Stay Alive

Chapter 5

I finished work and arrived home on public transportation. It was a hover bus. Mine was on the eighth stop. The apartment resembles a spiral. The one next door is a medical facility. It resembles uneven blocks laid on top of each other. Next to it is the police station. In front was a coffee shop. I quickly went indoors as it began to rain a red liquid. I quietly got inside and opened the mailbox to check my mails. There was none. I quietly walked towards the elevator and it took me to the twenty third floor. I have the room at the end of the corridor. The apartment was spacious. Modestly decorated with the Nocturnum culture. No statues but there were all sorts of paintings depicting their history.

I took a shower and changed my outfit. Dinner arrived moments later. A blood bag. I sat down to drink it and walked out to the balcony to see a huge fire. People were screaming for help so I ran to help. I plucked a kid and dashed for the door. I put her down and ran to find anyone else. I found an elderly nocturna. I picked her up and dragged us both out of there. I heard a crack so I pushed her forward and tried to duck. The firefighters came and extinguished the flames. A beam fell on my legs. I screamed in pain as I smelled my burning flesh as my thigh bone was crushed. I passed out from the pain. As the darkness enveloped me I saw a woman call out to me.

I woke up in a sterile white room. I saw that I was surrounded by nocturna. They seemed pleased. I bowed to show my respect. They bowed to show theirs. I touched my leg and winced as I remembered that beam. A white haired woman caressed my hair as she told me that my injuries are all healed. She thanked me for saving her daughter. I told her that my birth parents were first responders. So they have trained me to save lives. A man in regal robes invited me to a ball. I was to be commended. There were a few others who were curious. Apparently I was the only human who ran to help. The others stood behind to observe. I realized I was in a nocturnal medical facility. They had replaced my damaged body parts with nocturnal parts. I was given a blood transfusion. I remained there till the dizziness went away.

I had frequent visits from Jym. He was fascinated as my body began to resemble them slowly. I grew a few inches tall. My nails grew. My hair got thicker. My skin became more translucent. I saw that my brown eyes had turned steel blue. My senses sharpened as I started to hear conversations happening all over the building. My sense of smell sharpened as well. I could see in the dark. I even saw through the wall. I can sense my surroundings with my eyes closed. I sat down and tried to control my heart beat. I managed to calm myself down and tried to do something about the dizziness. I fully recovered a week later. They ran a million tests before I was given the all clear.

I was sent back to my apartment. I stayed for an hour before I ran to the library. The others were watching me curiously as I was a completely different person now. I was faster as well. I finished sorting the newest edition of book. Max came with plexiglass box with a scroll slightly unfurled. He said that the museum will collect it in an hour. I sat down to drink the blood bag. One of the other employees asked me how I feel. I told them that I feel normal. They were talking when we heard an explosion. My colleagues ran for cover. I ran to find out what was going on.

I saw that a building had collapsed. There were bodies everywhere. The Nocturnum authorities were removing the bodies. There were those who were traumatized or were in shock. One of them blamed us saying that these terrors began when we arrived. They called for our eviction. I am happy to go to Yaddle since I have a job there. After many warnings to handover the perpetrator. No one came forward to accept the blame. It was deemed as a suicide bomber. The authorities examined the situation. The natives decided to punish the rest of us.

They released a mysterious substance to the air. After some inquiry I found out that it was a pathogen that targets all humans. Once infected the humans slowly transformed into bat-like creatures with insatiable thirst and insanity. A high sensitivity to sunlight. One bite or the slightest scratch is enough to transform someone into these beasts. It started in the western regions. And slowly spread out towards us. The humans begged for mercy saying that they just want to live in peace but there are those that hate the day to day so they ruin their lives. I had to attest to that. After which the humans were monitored but the pathogen still kept infecting people. They didn't release the anti serum.

I remember sitting in the city square watching birds fly above me. The fountain was spray red liquid to a particularly somber melody. Children were giggling and chasing the birds or butterflies. There was a brief moment of awkward silence and then I heard a growl. The sound resembled closely to a lion about to hunt its prey. I got up and quietly walked towards the building. One of the Nocturnum asked me how I was. I politely told him that I am fine but most importantly something is coming so I would recommend that we go indoors for safety. He gave me a kind smile and told me to sit down. He pointed to one of the benches closest to the fountain.

I sat down and we played a game of chess. I kept insisting that we go inside. The Nocturnum observed me for a moment and continued the game. I kept hyperventilating. As I heard screams and people being ripped apart. I heard a gurgling sound and sound of bones snapping. I told him to get up and move. He calmly ignored me. I had enough and screamed DANGER. People stared at me for a moment but they could react a human sized bat attacked an elderly man. Everyone stared for a moment before their legs obeyed their command. People were pushing and shoving to get to the nearest building. I grabbed a kid that fell down and ran for cover.

Finally the infection reached the capital. The infected never hurt a Nocturnum. They only targeted humans. For some funny reason it never attacked me either. I watched as those that were caught got ripped flesh from bone. They begged for help and I tried to help them but one of the Nocturnum stopped me. He grabbed my shoulder. He held on to me with a strong grip. He pushed me towards the chairs and watched as I cried for being helpless. The Nocturnum observed as no one else bothered to help them. All they did was watch and cry. Some even closed the doors to make sure no one else got in. The ones on the other side pleaded to be let in but their pleas were ignored. The others held me in place as these things killed the humans.