Chapter One
Johann awoke in a daze, blinking furiously in an attempt to bring the world into focus. As he sat up, he realized that he was laying on a hospital bed, the surgical steel painted red with blood. In a panic, he quickly checked his body for wounds, examining his clothes and patting himself to find any hint of injury. In his manic search, he felt a tug on his arm: an IV bag had been attached to him, slowly dripping blood into his veins. Had he been given a transfusion? Why was he in this ramshackle hospital? He felt like the answer was at the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite remember…
He slowly withdrew the needle from his arm, then stood to examine the room he was in. It seemed like he hadn’t been the only one here, Several other beds were arranged in a similar manner, many looking only recently vacated. Had he been the last to wake? He must have been, if no one else was here. His mind was clouded, unable to remember anything but the most basic details about himself. Where was he? Why was he here? Had he been sick? He seemed to be in a dark medical room, so he had to assume that was the case. But beyond his name, everything else seemed out of grasp. Something was wrong with him, but he couldn’t quite placed what it was. It felt as if his blood was smoldering, like tiny burning coals floated through his veins, but whenever he focused on the sensation it passed. Meanwhile, something about the world seemed… off. As if the entire world were a few millimeters out of sync with what he eyes saw.
Looking around the room, he noticed two things that seemed important: A small paper that read, “Seek paleblood to transcend the hunt,” and an envelope addressed to him. He cautiously opened the envelope, and inside was an invitation to Cainhurst Castle that read…
“Dear Cousin Johann,
It has been many years since you last visited our hallowed halls. Things have changed greatly since your time here, and we have much to talk about. Most importantly, Our Queen would see you returned to your ancestral home so that you may claim your birthright and join in the glory of our House. At your earliest convenience, we would like you to come home to us to discuss these important affairs and more.
Signed with respect, Felicia Cainhurst.”
He wasn’t sure where Castle Cainhurst was or who Felicia Cainhurst had been, but it was the best lead he had at the moment. The other note seemed like complete nonsense; Paleblood? Transcending the hunt? While the literal words were legible, what such phrases meant was impossible to discern. Deeming the envelope the more important of the two, he decided to take it with him. Whatever the other note was about, he wanted nothing to do with it. After collecting himself and the envelope, he finally noticed the stairs leaving the room. Nowhere to go but down, it would seem.
He still wasn’t sure what he was doing here, but he knew he wasn’t going to get his answers without moving forward. He carefully made his way down, his steps uneasy and shaking. The ancient stairs creaked from the strain of his weight as he crept his way forward. At the bottom of the stairs, he entered into another sickroom, but this one was in absolute chaos. Tables and chairs were haphazardly thrown around the room, medical supplies were shattered, the floor was slick with a thick layer of blood, and the cloying scent of viscera hung in the air. It didn’t take long to see why; in the center of the room was a massive figure hunched over on all fours, sloppily consuming an eviscerated body. The sickening snap of bones breaking mixed with the grotesque squish of flesh being devoured raw. The creature looked similar to a man, but with a savage, elongated lupine face and thick fur, it’s hands ending in deadly claws.
His heart pounded in his chest, his breathing came in desperate rasps. In his head it all sounded so loud, as if echoing across the room. How could the beast not hear it all? Was it so focused on it’s meal that he seemed insignificant? Johann could only hope it was the latter. He attempted to inch his way along the edge of the room, trying to sneak past the creature. The closer he got, the more his voice rasped and wheezed as his terror rose. If the creature spotted him, he was sure his life was over.
The sound of glass rolling along the floor gave Johann a start. He immediately froze, unsure if he had stepped onto something on the floor, or if the beast’s ravenous feasting had bumped into one of the sick beds. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter which was true, as the beast immediately raised it’s head to scan the room. Frozen to the wall with his heart in his throat, Johann prayed that the hulking beast would somehow overlook him. He tentatively took a step towards the door. This proved to be a fatal mistake. The lupine creature snapped his head in Johann’s direction. Their eyes met for one eternal moment, before the beast suddenly threw itself at Johann.
His body moved on it’s own as he desperately attempted to fight off the beast. A hasty double-handed swing was enough to knock the beast away for a brief moment, but before he could run to the door the beast was on him again. Johann pulled back to make a similar attack as the creature lunged forward, taking a bite out of Johann’s left arm. He screamed in agony as his blood gushed from the ravaged flesh of his now useless limb. Tendons torn, muscle shredded, and bones fractured, the arm was mangled beyond recognition. In mindless terror, Johann swung with his right arm. The beast ignored the blow entirely. It now leaped at Johann, it’s terrible claws rending his flesh, it’s terrible jaws snapping his bones. He screamed in agony as his body was torn asunder, blood escaping his body in great spurts as the creature consumed everything that had been him: flesh and blood and bone and sinew.
