House of Khepru: Episode One Read online

  Angela suddenly jumps in surprise, releasing a short yelp.

  “Oh my god!” she yells with wide eyes, “I have to go!”

  “What's wrong?” I ask.

  “I just remembered I was supposed to help my friend with her stuff earlier!”

  She quickly runs towards the door before turning around, her straight brown hair whipping behind her back.

  “It was nice to meet you Cayne.” she says, pulling me into another hug.

  She dashes for the door after releasing me, looking over her shoulder as she steps through.

  “I hope I see you around!” she says, winking at me before closing the door behind her.

  I feel my cheeks turn hot again as Adam chuckles next to me.

  “That's my boy.” he says giving me a light punch on the shoulder.

  “It's not like that.” I say, turning away.

  Honestly, I know it could be, but I just met the girl. She can't like me in that way already. Can she?

  “Sure it's not.” Adam says, rolling his eye in obvious sarcasm with a big smile.

  “Well, I should get going.” I say turning towards the door. “My first class starts tomorrow morning.”

  “Alright, see you later.” Adam says, his smile still plastered on his features.

  I take a step out the door before Adam calls out to me.

  “Remember, Cayne.” he says as his signature smirk makes another appearance. “Use protection.”

  I feel my face turn red as I turn back through the door.

  “Shut up!” I say as I slam the door behind me.

  I walk into my own dorm, changing into a t-shirt and sweatpants before crawling in between my sheets. Adam's notion of Angela floats around in my head as I lay in bed.

  Sure, she's really cute, but she does seem to be a little strange. Maybe she's just shy around new people. Either way, I think she's a decent girl.

  I shut off the light before turning underneath my covers, and drifting to sleep.

  My cell phone sounds my alarm as I struggle to shut it off. I stretch my arms before pulling my tired body out of bed, moving to put on a pair of jeans and a fresh shirt. Grabbing my phone, wallet, bag, and dorm key, I head out towards the cafe to get some coffee and read ahead before my class starts in the next hour.

  I wait in line for quite a while before getting my coffee. Seeing I have thirty minutes before my programming class, I decide to sit and go through the first chapter of the textbook.

  As I skim through the pages of the book, the television mounted to the wall plays a news segment, mentioning people and bodies being found around the city.

  “The living victims show no signs of struggle.” the caster said as he continued the segment. “Stranger still, they appear to be in a catatonic state. The dead victims bear no wounds of any kind, therefore, the cause of death remains unknown. All residents in the area are urged to be aware of their surroundings, and to report any suspicious activity immediately.”

  That seems pretty close to the campus. I wonder if any of those people were students here.

  Brushing off the unsettling news, I hear a familiar voice as I turn back to my textbook.

  “Cayne?”

  I look up, seeing Angela in front of me, her straight hair put up in a neat ponytail.

  “Hey, I didn't expect to see you here.” I say, smiling as I gently close my book.

  “Same here.” Angela replies, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder. “Did you come here to study too?”

  I nod as she pushes the sleeves of her black jacket up her slender arms. Her face turns a familiar color before she speaks up.

  “How well do you know this stuff?” she asks, fiddling her thumbs.

  “I'd say pretty well.” I say as I rub the nape of my neck. “Software and coding comes pretty naturally to me, but I'm horrible when it comes to building computers.”

  Angela giggles as she slides into seat across from me.

  “That's so weird! I'm the opposite, good with building, horrible with programming.” she says.

  I chuckle as Angela's face turns a darker shade of red.

  “Do you think, maybe you could help me with the class?” she whispers, turning her head away.

  I raise an eyebrow with a hum. Angela perks her head up. Her face looks more like an apple with eyes at this point.

  “If you can! I mean, I understand if you don't want to! I just really need the help!” Angela says, frantically waving her hands in front of her.

  This girl really is something else! I gently grab her hands before answering.

  “I'd be glad to help you.” I say as my own face turns warm.

  Angela's eyes light up as she smiles, throwing herself across the table to pull me into a hug.

  “Thank you so much!” she says, tightening her grip.

  She releases me when she hears me grunt in pain, looking towards the ground with sad green eyes.

  I look at my phone, seeing that class is about to start in ten minutes.

  “Class is starting soon.” I say as I stuff my book back in my bag. “We should get going.”

  Angela follows me through the door as we head towards our classroom.

  When we walk in, the computers lining the desks around the room are the first thing I notice. Angela and I move to take the two empty seats at the front of the room, the professor walking in immediately after we set out bags on the floor. A middle-aged man of heavy build, he goes into a lot detail with his lecture. I chuckle quietly as Angela stares intently at the pages of the textbook. She really wants to do well in this course.

  Surprisingly, our professor give us an assignment following his lecture. He gives each of a certain program to write using the code he lectured about earlier. Of course, I complete it with no problems, but Angela has a hard time with it.

  Seeing her fidget and scratch through her hair is almost impossible for me to watch. Eventually, I give her some advice, telling her what code to use, and she writes the code out with no problems.

  We leave after the professor checks our work, Angela pulling me into another “death hug” as she thanks me for helping her. For someone her size, she is really strong.

  “You're really good at this stuff.” Angela says as we walk down the walkway.

  “Thanks.” I say. “It really isn't anything special, though. I just like writing code.”

  Angela giggles as she wraps her arms around mine.

  “Still, I owe you one.” she says with a smile.

  My face turns hot as I feel Angela press herself against my arm. I jerk my head away from her, trying to keep myself from looking towards the low cut of her dark-purple shirt. What is with her all of the sudden?

  I feel my face flush as my arm falls in between Angela's cleavage. Her own face turns red as she releases my arm, her eyes turning to a troubled look as she starts to fiddle with her thumbs.

  “Cayne, can you come with me for a minute?” she asks, sliding her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

  “What is it?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. For some reason, I have a feeling that Adam may be more right than even he might have thought.

  Angela gently takes my hand in hers and begins to lead me behind her. She stops we when arrive at a dorm, I assume it's hers. She pushes me inside be spinning around, shutting the door behind her. She turns to face me with a fearful look in her eyes. What the hell is happening right now?

  Angela slowly moves towards me, gently placing her hands and head against my chest.

  “Are you okay?” I say, my voice cracking with worry.

  She stays silent. I hear her sniff quietly as she slowly slides down my front. I cautiously wrap my arms around her back, hoping to comfort her.

  “I'm sorry, Cayne.” she says, her voice suddenly serious and stoic. I instantly feel a sharp pain run through my body.

  I look down at Angela, seeing her holding a knife embedded in my chest, its blade glowing and pulsing with an intense white light. Did she seriously just stab me
? And what kind of knife glows like that?

  She steps away slowly as I drop to my knees, clutching my shirt in agony as I feel warm blood run through my fingers.

  Surges of pain course through my body as shocks and chills convulse through me. I feel my breathing stop suddenly as I groan in agony. My hands glow with red and black streams of light as I look up at Angela. I don't think that was a normal knife! What the hell did she do?

  She kneels down to me with a blank expression on her features. The words she whispers in my ear are the last thing I hear before I fall unconscious.

  “Please forgive me, but this is tradition.”

  I come to in my dorm, desperately gasping for air while clutching my shirt. What in the actual hell just happened? Angela lured me into her dorm, then stabbed me! Not just that, but the knife glowed! My hands glowed, and released some kind of black and red energy! Did I dream all of that?

  I immediately lift up my shirt. There's no wound… not even a scar. I sigh in relief as I pull my shirt down. I guess all of that was just a dream. I must have dozed off sometime earlier. It felt so real though.

  I look at the time on my phone, seeing it's only a quarter after two o' clock. I don't have any more classes today, so I might as well go out and get some air. After checking my pockets for my wallet and key, I head out the door to make my way to the courtyard.

  I take a seat on one of the benches, watching the other students enjoy themselves. I inhale fresh air through my nose, letting my breathe relax me. I wonder where Angela went off to.

  A young male student sitting on the next bench to my right suddenly starts gasping for air. He falls to his knees as a crowd starts to gather around him. Another student yells for someone to call an ambulance as the gasping begins to slow down, their face starting turn blue.

  I notice something on the suffocating student's back slowly fade into my vision, a cloud of black mist. It soon takes on a more solid form, forming into a black human-like figure with its charcoal black hands crushing its victim's throat from behind. What the hell is that thing? Wait, does no one else see it?

  I slowly step back from the scene as the figure looks up at me. Its eyes glow a piercing scarlet red as it snarls at me, revealing a mouth lined with sharp, jagged teeth. Seriously, how does no one else see that thing? Oh shit, it's getting up!

  The figure stands upright, towering at least half a foot over everyone in the crowd. Seriously, how is no one seeing this? Shit, it's coming towards me! I need to get out of here!

  I immediately start running from the scene, hoping to lose whatever the hell that thing is. I look over my shoulder… how the hell did it catch up to me so fast? I run faster, weaving through passages and walkways. The thing isn't even moving that fast! How is it right behind me? I increase my speed even more, faster than I knew I could run, only to find myself cornered behind one of the department office buildings. Shit!

  I slowly turn around as I hear the figure behind me release a low, guttural growl. I back away, tripping over a trash can lid to fall on my back. It stretches its hands out as it stands itself over me. This thing has claws to! What the hell is this thing?

  The figure kneels down to my face, staring intently at my features.

  “You have already awakened. All more the reason to end you.” it says in a deep, demonic growl.

  Awakened? What the hell does that mean? Am I seriously going to die like this, at the hands of some monster?

  I close my eyes as the figure raises its claw to strike me. I guess this is the end for me. Wait, nothing's happening. Did it stop?

  I slowly open my eyes, seeing the figure hunched over with a glowing rod of amber light piercing through its chest. It roars in pain as someone drops in front me, facing my attacker. Dressed completely in white with a hood covering their head, they extend their hand to the side, another glowing rod appearing instantly in their palm.

  The white hood walks over to my attacker, still groaning in pain before looking up at them.

  “Why would you do this? We're on the same side!” it growled, baring its jagged teeth.

  My savior in white brings the rod above their head, bringing it down onto my attacker's skull. A roar of pain echos through the air as it disintegrates into little specks of black dust.

  I saw some kind of monster that, apparently, no one else can. It mentioned something about me being “awakened.” I've just been saved by some kind of magical-warrior type person. Am I still dreaming? What is going on here?

  The person in white turns to face me, a light blue garb covering their face. They stare at me with pure white eyes before turning away, clenching their fists at their sides. I slowly pick myself up from the ground, stumbling a little as I get to my feet.

  Before I can say anything, an explosion of golden-white blinds me. When I regain my vision, the white figure slowly floats into the air, flaming white wings protruding from their back. What am I looking at? An angel?

  A blast of air knocks me back to the wall as the figure extends their wings, taking off into the sky at inhuman speeds.

  I feel myself start to loose consciousness as my eyelids begin to slowly close themselves. The sound of footsteps approaching nearly shocks me back to me senses. Someone else is here. Maybe this is where I die.

  My blurry vision picks up the outline of a person, a fuzzy mass of black trailing behind them. They slowly walk towards me as my senses begin to fade, their only spoken words ringing through my ears as I fall unconscious.

  “Maybe she was right. Welcome… Cayne.”

  My senses start to clear up as I come back to consciousness. I groan in discomfort as my head rings with pain. I seem to be getting knocked out a lot lately.

  As I try to move my numb fingers, I feel soft sheets underneath me. When I manage to open my eyes, I see the walls of someone's dorm, entirely empty aside from the bed I'm laying on. There aren't any boxes or anything that could hold belongings. Where am I? More importantly, how did I get here?

  Almost as if on cue, the door swings open, revealing a black-haired girl on the other side. After shutting the door behind her, she gazes up and down my frame with intense crimson eyes. She grabs my chin and forces my head back and forth, as if she's inspecting my face for something. Things just keep getting weirder!

  “Do you mind not assaulting my face?” I say, pulling myself away from the mystery girl. She slides her slender hands into her pockets before standing herself up.

  “I guess you are tougher than you look.” she says in a condescending tone. Her pale-white skin starts to turn a tint of black before turning back in an instant.

  “Get up. You're coming with me.”

  I jerk my hand back as she reaches for my wrist.

  “What? No! Who are you?” I yell, jumping out of the bed to stand upright. “You have something do with all of this, don't you? What the hell is going on? I need answers right-”

  I'm cut off when the girl pins me to the wall behind me, her eyes glowing with a fierce red glow.

  She presses her sharp fingernails into my throat as her skin starts to turn black again.

  “You listen to me1” she says in a deep, but loud growl. “You'll get your answers, but right now, you need to come with me! Whether you like it your not, you need me!”

  I open my mouth to speak, but stop when the girl presses her nail deeper into my neck. She bares her teeth at me, revealing… fangs? This girl has fangs! What did I get myself into?

  “If you choose not to listen, I have no problem ending you here and now!” she says, her growling louder than before. I simply give a small nod, without saying a word.

  The girl releases me, stepping back as I regain my balance and breath.

  “Do we understand each other now?” she asks as her skin starts to turn back to its pale shade.

  I raise my hands up in front of me as I bring my eyes to look at the girl who almost killed me just a moment ago.

  “Can I at least know where we're going?” I ask, my hands trembling
lightly.

  She groans, crossing her arms before turning towards the door.

  “There is someone you need to see. She'll explain everything you need to know.” she says with an irritated tone. “Now, let's go!”

  Before she can open the door, it swings open, revealing a face I didn't expect to see.

  “There's no need to be so harsh, Natalie.”

  “Angela?” I yell, glancing at the black-haired girl in front of me. “You know her? She almost killed me!”

  Natalie turns to me, her eyes starting to glow as she releases a growl. I jump back as she marches towards me, only to see her stop in her tracks.

  I look past her, and notice Angela… with sparks of lightning coming off her fingers! This is getting to be way too much for me!

  “What… the hell?” I whisper as Angela walks over to Natalie, still frozen in place.

  “What did I tell you? Stop being so forceful.” she says before Natalie drops to her knees.

  She jerks her head up to me, her red eyes still glowing as she get up and walks towards the door.

  Angela turns to me, an apologetic look in her eyes.

  “I'm so sorry about her Cayne. Natalie tends to be a bit… aggressive at times.” she says. “Come on.”

  I take a deep breath as Angela motions for me to follow her.

  “Angela,” I say softly, “I don't mean to be rude, but would you mind telling me… what the hell is going on?”

  Angela lightly grabs my wrist before leading me out the door.

  “Don't worry. I'll explain everything. For now, I'll leave it at this...” her voice immediately turns stoic, “, you're going to need to listen to us if you want to live through the week.”

  Chills shoot up my spine as Angela drags me down the hallway, Natalie right behind us. She stops at another dorm at the end of the hall, the door opening to reveal yet another girl inside. Her bright red hair hangs over her front as she beams a large smile at Angela.

  “Finally, you guys are back!” she says in an upbeat voice, motioning everyone inside before closing the door. She suddenly turns her eyes to me, making me jump in place a bit.