Blood Awoken

by Elle Grace

  “That is insane.” I stated staring at him. It was the craziest story I had ever heard yet I seemed to believe it. It felt right. “What happened to John?”

  “Thomas made both his sons work for the Inperium. William became a high commander, whilst John was kept as more of a servant or prisoner. The Inperium began to capture other Mults and kept them as servants as they produced more projects. Thomas mostly hired humans to work for the Inperium and serve as Guardians and Keepers of the Mults. John actually fell in love with another hybrid in secret. Romantic relationships were strictly forbidden for Mults at the Inperium. John did not care and ended up getting his young love, Abigail, pregnant. As soon as Thomas found out, he had John punished. The punishment back then was death. Once the babies were born Abigail was also punished. Their twin babies, Victoria and John Jr, were then raised in the Inperium to serve.” He told me and I listened intently.

  “That’s dreadful.” I concluded.

  “The Inperium is a little different now.” He said. “The Director is a direct descendant of William.”

  “I’m not sure it is as different as it should be.” I added and he nodded. I was beginning to feel like I could trust Tristan.

  11

  Viola

  2pm 6th September 2025

  “She’s mine now, Tristan.” Colt had stormed into the room. “You should have finished ten minutes ago.” He seemed more mad than usual.

  “I am not anyone’s.” I snapped knowing it would make him worse.

  “You need to watch your mouth!” He snarled at me.

  “Colt, just take her, we were finishing up anyway.” Tristan relented trying to not add to the situation. I could see he was getting fed up with the way people were treating me. I stood up following orders.

  “Follow me.” He barked and I cast a look to Tristan hoping he would save me, knowing he could not. I followed Colt out of the room and down some stairs. As we walked across campus, I got a chance to glance at the other recruits who were going some combat training on the main lawn, hybrids and humans mixed and training together. They all looked like they really knew what they were doing, apart from Cameron and Mike who seemed to be struggling. We eventually arrived at what looked like a small gymnasium. There were lines on the floor indicating boxes and a few punch bags around the room. He walked in and waited by a punching bag. The room was warm and humid.

  “What exercises are you used to doing?” He asked abruptly.

  “I do Pilates and yoga. I used to take ballet when I was younger. I also played hockey for a while at school.” I answered nervously, not knowing what to expect.

  “Useless.” He mumbled. “Any fighting classes, karate or jujitsu?” I shook my head before remembering some classes we were forced to do in physical education at school.

  “I had a few self-defence classes at school.” I was honest. He perked up a little.

  “At least that is something.” He muttered. “Punch this.” He pointed at the bag and I obliged. Winced as my hand hit the hard leather. It barely even made a noise. “That was pathetic. Again.”

  I punched the bag again. It stung my hand.

  “You aren’t even trying!” He shouted at me. “Again!”

  I punched the bag again. As hard as I could. I hated the pain in my hands that followed. I had never had to punch anything before in my life.

  “That’s better.” He remarked. “Now keep going until I tell you to stop.” I did as I was told and kept punching the bag. My hands were screaming. I must have been punching for what felt like an hour. Sweat covered my face and poured down my back, I felt terrible. I hoped we were done for the day.

  “Stop.” He finally said and I nearly collapsed. “That was not the worst I have seen.” He remarked. I looked down at my hands which were covered in abrasions and blood. They stung something rotten. “Run to the end of the room and back again.” He ordered me and I just looked at him for a second. Not moving. Defying him. I was exhausted. “Did you not hear me?” He was getting angry, so I set off slowly jogging. “Faster!” He exclaimed and I picked up the pace. As I arrived back to where he was standing, I stopped. “Why are you stopping?” He lifted an eyebrow at me, and I continued to run. My body was screaming to stop. He began to build little circuits for me to do, around the gym, repeating the exercises repeatedly. Taking HIIT to a new level. Finally, he said I could stop for a minute. I slumped against a wall and slipped down to the floor. He rummaged in a bag by the wall and handed me a bottle of look-warm water. I drank the entire thing in one go. My body desperate for the hydration.

  “Now I think it is time you fight me.” He spoke as I finished to water. I nearly spat it out. I shook my head. I could not go on. I had no chance, he was huge.

  “I can’t.” I breathed.

  “Yeah, you can, and you will. Don’t tell me you haven’t been imagining punching me this entire session!” He laughed. “In the box.” He pointed at one of the painted boxes on the floor. I paused for a moment and then reluctantly got to my feet and walked over. My legs could barely hold me up. They felt like jelly. I entered the box and turned to face Colt. Smack. He swiped my feet from under me and I hit the ground hard.

  “Get up.” He snarled at me and I did. He put me straight on my back again before I could even defend myself. “Why don’t you fight back?” He snarled. I got back up to my feet gingerly. My whole body was shaky from the continual impact with the ground. Blood oozed from my nose and a split lip. I remembered I still had not eaten anything since I arrived. He went to hit me again and I dodged it. I was dizzy.

  “Better.” He muttered. He tried again and once again I managed to move out of the way. The third time I was not as agile, and he hit me hard knocking me to the ground and winding me. I could not get up. I lay on the ground feeling pathetic and fully worn out. It was clear from the look on his face exactly what he thought of me.

  “You won’t last here.” He remarked and walked off, leaving me on the ground breathless.

  12

  Viola

  7pm 6th September 2025

  Half walking, half stumbling, it took me an eternity to get back to the dormitory. The other hybrids were already gathered there. They were milling around chatting to each other. It looked like most of them had showered and changed since I had seen them outside doing their training. They were significantly less sweat covered. Sam was polishing their boots. Doe was the first one to notice me.

  “Damn Vi, you don’t look so good.” She remarked as I stood in the doorway.

  “Thanks. I feel great.” I jested and walked over to my bed slumping down on to it. Almost swearing at how uncomfortable it was. Cameron came running over to me a bottle in one hand and a plastic cup in the other. Kneeling in front of me, he handed me the cup without saying anything and I looked at him puzzled. He began to pour out some clear liquid which I realised was vodka when I saw the bottle properly. He gave me a generous helping. Then he took out a small vial of what looked like dish soap and tipped it in to the cup. Turning the whole cup of liquid bright green.

  “That should help.” He smiled and hurried away to hide the bottle.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “We call it a magic brew.” Doe informed me sitting next to me. “It’s 95% vodka and 5% healing tonic. Drink up.” She said and I went to take a sip. She would not let me drop the cup and instead kept tipping it until I had drunk the lot.

  “Where did you get the vodka from?” I was surprised that they had such clear contraband.

  “Oh please, no one suspects William going and getting a night cap from the cellars.” Sam said behind me, I turned to look at them as they transformed into William and back again.

  “That is awesome!” I blinked hard, the cup of vodka hitting me fast. Maybe it was the special tonic or whatever it was he had added, I thought.

  “When did you last eat?” Cameron said concerned as he saw me swaying.

  “I didn’t.” I replied frowning. He lifted on of the beds and handed me
something wrapped in tinfoil. I opened the foil and saw it was bread. I began to eat hungrily. “Thank you.” I mumbled between mouthfuls. “Are you the dormitory chef?” They all laughed.

  “She needs some ice for those hands.” Mike was leaning against the wall in front of me. He promptly left. He seemed a little off with me. He was far quieter than at the earlier meeting.

  “I think they are being silly trying to train you like that.” Doe said to me. “It’s just not right.” She was clearly the unofficial group leader.

  “I don’t think they care about right or wrong.” I said solemnly.

  “That is so true!” Cameron agreed.

  James came walking into the dormitory and stopped dead when he saw me sitting on the bed.

  “Are you bunking in here?” He asked grinning at me.

  “Looks like it.” I smiled.

  “Nice! Is anyone using the showers?” He questioned and I wondered if he often kept to himself.

  “No go right ahead.” Doe informed him. As soon as he was out of ear shot, she turned to me.

  “So, you’ve met the Prince?” She grinned at me.

  “Briefly.” I replied.

  “And?” She questioned; I was not sure what she was probing for.

  “He seems nice.” I honestly did not know the guy.

  “A little too nice if you ask me. He barely speaks in the dorm. Too much of a gentleman.” She said even though no one was asking, I began to wonder if Doe was a little bit of a gossip.

  “What makes you say that?” I frowned.

  “Well, he is always so cheery, no matter what. I mean the commanders have done some messed up things to try and break him and it does not affect him at all. I mean the guy is a Prince a literal Prince. He is used to being treated like royalty, a VIP. They treat rats better than they treat him here. Things can get a little rowdy down here and he never really joins in. A bit of a prude.” Doe rambled on with her opinions.

  “Doe, stop it!” Cameron butted in. “Maybe he is just a good guy.”

  “Cammy you see the good in everyone, you thought Lance was nice until he put you in the infirmary with 44 stitches and two broken arms.” Doe corrected him. Training had clearly been brutal for them.

  “It was my own fault.” Cameron added. “I fell over and...”

  “Yeah straight on to Lance’s fist over and over again.” Doe finished and Cameron looked at his feet.

  “I guess you are telling me to be careful?” I said.

  “Yes, exactly. Girl, you know what I am thinking!” Doe confirmed. She got up from the bed. “I like you Vi!” Her beauty was intimidating, I was glad she was so friendly.

  “How have you guys survived months of this?” I asked. “The training and the vile behaviour I mean.”

  “We have each other.” Cameron said sitting the other side of me.

  “That adorable Cameron!” Doe said. Sam smiled. It really seemed like they had a good bond. James came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around his hips and it took me a minute to gather my thoughts. He had the body of a god. Lean and toned in all the right places.

  “I think we need to call someone.” He said. I picked up my jaw off the ground.

  “Yeh, why’s that?” Doe asked him.

  “The water is absolutely freezing.” He replied and they both laughed. Sam rolled their eyes.

  “They make that joke every day.” They informed me. “The first one hundred times it was funnier.” Sam shouted at them and I giggled to myself.

  “Did you remember anything yet?” James questioned, throwing a t-shirt over his head, and coming over to my bunk. Disappointing me by getting dressed.

  “No not at all. I wish I could.”

  “You mean you don’t know who you really are?” Doe enquired.

  “Well I do, I’m not an amnesia patient or anything but I don’t know anything about being a hybrid. I mean I know a little more now after I had a bit of a lesson with Tristan, but they all keep saying I should have known all this stuff and who I was well before I came here, and I just didn’t.” I replied.

  “That’s insane, I surprised you aren’t really freaked out babe.” I had a feeling Doe was a woman who loved to call people pet names. A lover of terms of endearment.

  “Oh, I am, don’t you worry.” I laughed.

  “I think this girl needs another cup of vodka!” Doe laughed too. “So, tell me about yourself, like the stuff you do know. You have some catching up to do! We’ve all been here a few months and grown sick of each other.”

  “There is not really a lot to tell, I was meant to be starting a new job in an office in the city next week, but I guess that isn’t happening now. I live with my parents. My Dad is a lawyer and my mum works for an electronics company.” I stated realising that there really was not a lot to tell. I felt like it was all very empty.

  “So, your parents were Inperium?” Doe asked confused.

  “No. I was adopted. My biological parents were Inperium, well so I have been told. They died though.” I answered. I was beginning to realise how little I knew about them. About anything.

  “I was adopted too.” Cameron chimed in with a smile. “My parents are alive though. Well I think they are. They just didn’t want me.” He continued smiling but there was a clear sadness there. “My dad is an actual werewolf from Immortuus, my mum was a hybrid. They hoped I would have inherited his ability to turn, but I didn’t.” He sighed longingly.

  “Wow my parents are the complete opposite, they hate the fact that I got my mum’s shapeshifting abilities.” Sam jumped in.

  “I think it is kind of cool.” I said honestly.

  “It is and it isn’t, it is hard not just being a single person. I think I change personality every time I change.” Sam spoke a little solemnly. “At least that is what it feels like.”

  “Can you change by choice?” I asked fascinated.

  “I can, but I can’t keep the same appearance past one cycle of the full moon. Then my shape is changed for me and I can never be the that same appearance again.” Sam answered. “It is all very complicated.” I looked at the others who were watching Sam. The Prince seemed to be watching me with more curiosity than most. I felt myself blush. I was really starting to like Prince James and the way he looked at me. It was nice to have something good to look at.

  “What about you Doe?” I asked and she burst to life.

  “Well, I don’t know my dad.” She replied. “But my mum is super cool, like the best ever. She had me train here for a while as a kid because she worried about me. However, I really wanted to be a model, like since I could remember, so my mum moved us out to Europe to try and get me where I wanted to be. We ended up in Milan and I was just starting to get some great bookings when the Inperium showed up and explained it was my duty to be here. By the time I go back I will probably be too old and out of it.” She sounded a little dejected and I understood why. She had her dream taken away; I was beginning to feel her pain.

  “It’s not all bad, we got to meet each other!” Cameron beamed at us. He was sweet but I had begun to work out his smiles hid a real sadness underneath them.

  13

  Colt

  5am 7th September 2025

  The ceiling had one hundred and forty-eight tiles, it seemed like an odd number. I had been awake for a few hours; she was on my mind. Not for some romantic reason but because I still believed she had no place in the Inperium. She was weak, physically, and mentally. We could all see it. I had felt the red glow of the alarm clock all night until it slowly faded as light beamed in through the window bringing the next day with it. The clock read five am and I wished I had gotten some sleep.

  Viola puzzled me more than anything. She claimed she knew nothing about the Inperium and her heritage yet everything she was seeing and going through did not seem like some big shock to her. Maybe she was trying to play it cool, I thought. Or was there something more?

  She was a real beauty, even I could admit that. There was somet
hing about her. I think that is why I was being so harsh on her. I needed to be mean to keep myself from liking her. Afterall she was a Mult and being with a Mult was more work than it was worth. Not to mention it was the biggest sin you could commit at the Inperium. There was a resilience in her. All the of the hybrids seemed to have it. I suppose it was something I wished I and the rest of the commanding officers had. Instead we had people like Lance and Caitlyn in control and they were just brutal vile human beings.

  I thought about my own behaviour and how I was becoming more like them every day. The Inperium was taking away my humanity. At least I could recognise it, I supposed. I hated what I was becoming. From the daily punishments I felt forced to inflict on the recruits to the way I was beginning to think.

  I got up and prepared for my morning run as I did every morning. After I was dressed, I decided to go and wake Viola up to join me. It would be good for her training, I told myself that was the only reason. I think I perhaps wanted her to succeed more than I was letting on.

  I entered the hybrid dorm stealthily not wanting to wake any of them or to get caught without a good reason. Luckily, her bed was close to the door.

  “Wake up Hybrid.” I shook her awake, whispering in the dormitory so I did not wake the others. Her eyes flickered open and I could see she did not appreciate it. “Time to wake up.” She looked confused as she glanced around the room.

  “What about the others?” She whispered seeing them all still asleep.

  “It’s more special training for you today.” I smiled.

  “No thanks.” She turned over on the bed. I pulled the sheets off her. Exposing her to the cold, she wriggled in protest.

  “Either get up now, or I pour a bucket of icy water over you.” I hissed at her. She reluctantly got out of bed. “Get changed.” I stood and waited. Looking at her.