The first thing Lucas heard…
…was the steady rhythm of a heartbeat.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
A sharp antiseptic smell filled his lungs.
His eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
“…”
Slowly…
He opened them.
A white ceiling.
Fluorescent lights.
An IV bag hanging beside the bed.
“…A hospital…”
His voice came out dry and weak.
For several seconds, he simply stared upward, trying to remember how he had gotten there.
Fragments drifted through his mind like broken glass.
Parker.
The black mist.
The extinguishers.
The bite.
The students…
Then—
Nothing.
Lucas frowned.
“…I passed out…”
His hand instinctively moved to the side of his neck.
His fingers searched for the infected wound he clearly remembered feeling.
Nothing.
His skin was smooth.
No bite.
No blood.
No scar.
His brows knitted together.
“…What?”
He sat upright immediately.
The sudden movement sent a dull ache through his body, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as it should have been.
He pulled back the hospital blanket.
His school uniform had been replaced with a simple patient gown.
His arms…
His chest…
Not a single bandage.
No bruises.
No burns.
Nothing.
“…Impossible.”
The door slid open.
A young nurse stepped inside, carrying a clipboard.
“Oh.”
“You’re awake.”
Lucas looked at her.
“…How long was I unconscious?”
The nurse smiled politely.
“Only a few hours.”
“You were brought in this afternoon.”
Lucas lowered his gaze.
“…Who brought me here?”
“The Saint Hunters.”
“They found you unconscious on the university campus.”
His heartbeat skipped.
“Katherine…”
The nurse nodded.
“The young woman who stayed with you until they arrived?”
Lucas released a slow breath.
“…She’s alright.”
“Yes.”
“She left after making sure you were safe.”
The tightness in his chest eased ever so slightly.
At least she hadn’t been hurt.
The nurse flipped through her clipboard.
“You really surprised everyone.”
Lucas looked up.
“…Why?”
She hesitated before answering.
“The Hunter examining you couldn’t understand it.”
“You had apparently been caught in the middle of an Awakened incident.”
Lucas remained silent.
She continued.
“They expected broken bones… severe burns… internal injuries…”
Her expression became puzzled.
“But aside from exhaustion…”
“…there wasn’t a single serious injury.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
Not a single injury…
He clearly remembered Parker throwing him through concrete.
His glasses breaking beneath Parker’s feet.
The infected wound spreading across his neck.
That wasn’t something he could have imagined.
“…Just what happened to me…?”
The nurse smiled.
“I’ll let the Hunters ask those questions.”
“They wanted to speak with you once you woke up.”
Lucas’s heart skipped again.
Hunters.
If he stayed…
He would have to explain things he didn’t understand himself.
The strange voice.
His impossible strength.
The spirit calling him Nephilim.
No. Not yet.
“I… need some fresh air.”
The nurse frowned.
“You should wait for—”
Lucas was already climbing out of bed.
“I won’t be long.”
Without waiting for permission, he changed back into his school uniform, gathered what little remained of his belongings, and quietly slipped out of the room.
The hospital corridor was unusually quiet.
Outside…
The evening sun painted Sacramento in shades of amber and gold.
For the first time that day…
Lucas inhaled deeply.
Fresh air.
Normal people.
Traffic.
Everything looked ordinary.
Almost enough to convince him that the nightmare at Westbridge University had never happened.
Almost.
His fingers slowly curled into a fist.
He remembered the impossible strength that had surged through his body.
The effortless punch that had sent Parker’s senior flying.
The instinctive movements that weren’t his.
“…Nephilim…”
The unfamiliar word escaped his lips.
“What are you?”
No one answered.
Only the evening breeze brushed past him.
Lucas sighed.
“…Whatever it means…”
“…it can wait.”
His stomach suddenly growled.
A tired laugh escaped him.
“…Mum’s probably worried sick.”
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I’ll probably get another lecture…”
“…for coming home late.”
For the first time since everything began…
Lucas smiled.
He turned toward the road leading home.
Completely unaware…
That this ordinary walk…
Would be the last peaceful moment of his life.