Awakening (Redux)

Prologue

It'd been a crisp spring night when I lost my parents. Smoke and ash met my eyes as I shot up in bed, orange and red flames roared through our halls as I flung my door open and screamed for my parents. I could only faintly hear them screaming for help in their room. As my feet slammed onto scorching hardwood, my parents' door went up in flames. I rushed toward it, and then the boiler blew. I was flung back by the shockwaves, splintering wood and debris piercing through me. I landed where my mother had kept a garden, of which I was rarely allowed to enter as it held plants that seemed unnatural. Her garden had been her prized possession, and the house, my father's. And there I lied, blood pooling beneath my broken body as emergency lights and sirens entered my ever-fading senses

The doctors were mortified when they saw my body, rushing to the OR to save what little life I had left. The only thing that'd kept me lucid enough to respond had been adrenaline, and that waned as we flew past the bright lights. As I came to, I wasn't in a hospital. The bed was right, with monitors, wires, IVs and all, but the room was painted. The floor wasn't tile, but carpet. I could see out the door leading to a living room, and on the couch, I could see someone. Reaching over, I tapped the button to call a nurse, and the person on the couch turned and got up. It took me a moment to realize who was staring back at me with a soft smile.

"Hi, Auntie...." I croaked.

She leaned down, kissing my forehead and handing me a bottle. I could hear something swishing around gently inside it, although the bottle was opaque. When I reached out, I could see the damage to the skin on my hand. A large metal shard from the house had gone clean through it in the explosion. There wasn't even a scar. Confused but grateful, I mimicked drinking to my aunt, and she nodded.

As I took the first sip of the liquid, memories of my mother and father flooded my mind. From a young age, my father and I'd always been close. He'd been military before meeting my mother. My mother was foreign, my father meeting her in Europe on his last tour. They'd hit it off and eventually married. Shortly thereafter, they had me. Through both of them, I learned the values of a good meal, a good knife, and a good heart. Going to the range with my dad was probably my favorite pastime or baking cookies with my mother. These memories crammed into my mind and the tears began to fall. I pulled the bottle away from my lips and let them, reliving the first 17 years of my life within seconds. My aunt sat with me, comforting me until they stopped.

"Axel, I know this is difficult, but you've got me. You can stay here as long as you need. I was assigned as your legal guardian." she said.

I could only nod softly, eyes red from the tears. I eventually passed out and woke up the next morning. I looked around for the bottle but it was gone. I went to uncover my legs, anticipating inabilities to walk or stand, however, my legs looked untouched too. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, each inconsistency driving my mind further and further into shock. I reached for my glasses, slipping them on and running to the bathroom. Looking myself up and down in the mirror, there weren't any scratches or scars. Panicking, I ran out of the bathroom and straight into my aunt. She looked surprised, gripping my shoulders before speaking,

"Calm down, please. I can explain, just... just breathe," she said, letting go of my shoulders.

After collecting myself, I asked,

"What day is it?"

"April 23rd. You were asleep for a week."

"A-and the fact, oh, I don't know, it might be strange considering I HAVE NO FUCKING SCARS OR BROKEN ANYTHING!?"

"That's where it gets complicated... follow me," she said, walking back to the living room.

I followed behind her, sitting down on the couch as she grabbed an old photo album from the TV stand. She sat down and flipped to a picture of my mother and my father. She took out the pictures and flipped them, revealing a second picture. My mother's hair, once blonde, was ice white in the picture, a dove perched on either shoulder. My father's once dark brown eyes were pitch black, hair slicked back with a wide grin.

"What kind of joke is this?" I asked, rolling my eyes and going to stand up.

My aunt pulled me back down and handed me the pictures. As soon as I had them in my hands my parent's voices echoed through my head.

"Son, we love you. We tried to hide this from you, but now you must know the truth. We aren't human... most "people" aren't. Every bloodline has different types of blood from creatures that are considered mythical. Werewolves, Vampires, Elves, they exist. Most features are minute, though, but there are places where we're normal. You'll find yours, we thought we'd found ours. We're sorry we can't be with you..."

Their voices faded from my ears, and the tears began anew. My aunt took the photos and the album from me and returned them to the stand. Once I was calmer, I finally walked around the entire room. It wasn't a house like I'd originally thought but a studio apartment-sized room. My aunt chuckled,

"I see your confused face. This is my special place. I'm a cleric, a little bit of angel blood is all I've got. Brew up a mean mending potion though. It's housing for demihumans. That's your angels, mainly. This room's yours, do with it what you please. Feel free to roam the complex, but do avoid trouble."

I peeked my head out of the door and looked around before ducking back in.

"And I'll be safe here?" I inquired, still on edge from the idea that I was surrounded by something brand new to me.

"100%"

"Do you have any work that you need done? I want to be somewhat useful."

"You know how to use a computer, right? You can be our... Tech Lead. Monitor security cameras, fix any wifi issues, etc." She chuckled, ruffling my hair.

"Fine by me. I'm gonna head to the front desk, but I must ask, where is it?"

My aunt walked out the door and led me down a flight of steps and into the main lobby, with a separate room for security. She handed me a key to the door and smiled,

"If you need me, use this," she said, handing me a box, "A new phone, set it up in here, the wifi passwords on the sticky note on your desk."

"Thank you so much, you didn't have to."

"It's just fine. Now you enjoy, I gotta go. Love you!"

I waved as she closed the door and got to setting up the new phone. Little did I know, my days were only just getting interesting.