The bus that took Traven to school was moving slower than usual. Traffic along the main roads had slowed the vehicle down to a crawl, forcing almost a hundred students and other passengers to endure the tight spacing for a seemingly endless amount of time. Having managed to find a seat on the top deck Traven sat in relative peace, mindlessly immersing himself into his earphone music. But even with the calming distraction he worried about how much longer the trip would take. The school had said that with another late his parents would be called in for a discussion. There was no way that could happen. Things at home were currently...difficult.

A tap on his shoulder had Traven taking his right earphone out and turning.

“Urgh Traven we’re done mate,” his classmate Jordan moaned, “Adrian will send us down to student services and everything!”

“Nah this one’s not our fault, I left 10 minutes early as well.” Traven grinned. “Besides I saw Eve and Donny get on at the last stop, no way he’s sending the four of us down.”

“He sent five people down yesterday!” Jordan argued.

“Rest in peace us then” Traven laughed.

Up ahead the red lights shifted to green and the bus began to gain speed.

“Finally,” Traven sighed, “Any later and we might as well of missed first period.”

“I still might bunk,” the classmate replied, “I don’t wa-“ Jordan was cut off mid-sentence as the bus collided with something, sending the two of them flying into the air. Traven watched in horror as he rose to the roof of the bus, his world going dark as he collided head first with the unforgiving metal.

...

As the darkness of his mind began to recede, a deep burning pain began to torture Traven’s nerves. A throbbing head lead to a twisted neck and from there to the sharp puncture sensations in his chest. Opening his eyes to a bright blue glare Traven immediately shut them again, the contrast in lighting giving him a headache. A ringing sound persisted in his ears, closing him off from the sounds of the outside world. His throat burning from an unknown cause Traven took several sniffs through his nose, a world of sensations exploding in his skull. The smell was unlike anything he’d ever experienced, so much..more. Just from the faint aroma of recent death he could pinpoint several motionless bodies lying around the upstairs of the bus. From the metallic scent of blood he could locate someone crawling along the chairs at the back. His improved senses could even detect the faint perfume of several girls from downstairs.

Opening his eyes at the shock of the sudden rush of information, Traven found the bright blue light more tolerable. But the source of the light had him trembling with fear.

Welcome to New EarthThe Divine Council has edited the universal code for Earth and added The System. Changes include: Status screen, Ability Market Screen, Level system, New Races, Planet terraforming

RebirthDue to your death at the exact moment of The System’s introduction, The Divine Council has granted you a rebirth, you have been entered into the random species generator

Random Species Generator: VampireDescriptionBorn of darkness the Vampire race transcends the limits of flesh. Whilst Human in appearance a Vampire experiences greater: Strength, Speed, Healing, Senses, Resistance. However, daylight will strip away the false flesh of a Vampire’s body, removing the creature from existence. A Vampire will also begin to decay if it doesn’t feed on the flesh of the living once a week

Reading the floating message before him, Traven felt shock. He’d....died. But why had he been given rebirth when so many others around him remained dead?! Further, he was a vampire! A freaking vampire, bane of the world!! Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad though, he’d always wanted to be stronger.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Traven slowly sat up through the pain. He’d fallen so that whilst his legs were hooked up on a seat his body was lying on the floor of the bus. Climbing to his feet he surveyed his surroundings, confirming what his newly improved sense of smell had suggested. The bodies of several other students lay still, blood seeping from orifices or wounds. It was the blood that caught Traven’s attention. His eyes could pick out the intricate details of the thick substance, his ears could hear the soothing swishing sound as blood escaped its host. And the smell. Just moments ago the smell of blood was of little significance, but now it sent his blood boiling. With his breathing becoming heavier Traven could feel his heartbeat thundering in his chest. Willing his body to move towards the nearest body he accessed his innate ability of speed. Moving as if a blur he approached a male student of the year below, blood pouring out a gash in his forehead.

Following the source of the blood Traven bit down into the boys head, teeth crunching through bone as he lost himself in the taste.

You Have Fed

Healing ability activated

As Traven fed the pains in his body began to recede, slowly fading into a dull ache and from there to nothingness. In fact he felt strong, more so now than ever. Rising from his...meal, Traven raised a hand and whipped blood away from his lips. It was strange, he knew he should be disgusted. Only at that moment he felt sated.

A groan sounded from the back of the bus.

Moving in what Traven began to think of as the blur he immediately moved to find the source.

The metal of the bus had warped and folded, so much so that the roof and floor physically met in certain spots. In one such spot a man’s legs were trapped, only he wasn’t a man. With green skin, shallow eyes and pointed ears the being before him resembled something out of a fantasy novel.

“What are you?” Traven asked in awe.

“..Help!” The thing whimpered, “It hurts..”

“Oh damn, sorry yea.” Traven cursed himself for being so inconsiderate. Reaching out and flattening his hands against the warped roof, he braced himself in an attempt to lift it off the injured thing. Lifting with all his might Traven moved the roof with ease, so much so that he lost his balance and fell to the floor during the exertion.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” The thing screamed as blood rushed back into its legs.

“No no! What do I need to do?!” Traven rushed to its side, “Shhhh now, the pain should go away?”

As the thing continued to scream and cry Traven could only watch in misery, that is until his enhanced hearing detected movement from outside the bus.

“Look someone’s here to help!” He encouragingly grinned, “I’ll go and call them over!” Of course he didn’t really expect a reply, the thing before him was a blubbery mess.

Blurring down the aisle Traven almost overshot the stairs, managing to grab a hold of a bar and fling himself down the stairs. Landing on both legs is an impressive feat of acrobatics, Traven took a moment to congratulate himself. The steps of something heavy reminded him of his mission, running at a human pace to the closed bus doors he launched a kick that tore the doors off at the seams. Stepping out he came face to face with...he didn’t know.

Much like himself and the thing upstairs, the new thing before him had been altered by The System. Covered in red scales and a head crowned with two black horns, the creature before him looked like some sort of demon. Standing 8 ft tall and with bulging muscles poking out of a shredded top Traven gulped.

“My friends upstairs, he needs help!”

The demon raised its arm, and Traven cocked his head at the odd gesture.

“What are yo-.” With a speed that defied belief the demons arm smacked into Travens torso, sending his crumpled body into the side of the bus.