His body lay unmoving, a pool of thick red blood surrounded his small figure. Screams pierced the air- my screams. The villagers held me back, rage in my incoherent threats and curses and my hands grabbing furiously at the small girl who stood in front of the boy’s body. She furiously shook her head, a look of horror written on her face as she backed up away from the scene. Deadly glares shot at the child as she crumpled to the floor sobbing fearfully, and the wails of sirens were heard from afar.
“When will you stop burying your head in those books and pay attention to your own family!?”
The man before me, my husband, yelled at me, his words passing right through my ears. I couldn’t hear his babbling through the mathematical formulas and the millions of biological terms in my head. But there was one thing I did notice. It was that the little boy I grew to love and adore with all my heart, my son, was gone. That was the main reason I was so glued to the books, perhaps. I had gone mad with anguish and hope that I could bring my son back. Being a high ranked biochemist, I had access to private research materials. I had actually found a way to bring him back. Or so I thought.
My tears flew in the wind as my feet swiftly carried me through the mess of damp twigs and leaves. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, my body numb to the blood dripping from the wounds across my back and legs. My head pulsed as blood-curdling cries rang out behind me, my heart beating faster and faster by the second. Sweat trickled down my spine as I struggled to cram myself into a nearby tree hollow. Grief overcame me in that moment, my hand sliding to my mouth to silence my sobs.
There was an eerie silence before the cracking of twigs was heard. Rain began to pour amongst the silence. A shadow flew past the small hole that I hid in, and two blood red eyes met mine. A black, toothy grin stared back at me as its grey tongue flicked, saliva hitting my skin and sizzling. In the distance, a loud whistle pierced the air, and the creature sped away in the direction it came from. My eyelids drooping from exhaustion, everything faded to black.
“Are you alright?” a silvery voice spoke out.
A dark figure cloaked in black approached me, my hands ready to reach for the daggers strapped to my thigh. A warm glow radiated from the intricate white crest engraved onto my right arm, the dark figure’s arm glowing in a similar light. An ally. My muscles relaxed as my vision started to adjust to the darkness, lit only by the small crackling bonfire nearby. His face became clearer, his deep violet eyes piercing into my sapphire blue ones. He held out his hand, pulling me up off the damp ground before blowing a shrill whistle into the air. The nearby bushes rustled as I tensed, and unveiled a large gray wolf. It gently padded towards the black haired male with its mechanical leg and circled around him affectionately.
“The name’s Noctis,” a grin found its way to his face as he spoke, “and this is my partner Alphis. We’re Bloodhunters that happened to be in the area. That was a pretty close call there. You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m alright,” I smiled back at him.
One year ago, there was an equipment malfunction in a laboratory that was attempting to create a new lifeform. During the creation process, the body of the lifeform was found to have indestructible qualities. After some testing, the scientists discovered that it could only be injured by cells of its own kin. The incomplete lifeform managed to escape and lost control, infecting those whose hearts were torn out by them with a deadly virus.
The symptoms of this virus caused the infected to become the lifeform themselves. They were bloodthirsty, savage beasts that brought the human population of our planet down to a mere four thousand. Later classified as “Alteroids” by the leading scientist of the Alter Project, skilled mercenaries took arms and hunted Alteroids in an attempt to kill off the virus before it spread any further. Engraving their right hands with crown crests in order to identify ally from foe and equipping themselves with weapons that contained Alteroid cells, they called themselves the Bloodhunters.
“I'm called Yuri. I'm also a Bloodhunter.”
“Your daggers are Alter Infused, right? You could've easily killed the Alteroid, why didn't you?”
“It was…” I hesitated and my heart throbbed, ”a close friend.”
Noctis nodded apologetically in understanding as Alphis nuzzled against my legs. I leaned down to brush through his long fur, but my fingers had barely grazed against his fur before he began growling. The stench of blood filled the area and my hands quickly moved to my daggers. Our senses on high alert, we readied ourselves for combat. An Alteroid dove for Noctis. He swiftly jabbed his Alter Infused sword into its stomach and watched as the monstrosity crumbled into ashes. My eyes followed the other two dark shadows trailing circles around us. The two remaining Alteroid came in for an attack, barely missing me as I sidestepped to dodge the attack. Throwing the daggers in my hands, a low blood-curling scream broke the silence as my clothes became soiled with a black dust. Another Alteroid lunged at me but disappeared before it had contacted with me. Alphis’s jaw was clamped on the fading Alteroid’s arm, and the three Alteroids were no more. The tenseness dissipated, and Noctis and I both held jars filled with Alteroid remains.
“They’re onto our scent,” Noctis breathed out.
“Yeah, we should get moving before they come back.”
We extinguished the fire and gathered our belongings. Following Noctis’ horrid map reading skills, we managed to find our way to a large, bustling village. Nitrias City, as it was called, was one of humanity’s last standing cities. Known as the Bloodhunter Capital, its heavily guarded walls prevent any Alteroids from getting in or out. We made our way to a small shop in the center of the village. Above, there was a sign with a carving of an anvil and a hammer. A small jingle rang out as Noctis slammed the shop doors open.
“Oi! Noctis, would you stop slammin’ the door every time ya walked in? I havta pay to get them dents fixed!” a booming, gruff voice yelled out.
“Whoops, sorry, Richard. How’d you know it was me?”
“Hello there, lil’ lad!”
Richard bent down to pet Alphis. Another boy in the shop walked up to us and placed a bowl of milk down on the ground. Alphis gave a yelp of appreciation and began to lap up the milk as the boy left to the inner areas of the shop.
“Anyone would recognize that black mess on your head. Now, what do you and your lady friend over there need from this ol’ smithy?”
“We need you to infuse this into our weapons.” Noctis and I each took out a jar of black ash and handed them to Richard.
The tall, buff blacksmith grinned at the jars of Alteroid ash. The glint of excitement in his eyes was noticeable as he held out both his hands to us. Noctis placed his sword on one hand, and my daggers rested in Richard’s other hand.
“Since you're a friend of Noctis, I’ll do this for ya’ free of charge. You sir, on the other hand, better pay up for those dents.” Richard boomed with laughter.
“Aw, come on, Richard. Give me a break.” Noctis chuckled alongside Richard.
I smiled and watched the two friends converse as the blacksmith worked on our weapons. Sparks flew as he ran our blades under the grinder. After the 30 minutes of hammering and sizzling of molten metals in water, Richard returned with our weapons. I picked up my daggers and admired them. They glistened like newly polished silver, giving off that ruthenium-like shine just as all Alter Infused weapons do.
“Nicely done, Richard.” Noctis grinned as he sheathed his sword.
“Yes, yes. Don’t die out there, you two.” He gave us a thumbs up as we left.
“We won’t die. Worry about yourself, pal.”
As we left the shop as the sky suddenly turned a dark, murky gray. The ground rumbled slightly as the large warning bells rung. People searched frantically for their children, screamed in fear, and sobbed in the midst of the chaos. Raging flames erupted from behind the stone walls that surrounded the city.
“Yuri! Hurry! The Alteroid hoard is attacking the walls!”
I ran after him towards the aforementioned walls.
“But I thought the city was well protected?”
Noctis shook his head as he ran alongside Alphis, and turned around to face me with a look of dread in his eyes.
“That one is here. There’s no way our slabs of metal can even dent that thing.”
Thing. It bothers me when someone calls him a thing. But nonetheless, it’s definitely not human. A wispy, black figure stood before the crowd of mercenaries that had rushed to defend the city, all equipped with Alter Infused weapons and all bore the blinding white crest upon their right arms. Noctis and Alphis were caught up in attacking the other Alteroids around. You again.
The black figure screeched, deafening our ears as we struggled to block out the sound. Its two pairs of blood red eyes and shark-like bloody teeth gave away what it was. The Original One had revealed itself. Its swift claws dug into each of the soldiers’ hearts faster than the speed of light, before anyone could react. Within milliseconds, almost a fourth of the mercenary group had already become infected. The Original One appeared before me. My voice began to crack, my tears hit the floor. My mouth muttered words just loud enough for the beast to hear.
“I’m so sorry, Alter. I’ve put you through so much pain.”
I dropped my blades and stood motionless.
“Yuri? What are you doing? It’s going to-”
The monster before me raised its hands, a pained smile on its face as my blood splattered across the uneven dirt floor. Its grin faded as its claws pierced its own body and the Alteroids around it began to crumble into dust. For killing me was killing its own mother, the foolish scientist that created it.