I watched the news as they showed my awakening ceremony. I was inside a sarcophagus. I resembled a mummy like being. People got to see both sides cut their hand and fed me blood. It took three minutes before I woke up. Everyone watched as I opened my eyes and gasped for breath. I raised a hand asking for assistance. I was scooped up like a baby and put on my feet. I slowly hobbled towards the podium. I gurgled the words in a somber tone, "My lords and ladies I am pleased to be awakened to see my family in one piece and under one roof. May we stand united in all conditions and be grateful as we make every second count." The nocturnals gave a round of applause as I lowered myself to say I was their humble servant. The Pretorian guards and my own guards stood in a row in front of me. They dropped to their knees and declared their allegiance to me. The image was blurry so no one saw Oleg give me a teasing wink as he read his pledge. I raised my hand to say I accepted their pledge. After which I quietly walked off to the old emperor and bowed to him and he did the same. He took my hand and escorted me indoors towards the throne room.
The reporter commented how frail I looked. Then they showed a clip of me slightly recovered. I managed to cut off some heads in Coleman ridge. I used a cane to walk which offended my guard so he carried me to my ship. The last one was me completely restored. This earned a wolf whistle from one the reporters. The others gave a round of applause as they explained how beautiful I looked. There were questions about the so-called supplements. Some said it could be plasma, or other nutrients. They were curious. The reporters check the signal location only to discover it was above the Pacific ocean. They guessed I was on a freighter being moved constantly. The doctor who appeared on the show was kind enough to explain that I was no different from a comatose patient being woken up. When I wake up I would be disoriented and weak. My muscles would be atrophied. So I needed assistance walking. The cane was used to preserve energy. According to him I conserved enough to fight the monsters on the ridge and hobbled away.
The question was why were they leaving me alone. The doctor explained my rare blood disorder. He explained that the zombies only prefer healthy. My apparent transformation had rendered it inert. The disease is dormant but still the zombies will not attack me. They know I am unhealthy. Like the rest of them they eat healthy. The doctor was asked if someone healthy was injected with my illness. He smiled, "You won't be able to walk. You will be vomiting blood and you will struggle to stay conscious. Walking would be a challenge" The others asked a question, "What if we injected her blood into our body?" The doctor chuckled, "If the rumors are true then you will die since she has been ingesting poison for the past five hundred years." The others asked the psychologist why I chose the Nocturnals. She took the rumors of my mom's death into account. So she believed that I transferred my emotions to the ones who showed me affection.
She also had a hypothesis that the reason people are so interested in me. The theory was that they have lost loved ones. They are in constant terror. The prevailing anxiety attack is that the zombies may attack at any given time. They don't like being on the bottom of the food chain. They like to think they are the apex predators. So for someone to have such unusual abilities to deter them naturally would stir the urge to fight it. She reminded them that I had lost loved ones and to me the Nocturnals are the only family I have left so I would defend them with my life. If they render my gifts obscelete then there would be no need to transfer my gifts. The soldier present mentioned the only gift I would have left would be immortality and the ability to immune to the weaknesses of the other Nocturnals. The psychologist made it clear I have the discipline not to hurt anyone. All I ever did was protect the people I love. Beyond that I just stayed hidden or just appreciated being healthy. Which is a rarity.
So far the military have acted with the air of entitlement every time they get their hands on something new. Which hasn't changed in a thousand years. His face was red as he tried to dignify himself with a response. He explained that his men are bleeding and dying in the front. If they had my abilities then they would be able to fight these things and defend the locals too. The doctor reminded them that they created the virus so no one is trusting them with anything. He brushed it off saying it was propaganda. The doctor showed them a video where I explained everything from the original apocalypse. He responded that the previous one was military related but this one isn't. The video showed me turning around and asking if they were doing specimen collection. Because they only do it find ways to create new and worse varieties. Like intelligent ones and exploding ones. If specimen collection is happening then the military is as guilty as hell. The reporter asked him if there was any specimen collection. He didn't answer her question. The reporter repeated the question and the studio showed footage from social media. It showed the military taking zombies into special cages and transporting them to a secret facility. The reporter faced the cameras and warned the public to expect more deadlier varieties. He gave the woman the death stare as he requested she shut up.
The soldier tried to smooth things over but my interview footage interrupted him saying that there is a death cult. Who wants to thin out the population and rule over them like they are slaves. The so called lesser ones will survive on scraps while the supreme beings will get everything. The life they love now will be long gone. They need to extract my blood to gain immortality so there will be no worries about assassinations. He didn't want to say anything else for the rest of the interview. The reporter asked if there is such a cult. He kept his mouth shut and his eyes on his shoes. The kind interviewer also asked if my guards were former military. I explained they left after they were almost murdered in exchange for some stupid nonexistent super soldier serum. They were tired of being used and spat out like garbage. They risked life and limb. In exchange all they got was lies they had to listened to everyday had convinced these people care less about them. They are just numbers. They saw how my family treated their own. Everyone mattered and there are no secrets. No one was left behind. Every life is celebrated and every death is mourned.
Once you are a Nocturnal you are cared for and loved. The transformation is painful because the DNA markers are a key factor that helps them change. If they don't match then they die. The change is painful but once they change their new life begins. The reporter had asked if I had ever bitten anyone. I explained that I only bite blood bags and on a few rare occasions I have bitten my guards. They didn't feel pain. My venom makes the bitten feel high as a kite. My bite releases endorphins and morphine. Pleasure drugs that make them statues for three days straight. One of my Hawaiian relative didn't believe me so I bit him. He had a glazed expression and was immobilized for three days. I have used the venom once as a pain killer to help when my family was attacked. The doctor expressed that my venom would be useful in medical situations. Clearly it has filtered out the poison. The other one was speechless. Since they had never heard of such a thing.
I was asked for a demonstration so I washed my mouth with water. I extended my fangs and like a snake I excreted venom. I asked if anyone was in pain. A man wearing crutches came and the audience got to see his accident. I gave him the cup and told him to drink. He drank it and he was talking normally when all of a sudden he froze. A smile bloomed on his face and he stood perfectly still. I removed his crutches and he stood still. Moments later he walked for a little bit as though he was perfectly fine. This was news to the others since they assumed that I can change people with my bite. The reporter asked me what would happen if someone had willingly injected themselves with my blood. I smiled, "A few hundred years ago when I first became this. Had you injected yourself with my blood then you would become a hybrid. What gifts you would have would be upto you. Your willpower and your point of view. I worked twenty four hours none stop trying to figure out ways to defend my friends from every threat possible. There were quite a few threats that kept them awake. But now that I have been consuming deadly nightshade for three hundred years. I am sorry to say this but you will die."
I picked up a nightshade plant and I happily crushed it with my bare hands. I then wrung it out like a wet towel and squeeze out the liquid into a cup. I raised it high before drinking it like it was a glass of orange juice. I laughed and the soldier in the present yelled profanities. The studio had to censor him on live TV. He got a call from someone and he had to apologise for his rudeness. The angry psychologist mentioned he has a major case of the superiority complex which is flairing up. He told her to put a cork in it. He got a call and he stayed silent once more. The reporter finally found her voice and she wanted details. I shrugged, "The first was Molly. She was a bionic woman who believed that injecting my blood would regrow her limbs. My blood may change someone but it won't regrow limbs. She found out the hard way when she changed into a werewolf. The solders gunned her down after an incident. Then came the two sisters. This was during the apocalypse. They robbed people blind and left them for dead. Then there was the army."
She asked me if I could extend my shield those days. I shook my head, "Back then it was only around me. I had to extend my arms and my friends stayed behind me." She wondered, "They weren't afraid of you?" I smiled, "The day they knew what I can do I had rescued them from rogue werewolves. I was more scared of them than they were of me. They had actually changed dormitories to be with me. They made every second feel like an adventure. They didn't cry or scream or complain. One of them mentioned her mom requested she find the toughest kid and make friends with them. I am the toughest so I am her friend. When we moved to a safe zone they didn't abandon me. They kept my identity a secret and we lived happily. We even rescued werewolves from the military since they sold them as slaves in exchange for goods and services." The reporter yelled accusations at the soldier. She accused him of being a cult member. He said nothing. The others asked him to say something to defend himself. He just kept his mouth shut. As I explained how they were transported. The great nation was divided into nine nations. Each with their own rules. I am not going to Sin City or Saber or Machine city. There was also Scraps and Sahara. These places are really worth avoided.
I recalled freeing a werewolf by paying several sacks of potatoes, eggs and so on. I built them a house just for them with decent size rooms so they can enjoy the luxury of privacy. The reporter asked me if I kept any slaves. I laughed, "I free them the moment I buy them so all slave traders are warned about me and my friends. I had neighbours who had one or two but I freed mine. The freed would stay at us with high hopes and they happily stay to help with chores as paid labour. The best part is they knew what I was and happily donated blood once every two weeks. They get paid for days they work, extra hours gets extra pay. They get some extra money during the holidays and I encourage them to take a few days off. They go camping and got married. Some moved out but still visit once a week for family dinner. Roland stared at me funny the entire time. He wanted to see how the werewolves were detained. I told them that they didn't show they were werewolves because if they did then they would be gunned down or taken to a lab. Still I showed him and everyone else. The men were bare chest with knee length pants. Womens wore knee length frocks. With cuffs around their necks, wrist and legs. The ones on their necks would electricute them with the flip of a switch. They found something else as well. I can identify werewolf and vampire by scent. They smell like wet dog. The vampires smell like pine and lavender.