The First Awakening: My Vampire and Werewolf System

There's a consequence

"Is the mission successful?" came a muffled voice at the other end of the line. 

As usual, it was an anonymous number, but Zarek thought the voice was that of the man who had called him earlier - his client.

 "Yes, targets 775 and 776 are all dead," Zarek lied. 

Dead silence came from the other end, and Zarek began to contemplate what was going on in the mind of the caller. 

Did he know?

"Mr. Slade, I believe you know the rules, and it's against the rules—" 

Beep! 

Zarek dropped the call before the voice could finish. He was driving and needed no distraction. However, just as he turned left onto a street that would lead him to the highway, the cell phone buzzed for the second time. 

Same anonymous number. 

No doubt Zarek knew who it was. The bastard would never stop calling, and there was only one way to stop the calls. 

Zarek mashed on the brakes. Then he grabbed the cellphone, removed the battery, and took out the SIM card. Sure, the cellphone crushed beneath the car tires as Zarek zoomed off. 

Good riddance!

Now comes the question of what to do next. It was already 6:00 a.m. in the morning, and since Mia left for work by 7:45 a.m., he would be right on time for breakfast. However, there was still a problem to handle.

The package. 

But Zarek didn't dwell much on it. When he gets to Road 55, he would simply take the left turn and head straight to his underground warehouse. While there, he would figure out what to do with the package. 

Zarek told himself as he wound down the windows, and the cold breeze blew in as he pressed on the accelerator. The car was now moving at 150 km/h. Luckily, there were no cops to check his speed limit, and…

A muffled cry reached his ear. His thoughts moved away from the music streaming in from the radio. He could also hear the sound of a heartbeat - pounding but steady. Soon, another loud sound joined in, and Zarek realized that the loud noise came from the back of the car. The trunk of the car was being kicked, and it signified only one thing.

The package had awakened from the unconsciousness.

Zarek cursed that he had to stop the car a second time. For the first time in his seventeen years of being in business, Zarek had felt something for his target.

 Compassion, pity, perhaps love. 

Zarek couldn't understand what it was. And at that crucial moment, he had failed to pull the trigger when he needed to get it done. 

She wasn't a werewolf like her father. At least, that's what she had told him back at the villa, and Zarek had believed her words. Right now, he had to deal with the consequences of not pulling the trigger, which involved honouring whatever demands she had to make.

Zarek swung the trunk open, and there she was. The package. All squeezed and tied up in a trunk that was less than two metres in width. Zarek had also ensured that he muffled whatever sound she tried to make, and thick sellotape on her lips did just that. 

Zarek wondered what the problem was. He recalled holding the pistol, and Zarek had almost pulled the trigger. He was less than a millimetre away from killing the 776th target. But the tears on her cheeks had told him that the woman before him was just a pawn caught in a fight that wasn't hers. And Zarek had thought that a child didn't deserve to pay for the sins of the father. 

She was lucky to be alive. Truly lucky. And Zarek thought she should be grateful.

She was all sweaty as Zarek removed the sellotape. But who cared? She was his hostage, and a hostage deserved no better treatment than the one she got.

 "I need to pee!" she cried out.

Zarek thought that was stupid of her to ask. So, she had dragged him all the way just so she could relieve herself? Was it a happy hour or something? 

Zarek shut the trunk close without uttering a word. He was kind enough to let her live, and she shouldn't test his patience. He hopped back into the car and resumed driving. Sure enough, his ears continued to pick up the muffled sound, but Zarek simply ignored it. He pulled out a cigarette, and Zarek found his legs pushing hard on the throttle.

About half an hour later, he arrived at his destination. An underground warehouse he barely used. He had reserved it for more complicated missions or when he had to track down a target on the run. It afforded him the serenity to think. 

Except for the few apartments miles away, nobody lived in the area, and it was too quiet to the sound of a car engine. The darkness enveloped Zarek's car as it made the underground descent before coming to a stop at the parking area.

He hadn't even thought about his next line of action. All he had thought was to get away from the villa before the cops would figure out the deadly scene. But by now, Zarek was certain that the place must have turned into a crime scene, with investigators trying to ascertain what had happened. 

But he had learned to cover his tracks over the years, and he was sure that they wouldn't find a damn thing.

Zarek settled her on a nearby stool, her legs both tied so she wouldn't force him to do something stupid. 

"I'm going to take off the sellotape and untie your hands. But promise not to do anything stupid?" Zarek warned.

 She nodded sheepishly.

Zarek tossed a bottle of water, and in no time, she downed it without blinking. At this point, Zarek couldn't understand the reason for his kindness.

 "Thank you," she said.

"Are there others like your father?"

"You mean the father you killed. Go fuck yourself. I ain't telling you a damn thing," she cursed.

She was beginning to remind Zarek of Mia. Speaking of which, he had to get back for breakfast. Zarek checked his time. He had only fifteen minutes to wrap this whole thing up, and she seemed unwilling to cooperate. She threw her face sideways, and Zarek became more frustrated. 

This was what he got for sparing her life?

"Look, in case you don't know, your father—"

"A werewolf! Yes, so what. My father meant no harm. He never killed anybody like the rest of the creatures out there," she barked. 

Rest of the creatures?

"What creatures? You mean vampires?"

"Huh, that means you know, and you're acting like you don't know what's happening."

Not that he knew. At least he had had read the part of the novel which foretold the coming of vampires in second apocalypse. Apart from the fact that Zarek had killed a werewolf, and an anonymous caller had congratulated him for reaching a class whose name Zarek could not even remember, he would swear that he had no idea of what was going on. And he was hoping to be enlightened by the young lady.

"Tell me, what's really happening?" he asked.

Silence ensued, and Zarek hoped that she would be reasonable enough to speak up. He wouldn't want to go the hard way. The torture-before-talking method, as Zarek liked to call it.

"You really don't know, do you? And you claim to be one of those awakened humans who would save the world," she began after much hesitation. 

Awakened?

"What do you mean by awakened humans?"

She smirked at Zarek's ignorance. She couldn't understand how it was that Zarek had not known what appeared to be common knowledge.

"When you killed my dad, you ascended to a stage called Varkon, and your life became even more dangerous because now the other werewolves would come to avenge one of their own. And if you're lucky to be alive, then it gets more interesting because now you have to face the real deal—vampires." She paused, and Zarek found time to digest all he had heard. 

Sure, the whole thing was making sense. So the stories he had read were true. The apocalypse had already begun. Zarek's thoughts drifted when she resumed.

 "Trust me, only a few ever make it to that stage because if the werewolves don't kill you, the vampires will. But death means nothing since you aren't dying for the first time."

What!

Zarek couldn't wrap his head around her last sentence.

 "First time? Was there ever a first time?" He asked amidst confusion.

She scoffed, angry that she had to lecture the man who had killed her father.

"You are the first awakened I've met who isn't informed. Well, let me give it straight to you... you are dead. You died in your previous life, and since you were the strongest human commander during the last war, you were given a second chance. That's how you found yourself in this body. But trust me, the real you, I mean the real owner of this body you're in, died a long time ago."

Shit! 

At this point, Zarek recalled how his parents had died in a car accident and how the doctors had said it was a miracle that he survived. Sure, Zarek was in the car that very day, and he saw how it all went down. 

That meant the real Zarek Slade had died in that car accident, and he was only using his body? 

However, what puzzled him was that he had no memories of his previous life. It was a blank slate. Nothing. He couldn't even remember his name, except that he was a human commander, like she had said.

"You mentioned other awakened humans or whatever that means... are there others like me?"

"Yes, my boyfriend, and he is probably looking for me right now. You wouldn't want to mess with him, do you? Trust me, he is far more dangerous than you." 

Zarek did not do well to threats. A killer was not a man to be threatened. His face twitched with a steel expression. 

"Well, bad news for him. He won't be seeing you anytime soon."

"What! You don't plan on leaving me here, do you?" she grumbled.

At this point, Zarek had heard enough for one day. There was only one way out of the underground warehouse, and it had a huge metal door. Not even a werewolf could break through it, and Zarek satisfied himself when he grabbed his keys and made his exit. 

Sure, she screamed the whole time, but Zarek had other things on his mind. He had just realized that he was not who he thought he was. 

A human commander in a previous battle? Zarek found it unbelievable as he took the drive home. He has heard so much for one day, and he was still trying to process the fact that Mia was not even his sister. 

What more did he not know?

 Not long after, Zarek drove into his apartment. Sure, he could perceive the sweet aroma of her breakfast. He was right on time. However, Zarek was no longer in the mood for breakfast, or in any mood except that he wanted to be left alone. He moved straight to his room without saying a word to the girl, who continued shaking her head to the rhythm of the headphones she had on both ears.

In his room, Zarek disembarked from his combat gear, and the reflection of the man in the mirror caught his eyes. Zarek stared closely. He had to. Dark hair, chiseled jaw, six-foot-three-inch frame… nothing in the mirror told him he wasn't Zarek Slade. However, he had just been told that the man staring back at him was a different man. 

But who was this man, and how come he had no knowledge of his previous life?

Zarek found his kill book and entered the name Harrison Grant on the serial number 775. For 776, he left it blank. 

She was still breathing. At least for now.

Then he realized he had to get back online. Since he often purchased dozens of brand-new cellphones on a quarterly basis, he pulled out a drawer. Different brands of cellphones came into sight. For now, Zarek reached for a Samsung A series, the waterproof brand. He remembered that it was a gift from Mia, to celebrate his 27th birthday, which had happened four months ago. However, a frown emerged on his face as he realized Mia was not who he thought she was. 

Not his real sister. 

He reached for another, an Apple brand this time. At least it wouldn't remind him of Mia.

A call came in the moment Zarek turned on the device. 

The anonymous number. Just as Zarek had expected. 

"Hello!"

"Mr. Slade, you have so many questions right now, and you are probably wondering who you are. But now is not the time for answers. Target 776 still lives. Mission failed, and now you must bear the consequences of a failed mission." 

Beep! 

That was all he heard.