Blood Awoken

by Elle Grace

  “What? Why?” I frowned. It made extraordinarily little sense. There was no way that could be the truth I thought to myself. The kinder man offered me a gentle pat on the shoulder to try and reassure me and I pulled away like a wild animal. I was one more weird comment away from growling, snarling, and biting one of them.

  “Containment.” Colt just one word.

  “The strange people.” I said like I had just struck a eureka moment. The men looked at each other for a moment like I was bonkers. Ironic, I thought.

  “What are you talking about?” Colt looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Did you hit your head a little too hard?” It was a bit cheeky really considering he had been the one to kiss me, give me a forced sedative and kidnap me. He really did not have a leg to stand on. “Tristan are you sure she is okay?” He spoke to the other man as if I were not there.

  “I checked her vitals and she seemed fine.” He replied.

  “What is she talking about then?” He questioned.

  “Probably the vampires we saw.” The man called Tristan sighed.

  “Oh, was that the containment?” Colt rolled his eyes.

  “Must have been. The intel did not say exactly why they had a strike planned, only that there was one.” They continued their conversation and I felt like being sick. I really had been kidnapped by a couple of people who were out of their minds, I thought.

  “Did you just say vampires?” I was bewildered.

  “Tristan, I thought you said she should know about things?” Colt looked at the other guy and he shrugged. They looked almost as confused as I did.

  “She should. We have confirmed she is one.” He replied, pulling out a small torch and flashing it at me, it had the familiar green hue. “Yes definitely.” He nodded.

  “I’m a vampire?” I asked puzzled.

  “No.” Colt rolled his eyes.

  “Is that like a weird UV or infrared or something?” I frowned; they did not respond. Tristan started checking his phone and Colt looked impatiently at him. “Well, I am one what? Can you stop talking like I’m not here please?” I was getting agitated.

  “You don’t know?” Colt asked me.

  “Clearly not.” Tristan said and Colt looked at him. I was clearly a disappointment; they must have kidnapped the wrong person. The thought made me want to laugh. Hysteria and pain bubbling to the surface. I needed to get out before they decided to get rid of me.

  “Hey little lady, have you even heard of the Inperium or heard the term Mult before?” Colt asked as if I was the one who was being weird.

  “Are you kidding?” I snapped. “I have a name, I’m not some cowgirl at a rodeo you are hitting on, you jerk.” I rolled my eyes refusing to answer the question asked.

  “Just answer the goddamn question!” He barked, getting fed up of dealing with me. He grabbed the neckline of my dress aggressively pulling me up from the gurney as far as the straps would allow. His aggression scared me. “Answer me!” He gritted his teeth.

  “No.” I spat in his face. He closed his eyes and took a breath before wiping his face. He looked even angrier. I struggled again with my restraints. I had to get free, I kept telling myself I needed to be strong.

  “I suggest you get some rest.” Colt said coldly and it was a warning about what was to come. He stood up and prepared another syringe carefully. Tristan seemed unhappy and concerned about it but did not stop him. He was the more cowardice of the two. I tried to move away from it, but I could barely move. He placed it to my neck and the darkness came for me again.

  ✽✽✽

  I had the same dream a thousand times before. It was always the same, always watching from the sidelines never able to help.

  “I have told you a thousand times, you need to be more careful.” The man scolded his young son as his wife cleaned up the small gash on the little boy's arm. He was the perfect likeness to his father even though he barely looked old enough to be going to school. His dark hair flopped uncontrollably on his head and his smile although filled with gaps from the loss of his baby teeth was cheeky and infectious.

  “Henry, calm down, it’s just a little scratch, it’s not that bad.” The woman spoke softly. She was the more lenient parent to the two children. She glanced over at a small girl, barely a toddler who was fast asleep in a large floral armchair.

  “He was simply curious; you cannot expect to him to have these abilities and not explore things. He is still learning.” She kept glancing at the little girl with the big curls glad the commotion had not woken her up. It made the mum's heart ache, that her son was already showing signs of having special abilities. The worry that sat on her face highlighted the fact the Inperium would find out and want to recruit him early. She did not want her children to have the life she had.

  “I know, but still I do not like him trying to control things with his mind. That glass could have smashed in his face or hurt him a lot worse. He is too young to be messing around with it.” The man was angry but more so out of concern. The woman undid the bun in her hair, it was pulled back tight. She let the rich brunette locks tumble from the top of her head. Feeling herself relax, she shook off the man and his worries, walking over to the little girl, slipping herself next to her and gently placing a kiss on her forehead.

  “We must not bring worry into this house, Henry.” She sighed.

  This woke the little girl up and she stared at her mother wide eyed. She was a brunette like her mum, and she had also inherited her gentle features and bright eyes. Her mum held the girl whilst the man softened and lost his anger as he picked up the young boy and threw him above his head, then catching him and flying him around the room like an aeroplane. The little boy chuckled, and they all laughed and smiled. A perfect little family. Everything was well in their household yet again. A moment that you could pause and frame.

  The front door across the room flew inwards and the dad braced suddenly pulling the little boy into him. Five men entered, their faces covered, they wore clothes made of leather with symbols on their shoulders. Stark uniforms against the soft pastels of the room. The dad crumbled to the floor as a bolt of electricity hit him. His eyes open and staring at the ceiling as the light left them. The little boy falling to the ground, crying.

  “It can’t be you.” The woman whispered through her rising tears. One of the intruders just laughed darkly. She picked up the little girl and ran, grabbing the boy from his dead father’s arms. Trying to make it to the stairs or the back door. She was struck down by the same electricity, her lifeless body rolling way and the children fell sobbing as their parents were roughly hauled out the room. The children sat holding each other crying for their parents.

  All I could do was watch. I could not shout or try to reach out and help the poor helpless infants. I was desperate to try and get to them, but an invisible force held me back. In the distance a baby began to cry. The cries grew louder until they completely engulfed me. Lukas.

  3

  Viola

  9.30am 5th September 2025

  “We are pulling up now, little girl, so just stay calm.” Colt said gently shaking me awake.

  “Calm?” I replied my voice was rough. I felt as if I had ten hangovers at once, everything ached.

  “Please just listen.” Tristan pleaded with me.

  “Okay.” I whispered as Tristan opened the door and hopped out of the van.

  “Drink this.” Colt offered me some water, bringing the bottle to my lips. He had clearly lost a lot of his anger from earlier. I spat it straight out at him. He took a deep angry breath to calm himself again. “Please.” He tried again and this time I gulped some of the water down feeling a little better instantly.

  “I’m going to kill you, you know that right?” I felt brave and ready. I was serious. I had every intent in fighting my way out of the van. I do not know where the feeling came from, but I had it. “You are going to regret all of this.” I snapped at him, he just raised his eyebrow at me, his mouth shifted into a slight smirk. I was a
musing him.

  “Calm down, little lady.” He called me his favourite pet name knowing it wound me up. I just wanted my arms free so I could slap the expression from his face.

  “Calm down? Are you kidding me? You pair of loons just kidnapped me off the street. Injected me with god only knows what and you are now giving me orders. If you want me to calm down, then let me go home.” I ranted.

  “You know it isn’t that simple.” He shook his head.

  “I don’t know anything. Look I won’t tell anybody anything about this please just let me go home!” I tried a different approach, pleading for freedom.

  “It isn’t safe for you there.” Colt tried to reassure me.

  “Says the kidnapper.” I remarked and neither of us spoke for a few moments.

  “They are ready for her.” Tristan opened the door to the van. “Oh, it is tense in here.” He said after seeing both of our expressions. Colt undid the clips on the straps that held me to the gurney, leaving my hands tied still, he pulled me up and onto my feet roughly. Proving his sheer strength. I still reckoned I could fight him and win my freedom if I tried.

  “You need to be calm for this next part, Miss Hart.” He said honestly, holding my chin with his hand. I wrenched my head away. Frowning at the fact he knew my name. He tilted his head and gave me a threatening look. I nodded, relenting, and he gently helped me out of the van.

  I looked up past the van at the huge old building in front of me. It looked like a Victorian mansion, incredibly grand and ornate. It was also intimidating. I looked around a few other random buildings dotted around forming a campus of sorts. Surrounding the campus was a dense forest. Some men in an army like uniform came marching down the stairs of the entrance to the main building, they were followed by a middle-aged gentleman and a couple of people who looked to be in their early twenties, like me. The middle-aged man intrigued me. He was long, thin and dressed in what seemed to be period garb, Victorian, to match the enormous house behind him. His face was gaunt and drawn out. I imagine he might have been regarded as a handsome man when he was younger back in the 1800s, I frowned to myself stopping my visible smirk from my funny quip, but in the bright light of day he looked like an out of touch man trying too hard. He had fashioned and shaped his thin black moustache into points that curled up at the end and his eyes were beady and hungry as he looked me over. He marched with a strange sense of entitled authority towards me. The couple that were behind him looked equally as strange, both were thin and tall. The woman had long silver blonde hair that hung perfectly straight over her left shoulder. Her make-up was a little over the top and her lipstick was too bold for her colouring, but it matched her scarlet stilettos. The young man stood proud in a navy military like uniform his face gaunt and miserable. His chest was adorned with tiny colourful medals. They must make him feel extra special, I thought to myself, from the weak look in his eyes, he was a man that had earned none of them.

  “What is this? I didn’t know the circus was in town?” I questioned looking at the bizarre people in front of me. Colt raised an eyebrow at me, warning me, but I could see he wanted to laugh too.

  “Welcome Miss Hart. I see you have grown up into a confident young woman.” The older man spoke smirking at me, the spite in his words did not match his face. I did not like it.

  “How do you know my name?” I asked.

  “We’ve been looking for you for a long time.” He replied, short and sweet. I waited for him to say more but he just stared at me in silence for a little too long. I felt extremely uncomfortable.

  “Looking for me? Why?” I broke the silence.

  “Yes, Miss Hart, Colt and Tristan did not explain?” The man looked towards my kidnappers, his tone said fed up, his face said Botox.

  “Not really sir, Miss Hart hasn’t exactly been the most cooperative.” Tristan said diplomatically and I shot him a look. They were the ones who had kept giving me sedatives. I had been an absolute pleasure, I thought.

  “Disappointing.” The man walked around me, looking me up and down. “I thought she would be stronger.” He said to the couple behind him who immediately began to scribble notes on clipboards that they held.

  “Trust me, she’s deceptive.” Colt said looking unamused at the scratches and marks all down his arms from where he had grabbed me outside the burning nightclub.

  “I’m Director William Dubois. I am the current director of the Inperium Organisation and you my dear are currently at our headquarters.” The weird Victorian wannabe explained as if he was talking complete sense and not speaking crazy.

  “You could be the mayor of Loony-Ville, and I wouldn’t give a…” I was cut off. A clipboard smacked me across the face, hard, knocking me to the ground. Colt stepped forward and roughly pulled me back to my feet.

  “Show some respect you ungrateful half breed.” The man in the navy uniform barked at me. The hero in the situation, smacking a tied-up woman with clipboard. I was shocked at the term ‘half-breed.’ I had never heard anyone say anything like that before.

  “Respect is earned.” I spat at him. He raised the clipboard to hit me again, but the director stopped him. “When can I go home?” Everyone ignored my question.

  “That is enough. Miss Hart has had a big night and is probably a little tired, we should show her some leniency.” The director spoke slowly and with authority. “Just this once. Leniency is weakness after all.” He still looked at me the way a crocodile looks at its next meal though.

  “What is this place?” I looked around at the odd collection of buildings.

  “You are not a great listener, are you?” The director looked at me, his eyes narrowing, showing his discontent.

  “I heard well enough. The headquarters of some made up organisation just doesn’t mean a lot to me.” I retorted getting fed up with the theatrics and facade.

  “They will do.” It was ominous.

  The slim blonde woman stepped forward frowning at me. She lifted my chin and pulled out a small torch. It had the same bright greenish hue as the ones before. She shone it on my face causing me to wince from the light.

  “Interesting.” She said pulling away and turning back to the director. “She is marked as a hybrid sir.”

  “Creepy.” I replied to her and she shot me a look.

  “I marked her myself.” Colt spoke up.

  “You did what?” I turned to him.

  “He marked you, it proves you are a half breed.” The woman snarled at me. “Really Colt, you kissed her?” She was unimpressed.

  “I did what I had to for the task.” Colt replied like a military man.

  “You have no place questioning us either. Half breeds do as they are told.” She turned her attention back to me.

  “Stop calling me that.” I snapped. I did not understand why they would say something like that. Saying incredibly offensive insults and phrases like it was normal to say them. I just did not understand.

  “The girl is right, you should call her a Mult, the proper name for someone of her breeding.” The director informed them all.

  “There are other names I prefer.” The man in the navy uniform sniggered. “Are we even sure she is a Mult? What is she exactly? Immortuui? She looks a bit wild.”

  “Immort... what?” I questioned.

  “It would do us no harm to check I suppose.” The director consulted with him. “But we will not know her exact lineage until the trial.” They started talking like I was not there.

  “There is no need.” Tristan argued.

  “Take her down to the testing facility.” The director ordered, ignoring Tristan, and some of his soldiers walked forward and pushed me to walk in the middle of them. Two soldiers leading the way and two behind me with their guns concentrated on me. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I was terrified of what was going to come next.

  4

  Colt

  10am 5th September 2025

  Against my better judgement I had marched myself up to Lance’s office to and g
et him to convince William that Viola did not need to be tested. I stormed in not even bothering to knock. I hated the fact that he had a cushy office when he did so little at the Inperium. As the son of the director he got a lot of special treatment, there were also a lot of rumours about things he got away with. I tried not to buy into rumours, but Lance was not an innocent man.

  “Hey mate, look you need to chat to Director Dubois.” I said shutting the door behind myself. The office was over the top, like an old school oak panelled room that often housed the school Principal. I thought back to the desk I shared with Tristan in the office block. I was glad I had next to no paperwork to do every day as I really disliked that building.

  “I don’t need to do anything.” Lance began. God, I hate this insufferable tool, I thought. Thinking back to how rough he had been with Viola by slapping her in the face with clipboard. Deep down I hoped she did not tar me with the same brush as him. I shook it off.

  “She shouldn’t be tested.” I began to state my case. I was saying the obvious.

  “Why not?” He rolled his eyes; he could not hide his disdain for me.

  “Because the mark I placed confirms she is a half breed or else it wouldn’t even show up.” I continued. “The reason we even marked the Mult was to confirm her identity before we took her.”

  Lance just looked at me before he went and sat behind his desk. He pulled out some files from his drawers and placed them on his desk. He was slow and deliberate, it made me mad. I needed to stop the testing from happening at once, there was no time to waste.

  “Maybe the test isn’t to make sure she is a filthy mongrel. We know she is one.” Lance said cryptically. I did not what they could possibly need the test for if it were not that.