The glow of the moonlight is the first thing his eyes are met with. He feels his mind slowly waking itself up. "Incoming Call from: Rykis. Would you like to answer?" "Shit!" He shouts as he bolts upright. His eyes come into focus, he sees he's still in the old apartment. How long did I sleep? He asks himself. "Yes, answer." He finally says, as the ringing in his ear stops for a brief moment, then it starts again and the automated voice repeats its instilled command.
"Are you okay?! Me and Nomi have been worried sick! It's almost halfway through the night!" Lykas swings his feet around and plants them on the carpet. He leans his elbows on his knees as he listens to Rykis run down a worried tangent. "I'm okay. I just went out exploring, I found this old apartment building, and I accidentally fell asleep on the couch."
He explains once he hears his older brother running out of breath. "The ones outside the city?" Rykis asks after a long pause. "Yeah, one of those." "Lykas. Get out of there as fast as possible."
The tone of his brothers voice causes his heart to fall to his feet. "W-Whyyy?" He asks, the hairs of the back of his neck starting to rise in paranoia. "Just get out of there." Rykis says, "I'll stay on the line while you do. Ugh, you idiot." Lykas feels frozen to the couch, the sudden comfort he found in the apartment before now replaced with an intense fear.
He forces himself to his feet and he heads over to the window he came in through before. As he steps out onto the rusted ladder, he sees what Rykis meant. A swarm of monsters are gathered at his feet below. Isn't this wonderful. Lykas thinks to himself. He looks up towards the roof. He feels his anxiety loosen as he finds the ladder luckily leads up to the roof.
Lykas quietly climbs to the roof of the building. Once he's on top of it, he walks to the center and says into the Sound Chip. "There's a swarm gathered below me. I'm stuck on the roof, I didn't think to take a weapon." A long sigh thunders against his ears. "Hang on. Don't move from that roof. I'm coming to get you." Before Lykas could object, he hears his brother's line disconnect. "Damn it!" He aggressively whispers. His fists ball in anger. Don't get yourself killed. He thinks.
Lykas searches the roof in a low crouch. His eyes are peeled for anything that could be potentially used as a weapon. All he finds is a rusted pipe, protruding from the destroyed parts of the roof. Lykas carefully crawls over to the small cluster of them. He pulls and tugs at each one, trying to see which is the easiest to break off.
He finds one of the pipes more in the middle of the cluster bends easier than the rest. With most of his strength, he bends the pipe towards his chest. Halfway through the pipe snaps off. The force surprises him as he tumbles onto his back. He blindly catches himself, only to find the palm of his right hand slamming down on something else protruding from the roof.
Violent surges of agony ripple up his arm, he quickly bites down on his tongue to muffle a cry of misery. Black blood oozes from the wound, pooling around his palm and soaking the cement of the roof. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths as a way to calm himself, and prepare himself for what he has to do.
Okay. 3. . . 2. . . 1. GO! He yanks his hand off of whatever impaled it. Just as he does, he tears the bottom half of his shirt off and he starts to wrap it around his palm. His body trembles violently as he does, but he forces his breathing steady. He then uses his teeth to help tie the shirt in place, then he rushes to apply pressure to the wound.
He knows it won't be long until those Monsters smell his blood. Lykas keeps the broken pipe close to him, he can now hear the dreaded scrapping of jagged claws propelling something up the side of the building.
He grips the pipe with both hands, not even caring about the pain anymore. I have to survive for them. He sees the top of the Monsters head peak over the ledge of the roof. It spots him, and before he can blink the Monster is throwing itself onto the roof and charging at Lykas at full speed.
Lykas dodges the first attack by rolling out of the way. The monster crashes into the cluster of broken pipes. Lykas can hear each pipe entering the Monsters body. He runs at it, and as the Monster is pulling itself off of the pipes Lykas stomps down on the back of its neck. He feels the tip of a pipe just about to impale his foot when he stops. The Monster silently cries out. Before the call can reach anywhere, Lykas slams the end of his pipe into its skull. The Monster immediately falls dead.
But he pulls the pipe out and repeats the process a few times just to make sure. He then backs away from its body. His mind fills with the cries of the soul that the Monster once was. Lykas covers his ears as he hears the soul scream out in agony, calling for their family to run.
His eyes flash a light blue color as this happens. He squints them shut as he whispers, "You're free from your pain. Go with your family." The tension in his body loosens once he feels the soul pass onto the other side. That's the biggest thing he despises about being a Half-Breed. You can hear the souls of who the Monster once was.
Lykas prepares himself to fight more of the Monsters that may have smelled his blood. He listens to his surroundings intently, luckily he doesn't sense anything close to him. Lykas looks at the small pool of his blood. Ah, that's why. He sees the Monsters blood spilling over his, which hides his scent.
He seats himself in a low crouch by the edge of the roof. His eyes scan the ground below him for any signs of his brother. His heart drops when he doesn't see any. He reminds himself that the journey out to him won't be easy as a way to keep his mind calm and focused.
When he finally sees his brother emerging from the bushes nearby, he sees that he brought his trusty weapon with him. A sigh of relief escapes Lykas's body, causing more tension to be released. He watches as his brother stealthily makes his way up to the roof to him.
The look of worry turns into panic on his face when he sees the dead carcass of the Monster, and then his right hand wrapped up in his shirt. "Did you get bit?" Rykis asks, he can tell his brother is trying to hide the shiver in his tone. Lykas shakes his head as he answers, "No, I just impaled my palm. I should heal up in no time." The anticipation of having to wait made him forget all about the pain in his hand.
Rykis looks over the edge of the roof and at the ground below them. "I cleared a path for both of us to get back to the city in one piece. If things go right at least. Follow me." He does as Rykis says. He doesn't bother trying to argue with him, he can see the multiple mini heart attacks he's given him today.
The two follow the path that Rykis made. Luckily they only had to kill four Monsters compared to the thousands that were below them. Their half breed scent makes it easier than a full breed human to navigate through those crowds safely since their scent mixes in with the Monsters, and in large crowds it's harder to detect where the slight bit of Human is coming from.
Once they find the entrance to the city, Rykis is the one that punches in his specific Citizen Code into the hatch. The two of them don't say a word until the opening to the hatch is sealed tight and they're both a good ways down the ladder. "What in the world were you thinking?! Falling asleep in the abandoned buildings OUTSIDE the city?! Do you not realize why they're not a part of our city in the first place?!"
Rykis shouts at him as Lykas is stepping onto the metallic ground. "I didn't expect myself to fall asleep in there. I was exploring to clear my head, and ended up accidentally falling asleep on the couch!" "Well that little accident could have gotten you KILLED!" Rykis glares into his eyes. He can see a slight flash of red hinting in his brother's iris.
"I highly doubt I'm going to die at this point." Lykas shrugs his shoulders as he pushes past his brother. He still can't help but feel guilty. He hears his brother's footsteps hesitate before following him. "I'm just glad you're alive." He says to fill the gap of silence between them.
Lykas unwraps his palm as he walks. He sees that it was a smaller rusted pipe that impaled his hand, his fingers trace the bits of rust mixed in with the dried bits of blood formed on the outer edge of the wound. "When we get home don't let Nomi see my hand. I'll need to go into the bathroom for the first aid kit." He says, looking up from his palm and to Rykis who is now walking beside him.
His eyes widen slightly as he spots the wound on Lykas's palm. He doesn't comment on it, "Alright." Is all he says. Lykas can see the uncomfortably in his eyes. He laughs under his breath slightly. "Are you feeling queasy or something?" He taunts as he moves his hand from Rykis's line of sight. "That's gross! Doesn't that hurt?"
Lykas wraps his hand back in the bloodied strip of his shirt. "Just a little." He lies, his hand hurts a lot. He wants to rip it off his arm so the pain isn't there anymore. He makes sure to hide the fact that his shirt is torn so Nomi doesn't worry even more. "Oh, okay tough guy. I can see your body shaking."
He laughs, rolling his eyes as he does. "Well you reminding me that it's there isn't helping either, smart ass." He playfully snaps back.
The two brothers walk in silence after that. The pathway back to their home is a long stretch from the entrance of the city. Lykas is just glad he doesn't have to take it walking the open city streets at night. The two of them both know what happens around them at night.
When Rykis opens the front door, the two brothers are met with Nomi laying in front of the door, fast asleep. "Well, I guess she couldn't stay up." Rykis mumbles as the two quietly step into the house. "Don't touch her, just let her sleep until I'm done with my hand." Lykas whispers as he passes the two of them.
He quietly rushes into the bathroom and he locks himself in it. He searches the medicine cabinet for the first aid kits. He finds them hidden in their rightful spot. Relieved, he picks up one of the foggy, glass bottles and takes the lid off of it. He starts to mend his hand. The first aid does it's magic, as each cotton swab is applied to his wound he sees it close up. Finally, nothing but a scar is left of it.
He knows the extent of the med kits only go so far. This was one of those injuries that leaves a scar behind. Lykas places the kit back into its hiding spot. He washes the excess dried blood and rust from his now healed palm before he meets Rykis back in the living room.
Nomi is still asleep on the floor, her face is twisted in a worried expression even in her dreams. Lykas crouches down beside her and he gently shakes her awake. "Hey? Nom Nom, it's okay. You can wake up now. Let's get you to your room." He calls gently, making sure to keep his voice in rhythm with the shaking motions. Her eyes flutter open, they appear dazed for a moment as the grasp of sleep releases her. Then, all at once they cloud with worry, fear, and relief as she realizes he's beside her.
"LYKAS!" She quickly pulls him into a tight hug. He can feel her holding back tears from the tension in her grasp. "Rykis said that you were in a bad situation, but he wouldn't let me come with him. I'm glad you're okay!"
Lykas hugs her back, just as tightly. His eyes lock on Rykis's as he comforts her. "I'll always be okay. What situation have I not been able to get myself out of huh?" Rykis breaks their gaze with a look of guilt and frustration. We'll talk later. Lykas tells himself as he picks up Nomi. "Come on, lets get youuuu to bed Missy. I bet you're tired if you fell asleep on the floor like that."
"I wanted to make sure you were okay and made it home safely before I slept. . ." Her voice is muffled by his shoulder. He gently carries her to her room. "Well, you did a good job. Just remember to sleep extra good tonight." He places her in her bed, and tucks her in. She doesn't fight him, he can tell that she's more or less fighting herself to stay awake.
Once Lykas is sure she's asleep, he quietly exits her room and closes her door behind him. He walks down the hall to see Rykis is in the kitchen now. "I couldn't lie to her. Well, at least fully." He says as soon as he hears Lykas's footsteps stop. "What did you have to tell her?" Rykis chuckles beneath his breath. "Well, I couldn't tell her that her older brother was trapped on a roof. Outside the city. With an angry hoard of Monsters surrounding him. So. . . at first I tried to say that you called me and needed me. But, she asked to come with me. Then when I said she couldn't, she tried to push out of me what was wrong because I got my look."
Lykas nods his head, "Well, I'm not dead. Or infected more than I already technically am. So, she'll be okay by the morning." He sighs, his mind starts to whirl with all the things that could have happened. "Just, get some sleep. The brightest moon isn't that far away. And we need to prepare for this new mission the Boss gave me."