The Alpha Heir - Archie

I looked up to the full moon and saw the darkness that was the earth’s shadow, completely engulphed the moon... Soon, the moon faded into a red, sinister colour - it was as if blood was splattered on its surface. Beneath me, I felt dirt sticking to my clothes, rubbing against my skin and fusing in my hair. All around me, various sounds reverberated. Screams. Whines. Cries. Nails scraping. Flesh ripping. Piles of bodies with smoke rising from them were scattered everywhere. Even in the m******e, the killers had been tidy. Desperate people scurried everywhere like mice, leaving behind others - there was no time to think of someone else. Instead of cats hunting the mice, big, furry beasts were going after them. Then I saw him. From the distance, a man was walking into the m******e like nothing was happening. Totally tranquil. Totally at ease. I gasped quietly, blinking. He was a God… he had to be, to stroll among death and ravenous fangs that way… Only an immortal could do it with such detachment, with such confidence in his own safety, as if the affairs of death had no impact on him. My eyes couldn't leave the shape of him approaching. He was too inhumanly handsome. Too tall. Too strong. I studied him as he walked among the slaughtered bodies like a god descended to earth ... Or, actually, not a god, as gods belonged to our planet. But he didn’t. He was something else. An alien, a creature from somewhere that we didn't know, somewhere that our limited, deadly brains didn't give us the right to understand. Then our eyes met. Everything stopped. He halted. My heart paused. He smiled. A gentle smile on an angel face ... I smiled back, until my eyes fell on his teeth. His beautiful teeth were smeared with blood. My hand found my neck and the pain seized me. Pierced me. Possessed me. I gazed at my hand. Fresh blood stained my palm. My blood. My breath caught in my throat. With shock, I lifted my eyes. His angelic smile had turned into a smirk; the angel had turned into a …’Black Devil,’ A voice inside my head whispered. ‘Mate...’ It added in a drawl. What did it mean? Who was he? Before I had time to ask more questions to myself, one of the furry beasts pounced on me. A wolf. These creatures were wolves. Bigger, stronger, magnified. But wolves still. While the wolf's fangs promised me immediate death, the man, the non-god, the alien, watched me. Disappointment filled his eyes. Eyes of a color that escaped me, that I could not define. He didn't come forward to help me. He didn't move a single muscle. As I was dying, I heard a melodic, male voice inside my head. For some reason, I knew it belonged to him. My whole body knew. 'You are not worthy.' He spoke like a seductive devil. 'You are not a wolf.' Each word hurt so much, like nothing it had done before. More than the wolf's fangs. 'You are a puny human.' My hands tightened around my shirt. A strangled cry left my dry lips. 'Die.' He told me with a smirk. Inhuman eyes that shone, emitted their own light. 'So I don't need to reject you.' I nodded. He was right. I had to die. I'm not right for him. Then everything went dark, all I could hear were my own screams as I was being torn to pieces, mauled, shaken left and right. All I could see were two purple round spheres, two feral eyes, fixed on me, watching me die... Then I woke up suddenly. "Maria!" Someone was calling me, "Maria!" I blinked and sat on the tiny bed. I let out a shaky breath. My forearm covered my eyes as I leaned back on the wall behind me. "Just another dream." I muttered, swallowing thickly. Another nightmare. For some reason, my hand flew to my neck. Fear took hold of me when I found a scratch on it. I ran my finger over it. It didn't seem deep or that I had bled. I was about to check it on the camera of my phone, when the door was slammed open. "Maria..." I looked up at the woman with her fists at her waist and a stern expression. "Do you know what time it is?" My eyes widened. Oh, crap! "I'm so sorry, I must have fallen asleep again." I murmured, looking away, biting my lower lip, "I did set the alarm, but.." I searched for my phone, somewhere under the bed. Six fifty in the morning. "Oh no!" I flew out of the cot, sending the blanket and sheet on the PVC floor, "I'm ready! I just need to wash my face and teeth-" Mrs. Anna shook her head, gray hair combed into a severe bun and her work uniform on, "I can't be your alarm clock everyday. I risk my job already, and I don't deserve it." Disappointment and shame filled me. "I know. I'm deeply sorry... I can cover your shift tonight to be forgiven?" I proposed, stroking the folds of my uniform that I had gone to bed in. My white coat and work pants needed to be pressed and washed, and my crepe-soled shoes were worn out. Surprise crossed Mrs. Anna's face. "Don't you have classes later?" "Yes, but until six only." She shook her head, "I could never accept-" "Yes you can," I strode towards her and took her hands in mine. They were dry, full of calluses; her nails short and filled with that black dirt that never goes away. "Let me make up for my tardiness." She watched me for a few seconds and sighed, "Let's make a deal. You help me fold the clean sheets and that's all." She smiled, lines appearing all over her tanned face, "but no more sleep in!" "Never again," I promised with a small smile. Mrs. Anna nodded and walked away. She was a part of the cleaning crew at the hospital. Carefully, I folded the blankets and closed the cot I had slept on and placed it behind the shelf of cleaning products. I put the blankets and my small pillow in a plastic bag next to the brooms. I headed for the female bathroom around the corner. The corridors of the hospital were half empty, with a few nurses or other volunteers like me passing by from time to time. Once inside, I did a quick check in the mirror on top of one sink. Grayish dark circles occupied half of my face, my hair was as frazzled as I felt, and it needed a good brushing. I yawned, covering my mouth with the palm of my hand, and then scooped cold water into my hands and splashed it on my face. 'Mmmh, better.' I felt more awake already. There was no room for the volunteers and staff to stay overnight at the children's hospital. No showers either. All the funds and all the space available went to the care of poor souls so unfortunate as to be born with diseases greater than them. I made my way to the tiny room where we volunteer stored coffee and tea. "Oh, morning, Maria!" The janitor waved at me as he washed the floor, and I returned it with a grin. "Do you want some coffee, Leo?" "Why not! Thank you, hon." As I stared at the hot, steaming coffee flowing from the ancient, noisy machine, I couldn’t help thinking of all the unfairness of suffering. Which was good, I suppose. Even with everything I saw on the job, I hadn’t gotten used to tragedy, and I prayed I never did. I barely had time to fill a cup, and I was about to start making a second one, when I noticed it was almost half past seven. My shift started in two minutes. "Here," I handed the cup of coffee to Leo, who stared at it gratefully, and I scurried down the hall. Two flights of stairs later, my heart was about to explode from my chest. One hand resting on the door and the other on my chest, I was panting. Rubbing a hand over my face, I took the patient’s chart that was in the clear plastic holder mounted on the wall by the door. With a deep breath, I opened it up. Name: Luigi Age: 8 years Condition: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia This was going to be a battle. Determination filled me, my fatigue and lack of sleep vaporized. I pulled the ponytail, and went inside room six. With my head up, my spine straight, I smiled at the little angel lying on the hospital bed. I was ready for another day of fighting.