Part 1

[Present-Lara]

Lara kept her head down as she headed for the first class of her last year at university. She didn't want to pass out soon because she didn't know what she would do after this. She already had a job offer in hand but she was not so sure about working just yet. She wanted to spend all her life studying but she knew that was not possible because she needed to start working soon to support herself. After her parents had died, she grew up in the care of her older sister who had made it clear that it was high time she stopped relying on her for her expenses and took up a job. She figured she could take the job and continue to study further side by side to become what she truly wished to be – a professor in biochemistry.

She bumped into a student while she was lost in her thoughts and looked up to apologize but the words died in her throat. The guy she had bumped into had a scary look on his face and it seemed as if the bump had actually caused him great irritation. She quickly looked away and muttered a 'sorry' and left because she felt the longer she looked at him the scarier he seemed to become.

She noticed there was an empty seat at the end of the room and started walking towards it but a girl stopped her midway and smiled energetically at her. "I'm Maya, I just shifted here this semester. Would you help show me around the campus, please?"

"I'm not exactly the best guide around here," Lara muttered a quick response. "You can ask the guy up front with the specs, his name is Michael and he would be more than happy to help you."

"Oh okay," she stepped aside, disheartened – letting Lara through.

She set down her bag on the desk and took out her phone to check out the latest weather forecast. It said that the sky would remain cloudy all day and there was a chance of a thunderstorm occurring. As if the Gods understood she wanted rain within moments the sky was filled with dark roaring clouds. The power went out and some of the students started hollering loudly in the dark. The heavy wind blew the windows open and people sitting near them started gathering their books to stop them from flying away.

What a dramatic start to the semester, she thought.

She looked up at the sky from the window nearest to her and the sudden light of the thunder almost blinded her. There was a loud sound followed by a few screams as the bolt struck somewhere nearby. She immediately covered her ears while a few people ducked under their desks. She removed her hands from her ears as the sound faded and looked out the window to find that the thunder had actually struck too close. It had fallen on a tree just outside of the campus which was now burning and in front of the burning tree there was…

Him.

She tried to focus clearly to see if it was actually him or if she had been mistaken but before she could, a loud scream interrupted her and she noticed a crowd forming in the middle of the room. Someone was holding something and the girl who introduced herself earlier as Maya had apparently shouted when she noticed what it was. Lara's curiosity got the best of her and she moved towards the crowd and noticed a boy holding a paper in his hand which contained the words in red bold words – "I AM COMING FOR YOU"

Maya kept screaming her head off. A few others held her down and then she finally calmed down enough to say that the red letters were actually written by blood – her own blood. Lara looked at her hand and saw a deep gash from which fresh blood was still flowing out. A few students scattered in different directions creating distance between them and Maya while some questioned her as to how she got the cut but she started crying and sobbing too much to be able to speak. After a few seconds she said that when the power went out she was pulled into the corridor by somebody she couldn't see and her hand was cut open by a knife and after that she was just too much in pain to put any attention to what was happening around her, it was all just too quick for her mind to register.

The boy holding the paper dropped it in shock and Lara bent and picked it up slowly. This could all have been a big prank and they were not silly young high schoolers to actually fall for such stuff but the girl with the bleeding arm confirmed that it was no joke. Lara looked down at the paper and noticed the blood from it dripping down to the floor.

"Who would do such a horrible thing?" A guy muttered. "This is scary as fuck, man. Someone should take her to the infirmary."

Another girl nodded and took the injured one out. Lara kept staring at the paper in her hands, feeling numb and disgusted because she knew exactly who could do something as horrifying as this.

Lucien Lethar.