my apartment. Curtains drawn. Lights off. Sitting on the floor with my back against the wall, fists clenched.
Trying to breathe. Trying to be... normal.
But normal was dead. Buried in that broken building along with that girl.
And whatever she left inside me... wasn't sleeping anymore.
---
A creak.
Faint.
Outside.
My body tensed before my brain even processed it.
Someone was there.
Steps. Quiet. Measured. Heavy boots crunching gravel. A second pair — lighter, softer, but quick.
Two.
Not random. Not by accident.
They stopped. Right in front of my door.
A knock. But not the polite kind.
Three heavy thuds.
My blood froze.
I stayed silent. Maybe—maybe they'll leave—
"Akira Delacruz," a voice said. Calm. Male. Smooth. "Open the door."
I didn't move. Didn't breathe.
Silence.
Then the second voice — a girl's. Younger. Sharper. "He's in there. I can smell it."
Smell... it...?
"What the hell..." I whispered.
Then —
BOOM.
The door exploded inward. Wood shattered like paper.
I scrambled back, heart hammering, hands scraping the floor.
Two silhouettes stepped inside. One tall, broad. The other slim, fast.
Both dressed in black — hoodies, combat boots, gloves.
But it wasn't the clothes that scared me.
It was their eyes.
Not red. Not human.
The guy — silver irises, glowing faint. The girl — pitch black sclera, white pupils.
Not cops. Not thugs. Not people.
"Found him," the guy muttered. "Fresh core. Unstable."
The girl grinned, pulling two thin blades from her back. "Smells... delicious."
I stood. Hands shaking. "Wh-What... Who the hell are you?!"
The guy didn't answer. He just pulled something from his coat.
A baton? No. Not a weapon.
A charm. Paper. Etched in symbols. Old. Ancient.
The second it unfolded, the air twisted.
My chest seized. A spike of pain shot through me. Like my ribs were splitting apart. Like something was being... ripped out.
I dropped to my knees. Gasping. "AAGH—"
The girl lunged. Blades flashing.
Reflex — no, instinct — took over.
My vision snapped.
The world slowed.
I saw her movement before she even finished it. Her foot angle. The grip of her left hand. The shift of her weight.
I ducked. Rolled sideways.
SHINK. Her blade sliced through the air, missing by inches.
She snarled. "Fast little—"
The guy flung the charm. It slapped against my chest — and burned.
"AGHHH—!"
I collapsed. Felt something inside me clawing, writhing. My heartbeat raced, but it wasn't alone.
Another rhythm beneath it.
A second pulse. A darker one.
The red.
It spread through my vision. My fingertips. My bones.
Something snapped.
My nails split open — lengthening. Thickening. Black. Sharp.
My gums tore — fangs pushing through.
Veins blackened. Skin pulsed. Heat. Cold. Everything at once.
"Get the core!" the guy barked.
The girl lunged again — faster — blade aimed straight at my throat.
And I moved.
Not with thought. Not with fear.
With instinct.
Predator instinct.
I caught her wrist mid-swing.
Her eyes widened. "Wh—"
I threw her.
Her body slammed against the far wall — drywall cracked.
The guy was already moving — baton flipping into a blade — aiming for my ribs.
I twisted. His blade grazed my side — shallow — but it burned. Not metal. Something else. Something meant for creatures like... like me.
I slashed.
My claws ripped across his jacket — sparks flew. Kevlar? No. Something stronger.
Didn't matter. My second swipe caught his shoulder — ripped.
Blood splattered. His face contorted — not pain. Surprise.
"You—! You're unstable! You're not supposed to—!"
He didn't finish.
Because the girl was up again. Faster. Snarling. "Screw the bounty. I'm gutting him."
She charged. Blade in one hand. Dagger in the other.
I braced —
But the wall behind me — exploded.
BOOM. Dust. Concrete.
A third figure. Dropping from the ceiling. Hooded. Masked. Black coat lined with crimson threads.
I didn't even see the weapon.
Just a blur — and then the girl collapsed.
A spike. Thin. Silver. Embedded in her shoulder. She spasmed — twitching — like something short-circuited inside her.
The guy froze. "Wait — no — we had a deal—"
The masked figure flicked his wrist.
The spike pulsed. The girl dropped — unconscious.
The guy bolted.
But not before turning, locking eyes with me.
"This isn't over." His voice was a growl. "You don't know what you are. But they will come. The clans will come. And you..." His hand trembled, pressing to his bleeding shoulder. "...You're already dead."
Then he vanished. Into shadows.
No footsteps. No noise. Gone.
Silence.
Except... not really.
Because my ears still heard it.
The heartbeat of the masked figure. Calm. Steady.
And his voice. Low. Measured.
"...You don't know what you've stepped into, kid."
I stumbled back. Claws still out. Breath ragged. "Who... Who the hell are you...?"
The masked man tilted his head. "A friend."
Then he stepped forward. Into the light.
"Or..." His hand reached up. Pulled the mask halfway off. A smirk beneath. Fangs. Red eyes. "...Something worse."