Second Genesis

by Eric Williams

  Maybe it's a Delta thing? He wondered. After all most of the residents here were Omegas, and a hand full of those in the Beta and Alpha category. Xairin hadn’t really asked many that question, so he didn’t know for sure.

  A few moments went by as Xairin continued contemplating this conundrum. He then saw nurse approaching him. She also had the same white glow in her veins. He had to know. He stood in front of her. “Miss, I have a question?”

  The dark-haired nurse smiled as she looked at him. “Can I help you?”

  Xairin didn’t know how to ask this, but figured, what the hell? “OK, this is going to sound crazy. But are you an Aeonian?”

  The woman seemed a little surprised. “Well, not that, that's any of your business but yeah.”

  Xairin exhaled, then inhaled. “Ok, I’m a vamp. It's just, i started seeing auras, and I’m trying to figure out what the different auras are.”

  The woman looked around, and then tilted her head a little. “Okay, never had someone ask before. Um, I’m new, so I don't know what the auras are, but they tell me I’m one of the Aeonians, you know, someone that was human and exposed directly to the original strain.”

  “So, you’re one of the ones that came into direct contact with that red stuff then?”

  She nodded while raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I went swimming with my boyfriend on a camping trip, one of the fragments apparently infected the water where he we like to go camping.”

  “Okay, thanks. I didn't mean to startle you. Just, figuring things out I guess.”

  The woman walked off leaving Xairin to his thoughts. Doctor Battle is an Olympian. Holy shit, that sure explains a lot.

  “XAIRIN THUNDER, PLEASE REPORT TO THE LOBBY, YOUR TRANSPORT IS WAITING.”

  Xairin heard the intercom loud and clear. “It's about time.” He said under his breath. He briskly walked down the hallway, and back into the lobby. He went outside for the first time. The canopy hid the star lit sky, but that didn’t stop him from stepping over into the mulched area beside the solatex sidewalk to look up for a moment. The night held a different feel to him now. He felt like a child looking at something in awe. The stars seemed brighter, the night felt more alive, even the air had a more refreshing feel. He just took it all in until the slender yellow droid called his name. “Xairin Thunder?”

  Xairin gripped his duffle bag tightly and walked over to the aircab. It was an older one, not as oval shaped, more boxed in form. Yellow paint which he expected, and the air fans were larger. “That's going to be a noisy ride.” His mind said loudly, any telepath nearby would have surely heard it.

  The door swung outward instead of up. He was just about to hop inside, when his biosonar went off. He could hear people screaming. He closed his eyes quickly, and saw in the ER, a man being thrown against a wall, nearly thirty feet from where he originally stood. A nurse was next to be tossed, each one, human. There was an Immortium inside the ER. Xairin’s biosonar gave him an electric outline of the events. He snapped one woman's neck, and then tossed another against the wall with a simple slap. “WHERE IS THE ENTRANCE?” The man yelled which Xairin heard clearly.

  “Was it one of the conclave? He wondered. Every patient there would have known where the entrance was. He heard the man again. “WHERE IS THE ENTRANCE TO WHERE YOU KEEP YOUR IMMORTALS?” This time the man was holding a woman up by her neck one handed.

  Xairin knew right then it had to be one of the conclave people Lillian and the others gossiped about. Part of him wanted to get in that cab right then and there and get out of dodge. Someone would stop him, after all, those droids were well armed with that silver spike. Then he caught something, a biosonar imprint of him holding a little girl by the neck. “WHERE IS IT?” The man yelled. One thing Xairin couldn’t stomach was children being hurt, that and the elderly. Living in the foster home that last year before he turned 17, he had heard enough gut-wrenching stories as to how most of them ended up there. It left a strong mark on him.

  So far, no other immortal had arrived, and the droid he saw in his sonar vision was simply crushed with a kick. He knew others were on the way. But that kid, he could see the outline of the four-year old’s face. That stopped him. Xairin wasn’t the heroic type when he was mortal, but now, the alien side in him, gave him not exactly courage, but had enhanced his potential for rage. Instantly he thought of some of the kids at the foster home again. What got him next was he could see the girls frail form. He had heard how strong they could be, she was on borrowed time.

  He dropped the duffle bag on the ground and turned around quickly. He ran back inside as human security guards mustered around a sliding door leading into the ER. He found it quickly given his sonar ability. It led him right to where they were within seconds. The echoes of footsteps didn't even prompt the need for chattering his teeth. A droid was opening the door and ran inside. Xairin arrived in the hallway and stood there behind the guards. He could see the little girl now in plain sight through the sliding glass door that had ER in red on the front, ingrained into the blast resistant glass.

  The man that had her, had yellow reptilian eyes. This set off that glimpse of his mother again. He recalled his redhead mother, fighting a reptilian man, ripping his head off his shoulders in vivid detail. The man holding that little girl, had the same exact eyes as the one in his dream. “How could I know that?” He thought.

  Xairin knew the droid would be far too slow. He also saw the girl’s face turning blue. She didn’t have a lot of time. His eyes became red and quickly scanned the room. This man’s aura was blue, cold… Cold blooded that is. There were no other Aeonians or Immortium in the ER, just the man forming green scales on his skin. Xairin saw a forked tongue lick the girl. It came out almost four feet as he taunted the staff. “I WANT THAT ENTRANCE NOW?”

  Xairin’s canines and lateral incisors elongated, his fingernails turned into thick black curved claws. The part of Xairin that would have ran from a fight, was overridden by something else, something primal, it was instinctive. Xairin pushed past the guards without thinking, he could feel his skin tingle as his bioelectrical aura bended the light around him, rendering him invisible. The guards just pushed aside as if a ghost has passed by. It took Xairin less than two seconds to reach the gorgon. His claws dug into the man’s wrist, forcing him to drop the girl. He twisted the man’s arm as scales began to glitter across his skin, turning green, dark green. Xairin’s invisibility wore off. The lizard man stood there, surprised.

  The man’s body became covered in scales, forcing Xairin’s claws out of his arm. His face elongated much like a werewolf’s face would, though this wasn’t a canine muzzle. The man had two prominent fangs, that seemed to drip something. Xairin figured it was venom, the smell from it gave it away. This didn’t deter him. The lizard ran at him, swinging his fists, which Xairin dodged, bending as if he was made of rubber. Xairin came up quick, dodging the next blow, this time, he reached out and sunk his claws into the man’s arm again, this time twisting it.

  It hissed at Xairin as its tongue rolled out of its mouth to grasp Xairin’s neck. The two struggled. Xairin’s claws dug deeper into the lizard man’s flesh, while the tongues grip got tighter around his neck. Finally, Xairin managed to get his right hand free to grab the tongue, and out of pure instinct, pulled it hard… The tongue dislodged from the man’s mouth, forcing it to hunker over, coughing and choking on its own red blood.

  He had never let out a roar before. Xairin growled a noise mimicking a lion, and kicked the man in the stomach, again not thinking, just reacting. The man flew into the air and dented the metal wall twenty feet away. Xairin started into a run and leaped. His claws landed into the reptilian’s back like a cheetah catching its prey. He swung his claws back and forth, mauling the lizard as it tried to get up but couldn't. Its flesh tried to heal rapidly but Xairin’s fury was faster. He saw the things spine after one blast of his claws across it's back and reached in to pull the bones upward. The creature shrieked a high pitched shrill. Xairin tossed th
e part of its ribs off to the side as It grew a tail that tried to wrap around Xairin’s throat. This time, Xairin bit it, he didn’t ingest any blood, but bit down hard on the tip, while clawing viciously like a wild bear out of control.

  The lizard creature stopped moving. When he felt the grip let up, Xairin regained his senses. His chest raised heavily as he looked down, growling. He bore his fangs and roared out of instinct again, intimidating the creature to stay there or else…

  While Xairin’s red eyes and fangs intimidated the creature lying there, a second gorgon had snuck in the ER doors using the same light bending talent. Xairin’s biosonar detected the second man easily. This one was made a little differently. He had a longer face, it looked like the perfect blend of a man and a crocodile.

  This one swung it's clawed hand aiming to take Xairin’s head off. Xairin ducked in such a way that he turned around and extended his right leg, kicking the creature in the throat. It choked.

  Seeing it taking a moment to catch its breath, Xairin performed an acrobatic spin kick, knocking four teeth right out. When he realized what he had just did, he seemed shocked. Xairin never knew he could do anything like that. Sure, he remembered watching his mother spar with his father at times when they worked out, but this was different. Xairin was performing it easily, seemingly as if he had trained for it.

  This creature however wasn’t lying low. It came at him clawing at his midsection and his throat, Xairin was somehow faster, way faster. His body bent and twisted, moving like a fluidic dance. When the opportunity presented itself, he ducked, and brought his hand up in an upper cut, but it wasn't a punch he was throwing, he was gutting the croc man with his claws. The creature’s guts shot out of its leathery body and fell backwards on the floor. The vampire’s claws had reached in far enough to shred the heart for they had sliced through the ribcage like a sharp blade would. Xairin looked shocked. He just looked at his hands, his bloody red hands. “Holy shit.” He mumbled.

  By this time Doctor Battle and two others had arrived with additional droids. Battle stood there, he had seen what Xairin had done. He had already known a gorgon was here causing problems, but never expected a patient to intervene, nor a second lizard lying in wait. The first one was still alive, but the one Xairin just gutted, appeared to be dead. Battle could only stand there and instruct the droids. “Get the gorgons, leave the vamp!”

  Aaron pulled Xairin to the side. His eyes were still red, and his fangs were still elongated. His voice had become bestial.

  “Mr. Thunder?”

  Xairin looked up at him, “WHAT?”

  “Okay, not the enemy here.” Aaron turned his head, and noticed Lillian approaching. She read the minds of those in the ER, seeing for herself what happened. She arrived at Xairin’s side and looked at Aaron. She sniffed the air while looking at the one still breathing. “An Alpha… This prompted her to reply quickly. “I have it. How about you go and interrogate our new friend.” She looked at the one that was gutted and sniffed. “And a dead Delta.” She then eyed Xairin. “I will speak with Mr. Thunder.”

  _____

  The waiting room.

  Lillian took Xairin into a waiting room and offered him another bottle of blood. He had missed his ride, which pissed him off, but someone did retrieve the duffle bag for him. In the meantime, he needed a change of clothes. His shirt was covered in gorgon blood. Lilian offered him a blue scrub top for the time being. “Are you ok Mr. Thunder?”

  He put the top on and took a sip of blood, his eyes reverted to green and he let out a deep breath. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

  “Rage like that, a little impressive.” She went over to a hand print module on the wall and had access to pull up the recording. She watched the event on a loop. Xairin seemed almost embarrassed. He didn’t know that type of furry and fighting skill was even in him. Now he knew why staying fed was so important.

  She watched the recording, she saw him rip into the gorgons without hesitation. She saw the acrobatics. Pure instinct, primal in its very nature. “Such raw instinct, not to mention savage. Gorgons are hard to subdue, they regenerate faster than we do, being a reptile and all. And ripping its tongue out, that's one of their weaknesses. Not bad... As for the other one… Where did you learn to fight? Such combat skills are typically learned, or inherited, but you were bitten so that rules inheritance out.”

  “Inherited?” He curiously asked.

  Lillian nodded while looking at him strangely. “Immortals. We can inherit memories from our parents, grandparents, an entire line can be predisposed to muscle memory and combat skills, not to mention other things we learn over time. Your file never said you had any combat training. Did you learn it in foster care?”

  Xairin shrugged while she intently listened to his heart rate. It never changed. “No. I mean, my mom taught kickboxing classes, and my dad was a detective. I remember seeing them spar a few times at home, but it just wasn’t my thing.”

  She looked at him closer. She needed such raw talent on her side, talent that she could rely on to help keep the peace. Sure, she could have just went to Ethan and had him enforce it, but she preferred willing loyalty over submission. Finally, she mentioned it. “I could use someone like you.”

  Xairin shook his head. “Look, I didn’t even know I could do something like that. I just want to go home, find my droid, hopefully still have patients not afraid of getting a massage done by a vampire, and get on with my life.”

  She leaned against the wall with a stern look. “Maybe you are home Mr. Thunder?”

  Xairin scoffed. “Excuse me?”

  “I need immortals that can react quickly to threats like the one that happened here. Ones that can go for the kill when they have too. You have raw talent.”

  Xairin scoffed again. “Look lady, I’m not a fighter, never have been. Hell, my mom taught martial arts, and my dad was a Interpol, I didn’t want anything to do with their professions, and I sure don't want this one either. I just want to go home, and find my droid, like I said.”

  She turned her head and watched the video again playing on the wall module. She noticed Xairin reacted to the child. His claws went for that hand first. “You saved that little girl Mr. Thunder. That was your point of attack, there are dozens of Immortium out there that would have ripped that child to shreds or choked her until either her head popped off or her neck crushed. Most humans are not capable of fighting immortals, and you just beat down two gorgon, and I caught the first one’s scent. He was an Alpha. That in itself is impressive given how fast they heal.”

  Knowing that the first gorgon was an Alpha and Xairin was just a Delta increased her curiosity, she was already enthralled at the fact she could no longer sense any of her cells at all in him now. His body had fought off the blood pact completely from her end and was nearing Ethan’s. That sip he had taken in the classroom had more cells concentrated per the water samples, even with a vampire of her caliber. Her eyes kept studying him to the point of making him uncomfortable and self-conscious. He hugged himself while he looked around. She watched him lick his lips and shake his head. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “That was an Alpha, and a Delta. You can smell it in their blood. Taking down two, without any training other than simply instinct just makes me curious is all.”

  She could tell he was intent on leaving. “Tell you what, give it some thought? I can promise you this, the pay would be better than being a massage therapist.”

  Xairin smirked. “I don't like crowds, I don't like groups of people. I love helping people, as in healthcare. It's why I have other degrees if you look it up. It's why I do what I do. I like to be around one person at a time, I love what I do, and I go home. Thank you, but no...”

  She sniffed the air, taking careful time to imprint her memory of his scent. She even went a step further and looked into his eyes. He felt a pressure when she did but looked away but by then she had what she needed. His scent was even familiar to her. She spoke quickly. “At least let
me arrange a ride home. It’s the least I can do for what you did here today. Saving that girl and the humans in the ER, it helps give us an image I want to uphold.”

  He shrugged in agreement.

  _____

  Apartment 706J.

  Lillian had arranged for Xairin to get a ride home. A werewolf from the society was driving the black dronemobile he was riding in the back-seat in. The driver was in uniform, having the Society emblem on his shoulder. He wore a red kevlar outfit, like the others did. He was dark haired, and wearing a red cap, he kept his eyes on the skies as Xairin sat there looking out the window. He didn’t say much of anything to Xairin. Xairin was too busy looking at the lights of the city and the stars through the windows. The driver could tell Xairin was new, and opened the sun roof, so that he could get a better upward glance. Xairin appreciated it.

  After a few minutes, Xairin looked forward at the lean built driver. He wanted to say something, it seemed the driver didn’t care for music as the radio was off. “So. You’re a werewolf?” Xairin asked.

  The young man nodded. “Sure am, a purebred.”

  “Purebred?” Xairin asked curiously.