Awakened (Bloodline, #1)

Chapter 2

02: I Plunged to My (Second) Death

I thought I had reached my fear limit but I guess there were still things that could exceed it. Besides, I was still in shock after discovering I had no heartbeat and I could breathe without using my lungs.

That I was an undead.

"Let's go," he repeated. "We need to move."

Napatingin akong muli sa lalaki na ngayon ay naghahanda na para umalis.

"Where?" tanong ko. "Why do I need to go with you? I mean . . . I still don't know what's happening and I'm still freaking out to this whole undead thing and I don't think I can—"

He sighed so loud that I got interrupted. "You have so many questions."

"Well, of course!"

"Alright. I'll explain more along the way."

"But . . . what about those . . . those creatures outside?"

"They have already been taken care of?" he confidently said.

"How—"

Suddenly, a zombie appeared out of nowhere and I instinctively hid behind the guy. My throat felt dry that I couldn't scream anymore so I just stared at the creature in front of us in horror.

Okay, he looked like a man but the bandages around his face made me think he was a zombie or a mummy. After what I just witnessed a while ago, I was sure most of the creatures I could only see from books or movies were real.

The only visible part of his face were his gray eyes that gleamed eerily under the moonlight. He was wearing a black military uniform and dirty combat boots while a sheathed rapier hung by his waist.

"All clear," he said in a muffled voice.

"Well done, Irus," the guy replied.

Irus? Was that the name of the zombie guy? Wait, come to think of it, I still don't know his name.

"Hey," I called as I tugged his sleeve. "What's your name?"

He smirked at me and what they did next made me so uncomfortable. They both bowed and knelt in front of me.

"Khmer of Abkhim bloodline, tracker and safekeeper of Vrivarya," he introduced.

"Irus of Izcacus bloodline, assassin and shadow of Vrivarya," the bandaged guy said.

Vrivarya? That was a northern country if I remembered it correctly. Maybe that was the language he was speaking a while ago.

After their over-the-top introduction, Khmer, I'd just call him Kei, led the way and I followed right behind him. Irus suddenly disappeared but I knew he was just around us. I preferred him to be away from me after learning that he was an assassin.

Medyo dumikit ako sa kanya nang makalabas na kami sa bahay dahil naalala ko ang tatlong umatake sa amin kanina. Mamaya ay mayroon pang tulad nila na nakaaligid sa amin. Hindi pa naman ako sporty type kaya paniguradong hindi agad ako makakatakbo.

Naalala ko naman ang dalawang lalaki sa sasakyan kanina. They said something that sounded like those bloodlines they spoke of, too.

"Those guys earlier," I said while we were walking into the woods, "they called me something. Like string or what, it sounded like that."

"Stryzyga," he corrected.

"Yeah! That. They called me that."

"It's an ancient bloodline, just like the clan of Abkhim and Izcacus."