East of Eden

2| Meeting

Zayns POV

"Zayn man! How long are you going to take?!"

I sucked my teeth in annoyance. Instead of answering, I stayed quiet hoping it would make him piss off and leave without me. I wasn't in the mood to go out and drink, let alone go to a club.

I finished rinsing my hands while splashing some water on my face and drying them off with a towel when after about 2 minutes of silence Aaron gave up. "Fucking dick."

"I'm waiting in the car. Zayn you have 5 minutes before I leave your ass!" He warned. And I hoped he did. It wasn't until I heard the door close that I had stepped out of the restroom.

You see, Aaron is the eccentric type of friend. He comes over, nags you to go out, and relentlessly persists until you agree or in my case, tell him to piss off. On a night where I was more in the mood, I would've been down to let loose, get drunk, and probably bring a girl home to pass the time. But tonights not it. Tonight is to hunt. And while I know Aaron would've wanted to tag along, I know he wants to go out and have a good time more. The kid deserves to take the night.

Deciding to not be a total dick, I sent Aaron a text so he wouldn't waste any more time meeting up with the guys.

It was one of those nights where even though I know I'm not alone entirely, though physically am at the moment, embracing the feeling of solitude came better than being in a club getting mindlessly drunk. As the clock hit 12am I put my cigarette out on the balcony of my apartment, got up, and threw on my jacket. Grabbing a few essential weapons that'll serve me well for the night, I took one last look at the small picture frame that's at the top of my bookshelf before finally leaving.

Walking on the sidewalk, the only audible sound was my boots stepping on the wet pavement. The night was drizzling with light rain, and the air was still. Feeling the hairs go off on the back of my neck, I knew I was being followed. The setting was typical. An empty street, late night. And not a single human in sight but me.

Ghouls know they're superior to humans and because of that they don't expect us to fight back, let alone successfully kill them. Regardless of how much stronger a ghoul is than me, I'll always fight to kill them no matter the circumstances. Ghouls are disgusting creatures that should've never been allowed to walk this Earth. Their greedy nature only drives them to live in the most grotesque ways. Besides, it's not my first time being hunted, and I'm not dead yet.

There have been rumors of entertainment rings happening in the ghoul community, where they rally up small groups of people and make them fight like savages. The winners reward is to be turned into a slave at a high bidding price, instead of being killed and served on a silver platter. It's one of their richest forms of entertainment. One of the most prestigious. Only the most powerful and respected ghouls can afford to attend those events. And in a cycle like the one we're currently living in, as vicious as it is, it's also inevitable.

I quickly turned the corner into an alley and continued walking until I crossed the street and stepped out into a dark park. Sitting on a bench, I sat there. I lit up my second cigarette of the night and waited.

Feeling it's hot breath on the side of my neck before having the opportunity to see it's facing, I instinctively jumped off the bench and pulled out my silver blades. I took a step to the side to evade it's sharp nails, lunging myself forward without hesitation I dug both blades in the sides of its head and pulled them out. Their sharp ends engraved with a small prayer dripping in the ghouls blood as its body evaporated into ash.

At the sound of something rustling behind me, I turned around and was quick to notice a shadow moving to my right. Before I had the chance to react I felt it grab me by the back of the neck and toss me backward, my back hitting a tree, hard. As I felt the breath getting knocked out of me, I fell to the ground, feeling the ache shooting up my back as I tried to support myself with my elbows.