CONNECT: Rise Of The Undead King

Later in the day, when the night sky fell upon them, Uche could be seen sitting behind Mira on her hover bike as she drove through the streets.

Uche enjoyed the warmth of Mira's body as he sat behind her, holding her waist so tightly that he couldn't fall, the wind brushing against his cheek. They both dressed in black—Mira in the same suit she had used to save him at the organ traffickers' base. The suit looked like an astronaut suit with a different design: completely black with a red zigzag, scale-like pattern running from the shoulder down the arm. A scary human skull, also red, marked the chest. Uche hadn't seen that last time she wore it, so he guessed the suit had been modified. She didn't wear a helmet this time, but a pair of glasses that seemed to see past Uche's imagination rested on her nose.

Uche wore normal black jeans and a hood, plus a pair of ordinary black glasses and a black face cap. Mira had persuaded him to use glasses instead of an eyepatch because people had linked the eyepatch photo to Snowflake; his photograph had been posted all over the city. To avoid unwanted attention, she told him to go with glasses and a cap.

The bike moved at an amazing speed; Uche thought that if he accidentally let go of Mira's waist he would fall off and crack his head. The bike's speed was far from normal.

Uche was even more surprised to learn that the wristwatch Mira wore had transformed into the bike—he could hardly believe it. Mira claimed it was vampire technology: the wristwatch served many purposes beyond human imagination. The watch could protect her from the sun while she wore it and could transform into things Uche couldn't imagine. She had given him a similar one, though his was more limited: it protected him from the sun and also served as a vessel for hers.

Thirty minutes later the bike came to a stop—sharp and swift with almost no sound. Uche quickly got down, staring at the night view of the district that lay before him.

"We should probably part ways here. We can't underestimate that guy—he's too cunning,"

Mira said, also getting off the bike. The bike immediately disappeared, turning back into the sleek watch as it wrapped around her wrist.

They were standing at the entrance to the district they had viewed earlier on her computer. A single gate stood before them, majestic and grandiose, with several guards at its sides.

"Aren't you going through the entrance?"

Uche asked, not understanding why she wanted to part ways here—there was only one entrance to the district.

"Don't worry. I have my ways. You should go quickly and get there before the time. You still have a few kilometers to walk,"

Mira said, then turned and disappeared into the night.

Uche watched her dark silhouette move away, then whispered to himself, "I'm trusting you, Mira."

He moved toward the guard and presented the card Mira had given him beforehand. The guards asked no questions; after seeing the card, he was granted entrance.

Uche walked along the main road, carefully looking around while trying to picture the district as it had appeared on the virtual map. After several minutes, his eyes landed on a distant white tower several meters away. He couldn't see the whole tower yet—several tall buildings blocked his view—but from what he'd seen on the map, he already knew what to do. He would meet Snowflake at the front of that tower.

He quickened his pace and checked the street description on his phone as he approached the tower. After about a dozen minutes, he came upon two tall buildings standing side by side, creating a dark, long alleyway to his left. He stopped and stared into the alleyway with a grim expression.

This was the alleyway that would lead to the street where he was to meet Snowflake, but for some reason Uche felt reluctant to go any farther. Something felt wrong and he had the urge to turn back and run—but he couldn't.

"I've been waiting so long to kick his damn ass and retrieve my eye. I'm not going back,"

He muttered.

He stepped into the alleyway slowly, each step feeling heavy, as if his legs were unwilling to follow. His instincts screamed danger, warning him to retreat before it was too late, but he stubbornly dragged himself forward, focusing on one thought: retrieve his eye, leave the human world, and live peacefully in the vampire world.

'And Mira is somewhere up above watching, so nothing will go wrong,'

He told himself, trusting her ability. By now she should be at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the area, able to see the meeting point clearly.

Deep in thought, Uche didn't notice he had reached the middle of the alleyway until a dark silhouette slowly approached him. He abruptly stopped and stared at the figure. He couldn't make out details, but the person appeared clad in a complete black metal suit.

"Who are you?"

Uche asked, his voice firm.

The figure didn't answer and continued walking toward him, its pace quickening. Uche took a few cautious steps back, then something choked him and he let out a rough cough.

'What's going on?'

He thought, looking back toward the alley entrance. He couldn't see it anymore—now it was covered in a strange fog, thick and oddly toxic. When Uche breathed, he choked and began coughing violently.

"Snowflake, you bastard—I'll kill you!"

Uche shouted as he lunged toward the dark figure, but the entire alley filled with the strange fog, blinding him and choking him until he passed out.

"You're such a disobedient fellow,"

A voice growled.