Early in the morning, inside a beautiful house surrounded by an attractive garden, Zero opened his eyes. He woke up from his sleep, feeling very tired, and his head was heavy from the previous night's activities. He slowly stood up and walked to his kitchen to prepare a hangover remedy. After finishing, he sat down at a table and started eating his meal.
Later, he walked to his bathroom and started taking a shower. As he urinated, he noticed blood in his urine.
"What the...?" he exclaimed, shocked.
He finished his bath and walked outside to get dressed.
Later that day, he went to the skating club with his friends. There were a lot of people there. Zero was sitting alone, stressed about his condition. A man walked up to him.
"Dude, what's wrong with you today?" the man asked.
"What are you talking about?" Zero replied.
"Come on, man. I know you very well. You can tell me what's wrong, and I'll help you out," the man said.
"Not here. It's better if I show you," Zero said.
Zero took his friend to a nearby restaurant and led him to the men's room. They stood together at a urinal.
"What are you doing?" his friend asked.
"Watch," Zero said, unzipping his pants and starting to urinate. He continued peeing blood at the end of the stream. His friend was shocked.
"Oh my God! Did you see a doctor?" his friend asked.
"No, not yet," Zero replied.
"Did you tell your parents about it?" his friend asked.
"My mother is in Australia for two months now, and my father is in Egypt dealing with his historical issues," Zero said.
"Okay, do you feel any pain when you pee?" his friend asked.
"No, nothing," Zero replied.
"Okay, here's what I can do to help you. We have a family doctor, Dr. Patel. She's very skilled and specializes in these kinds of issues. I'll call her and try to make an appointment for you to get checked out," his friend said.
"Why can't we just go and get this over with?" Zero asked.
"No, she's a VIP doctor working at St. Thomas Hospital. She's from India and is very high-skilled and a specialist," his friend explained.
"And do you think she'll answer your calls?" Zero asked.
"As I said, she's a family doctor, and she's very good," his friend replied.
The man took out his phone and called Dr. Patel.
"Hello, Dr. Patel. How's everything going? Sorry to interrupt your special moment, but I have a small emergency," he said.
Zero was quiet as his friend explained his condition to Dr. Patel.
"Okay, I get it. Tell him to come tomorrow morning. If he reaches the reception, he'll be directly assisted to my office," Dr. Patel said.
"Thank you, Doc. You're the best," Zero's friend said.
"Send my regards to your father. Take care," Dr. Patel replied, hanging up the phone.
"See, I told you. Now you don't have anything to worry about," his friend said.
"Thank you so much, Jack. I don't know how to repay you," Zero said.
"Just get well soon," Jack replied, shaking Zero's hand.
That evening, Zero went to his fighting training as usual. He was training alone with swords and fighting techniques. He was very skilled at fighting.
As he stopped fighting, a woman appeared, clapping her hands in approval.
"Not bad, for a cute boy like you," the woman said.
"Meaning?" Zero asked.
"I mean cute boys like you usually don't have the fighting spirit in them. They usually prefer luxury things and a good life, but I'm impressed with you," the woman explained.
Zero smiled at her.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Raven," she replied.
"Do you fight, Raven?" Zero asked, throwing a sword at her.
Raven jumped into the fighting ring, holding a sword, and landed, staring at him with a smile on her face.
"Wow, let's see what you've got, Raven," Zero said.
"Can we take this as an actual fight?" Raven asked.
"It's real swords. Let's give it a go," Zero replied, flying towards her.
Raven dodged Zero's sword and stood behind him. Zero turned quickly, pointing his sword at Raven's neck.
"Too slow," Zero said.
"Really? Look closely," Raven said.
Zero looked down and saw a sword pointing at his lower stomach.
"You may be fast, but I'm faster," Raven said, kicking Zero's sword away and continuing to fight.
Zero attacked, but Raven defended. Zero threw his sword at her, but Raven slid down, turning the other way, and kicked him hard in the chest. Zero fell and dropped his sword.
He stood up, heading towards it, but Raven had him down, pointing her sword at his neck.
"Too slow again," Raven said.
Zero slowly stood up.
"Are we done here?" Raven asked.
"We'll continue again tomorrow. You caught me off guard," Zero said.
Raven smiled at him, handing him back his sword.
"I'll be here tomorrow," Raven said, leaving.
The next morning, Zero woke up, took a hot shower, and prepared himself to go to the hospital. He was going to meet Dr. Patel about his condition, without knowing her.
He walked to the hospital, passing by the pharmacy. He saw a man in a military uniform arguing with a pharmacist about some medicines. It was Alex, but they didn't know each other yet.
Zero continued walking to the reception.
"Good morning. My name is Zero. I came to meet Dr. Patel," he said.
"Do you have an appointment with her?" the receptionist asked.
"Yes, we spoke yesterday, and she told me that the reception would assist me," Zero replied.
"Okay, sir. Please wait a minute," the receptionist said, calling Dr. Patel's office to confirm.
While Zero was waiting, he saw a boy, Ben, walking with his father out of the injection room. He was crying as they headed to the pharmacy to get some medicine.
"Okay, sir. Just walk straight and turn left. You'll find an elevator that will lead you straight to the 12th floor. Wait there, and she'll be with you shortly," the receptionist said.
"Thank you," Zero replied, walking away and looking around.
As he turned the corner, he saw the elevator was about to close. There were two people inside, Milan and Ayanna. He rushed and managed to get inside.
Milan pushed the 12th floor button, and the elevator closed, starting to go up.
"Seems like we're going to the same floor. My name is Zero, by the way," he said, trying to communicate.
Milan was quiet.
"Ayanna, and he's my brother, Milan," Ayanna said, shaking Zero's hand with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Ayanna. You have a beautiful smile," Zero said.
Milan stared at him after hearing that.
The elevator opened, and they reached the 12th floor. Zero wanted to go first, but Milan stopped him.
"Ladies first," Milan said.
Ayanna smiled and walked outside. Milan faced Zero angrily.
"I got two words for you, Zero: Stay Away," Milan said, walking away.
Zero was smiling.
"What a temper," he thought, sitting down three chairs behind them.
They were both waiting for Dr. Patel. Zero was staring at Ayanna, who was talking to a girl.
Suddenly, his friend Jack appeared and hit his head.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Zero asked.
"That's for leaving and coming here without bothering to call me, you idiot," Jack said.
"I heard you're going to Sydney today," Zero said.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I won't see you before I leave. Come on, walk me to the elevator," Jack said.
Zero stood up and walked with Jack to the elevator.
"So, how long are you going to be away?" Zero asked.
"Just six months. My mother insisted that I go. I have to be there," Jack replied.
"Okay, take care. I'll wait for you," Zero said.
Jack smiled and hugged him.
"Be safe always," Jack said, getting into the elevator and walking away.
Zero walked back to the seats and didn't see Ayanna or Milan, but he saw the girl, Zara, holding a teddy bear. Zero went to take a seat beside her.
After 20 minutes, they all heard an ambush. A window broke, and people were growling in the distance. Zero stood up and looked at the corridors. He saw vampires starting to bite people.
He walked near the window and saw some vampires falling outside. Chaos had erupted in the streets.
Milan and Scarlet were listening to him quietly.
"So, you came here to see a doctor too?" Milan asked him.
Zero slowly stood up. He seemed fine and strong. Scarlet looked at him.
"We have to test you," Scarlet said.
"Test me with what?" Zero asked.
"We have to see if a vampire bites you again. I need to make sure of something. If you don't turn into a vampire, then you are the one," Scarlet explained.
Zero and Milan were shocked. Scarlet seemed serious.
"And if I turn into a vampire, then I'm gone forever. Thank you, but I'll pass," Zero said, wanting to walk away.
Scarlet took out her sword and stopped his way, pointing it at him.
"I didn't say it was an option" Scarlet spoke
"I don't want to hurt you," Zero said.
Scarlet was looking at him. Zero slowly took out his two swords and hit Scarlet's sword very hard, becoming stronger. Scarlet dropped her sword and stepped back.
Zero was about to attack Scarlet, but she slid down and kicked his left foot with great force, causing him to fall and roll towards the door.
Milan's attention was drawn to a table with two beakers containing dark blood. Scarlet and Zero were fighting, but Milan intervened, shouting "Stop!"
"What is this?" Milan asked Zero, examining the beakers. He noticed one was broken and picked up a piece of glass with a tag labeled "Ayanna".
"The beakers... Dr. Patel was working on something," Zero explained. "She took my blood, Ayanna's, and a vampire's. She was trying to find a cure."
Scarlet was shocked, her expression a mix of surprise and curiosity.
"Why is Sample A blood broken?" Milan asked, piecing together the clues.
"Sample B and C are all dark blood, which means your blood is Sample B. Why didn't you turn into a vampire?"
Zero's eyes widened as a memory surfaced.
"I remember smelling fresh blood in here. When we first left, we left three samples. I think I am the one who drank Sample A blood... your sister's blood. And if what she says is true, then your sister's blood may be the cure to vampirism, because it was the last thing I remember drinking before I went out."
Milan's eyes locked onto Scarlet's, both of them processing the revelation.