I’ll always remember the smell of blood.

Like a stain you could never quite wash away, it trapped me. Body and soul. 

Monstrous visions plagued my memory as I lay there, writhing and twisting in pain and hunger. 

Where was I? What was happening to me?

It didn’t matter. Not anymore. 

I was going to die.

I didn’t know anything was wrong until I heard the first screams. 

I should have taken shelter then. But curiosity killed the cat, as they say. Or in this case, the omega. 

I pushed aside the curtains, looked out the window, and came face to face with one of them.

I’ll never forget that grisly scene, forever imprinted on my eyelids. Even when I closed my eyes, I saw their corpses. Saw their blood. And saw their attackers, those tall, feral beasts that looked almost like men...but weren’t.

Of course, it was too late for me. They’d already seen me. Smelled me. I was as good as dead.

Even after I snapped the curtains closed, double checked all the locks on the door, and grabbed the gun I kept stowed away just in case, I knew it wouldn’t do much against what was out there.

This was what they’d warned us about, wasn’t it?

That the “supers”, or supernaturals, would try to take over this way. And whatever was outside that window? Definitely not human.

I hunkered down against the wall, holding the gun to my chest and drawing in breath after shaky breath. This was what I got, wasn’t it? I should never have signed up for that stupid app. I should never have brought one of them home with me. And I definitely should not have had the most mind blowing sex of my life with him, only to have him disappear on me the next morning.

Supernaturals were all the same. Now they were back to finish the job.

Screams, crashes, and howls ripped through the air. The once still night had fled in favor of the flickering fires of death. I considered running. That would be the safest thing to do, right?

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I’d have even less of a chance to survive. 

Those beasts were faster than any human, and if they saw me running away, I’d be dead meat in an instant. Not to mention the fact that Cormera was nestled into a valley with nothing else around for miles. Where would I go? The wilderness?

Didn’t have much of a shot out there, either.

So I cradled the gun against my chest, said my prayers, and waited for the end.

“He’s waking up.”

My body was a fortress of pain. Every muscle, hell every cell in my body felt like it was on fire. And there was light. Way too bright, right on top of me. 

I tried to turn my head, to roll over, to move. 

That’s when the horror really sunk in. 

I couldn’t.

Someone...or something...had restrained me. Strapped me down to this table, or bed, or whatever it was. 

I screamed and the voice that came out was unfamiliar to my ears. Who was I? What was I?

I was supposed to be dead.

Last thing I remembered was one of those giant, lumbering beasts dragging their way toward me, blood-red eyes crazed with hunger and fury. I remembered the sharp, agonizing spike of pain as fangs sunk into my skin. First on my neck. Then my wrists. My thighs. My sides. 

The world grew grey and hazy around me, fading out like a bad dream. Going...going...

Gone?

I blinked open my eyes fully now, squinting against the harsh light.

Was I in Heaven?

No, couldn’t be. Wouldn’t feel like this if I was. 

This must be the other place, then.

I must have ended up in Hell.

“I need some Synth, stat!” 

More voices. More footsteps. 

And yet I still couldn’t move. I cried out again, my throat feeling like it was full of nails. What had they done to me? Why wouldn’t they let me just die in peace?

A man stepped into my field of view, tall and limber with a ghostly pale complexion and haunting red eyes. 

Just like the monsters.

I flinched away as much as I could, spitting every curse I knew. They’d decided not to kill me, then. Guess they just wanted to play with their food instead. 

I shivered. There were fates worse than death, and this just might be one of them.

“Can you hear me?” The man said, taking another tentative step forward. “We’re not here to hurt you.” He held up his hands where I could see them, speaking slowly, carefully.

Like I was going to believe that. I railed against my restraints again, fighting for my freedom. I wasn’t going to go down like this. I couldn’t. 

And most of all, I needed...something. A deep, hungering need ached through me like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. Then there was that smell again, bitter and metallic yet somehow strangely alluring.

The scent of blood.

“What did you do to me?” I growled, refusing to meet my attacker’s eyes.

“We rescued you,” he said calmly. “You were hurt very badly. We pulled you from the wreckage of your home.”

Snatches of memory flashed back into my mind. The gun. The fear. The vampire.

I shivered again at the word. Vampire. I still couldn’t believe they were real, walking among us. 

And after I saw what destruction they brought down on my hometown, I vowed never to trust one again.

But wait...

“Listen to me, and listen carefully.” The man pulled up a stool and sat by my bedside, regarding me with sad, concerned eyes. Despite looking like my attackers, he didn’t have the crazy bloodlust aura. He wasn’t tearing buildings apart or setting them aflame. He wasn’t devouring me for his next meal.

I held my breath, and waited.

“You were attacked back there in Cormera. There’s a rogue vampire coven on the loose, and they razed the town in their bloodlust. Many of the villagers died, but you...” He shifted his gaze, staring at the floor now. “Well, perhaps it was because the building collapsed. From what we can tell, it held off your attacker just long enough to keep you from dying.” 

The words settled into my mind slowly, like coming out of a fog. Wait...I wasn’t dead?

“There was a slight complication though,” the man continued gingerly. My vision cleared enough to make out a name tag pinned to his chest. Milo. “Your attackers were vampires and in biting you, released venom into your bloodstream. If they had kept going, it would have killed you, but as it stands...” He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, then shrugged. 

“We were able to save your life, but in the process...you’ve turned.”

Reality hit me like a tidal wave, fast and smothering. Turned. He couldn’t mean...

“I’m...” I started, my voice still raw.

“We couldn’t get the venom out of your bloodstream in time. You’ve become a vampire.”

At the word vampire, my body revolted. I seized up and yanked at my restraints, growling and hissing. Some other force—some other me had taken over, and I could only watch in horror as the bonds holding me broke. 

Milo lunged forward along with another man standing by. They wrestled me back to the bed and Milo barked out an order to one of the nurses. Couldn’t make out the words.

God, I was hungry!

“It’s going to be okay!” Milo shouted over the din. “It’s not a death sentence. It doesn’t have to be. There are those of us who live very full lives with vampirism. We can help, but you have to let us!”

I didn’t care. Didn’t listen. What did it matter? Life as I knew it was over.

A sting of something sharp in my arm. More shouting. My muscles grew heavy, sinking into the mattress. Darkness gathered at the edges of my vision. Slow at first, then spreading, spreading like the oncoming tide.