Chapter 3 : Transform :hunger
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**How did I get myself into this?** the man thought with his head buried in the ground.
****** Flashbacks
"You are a worthless man. I can't take it anymore. You are fat, lazy, and gamble all your money on betting. Take our daughter; that's the highest thing I can give a worthless man like you. Don't call me again. Goodbye," a young woman said, dragging her bags as she left the broken alley.
The buildings here had collapsed, weak and unrepaired. The poor lived here for a certain amount.
The fat man stood still, watching his wife leave. The rain fell, neither heavy nor light, just enough to cause a chill.
She walked away, desperate to escape him. He was an utter failure. They had been sweethearts since college, and married soon after. After college, he got a good job and lived in a nice estate, but then disaster struck. The head of his company was killed for trying to reveal some things he shouldn't.
Like an elephant's dead body, many predators from other companies rushed in and tore the company apart. Billions wasted. The workers lost their jobs and fell into debt.
He needed fast cash to pay it all back and looked for a job, but no one employed him. In the end, he started gambling. It was good at first until he became addicted, and all the money was gone, piling up his debt.
She stayed for three long years, hoping everything would change, hoping he would stop gambling, hoping it was all just a dream. But now, she was fed up and had finally left.
"She is a good woman," he murmured, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Thank you. I realized too late, though." Maybe if he had looked for a small job or a couple of them, he could have paid more since the time limit was large.
All because they weren't responsible for the company's destruction.
He couldn't complain about the debt that came out of nowhere because the last people who did died. Some had told the police, and the next day their bodies were found dead. The police ignored the situation.
Some powerful people were controlling it. Now, he, a fat man, had to take care of his daughter. He looked down at the little girl holding his hand, a doll clutched in her left. She gazed at her mother's figure until it disappeared over the horizon.
"Daddy, where's Mom going?" the little girl asked, her eyes firm. No tears, just a curious expression.
"A small journey. She will be back soon," the fat man said, wiping his tears. His daughter had always been different. Not crying—cold, in fact.
"Oh, okay," the little girl replied, removing her hand and walking inside.
The fat man stood there for hours until the rain stopped, the sun shone for a few moments, and then set before finally entering the house.
This time he planned to do something good, but it all went bad. No one employed him, and he was back to square one until he met a strange man who told him, "To get something, you have to trade. Eternal life and fame for a life. Isn't it good?" That man asked him, and his frustrated self replied, "Tell me about it," watching as a grin appeared on the stranger's face.
*********Back to the Present
"Yes, my lord," a chirpy voice echoed among the debris. A single leg smashing down broke the ground and sank the head a few centimeters into the earth.
"Hehe… What a good lad," Kite said as he removed his leg slowly and walked to his seat.
The fat man bowed again before leaving.
"Have someone repair this," one of the members said to the darkness, and a silhouette appeared, bowing before departing.
"So, do you really want to taunt an original vampire family like this?" a female vampire asked with a smile.
"Well, yes. Why not, sister? After all, they have been asleep for so long. How strong can they be? Besides, the daughter is the only part of the family not that rat," Kite replied from the sideline.
"Well, you are right. The girl is ripe at 18. They should come for her to bring her back, only if the originals are still alive. If not… heh, their families will be gone," one of the members said with a wicked smile, and the rest chuckled.
The plan years in the making had finally reached its last phase.
************ At a Hospital
A luxurious car parked at the main gate of the hospital. "Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you?" Kate asked, her hand already on the ignition button, ready to leave.
Lyon looked at her, at her movements, at the guys watching him from the black cars—the snipers.
*sigh*
Just after the sigh, he disappeared. Kate's body froze in shock. How could a human disappear like that? For minutes, both the guards and Kate stood in shock, their minds spinning as vehicles passed, wondering what was wrong with the statue-like humans.
Finally, Kate snapped out of it, opened her car, and went to where Lyon had been standing. She was more shocked when she got there.
There were two deep, dozens-of-centimeters shoe prints.
"He isn't a human… definitely," Kate thought in shock, her mind racing.
******** Back at the Mansion
Kate returned home and parked the car. Getting out, she looked back, wanting to confirm if she was being followed. She called some of her guards from the hospital, and they concluded that he had run away, but how fast was he? They didn't know, so she felt insecure.
"Well, I'm home now," Kate said, a smile creeping onto her face.
Just as she opened the door, she found a man sitting on the couch.
"You!" she gasped in shock as the man smiled.
"Uncle, what are you doing here?" Kate asked warmly. This was a friend of her dad's.
A fat man stood up with a smile and greeted her back. "Well, they let me in when I showed my ID and spoke with your dad. This place is fortified—not even a fly can slip in," the fat man commented during their chat.
"Yeah…" Kate dragged her words, thinking about how fast Lyon had been.
"So, Uncle, why are you here?" Kate decided to ask the most important question.
"Well, my daughter decided to transfer to your school, so I wanted to inform you so you can both take care of yourselves," the fat man suggested.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Kate readily agreed. Why not? After all, he was Dad's friend, and if she didn't, she would receive a world-ending story from her parents.
"Good. I sent her number to you already. She will meet you there, okay?" the fat man said with a smile.
"I have it already," Kate replied.
"Well, good. I hope you two relate well. The last time you chatted was when you were ten," the fat man joked as he walked toward the door, ready to leave.
"We will, Uncle," Kate replied with a smile as her uncle opened the door and they both stepped out.
Soon after Kate's dad's friend left, she was left with the task of talking to his daughter, Irish. That cold, distant girl.
"What a headache..." Kate thought as she trudged upstairs.
Now, she had to clean the room of that strange man. Opening the door, she saw the plates and tray left behind, but something was missing.
"Wait, where are the bones?" Kate muttered, bending down to search for them.
After several moments of fruitless searching, she stopped. Then, a disturbing thought crossed her mind.
"Did he eat the bones? Is he some kind of animal?" Kate's eyes widened in shock.
"What did I bring into my house?" she thought, horrified.
---
**9 AM**
Kate was dressed and ready, having prepared her own breakfast . The maid would come to clean at 2 PM, whether she was home or not. Today wasn't any different—except that she was moving into the school hostel.
"Another boring year..." she sighed as she loaded her luggage into the car and drove off.
Behind her, a small convoy followed.
After a 45-minute drive, she finally arrived at the school—rumored to be the weirdest one around. Strange things happened here: missing kids, disappearing buildings, even organs vanishing without explanation. But thanks to the wealth and power behind the institution, it was all kept under wraps.
As she pulled up to the large gate, Kate couldn't help but sigh. Her memories of this place weren't exactly fond.
---
**At a Forest**
Lyon staggered into an abandoned factory deep in the forest, his vision blurry and head pounding. Something was wrong. The hunger within him was growing uncontrollable. He forced himself deeper into the factory before collapsing.
Moments later, something else rose in his place.
The figure that emerged was tall, strong, and beastly in nature, with a long snout, sharp claws, and powerful hind legs. Its body was packed with muscle.
"ROAR!" The beast let out a thunderous roar, its dominance echoing throughout the forest.
---
**At the Club**
"What's that?" one of the high lords asked, all eyes turning toward the direction of the sound. It came from the factory where Lyon had fallen. Their breaths grew uneven as a bloodlust filled the room. Smoke from bullet exchanges lingered in the air, as if war was ready to erupt.
"Let's go," Kite ordered, and the group moved out swiftly, hunting for this new beast that dared to encroach upon their territory.
---
**At the Factory**
Minutes later, the five high lords arrived at the factory and spread out. In no time, they converged at the innermost section. No beast in sight, but a clear sign had been left behind: five massive claw marks carved deep into the ground.
"This paw..." one of the members murmured, trailing off in disbelief.
"It's much bigger than we thought. This isn't a regular alpha," the female high lord said, her brow furrowed in concern.
Kite stepped forward, placing his hand on the claw marks.
"Have you noticed how small we are compared to this? This creature is likely on the same level as us," Kite said grimly. "And now it's loose in our territory."
...Srii...
Suddenly, several large figures appeared, their bodies emitting guttural growls. They were giant, wolf-like creatures, but as they approached, their forms began to shrink, shifting into humanoid shapes, naked and standing before the high lords.
"Where is he?" one of the wolves asked.
"If we knew, we wouldn't be here," the female high lord responded coldly.
"More importantly, how dare you enter our territory?" Kite growled, his voice filled with fury.
"Relax. We came to deliver a message," one of the wolves replied.
"A message? Then speak," another female high lord said sharply.
"On the third and final blood moon of the year, the Originals shall rise again," the wolf recited, his words sending a chill through the vampires.
The high lords exchanged uneasy glances. A prophecy about the Originals—those ancient, powerful beings—was something to fear.
"Leave before I decide to kill one of you," Kite commanded, his cold eyes sweeping over the wolves.
The wolves merely snorted before shifting back into their beastly forms and leaving.
"It's just a prophecy. It may or may not come true. Remember the one about the first werewolf waking up? That turned out to be false," one of the high lords said, trying to ease the tension.
"You're right. Everyone should calm down. Let's proceed with the plan as usual," Kite said, trying to dispel the anxiety.
---
**At the Forest**
Two wolves stood hidden, watching a monstrous figure rampage through the forest. Trees were felled, the ground laid bare, and half-eaten corpses littered the area.
"What should we do?" the yellow-eyed wolf asked nervously.
"I don't know. I've never seen one this big before," replied the blue-eyed wolf, bulkier and taller than his companion. His voice was filled with concern. "This thing isn't just a werewolf anymore... It's something else."
"Should we report this to the pack?" the yellow-eyed wolf asked, eyes darting around.
"The pack can't handle this. It's beyond us," the blue-eyed wolf said. "Look at its size, its power, its speed... we could barely keep up."
"Let's observe for a little while longer before returning. We need to give a proper report," the blue-eyed wolf decided.
"Wait..." the yellow-eyed wolf's voice trembled. "It's too quiet now."
They both scanned the area, but the giant beast was nowhere to be found.
...Growl...
The deep, guttural sound echoed behind them. They turned slowly, their hearts sinking.
The monster was there, staring straight at them, drool dripping from its open mouth.
It was ready to kill.
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