Jak's POV
Dad gave me some good news.
It was 2 hours after lunchtime when dad took us to the coast at Pancake town where his small boat was.
"I want you to win a fight against someone. Now, don't hold back your strength. I'll explain the rules later." He said
My Dad continued having this serious conversation with me... wait for it... as he was building a tiny castle made of sand.
D: Don't you mean sandcastle?
W: No shit. Of course I meant sandcastle! There are more interesting ways to say sandcastle.
D: Really?
W: Of course. You can say 'a dual sand and water sculpture'.
A castle worthy for beach ants.
A trap house for small crabs and chilled out insects.
A-
D: A trap house? For insects?! Are you insane?
W: Yes I am actually. Good point-
D: Good point? I wasn't making a point! I was asking you a question. A rhetorical question actually-
W: I see. What a good rhetorical question. Because it's a rhetorical question, you've saved me the trouble of having to give you an answer.
D: I hate you.
W: I hate you too.
D: I hate you even more. Stop agreeing with me all the time.
W: Ok. I agree with what you've told me. I'll stop agreeing with you then.
D: BEEEEEEEEEEP!!! *Nearly self-destructs but W and D's creator 'nurses' D back to health*
"Tama! You can stop sightseeing now. You will fight my son. No weapons. Whoever falls to the ground and doesn't get back up is the loser. There's no time limit. Hurry the fuck up and finish the fight as quickly as possible. I've got better things to do, brat." Dad announced.
I am fighting Tama? Why? But she's an adult. I'm at a huge disadvantage!
"Dad, she's an adult. I can't win! She probably has an Ability." I replied
"I doubt that. Now fight!" He said.
Tama approached me slowly and looked worried. She tried to punch me in the face.
I dodged but soon, her other fist followed punching me in the chest. I was busy noticing the punch coming towards my face and didn't realize that she'd aimed at my chest at the same time. I toppled over and fell on dad's sandcastle. It hurt so much!
Soon, we were exchanging punches and kicks. Her attacks were actually quite decent and they hurt quite a bit!
I finally delivered the final blow.
I punched her arm as hard as I could. She cried out in pain as a loud crack followed after the punch. She was clutching onto her now limp arm. She fell to the ground hyperventilating. She wasn't used to fighting at all!
"Are you alright, Tama. I'm sorry. Dad told me not to hold back." I said
"My arm's broken! What kind of 8 year old is that strong?! Are you even human? I doubt it!" She cried.
She gave up fighting and wasn't getting back up.
I guess she was in too much pain.
"How very anticlimactic. This was the most boring fight I've ever witnessed. You're barely scratched, Tama." Dad commented harshly
Her eyes went watery and tears spilled out of her eyes.
"Is the pain really that serious? Maybe I was being too harsh on you. I'll get your arm treated. My son is much stronger than I expected." Dad said
"Yes but don't worry too much. As long as my arm's treated, I'll be fine." Tama replied
"The fight is over for now. I underestimated you Jak. Next time, you'll be fighting me." Dad said
I gulped nervously.
My dad rummaged through his bag and got out this strange looking contraption and leaned closer towards Tama.
"Don't be afraid Tama. Hold out your arm for me."
She winced in pain whilst holding out her injured arm using the other arm for support. Looking into the instrument, he saw something surprising!
"Tama. Your left arm has some bones that are almost completely shattered. I can heal it only a little bit but you need to be patient. I'm not good at healing magic so you'll probably need to go to a Healer. I'll pay if you need me to.
"Tha..Tha..Thanks, Jonny." She replied
"Look into my eyes. It might distract you from the pain." Jonny advised her
"They've turned red." She said
Jonny's red iris seemed to glow brighter as Tama continued to look into them, intrigued.
***
A while later, my dad looked worried about something but I couldn't guess what was wrong.
He was crawling around on the sandy ground, clutching onto part of his back.
The same place where he had that tattoo.
"What's wrong, dad? Is your back hurting?"
His eyes were red. His Bloodlust rising more intensely.
He seemed more beast-like and less like a human.
"Dad. Are you alright?"
"Step back! It's still out there, hiding somewhere! It wants to devour me!" Dad shouted back
"What is it? Is it a bad guy!" I asked
After sniffing around, he stood back up and got into a fighting stance.
"What more do you want from me, old bastard?! You will never change me, no matter who you bring to me! I will not submit!" He yelled at the sky
"Dad! Are you ok? Who's out there?!"
"It's a Zombie. They're strong. They can't bleed. But they can be killed. They turn to dust when they're killed. Don't trust Zombies. They can take on any form!" He warned
A few seconds later, a woman appeared.
She walked closer to my dad, approaching us carefully.
I looked up at my dad with confusion, his eyes glowed red again when he looked at her.
His smile turned into a grin then he started cackling loudly.
"Don't trust that thing! It's not a real woman, son!" He said
"Really? But she looks like one to me." I replied
"Trying to mock your level 1, huh? You dirty old bastard! I'll shred her to pieces and send her parts to your doorstep as my present to you!" He roared
I was starting to get scared.
Doing the opposite of holding back, my dad charged forwards towards the confused looking woman and tackled her with ease, crashing her to the sandy ground.
"I bet you're that same zombie who escaped me before! You can't trick me!" He said
He was still on top of her, holding her to the sandy ground.
"I-I'm not! I don't know what you're talking about! I am scared-" She replied, shaking
"Liar! Quit acting so innocent you zombie!" He roared at her, his sharp teeth revealing.
My dad always did have major trust issues. Without enough proof, I don't think he'll ever believe her!
His hands were crushing her shoulders and she was wincing in pain and struggling underneath him.
"Leave her alone, dad! I think she's telling the truth!" I shouted
"Keep away, son! I trust my senses and instincts! She's giving off the same scent as that piece of shit who I hate!" He replied
She started to panic and tried her best to get away from him, trying everything from punching to kicking but my dad was doing more damage to her then she was doing to him.
"Please believe me! We're the same! I'm an ally! I'm a level 1." She replied
"There's no way to fight me off! If we're the same and you're not a zombie, then show me your mark to prove it right now!" Dad demanded
"No. Please. I-I can't. Please believe me! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" She teared up
"Where is your brand, woman?! Is it on your back, or your chest or stomach or legs? Show me the brand or you'll die with my pistol bullet lodged inside your cheeks!" Jonny threatened
She saw that he was really armed with a gun.
Knowing dad, he probably has multiple guns and bullets in his bag.
***
The woman (or Zombie) was in tears and was too afraid to do anything!
"I warned you, Zombie. I want proof and I'll get that proof out of you!" Jonny said
"All right. Go ahead. You'll see that I was telling the truth all along! You're just like that old demon!" She said
"Just like him huh? You're gonna regret saying that to me!"
Jonny flipped her over and tore her shirt open from the top, revealing her back.
Jak watched but didn't say anything.
He started to desperately scan through her now exposed upper body for a specific marking.
One that was similar to his.
He couldn't find anything and his patience had already ran out!
He growled in frustration, flipping her over again, her back against the ground like before.
"I'll find it out the easy way. If you bleed, you aren't a Zombie. You're just a fragile little woman." He spoke.
'His Bloodlust. I'm scared! It's too much! This isn't like the normal dad I know.' Jak thought, his teeth starting to shiver even though it wasn't cold
"No dad, please don't. Don't torture her-"
Jonny ignored him.
He grabbed the back of her neck and harshly bit through her neck.
His sharp teeth got sharper and sank through her flesh, making her scream out and claw at his back to ease the pain. She was kicking at his groin repeatedly, her eyes watering and rolling back. He groaned, holding her much closer, his red eyes rolling back as if he was relishing in the pain. His teeth gnawed harshly at her neck, her red blood spurting out.
She was mumbling, too weak to say a word as Jonny continued to drink from her.
He slowly got away from her neck and stared back at her with red glowing eyes.
He licked his blood stained lips and wiped the excess off with the back of his hand.
Soon, he realized that her eyes had turned red as well.
She moaned softly as her neck was beginning to heal itself slowly.
Was she regenerating?
Jonny couldn't tell whether the sound she made was an expression of pain, pleasure or both, but that hardly mattered to him. Any expression of the sort had the same effect on him.
He enjoyed making others wince in pain, both in his missions and elsewhere.
When her neck healed completely, Jonny started to feel guilty about not believing her and hurting her just to see proof.
He carried her in his arms and stood up, covering her up with one of his spare shirts seeing as hers were torn up.
"You aren't a zombie. You also belong to that old bastard. Did he force you to submit to him? Did you give in? Did he make your suffering stop?" He questioned
"Yes, I offered myself to him and he gave me his rich blue blood very recently. It's easier to surrender. If he wants you, he'll get you eventually. My brand is on the top of my knee. I dislike showing it to others. Forgive me but he'll stop playing with you if you just give in. It's for your own good. Don't defy fate. It won't end well-" She warned
"I'm sorry but I'd rather die than be that old bastard's plaything. I'll give you K15 to go buy yourself a new top. I've ruined it. I humiliated you and greedily drank too much of your blood. I felt compelled to somehow. I feel like I'm chained to a savage beast that I have to constantly restrain. You as a transformed demon must know how difficult it is to fight back against the urges for blood. Why is the feeling of being drunk on blood so pleasurable to a demon?" Jonny replied
Poor little Jak Price had seen it all! He stood there, staring at the both of them with a disturbed and puzzled expression on his face. But like his dad had always trained him, the boy followed the advice of not worrying or thinking too much about what he couldn't understand yet.
Jak Price slowly walked off and started playing about in the nearly empty beach by himself, practicing the many flips he learned from gymnastics. Soon, he made himself forget about what happened between his dad and that woman.