Second Genesis

by Eric Williams

  Rory wasn’t buying it.

  Xairin closed his eyes. He could feel a waning link. He could hear the gun fire continue. He shook his head while trying to shake it off and snap out of it fully, but it didn’t stop until he heard the gunshots end. He could taste the blood in his mouth again. This time it made his own mouth water. His eyes opened, but they weren't green, they were red. He could feel the desire for more. He knew that the fear in the blood, the adrenaline was indeed a drug to a vampire bat and likely to vampires as well given the sensations he was experiencing. Aside from the fear coursing through the victim’s veins, Xairin could also feel the desire for human DNA, the combination of the two attracted the bats as he could sense their heat receptors in their noses picking up on what they were craving. The Adrenaline in their blood was just a nice addictive taste they had acquired. He now knew why humans were the main target for the bats. Not only was it the DNA they desired, It was also the adrenaline in the blood that made it intoxicating to them. They craved it.

  Rory was patting Xairin on the shoulder. It helped Xairin acclimate himself. His eye lenses retracted quickly right before his teeth started to feel the pressure of elongating. He stood up quickly. Once he could tell he was ok, he turned around. He could tell Rory wasn’t buying the growing pains story. “The bat... The bat that bit me. They told us we might experience psychic links. I didn’t have any until today. Maybe I wasn’t close enough to pick them up.”

  “What kind of links?”

  Xairin was quick to shrug. “I really don’t want to talk about it. Look, do me a favor, tell Toph and the others I’m ok and I’m alive. I'll give you a call later, I promise.”

  “Are you going to be ok?” Rory’s voice asked with a chalked-up flare.

  “I hope so.”

  _____

  Apartment 706J

  Xairin had flew back home and parked his jeep in the garage. Once the air fans drew upward, he attached a yellow cable to a receptacle in the front right between the headlights so that the jeep could charge.

  His pace as hastened as he almost seemed like he was fleeing the scene of a crime with his bags in his arms.

  While he darted down the long outdated fashioned hallways, he ran into someone he was hoping to avoid. His landlord which he nicknamed old plastic. Gina Rominsky was rumored to have been military at one time, a milz. The woman’s skin was plastic, hence her nickname. She was an outdated cyborg that never opted to upgrade herself into looking a bit more human. She had robotical red eyes, and her voice was mechanical as well, like she had been a throat cancer survivor. Xairin often wondered why should wouldn’t want something more human like instead of that monotoned robotic sound. Her arms and legs were mechanical, you could see they hydraulic styled tech in her lower extremities. Supposedly she had fallen on a land mine in world war three, though Xairin never asked. He thought about trying to read her once, but the titanium plating making up her skull made mind reading impossible, that and Xairin never fully embraced that side of him so his gifts were usually accidental at best when he was classified as just a sensitive.

  She stood there in a tropical printed night gown, with a pink towel wrapped around her head. She even had pink fuzzy slippers on her metal feet which Xairin thought was ridiculously cliched. “Hello Miss Rominsky.”

  “Xairin, it is good to see you are alive.”

  Xairin didn’t know what to say other than one thing. “Thank you.”

  “Before you walk off I need to talk to you about something.”

  Xairin cocked his head in reply to the mechanical woman’s voice. “Everything ok?”

  She shrugged. “Most of my tenants are uneasy about an Immortium being in the building. At least those Aeonian people started out as people in the first place, too bad you didn't catch that one... I hope you keep that to yourself.”

  He nodded. He was just glad it wasn’t an eviction notice for being an immortal and reached out to shake her hand. “I promise I will keep it to myself.” Her hand grip was strong from the tech that made up her recreated arms. “Please do Xairin, you’ve been a good tenant, I would hate to have to ask you to vacate because of others.”

  She walked off, leaving him in thought to that remark.

  In his apartment, he sat down on the couch. He was hoping that Alex would show up, so he could ask about the link he was experiencing. That taste in his mouth was lingering still.

  He let out a heavy sigh and melded into the couch for comfort. He closed his eyes tightly.

  After a few minutes he got up and walked over to the fridge. He got a bottle of blood and put it in the microwave. 10 seconds was all it needed. While he was sipping his bottle, he started thinking about what Alex said about that vampire with the same birth mark he had. It weirded him out a little. He recalled Alex saying her children had it too, then instantly his mother popped into his head... His mother.

  He recalled her face easily. It was kind, and comforting, and she always seemed younger than his father though they both claimed to be the same age. He remembered her being a health nut but suddenly remembered she always ate raw steak and even remembered catching her eating raw ground up beef. She claimed it was the paleo diet and needed the protein. It grossed him out. He then remembered that weird dream he had, seeing her fight a man with the same reptilian eyes when compared to the Alpha he bested.

  Xairin’s mother was tall, five eleven, about a hundred and sixty pounds of lean muscle. He remembered seeing his father and her sparing on mat they had in their small basement. She often got the better of him. They even had to take Draven to the hospital once for a fractured arm from them practicing in the basement once. Xairin remembered his dad getting picked on by one of his Interpol friends by insinuating he was being abused.

  He stood there slowly sipping while his thoughts ran back as far as he could remember. He knew he had been born at home, along with both his two siblings. He heard that story a dozen times about how she had a kiddy pool set up in their living room and gave birth in the water. He remembered her burning incense that drove his nose into a frenzy, and never once did she ever get sick, or break a bone, nor did he for that matter until the events in the sewer.

  That birthmark on his shoulder came to mind. He knew his mother had it too, and his brother and sister. After hearing Alex talk about it, it weirded him out now more than ever once he started thinking about that dream.

  A loud knocking came to Xairin’s door. It startled him. He was reminiscing so much that his vampiric senses had delayed the detection of Alex knocking.

  Xairin made sure to look through the spy hole just to be sure. It was Alex dressed in his red uniform, waiting there with a few paper bags in his arms.

  He opened the door. “Bout time man. Need to get this blood in the fridge.”

  “You brought more?” Xairin asked curiously while ushering the gorgeous dark-haired man inside.

  “Lillian’s orders pal.”

  Xairin put the chain on the door when he closed it while Alex darted over to the fridge and started putting what looked like a 24 pack of beer, but it wasn’t. It was a new canned blood, pigs blood, B+.

  Xairin walked over and leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Why is she so intent on making sure I’m ok?”

  Alex turned around with an expressionless face. “Your blood rations haven't arrived yet. Apparently there has been a delivery issue for several vamps in Bastion City linked to some Immortium hackers trying to derail the deliveries and starve the vamps into alternate feeding. Mainly see if they go after humans. Also... Cliff Notes version. That Alpha you nearly killed, he had nest mates that were close by. By our accounts, four Betas ascended before we could find them all. You could be in a little danger Xairin.”

  That was one thing Xairin didn’t need to hear right now. Both Immortium interference in the vampire community, and the fact he put himself on the line by helping save that girl. He didn’t regret saving her, not at all by any means. He was fearful for his own life now. It was hard
enough coming to terms with being a vampire, having survived his brutal encounter, and now this…

  “OH shit, are you sure?”

  Alex shrugged. “Lillian was able to probe the Alpha’s thoughts and get a psychic trace. We couldn’t find them all. At least four for sure. Anyhow, here’s some blood, and I have a few other gadgets for you.”

  Xairin cocked his left eyebrow up and frowned. “Gadgets? Please tell me you’re not going to teach me to shoot a gun? Those things scared me when I was a kid.”

  Alex snarled. “Nope, but that's not a bad idea as long as you load them with silver bullets or get one of those laser pistols that has enough power to vaporize the head. No. I have a silver door knob to replace your old one. Any immortal touch your door, and poof, their hand is burning. Which will give you a chance to be ready. But that also means you must remember to wear gloves to come home every day, which I picked some up. Also, some silver mace. Just make sure you’re not near it when you spray it.”

  Xairin sighed. “Great, another thing I have to worry about.”

  Xairin scoffed. “Wait a second, can’t immortals smell the silver?”

  Alex shrugged. “I can, and many of the older ones can. Most Omegas can't though. Likely a new Alpha gorgon is going to send lower lackies anyhow. Easy alert system. You hear someone screaming from the steaming pain silver causes, and it gives you a chance to do one of two things. Fight, or flight. And by flight, I mean use your wings and jump out your window and fly away. Your choice. At least you vamps have that advantage.”

  Alex wore black gloves while he installed the doorknob while Xairin tried the new canned blood. It didn’t taste as good as bottled blood, but it did ok. Just couldn’t warm it up due to the metal. Once he had the door knob installed. He rewired the handprint module, hacking it with a tablet that had a USB cord to interface with the receptacle. He made it so that no one else could hack the hand print module or the I.D. card. Even Xairin’s landlord couldn’t access his apartment now if she wanted too.

  The werewolf also installed a weaponized release system. Should the door be forcibly opened, a device was installed that could release a silver spray downward. It looked to Xairin like a marble the size of a baseball with a camera lens pointing downward. “Should anyone break in, this device will shoot a deadly dose of silver oxide into the air, which don’t worry, will stay within a five-foot radius of the door.”

  “Is all this necessary?” Xairin questioned.

  “Look man, Lillian thinks your special. And yes, it is. Gorgons have little mercy bro, little mercy at all. You don’t want a few of them to come knocking, literally in this case. Just remember not to touch the outside of your door knob, only the hand print module to open the door. I have the hand print module wired, and a hydraulic device installed to automatically open to your hand print only. Just don’t touch the door knob okay?”

  Xairin could tell the man was serious. He saw the device at the top of the door and sighed. “I just hope my land lord don’t get pissed.”

  Alex shrugged. “Just mind control her dude. You vamps are more telepathically adept than any other immortal due to your biosonar ability enhancing it.”

  Xairin shook his head. “My landlord is a cyborg. Even as a sensitive I couldn’t sense anything from her. No go on that.”

  “That sucks.” Alex said while adding the finishing touches.

  The werewolf smiled. “Do you want me to stick around? Or you good?”

  “I think I will be ok. I have your number, and, yeah, if someone tries to break in, I think I will give my wings a try.:”

  “A TRY?” Alex scoffed. “Dude have you haven’t even flown yet?”

  “No, not yet. I figured I would just keep using my hover jeep until I was ready to give it a try.”

  Alex scoffed. “Well they say it's instinctive, so I hope so in your case. Either way, you should probably try it out sometime here soon just in case.”

  Alex didn’t stay long after that. He had two other details to check on but did ask if Xairin was free tomorrow to just hang out. Xairin had logged into his patient portal and noticed a few cases the next day so he told him he was going to try and see a few clients but possibly later that night since he was sleeping all day now.

  It had been a few hours since Alex had left. Xairin was trying to go ahead and get some rest. He had a client that demanded on seeing him during the day, not the morning at least, but around noon so he did his best to try and go to sleep.

  Xairin always slept wearing next to nothing. It was a habit. He always got hot easy and as a vampire, he ran hotter than humans did. That part surprised Xairin since all the movies he had ever watched depicted them as running colder. Vampire bats are warm blooded after all, so it made sense.

  A memory came back to Xairin as he slept. He dreamed of being five years old. He was in the woods, playing with a yellow plush dragon doll. He loved fairy tales about them. His father was a dark haired stoutly built man, with a hairy chest, chopping firewood while shirtless. His two younger siblings, Scott and Rachel were stair stepped toddlers, both 1 and 2. There was a playpen set up that the two children were playing in while a more robotical model droid was watching them while Draven worked hard at chopping the wood and Xairin was goofing off playing with his dragon doll. K2 had yet to come into the picture at this time in his life. RoboMolly was the first droid the family owned. She had a feminine build, but was clearly robotical, lacking the scaled form later droids had.

  His mother wasn’t there. She had went for a run. She was always running. They were also always camping. It was something they did quite a bit when they had the chance. Almost every weekend, they went camping.

  Xairin recalled getting bored and wanted to find his mom. He didn’t want to help chop wood with his dad. He put his toy down and walked down a hiking trail. He remembered hearing his father yell out in his deep voice. “DON'T GO FAR XAIR!”

  He went about two hundred yards. His father was so busy chopping wood that he didn’t pay the boy much mind. Little Xairin was freckled, skinny, and a happy looking child wearing his green shirt and tan shorts and flip flops.

  This was the trail he saw his mother leave on. He had to follow it. He knew she would come back this way. He wanted to see her. He remembered that.

  Little Xairin was out of sight and smiling as he looked at ants crossing the path. He knelt down to watch them for a moment, they were carrying larva on their backs, moving into another nest. This sight fascinated him.

  He heard a growling noise that made him stand up quick. It sounded like a panther. He looked around scared. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

  Xairin left the path and darted into the woods, but where he went, the growling only got louder. When he stopped. He saw something. He saw his mother knelt down on her hands and knees over what looked like a deer. He could hear growling noises coming from her, from his mother.

  A chill ran up little Xairin’s spine. He took a step backwards, his foot stepped on a twig, and snapped it. Abruptly his mother stood up and turned around. Her face was covered in the deer’s blood and her eyes were pitch black. She opened her mouth. She didn’t have fangs per say, but mildly sharpened teeth. He heard her voice yell out. “XAIRIN?”

  The closer she got, the more he noticed she was covered in the animal's blood. It was all over her hands and face. Chunks of meat was dangling from her jaw line. His little head looked upward into her black eyes, and her slightly sharpen teeth. He recalled screaming and turning around to run.

  Xairin instantly came up out of the bed breathing hard. That chill he felt as a child went up his spine again. He had goose bumps on top of goosebumps. Even his vampiric eyes had asserted themselves along with his fangs. His claws had ripped the side of his bed as he sat up quickly. He looked around the room like he used too when a dream terrified him. “What kind of dream was that? Why would I dream about my mom... Being a... a vampire…”? He thought.

  This made two separate dreams in which he recalle
d a vampiric element about his mother. They went camping almost every weekend. Even when he was old enough to stay home alone, his parents went. Now, Xairin had to wonder… MY GOD… Was she?

  He closed his eyes trying to think back. The events of that dream came back like a tidal wave. His breathing hastened as he sat there while his mind went down a violent trip down memory lane. He could remember running from her, scared to death. His little feet somehow moved faster than he thought possible. He could hear her growling his name. He recalled turning his head and saw her behind him, and then a blunt force stopping him. He had run into his father.

  “Cecillia I told you to hunt further out!” Draven cried out.