Chapter 3

Welcome to the Family

The morning sun rose over the Tokyo skyline and shined onto Haru’s dazed face. He stood lifeless in the middle of the road with large blood stains on his clothes as more dripped from his mouth.

Haru shook his aching head as he finally came to.

He couldn’t think properly. His spinning head made him lose balance as he toppled over himself. Haru rubbed his temples to help soothe his pounding headache as he tried to collect his thoughts. There was a familiar sweet taste in his mouth as he rubbed his lips. Haru struggled to climb to his feet, but his heavy body forced him back to the asphalt.

He noticed his skin wasn’t as pale as he last remembered and that his hunger had been completely sated. Haru raised his hands to observe them in their entirety and found out that his trembling had stopped entirely.

He sat in place, dazed as his blurry vision slowly cleared up. His confusion turned into horror as he saw the four men from last night all lie dead in a pool of their blood. Haru wept as panic overwhelmed the boy.

Haru crawled his way back before hitting the wire fence that blocked his way the night prior. His mind scrambled to search for memories of the last night.

But nothing.

“You’re finally awake! About damn time!”

The sudden voice shook Haru out of his thoughts. He swiveled his head to find the source of the yelling, but with his head still distorted, the voice rang in his ears, making it hard to locate whoever may be speaking to him.

“Up here!” The voice loudly exclaimed.

Haru tilted his head back to see a figure sitting on the wire fence, staring down at him. This stranger must be a few years older than Haru. He was wearing an unbuttoned red Hawaiian shirt, exposing his abs. A skull necklace with red eyes dangled from his neck. Spiky hair that had been bleached blond. And lastly, a sizeable snarky grin painted across his face.

“I must commend you, Haru! You did an outstanding job of taking care of these losers. They didn’t see it coming!”

Huh?

Haru's whole body was weak, so much so that he couldn’t raise himself from the cold asphalt, but he managed to turn himself to face the smirking stranger. He didn’t understand the implication of what the man said, but it sounded like this guy just said Haru was the one who killed these four men.

There was just no way.

“Wh-Wh-What did you just say?” Haru choked out. “Who killed these people?”

“Tsk. Don’t make me repeat myself!” He barked. “It was you that did it, aight!”

Haru couldn’t believe his ears. This strange man just accused him of doing the unimaginable. Murder.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“What? Still don’t believe me? Just take a minute and remember last night. It will all come back to you.”

Haru took in a deep breath and dug deep into his mind to recall the events the previous night. His memories were fuzzy, but just like that man said, it all came rushing back, and Haru watched the brutality that occurred.

It was like watching an action movie. Everything went fast and difficult to keep track of, but Haru knew what he saw was real. It frightened him, knowing that he could do such things and then almost erase them from his mind.

One man approached Haru with a bat and swung it down onto his head, but Haru didn’t react or flinch. Instead, he caught the bat just before it made contact. He gripped the bat so hard that it crumpled in his hand. The man paused in shock as Haru glanced up and let out a loud ear-shattering screech, scaring the man into releasing his bat. He ran away but didn’t get far before Haru grappled the man and tackled him. Haru lunged at the man's neck and tore a huge chunk of flesh with his teeth. There was a vivid recollection of a sweet and satisfying taste in Haru’s mouth.

It was devastating to watch their own friend get torn down by a high school brat so easily, but it didn’t stop them from enacting avengence on Haru, who was mindlessly chowing down at the mans neck.

One gang member ran up and thrusted his knife, but Haru reacted instantly, catching the blade as it pierced his hand. The gang member couldn’t escape Haru’s tight grasp. Haru, with a loud growl, lunged at the mans neck. And again, that same sweet taste filling his mouth.

Two dead, two remaining. There was no doubt what they were up against. A monster.

Haru hissed and slabbered as he tore apart the gang members, consuming as much as possible. After tearing off a massive piece of the man’s neck, Haru stared down at the remaining gang members with bright yellow eyes. There was no life in Haru’s eyes, only menace and hunger.

One man threw his bat at Haru, only for him to catch it with his mouth. His teeth dug into the bat, creating bite marks on the rusty metal. Haru dropped the bat and pounced on the man before he got too far and bit into his neck. The sweet taste filled Haru’s mouth once again.

The last man tried to flee, but tripped and began to grovel on the floor, begging the rabid schoolboy to spare his life, a complete reversal of the moment prior. But Haru only responded with the same loud screech before reaching for a lethal bite into the man's neck.

Haru awoke from his flashback. He looked up at the stranger smirking down at him before observing the surrounding, confirming everything he had just witnessed.

There was a bent baseball bat and another with bite marks. He looked down at his hand to see a small scar in the middle of his palm. And the dead men, just like he remembered, all had substantial bloody gashes on their necks. It looked like the work of a giant wild animal, but he knew he was the one who caused it.

Haru doubted himself slightly. Maybe all of this was just another nightmare. But what could explain everything that had happened to him? He once lived a peaceful life in Japan, and now, this? Was he in trouble for killing these people? Is he now wanted? The uncertainty was overwhelming.

“Why?” Haru choked through his tears. “Why did I do these things? What is wrong with me?”

“You’re a Vampire now,” the man said as he reached his hands and stretched back his mouth, showing off his long fangs. “Just like me!”

“A …. A Vampire? How?” Haru questioned himself, but that didn’t stop the man from answering.

“It was because of me! I turned you into one!” The man proudly exclaimed.

It was all a joke; it had to be. A man turning people into Vampires? Haru knew something like that only existed in the comic books he read. But on the other hand, what would better explain everything?

“You are a freak now,”

Haru looked back up at the stranger, who was more earnest.

“You’re a myth, an urban legend,” The stranger lets out a loud sigh. “And to others, just a number on a paper.”

Haru was still frozen in shock as tears ran down his face. What did he mean by all that? What would his future look like? Haru wiped his tears and returned his gaze to the strange man, who was holding both arms out as if inviting Haru for an embrace.

“And with that being said….”

“Welcome to the Family.”