Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis: Genesis ❯ Chapter IV ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter IV

 

When Alan had opened his eyes and awoken, a slight panic and confusion raced through his sleep-trodden mind. He was not in his room, not even in his own apartment. His dark brows drew together in thought as he strained to feign where he had ended up. He lay in an uncomfortable little cot with bleach white sheets that were coarse and a plastic band was tied around his wrist. It bore his name, age, gender and yesterday's date upon it. Painfully bright florescent lights glared down at him with the classic hum that accompanies such electric circuits.

“Oh! You're awake,” a sweet and familiar voice caught his ear and Alan turned towards the voice, violet eyes widening slightly in hope as they fell upon his roommate.

“Lyrial…where are we?” He asked and rubbed the top of his head, feeling a distinct lump beneath his thick brown hair, as the girl sat in the rickety wooden chair that was beside his cot. She smiled back, holding a chipped white mug in her small hands.

“The clinic—we came here last night, remember?” Lyrial asked, bringing the chipped white mug to her lips and drinking the warmth from it. Alan hesitated, still rubbing the lump on the back of his skull, wincing slightly when the pressure became too great and it started to hurt.

“Not really….wait…” His brows furrowed again and he lay back against the stiff pillow of his cot, trying to recall the events of the previous night. Broken flashes of an intruder with brown hair, the sound of a gun, and breaking glass all filled his mind and Alan shook his head to end the reverie. Lyrial's smile weakened and she sighed, resting the mug in her lap, holding it with both hands and staring down into the tea within.

“I remember that guy breaking into our apartment. But…after that, it's all fuzzy. Wait—how did you? I mean…” Alan looked at Lyrial in all seriousness and paused. “Lyrial, how did you get away?” He knew his roommate had taken a few self-defense classes in the city, but she would have been no match for that leather clad intruder. Anxiety grew in the girl's brown eyes as she stared into the contents of her mug, trying to find an appropriate answer for Alan. She could not tell her flatmate that there was a Vampire living in their spare room but she also knew she could not keep his presence hidden forever.

“Some of the neighbors heard the commotion and came to help. Sano was with them,” She tossed the name out with a thought, care-free, and casual, but Alan grasped her wrist quickly to get her to stop.

“Sano? Who?” The look of genuine confusion on his face caused a pang of guilt to twist in Lyrial's stomach. The brunette smiled weakly and sat the chipped little mug on the small table next to Alan's cot.

“Do you remember a few weeks ago when we were talking about how the rent is just too much for the two of us?” Alan nodded cautiously as Lyrial spoke, so she continued. “Well, I found someone to move in with us. His name is Sano. He's a...draws blood at the clinic. He works the graveyard shift. ” The sentence was finished awkwardly and uncertainly. Alan picked up on this inconsistency in tone, but was too dazed or too medicated to make any real sense of it. So, for now, he accepted the explanation.

“Okay, but how did you get rid of that psycho?” He asked and Lyrial shrugged her shoulders gracefully, trying to keep the casual air in the conversation.

“I didn't. The neighbors and Sano got him out of the apartment and called the police. It's okay, now. He's…He's gone now.” The final phrase played bitterly in Alan's ears and he was afraid to ask his roommate to elaborate. It was hard for Lyrial to lie, especially to Alan. He was her dearest friend and they had known each other since high school. The young woman sighed and produced a small, high pitched sound.

“Kyu….” She then proceeded to bite her bottom lip gently, looking away from Alan, finding the tacky linoleum floor infinitely safer to gaze at than her ailing roommate. Captive in the uncomfortable little cot, Alan frowns a little at the gesture.

“Lyrial,” His tone was a little stern and seemed to be scolding. Slowly, the curly haired girl looked up with a little pout. “What's wrong? You always bite your lip when something is really wrong. C'mon, you can tell me.” His smile was weak, but genuine. He couldn't fathom what could be upsetting his roommate. The intruder was taken care of and they were both okay. Sure, he was in the clinic with a concussion, but it could have been a great deal worse. Lyrial shrugged her shoulders gently and stood up from her chair.

“I'll go and get the nurse since you're awake. If they say you have to stay a little while longer, I'll go home and put dinner on so that it's ready when they finally release you. Okay?” She smiled and Alan sighed, defeated, but nodded his head. If Lyrial didn't want to share what was bothering her, he would respect that; he wished she would, but the girl had a mind of her own, much to his occasional dismay. With his acceptance in tow, Lyrial giggled quietly and leaned forward to give him a kiss against the cheek.

She then headed to the door of the room and excused herself. She walked down the thickly carpeted hall and headed to the front desk. At the desk sat an older woman with heavy make -up and poorly self-dyed red hair. She wore a nurse's uniform and her name tag read “Flo”. The old nurse was on the phone, laughing loudly into the mouthpiece while chewing gum in a rude manner, chomping with her mouth open so all in the waiting room was privy to view the slobbery spectacle.

“Um, excuse me?” Lyrial piped up after waiting a few minutes for the nurse to get off the phone.

“Yeah, hang on a second, hun. I'll be with you in a jiffy,” Flo said dismissively and went back to her conversation with the person on the other end of the phone line. Lyrial sighed and began to wring her hands in a show of impatience. After several more long minutes of listening to Flo yap to, as Lyrial and the rest of the waiting room had learned, Dot who lived just up state a little and was having a terrible time with her second ex-husband who had suddenly found the urge to become a cross-dresser and continue to ask her for sums of money to support his new fashion hunger, Lyrial had had enough.

“Excuse me!” She said, this time with much more force. The old nurse quirked her painted brows and stared at the angry young woman.

“Yeah, hun, I'll have to call you back,” Flo said into the mouthpiece and gingerly hung up the black plastic into its cradle. She adjusted her 1960's pearl frame bifocals and cleared her throat. “Is there something I can help you with, miss?” Lyrial ran her fingers through her curls, trying to curb the irritation that had been growing due to the nurse's blatant disrespect for her job and the patients.

“Actually, yes, there is Flo. Alan Maxwell in room three needs to see a nurse,” Lyrial said in a very pointed way before adjusting the purse over her shoulder. “If you could please see that that happens as soon as possible, we'd both be very grateful.” Flo sat there a moment, taking in what the young woman had said before shrugging her shoulders and chewing her gum with urgency once more. She flipped through a little notebook on the desk, her old eyes moving back and forth over the penciled in names.

“All nurses are busy right now,” Flo finally replied. Lyrial's temple throbbed slightly with irritation before she sighed.

“Well, when a nurse is no longer busy, please have one go to room three for Alan Maxwell.” With no further discussion, Lyrial turned on her heel and headed for the automatic glass doors of the clinic. She stepped out into the afternoon sun and sighed. The rays felt good on her skin. It had been a rough night. There was still a lot to think about: the broken window, Christian's body, nosey neighbors, and Sano. Lyrial frowned as she began to walk back to the apartment complex. She had agreed to let Sano stay on the sole fact that he had saved their lives. Granted, it was his fault Alan and she were in danger in the first place, but the mysterious Vampire had proven useful despite it all.

Worry nestled in the pit of her stomach as she moved through the city to the apartment building. She stopped in front of it and paused. After a moment's of hesitation, she looked down the alley that was on the side of the apartment; the dark shaded corridor was nestled between her apartment building and Zoilia park. Zoilia was a strange place to walk around. Filled with large, dark green, exotic plants of which no one could really identify and massive willow trees made it a frightful place in the dark and rumor had it that wolves prowled the fierce foliage after nightfall. Lyrial had dismissed these silly claims since wolves didn't live in the city—raccoons perhaps reign in Zoilia Park after the sun descends, but nothing more than that, she merited.

Lyrial's eyes remained fixated on the alley between the park and the building. There, she thought. That is where Christian fell to the night before. A horrid curiosity gripped her and she shivered, moving forward into the shade of the alley. She swallowed hard as she walked, looking up at the building and counting the windows as to find her own. One, two, three. Her steps began to falter as she continued. Four, five, six. Lyrial held her breath and stopped a moment, shaking her head and closing her eyes briefly.

“Seven,” She whispered and looked down from the window and gasped. “Where--? Where is he?” Lyrial ran gently to the place where, from the position of the window and the memory from the night before, the Hunter should have landed after being pushed from the second floor. It was impossible for the lifeless body to have just disappeared. There wasn't even a blood stain on the ground. A light breeze blew through the alley, whistling as it brushed by Lyrial and her confusion. Some pieces of old newspaper flitted lazily across the pavement, propelled by the sudden burst of air. As the papers slide by, something glittering caught Lyrial's attention.

“Hm?” She moved to the sparkle and kneeled down. She reached out and picked up a small silver crucifix. She smiled sadly at the lost religious symbol. Lyrial herself wasn't very religious, but she did feel bad, because somebody had lost their little trinket. Some people, she learned, took these kinds of items very seriously and was probably very distressed with it missing. She stood and held up the little crucifix and chain. The small silver cross bore the letters INRI in small engravings on the main stake and the phrase “Pro Deo” carved into the side beams.

“Best not let it go to waste, I guess,” Lyrial said and tucked the necklace into her purse before hurrying from the alley. She was very uneasy there; someone had died there—right? Logically, it made no sense at all. Christian's dead body should have been there. If it had been discovered, it would have been on the news that morning and police would have been combing the area to track down the `murderer' and find witnesses. But there was nothing. Not a word, whisper, or suggestion of any kind of foul play in the area. There was also no blood in the alley. When Christian's head had hit the pavement from the tremendous fall, his bones had cracked and he had bled—Lyrial saw the evidence from her window the night before!

It was then that she reflected on Sano's words from that fateful night.

“You killed that man, Sano. People will see the body in the street and that broken window. Police will come here. What am I supposed to tell them?”

“You tell them nothing. No police will come.”

The silver haired Vampire had sounded so certain, so confident. His prediction, it seemed, had come true. There were no police, but Lyrial shuddered in her wondering as to why. What had happened to the body? Where had Christian gone? The brunette young woman tilted her head in the direction of Zoilia Park and frowned. Perhaps some hungry animal had ventured from that iron gated sanctuary and made a meal of Christian's corpse; but, where was the blood? Lyrial doubted that some animal took the time to clean the blood of its victim from the pavement before dragging it off. The girl frowned, crossing her arms across her chest. Had the idea not been so baffling and frightening, it would be compelling and comical.

“You shouldn't wander around in dark allies by yourself, Lyrial.” The girl squealed and spun around, clutching her heart.

“Oh, Mr. McArthur! You scared me,” She admitted and let out the breath she had so suddenly inhaled during her initial fright. The kind looking elderly man moved towards her, leaning heavily on his cane. He smiled and looked in the direction Lyrial had been so avidly staring.

“Forgive me, child. What seems to be the matter? This is no place for a young woman especially one on her own,” Mr. McArthur said but continued to smile. “Come now, let us go back into the day light. Zoilia Park is not a safe place to idle by.” Lyrial nodded, agreeing with the kind grocer and walked with him back onto the main street and out of the haunting alleyway.

“Now,” Mr. McArthur continued as the pair began to walk towards the entrance of the apartment building. “What were you looking for, Lyrial?” His tone was always kind and genuine and seemed to reflect the deepest and most sincere care for the girl. He was something like a grandfather to her. He had always been friendly to her when she came to the grocery store and had always looked out for Lyrial in small ways that made her feel very cared for and important in the old man's life. He seemed to have no remaining family but instead a few good friends: young people who came to him for guidance in all manner of circumstances. Lyrial had gone to Mr. McArthur one for guidance herself. It was back in the time she was looking for an apartment. Mr. McArthur had pulled some strings with the local landlord and helped Alan and Lyrial afford the apartment that they now resided in.

With that kind of neighborly history between the two of them, Lyrial felt compelled to always be honest with the elderly grocer. However, this time the brunette hesitated in her response to Mr. McArthur. How could she explain what she was really looking for? The dead body of a man who had been pushed from her apartment window? Unlikely. Finally, Lyrial turned her head from the clear blue sky and back to Mr. McArthur. She reached into her purse and produced the small crucifix necklace she had found in the alleyway.

“I saw this and picked it up. You're Catholic, aren't you, Mr. McArthur? Could you tell me what the writing means?” She asked and placed the cross into the old man's open palm. Mr. McArthur focused on the trinket, frowning deeply and mumbling to himself in Latin as he read the inscription.

“Ahh,” he declared finally and waved the little crucifix in front of Lyrial's face gingerly. “INRI is what was placed above Christ's head whilst he hung from the cross in Golgotha that sad day at three.” Lyrial nodded her head in understanding and allowed the Christian sage to continue. “It is abbreviated Latin for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

“That makes sense, I suppose,” The young woman replied but then tapped her finger against the side beams of the cross. “But what about this one? Pro Deo?” She asked and Mr. McArthur closed his eyes a moment as if in sheer bliss before replying.

“Pro Deo....For God,” He said and opened his old eyes. He looked at Lyrial and then back at the necklace as if it was very dear to him. “No doubt whoever lost this is in a great deal of distress over its absence. However, you seem troubled, my child. Keep it—it will keep you safe in times of Darkness; times that are, undoubtedly, ahead.” Mr. McArthur's dry, wrinkled hand passed the necklace back into Lyrial's palm and she seemed speechless.

“Mr. McArthur, what do you mean, Dark times ahead?” She asked but when she looked up to seek the eyes of the old grocer, he was gone. “Mr. McArthur…?” She glanced around, back down the alleyway, and down both sides of the street but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Goodness, that old man can move quickly,” She said before shrugging her shoulders. “Well, I suppose it is a nice piece of jewelry,” She said and slipped the cross over her head, allowing its pendant to dangle between her bosom. A small tingling sensation ran through her body, something akin to a sudden chill, and caused Lyrial to shiver lightly. The brunette hugged herself, rubbing her arms lightly to remedy the goose bumps that had so suddenly risen. Shaking her head, she entered the apartment building.

The rest of the day went as normally as it could have. Lyrial received a phone call from the clinic to inform her that Alan would need to stay another night in the care so the nurses could watch the concussion. In the morning, they had concluded, he should be in fine condition to return to the flat. A little put out that she would be alone in the evening Lyrial had requested to speak to Alan over the phone.

“I'm sorry, babe, there's nothing I can do. They won't let me go until tomorrow.”

“Really? I…I don't want to be alone. I'm afraid of that guy coming back.”

“You said he was gone, remember? He won't be back to bother you, don't worry. Look, if you're that scared, you can spend the night in the clinic. Do you want to do that?” Lyrial paused on the other end of the line, looking to the closed guest room door with a dark feeling of foreboding brewing in her underbelly.

“N-No, it's all right. I'll be fine. I'm just a little shaken up still, I guess. Get some rest, Alan, so you can come home tomorrow. Okay? Okay. Bye now,” She said as cheerfully as she could before hanging up the slender piece of plastic into its cradle with a sigh.

“You're a terrible liar, you know that?” Lyrial spun around, her hand instinctually moving to grasp the new cross pendant she had acquired through her shirt as her eyes fell upon the silver haired man that had so unexpected interrupted her and her roommate's life.

“Is this going to become a continual thing with you?” Sano quirked well-groomed brows in curiosity and appreciation at the question as if asking her to explain exactly what she meant.

“You scared me half to death! Stop doing that! It's not nice,” Lyrial clarified and slowly let her grip on the cross loosen until she released it completely and her hands rested at her sides, curled into petite uncertain fists.

“You'll get used to it,” Sano replied with little concern. He moved across the room to Alan's room and began to rummage around in the dark. Lyrial listened carefully before quickly skirting across the apartment to peek in through the dim room. She gasped quietly at what she saw before turning away, flushing deeply. Sano, it seems, had gone into Alan's room and stripped himself and in the darkness, his pale naked skin was stark and stood out to Lyrial's brief gaze. It was unnatural, the girl thought, how perfectly sculpted he was. It was as if he had trained since a child to become the athletically beautiful creature he was today; yet despite his built form, he retained a lithe and graceful frame with an aristocratic face.

The sound of shuffling fabric sang from the room until Sano re-emerged with some of Alan's clothes on. The blouse was too small for his torso and was left unbuttoned, revealing the smooth surface of his chest and abdomen and the dark denim hung loosely only his hips, dangerously low to an even greater secret below the barely-there silver wisps of hair.

“You blush like a virgin,” Sano cooed, appearing very suddenly beside Lyrial, and blowing playfully into her ear. The girl shivered and swatted lightly at the Vampire to get him to step back.

“You have no respect for personal boundaries, do you?” Sano shook his head, looking a little confused as to why his advances were rejected but Lyrial sighed in exasperation. “Look, I need to ask you something.” The silver haired man nodded his head, giving consent for the girl to continue. He leaned casually against table of the kitchen.

“Last night, that Hunter person—“
“Christian.”

“Right, Christian,” there was hesitation in her words. Lyrial felt afraid to continue but her curiosity gnawed at her insides and persuaded her against the horror of the notion, to go on. “I went into the alley where he had fallen this afternoon.” The expression on Sano's face seemed to change from a casual and lassie-fair to very amused. A small, dark chuckle resounded in his alabaster throat.

“ He wasn't there,” Lyrial said, watching the Vampire wearily and she had to vaguely wonder if Sano all ready knew what she was going to say.

“Did you…” she paused again, swallowing hard and fearing the answer to her question on hiatus. Sano stared at her with incredulous eyes and a dubious grin. The smile was taunting Lyrial as she struggled to speak. The gesture tempted her further but at the same hindered her and entreated her to not seek the answer to the unasked question. Sano made Lyrial very uncomfortable; the way he stared was unnerving. It was as if he could see the blood pumping through her veins and watched like a starved predator, ready to strike the moment she let her guard down. However, at the same time, those stunning silver eyes trapped Lyrial in a state of mindlessness. She felt numb and hypersensitive, frightened and soothed, uncertain and positive, all at the same time.

“Did I have something to do with that?” The tone in Sano's voice was playful and condescending. “Is that what you're trying to say, little girl?” Her brows furrowed as he sprang lightly from his leaning position against the table to move forward. He held his wrists casually behind his back and stalked around the brunette slowly, keeping his brows raised in an amused manner. Lyrial's frown deepened and she chewed her bottom lip lightly.

“Something like that…” She whispered and continued to watch Sano carefully. The Vampire chuckled to himself lightly and moved towards the window that Christian had been pushed from the night before.

“Do I detect a hint of sympathy for that Hunter?” He peeked over his shoulder, gracing Lyrial with a look of inquisitiveness. “Or is that just morbid curiosity?” He grinned, showing off a pair of sharp ivory in his mouth. Lyrial involuntarily took a step back, squeaking quietly when her hip hit the small table that supported the telephone.

“Just answer the question, Sano. Did you move Christian's body from the alleyway?” Sano chuckled again, opening the fixed window to peer out at the concrete below.

“Mmm, I love it when you're assertive. It's sexy. You should do it more often,” he replied, not looking back at the young woman yet. Lyrial swallowed hard and dared to take a few steps closer to the Vampire at the window.

“Did you or didn't you, Sano?”

“Did I or didn't I, what?”

“You know what! So did you or not?!”

“Oh,” Sano mused, touching his lips gently with his fingertips. “How do you expect me to answer if you don't ask the right questions?” Lyrial groaned in frustration and threw her arms into the air, falling into the periodic feeling of familiarity around the Vampire.

“Did you move Christian's body from the alleyway so that no police would come? Just like you said the night before?” Her tone bordered desperation and as she sighed, her arms fell to her sides once more and her shoulders slumped.

“Ahh…now there's a good question,” Sano said, interrupting any self-berating that was about to ensue on part of the young girl. Another amused chuckle came from his throat and he finally looked back at Lyrial, taking pity on her irritated state of mind. She stood there a moment, taking in his moonlit silhouette, holding her breath and waiting for the response.

“No.” Lyrial blinked stupidly a moment before shaking her head quickly.

“I'm sorry?”

“No. I didn't move Christian. I fixed your window but I didn't touch the Hunter,” Sano explained, moving from the said window and brushing past Lyrial. He stopped when he was slightly behind her and spoke into her ear. “I'm going out. Don't wait up, precious,” he purred and left the apartment, leaving the stunned brunette staring at the opened window.

“If he didn't move Christian, then who did…?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metamorphosis: Genesis