The Lost Prince's

Chapter 2 Exhuman (part 1)

    I felt like I was lying on a soft green grass. Ah there was even the smell of morning dew dripping on the tips of the little leaves. I don't know where I am, but I really like this scent. Like the smell of the forest in the morning plus the aroma like vanilla is so sweet. Then something touched my neck, slowly but it blew my wishful thinking. I jerked. Open ones eyes. A brilliant topaz blue-eyed man looked at me. Our faces are so close. I could feel his breath blowing on my cheek. He looks as surprised as I am. But then he immediately retreated and stood beside the bed where I was lying.

            I get up and sit down. My neck hurts so much. And I found my body shaking no

controllable. “A-are I still alive?”, I ask.

            “Ya”, replied the man.

            “Ta-but, how? How is it possible?” The last thing I remember a vampire gulping down my blood.

            Karen ran into the room where I woke up. “Thank God. Brother already aware”

            I don't get it. “What happened? What is all that..dream?”

            Tears began to flow from Karen's eyes. “No, sis. All that is not dream”. It started

sobbing. “I...I really thought that I would lose my sister that night.... It all happened so fast, and I couldn't do anything about it. Even Father and Mother.”.

            “What are they....?” My question hangs in the air, I can't solve it. I know the answer once Karen's tears get louder. My chest tightened, my breathing suddenly heavy as if something was blocking it. “Because of me...”

            Karen took my hand, grabbed it. “No. It's not brother”'s fault

            I hugged Karen, rubbed her back. For a moment I completely forgot what had happened to me. Wait, what happened to me? The vampire attacked me and said something about changing me and stuff. Then what happened to me?

            “Who is he?”, I asked Karen, suddenly remember there was someone else there.

            “Ah, this is Brother Zero. He saved us”

            “Oh..”, I murmured slowly, trying to smile. Zero just nodded slowly. “What happened to me?”

            Karen and Zero looked unmoved, as if time stopped flowing for a few seconds long. Then Zero turned to me and said, “You already know. You're going to be a vampire”

            “A-what??! You must be kidding me! I can't be a vampire. I am a human!!” I don't know why my voice is rising. I can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. And this guy, he could have said it without feeling at all. "I'm not going to be a vampire" I muttered more to myself.

            “You must have changed, sooner or later”, Zero said.

            “No! There must be something that can be done”

            “Nothing can be done to draw back the blood of vampires who have taken over

your body”

            Heart melos. Nothing can be done, he said. What I live for. What I was saved for. “Cannot..”.

Karen just looked down, maybe she avoided my gaze. Karen always does when she doesn't want to tell me something she knows. He is not good at lying or hiding things. But even though Karen didn't say anything, I already knew from her face that she must have seen my future. And that's not a good thing.

            Zero sighs. “Rest. I will prepare dinner”, he said as he turned around to get out.

            “Wait!”, call me unknowingly. Suddenly remembered something.“What about that vampire?”

            Zero did not turn his head he just stood unmoved for a moment. “Dia...lari”, he said then walked leaving me and Karen to the outdoors.

She ran??!! My deuteronomy inwardly. I don't think about this answer.

Karen, who understood that I was curious, told me what happened that night after I lost consciousness. According to Karen's story, Zero came and fought using a sword against the vampires who attacked me. It is not clear how detailed the fight was. I can't blame her, Karen must have been in shock as a witness to all the horrors. Karen said for now we don't have to worry, Zero doesn't mind if we stay at her house. Although there's no way I'm not worried. But well, considering my body was still trembling and high fever I guess I had no choice.

            ***

            "You can ask me. I will answer it”, Zero said breaking my daydream. He sat at the door to the balcony, fiddling with his laptop.

            “Huh?”

            Zero looked at me, “Tell me what you want to know"

        I turned to look at him, indeed many questions were bothering me. Suspicion arises from incomplete details on Karen's story of what happened that night. And a hunch kept tickling my head. All right, I'll ask. "Karen said you found us and fought vampires

that's. How could? Fought?"

        Zero still had a flat face. "What do you want to ask?"

        "Say, 2 other vampires came, so there were 3 vampires, and you fought with them? Then they run? How strange. They're vampires, so how do you explain why they ran away?"

        "Manusi can't possibly fight them, that's what you mean", Zero murmured, his blue eyes now pouring into my eyes. "I'm a vampire"

        Both my eyes grew bigger, my hair stood up. The horror spread to every cell in my body. This is totally insane! Both my parents were killed by vampires in front of my eyes. And the vampire almost killed me. And now another vampire saved me?!!!

            “Why did you save me?”

            “Because I don't want you to die”

            “Why?", I asked half a grin, unable to believe my hearing. “You don't know me”

            I turned my eyes away, but I knew Zero was staring at me as if she had a laser look that could see right through someone. “Don't say that you hope not to be saved”

            I didn't answer. My lips were cupped and lost the ability to make sounds. My intestines seem to twist and harden. I'm not sure either. Could I hope so? If my life ends that night, I don't have to face another vampire like I did now. I can't believe it. Zero was one of the monsters that killed my family. She must have had an ulterior motive so she saved me and Karen. My heart breaks to realize the one possibility that Zero is motivated by. He's after the same thing that vampires attacked us. The blood!

great Karen saw this 'future' so she concluded so. But if vampires are after that blood

special, it's certainly not my blood. I'm not special. The one he was after was Karen!

        Damnit damnit! I have to tell him. Karen has to hide. This place is not safe at all. The vampire Zero might as well want Karen's blood. I rushed out of the room where I woke up. It had been two days since I woke up in that room, and only this time I left the room. I crossed a large room with a sofa and bookshelves, heading up the stairs. There was one other door besides the one from which I came out. If it's not wrong it's the vampire's new room. I heard him go in there. As soon as I went down the stairs I could see Karen receiving the package at the front door, Zero stood beside her. I rushed to him. The parcel delivery officer was gone when I approached.

        “What is it?”

        “Clothes. We have to change clothes, kan”, Karen replied then she turned to Zero. “Kak Zero, thank you”

        Zero simply nodded slowly and walked across the living room. He opened a small refrigerator there and picked up a can of cola. Karen started walking to a door beside the stairs. He opened it and walked inside.

        “Karen, we need to talk”, I said as I followed her into the room that turned out to be the room.

        Karen sat on the bed, looking at me question mark. "What's wrong?"

        I closed the door tightly before turning to face Karen. "We need to get out of here"

        "Go?"

        I'm nodding. "It's not safe here. That man did not save us at all. He's a vampire too!"

        Karen's eyes seem to be growing. Surprisingly, he doesn't look surprised by the fact that Zero is a vampire. Karen nodded slowly.

        "Don't tell me..."

        Karen aggrandize. "Yes, I already know about Brother Zero.."

        "Then why??!! Why are you quiet?!! Don't you realize that we have to escape?!!"

        "We don't need to. Brother Zero doesn't have the bad intentions as big brother thinks"

        "Why are you talking like that? How can..!"

        "I see it, the future. Brother also knows the future is happening as I see it. Brother Zero will not harm us. You have to trust me"

        "Listen, Karen, it's not just a matter of whether I believe you or not. I know you see the future, I believe it. But don't forget, you don't see someone's heart. We don't know what a vampire looks like" and I don't feel curious either. Anyway, we have to get out of here. "Sst..." I stepped to the door, bringing my ear closer to the door. "Some one's coming"

        Karen did not move from her position. I don't know what he was thinking until he trusted Zero so much. But whatever it is, I can't do it. I can't believe the guy I just met, the guy I don't know, he's a vampire. And from the sound of footsteps outside, the vampire had 2 friends! Damnit damnit!! Not done yet I think of a way to escape from 1 vampire, what now comes another vampire. I heard the voices of two men other than Zero. Their manner of speaking sounded like they were the same age as Zero. It's just that these 2 newly arrived people have very similar voices, even though their speech styles are different. Zero asked them how they were doing, or something like that.

        "So you're still alive?"

        "Basic! At least ask the right why", one protested.

        "Of course we're still alive. Such a mission is not enough to kill us" said one more person, sounding more serious.

        "Well.but this time it's really not easy. We could've died if the headquarters hadn't pulled back this morning"

        "....we are outnumbered and lose track. But there are certain things to be sure of..."

        "First, they're not mad vampires. Both of them are after something.."

        "Only 1 block was attacked..." Zero looked muttered. "What are they after?"

        "Don't know. We managed to catch a vampire, but he still did not want to open his mouth" said a serious voice.

        "Zero, it looks like they're led by a pureblood"

        "Who's the leader?"

        "VanBlood"

        The sound of paper crumpled furiously.

        "Why? Know her? Is he your enemy or something?"

        "Shane", another voice rebuked a more serious voice.

        "What's? I'm just curious. Zero had never shown a reaction like this before"

        "But if you're really interested or something, why don't you help the mission this time? Even that day you were aware of the attack before the hunter's headquarters"

        Zero did not answer.

        "Basic.we have sent another team to monitor the situation. But it won't be easy to track their location"

        "In times like these, the Guardian is really useful. They manipulated the results of the autopsy and the terror investigation in the city of Siverra very well. Tch!" a serious voice (Shane) could be heard swearing.

        My breath was held in order to hear the name of the city of Siverra where we moved 2 weeks ago. They're talking about vampire attacks. I rushed out of the room running into the living room where Zero and his 2 friends were talking. They looked surprised with all their heads turned towards me.

        "Tell me one more time!", I exclaimed regardless of their shock.