Discovery

I made it back to my tent safely, but not without garnering the attention of everyone around me. Because while I looked perfectly fine, my clothes were drenched in sweat, blood and urine. I didn't exactly look or smell good. 

However, for once I was glad no one cared about the homeless. Otherwise someone might have asked me questions about why I was covered in blood, which would just cause more problems. 

When I went inside my tent, I started to analyze what had happened to me, and what exactly changed.

1. I was really strong.

2. I healed from deadly injuries.

3. My sense of taste might have changed.

4. My other senses had also improved.

Then there were things I couldn't understand, like that interaction with the girl who caught me eating the meat, why did she react the way she did? It just wasn't normal, no matter what.

Also... This... My thinking was so calm and.

Organized.

Too organized. I could tell, I was smarter than I was before, but why? Did I get inject with some experimental drug to create super soldiers? No, if I was then the military that developed me would have already taken me in.

It could possibly be that I wasn't the only one in the world who underwent this change suddenly, but I wouldn't know unless I was able to check the news. I didn't have a computer, much less even a phone, so how could I check?

Then it hit me.

The library. It was $5 to get in, which I had, but I didn't really know how I would get there unless I just walked. I barely had $6 and I would only be able to spend $1 on transportation, which would get me no where.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided I would just walk to the library tomorrow morning. I decided taking the night to relax wouldn't hurt, as I felt a lot of stuff had been going on in my life, and that slowing down wasn't going to hurt. 

****

It was a few hours after the sun had set, but I was laying in my sleeping bag with my eyes wide open. I hadn't been able to sleep, no matter what I tried, as I was mysteriously full of energy. I decided to get up and wander around town, since it seemed I was not going to be able to sleep at all.

I grabbed a change of clothes, and washed off in a nearby creek of water. I had some soap and shampoo I scavenged from the trash, so I was able to clean up really well. While I was rinsing out my hair, I caught my reflection in the water, and was stunned.

I previously had average looks, but what I saw now made me think it was all a lie. I had pitch black hair still, but when I touched it I realized it was perfectly silky and incredibly soft. I also noticed the change in my eye color, it was now a mysterious silver. My face had also reached a level I thought was only reserved for the heaven blessed.

I was more attractive than all the models I had seen. I had an incredibly well defined face, and perfectly shaped face. I didn't see anymore blemishes on my skin. I noticed that scars I had since I was younger, disappeared, and now I had jade smooth skin. 

I think I answered the question of what happened with that girl earlier. If I had seen me, I would have been too shocked to realize that I was eating raw meat either. After I finished admiring myself, I began my walk around town. I was so used to being ignored, but this time I was experiencing something new. 

Everyone kept looking at me, unable to take their eyes off of me, as I looked like a celebrity walking through the streets. I even had several red light district women walk up and try to offer their services to me. I simply smiled and walked away. I wasn't ignorant of their line of work, and I knew that there were no feelings involved. It was just business to them, but I had no interest or even money. 

I was purely walking around to burn energy, but as I walked I began to relish in the attention I was receiving. To be completely honest... I liked being attractive. I even began flirting with women here and there, a few even offered ME money to spend the night with them.

Which tempted me, as someone who was extremely poor, but I restrained myself. There were other ways to make money. For now I wanted to be a little smart about it. I lifted a couple wallets while I walked, and made my way to a restaurant I knew. It was a Chinese restaurant, where a friend of mine worked. I wanted to talk to my friend about this, and I trusted him deeply with my secret. 

It was my closest friend Cho, who was also a homeless orphan but he was two years older than me so he had landed a job at the Chinese restaurant. Thanks to that he was able to become self sufficient, and he tried to take care of me in any way he could. 

He lived in an apartment above the restaurant, but the owners only would allow their workers to live there, not their friends or family. So I couldn't stay, but I knew Cho would let me if he could. Instead he often provided food for me, bringing it to my tent and most importantly he would eat with me. 

He really helped me maintain my sanity, as he still treated me like a human being, and not some trash because I was homeless.

When I arrived, I calmly walked towards an opening in the wall to the back, and waited for Cho to come with an order.

"Two orders of fire cracker chicken and soup dumplings!" I heard a familiar voice after waiting for a few minutes.

"Hey there Cho." I said, poking my head around to the opening. 

"Huh? Sir, I'm sorry but do I know you? Are you perhaps mistaking me for someone else?" I could see the confusion plain as day on his face.

I laughed lightly.

"It's me, Viktor. Your lifelong brother."

"WHAT?!" he shouted. He quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment, before he told me to wait for him here. 

He went to talk to his manager, and got permission to take a quick break. The managers were all looking at me from a distance, wondering how Cho knew a model.

Cho led me to an empty table by the corner of the restaurant, before he leaned over and grabbed my face. He started touching it all over, looking for a clear sign it was a mask.

"This... Is your real skin. How did you change so much since the last time I saw you? What happened?"

I could tell the genuine concern in his voice. I'm sure he thought I must have signed up for some highly experimental procedure or took out a giant loan to get plastic surgery. 

I laughed, and took a deep breath before I turned serious. I explained the entire thing to Cho, who I came to visit today since he had a larger world view than me, so perhaps he had some ideas of what was happening to me. Cho became furious when he heard how they had almost killed me. 

However he went silent after hearing about what happened, with my sudden recovery and my sudden increase in physical abilities.

He was quiet, while he was thinking of something, seemingly receiving a hint. It was a few more minutes before he started speaking carefully.

"Viktor... Have you ever heard of something called 'vampires'?"

"Hm? No? What is it?" I asked, tilting my head trying to think if I had ever heard of it before. 

"Vampire is a term for a creature in movies and books, that is not human. They have incredible regeneration, strength, and speed. They also have a weakness to the sun, but so far you don't seem to be showing any of those signs. They are also rumored to have other mystical abilities but those are much more varied than the main characteristics I said before."

He then paused, before glancing at me.

"They also have another thing distinctive about them... They..."

...

"They what, Cho? It's okay you can tell me."

He took a deep breath before looking me straight in the eye.

"Viktor, vampires get their insane abilities at the expense of having to drink blood to live or maintain their sanity... It would explain why you were so sensitive to the raw meat. But nothing can be too certain yet. There is something we won't know for at least a couple decades, but Vampires usually live forever. Oh!! Hey they also usually can create other vampires!"

"Create other vampires? Why would I curse them with this?"

At this Cho made a face.

"What do you mean curse? Viktor, this is such an insanely rare circumstance, you have the chance to live forever and with the strength to live how you want. You can live as an insanely rich person after a hundred years. Think about if you live a thousand, you'll have more money than anyone else in the world."

Cho had a sad look on his face, which I didn't understand but at the same time I did understand a little. He was right that I had a power to change my life, and then enjoy it for as long as I liked. I just had a little bit of a negative outlook on life currently, so I was not too keen on extending my suffering.

But what if I took care of the source of suffering... I had the strength to kill Ryan with a single hand.

Dark thoughts began to cloud my thoughts, and I think Cho saw that.

"Hey, Vik... The last thing you want is to be imprisoned or discovered for your abilities. If you get caught you might end up being a lab experiment while they try and pry the secrets to immortality from your body. Killing Ryan... It will have to be well thought out. A perfect plan. So let's take it slow for now. Also this might be a little much of an ask... but..."

I knew what he was going to ask.

"If you don't mind spending eternity with me, I don't see why not, haha. But I don't know how to turn you into a vampire."

"Oh that's easy! We can try out a few methods first! Here, for now I gotta go back to work, let me talk to the owners and see if I can get you a job so you can stay with me upstairs. You're too good looking to be living on the streets, someone might attack you. Also you could pass as someone who is over 18. I almost mistook you for an adult, so I think the owners might go for it. Wait here."

Cho then got up and went to talk to the owners. I could even clearly hear the conversation, from across the restaurant. 

Simply put, Cho was convincing them to hire me as a server. I was good looking, and had a good character. Cho vouched for my integrity, which warmed my heart. Cho really was a friend I could see myself spending forever with. We had always had each other's backs, never once looking to betray or take advantage of each other. 

The owners eventually relented when they heard Cho vouch for my character. They did have a few high profile clients, and having a good looking server might make them spend more money. Cho handed me the key to his apartment and told me to wait for him up there tonight. His shift would end soon and they could talk more after.

I went upstairs and the room was very modest, a simple bedroom with a moderately sized living room. I would sleep in the living room on the couch, since it was Cho's place he should have the bedroom. I checked the fridge and found some raw meat, which I did end up eating again. 

After eating, I found it delicious again, so I began to look on Cho's computer. He had a really old computer, but it was doing it's job, as I looked up everything I could about vampires online. Cho was right with almost everything he said, but I still continued researching as more information would always help. 

I discovered my fingernails had grown longer and sharper, and when I went to the mirror I found my teeth were normal until I focused on my canines. When I focused, they became sharp and protruding, but I was glad that I didn't seem to have many problems fitting in with normal humans.

I used my sharp nails to cut into my own skin, to see my regenerative speed. Small cuts disappeared in seconds, while deep cuts took a little longer, while large injuries only took minutes. I didn't test out fatal injuries, but I assumed it would be longer. 

I continued to test different things, when Cho suddenly came into the apartment. He was watching me as I tried to move a coffee mug with my mind, but to no avail. 

"Guess you don't have telekinesis. Did you look online for more info? Is that what you're testing right now?"

"Uh, yeah. So far I've confirmed my regeneration, my physical powers but I can't find any supernatural powers yet." I explained. Leaving the mug since I didn't feel like I could move it even if I stayed here forever. 

Cho came over, and handed me a container of takeout from downstairs. He sat down next to me, and began to eat after turning on the TV.

We sat while eating, but I felt strange. I watched him eat, and I also confirmed I didn't have an aversion to normal food, but I wasn't interested in it. Instead I was watching Cho spend his day. It was... Simple. I didn't know why, but I felt like we were wasting out time, however I realized soon that it was simply me being self centered and thoughtless. 

Cho was not the one who was changed, it was just me, so I understood why he didn't seem too interested in testing things out with me.

I put my food down after thinking for a long time. 

"Cho."

He turned to look at me, a lo mein noodle hanging from his mouth.

"Do you... Want to become a vampire...? I know it's a lot to think about, but I just figured we could really achieve a lo-"

"YES YES YES! Let's do it!"

I was taken aback, by how excited he was, but soon the both of us were laughing together. He realized how he sounded, but I understood. If you told me that I could live forever, and gain incredible power, I would jump at the idea too. I just felt that the weight of eternity was something people didn't understand, and was a big commitment to make. 

I used one of my nails to pierce my finger, and looked at Cho in the eyes one more time to make sure he wanted to do this. He looked back at me, and simply nodded before saying his thoughts.

"I don't want to live like this... I want to be someone. To be a part of something... Together with you. You're my brother, and you always will be. Why don't we create a family? I don't mean anything weird like adopting a kid together, I mean creating a vampire clan or family. We could achieve so much. Find people who need a family, like us. People we can trust... What do you think?"

Cho looked so passionate as he spoke those words. We were both orphans who didn't know their parents, and were ignored by society. The concept of a family was so foreign to us, as the most we ever had was each other. Sharing in our struggles, while striving for success together. 

"Here is to the creation of our family... Noctis."

"To Noctis." Cho said, smiling.

I then held my finger above his mouth, and squeezed a steady stream into his mouth.

That night, the Noctis family was officially created.