Nicholas stepped forward from the doorway, smiling. "Why are you shaking as if I'm a ghost?"
He brushed his left palm across his face, his new black robe shimmering as the sun's rays shone through the window behind Elia.
"Come on, the kids might be hungry." He walked past Elia's shocked, trembling, and sweating form, then shoved his arms into his pockets, whistling.
'Is he the vampire?' Elia kept a close distance from Nicholas, following every slight movement the man made.
'That makes sense!'
From knowledge he had learned from watching many vampire movies, a huge glob of saliva snaked down his throat.
Back at the male ward, Elia kept five feet of distance away from Nicholas, dragging Zeno to his side.
"Have you seen him doing it?" Zeno turned a confused, still expression at Elia.
"Doing what—" Elia's words hung in his throat when he heard Nicholas clearing his throat.
"I think they are coming for us." Nicholas turned, looked at Elia, then shifted his gaze to Zeno, wearing a wide smile that didn't touch his eyes.
Outside the hospital, three black military vehicles—two MRAPs and one BMW—moved at high speed on the road at the side of the hospital. Their tires sent dust and torn newspapers flying in a miniature storm.
As if rehearsed, all the vehicles halted at the front of the hospital, smoke exiting from the base of the MRAPs.
From inside the MRAP, fifteen soldiers in full combat outfit exited—seven from the MRAP at the front, and eight from the one at the back—their eyes locked on the scopes of their rifles.
"Clear," a blue-haired man, JKS, raised his left arm, his thumb raised in a YEAH posture.
The fourteen soldiers ran past him, then stopped by the front of the transparent sliding glass door.
JKS leaned by the small black microphone tied to his collar. "SGT-5, you can take over." He loosened his posture, then inhaled a deep breath through the ghost mask he wore.
SGT-5 stepped out from the first black vehicle, SGT-1 from the second, and SGT-3 from the last.
SGT-5 closed in with JKS, tapped on his shoulder, then began walking toward the entrance, where the soldier had guard.
"This place smells like shit!" SGT-5 spat on the ground, his right arm sliding to his waist, where his pistol hung.
He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, then loosened his posture. He walked as if he was in heaven, the heels of his boots kissing the ground with every step he took.
Inside the male ward, Nicholas stood up, breaking his lotus posture, then walked toward the door. "Be ready." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe, then closed his eyes. His ears twitched as the footsteps waved toward him.
He bowed, as if greeting a god of destruction, as soon as the door swung open.
"Elia Wilson, come with us." SGT-5's voice lanced through the room like a plague, causing every face to shift.
Elia stood up from beside Zeno, then closed in to the soldier. He leaned in by the man's left ear. "I can't go without taking that kid."
Elia whispered, then pointed a finger at the boy with the amber eyes.
"Only him and no one else." SGT-5 frowned, his lips curling to the side.
He shifted his gaze from the kid to the man wearing a black robe and locked eyes with him. 'Who on earth is that?'
SGT-5's mind reeled inside his skull, trying to figure out who or what could have such eyes and facial skin tone.
"Let's move," he ordered, raising a hand, then turned.
"Zeno, come with me." Elia neared the boy, wrapped his arms around his shoulders, then tried dragging the boy forward.
"What about them?" Zeno turned, a confused expression on the remaining kids, then back at Elia.
"We will come for them later."
As Elia and Zeno exited, a wired smile tore on Nicholas's face, his red eyes beginning to glow in joy.
The air outside the hospital hit Elia harder than he had felt before. Sharp and hot rays of the sun bouncing from the vehicles punched through his black T-shirt and rattled on his skin.
"Move, move, move." JKS ordered, swinging his arms in the air, the soldiers pulling themselves from the entrance and entering the MRAPs.
Crows flew high, their wings bouncing smoke from every building they passed.
Large humanoid creatures with wings flew by the backs of the collapsed buildings, their cries piercing through the sky like a swung sickle.
Inside the BMW, Elia sat at the back, his arms scrambling through Zeno's brown eyes.
'I pray Nicholas doesn't infest the kids into becoming his puppets.' Elia exhaled deeply, the pain of leaving the kids behind hitting him like a thunderous blast.
Two hours of moving past collapsed buildings, new air, new sounds, and new skies reeled past the vehicles.
"You can open the window," SGT-5 instructed, pointing to the button at Elia's left side. "Use that button."
'Does he think I don't know how to roll down the window of a BMW?' Elia stared at the soldier with an intense gaze, then sighed.
Good-looking buildings waved past the car, carrying the fragrance of blooming fields, heart-warming flowers, and the vibrant hope of its people.
'CODX.' Elia's brown eyes blinked at every view.
"Zeno," Elia tapped the boy on the shoulder. "Wake up."
"Mmm…" Zeno rubbed the sleep lines from his face, his vision blurring.
Elia held the boy's hands as he helped him exit, then followed the soldiers into the large towering building, CODX workers' apartment.
"What are they going to do with us?" Zeno turned, shifting glances from the men standing in the hallway, and stared at Elia.
'How did he know… Is his genius mind now threading back?' Elia stared at the boy, smiling. "Nah, they are not going to do anything to us."
SGT-5 halted at the front of a black door that seemed to be producing muffled moaning sounds. "Go inside, the boy stays."
Elia shifted glances from the soldiers, then crouched down to Zeno's level. "I will be right back." Elia swung the bag from his bag, pulled out two candies from it, then handed them to the boy.
Zeno kept a focused gaze on Elia as he watched him swing the door open.
"Hhew…" Elia's eyes closed and opened, followed by a deep sigh.
At his front, Aria lay on a bed, wearing a thin black line panty. "You came at the right time." She swung her leg from the bed and got down.
Her loosened raised breast dangled as she closed in on Elia.
"I was about to use my sex toy that has your name inscribed on it," she stopped in front of Elia. "Since you're here, do me the favor."
She pulled the hook of white thread from the left side of the panty, then shook her body. The thin panty traced down from her ass, moved in slow movement on her thighs, and landed on the ground.
She moved in a circle around Elia, her finger ticking the boy's chest.
'I can't control myself any longer.' Elia closed his eyes, forcing his mind to picture her in clothes but ended up picturing himself fucking her.
As soon as he cracked his eyes open, he saw the translucent panel hovering in front of him.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
New Quest Assigned
Quest Name: Pleasure Extraction
Target: Aria Zephryn
Classification: Human
Time Limit: 12 hours
Reward:
Strength: +12
Agility: +8
Endurance: +10
Special Gifts: ???
'What? SPECIAL GIFTS?!' Elia's eyes widened, staring at the rewards. 'Damn… I can't let this go unchecked.'