Chapter 62: Ask for help

A light rain fell over the city that night, dampening the rooftops. The soft tapping echoed off the old buildings, filling the air with a quiet tension you could almost feel. Streetlights flickered gently, like they were holding their breath under the grey sky.

Lucien arrived at an old building tucked away behind a row of abandoned shopfronts. From the outside, it looked rundown, forgotten—but inside, it was cold, clean, and packed with high-tech equipment. The air smelled like metal and stale coffee.

Someone sat at a desk, eyes locked on a screen filled with data—graphs tracking a population’s declining health, security footage from hospitals, news clippings about a “mysterious outbreak” sweeping through the city.

Lucien stepped in without a sound, his long coat still damp with rain. The man at the desk didn’t look up.

The door creaked open. A tall figure in a black coat entered, face half-hidden beneath a rain-soaked hood.

“I knew you’d show up,” the man muttered flatly.

Without a word, Lucien closed the door behind him. The room went still for a moment, until his cold, low voice broke the silence.

“You’ve been watching it?”

The man gave a slight nod, eyes still on the screen. “Of course. The symptoms make no sense. Bodies shutting down instantly. No wounds. No blood. But they drop like puppets with their strings cut. This isn’t a disease.”

Lucien stepped closer, brushing rain from his coat. His gaze was sharp, like fogged glass cutting through the dark.

“You’re right,” he said. “It’s them. Vampires. Moving slowly, hiding behind the idea of a sickness so no one notices.”

Finally, the man turned to him. There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes—but just for a second. He’d known Lucien long enough. Long enough to know what he really was.

“So this is really happening again?” he asked in a near whisper.

Lucien gave a single nod.

“When did they get bold enough to break the treaty?”

“They haven’t. Not technically,” Lucien replied coolly. “They’re still in the shadows. Slipping through the cracks humans have left behind. People forgot we existed.”

“So they’re really doing it.”

“They’re getting smarter. Not showing themselves. Letting the world believe it’s just another epidemic.”

“And people will research, scramble for vaccines, try to find a cause… but come up empty.”

“Exactly.”

“Then why come to me?” the man asked, his tone calm but laced with tension. “If this is vampire business, why drag a human into it?”

Lucien looked straight at him—sharp and unflinching. “Because a human like you is more dangerous than any vampire I’ve ever met. You know what to look for. You see the holes in the data we can’t even detect. I need your intel.”

The man smirked faintly. “I’m not a hunter.”

“I need your eyes. Your ears. Every feed, every access point you’ve got. This is just the beginning, and they won’t stop.”

Silence settled again. Outside, the wind knocked against the windows like it was trying to say something words couldn’t.

“Can I still trust you, Lucien?” the man asked suddenly, his voice low and sharp.

Lucien met his eyes. “If you couldn’t, you’d be dead already.”

The man stood, walked to a shelf, and pulled out a worn folder filled with handwritten notes and blurry photos.

“I used to think all this was myth. Until I met you.”

Lucien said nothing.

The man looked at him again. “If they’re making moves, then they’re after something.”

Lucien replied quietly, “Pure blood.”

The man froze. “That’s just a legend.”

“No,” Lucien said. “It’s real. And it’s with me. If they get their hands on it… no one will be able to stop them.”

“Not even you?”

Lucien looked forward, steady. “If I fall, I need to know you’ll be ready to finish this.”

The man scoffed lightly. “I’m just human.”

Lucien gave a faint smile. “But one who knows not everything that lives deserves to survive.”

Silence took the room again. Then the man exhaled deeply and sat back down.

“Alright. You’ve got access—traffic feeds, medical reports, all of it. I’ll trace the pattern. But if this turns into a war…”

“I’ll be the first to stop it,” Lucien said. “Even if that means going through my own kind.”

The city sky was shrouded in heavy gray clouds, as if mourning the quiet chaos slowly creeping into the night. Streetlights flickered weakly, like they were running out of breath, and in the distance, the wail of an ambulance echoed—another lifeless body rushed through the city, still with no answers from the doctors.

At the top of a high-rise overlooking the city’s heart, two figures stood still. Their long coats fluttered in the cold night wind. Gabriel’s eyes were sharp, like blades, scanning every inch of the city below. Beside him, Kael stood calmly, though his gaze hinted at something deeper—boredom, maybe, or doubt.

“Look at them,” Kael muttered, nodding toward the overcrowded hospital. “Won’t be long now. They’ll figure out this isn’t some ordinary illness. And when that moment hits, the panic will do far more damage than anything we’ve done.”

Gabriel didn’t answer right away. His eyes stayed locked on the city slowly sinking into quiet disarray.

“And Lucien?” Kael asked, his tone casual but edged with provocation. “You think he’s just sitting back and letting this unfold? Or has he really stopped caring?”

Gabriel let out a cold smirk. “Lucien’s not the type to let his house burn without checking where the fire started. He hasn’t checked out—he’s planning something.”

Kael shot him a glance. “You sound like someone who knows their enemy a little too well. Or maybe... someone who’s worried.”

“I’m not worried,” Gabriel said quietly. “I’m prepared.”

The air between them grew heavier. The wind carried a faint scent of blood—the aftermath of last night’s unseen attacks. Victims left hollow, drained without a mark, never knowing what had taken their lives.

“We need to move faster,” Kael said, arms crossed. “Before he cuts off our every move. He knows how this game ends. And so do you.”

Gabriel nodded. “Which is why we won’t move like we usually do. We’ll let the fear grow. Let the humans turn on each other. Tear themselves apart. And when they’re weak enough, lost enough... that’s when we strike. No resistance.”

Kael let out a soft chuckle. “You’re cruel in such a refined way, Gabriel.”

Gabriel looked at him. “And you’ve been exiled too long to understand that sometimes, destruction doesn’t need fire. Just a whisper. Just fear.”