Janet Palonia was in the hospital, after being checked out by doctors she eventually fell asleep. She couldn’t help but think back to that moment that man was standing in front of her; even though he killed so many, the moment that stood out to her was what felt like some kind of energy passing between them. Janet had no way of knowing what that was, but she felt different ever since. Her senses are sharper, she felt more confident; almost like her spirit was bolstered. As she was considering the new changes the door opened and in walked two police officers and what she assumed was a police detective.
“How are you feeling miss Palonia?” said the tall broad shouldered detective.
“I am fine just a little shaken up but I am feeling better” responds Janet.
“Good, my name is detective Elar Gould and I just need to ask you a couple of questions. Could you describe the man that attacked you?”
“Aaah yes, he is a black man about an inch taller than me; I am 5’9. He was good looking but not in an over the top way, he also did this thing where he would spread his fingers and just stare at his hand. The weirdest part was the way he was dressed, all black tactical gear and a red jacket and his boots looked custom made.” She paused.
“Any thing else you can remember about him?” asked the detective.
‘Yeah, he looked halve crazed until what was in him got into me.’ “Not that I can remember, he is not a regular because I have never seen him before.”
“Very well thank you very much miss Palonia, I promise you I will do my best to apprehend this man. I am sure you’ve had a long day, the doctors will release you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you detective.”
Janet watched them leave the room and listened closely as they had a conversation outside her room.
“Detective Gould we already told you we lost to many officers lately and this criminal is most likely connected to those freaks killing people all over the city. We already called the national guard, I know you want to do your job but all our hands are tied.”
“I know but this one is different, in none of the other cases was anything stolen from one of our vehicles. Even if you include five years ago. Granted, it was an obsolete piece of equipment that was in the process of being recalled. Only someone that knows what they’re doing would go after it; after all those old devices lack AI security like the newer versions.”
She wasn’t able to hear any more because someone knocked on the the door and then entered. Another group of three entered, two men and one woman; all of them very fit and dressed like they belong to a paramilitary group.
“Hello Janet, how are you feeling?” asked the taller man.
“I am sorry but do I know you?” said Janet.
“Ah yes, the man to my left is Deon, the woman on my right is Melissa and I am Alesani Nelson. The owner of the restaurant you worked at was my father.”
“Oh yeah, aren’t suppose to be a famous artist or something? I am sorry, I mean sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, and I haven’t been an artist since my older sister disappeared and now this.” He looked down then breathed then asked “The man that killed my father, was there something different about him; something that you did not feel comfortable telling the police?”
“Yes well, he..." sigh "...This is going to sound crazy but I think he was possessed by something and whatever it was is now in me. I am really scared right now but calm at the same time.”
“Possessed! How? Describe it to me.”
Janet went on to describe what see saw and felt when the man cornered her in the back room.
“Ok, you had me worried there for a second there. It sounds like what you felt was an awakening but I have never heard of one happening without the creature dying first.”
“An awakening?”
“Yes, Melissa here has gone through one four years ago” he said, pointing at the woman
“Ook, you said creature before?”
“Yes, four years ago my sister disappeared and in searching for her my brother and I only found monsters. Supernatural creatures straight out of nightmare. The worse part is most of them look like humans, in fact it was a vampire that attacked Melissa before we killed it and she experienced her awakening.”
“The damned thing went crazy and tried to kill me, it wasn’t until it was filled with bullets did it show its fangs. It tried to crawl over and suck my blood, when it was finally killed some kind of energy left it’s body and entered mine.” Said Melissa.
Janet stared at them the whole time then said “Please tell me you’re joking.” She then held her face in her hands “Or you’re talking about the latest VR movie. This sounds so crazy but I believe it. I don’t want to, but I do.”
“Well good, because I can assure you this is not in anyway a joke or misunderstanding. My fucking dad just died.”
“I am sorry I...it’s just a lot right now. I feel like my mind is not my own and then this…I”
Melissa puts a hand on Janet’s shoulder and says “I know how you feel but in time you will get used to it, the fundamental way you view the world just changed and eventually so will you.”
“Was that suppose to make me feel better?” responds Janet.
“Well fuck you too” said Melissa.
Janet took a moment to calm her self down, ‘I don’t understand, this was so much easer before.’
“Listen Janet you should join us; we’ve more experience dealing with this than anyone else in this city” said Alesani.
“Alright but who or what are you guys?”
“We are monster hunters; you might not have been aware but our whole world is currently infested by monsters from who knows where. Me and my brother discovered this while searching for our missing sister Vanessa. I was an artist before my life changed and I was attacked by what looked like a panther human hybrid. Ever since then my life has never been the same. Then my father started that restaurant after his retirement, I wanted so badly to tell him what was going on. That my sister is possibly dead and monsters roam the world, I settled for making a mask to express this struggle and sending it to him. Now I can’t help thinking if I had been honest I could’ve saved his life."
"We call ourselves the Fallen Slayers, we fight these monsters because no one else will” said Deon.
“What about the government, the military? I mean a lot of people were drafted for gods sake” asked Janet.
“The selective service is a cover, think about it. When was the last war or emergency response of any kind. The truth is our government has been crippled for years and they have been covering it up. Shit, there is a massive civil war going on in Africa and our military presents has been sparse at best.” said Alesani.
Deon followed up with “I enlisted my self and spent four years just waiting around. The only people that were doing anything are the top performers in every unit. At least I hope so. They all were reassigned and just dropped of the grid. Even in this city, police officers are dying left and right and I don’t see the national guard any where, do you?”
“So what do you expect me to do then, fight monsters. I am a part time waitress. I only took that job because my parents didn’t want me spending all my time in a VR pod. My life until now as been boring but peaceful. Before this, my only experience with death has been VR.” responded Janet, after regaining some semblance of her former calm.
“The world has changed and none of us are safe. You can’t just go back to your life like nothing happened; who is going to protect you or your family? We can give you training and the tools to protect yourself.” said Alesani.
“I thought you were an artist, how can you do all this?”
“Not me, but my brother. He has the money and resources to make fighting back a reality. Plus we have more people like you that have been awakened. We are making strides in understanding the process and what it means for you long term.”
“Ok, so what now?”
“Now you follow us.”
Pedro lead the runners as they approached the the Dead Mercenaries, walking slowly like the rest of the group; Dared could feel the tension in the air. As they got closer everyone got a better look at the group, the new guy Eddy gasped.
“Wha…”
Dared himself was lost for words; they could see what can only described as zombies at various stages of decay. Most of them looked like walking corpses, some a little bit healthier but their eyes were wrong. On first glance they looked normal but on closer inspection their skin was a little gray, their eyes are white almost too white and a purple hue to the irises.
“Now you can understand why they call themselves the dead. We’re going to be speaking to there leadership tonight for the first time so everyone on their best behavior.” said Pedro.
The group kept walking while the live looking ones pacified the dead ones like deficient children. It was a surreal site; seeing them just stare blankly into space as their flesh seem to rile and move, even falling off in many cases. Finally the group made in the center of the shipment containers to what appears to be a stage. On the stage sat a man in all black strumming an electric guitar while bobbin his head. ‘He must have an ear piece connected to all that musical equipment behind him’ the man finally noticed the group and tapped the side of his head before addressing the group.
“Welcome friends to our temporary abode.”
while spreading his hands and twisting in a circle but his legs remained in the same position. ‘That weirdo is really flexible’ when he stopped moving everyone got a closer look at him; gray skin, defined check bones, pointed ears, paper white eyes without an once of liquid in them and finally purple irises.
“Now doctor Benia tells me you folks can help us acquire our salvation.” said the purplish man.
“I don’t know this doctor sir hmm…but we reached an agreement with one of your people” said Pedro.
“I am Slayver son of necromancer, Sevios Boneraiser, the one you must have spoken to had to be Preagar. He works very closely with the doctor.”
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“Necromancer? I hope this isn’t rude but what in the hell are you people?” said Pedro, losing his composure.
“Ha, no not rude at all. I am just surprised that after all these years your people still don’t know. My people are called the Undead in my world. We came to this world with the help of the Cult of the Traveler. The magic in this world can’t yet support the more powerful of my people. I myself only completed my evolution recently.”
Pedro gaped “you...if...how do you even speak our language?”
“Your people speak the language of the gods as do we. You also have these convenient devices that can translate languages for you if need be. Now back to what you came here for, our operation is scheduled for a week from now correct?”
“Uh…yes”
“Perfect you get your rocks and we get our salvation.”
“ok, we meet at the rendezvous point then my people open the doors and let yours in.”
“Fantastic your down payment will be provided shortly.”
After the meeting the Runners went their separate ways, leaving Dared alone.
“TB, what the fuck just happened?” asked Dared.
“I believe it is safe to say universal transition is not an isolated incident”
“This bullshit might delay my arrest which means plan B is looking more-”
Dared heard a loud conversation around the corner. He crept closer while remaining hidden.
“Pray, I..I..I killed him, my baby I killed him”
“V it’s not your fault, we knew the change would be hard. I should have been there to stop this.”
Taking a closer look Dared was able to see a man standing over a woman with her skin peeling. She was cradling a small child. ‘Is that kid’s guts…’ the woman continued.
“Pray what’s happening to me?”
“This is a side effect of the change V. It takes a while for your body to adapt to the change and your emotions are chaotic because of it. I went through the same thing and the Patriarch already told us it’s harder on females. You said you can handle it, that you can handle it just as well as any man. You can do this V, plus if we can get him back to the Patriarch he can save our boy.”
Dared walked away from the situation more wary than before. The world is not what it used to be, and he needed get many things together. He started running to the meeting point he had set up. Lia arrived at the venue looking around at what appeared to be a warehouse. Spotting Dared she walked over.
“So how do we get in here?” asked Lia.
“Back door, follow me.”
Around the back they came to an arch way with a long golden carpet leading out from it. Walking up to the door, he said.
“Show your pass to the bouncer and we’re in.”
After getting in Lia stared at the gentlemen in suits and fancily dressed ladies. Waitresses serving champagne and waiters serving food and what looked like cards.
“How did we not see these people on the way in, I feel so under dressed”
“They came in by boat, the carpet outside goes all the way to the docks. Go to the betting office to get one of those cards. The digital interface will inform you of all the fight information and you can bet from there.”
He started to walk away.
“Hey that’s it? You’re just going to walk away from me.”
“Yes, I have fighting to do and entertaining you is not my priority.”
“Right, I forgot you’re an asshole.”
Making his way to the fight announcer downstairs next to closest of the four fighting pits, Dared was able to sign up for the fights.
“I don’t know why you’re dressed like a former military sev, but you can’t fight in that” said the attendant.
“Isn’t a change of cloths provided to the fighters?” asked Dared.
“Yes, but you’re new and I am just letting you know. Incase you had plans to fight in that.”
“I know the rules, I want to do a blitz.”
“Are you sure, that means you keep fighting until you lose right?”
“Yes, give me my fight card so I can head to the locker room.”
“Fine sev here you go and lockers are right behind me.”
After changing Dared had a medical check up with the pit doctor.
“Everything appears normal. We just need to take some blood for the flesh graft machine in case of injury,” said the doctor.
“So how exactly does this machine work doctor Gregory?” asked Dared.
“From what I understand the machine maps your DNA then creates synthetic copies of your blood, flesh and even bone. Then grafting it on to your body. This will help speed up healing but healing won’t be instant.”
“So could someone say use to machine to clone themselves?”
“Wha...no of course not that is highly illegal and is way more than this machine could handle. One would need a highly specialized version the machine and not to mention...no it can’t be done.”
“Ok well thank you Doc, I have to get ready for my first fight.”
“Right then hopefully I won’t see you soon because well…have fun.”
‘I need an ear piece so I can talk to TB without the device on me.’ Thought Dared as he waited for his first fight. His card started vibrating and the screen lit up with info on his first opponent and the amount of bets placed as well as his payout if he wins. Walking into the pit Dared focused on his opponent ignoring the cheering crowd above. The man standing in front of him was about an inch shorter at about 5’9, very muscular and experienced according to the stats provided. Before he could even come up with a plan of attack the man came running at him. he feinted left, right, left and right again. As Dared tried to face his opponent instead of going left again the man did a spinning heel kick towards his head on the left. Dared barely stopped himself, dodged and planted his feet then tackled his opponent then just started raining punches while his opponent tried to keep his guard up and get out of the mount. Quickly getting of him Dared waited for his opponent to get his bearing then stepped in on his right to bait him before ending it with a left jab followed by a straight right. After winning the fight he walked back to his corner and waited for his next opponent.
“Looks like the new guy got some fight in him, this blitz could go a couple rounds.”
His next opponent was a tall skinny guy. Dared then proceeded to run him around the pit then close in and finish him after he was exhausted.
“That was interesting, a blitz fighter tiring out his opponent.”
The next fighter was a woman of all things. Looking at her Dared noticed something familiar ‘like George...fuck’ the woman came charging at him and Dared decided to finish this one fast. He charged her a using the weight advantage to bowl her over. She held on to to him as they fell into a roll, but he twisted on the second roll into a suplex on her head. Quickly getting to his feet, he started kicking her. She shakily got to her feet only to get knocked out.
Dared resisted the urge to look at his card to see his next opponent, the man walked out boldly and started talking.
“You’ve defeated the woman of Sylven Rangin descendant of the Spirit-kin bloodline.” He sniffed “New blood that explains it, you must feel powerful and inexhaustible…hahaha”
‘Talks a lot but could be strong.’
“Without your natural gifts, your kind can’t hope to match mine,” said the man
Then he charged and Dared hit him with a George special right to the throat but he didn’t stop. He was stronger and faster than Dared; he then proceeded to give Dared what can only be described as the longest ass whopping of his life. Dodging and striking as much as he can Dared could only try his best to give as good as he got but it wasn’t looking good. After 30 minutes of intense fighting his opponent finally started to tire and then more of Dared’s hits started to land. Then 10 minutes after that he was finally done but Dared was battered. He could feel his skin tickle and the pain started to fade; after two minutes of rest he felt better and waited for his next opponent. ‘He was that tough and he didn’t even transform. Good thing he chose to surrender’
“Holy shit people that fight was worth the money, win or lose. Next up we have the last fight of the night for this Blitz.” said the announcer.
Feeling his card vibrate after collecting it from his corner. Dared thought ‘no way Ehvil.’
“For this final fight we have a crowd favorite Ehvil “Blood Drinker” Baker.”
Dared thought he would have to go searching for his old friend only for him to show up here. In his original world Dared and Ehvil started there own gang called Daredevil. During the attack on there base Ehvil was covering the gangs retreat while Dared fought the Super. Ehvil walked to center of the pit as Dared joined him.
“Fancy seeing you here, after college this was not how I expected our reunion would be.” said Ehvil.
“Hey Ehvil, it seems the world had to change to make me the person I am now. But you were always destined to be this person” said Dared.
“Seeing as you just took a lot of hits to the head I am just going to take that as a compliment. Speaking of, you look remarkable uninjured.”
“Like I said the world has changed, by the way “blood drinker”?”
“It doesn’t take a lot to get an ostentatious name around here. I just bit a guy on the neck to get out of a hold. That being said we better get to it and catch up later.”
As the fight began Dared decided to stick close to his opponent. Ehvil was at least three inches taller than Dared and about 200 pounds to Dared’s 180. That was the beauty of these fights, no weight class, no referee and no restriction on tactics just weapons. At first it seemed as if Dared could hold his own but as the fight went on it became obvious that Ehvil was the superior fighter. Dared started to feel fangs growing in his mouth the more damage he was taking then came the graving for blood and he knew he had to either throw this fight or end it. He took a step back and said.
“I surrender”
“It looks like we have a winner but we must still give it to the challenger for making it this far in a Blitz.”
Dared ignored the crowd and walked back to the medical station.
“Blood please,” rasped Dared.
“It doesn’t seem like you lost a lot of blood. Just blunt force trauma.”
Dared stared at the young man.
“Just give me an IV of synthetic blood and I will be on my way.”
The flash of fang and blood shot eyes really got his point across.
After his treatment Dared felt worlds better, he left the pit not long after and went to get his payout.
“You really made a killing in those fights, it’s a shame you couldn’t get the bonus for winning the Blitz.” said the attendant.
“Have a nice day” said Dared as he turned an walked away.
Soon after he ran into Ehvil.
“We have to talk but not here,” said Dared.
“Sure, I have some stuff to take care of so talk to you later.”
“Did you forget about me?” asked Lia as she was walking up.
“No, just catching up with an old friend” respond Dared.
“Well nice to meet y…where did he go?” asked Lia.
“He left while you were still talking”
“I see why you two are friends. So what now?”
“Dinner for me, talking for you.”
“Rude, wait why don’t you look injured? I thought grafting machines could only do so much.”
Dared silently led her out of the venue and to the restaurant across the street. At dinner Lia talked about growing up in an orphanage and her search for her parents, while Dared as promised just kept eating. Eventually he talk about his family and his childhood; they both got to know each other or more likely he got to know her as she did most of the talking.
“So what are your plans after this?” asked Lia
“We go back to the hotel and do less talking,” said Dared.
“Just like that? maybe if you were a bit nicer.”
“If I was nicer, I wouldn’t get anywhere with you.”
“Fine but you better call me up for another fun date like this one.”
“No promises.”
They both then left the restaurant and went back to there hotel. Two hours later Dared took a shower, got dressed and was about to leave before noticing a package at the door. Opening it he found the ear piece he ordered earlier; not only will it allow him to communicate with his AI, it can amplify his hearing with a noise gate for safety. After leaving the hotel Dared walked back to the park closest to the hotel and sat at the bench. He waited for a while until Ehvil finally showed up.
“Hey buddy, I don’t know what you did but you have that crazy doctor asking for you” said Ehvil.
“Good, I am going to need his help soon,” said Dared.
“Whatever you say but be careful with that one. I heard he is conducting illegal experiments on humans. I think that's why he works where he does; he is stealing peoples DNA then creating body parts using the grafting machine.”
“Enough about Gregory, I have a lot to tell you.”
Dared then proceeded to tell him a general outline of the past five years for him, ending with the most recent events.
“So you’re telling me we started a gang, you got your ass whopped by the girl you’re now sleeping with and you’re a vampire?”
“She didn’t beat me but basically yes, except I expected to be arrest by now but the police seem to be busier than I thought” “wait you expected to get arrested?”
“Obviously, it wasn’t exactly a well thought out crime but basically I need to collect some of our crew from that prison in Long Island.”
“So why did you do it, and why not just turn yourself in?”
“I don’t know why and I can’t just turn myself in because the way they catch me makes a difference. I need to be able to claim my innocence, plus the witness doesn’t matter when there are two of me.”
“oh I forgot about that, so the other Dared is the one that I know?”
“Yes but I am the one that knows you best and is asking for your help.”
“help with what?”
“A heist that will solve many problems at once.”