CHAPTER 11: CH 11: NIKOLAI MUNROE.

The sound of rushed footsteps thundering across the floors as L.U.X soldiers moved quickly, trying to pack everything.

Selene and Umbra, nowhere to be found.

Just Levi and Zack near the rubble where the explosion happened, soft gusts of wind blowing softly through the opening.

Rippling goosebumps across all their bodies.

’What the hell is going on here?’

Levi thought inwardly, a look of silent disbelief sprayed over his face.

"You don’t know all what the S-Class can do, don’t you?"

Zack rhetorically asked.

He continued, not giving Levi a chance to answer, "The major difference between S-Class vampires and regular vampires is the simple fact that they’re almost humans...

Which is something people don’t understand... The serum worked— partially, S-Class vampires technically are apex predators; all the prowess of a vampire plus an invulnerability to most of their weaknesses and most of all, the ability to reproduce—"

"So you’re saying that there could be original bloodline families out there,"

Levi interrupted.

Zack’s brows furrowed, " You don’t like letting me talk, do you?..."

He trailed off, a bit of annoyance in his tone now, "No, well as far as we know they’re not original families...

The original Darwin serum came only in seven vials, that’s it. Seven.

And three of the seven are already dead while the rest are in hiding except for Nikolai—"

"I don’t have time for a history lesson, especially when you know the important parts and are intentionally holding out— who killed the other two originals?"

"Nikolai did."

He wiped off smudge from the lens of his glasses.

Levi stepped forward, "Tell me everything you know about Caleb Munroe."

---

Eight years ago.

At the start of what people only described as the dark age where mysteriously, the hemocline layer in the blood began to deteriorate.

But that was it, somehow it only affected just humans, no other creature on Earth which was why it was called the Human exterminator.

With their oxygen growing ever thinner the society crumbled alongside it, people began collapsing from organ failure due to lack of oxygen.

Children, born with malformed lungs or blood incapable of carrying oxygen.

Entire cities became oxygen deserts—ventilators and oxygen tanks became currency.

Governments collapsed under medical demand. Riots broke out. Nations went dark.

Oxygen-starved workers can’t function. Productivity drops to near-zero.

The number of homeless people tripled, while deaths quintupled, with absolutely no sign of a saviour, humanity was hopeless.

Until the remnant members of the UN banded together to fund the Evolution project nicknamed the Darwin Project, said to be humanity’s last hope.

Scientists scramble to find a solution. Traditional medicine fails.

Geneticists propose radical evolution: rebuilding the human blood system from scratch.

Thus, the Darwin Serum is born—designed to reengineer blood, enhance oxygen efficiency, and create a new class of humans who can survive in low-oxygen environments.

But one major issue, it would be drastically expensive.

Naturally— they were trying to alter the genome of humans.

But who exactly would be the perfect guinea pig for this— someone who has nothing, no family, no job and absolutely no value to society.

Although inhumane, what other choices did they have, they were dying off, both old and young.

People who were disposable, who nobody important would ever consider.

Nikolai Munroe. A former student of Asheville University, thrown to the streets with his sister after inflation crawled into the sky.

Though homeless and running from shelter to shelter, he had always tried to provide them both and as such when a digital billboard displayed an ad for a trial experiment that was said to save the world while also paying a hundred thousand units who could say no.

He woke up the next day with a light feeling on his chest as he stood out the tent on the streets, they had very few clothes so wherever he wore something without stains it was meant to be a good day.

He tried his best to comb and slick his hair back with his saliva and dirt ridden hands, trying his best to appear tidy as he walked to the location of the selection for the trial.

Finally arriving at the building meant for the selection, he stood in line, not his first medical trial, he’d given blood and several other specimens to make do.

’Maybe if this one pays well enough I’ll finally get Luna, his sister into an actual apartment.’

Slowly the long relentless line dwindled away, people walked away with all sorts of expressions on their faces; some joy, some uncertainty and others a mix of both and neither.

It finally reached Nikolai’s turn as he took a deep breath and muttered to himself, ’This is where it all changes.’

He pushed the door in, stepping forward as every footfall drumming in his skull.

He finally arrived in front of the two interviewers, they sat behind a table, fingers crossed and laid atop the wood.

First, a lady, with golden blonde hair, most of it tied in a firm ponytail that seemed to tug too hard.

Next to her a man, muscular yet aged, short white hair visibly thinning at the top with crease lines plastered on his forehead.

Nikolai stood in front of them, ready to answer any and all questions they had in store for him.

The lady started, "Name?"

"Nikolai Munroe."

He answered, every word echoing throughout the room.

~Clink.~

She pushed her pen as she began to take notes.

She continued, "Address?"

"Uhmm... I’m currently between locations."

He scratched the back of his head.

She paused, dropping the pen.

"And what’s that supposed to mean?"

’Shit. No one ever wants to hear this.’

He thought, but outwardly said, "I’m currently living with my sister on the streets."

Feigning no interest whatsoever, "So homeless. So what do you do for a living? "

He tugged at his shirt slightly, "well... "

"You’re wasting both of our time here... But then again, I don’t think your time is particularly worth anything."

The dismissal in her voice was enough to make him sweat.

She continued, "look. If you don’t want to talk then no one’s going to force you, there’s the door, call in the next person on your way out—"

" Wait, hold on for just a second. I’m sorry, I need this. I’ll answer anything you want fast."

She wasted no time testing the theory, "I don’t have all day so I’m going to rush through these questions and then you answer them all when I’m done...

Do you have any living relatives?

What would you do with the compensation if selected?

Do you waive all legal rights to your body and its derivatives?"

He blinked once— Then again.

’What type of questions are these? I mean I’ve been to medical trails before and they never asked questions like this’

Sweat began to trickle down his temples as he quickly wiped them off before answering, "Yes. I have my sister. I would buy a house and make sure my little sister has everything she would ever need... Uhmm... Yes?"

She straightened her posture in the chair, "where’s your sister right now?"

"She’s still at... God, don’t even think I can call it a home."

He chuckled a little at himself.

She tightened her gaze on him, "I have a question and if you answer this right you’re in and your sister will be taken care of while you move for the trail phase."

His eyes widened, fists clenched tightly by his sides, sure he came here with hope but now it was right in his grasps, so much so that he could taste the money and the comfortable life.

Imagining the smile on his sister’s face he blurted out, "Anything."

"This process will break you. Physically. Mentally. You’ll beg to quit as most days will feel like torture. But that’s not the question...

If you had the power to save humanity—but lose your own—would you take it?"

’What?’, he thought to himself as his eyes finally darted the room he was in and the questions finally started coming in.

’why are we having the selection here? Why are those guards in corners with guns? What’s with the second guy who hasn’t spoken at all? And why are these questions so weird?’

~PAAA!~

She clapped her hands, snapping him out of his trace, "so what’s your answer?"

’I don’t care what they do to me, I have to make sure Luna has a good life.’

His voice flat, "Yes."

She folded her hands, leaning back into the chair, "Welcome to project Darwin, Nikolai Munroe."