Although the world outside was now permanently night, Leon's watch still worked.
It had been four hours since the apocalypse began. Apart from Lara, he hadn't seen anyone else in the last two hours, and worry gnawed at him for the rest of the girls.
Leah should have been at basketball practice at the university's sports complex. She was the most physically gifted of the five, strong enough to handle a Skiver or two. But if a Ravager found her before she awakened… Leon didn't dare imagine.
Lena was probably home with Lily, but home no longer meant safe. The streets were crawling with monsters beyond Skivers and Ravagers.
Livia was closest, at the library. Still not near, but closer than the sports complex.
He turned these grim options over in his head when the soft rustle of fabric drew his focus. A familiar, ember-like warmth stirred beside him. Lara's eyes opened.
Without a word, she crawled onto his chest and straddled his lap in the dim light.
"Lara?" Leon asked, startled by her sudden closeness.
She lowered her head into the crook of his neck, then bit hard. Pain exploded across his skin, sharp and piercing. He grunted, hands gripping her arms, instincts screaming—then the pain dissolved into something else entirely.
A surge of connection—raw, intimate, euphoric—coursed through him. Fire raced in his veins, flooding his body until he trembled beneath her.
She drank as if his blood were the most delicious thing in the world. His heartbeat thundered like a war drum, yet instead of weakness there was heat, power, and a madness that felt dangerously addictive.
When at last she pulled away, her fangs leaving with a final sting, her lips glistened crimson. She licked them clean slowly, her eyes glowing like smoldering coals.
"Delicious…" she whispered, breathless.
Leon swallowed hard. "Lara… what the hell was that?"
Her expression softened, vulnerable in a way he'd didn't usually see. "I don't know. I just… couldn't help myself."
"Couldn't help yourself?" His voice was low, strained.
She bit her lip, fangs glinting faintly. "It was like something inside me woke up when I smelled your blood. I tried to stop… but once I started…" Her voice trailed off in shame.
Leon sighed, steadying himself. "Listen. If you ever feel that urge again, you tell me first. No surprises."
Her head dipped, but a sly smile tugged at her lips. "So… you're saying I can do it again?"
He cupped her chin, lifted her face, and kissed her—quick but certain. "As many times as you want."
"But now we have to go find the others," Leon said, standing and brushing the dust from his pants, his tone suddenly practical, almost as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Lara remained frozen in place, her lips tingling where his kiss still lingered. Did Leon just kiss me? Her thoughts stumbled over themselves, disoriented. When did he get so bold? Did something happen while I was asleep?
Her fingers brushed across her mouth unconsciously, as if trying to confirm it hadn't been some dream. Heat bloomed in her chest—not the wild, predatory hunger of blood, but something softer, something that left her unsettled.
"Lara," Leon called, glancing back at her. "We don't have time to sit around. We need to move before the city gets even worse."
She blinked out of her haze, the sly smile returning to her lips, though it didn't quite hide the flicker of warmth in her eyes. Rising to her feet, she stepped beside him.
"Fine," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "But don't think you can distract me with a kiss and then pretend it never happened."
Leon gave her a quick sideways look, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "I'm not pretending anything. I meant what I said."
She was so close to tackling him down and draining something else from him. Her fingers twitched at her sides, nails digging into her palms as she fought the urge.
They walked to the door they had come through. It groaned as Leon effortlessly pushed it open.
Now they were back on the surface, and the world was still in the same state they'd left it—maybe even worse.
"Well then, let's get going," Leon said, turning in the direction of the library, continuing forward as Lara followed close beside him.
The campus was quiet, desolate, almost like no one had ever been there in the first place. The once-green grass was now littered with corpses and blood, both human and monster alike.
Leon's jaw tightened at the thought. Humans had always been unpredictable—capable of cruelty, betrayal, and desperation even without claws or fangs. Now, with awakenings scattered across the city, every survivor was a potential threat, not just the monsters.
Things just kept getting more complicated. He really needed to get to the girls quickly.
---
The library's outline loomed at the end of the street, its wide glass doors faintly reflecting the glow of broken street lamps. But before they could reach it, Leon slowed, arm instinctively moving in front of Lara.
"Shh," he hissed.
She followed his gaze—and froze.
A mass of Skivers and worse clogged the courtyard before the library, dozens of them crawling and pacing. Their claws screeched against the pavement, their guttural snarls rolling together into a sickening chorus. Yet none of them crossed the final few feet to the library steps.
They circled and lunged, but each time they drew near the doors, something unseen shoved them back. The air shimmered faintly, like heat waves over asphalt, and the monsters recoiled with furious screeches.
"What are they doing?…" Lara whispered, her voice barely audible.
Leon's eyes narrowed. "It seems like they're trying to get in, but something's stopping them."
Lara's lips parted in awe, her fangs just visible in the faint glow. "It's like one of those, umm… what do you call it?"
"A barrier," Leon answered.
"Exactly… But who could have set up something like that?" Lara wondered.
"Maybe it's another awakened," Leon murmured.
"But whatever it is, I just hope Livia was still in there when it came up," Leon said, and Lara nodded in agreement.
The Ravager at the front let out a guttural roar, its hulking frame crashing into the unseen wall again. Sparks of pale light scattered like fireflies before it was hurled back into the mob. The horde shrieked louder, clawing at the ground—a frenzy born from frustration.
"Let's just sneak around the building first to see if there's another way in," Leon said as he pulled Lara along.
But suddenly he stopped, causing Lara to bump into him.
"Leon, what's wrong?" she asked, looking over his shoulder after regaining her balance.
Leon's gaze was fixed on the ground—or rather, what was on it.
It looked small at first.
Curled up on the ground like a lost animal, its body no bigger than a toddler's. Its limbs were too thin, ending in stubby claws that twitched as if in a dream. Its skin was pale and almost soft-looking, stretched smooth over its frame, with faint pink veins glowing beneath.
And then it lifted its head.
Big, glossy black eyes blinked at them from a too-round face. For half a heartbeat, it almost looked… innocent. Like something that should've been harmless.
Then it opened its mouth.
The skin around its jaw split wider than it should, revealing needle-like teeth hidden behind lips too small to contain them. A piercing shriek tore through the night, so sharp it rattled Leon's skull.
The horde reacted instantly.
Every Skiver snapped its head toward the sound, screeching back in frenzy.
Leon quickly materialized a sword. It was smaller than the one he had created before, but it would do the job just fine.
In one quick motion he pierced the head of the creature, finally silencing it. But it was too late—the horde was already onto them.
[+1 Shrieker Killed]
[13 kills Left]
Even as the notification sounded, Leon wasn't too sure about his combat ability. He had won against a Ravager before, but he had been filled with rage then and barely remembered what happened. And currently there were about five Ravagers present in the approaching horde, apart from the thirty-plus Skivers.
He didn't have a choice.
"Lara, I'm going to fight them off. Just stay—… Lara?"
He turned, expecting to find her right behind him, ready to follow his lead. Instead, he found an empty space.
"Leon, aren't you coming!!"
Her voice rang out from the center of the chaos.
Leon's eyes snapped up—and there she was. Lara stood atop the mangled corpse of a Skiver, crimson dripping from her claws, her hair wild around her glowing eyes. Another monster lunged at her, but she caught it by the throat and hurled it into the mob like it weighed nothing.
"Lara, what the hell are you doing?!" Leon shouted, frustration cutting through his shock.
--------------------------------------
Hey you, yes you reading this book.
Add it to your library. And stay tuned for more.