Dariel woke up and got ready for the day. He planned to work with a construction company to get his money. He first had to visit a doctor to see what was really happening to his body.
He walked out of the room and spotted Kilia. "Morning!"
"Morning..."
Kilia was barely audible, but Dariel was happy she responded. Dariel noticed she seemed much better than yesterday but was a bit quieter.
After greetings, Dariel headed to the doctor's office located just across the street from their apartments. The building was really large and had many professionals working their very best inside.
"Dariel Morrigan, Your nurse is waiting for you in the third office on the right." The lady at the counter smiled brightly, making the office more welcoming.
Dariel traveled to the room, and they began the checkup. The room was pristine; there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere. He sat down and began the checkup. He explained the problems he was having, and he waited to receive the news to see if he would be alright.
"Sir, everything else looks good, but your blood pressure could use some work. You could possibly have heart attacks, strokes, and constant migraines if left untreated." The nurse handed Dariel a paper with the test results and some treatment options.
"I can't afford the treatments," Dariel sighed, grasping the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He then stood up, shook his head, and left.
Dariel quickly ended his appointment and headed downtown for the construction job that was available. He really needed to get to work.
This side of the city was way more noisy, with construction happening on multiple buildings at once. Dariel found that his nose had been bleeding again, and he quickly cleaned up with the remaining tissues he had.
"Are you here for the job?" An older man yelled through the loud equipment and banging noises.
"Yes sir!" Dariel responded as he approached the man. The man had some grey strands in his beard and was tall and muscular. "Hand me your ID and let's get to work!"
Dariel handed over his ID, which was just swiped into a machine. The man motioned for me to put my thumb on it so it could scan. "You're on the clock, so start moving those bricks over by Pierre. He is the guy with the big mustache and really strong legs."
Dariel was shocked at how quickly he had been registered, but luckily he mentally prepared for something like this. He quickly went over to Pierre, and they began their hauling for the day. Pierre was a really tall man with curly horns and a working attitude. There was no telling why he liked the job so much, but Dariel didn't mind in the slightest.
After hauling bricks for awhile, he delivered some other supplies before clocking out with the ID. He only managed to work for about 4 hours before giving up.
The ID was everything. It contained their money, registry, travel pass, and more. This was more than anything he had back home. It was true efficiency.
Dariel began thinking to himself, "I wonder how everyone back home is doing."
"It's only been a day; what am I talking about?" Dariel spotted a vending machine around the back of the apartments. He ran and put his ID in. He scanned his thumb and got some grape soda. He happily sat on a nearby bench and enjoyed the patch of trees and grass around him.
"Hey, I haven't seen you before." A slender woman with green hair and similar-colored eyes walked up to Dariel and sat down.
Dariel couldn't help but notice the strong smell of lavender that filled the air. It was one of his favorite smells, and it even made him a little nervous around her.
She noticed he looked slightly uncomfortable and misunderstood. Dariel was just keeping his nose from bleeding once again.
"Don't mind me; this is just my little hiding spot after work when I'm stressed. I didn't get paid for the last hour of work because I was told to quit slacking. I worked my butt off trying to sort files, and this is what they always do. I can't take this anymore. I mean, its like," She looked at Dariel and realized she had gone off on a rant.
"That isn't right, Make sure you get that money, even if you have to yell a bit, haha." Dariel took one last sip of his soda. "I'm new to the city, and this spot is actually quite nice."
Dariel took in his surroundings, stood up from the bench, and stretched. " Nice meeting you!"
"You too." Green hair replied; she seemed upset. She had picked up the scent of blood and it was almost irresistible, it smelled so sweet. "I'm Adela, by the way."
"And I'm Dariel. See you, Adela." Dariel walked away and headed to his apartment, but on his way, he began coughing really bad and felt the pain in his chest return with a kick.
"I'm pretty lucky," Dariel was relieved he made it home in time. "This is a pain."
Dariel went back to sleep, and the days repeated themselves. He got to know Kilia better and made friends with Adela and the construction crew. He felt good, but his condition was not getting better.
"I don't think I can continue in this state." Dariel had been doing alright, except for the fact that blood leaks out constantly from his nose; blood even comes out when he coughs.
Even so, he still needed a lot of money for the treatment. Things weren't looking so good.
Dariel heard a loud, booming noise outside, and an alarm sounded on his phone.
"PLEASE EVACUATE TO THE SHELTER IMMEDIATLY!"
It played over and over. Dariel felt like he was going insane. There was a map display on his screen that showed the quickest way to the shelter. The building was shaking, and people were screaming. Dariel immediately grabbed his phone and took off running.
He was halfway out when he realized that Kilia was nowhere to be seen. He hesitated, but decided to run back and make sure she got out alright.
He opened up her door and looked around real quick before realizing that she had collapsed on the floor for some reason. Dariel had to think.
"Her stomach always seemed to be growling, so she is hungry. possibly a curse of hunger. Did she collapse from malnutrition, or was it shock?"
Dariel ran over and tried to get Kilia up, but she was just breathing hard. He ran right over to his room and grabbed some bread and a cup of water.
Dariel returned immediately and sat beside Kilia. "C'mon, you need to eat. There is something going on, and we need to escape."
"W-water..." Dariel turned her over and let her drink the water. She didn't seem dehydrated, but the water got her back up on her feet. She refused the bread, though.
Dariel and Kilia took their time and managed to leave the building. Hundreds of monsters had invaded the city after a zone began forming up north of the city. This became very apparent after Dariel saw a huge bull with lots of horns charging at two people that were actually fighting back. They looked professional, so Dariel didn't dare jump in.
Dariel followed the map in the warning and quickly realized that it was near impossible to make it to the shelter. The zone that appeared was directly in front of him, on the path to the shelter. There was a big blue orb that levitated a little above the ground.
Dariel was captivated by the giant blue orb. Without thinking, he walked closer to feel the wind coming from the orb. His moment ended when a giant mantis cut open his hand.
Dariel instinctively began running, but he didn't get far. Kilia was growing tired. Focused on the gash in his hand, everything went silent. His mind told him to keep going, but he didn't listen.
He glanced around and regretted it instantly.
A huge beastly bull was behind him and began charging Dariel through the city. He tried to cover up the huge gash on his hand, but it didn't help him go any faster. As he ran, more and more creatures gathered to find the source of the sweet aroma filling the air. More and more blood came out of his hand. He had to protect the weakened Kilia, and he was prepared for the worst.
The city was calm and relatively undamaged, but he had to find somewhere to hide.
Giant bugs landed on his arms and legs, but Dariel didn't dare let them get a bite. He already made the mistake of getting hurt; he didn't need to die right after. He finally believed everything that was happening was real.
He found a moment of safety down an alley by the apartments. Kilia didn't have enough strength to continue.
"Dariel..." Kilia made him listen closely to what she had to say.
"I'm...I'm," She was preparing to say something. Dariel listened closely.
"I need some of your blood!" Kilia stood back up and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad."
Dariel was confused, but he had no time to think before his arm was bitten. Kilia's face lit up in excitement. There wasn't any pain, just confusion. "Does she know my ability?"
Kilia was surprised when an aura enveloped her body. "This... It's so delicious!"
Dariel always wondered what would happen if someone consumed his blood, but he was shocked."This effect... was unexpected."
Kilia smiled, and a pair of sleek black wings appeared on her back. A pair of fangs also appeared, with her hair changing to a black color. With the aura surrounding her body, she had strengthened to another level, and finally, her head was adorned with two tiny horns.
"I'll protect you, Dariel." Kilia flew into the air right as the big bull found where they were. She stuck her hand out, and a blade formed with a red sheen. Her red eyes looked like they were glowing.
Kilia quickly dove down, slashed the bull's eye, and landed in front of Dariel. She clenched the blade and charged forward.
"HYAAA."
She ended the beast with a single slash.
***
Thousands of hunters worked together to stop the monster zone from taking over the city. There were zero casualties.
***
"So... you are a vampire?" Dariel now understood why she needed the blood.
"Yes, and I transform after feeding; that's why my hair turned black." Kilia was smiling happily for some reason but did not tell the whole truth. They both went back to the apartments to rest.
"Kilia, can you do me a favor?" Dariel waited for a response while making a cup of coffee.
"Yeah, why not!" Kilia was glowing like never before. Dariel didn't know how she would respond, but he continued.
"It sounds weird, but can you..." Dariel hesitated.
"Can you keep feeding off of my blood?" Dariel was embarrassed to ask such a thing just to save some money. He didn't have a choice, though.
"No problem! I'd be glad!" She was basically about to burst open with joy. She was clearly holding herself back from hugging Dariel, respecting his need for space.
"Can you really handle that, though?" She added, "I do get hungry fairly often."
"No problem. In fact, I think I'm the only one who could handle it." Dariel smiled and didn't notice that his hand was still injured. Kilia looked so happy. He took a step forward, and his hand couldn't bear the heat.
*Clink*
Dariel dropped and spilled his mug of coffee all over the ground.
"Oops..." Dariel tried to clean it, but was stopped by Kilia.
"You're hurt, so let me clean it up!" Dariel had never seen something like this before. He had a girl in his apartment that was cleaning for him.
"Thank you."
Dariel patiently waited for Kilia to finish cleaning up the spill; he tried to refuse, but she also made him a new cup as well.
"So, what work were you doing? I was working at the construction corps." Dariel took a sip of coffee and relaxed back on his couch.
"I was hunting. All of my skills are low-tier, and I need them at their strongest if I want to get closer to my goal." She fidgeted with her thumbs.
"Your goal?"
"I'm looking for my sister and the rest of my family. They disappeared after we got into a fight with some stronger vampire families. It's been years." The room was quiet for awhile. Dariel noticed that Kilia's smile had faded and wanted to cheer her up.
"Oh, I see." Dariel scratched his head. "I don't mind helping."
Kilia's face lit up. But she quickly diverted her feelings, she couldn't. He was too nice.
Dariel had made up his mind; he would help Kilia and make sure he was strong enough to not be a burden. He subconsciously just wanted to be stronger than her, though. A little competition didn't hurt. Dariel added on, "You did save my life after all."