Chapter 65: The Awakening Part II

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: The Awakening Part II

Chapter 65: The Awakening Part II

The moment Erik and Kai separated from the others, the atmosphere changed.

The growling continued.

Not loud.

Not constant.

Just frequent enough to remind them that they were no longer alone.

The sound echoed strangely throughout the stairwell.

Sometimes above them.

Sometimes below.

Sometimes so close it felt as though something was breathing directly behind them.

Neither man spoke as they climbed toward the twentieth floor.

Hrimnir padded silently beside Erik.

The once-small cub had grown considerably during the past three months. Although still young, his movements carried a natural confidence that seemed almost instinctual.

Reaching the twentieth-floor landing, Erik stopped.

"Kai."

"I know."

For once, Kai wasn’t smiling.

The hallway was eerily quiet.

No screams.

No footsteps.

No movement.

Just silence.

Kai glanced toward the apartment doors.

"Who exactly are we checking on again?"

Erik recalled what Penelope had told them before leaving.

"Not sure."

"You didn’t investigate who the tenants to each floor were?"

"Well, we didn’t exactly have time."

Kai blinked.

"That’s it?"

Erik nodded.

"That’s it."

Kai stared at him.

"Brother."

"Yes?"

"We’re risking our lives for people we don’t know."

Erik considered that for a moment.

Then he simply said,

"We need to. The less infected the better."

Somehow...

That was enough.

Kai sighed.

"Fine."

"But if one of them turns out to be a lunatic, I’m filing a complaint."

For reasons Erik couldn’t explain, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

The two approached Apartment 2001.

Erik knocked twice.

Silence.

He knocked again.

Several seconds passed.

Then—

A woman’s voice echoed through the door.

"...Who is it?"

Relief flashed through Kai’s expression.

At least someone was alive.

"My name is Erik Ryker," Erik replied calmly.

"I’m here with my brother, Malakai Ryker"

Another pause.

"We heard strange noises and thought we would check it out."

Silence.

"We are your neighbors" Kai followed up once he noticed the lady had no intention of talking.

"I don’t have neighbors." Vanya responded warily.

Kai opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

Fair point.

Erik remained composed.

"We live on the 24th floor.I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but due to some... unforeseen circumstances affecting the city, we’ve reason to believe there may be dangerous individuals inside the building."

The apartment became silent.

"We are just checking on the residents." Erik finished.

Long enough that Kai wondered if she had walked away.

Then—

"...Dangerous?"

The suspicion in her voice lessened slightly.

"Yes."

Another pause.

"What happened?"

Erik’s expression hardened.

"This is going to sound unbelievable..." He paused. "We’ve encountered individuals who appear to have died..." Another pause. "...and then become active again."

Silence.

A long silence.

When the woman finally spoke again, her voice had changed.

"I see."

"Do you understand what I’m trying to say" Erik asked.

"Yes."

Then—

"Mostly."

Kai and Erik exchanged a glance.

"What does mostly mean?" Kai asked.

The woman hesitated.

"You are talking about zombies. Am I correct?"

Another pause.

"Yes, Zombies" Erik responded.

Almost as if the universe had been waiting for those words—

A low, guttural growl echoed through the hallway.

Kai froze.

Another growl answered it.

This time—

From Apartment 2002.

His eyes widened.

"...Did it come from that door?"

The growling grew louder.

More violent.

Something slammed against the wall inside the apartment.

Kai immediately moved toward the door.

"We need to break it down."

"Don’t touch the door!"

The woman’s voice suddenly echoed through the hallway.

Kai stopped.

"What?"

"Leave her alone."

Kai slowly turned around.

"Leave her alone?"

"She’s sick."

Kai stared at the door.

Then at Erik.

Then back at the door.

"Ma’am."

He spoke very carefully.

"Whatever is happening in there...I’m pretty sure it’s not the flu."

Silence.

Then—

"...She’s a vampire."

The hallway fell silent.

"She...she should be fine." the lady finished.

Kai slowly turned toward Erik.

Erik looked back at him.

Neither man spoke.

Finally—

Kai let out a long sigh.

"See? Told you."

Erik blinked.

"Told me what?"

Kai pointed toward Apartment 2002.

"First zombies."

"Then cultivation."

"Then magical beasts."

He threw both hands into the air.

"Now vampires."

For the first time since leaving the Space—

Erik laughed.

Not loudly.

Not for long.

But he laughed.

Kai stared at him in horror.

"...Did you just laugh at me?"

"No."

"You did."

"I didn’t."

"You absolutely did."

A faint smile remained on Erik’s face.

"Let’s move."

Kai muttered something about ungrateful older brothers and followed.

Behind Apartment 2001’s door—

Vanya stared silently at the entrance.

For reasons she couldn’t explain...

The sound of Erik’s laughter made her feel just a little less afraid.

-

The moment they stepped onto the nineteenth floor—

The laughter disappeared.

Silence.

Not the peaceful silence of an empty building.

A dead silence.

The kind that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Kai frowned.

"Do you smell that?"

Erik nodded.

Blood.

Fresh blood.

Slowly, they moved forward.

One step.

Then another.

The smell grew stronger.

Apartment 1902.

The front door stood half open.

Kai swallowed.

"...Should we?"

Erik didn’t answer.

He simply pushed the door open.

The apartment was a mess.

Furniture had been overturned.

Family photographs littered the floor.

A shattered teacup sat beside the entrance.

And in the center of the living room—

An old man stood over a teen.

The boy couldn’t have been older than 16.

He was curled into a ball beneath a coffee table, his eyes squeezed shut.

Asleep.

Or unconscious.

The old man leaned forward.

His movements were jerky.

Unnatural.

A low growl escaped his throat.

Blood stained the front of his pajamas.

For one terrible second—

Kai’s mind refused to understand what he was seeing.

The old man slowly turned.

His face had been torn apart.

One eye hung loosely from its socket.

The other had become a cloudy white.

"Grandpa..."

The sleeping teen whimpered.

The zombie froze.

Its head twitched.

Then—

It turned back toward the teen.

Kai’s blood ran cold.

"Brother."

Erik didn’t answer.

Because he already knew.

The old man wasn’t protecting the boy.

He was hunting him.

Inside his mind—

Hrimnir spoke.

"Erik."

The wolf’s voice was calm.

"Eliminate him."

The zombie took another step.

"He is a danger to the pack."

For the first time tonight—

Erik hesitated.

Not because he didn’t know what to do.

Because this wasn’t a monster.

It had been someone’s grandfather.

Someone’s family.

The teen stirred again.

"Grandpa..."

The zombie lunged.

Lightning erupted.

The crack of thunder filled the apartment.

The old man’s body flew backward.

A spear of ice pierced through his chest a heartbeat later.

Silence.

The only sound left was the frightened breathing of a teen who still didn’t understand that his grandfather had died twice.

Or that Erik had just saved his life.