Chapter 21 - Lost in the woods

A small dripping sound was heard… the drops of cold water dripped onto his face. Nico groaned softly. His body was tired. He could not move.

Soft cushions were wet and his clothes clung to his body.

'Did dad pull a prank again? God, that old man is really a menace. He really forgets that I'm half-human too…' he thought silently.

Suddenly, a few drops of blood drizzled onto his lips.

He licked them hungrily.

His stomach was hollow. He was starving.

Nicolai opened his eyes and glanced up. The small tube above his head was dripping blood straight into his mouth.

Suddenly, he came to a realization.

He was not at his home. He was in a coffin that was buried deep in their basements.

He closed his eyes for a moment. 'Dad you really vexate me. Is this your way of protecting me? Gosh, who knows? My mate must be at least twenty years old by now. I missed out on so much of his growth… darn it.'

Drop by drop, as he drank the blood, he regained his strength.

This coffin was specially designed with a small latch on the inside. It made it easy for the sleeping vampire to wake up and climb out on their own and the outside latch was made so strong that it cannot even be broken into.

All of this was to protect the vampire elders.

'God knows what kind of lies my dad spewed to get this shit box.'

He blindly reached for the latch on the side and opened it.

The box popped open.

Nicolai sat up and pulled the tube out. He sucked it until there was not a drop left behind.

He let his legs hang out of the coffin with difficulty. His body was bone thin and obviously, his face was not in a good shape.

A bright light shone on his face, almost blinding him

His eyes were closed for so long could not see properly. Everything was hazy.

Only blurry green things were seen.

There was a streaming sound of water behind him.

"River?....."

The temperature was humid and slightly warm. It felt pleasant.

Thought the mosquitoes made it hard for him to enjoy his moment.

"Okay, old man, you can come out now. You brought my coffin here. You must have a plan again. Fuck, this time at least let me know of your plan. Cuz most of the time it sucks." He mumbled softly.

There was no reply.

"Are you playing dead now? Come on, I'm not a child. I don't enjoy hide and seek anymore. I can barely see dad. Just come on.."

"…." Birds chirped and frogs croaked.

"Fine, I promise I won't be angry. I know you did a shitty thing, but you are my dad. I'll forgive you…"

"…." Again, a lot of birds chirping.

"Dad?" he blindly walked ahead. The river bed was not a great help either in his state.

He tumbled down onto the rocky surface.

"Ow… okay this is going out of hand. Father… Kieran! Get out here!"

No one replied..

Something felt weird…

Nicolai hurriedly crawled back to the river and washed his eye and his face. The dullness in his eyes reduced a bit.

He finally took a good look around.

He was on a river bed just beside a forest. The tres looked very very big. He had never seen trees that big before. They looked almost ancient.

"What is this place…" he placed a hand on his coffin.

Feeling the rough texture, he looked at it in surprise.

The edges were badly broken and the top layer of black lacquer was nowhere to be found. His coffin looked very worn out.

His heart started to pound loudly in his chest.

"Why is it… dad! Dad!!" he ran into the forest.

For his coffin to be this damaged to this extent could only mean they were attacked. He saw a lot of metal scraps sticking on it. it was most likely caused by a grenade or a bomb.

"Fuck! Old man, where are you…"

He ran and ran and ran…. There was no end to the forest.

His wet clothes clung to his body. He tiredly leaned against a tree. "Where the fuck are we?"

Suddenly a sharp sting startled him.

He patted his shoulders hurriedly. A huge palm-sized ant jumped down.

"....." mouth agape, he peered at it. "Did I shrink…."

It was not possible at all..

But he really couldn't help but entertain that idea.

First of all, the trees were humongous. Like a behemoth. If humans had seen this, they would have definitely cut them and made them in IKEA furniture.

These trees looked like they were ancient. They were taller than the empire state building and were girthed like a fucking elephant's butt.

"How can my coffin get there though.." he mumbled, standing there blankly.

There was another possibility. He could be in the Amazon forest. it was known for having a widespread river flow and the forest was still untouched by humans.

"Amazon… is that right…." he glanced around.

"How did my dad even get me here?"

The last thing he remembered was the werewolves rushing in after them and his father burying him under. it was most likely that his dad escaped that attack after burying him. after years or so, he must have secretly dug out and brought him here.

"That could mean the war is over right…or maybe the war did not happen at all."

Nicolai then peered at the ant that crawled up the tree trunk. "or.. is this a new species?! Ohhh I get to name it.." he excitedly jumped. "I'll name you Nico."

The ant simply turned away and ran up the tree.

"Ungrateful. I gave you a wonderful name…"

Rolling his eyes, he continued walking deeper into the forest.

After trekking for twenty-minute he stopped. The sun was going down.. he was hungry, and slightly lost.

Just slightly.

Who was he kidding? He was completely lost with no signs of civilization anywhere to be found? His phone in his pocket was burst. he had no way of navigating or even calling for help..

"It's okay. I can deal with that. Wherever my dad went, he must come back for me…" he crawled under a tree that had a small space right under its roots.

Nico's stomach growled loudly.

"I'm not hungry… it's not that bad…."

At night thunder picked up.. Rain and muddy water gushed into the small ditch he was hiding in.

"Fuck! It's bad! Where the hell am I!!!!! Where are you, you silly dad!!!! Agghhhh I'm going to punch you so hard that you might need a nose job!!!!!"