Wild Creatures

Chapter 87

05.30am Sunday

Lan Zhan hoped that Wen Zhuliu had reached Wei Ying in time, and hopefully Wei Ying would know what to do. His venom was working to fix the gash on his arm but other than that, he was relatively unscathed.

Wen Chao was dead, and while that was satisfying, Lan Zhan thought it would make him feel better at last, but there was only a hollow feeling inside him.

Why?

He had come to terms with his new life now, slowly adjusting to all the minute changes, and it wasn't really a bad life, all things considered.

Having Wei Ying and being part of a family in a more rounded way was perhaps ninety eight percent of making being a vampire worthwhile, but if he was honest with himself, he had expected to feel something more than just this empty feeling.

At the very least, he hoped getting rid of the vermin that was Wen Chao would prevent him making vampires out of ordinary folk, innocent victims of his greed.

Lan Zhan was just turning around when a screech hurt his sensitive ears, and at the same time, he felt a sharp pain on his chest. When he looked down, he was startled to see a barbed taser latched onto his chest, in the shape of a flower. The barbs dug in, and emitted a strange substance, weakening his knees, and Lan Zhan collapsed.

He was fully alert but unable to move.

The screaming hasn't stopped, and when he lifts his face to see who dared to do this to him, he sees their feet first, followed by the furious face of Wen Xu.

"You killed my brother?" He snarls, kicking Lan Zhan's stomach once, and then a few more times out of frustration.

Lan Zhan can't feel a thing, something he's glad about.

Whatever they've given him, it has rendered a complete numbness in his whole body, and yet all of his senses are unusually sharp.

And there's something to be glad about in a petty way, because the more Wen Xu takes his anger out on Lan Zhan's body, and the more Lan Zhan maintains his perfectly calm demeanour outwardly, the more it's pissing Wen Xu off.

Lan Zhan is rather smug about this.

When feeling returns to his body, no doubt he's going to experience pain on another level, but for now, there is something to be enjoyed about the utter disbelief on Wen Xu's face.

"You're just lucky they want you alive!" Wen Xu kicks him one more time, before digging his hands into his hair and letting out a scream.

Lan Zhan is aware of more people coming into the room, the ground trembling with vibration from their feet. He can hear the mourning cries from a distraught Wang LingJiao close by, probably next to Wen Chao's dead body.

"Take him!" Wen Xu finally says, and Lan Zhan's vision rises, as he is raised up. He can see arms on either side of him, and knows that two people have pulled him up, and he's now being dragged to an upright position.

His mind recalls the film that Wei Ying made them watch: The Princess Bride. Near the end, the hero had been brought back to life after being almost dead, and the cure was taking a long time to work; in many ways, Lan Zhan understood what he must have felt like, because his situation is very similar. He can't even raise his own head, and it lolls to one side helplessly.

"Why are you still awake?" Wen Xu shouts, huffing angrily. "No matter, our orders are to take him down."

Lan Zhan does his best to memorise the way, but it's really hard when he can't see past the walking feet in front of him, and other than the grey concrete floor, there's not much in the way of distinguishing features he can use to differentiate between one corridor and another.