Cherreads

Chapter 1 - The Awakening

SLURP~

SLURP~

Hearing the strange noises coming from outside the bathroom stall, Gabriel started regretting the burrito he had eaten an hour ago.

Just then, a woman's screams resounded, followed by her likely falling to the ground.

"Help!"

Ahem...

'That's quite the freaky foreplay.'

"AAAAAAAH!"

A splash of blood suddenly landed on Gabriel's boots, causing him to stop scrolling through his phone. He thought he had imagined it, but once the head of a woman rolled over into his bathroom stall, Gabriel didn't waste even a single second as he pulled up his pants and quickly hopped over the stall to his left.

The sight below shocked him. Body parts, gallons of blood, and even the figure of a red eyed, humanoid creature. Had he not been working with the Vampire Hunters, he would've been freaking out right now.

But instead, as one of the newest trainee recruits, Gabriel perched on the top of the stall, took out a miniature pistol from his pocket, and after aiming it at the Lesser Vampire below him, he pulled the trigger.

BANG!

A wooden stake shot from the barrel and hurtled through the air at the Lesser Vampire, who was just chewing on the woman's remains, until finally, that sharp piece of wood, as well as the trigger's bang made the Lesser Vampire halt.

But by then, it was already too late as a hole appear in the center of its forehead, killing it instantly.

Gabriel stared at the Lesser Vampire for a moment, then sighed.

'They usually play dead when we shoot them in the head. I guess this one was even weaker than I thought? As for the woman, I'll have to make a hefty report to compensate her family...'

As a trainee Vampire Hunter, Gabriel was used to stuff like this.

Except, once he got down from the stall and approached the exit, he definitely didn't expect to see a dark purple haired woman in a fancy dress just waiting there, her back against the wall, and her heels clicking ever so slightly on the ground.

But right as he was about to call out, he felt a sharp pain suddenly shoot throughout his chest. Once he glanced down, Gabriel saw a spear made of blood sticking out the front. Confusion overtook him, as well as the fear of death.

Yet he couldn't even process everything properly, as his consciousness began to gradually fade due to the blood less.

And in his final moments, the woman's creepy smile crossed his sight.

"See you in a bit, Gabriel~"

***

"Ugh..." Gabriel groaned, then opened his eyes. He wasn't in the bathroom anymore, and instead, he was somehow back in his dorm room. With the constant aching of his body, he was reminded of what happened before he lost consciousness.

'How am I alive? I swear she pierced me right through the heart, didn't she?' His emotions were a torrent of uncertainty, and as his hands fiddled around with his chest, he realized that the wound from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Not to mention, the scars that he had gotten from his years of training weren't there either. Instead, his body seemed smooth... way too smooth.

Once he rose from his bed, he accidentally broke the bedframe, which he didn't notice due to how startled he was on his way to the bathroom.

And when he arrived, he saw a chiseled black haired man in the mirror with skin as pale as snow, and eyes as red as blood.

'Is this me...? It doesn't seem like I dreamt it all, so did I actually turn into a vampire? Did that woman turn me into one? Why can't I remember anything?'

But as Gabriel started to feel the headache coming, he heard a cough to his right. Once he turned toward it, his eyes widened, seeing that the same woman from before was on his toilet with her pants down.

"Ahem... Sorry but could you wait outside? I'm in the middle of something right now."

"..."

"What the hell are you doing in my dorm room?"

She tilted her head, her crimson eyes glistening. "Is that really a question you should ask a lady who's sitting so vulnerably?"

Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled out his Vampire Hunter issued pistol. Right as he aimed it at her and was about to fire, the barrel twisted upward as the magazine fell out.

The woman pouted, and after pulling up her pants, she stood up.

"You're way too impatient, Gabriel. But I, Rachel of house Vermillion, will explain everything to you. So let's go to the kitchen, as I've already prepared us some breakfast."

Without giving Gabriel a chance to reply, she just scooted past him and walked to his kitchen. He just stood there for a moment, startled and slightly panicked.

'This is actually happening... She turned me into a vampire, and now I won't even be able to show my face to the Vampire Hunters, since they'll just kill me instantly.'

Clicking his tongue, Gabriel went back to his bedroom, picked out some clothes, and after dressing up, he stepped into the kitchen. He was met with what looked like two wine glasses, except upon closer look, it was straight up blood.

But Rachel was drinking it very eagerly, swirling it around as she said:

"You should have a drink, or you'll start munching on your fellow dorm mates."

Gabriel sat down opposite to her, his brows furrowing. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Nope. Take a sip, and I'll explain everything."

He was repulsed by the blood, hesitant to even look at it a second time, and yet, it smelled so good?

Before he knew it, his hand reached for the glass, and without hesitation, he began chugging the blood. It was delicious, tasting like the combination of many of his favorite foods at once. With every drop that flowed down his throat, he could feel more and more power returning to his body.

Much more power than he had as a human... It was almost pathetic how weak humans were when compared to vampires.

Despite that, he finished the glass and set it down. He was met with a warm smile from Rachel.

"Believe it or not, we two have met each other a couple of times in the past. I doubt you remember, since you were so young, but I do. I never forget a face."

He tried to recall her face, but he wasn't able to come up with anything.

Rachel smiled at his confused expression. "When I was younger, you saved me from Vampire Hunters. Just because you gave me your blood, I was able to escape... And you might not know this, but..."

Her cheeks turned slightly red.

"When a starving vampire feeds on someone of the opposite gender, it's akin to a marriage proposal."

'I did what, now? I barely stepped out of my house when I was younger. There's no way I had the balls to ever help a vampire.'

"So you chased me down, tried to kill me, and then after piecing my chest, you turned me into a vampire?" Gabriel questioned.

She laughed. "Well, you could look at it that way. It's just that, I wasn't the only vampire there, you know? It was entirely a coincidence I smelled your blood. Had I not, you would've been in another vampire's belly."

Just then, Gabriel heard a knock on his door, followed by a burst of killing intent.

"Gabriel! Open the door! Our squad commander is calling us!"

"If you don't come soon, we'll be in big~ trouble!"

"Come on, wake up already!"

"Ahem..." Rachel cleared her throat and finished the rest of her glass. Then, she pointed the glass at him.

"You're smart enough to know what's about to happen, so I'll make it brief..."

"Do you want to stay here, and get killed by your dorm members who already know you're a vampire?"

"...Or do you want to come with me, and I'll teach you just what it means to be a true vampire?"

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