After The Awakening | ONC 2023

Chapter Nineteen

'Now who the fuck are you?' Xavier demanded, as a harassed-looking vampire entered the room. He was young, maybe only twenty, but that didn't reflect his true age.

He hurried to unhook the IV bag from Xavier's arm.

'You're with the girl? The First-Born?'

'What's it to you?' snarled Xavier.

The man paused with his hands resting on the buckle of the restraints.

'Because June said you were.'

'You're with June.' Xavier began struggling against the restraints until the man's cold hands held him still.

'You need to trust me.'

'Like Hell I will.'

The vampire frowned and stepped away from him with his hands held high.

'I'm here to help you.'

'June is the reason we're here in the first place.'

'She had no choice. None of us do. Brogue controls everything. He sired June against her will. He used her so that her mate could buy blood for his newly sired vampires. That's what Brogue does, he reals people in with lies, uses them, and then keeps them in line with threats when they realise they've been fooled.'

'Why would he need Krish for bagged blood?'

The vampire ran a hand down his face. 'Because if he took all he needed from one source, then someone would get suspicious.'

'I don't understand.'

'Then I need to show you.'

With steady hands, the vampire unbuckled the restraints and Xavier stepped down carefully, eyeing the man for any sudden movement.

'How do I know I can trust you?'

'You don't, but you have no choice.'

They stared at each other. What exactly were his options? Even if he didn't trust the vampire, he had no chance of overpowering him, and without him, he'd still be battling with the restraints.

'What do you need to show me?' Xavier said finally.

The man relaxed a fraction and held the door open for Xavier to follow.

'You're a Bureau agent, right?'

'I was.'

'So you were trained to kill vampires?'

'Where are you going with this?'

Xavier watched as the vampire scanned his badge and ushered him through a door onto an open metal staircase.

They descended in silence. The overhead lights were so dim he could barely see a few steps in front of himself. When they reached the bottom, he saw rows and rows of army style cots laid out with plastic bubbles covering them. Multiple blood bags fed into each one.

'What are they?' Xavier asked.

'Creatures of Hell,' the vampire answered.

Xavier glared at him. 'Explain.'

'You know why he wants the First-Born's blood?'

'He said something about the next evolutionary step.'

'The blood he collected the night of the Awakening was enough to begin his work, and of course, he had more than enough test subjects after that night.'

'Test subjects?'

'Agents that were turned. Perfect subjects. They were already trained killers. Disciplined. Used to taking orders. The perfect army just waiting to be released.'