Chapter 3 : Humans are Despicable

Nezeira ran her superbike through the broad streets of Leopolis. In about twenty minutes she reached the State Building area main gate. Parking the bike in front of the gate she took off the helmet. The sunlight hit her face revealing her exquisite complexion. She showed her face which the guard scanned for identification, before bowing his head to let her in. She walked slowly, approaching the building, and scrutinizing the whole area. Suddenly the tracking gadget on the left hand blinked red. She pushed some buttons and found that the location is inside the building. She paced up and walked to the main entrance of the building. During the day the building looked less creepy and more like an abandoned desolate place.

Nezeira stepped inside which was now lit up due to being daytime. What she saw made her a little taken aback. Blood was everywhere, dried on the floor, splattered on the walls, on the stairs, and everywhere her eyes went. Nezeira went up to the lift and pushed the buttons to see that it doesn't work. She then went to the right side of the lift area where the stairs are and looked up to see how far it goes and if it was bright enough. Since the building has mostly glass walls it was fairly lighted. So she took a small step back and jumped up a few floors, and landed. It looked like an office floor which is now quiet with everything broken and scattered. She pushed through the glass door to enter what can be called a huge sprawling office. Before entering she checked her gadget again for the heat sensor which earlier gave off the red signal. It seems she was closing down on it. She again clicked some buttons and the heat signature turned from a dot to a red patch on the screen which indicated a direction that Nezeira slowly walked towards.

She heard a ruffled sound somewhere which immediately alerted her senses. She didn't know what she will find and now kind of regret for not bringing any weapons with her. If it's a human then she needn't worry but if it was something else then she has to rely solely on her capability to defend herself. The only advantage she has right now along with her own ability was that it was daytime. Nezeira looked around and found a broken window panel. She broke a rod from it and held it as a weapon, slowly following the ruffled sound. It came from the office pantry. The door was closed. Nezeira was about to reach out to the doorknob and twist it when she stopped. She found a window just opposite the door of the pantry, with half-broken blinds hanging. She tore off the blinds and broke the window glass to let the scorching sunlight in and it fell squarely engulfing the large patch of the area around the door. She then proceeded to twist the doorknob to open it but found it jammed. She gave a few more twists but in vain, so she thought for a moment and kicked the door breaking it. The sunlight engulfed the pantry room. There were two rows at both sides of the pantry with coffeemakers and other utilities. The right-hand slab was shorter than the left and towards the end of it looked like it had a water filter space there. Nezeira suddenly saw something move in that space, away from the view behind the right slab. She proceeded slowly towards the movement and then suddenly in a swift caught it and pulled away from its hiding.

The woman shrieked in pain as Nezeira caught her by the neck and hoisted her from a considerable distance from the ground. Soon she realized that she was not a threat to her, and Nezeira released her from the grip and the woman collapsed on the floor gasping for breath and coughing. Nezeira crouched in front of her and looked carefully. She was dirty and smelled bad, with unruly soiled hair and sunken eyes. It can be easily deduced that she was starving for several days. Nezeira then asked her,

"Do you know what happened here?"

The woman replied, "Not exactly but I know something terrible. There were these creatures all over the place. They killed all, my colleagues."

Nezeira, "What kind of creatures?"

The woman, "I have never seen such things nor ever I have heard about them. They are like these filthy monsters with fangs; they have these disgusting blisters all over their body, sharp nails, and dripping blood from their mouth. I watched as they killed all."

Nezeira, "Where were you when this happened and how did you manage to survive?"

The woman, "I was in the pantry when I heard a commotion outside. I ran to see what happened when these creatures, god knows where they came from, started to attack and kill people. I quickly hid there locking the door. The pantry is at the fag end of the office corridor and that day luckily I had the key because I was one of the last ones to stay late for work."

Nezeira, "So when did this attack happen?"

The woman, " Around 6:30 pm or so."

Nezeira, "So you mean, after the sunset."

The woman, "Yes. We, a few were left behind to work late."

Nezeira nodded her head and said, "Come on then, let's get you out of here. Can you walk?"

The woman nodded and followed her. They came out of the office and slowly took the stairs down. After some time, they finally reached the ground floor and came out of the building. Nezeira called Ywain to inform them about her finding and also instructed that the Chief be informed as well. She then turned to the woman and asked,

"What is your name?"

She replied, "Lily! Thank you so much for rescuing me."

Nezeira, "It's fine. But tell me something, why did you stay up there for so many days without trying to come out?"

Lily, "I was scared. What if these creatures attack again? And I was on the 11th floor. It takes almost half an hour to reach the ground floor."

Nezeira, "Yeah, I see. Let's go."

They both walked up to the gate to leave the area but were stopped by the guards who said that Lily cannot leave just like that. They have orders to take her in for further questioning and testing. Nezeira was visibly irritated by it and asked,

"What do you mean threat? I checked her she is clean."

The guard, "We have strict orders from the Chief that until he arrives we are not to let her leave."

Nezeira, turned towards Lily who was distraught and upset. She was exhausted and starving. Yet she wasn't allowed to leave. After a while, the Chief arrived and said,

"Thank you. We will take the infected with us."

Nezeira, "Infected?!"

The Chief, "Yes until it's proven that she is not infected we cannot let her return among the civilians."

Neziera, "She is clearly exhausted and famished and needs immediate care and you are on spot treating her as a lab rat."

The Chief, with a tinge of sarcasm, " For the sake of protecting our kind we have to do this. I hope you do understand that."

Nezeira, with an indignant smirk on her face. "I see. But, since I rescued her, it's my responsibility to protect her. I cannot leave her untreated. So, I propose that she stays with me. I will be responsible for her."

The Chief seemed to swallow his ego and irritation, and replied, "As long as Princess does not violate Cresian rules and laws, it should be fine."

Nezeira, "Well then, that is it. I will take her with me. You can leave first."

The Chief left with an annoyed face. Nezeira turned towards Lily and said,

"You are not hurt or bitten or affected physically during the attack right?"

She nodded to say yes.

Nezeira, "Ok then, there should be no problem. Let's go get you some food."

Nezeira drove the superbike with Lily and stopped at a small roadside stall and bought a few burgers and water. They sat on a bench and Lily gobbled up two burgers as she was famished for days. After slowing down a bit she spoke,

"Ermmmm, if you don't mind can I ask you something?"

Nezeira, "Ask."

Lily, "He called you Princess. Why?"

Nezeira, was startled a little, sighing she said, "Because I am the Princess….of Vladmore."

Lily's eyes went wide with shock, "Vladmore?! You are from Valdmore?"

Nezeira, "Yes. I am."

Lily, perplexed, asked, "But you look just like us."

Nezeira, "That's because I am wearing contacts. And I am here to investigate the attack."

Lily, "That means you are a vampire?"

Nezeira, "I am. Why? Are you scared?"

Lily, hesitantly said, "I am, but you seem not scary."

Nezeira, smiled mildly, "Good. Don't be. Now eat."

Lily, paused and asked again, "Your name? I don't know your name, Your Highness."

Nezeira, " Call me, Nezeira, no need for the honorifics. And let's be clear on one thing, Lily, I rescued you, yes, but don't think that I am going to sway away. I rescued you for a reason. You are the witness to what happened and I need you to remember every bit of detail of what you saw that day. I have no compassion for humans, they are despicable."

Lily, shocked and cowering replied, "I will try to help."

After she was done eating Nezeira took her to her outhouse residence at the palace. The Chief had already alerted the guards so it wasn't a problem to get in. Lily settled down and relayed the whole incident all over again, about how the creatures suddenly attacked. Nezeira listened carefully to every detail. Then she asked,

"Remember carefully about how the creatures behaved while attacking?"

Lily, "Like how I don't understand."

Nezeira, "These creatures how did they behave, I mean tell me how did they come carried out the attack."

Lily, "They just directly attacked, killed, and took away everyone."

Nezeira, thought to herself, "They didn't leave any bodies. That means whoever created these creatures needed bodies for some purpose. Also, it seems like seem to follow orders, like a dog to its master. The way they attacked and killed everyone seems like they were ordered to do so."

Lily assessed Nezeira's expression and asked, "Do you think my colleagues are alive?"

Nezeira, straightly answered, "Yes they might be. But they won't be humans anymore."

Lily, was shocked to hear the straight face confession. At that very moment, Nezeira's phone rang. Ywain was on the other side. The test results are out and Nezeira's dark demeanor meant that it wasn't a pleasant one. She hung up and told Lily to stay right there and ran out of the outhouse. Nezeira ran crossing the small garden of the outhouse, into the pathway leading to the main entrance of the palace before turning to the left-pillared corridor towards the basement entrance. As it so happened to a certain distance the corridor ran parallel to the palace pathway towards the main exit gate. While Nezeira was running, she suddenly noticed the same red Ferrari sports car running slowly almost alongside her in the pathway on its way towards the main gate exit. And at that same moment, the window glass went down, and a handsome yet callow-featured face appeared. His eyes were slanting with an oval yet small face and long neck, the distinct Adam's apple stood out prominently on it. His semi-messy hair was short with the front portion falling a little on his forehead. The eyebrows were arched. He had a mixture of serious, and amused, with a tinge of aggressive demeanor.

While Nezeira's eyes fell on him a mild smirk appeared on his m-shaped lips. Somehow she was instantly appalled by this never-before-seen human being. She narrowed her eyes, and with a bitter expression turned away her gaze and ran off towards the basement entrance. The Ferrari stopped abruptly. The one in the driver's seat had a shocked and surprised expression on his face. He said to himself,

"What the fuck? Did she just ignore me throwing a nasty look?"

The second prince, Yihan was at loss for words at this lady's attitude towards him. No matter where he went, with just one look women, flock around him like crows to feast. No woman had the power to overlook his handsomeness, let alone ignore him. Yet this one not just ignored him but threw an extremely nasty look and left. Till now he had never known ignorance towards, what he considered 'his divine looks'. Being extremely arrogant, about who he is, Yihan's mind was blank for a few seconds after this sudden encounter which forced a sarcastic amused laugh out of him. He nodded his head in utter disbelief and rolled up his window, before driving away out of the exit gate of the palace.

Nezeira reached the basement and Ywain came forward, bowing. He then led her to the lab. As they both walked in, the vampire who was the expert in experimentation came forward and bowed. Nezeira spoke,

"What have you found?"

The vampire, "Princess, this is something I have never seen before. Remember when you said it didn't look like anything vampire or werewolf?"

Nezeira nodded positively. The vampire said,

"You were right, it ain't. This is a new species as far as my expertise suggests."

Ywain, "New species? How so? You don't mean half breed do you?"

The vampire, "No. half-breeds have distinctive qualities and power. Moreover, half breed's cellular builds match both of their parental cellular build-ups so it is easily identified. But this is something else. This cellular build is strange, Princess. The tissue has healing properties. Not just that it is a parasitic entity. If infected it completely takes over the host transforming it."

Nezeira, "So does it mean if these creatures infect other species they can transform them into them?"

The vampire, "Possibly, Princess. I am afraid that I need to look into more to determine what these really are."

Nezeira, "We need more clues I guess. For now, catalog your findings and prepare your report for tomorrow's Council meeting."

Ywain, "Princess, what about the human you rescued?"

Nezeira, "Ahhh yes I was about to consult you about her narration. According to what she witnessed these creatures might be following orders. And what just our findings say is they are being secretly creatures and made to do someone's bidding."

Ywain, " I am really confused. No clue about what we should do."

Nezeira, thought for a while and said, " I will have a talk with father on this. Leave it to me. Also, we might have to visit the site and carry out an intensive search to have our answers."

Ywain, "OK Princess, I will prepare for tomorrow's Council for now."

Nezeira nodded and left. She came out of the basement. Stood, thought for a second, and said to herself, "What the fuck are you up to Rhain?"

Then she walked away towards the outhouse.